- With Mayo Clinic psychiatrist
Daniel K. Hall-Flavin, M.D.
read biographyclose windowBiography of
Daniel K. Hall-Flavin, M.D.
Daniel K. Hall-Flavin, M.D.
Dr. Daniel Hall-Flavin, board certified in general psychiatry and addiction psychiatry, is a St. Louis native looking to the Internet as a way to help people improve their health and be more active participants in their own health care by learning from Mayo Clinic's experts.
Dr. Hall-Flavin has been a member of the faculties of Cornell University Medical College, New York Medical College, and The George Washington University Medical School before joining the Mayo Clinic staff in 1996. He has special interests in adult psychiatry, addiction psychiatry, and psychogenomics. He has served as medical director of the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence from 1986 to 1999.
"With the advent of the genomics and proteomics revolution and the pace of advances in medicine, informed collaborative relationships between knowledgeable, capable health professionals and informed, proactive individuals and their families are more vital than ever," he said.
"I'm optimistic that our Internet health education activities will contribute to ever-improving health outcomes for all who participate and apply what is learned."
Definition (1)
- 'Clinical depression': What does that mean?
Symptoms (3)
- Nervous breakdown: What does it mean?
- Atypical depression: What is it?
- Pain and depression: Is there a link?
Causes (4)
- Vitamin B-12 and depression: Are they related?
- Caffeine and depression: Is there a link?
- Marijuana and depression: What's the link?
- see all in Causes
Complications (1)
- Depression and anxiety: Can I have both?
Treatments and drugs (9)
- Antidepressants: Can they lose effectiveness over time?
- Antidepressants and alcohol: What is the concern?
- Antidepressants and weight gain: What causes it?
- see all in Treatments and drugs
Alternative medicine (1)
- Fish oil supplements: Can they treat depression?
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Question
'Clinical depression': What does that mean?
What does the term "clinical depression" mean?
Answer
from Daniel K. Hall-Flavin, M.D.
Depression ranges in seriousness from mild, temporary episodes of sadness to severe, persistent depression. Doctors use the term "clinical depression" to describe the more severe, persistent form of depression also known as "major depression" or "major depressive disorder." Signs and symptoms of clinical depression may include:
- Loss of interest in daily activities
- Persistent sadness or feeling of emptiness
- Sleep disturbances
- Significant weight loss or gain
- Loss of concentration
- Fatigue
- Suicidal thoughts or behavior
For most forms of depression, symptoms improve with psychological counseling, antidepressant medications or a combination of the two. Antidepressants can relieve symptoms of depression, while counseling may help you cope with ongoing problems that may trigger or contribute to depression.
If you have severe depression, or counseling and medications don't relieve your symptoms, you may benefit from electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) — a procedure in which electric currents are passed through the brain.
Other, newer treatments also show promise for difficult-to-treat depression. These include vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) and deep brain stimulation (DBS). These treatments both affect the mood center of the brain with electrical currents that pass through surgically implanted electrodes. Another new treatment, called transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), was recently approved by the FDA. It uses strong magnets to stimulate the parts of the brain that affect mood.
Next questionNervous breakdown: What does it mean?
- Major depressive disorder. In: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders DSM-IV-TR. 4th ed. Arlington, Va.: American Psychiatric Association; 2000. http://www.psychiatryonline.com. Accessed March 9, 2009.
- Major depression. National Alliance on Mental Illness. http://www.nami.org/PrinterTemplate.cfm?Template=/ContentManagement/HTMLDisplay.cfm&ContentID=39059. Accessed March 9, 2009.
