Viibryd Approved to Treat Depression in Adults

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By Psych Central News Editor

Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. 

Viibryd (vilazodone hydrochloride) was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Monday to treat major depression — also known as clinical depression — in adults.
Viibryd is a one-of-a-kind drug for the treatment of depression that in clinical trials had fewer sexual side effects than other antidepressants. It works by way of a novel dual mechanism of action as both a potent and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) and a partial agonist of the 5-hydroxytryptamine 1a (5-HT1A) receptor. Viibryd is therefore able to combine first-line therapy for depression with 5-HT1A partial agonism, an accepted add-on treatment for depression and a common initial treatment for anxiety disorders.
“Major depressive disorder is disabling and prevents a person from functioning normally,” said Thomas Laughren, M.D., director of the Division of Psychiatry Products in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. “Medications affect everyone differently, so it is important to have a variety of treatment options available to patients who suffer from depression.”
The most frequent adverse reactions reported by patients taking Viibryd in clinical trials included diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and insomnia.
Unlike traditional SSRIs, the company-funded Phase III clinical trials found that sexual function in patients was comparable to placebo when measured by an objective sexual functioning scale. Many older SSRI antidepressant medications have been associated with causing or exacerbating sexual dysfunction.
Viibryd and all other antidepressant drugs have a boxed warning and a patient medication guide describing the increased risk of suicidal thinking and behavior in children, adolescents, and young adults ages 18 to 24 during initial treatment.
The warning also says data did not show this increased risk in adults older than 24 and that patients ages 65 and older who take antidepressants have a decreased risk of suicidal thinking and behavior. The warning says depression and other serious psychiatric disorders themselves are the most important causes of suicide and that close monitoring of patients starting these medications is necessary.
The drug will be available in 10, 20 and 40 milligram tablets.
Clinical depression is characterized by symptoms that interfere with a person’s ability to work, sleep, study, eat, and enjoy once-pleasurable activities. Episodes of major depression often recur throughout a person’s lifetime, although some may experience only a single occurrence.
Signs and symptoms of major depression include: depressed mood, loss of interest in usual activities, significant change in weight or appetite, insomnia or excessive sleeping (hypersomnia), restlessness/pacing (psychomotor agitation), increased fatigue, feelings of guilt or worthlessness, slowed thinking or impaired concentration, and suicide attempts or thoughts of suicide. All people with major depression do not experience the same symptoms.
Viibryd is manufactured by PGxHealth, New Haven, Conn.
Source: U.S. Food and Drug Administration

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New therapy uses reflexes to rapidly relieve pain without medications.

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The body often reacts reflexively to stress, trauma and pain creating patterns of protection. These persistent protective patterns can undermine all attempts at traditional modes of pain relief, resulting in chronic pain and movement impairment.
A reflex is an automatic and involuntary physiological response that results from the nervous system’s reaction to a stimulus. Through a new understanding of reflexive communications, it is now possible to harness the body’s own reflexes to produce profound relief of a multitude of symptoms. This approach toward wellness and healing produces a harmonious balance between the brain and body resulting in pain relief, optimized human performance, significant relaxation and stress reduction.
Stress dramatically impacts the body’s ability to heal and recover from injury. The American Institute of Stress estimates that 75-90% of all doctor visits are stress-related. By tapping into the body’s own reflexive communications, the balance between the neurological and physiological systems can be quickly and painlessly restored, improving performance at work, home and at play. Dramatic benefits are realized by a majority of patients within one to four sessions.
Littleton based physical therapist, Scott Musgrave, is one of fewer than 100 health care practitioners in the country trained through advanced levels with PRRT.
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DEPRESSION KILLS!

We hear reports around the globe of the many souls that suffer depression, because of overwhelming stress. With wars, poverty, and violence going on around us is it any wonder that depression is an issue? Statistics has proven that depression links to increased heart attacks and heart disease. Researchers have not proved that depression is the cause of heart disease, but they do feel it is a contribution. Depression is also the root for suicidal increase. Yet the fatal mistake that doctors make is over medicating the patient. Medications not only suppress the problem, but it contributes to medical issues. The result, the problem is still there. Everyday studies are finding new information and yet the information is often tossed to the backseat while traditional treatments continue.

New studies reveal that in contrast, intellectual and in depth, research coupled with insight helps scientist understand depression. After study the mental illness, closely they concluded in once study that depression is possibly linked to existing heart diseases that are a result of

With premature death-related to heart disease caused by premature changes in women. In other words, postmenopausal issues were said to be linked. After careful research, it was shown that antidepressant drugs might cause more harm to patients. Observers that watched these women claimed that women were at higher risk of heart attacks while inducing antidepressants. The Archives of Internal Medicines after conducting surveys claimed that more than 90,000 women over the age of fifty and out of 16 percent suffered major depression. This was half the women and this half was taking antidepressants. The researchers continued their studies and found that postmenopausal women suffered depression, and because of taking antidepressants, over half the women were at risk of death related to heart diseases.

In 2010, new researchers concluded that the percentage of women at risk would also be subject to fractured bones, and that more than 8,000 women over 65 were prescribed medications and the medicines had affected the central nervous system. Researchers deduced that after taking prescribed drugs for five years the women were noticeably showing risks of fracturing bones, and those that did not take the drugs lived healthier lives. After careful studies researchers concluded that, the prescribed drugs were the linking cause of psychical symptoms. In order to reduce depression, one must exercise, eat healthy, write in journals, and use self-induced analytic profiling and evaluation of self. It is extremely important that a person come to understand their handicap and deal with it. More studies have shown that when the spine is out of alignment, or injured that it links to depression, which is often caused by stress. Often when we visit our Chiropractor, he/she can help us to get our spine back in alignment, which has proven to relieve stress and depression.

