Posted by JohnL on January 8, 2001, at 4:50:53
In reply to Re: chronic depression? John, posted by Kaarina on January 7, 2001, at 21:07:53
> "Chronic depression looks a whole lot like the negative type symptoms of schizophrenia, except without the psychosis."
>
> Have you ever found any information on the internet which links the two?Hi Kaarina,
I don't recall seeing anything that directly links the two. They are almost always considered to be totally different beasts, though I don't understand why. They are so similar and so easily mistaken. There are different kinds of depression. One kind is where the patient is functional, that is, they go to work everyday and stuff, but they are in a constant sad state with no pleasure in normal hobbies or activities, no motivation, no interest. The blahs. But not suicidal, and no crying fits, and no anxiety. This kind of depression is usually not serotonin related, but is instead usually dopamine or norepinephrine related. And it looks almost identical to the negative symptoms of schizophrenia, which is best treated with drugs that affect the dopamine and/or norepinephrine chemistries.There is a book by Hagop Akiskal called "Dysthymia, The Spectrum of Chronic Depression". He makes the case that all the psychiatric disorders have considerable overlap. So it is quite possible to confuse one diagnosis with another, and in fact many of us may actually have remnants of this and remnants of that without falling clearly into any one category. There are some schizophrenics who do not have pshychosis or hallucinations. They instead are socially withdrawn and have no pleasure in life. For all practical purposes of diagnosis and treatment, it looks identical to what many doctors might mistakenly call depression.
I've always felt that putting a label on someone's symptoms by making a diagnosis is not very helpful though. For example if someone is diagnosed as depressed, then they are prescribed antidepressants. If those don't work, then was the diagnosis accurate? What if they instead get better on a stimulant or an antipsychotic? Does that mean they had ADD or schizophrenia instead? It just gets too muddled. Doctors use well-constructed guidelines to make a diagnosis. But in the end, in all reality, that diagnosis has little to do with which medication actually worked.
John
poster:JohnL
thread:50938
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20001231/msgs/51141.html