Review of "Depression, the Mood Disease"
By Francis Mark MondimoreJohns Hopkins University Press, 2006
Review by Kevin M. Purday on Mar 11th 2008
There are many books about depression currently available. What makes this one so special is its sheer comprehensiveness within a two hundred page limit. Having said that, it must be stressed that comprehensiveness is allied to readability to make this both a useful and a reader-friendly guide. The author is a psychiatrist and faculty member of the John Hopkins University School of Medicine and has already published books on bipolar disorder and adolescent depression. The first edition of this book came out in 1990 and the second edition in 1993. Since our understanding of the causes of depression has evolved greatly in the last fifteen years or so and since the pharmacological solutions have become considerably more sophisticated during the same period, this third edition of the book is of necessity virtually a new book.
The author's basic position about depression is that it is essentially a biochemical disorder. In other words, it is not just a 'psychological' problem which can be solved by, for example, counseling alone. It can be brought about by any one of numerous causes and be linked with any one of numerous other problems. The author deals with the biochemical processes and then works his way through the various manifestations of depression.
There has been a huge debate in psychology about the nature of mental illness. Is it psychological and caused by the situation one finds oneself in or is it biological and brought about by physical causes? The third way -- an amalgam of the two -- may well be forged in the future but currently the debate is polarized. The author is unashamedly in the biological/physical camp. His first chapter on the nature of 'mood' is basically an appraisal of the chemistry of brain function. He deals with the evolution of neuro-pharmacology -- that branch of medicine which concerns itself with rectifying brain deficiencies by administering drugs of one sort or another. He looks at the role of dopamine and the other neurotransmitters and makes a case for depression affecting the neurons' ability to respond -- their neuroplasticity -- in such a way as to nullify the normal function of these neurotransmitters. He theorizes that, although we are currently unclear about how precisely the medications work, it seems likely that they restore neuronal plasticity.
The author then goes on to look at the various states of depression. He starts with major depression and makes a useful distinction between endogenous or primary depression which suddenly hits a person for no apparent reason and reactive or secondary depression which is triggered by a clearly identifiable external event. He makes good use of case studies to illustrate the two types. He then proceeds to look at medication and gives a comprehensive account of the options. He is especially helpful on the drug remedies. This reviewer, however, has distinct reservation about the use of electro-convulsive therapy (ECT) which the author wholeheartedly supports. Much less objectionable, from this reviewer's point of view, are the alternatives to ECT - vagal nerve stimulation and the still experimental transcranial magnetic stimulation which the author describes in easily comprehensible terms.
The various ways in which depression can be combined with other factors are then studied. There is an extremely helpful chapter on bipolar disorder and its varying manifestations -- the extreme form, the hypomanic form and the least severe form known as cyclothymia. Once again the possible forms of treatment are extremely well documented. There are then two chapters on depression as it affects the elderly, children, and women; the links between depression and strokes or chronic pain; depression and seasonal affective disorder (SAD); depression and schizoaffective disorder; depression and panic attacks; the inherited proneness to depression; depression and alcohol/drug abuse; and the links between depression and sleep disorders.
The final section of the book is made up of down to earth advice about where to gain practical help. The author encourages sufferers and their families to start with their family medical practitioner and then not to be reluctant if s/he refers them to a specialist. Since the author is a staunch advocate of the use of medications to control and treat depression, it is not surprising that he advises people not to be reluctant to go down that route so long as they consult the proper professionals. There is also practical advice about how to cope with living with a mood disorder. At the end of the book is a useful reading list, a list of support organizations and an excellent index.
This is a highly comprehensive account and is to be recommended to sufferers and professionals in the mental health field.
