WEDNESDAY, Oct. 8 (HealthDay News) -- Oregon's physician-assisted suicide law may not adequately protect the one in four terminally ill patients with clinical depression, a new study says.

The Death with Dignity Act was passed by the state in 1997, and there's been intense debate about the extent to which potentially treatable psychiatric disorders may influence a patient's decision to hasten death, according to a news release about the study, published online Oct. 8 by the British Medical Journal.

I wrote a few months ago about a women who committed suicide in her home, the day it was to be auctioned off.

Sadly, a 90 year old Ohio woman attempted suicide this week, as police was knocking at her door, in order to evict her. Her home was in foreclosure.

This has made me think about suicide in the elderly - not a rare event by any stretch of the imagination.

Suicide amongst the elderly is disproportionately high. While people over 65 account for only 13% of the population, they account for almost 20% of suicides.

Every 90 minutes, an elderly person commits suicide.

Sooner or later, the triple whammy is going to get you.

It got me recently but this time I managed to learn something from it. I discovered how to be great.

The triple whammy started with the boyfriend whammy. We
split up over emails. How sad is it when all you’ve got left to say can be summed up in a tersely written exchange?

Days later, whammy #2 hits. The stock market plunges 777 points, a nice symmetrical number signifying no end of
pain, worry, and fear.

WASHINGTON - Americans struggling with mental illness, depression or addiction often face an added burden: limited insurance coverage compared with people suffering physical ills.

Those days may be numbered, but changing the situation will take approval of the massive economic bailout bill heading for consideration in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Read full story

(HealthDay News) -- A new statement from the American Heart Association (AHA) emphasizes the need to screen heart patients for depression.

Depressed people with heart disease have at least twice the risk of second cardiac events in the one to two years following a heart attack. And more severe depression is associated with more severe second events.

The new statement, published in the current issue of Circulation, includes the following recommendations, which are endorsed by the American Psychiatric Association:

* Early and repeated screening for depression in heart patients.

Here are some questions I frequently hear from clients, their family members and friends. If you have a specific question that is not addressed here, email it to me and I'll do my best to get a response online ASAP. I will be adding questions and answers to this article every week.

In addition, you can visit my website www.perinatalpro.com where you will find additional information about pregnancy related mood disorders and
mental health.

How long after giving birth does postpartum depression typically appear?

This question has a range of responses. While many women

Hello,nice to meet you all.

I had my thyroids removed just over a year a go,I have had trouble getting the meds right but slowly getting there.
I had Mirena IUD removed a few months ago after having it over 4 years,(I had it to control heavy bleeding)I found out it was the cause of a lot of my medical problems,weight gain,cysts on my left ovary,breast lump,and my thyroid being removed,now I am trying to get my hormones sorted out after Mirena mucked them up totally.

Fibromyalgia

Serotonin Cluster of Symptoms = Depression, anxiety / panic, obsessive / compulsive, and Procrastination.

If you have these symptoms, and they came with the FMS, it indicates a problem with Serotonin Reuptake.

Signals from your brain to your body are not moving correctly.

We found that taking a small amount of any good SSRI (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor) relieves the symptoms.

We take it in the evening, so that signals are optimal while the body does maintenance during sleep.

Can't fall asleep or can't stay asleep?

If you have side effects caused by mirena please let me know,I have
I started a help site for women with mirena side effects at
www.mirena-side-effects.sampasite.com
to help,give advice,imformation,pictures,links.
Please feel free to have a look.
Net.

(HealthDay News) -- Voice and swallowing problems aren't a normal part of aging, but many seniors with these conditions don't receive treatment, even though they may suffer serious quality-of-life issues such as anxiety, depression and social withdrawal, say Duke University Medical Center researchers.