DiFfErEnT tYpEs Of DePrEsSiOn!! WeEk 4

Question: Are there different types of depression?

As I continued with my research I found that there are actually three different types of depression. The first is called major depression but it also is called clinical or unipolar depression. The second is called dysthymia or minor depression. The third type is called bipolar disorder or manic-depressive illness. Clinical depression can come in different forms. It may start suddenly or build up over a period of weeks,months, or years. The other three types are the most prevalent forms, although for an individual, the number, severity and duration of the symptoms may vary.

Major depression is a serious medical illness that affects about 15 million adults. Unlike normal emotional experiences of sadness, loss, or passing mood states, major depression is persistent and can significantly interfere with an individual’s thoughts, behavior, mood, activity, and physical health. It is also a combiation of symptoms that can interfere with a persons ability to work, sleep, eat and enjoy once pleasurable activities. These episodes can occur once, twice or several times in a lifetime. Among all medical illnesses, major depression is the leading cause of disability in the U.S. and many other developed countries. Depression occurs twice as frequently in women as in men, these reasons are not yet fully understood. Some symptoms of major depression are difficulty thinking, concentrating, and remembering, recurrent thoughts of death or suicide, pronounced changes in sleep, appetite, and energy, persistently sad or irritable mood, and persistent physical symptoms that do not respond to treatment, such as headaches, digestive disorders, and chronic pain. When several of these symptoms of depressive illness occur at the same time, last longer than two weeks, and interfere with ordinary functioning, professional treatment is needed. Major depression does not have just one single cause because psychological, biological, and environmental factors may all contribute to its development. Whatever the specific causes of depression, scientific research has firmly established that major depression is a biological, medical illness.

The second type of depression is dysthymia(minor depression), which is a less intense type of depression that involves long-term, chronic symptoms that are less sever, but keeps one from functioning at full ability and from feeling good. By the standard psychiatric definition, this disorder lasts for at least two years, but is less disabling than major depression, for example, victims are usually able to go on working and do not need to be hospitalized. About three percent of the population will suffer from dysthymia at some time. Just like major depression, dysthymia occurs twice as often in women as it does in men. It is also more common among the poor and the unmarried. The symptoms of dysthymia usually appear in adolescence or young adulthood but in some cases they do not emerge until middle age. Some symptoms of dysthymia are poor school/work performance, conflicts with family and friends, parents with major depression and shyness. At least three-quarters of people with dysthymia have some other type of psychiatric or medical disorder as well.

The last type of depression is called bipolar depression(manic-depressive illness). People who have bipolar disorder experience both depression and mania. Mania is something that invovles unusually and persistently elevated mood or irritability, elevated self-esteem, and excessive energy, thoughts, and talking. It's different from the normal ups and downs that everyone goes through, the symptoms of bipolar disorder are severe. They can result in damaged relationships, poor job or school performance, and even suicide. The good news is that it can be treated, and people with this illness can lead full and productive lives. About 2.6 percent of the population age 18 and older in any given year have bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder typically develops in late adolescence or early adulthood. However, some people have their first symptoms during childhood, and some develop them later on in life. It is often not recognized as an illness, and people may suffer for years before it is properly diagnosed and treated. Like diabetes or heart disease, bipolar disorder is a long-term illness that must be carefully managed throughout a person’s life. Bipolar disorder causes dramatic mood swings from overly high and irritable to sad and hopeless, and then back again, often with periods of normal moods in between. Severe changes in energy and behavior go along with these changes in mood. The periods of highs and lows are called episodes of mania and depression. Some symptoms of mania are increased energy, activity, and restlessness, spending sprees, racing thoughts and talking very fast, jumping from one idea to another, and increased sexual drive. A manic episode is diagnosed if elevated mood occurs with three or more of the other symptoms most of the day, nearly every day, for 1 week or longer. If the mood is irritable, four additional symptoms must be present. Scientists are learning about the possible causes of bipolar disorder through several kinds of studies. Most scientists now agree that there is no single cause for bipolar disorder but rather there are many factors that act together to produce the illness.

Bipolar disorder symptoms reflect a range of moods.

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Bipolar disorder symptoms reflect a range of moods(as shown in the graph above).