© 2008 Kevin M. Purday
Kevin M. Purday, Principal of the Shanghai Rego International School
Resources
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Articles
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Introduction and Types of Depressive Disorders
- Major Depressive Disorder and Related Conditions
- Classic Symptoms of Major Depressive Disorder
- The Development and Course of Major Depressive Disorder
- Differential Diagnosis and Specifiers of Major Depressive Disorder
- Prevalence and Co-Occurring Conditions
- Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder
- Persistent Depressive Disorder (Dysthymia)
- Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder
- Related Disorders / Conditions
- Historical and Current Understandings
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Biology, Psychology and Sociology
- Biology of Depression - Neurotransmitters
- Biology of Depression - Neuroplasticity and Endocrinology
- Biology of Depression - Genetics and Imaging
- Biology of Depression - Psychoneuroimmunology
- Psychology of Depression- Psychodynamic Theories
- Psychology of Depression- Behavioral Theories
- Cognitive Theories of Depression - Aaron Beck
- Cognitive Theories of Depression - Ellis and Bandura
- Cognitive Theories of Depression - Seligman
- Sociology of Depression - Effects of Culture
- Social and Relational Factors in Depression
- Lifestyle Factors and Environmental Causes of Depression
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Treatment - Medication and Psychotherapy
- Treatment: When to Seek Professional Help and Where to Find Help for Depression
- Measuring Depression
- Clinician-Rated and Self-Report Questionnaires/Tests for Depression
- Types of Treatment for Depression
- Types of Treatment Continued
- Medications for Depression
- Antidepressants for Depressive Disorders
- Mood Stabilizers for Depressive Disorders
- Non-Medication Medical Therapies for Depressive Disorders
- Psychotherapy - Evidence-Based Treatments for Depression
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Depression
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Depression Continued
- Interpersonal Therapy for Depressive Disorders
- Behavior Therapy for Depressive Disorders
- Psychodynamic Therapy for Depressive Disorders
- Group, Family and Couples Therapy for Depressive Disorders
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Alternative Medicine and Self-Help Resources
- Complementary and Alternative Treatments for Major Depression
- Major Depression and St. John's Wort
- Major Depression and Exercise
- Major Depression and Omega 3 Fatty Acids
- Major Depression Serotonin Precursors: SAMe
- Major Depression Serotonin Precursors: 5-HTP
- Acupuncture for Depression
- Music Therapy and Relaxation Therapy for Depression
- Self-Help Methods for Major Depression
- Community and On-line Self-Help Resources for Major Depression
- Depression Reading List
- Special Issues
- References
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Introduction and Types of Depressive Disorders
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Questions and Answers
- Husband Sexting With a Mutual Friend
- Sex
- Fear
- Why do I Have These Mood Swings?
- Violent When Drunk
- Angry All The Time
- Eating Disorder or Overreacting?
- What Is Wrong With Me ?
- Classify My Mental Disorder
- OCD, Depression
-
324 more
- I'm Going Crazy?
- Please Help. I Criticize Myself Too Much and I Need to Stop.
- Trying to Forget
- What's Wrong With Me?
- How to Overcome Depression Caused when Boyfriend Ditched Me?
- New Boyfriend Lying About Belongings That Are His Ex Girlfriend's
- How to Help my Delusional Son?
- Is Any of This Real?
- What is This, and What do I do About it?
- I Have Everything I Ever Wanted. Why am I so Miserable?
- How Can I Convince My Suicidal MD Husband To Be Evaluated?
- Sexual Abuse, What Should I do Now?
- Bipolar or Depressed or Neither?
- Depression
- Feel Like Something's Wrong
- Too Much Sorrow
- Very Empty
- Really Desperate..Please Help
- My Health?
- Depression
- Bipolar, Depression, Grief & Anxiety
- Is This a Flashback?
- Help Us With Our Son!
- No Clue What To Do. Help?
- Am I Going Crazy?
- Do I Suffer From Depression?
- Why Is He Doing This To Me?
- Am I Commitment-Phobic?
- I Don't Care For Anything, I Feel as Though I'm Wasting my Life.
- Anxiety Has Taken Over My Life...
- Not Able to be Happy With my Husband
- How Do I Get My 24 Year Old Son To A Counselor
- Bipolar Teen
- I Have This Issue
- Am I Depressed?
