DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY

Clinical depression with its symptoms of despair, guilt, exhaustion, pain and anxiety is a singularly debilitating condition. Severe sufferers find it hard to become motivated or enthused about any part of life. Rising rates of teen suicide are an alarming warning that depression is out of control and growing rapidly. Current trends show that by 2020 depression will be a greater threat to human health than heart disease or cancer. People are paying millions and taking tons of medicines for nothing, it goes worst and worst. eliminate depression is one of the side effects of Sound Therapy. That is what say 90% of the listeners.

What are the causes of depression?

The case can be viewed socially as a reaction to the current state of the world, or at a biochemical level it can be seen as an environmental and chemical crisis causing imbalance in brain chemistry. In a depressed state there is less brain activity, less external awareness les drive and motivation and lower life force energy.

Depression is linked to the lack of certain neurotransmitters which create positive emotion: dopamine, serotonin and noradrenalin. Moreover dopamine is necessary for the functioning of numerous parts of the brain. The particulars areas thought to be associated with depression are the basal ganglia frontal lobe pathway, and the frontal lobes of the cortex. These areas allow us to be conscious of our emotions. A lack of dopamine in these areas means that our emotions are out of control.

Quite often, people who have hearing loss can turn depressive. Difficulty to communicate, always asking to repeat, feel to be excluded from a conversation or give a wrong answer because of a wrong understanding... then you don't want to meet others, you prefer to stay at home, focusing on yourself without any social life, and you become depressive.

One of the corollary of depression is insomnia with the entrance in the vicious circle of sleeping pills. The side effects of these medicines are: attention deficit, bad memory, mental confusion, lack of muscular tonus, drowsiness, lack of coordination... and when you stop them you have all the drug addicts symptoms when they stop. But the less you sleep the more you are depressed.

The right/left balance

The right hemisphere of the brain seems to be associated with negative emotions while the left is more engaged with happiness? Throwing yourself in some left brain activity like reading, talking or doing a cross word puzzle often bring relief from mild anxiety and depression. When the left brain is active it sends signals to the right brain thus inhibiting its tendency to sink into emotional moodiness. A part of the emotional brain, or limbic system, called the amygdale, generates negative emotions as anger, fear and grief. The amygdale does not convey concepts, it simply generates feelings. Later in our evolution we developed our prefrontal cortex which gives us the ability to think logically and therefore to control emotions that are generated in the amygdale and limbic system.

Anxiety

Anxiety is another mix of negative emotions with a higher proportion of fear. When a high level of anxiety is being generated by the amygdale, any amount of rational thinking may not be enough to quell the uncomfortable feelings.

The anterior cingulate cortex

This small specific area near the front of the cortex is seen as the brain’s emotional control centre. One of the older structures of the brain, welded to the limbic structures beneath by thick neural connections, it tends to be active when we concentrate our attention on reactions that are generated inside us, or on negative or painful events such as being socially rejected. The anterior cingulate cortex is notably under active in depressed people and over active in those with mania. This is why for a clinically depressed person, external distraction like a nice holiday may make no difference if the internal focus is dominant, due to the activity to the anterior cingulate cortex.

How can Sound Therapy help?

Sound Therapy has often proved helpful for depression. By activating the neurones in the cortex and other parts of the brain, the specially filtered Sound Therapy music causes increased activity, strengthen neural pathways and balances brain functions. It is possible that this added stimulation enables the brain to increase its dopamine and serotonin production, thereby increasing our motivation and happiness. By increasing our external sensory awareness it helps us to reduce our internal focus, so negative emotions coming from the amygdale can be overruled by more conscious cortical awareness. Sound Therapy stimulation of the cortex may balance cortical pathways, reducing the overriding effect of the anterior cingulate cortex. By giving us conscious choice over our external versus internal focus, it gives us a positive outlook and increases our ability to notice and care for others.

People who were staying at home because of their hearing loss will recover a social life because they can communicate again. About insomnia, 80% of the listeners have reported a tremendous improvement, with such a better quality of sleep that they could sleep 2 or 3 hours less.

Drugs

       Antidepressants are powerful drugs. These drugs are to elevate the level of the neurotransmitters and the others brain chemicals that are involved in depression

Use in children: antidepressants carry a strong warning regarding their use in children and adolescents.  This warning admonishes doctors and parents that " Patients who are started on therapy should be observed closely for clinical worsening, suicidal impulse, or unusual changes in behaviour".  If your child is taking an antidepressant you must notify your doctor at once if you notice any change in his behaviour. There are many different families of antidepressants available today.  The two most common groups are:

- SSRI's (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors)  These drugs increase the brain's level of serotonin, and are associated with an improvement in mood.  SSRI's have also been shown to be useful in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder.
          These drugs come with strong warnings regarding their use in children.  There is data to suggest that occasionally when kids take SSRI's some of them engage in self destructive thoughts. Some common SSRI side effects include: heartburn and drowsiness. They can sometimes produce a transient loss of appetite.  SSRI medications can have drug interactions. 

Tricyclic antidepressants. This class of drugs is effective in combating depression but is associated with troublesome side effects such as drowsiness, dry mouth and constipation, weight gain and sleepiness.

- MAOI's (monoamine oxidase Inhibitors) are very effective
but have potentially life-threatening drug interactions and food
interactions.  If you are taking a MAOI drug, it is important that you consult with your doctor before you take any other medicines.  Your doctor will also tell you which foods to avoid mixing with your medicine.

Where Sound Therapy fits in

Sound Therapy is a non-pharmacological option in the treatment of depression and a tool that could make counselling more effective by supporting it with a physiological impact on brain activation. Creative, focussed work or meditation also stimulates the left hemisphere. Research showed that the stronger is the left orientation, the happier the person is likely to be. Sound Therapy directly stimulates the left brain, so long term Sound Therapy listening is likely to increase levels of happiness. Someone who had had a tendency to depression may need a significant period of time to reshape the brain’s responses. Sound therapy has also side effects, but they are all good: better sleep, more energy, better audition, memory, concentration and learning abilities improved... Don't you think it is better for you or your child than the drugs with all these terrible side effects?

And eat for depression!

Tomatoes, broccolis, avocados, carrots, cauliflower, aubergine, lettuce, spinach, turkey, eggs, salmon, mackerels, pineapple, kiwis, grapefruits, apples, and just some chocolate for your pleasure!

Beer yeast, omega 3, pollen (in yogurt it is quite acceptable) and magnesium, make a cure of each in alternately.

If symptoms persist please seek medical advice.