Life events, such as the death of a loved one, a major loss or change, chronic stress, and alcohol and drug abuse, may trigger episodes of depression. Some illnesses such as heart disease and cancer and some medications may also trigger depressive episodes. It is also important to note that many depressive episodes occur spontaneously and are not triggered by a life crisis, physical illness, or other risks.More than half of those who experience a single episode of depression will continue to have episodes that occur as frequently as once or even twice a year. Without treatment, the frequency of depressive illness as well as the severity of symptoms tends to increase over time. Left untreated, depression can lead to suicide.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------"Clinical Depression." University Health Services Tang Center 21 05 2008 .

"Major Depression." National Alliance on Mental Illness 09 2006 21 05 2008 .

"Dysthymia (Minor Depression)." healthy place.com depression community 21 May 2008 .

"Bipolar Disorder." National Institute of Mental Illness 03 04 2008 27 05 2008 .

CaUsEs AnD sYmPtOmS oF dEpReSsIoN!! wEeK 3

Question: What are some causes and symptoms of depression?

Knowing the symptoms of depression is very important because it will help you to know if you or someone you know is going through depression. Also knowing the causes of it is just as important because depression is a mental illness that can affect you not only mentally but also physically. I also found out that not everyone who is depressed experiences every symptom.

Some physical symptoms that people experience are changes in weight which can be lossing or gaining the weight, restlessness, fatigue, physical aches and pains, sometimes with the fear that you are seriously ill. The severity of depression symptoms varies from person to person and it also varies over time. Some common symptoms include feelings of hopelessness, lonelyness, sad, guilt, exhausted with no energy, no confidence, worthlessness, helplessness, anti-social, scared to be alone, and spending a lot of time thinking about what went wrong or what will go wrong. More severe symptoms include thoughts of death or suicide, increased heart beat, and poor concentratiion, memory or attention.The most important that you must know is that there are also other illnesses which may have similar symptoms to depression but require very different treatments.

Just like any other illness or disease, there is not a single cause for depression. Biological, genetic and psychological factors are the combination for depression. Nobody completely understands the multiple causes of depression. Genetic, familial, biochemical, physical, psychological, and social causes are suggested possiblities by current research. Feelings of helplessness and vulnerability, anger, hopelessness and low self-esteem may be included in the psychological causes part of depression. Which can be related to abnormal character, behavior patterns and troubled personal relationships. Many patients have a history that identifies a specific personal loss or sever stessor that probably interacts with the person's predisposition to provoke major depression.

Another thing that I learned while doing research on depression is that depression can be secondary to a specific medical condition. Hypoxia, diabetes, Parkinson's disease, pneumonia, heart failure, and lupus are just a few medical conditions that depression can be secondary to. Some drugs prescribed for medical and psychiatric conditions as well as many commonly abused substances can also be a cause of depression. Examples of this include alcohol, psychotropics, steroids and oral anti diabetics. People with low self-esteem, that consistently view themselves and the world with pessimism or who are readily overwhelmed by stress, are pronr to depression. It's not clear yet if this represents a psychological predisposition or an early form of the illness. It is however very important to remember that all of the depressive disorders are treatable conditions.

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"Depression Symptoms and Signs." depression-guide.com 04 03 2008 20 05 2008 .

"Depression Causes." depression-guide.com 04 03 2008 20 05 2008 .

Final Reflection - Subliminal Messages

I have learned a lot throughout my research on subliminal messaging. Looking at my original foundation questions, I realized that I answered all of them, making this a successful search. Subliminal messaging isn't really the best known topic, so most people don't even know what it is. They are simply messages or ideas that are not supposed to be recognizable to the conscious mind but are entered into the subconscious mind. They are found everywhere like in movies, TV shows, ALL aspects of advertising, music, and magazines. During my research I learned that the subconscious mind can't make you do anything you don't want to but the ideas can still result in some change. They also affect everyone in different ways because obviously our personalities, upbringing, and thinking patterns are all completely different.

At times my research was a bit difficult because a lot of the sites repeat the same information. I think that the most interesting part of my research was the video examples of subliminal messages in Disney movies. Who would have thought that there would be hidden messages in children's videos. Aladdin, The Rescuers, and The Lion King are all popular Disney movies and I'm sure most people have never even realized those messages were included. Now that people know that hidden messages are in there, it might make them want to watch the movie and see for themselves.