- Fear of Choking
- Help
- In Love With a Man Who Does Not Love Me
- I Think I Have a Mental Disorder?
- Stress and Loss of Feeling or Emotional Deadness
- Please Help Me
- OCD or Not OCD, That's The Question
- How Can I Move Past This- A Question for Staff
- Does Romance Lead to Aggression?
- Am I Depressed?
- Depressed, Anxious and Dead Inside...Please Help!
- Broken
- Why do I Feel Like Everyone is Trying to Upset me?
- My Husbands Roller Coaster of Proper Hygiene: Is it Depression?
- I Feel Like a Complete Waste of a Human Life
- Am I Always Going to Feel Like This?
- Is He Changed???
- I Can't Stop Crying
- Hopeless
- Anxious and Depressed Son
- Is There Any Hope For Me, or am I Destined to be Damaged?
- Falling Apart
- Is There Such a Thing as Happiness?
- Joyless
- Worrying Too Much About Anything.
- Helping and Watching a Friend's Recurrent Depression?
- Homesick and Feeling Stuck.
- Insanely Jealous Husband
- POCD
- Can Prescription Drug Use Lead to Delusional Beharior?
- Social Anxiety, Depression and More...
- Sad
- Same Views On So Much, but Can't Get Along As A Couple
- Suicidal Thoughts
- Hypothyroid 23 Year Old Girl
- It's Me or It's My Mother?
- Is He a Narcissist?
- Help For Aging Human Service Professionals?
- Depression
- If There's Nothing New, There's Nothing Good.
- Please Respond, I Need Help
- Need To Ask Someone
- Is it Okay to Give Up?
- I'm Cheated By My Girlfriend..... I Just Want to Die.....
- How Can It Help?
- Everyone Says He is depressed, Is He? Or Does He Really Want a Divorce??
- Help! Please!
- I Think I Need Some Help
- I Feel So Lost.
- Scared and Lonely
- Please Help Me Out
- How Much Should a Therapist Care or Reach Out?
- I Never Experience Happiness
- Mystery Symptoms
- I Think I'm Depressed
- Born to Lose, or Nurtured to Lose?
- Help!
- Quadruple Bypass Surgery
- Advice
- I am an 18 Year Old Mom Diagnosed With Severe Depression And Anxiety
- Extremely Scared: I Felt Indifferent Toward an Obsession
- Suffering with Treatment-Resistant Depression
- My Fiance May Have a Sexual, Nude Photo Addiction
- Infections and The Brain
- My Girlfriend's Family Is Ruining Our Relationship
- Worthless
- I Need Help And Am At The End of My Rope
- How Can I Cope With My Husband´s Depression and Its Sexual Consequences?
- What Is The Difference Between Mental Illness and Depression?
- Am I Over Thinking This, or Am I Right?
- Anger
- Do I Need Help?
- What Is It?
- Why Am I Thinking Like This?
- Why Does My Mother Hoard Everything, Including Garbage?
- Right in the middle of a nervous breakdown; What's wrong with me?
- Huge Disapointment With My Husband
- I Don't Really Care About Anything. What Should I Do?
- Is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Curable?
- Is it Really a Problem?
- I am Terrified of Death.
- Anhedonia
- Detached: I Feel Guilty, But I Can't Help it.
- My Father, The Sociopath...
- I Feel Like a Question Mark
- Am I Not Normal!?
- Our 23 Year Old Son Refuses to Get Help for His Anxiety Attacks and Depression.
- What is Wrong?
- Husband Abandoned Me
- D.I.D. Diagnosis, How do I Accept This?
- I Don't Know Anymore. Please Help.
- Breaking up With Bipolar
- Depression - Blacking Out
- He's Distant. Is he Leaving me?
- My Boyfriend Saved Pictures of his Ex-Girlfriend on His Computer.
- Restroom Phobia
- What Is Wrong with Me?
