Depression

Right now as many as 1 million people are suffering from depression… so it may be a little comforting to know you are not alone.

MediBrain offer a range of therapeutic programs to treat depression. Latest evidence based treatments provide for a suitable combination of therapies and training as the most successful ways to treat long term depression.

So much has been said and written about depression in the last 10 years that it is difficult to think of a different angle.

However, public and private care seems to be uncoordinated and one still struggles to find a one-stop point for diagnosis and management of depression in Melbourne offering “the right person” and “the right treatment”.

The Melbourne MediBrain Centre offers exactly that.

The psychiatrists and all ancillary staff at Melbourne MediBrain Centre feel passionately about providing state of the art comprehensive treatment of depression.

We provide individual treatment sessions, day treatment programmes, integrative medicine options for depression, AVE, hormonal treatments.

We have special interest in the differences in which depression presents itself in women and in men and appreciate the interrelationship between depression and

Substance Abuse
Anger
Anxiety
Memory Problems
Gambling
Marital Difficulties
Pain
Medicolegal Problems
ADHD
Sleep Problems
Fibromyalgia
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Bipolar Disorder

Symptoms of Depression

Symptoms of depression include :

depressed mood,
irritability,
sleep problems,
decreased appetite,
loss of pleasure,
feelings of hopelessness and worthlessness,
fatigue,
memory problems.

Women often become anxious, men become angry. Both can turn to gambling.

Of course, one is always concerned about suicidal thoughts and potential for suicide in anyone suffering from depressive illness, but especially in adolescents.

Causes of Depression

Causes of depression are thought to be a combination of genetic influences contributing to neurobiological imbalance and a “malfunctioning” of the “emotional system” causing the manifestation of depressive symptoms usually in times of stress.

Depression Self-assessment

If you’ve been feeling low or down about things, take this short test to find out if you’re suffering from depression.

Treatment of Depression

Treatment consists of a combination of:

medication,
therapy (this may be a form of psychotherapy or cognitive behavioural therapy or combination of both),
day treatment programmes,
lifestyle modifications,
exercise,

and a range of alternative therapies that may be helpful.

How We Can Help With Treating Depression

Attention should also be given to hormonal and other medical problems that may contribute to the depressive illness.

Dr. Natalie Krapivensky completed her PhD on the topic of the interplay between hormones and psychiatric illness and has particular interest in the impact of hormones on mental state and mood.

This has particular implications for women at the time of menopause, during reproductive life, pregnancy and post-partum illness. There is also significant hormonal contribution to mood in diabetes, thyroid disease, adrenal problems, cortisol abnormalities and DHEA (dihydroepiandrostenedione).

Men, of course, also go through hormonal changes which may well be associated with mood and memory problems.