One of my original questions that I wanted to know was if subliminal messages are used as simply a joke or are put in accidentally. One site explained that they are often motivated by boredom or a need for self-expression and a practical joke. Now whenever I see an ad I look more closely to see if certain things were added in there, as a hidden joke.

My essential question was "Does subliminal messaging affect peoples lives?" Since this isn't a wide known topic and is kind of hard to research, I think the answer would be an opinion. I think that no matter what your opinion is on the subject, they will still affect you. Like the one example I found during my research, about how supermarkets place popular items in the back of the store. This makes the customer walk through the store and pass displays which leads them to buy more than what they came for. This isn't a message but it is considered to be subliminal persuasion. This type of advertising or persuasion works and is here to stay. So even if you think subliminal advertising is a hoax, I'm sure you've passed that fancy store display for a new product and decided you just had to have it and bought it. You were influenced by the display without even realizing it. My opinion is that they will affect people's lives although the results may be minimal. Now that I am aware of subliminal messages and I realized I have missed all of those jokes imbedded in movies and ads, I will definitly try to look out for them more often.

Final Reflection - Age Restrictions for Pro Sports

So this past month has been long and tedious. I changed my question almost 10 times and I feel like my question is one that I could have answered better. As the days went by, I also realized that my question probably was more opinion based than factual based, which also made it harder than I thought it would be to answer. On the other hand, I became more and more interested in the subject as I saw the different points that were brought up by other people.

My opinion from the start was that age restrictions on going pro at a young age were unreasonable. My opinion stays the same but as I did my research, I found that most people agreed with me. If you have the skills and ability to play at 18, 19, 20 years old, you should be allowed to. As long as you understand the risks you are taking, nothing should be in your way.

During the search, I found out that some players that I watch today in the NBA and the NHL were drafted as young as 18 years old. A few pro sport leagues do have restrictions on the age that people can enter the sport, but it's not much, so what's the point of having it at all? Also, like I said before, these players could be the most exciting players around.

The one thing I couldn't find any information on is if a young person would be able to handle all of the financial aspects of it. But, I guess that if they want to play like a pro or someone that should be 20 years old, they would have to learn how to manage their money like one.

I'm going to college at Medaille for Sports Management. Hopefully, this research will help me with my future endeavors. I think I want to possibly try and change this rule. In any case, this information was very interesting to find out.

What are your opinions? Do you think you would be able to manage that kind of money at 18? Wisely? Should there be an age restriction? Do you know anyone that has the ability and skill to go pro at 18 or 19 years old?

Week 4 Subliminal Advertising

I began my last research post in English class again. I can't wait until this class is over because its Friday, but I will continue to do my work anyways. I stumbled across a site when I clicked on a link from one of my previous citations. The site was basically the same as a summary of all my research posts. It even answered another one of my questions "Can subliminal messages be used as just a joke?" Sutherland states "these things are motivated often by boredom or a need for self-expression and a practical joke. It is very easy for someone to put something in an ad, a movie or wherever – and it usually goes undetected." (Subliminal Advertising, Like Energizer...) That makes sense to me because if I was designing an ad, I would want to make it more appealing with a joke or hidden message, even if everyone won't realize it.

I couldn't get videos to work on the computer I was using during study hall, but I did come across a few video messages that were explained in writing. In the Disney movie The Lion King, the letters S-E-X are formed by a swirling cloud of dust. Some believe that it was slipped into the frames by the special effects group abbreviating it into 'S F X'. I think that it was probably the the special effects people just putting their tag in the movie like a 12 year old would. Disney edited the frame out of the movie because of public opinion.