- Should I Seek Help?
- When to Leave Therapy?
- Help Me Please. What is Going On With Me?
- I'm Afraid I'm Going Crazy
- I Don't Know What To Do
- Am I Wallowing in Depression?
- Anger
- Sexual Abuse and Its Effects on Relationships Afterwards
- What Is Wrong with Me, Doc?
- Help
- DBS
- Am I Suffering a Kind of Psychological Problem?
- Attention Deficit and Depression
- Do I Have an Eating Disorder?
- Do you think I sound depressed? I don't understand what is going on
- Is This Bi Polar?
- Depressed 19 year old college student
- Thoughts
- Depression helps to contribute to my unemployment! - Paula
- Will I ever feel normal?
- I feel like I am going crazy
- What is wrong with me?
- I'm Scared
- What Is Wrong with Me?
- Cyclical Depression
- Frightening thoughts - fear losing control - please help!
- Anxious, depressed, confused, angry....the typical...
- Giving Up - Dad of three - Sep 15th 2008
- Counting ritual - Zami - Aug 30th 2008
- dont understand me
- Exercising violence in dreams
- Swallowing fear
- My husband wants to leave me
- Is there help for a person who has always been a 'little depressed'
- Depression Treatment
- Please help.
- Lovely, however... - Julie C. - Jul 14th 2008
- I am really worried about my mental health (19yr old female)
- Am I depressed?
- Identity Confusion: I don't know what personality disorders I have
- Do I Have Bipolar Dsorder?
- Is there something wrong with me?
- Will I Ever?
- Worried about my son
- Is There Help Out There? Lonely Mother of Three
- Am I Depressed?
- Help?
- Major Depressive Disorder Severe with Psychotic Features
- OCD- No feeling
- Help!!!: Laci
- Is the memory of my father dooming my relationship?
- Worried about thoughts
- How long will i be on medication for treatment of my depression
- My Mother Won't Go For Depression Treatment!
- Where do i start to get on the road to recovery
- What is wrong with me?
- Stuck in an on-again, off-again relationship for 10 years
- Depression Treatment
- How do I get my dr.s to understand and help me?
- STUCK IN A RUT
- What treatments are available after you've tried the medicines of last resort?
- no one will help!
- Should I seek help?
- A fighting couple
- Do I have a mental health problem?
- Whats wrong with me?
- depression and employment
- how do you treat depression in teenager males?
- Is it ok to feel this way?
- Have DID: Getting Worse Not Better
- Can we contact my mother's doctor?
- anxiety or going crazy?
- ADD, Tourettes or both?
- Depressed
- I think i'm lost?
- Don't want to take meds
- Will this ever end
- Get Supported
- Stages of Depression
- Is there any help?
- Can you help?
- Dark Fantasies
- Blood tests
- Is it illusion or truth?
- should a depressed person marry?
- Dementia and Depression
- Anger?
- What type of exams can proven that a person has bipolar disorder?
- Stuck in a mental rut...
- Loss of Patience
- i can't seem to get over any of this
- Intrusive humiliating memories
- Is there some way to deal with depression without meds?
- losing personality wholness
- What is the point of life?
- No change is normal mood (e.g., Depression)
- Lack of Personal Hygiene
- Diagnosing Depression
- Does untreated depression pass on to a fetus?
- A Request for Help
- Regular thoughts of killing myself
- How do I help my depressed, unemployed mother
- Angry at my doctor for prescribing so carelessly
- I become very hostile towards myself
- Coming to Terms With My Own Pathetic Existence
- Do environmental factors hold a person back?
- Tired of this Depression
- Struggling With Feelings And Thoughts
- Greatly Depressed
- Is Depression Getting More Prevalent?
