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Psychotic Depression
from: Self Help and WellnessGenerally speaking, psychotic depression is as bad as depression can get. It's a form of major depression whereby you lose touch with reality. Unfortunately, tragedy can occur unless others know what's going on in your mind. Anyone who watches the news has seen mothers on trial for killing children because "God said she had to because they are possessed". In other sensational trials, the devil has "spoken" to people and told them to do unthinkable acts or violence.
Psychotic depression has several common symptoms. They include the following.
* Hearing voices
* Delusional thinking
* Hallucinating
* Paranoia
* Delusions
When you have psychotic depression, your reality is different from others. You may believe space aliens are talking to you on your cell phone. Or you think the voices you hear are telling you to harm yourself. Obviously, you should not try to treat this type of depression on your own. Treatment will probably require some hospitalization and most certainly medication.
There is a new type of medication being used in cases of severe depression. It's called atypical antipsychotic. They have worked in cases where SSRIs and tricyclics have not proven effective. This is good news for those with psychotic depression, because the often help those with the severest forms of depression. Unfortunately, they do have many possible side effects. A person taking one of these drugs must be monitored at all times. The side effects include the following.
* Facial tics
* Weight gain
* Movement problems
* Hypertension
* Blurred vision
This is not a comprehensive list, but gives you a good idea of the kind of side effects people are experiencing as a result of using the atypical antipsychotics. Unfortunately, when a person is hallucinating or has become suicidal, the use of medications is necessary even with the unpleasant side effects. Psychotic depression is a very serious disorder that can't wait for the perfect treatment to be discovered. The good news is medical researchers are constantly looking for alternative treatments for psychotic depression.
Treatment for psychotic depression will be long and complicated. This is not something that can be handled easily which is why it must be treated by a doctor. When someone is psychotic, they cannot monitor their own treatment until they reach a certain level of mental wholeness.
If you or someone you know is experiencing any of the symptoms listed above, it's imperative you seek treatment from a doctor. Though it's a complicated disorder, it's treatable most of the time. The doctor will probably prescribe medication in addition to another therapy such as group therapy or cognitive therapy. No one needs to suffer with this disorder alone when there are so many ways to treat psychotic depression.
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