Another instance is in The Rescuers, a photographic picture of a naked woman can be seen in the background. This one is definitely true because Disney recalled the home video version in 1999. Disney is accused of having alot of subliminal messages in their movies. In the movie Aladdin, the Jeanie can be heard saying "Good teenagers, take off your clothes"(John). I have listened to the movie clip and I think that it sounds like hes saying that, but I guess you can't be sure. I think this was a productive search overall and was a bit more interesting because I explained instances that people may have missed during the movies explained.
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Sutherland, Max. " Subliminal Advertising, Like Energizer Bunny, Just Keeps Going… and Going.." Advertising and the Mind of the Consume May 2007 09 May 2008 . http://www.sutherlandsurvey.com/Column_pages/subliminal_advertising.html

"The Rescuers." Snopes.com 21 08 2007 13 May 2008 .
http://www.snopes.com/Disney/films/rescuers.asp

John, Trevor. "Disney Subliminal Messages - Are They For Real?." EzineArticles 01 September 2007. 13 May 2008 .

"Student Athletes or Unversity Slaves"- Week 3

I keep forgetting a blog is due every Monday. I don't feel well, and I have work tonight, but I guess I'll suck it up and do this "blog" stuff to the best of my ability.

So I found out that this law about age restrictions that I saw applies to the NBA. Ever since Darryl Hawkins in 1975, no one else has been able to jump right from high school to pro basketball.(Axelrod) There also is a age requirement in the NFL and age restrictions in the NHL and PGA. The NFL rule requires a player to either be out of high school for three years or have finished three college football seasons before joining the league.(Bianchi)

Some of the most exciting people are the youngest players on the team. They put up many points a game. Players like Tracy McGrady, Kevin Garnett and Kobe Bryant can average as much as 25 points in a single basketball game(One More Dying Quail:Career Averages). Like I said before, for some people, sports is their thing. If you have the ability and skill to play in the pro world at 18, you should be allowed to.

To back up my belief that there should be no restrictions, I scrapped up some reasons why. A few athletically gifted players who do not have the academic abilities required to play in college have less chances to play professionally. The age requirement would force young athletes to wait a year or two before being drafted or trying out for a professional team. Another issue with age requirements is the sports agent looking to capitalize on those years an athlete lost.(Bianchi)

More to come on this age restriction..





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Axelrod, Phil. "Three decades after jumping from high school into the pros, Dawkins mentors wannabes." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 07 07 2006 14 05 2008 .

Bianchi, Greg. "Age Requirement in Professional Sport." US Sports Academy (2006) 28 04 2008.

"From High School to NBA: Career Averages." [Weblog One More Dying Quail] 05 03 2007. 15 May 2008 .

Week 3 Subliminal Messages

I am now starting my third attempt at researching subliminal messaging. I honestly dont remember what I typed in as the keyword but I came across a good site. At first I didn't really want to read through it because it was about 8 pages of ALL writing. But after glancing through it, I realized that it actually had some good information. The author states that the subconscious mind cannot cause behavior contrary to a person's subconscious motives, drives and values. In short, a subliminal message cannot force anyone go do anything they wouldn't want to do" ("Subliminal Message").

These hidden messages are everywhere and are spreading farther than before. In the 60's they would flash certain words on a tv screen or hide indecent pictures in ads. Now, "Subliminal advertising has gone mainstream - fake news, mind control scripts, propaganda and stealth voicemail are in wide use by corporations, government bodies, and industry groups." (Howard) One site even claims that how supermarkets place popular items like milk in the back of the store is subliminal persuasion. It makes the shopper go through the store and pass displays which usually leads them to buy more than what they came for.

I wasn't sure of where else to search until I remebered the infotrac database site that Mr. Malley showed.Scientists at University College of London performed an experiment on 7 people wearing specially fitted glasses. One of the lens was shown faint pictures of simple household objects and the other lens was subjected to flashing lights which cancelled out any awareness of what the people were actually seeing. "The UCL experiment found that the images of objects were being registered in the primary visual cortex, the part of the brain which interprets what the eyes see. While the experiment subjects could not recall anything they had seen, parts of the visual cortex "lit up" as the household items were displayed." ("Subliminal ads shown to work")

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"Subliminal ads 'shown to work'." The Scotsman (Edinburgh, Scotland) (March 9, 2007): 9. Custom Newspapers.. Gale. McKinley High School. 6 May 2008
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Howard, Martin. "10 Disturbing Trends in Subliminal Advertising." Mind Power News 02 05 2008 .

"Subliminal Message." sleeplearning.com 24 04 2008 . http://www.sleeplearning.com/html/subliminal_message.htm