- An Empty Shell
- Helping My Husband
- Inability To Express Myself
- Non-medication Help For Depression
- Suicidal
- Sick Of Feeling This Way
- Untrusting Patient
- Depressed and Not Dating
- Congenital Laziness
- Moody Boyfriend
- Electroconvulsive Therapy
- Desperate
- Frustrated and Sucked Dry
- Too Young For Meds
- Depressed Husband
- Paranoid Depression
- Self-Harming Attention Seeker
- Did My Parents Make Me Like This?
- Wild Mood Swings
- A Wonderful Man
- How Can I Become Less Depressed?
- 18, Sad and Hopeless
- Should I Continue With Therapy?
- Childhood Depression
- Can I Help My Wife With Depression?
- Prozac Questions
- Approaching My Tightly Wound Depressed Attorney Brother
- Brain Injury and Depression
- No Compassion For Depression
- Recurrent Depression
- Meds Don't Seem To Work So Now What?
- Pleasure-blind
- Do People Recover From Depression?
- Shy Dancer
- Crying Is Behavior
- Med Consult
- Feeling Depressed and Insecure
- Shyness And The Post Partum Blues
- The Aftermath of Abuse
- Do I Tell My Children I'm Depressed?
- Now What?
- Medicine Doesn't Work Anymore
- Depressed
- The First Time
- Depressed Boyfriend
- How Do I Leave?
- Potentially Suicidal Boyfriend
- Alternative Treatment
- Bereavement and Grief
- Paranoid Dad
- Depression Affects The Entire Family
- How Can I Stop Depression From Recurring?
- Crohn's Disorder Side Effects
- Is Paranoia A Destiny?
- Post-Drinking Depression
- Security Clearance and Depression
- Can I Inherit Depression?
- Two Clinicians
- Depressed Spouse
- Depression 101
- Hypnosis?
- Controlling, Disabled Husband
- Are These Just Mood Swings
- Drifting Apart?
- Drinking. . .
- A Mother Struggles with Depression
- Marijuana and Depression
- Overburdened Mom
- Trashed House
- Beautiful Dreamer
- PMS Woes
- Severely Depressed
- Miss Lonely
- Unhappy and In Therapy
- He Won't Tell Me Why...
- Lonely
- Depression Affecting My Relationship
- Lonesome
- My Children Aren't Speaking..
- My Wife is Depressed
- My Boyfriend Is Depressed
- Parlante writes:
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Tests
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Book & Media Reviews
- A Heart of Stone
- A Mood Apart
- A Philosophical Disease
- Active Treatment of Depression
- Adolescent Depression
- Against Depression
- American Melancholy
- An Unquiet Mind
- Beating the Blues
- Before Prozac
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101 more
- Beyond Blue
- Blaming the Brain
- Calm Energy
- Conquering Postpartum Depression
- Conquering the Beast Within
- Cry Depression, Celebrate Recovery
- Damage
- Depression
- Depression
- Depression 101
- Depression Doesn't Always Have to Be Depressing
- Depression Fallout
- Depression in Context
- Depression Is a Choice
- Depression, the Mood Disease
- Depression-Free for Life
- Doctors of Deception
- Down Came the Rain
- Dysthymia and the Spectrum of Chronic Depressions
- Emotional Claustrophobia
- Essential Psychopharmacology of Depression and Bipolar Disorder
- Everything Is Fine
- Experiences of Depression
- Handbook of Depression
- Handbook of Depression
- History of Suicide
- How I Stayed Alive When My Brain Was Trying to Kill Me
- In Pursuit of Happiness
- Journeys with the Black Dog
- Killing the Black Dog
- LifeForce Yoga to Beat the Blues--Level 1
- LifeForce Yoga to Beat the Blues: Level 2
- Lifting Depression
- Lincoln's Melancholy
- Lucy Sullivan Is Getting Married
- Malignant Sadness
- Manufacturing Depression
- Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression
- Mood Genes
- My Depression
- Natural Healing for Depression
- New Hope for People with Depression
- On Depression
- On the Edge of Darkness
- Ordinarily Well
- Out of the Blue
- Outsmarting Depression
- Overcoming Depression
- Potatoes Not Prozac
- Prozac and the New Antidepressants
- Prozac Backlash
- Prozac Diary
- Prozac Nation
- Puppy Chow Is Better Than Prozac
- Quiet Your Mind & Get to Sleep