                In spite of the studies that concluded that antidepressants could put a patient at risk doctors around the globe, still take out their prescription pads and start writing. Often the problem is ignored and blame is placed on the patients, while the doctors continue prescribing.  

Now you must ask the question, are you at risk? If so, you need to take care that you consult with the proper physician. Ask him to monitor your issues carefully and sway him away from prescribing antidepressants.

Stay alert to your mental health and avoid floundering, as this contributes to depression. There are solutions to any problems that will work for you. Get out of the house and socialize. Take up a sport that you may enjoy. Read a damn good book or write one yourself. Writing is a gift, an art, and a contribution to Freedom of Speech; let the words flow.

How Can I Solve My Problem? The answer is "information" ... ... and the information is here!

Born Again: Spiritual Awakening and Near-Death Experiences

 

Near-death survivors tell us stories of out of body experiences and spiritual awakening.  How could it be possible for near-death experiences to result into religious experiences that would totally transform a person?  Is it really possible to attain enlightenment through this experience?

Most people would perceive that spiritual awakening is associated with religious personas, like saints, yogis, and lamas.  Therefore, ordinary people experiencing spiritual awakening can be both fascinating and frightening for some.  There are some who intentionally journey towards enlightenment through meditation, yoga and other traditions and rituals.  But there are others who experience spiritual awakening on their death-bed.

In an essay written by Dr. David San Filippo titled Religious Interpretations of NDEs, he stated that a “near-death experience (NDE) is a conscious experience in which the individual experiences a sense of being detached from the physical world during the process of physiological dying.” 

Medically, near-death experiences as described by Dr. Filippo, is when the patient cannot breathe making the muscles in the heart to fail and powerful substances are released.  Also, NDE survivors say that they would have an out-of-the-body experience, where the spirit or the soul detaches itself from the body. During these detachment, survivors can experience seeing darkness or the light, meeting  spiritual and divine people, and somehow judging their lives.

In a survey performed in 2001, there were 13 million Americans or 5 percent of the population who report that they have experienced an NDE. Near-death experiences and spiritual awakening after them can actually transcend any culture and religion.  Regardless, if the patient believes in the divine or Supreme Being, near-death experience could happen. 

What happens during a near-death experience? 

The survivor first feels a sense of being dead and peace.  The soul or the spirit separates from the body and meets with different entities which have already passed away like family, friends, even angels and religious persona.  The spirit seems to be rising into the air and encounter a Light which is often associated with the Supreme Being, whether it is God or Allah.

The survivor then senses what happened to their life and judges it.  Commonly, the survivors feel reluctant on going back to the world of living. Survivors cannot sense any time or anything that would restrict them from going wherever they want.

There are significant psychological effects of these near-death experiences to the survivors.  According to Dr. P.M.H. Atwater (People are dramatically Changed by NDEs), here are some the psychological effects which can also be somewhat referred to enlightenment or spiritual awakening: 

•             Unconditional love- NDE survivors turn themselves into fully loving and generous people who would wonder and express themselves to each person they see.

•             Timelessness – survivors begin to follow the “flow” and tend to ignore schedules and time frames.  They would shift their focus and give more importance on the present.

•             Psychic – some survivors would wake up or return to the world of the living with heightened senses or extrasensory perception. 

•             The soul- survivors would show more interest on reincarnation and would later on accept this concept regardless of their previous belief.  Since they have experienced the soul or the spirit separating from the body, they understand that the body is nothing but a coffer for the soul.

•             Communication- NDE survivors display the use of new language or new vocabularies which is totally different with what they are used to speaking before.

These effects of NDE can be treated as spiritual awakening since the person transforms into a new person.

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The Benefits of Journaling

How Can I Solve My Problem? The answer is "information" ... ... and the information is here!

Mending Emotional Wounds

If you've ever been the type of individual that had a difficult time letting something go? You reconsider each fault and each error, each broken human relationship. We have all been there at a time or another. But it is not a place you wish to stay.

Believe in yourself. Have Faith that all matters are working for your good.

Take time to mend: it's stated that time mends all wounds. That is not inevitably truthful. It requires time and work to manifest healing.

It's essential to grieve: Grief is a part of the mending procedure. Let yourself go through all the phases of grieving. Disbelief, natural depression, bargaining, resolution and choler are a few of the steps to over-coming.

Letting anger work for you: "angriness" may be a favorable force, helping you to recognize that you are a worthwhile human, worthy of happiness. This is good as it means you're ready to quit weeping and start to reconstruct you life and self-regard.

Accomplish something special: Go on a trip with individuals you love and feel like are supportive. Escaping from a terrible situation, will help you gain a fresh perspective and become regenerated.

 Forgive yourself and attempt to forgive the individual that's hurt you. They might not merit forgiving, but you merit the mending and the freedom you'll acquire by doing so.

Pray: When we're hurt it impacts more than just our minds, but our bodies and spirits in addition. Take time to become hushed and pray. Tell the higher power all about how you feel.

Laughter is like medication for the soul. Rent 5 of the most amusing movies you know and simply laugh. Laughing feels great and releases endorphins. You're on your way to getting better than ever and will be a more substantial individual.

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Timothy Kendrick Talks: Don't Let The Past Get In Your Eyes

How Can I Solve My Problem? The answer is "information" ... ... and the information is here!

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How Can I Solve My Problem?The answer is "information" ...... and the information is here!