- Raising a Moody Child
- Reasons to Stay Alive
- Self-Coaching
- Songs from the Black Chair
- Speaking of Sadness
- Spontaneous Happiness
- Student Depression
- Subordination and Defeat
- Sunbathing in the Rain
- Swing Low
- Talking Back to Prozac
- The American Psychiatric Publishing Textbook of Mood Disorders
- The Anatomy of Melancholy
- The Anti-Depressant Fact Book
- The Antidepressant Era
- The Beast
- The Bell Jar
- The Breakthrough Depression Solution
- The Corrections
- The Cruelty of Depression
- The Depressed Child
- The Depression Cure
- The Devil Within
- The Emotional Revolution
- The Family Silver
- The Feeling Good Handbook
- The Mood Cure
- The Nature of Melancholy
- The Noonday Demon
- The Postpartum Effect
- The Secret Strength of Depression
- The Van Gogh Blues
- The Van Gogh Blues
- This Close to Happy
- Undercurrents
- Understanding Depression
- Undoing Depression
- Unholy Ghost
- Unstuck
- Viniyoga Therapy for Depression
- What the Birds See
- When a Parent is Depressed
- When Nothing Matters Anymore
- When Words Are Not Enough
- Why Are You So Sad?
- Writing Through the Darkness
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Links
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Videos
- Depression - Let's Talk
- Overcoming Depression
- The Age of Depression
- Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Therapy for Depression
- Beating the Holiday Blues
- How to get stuff done when you are depressed
- Tell Me About Depression
- 5 Signs Your Teenager is Battling Depression
- Holiday Depression
- Depression Raises Female Heart Risk
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53 more
- Let’s talk about depression - focus on women with young babies
- Teen Depression Screening
- Screening for Depression in Kids
- Let’s talk about depression – focus on adolescents and young adults
- Let’s talk about depression – focus on older people
- Depression: More Than Just the Blues
- Postpartum Depression, You’re Not Alone
- How to Know if You Have Seasonal Affective Disorder
- Kids and Depression
- Know the Differences Between Adult and Teen Depression
- Postpartum Depression
- Groundbreaking Research Into Postpartum Depression
- Seasonal Affective Disorder: One Woman's Story
- Postpartum Depression
- The Link Between Stress and Depression
- Post Holiday Blues
- Managing Holiday Blues
- Adolescent Depression
- Behavioral Activation: Treatment of Adolescent Depression
- Managing Holiday Depression
- Individualized Depression Treatment
- Optimizing Lithium Treatment
- Postpartum Depression
- Depression and its Treatment
- Treating Depression in Youth
- The Mindful Way Through Depression
- Depression, the Secret We Share
- The bridge between suicide and life
- No More Shame: My life with Anxiety and Depression
- Depressive and Bipolar Disorders
- Adolescent Depression and Anxiety
- #StrongerThanStigma - Wayne Brady: Why I Waited to Talk About My Depression
- Down in the Dumps or Depressed?
- What is Depression?
- What Doctors Miss When Treating Women With Depression
- It’s Bipolar Disorder Not Depression
- What About Alternative Depression Treatments?
- Self Help and Therapy for Depression
- Dealing with the Stigma of Depression
- What is Treatment Resistant Depression?
- Do I Have Depression? Common Symptoms of Depression
- Postpartum Depression: What You Need to Know
- Depression and Your Family Doc
- New Treatments for Depression
- Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for Depression
- Postpartum Depression - Not Just the Baby Blues
- "Baby Blues" -- or Postpartum Depression?
- Study Finds Link Between Crohn’s Disease and Depression
- Dealing with Depression
- Antidepressants and Sexual Dysfunction
- Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Depression Video
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Depression
- What is Depression?
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