Participants: Shelley Quinn (Host), Cynthia Powell-Hicks
Series Code: IAA
Program Code: IAA000437
|
00:01 Are you are somebody you love suffering
00:03 from sadness and just feel a little bit 00:06 overwhelmed by life right now. 00:08 Are you wondering if you are suffering 00:10 from depression, well please stay tune 00:12 we have a doctor in the house 00:14 and depression is our topic today. 00:41 Hi, I am Shelley Quinn and we are very glad 00:43 that you're joining us today on 00:44 Issues and Answers. If you know anyone 00:47 who is feeling an overwhelming sense 00:50 of sadness or perhaps just a lack of 00:52 motivation call them and tell them to tune 00:55 in today because our topic today is 00:58 depression and this will surprise you 01:01 because our guest share this statistic with me 01:05 over 18 million people in United States 01:09 alone are suffering from depression. 01:11 Now, I know the figure varies for many 01:15 different countries don't know what its 01:17 like in the country from which you are 01:19 watching but the point is that depression 01:22 is something that is a very prevalent 01:25 and real condition and we are gonna 01:27 discuss that today with our special guest. 01:29 Let me introduce you to her and it is 01:32 Dr. Cynthia Powell-Hicks. Dr. Cynthia Powell 01:35 we're so glad that you are here with us today. 01:37 Thank you for having me, I always enjoy coming 01:40 and speaking to people about the 01:42 effects of depression. Well, first lets get 01:45 little bit of history on you what you 01:50 have a PhD explain to us your credentials. 01:53 Okay, thanks for asking, I am a psychologist 01:56 and I have a doctor degree in clinical 01:59 psychology also I spent additional time 02:02 working with the special topics with children. 02:09 I am a child psychologist by trade, 02:10 I spend additional time working with children 02:12 and then I did a sub specialty working with 02:15 abused children that have been neglected, 02:18 oh, and you know physically and sexually 02:20 abused and emotionally abused. 02:22 But depression reaches all of the sectors 02:26 you know that you know age and raise creates. 02:29 No respect of persons that's for certain. 02:31 That's for sure. I know that your life work 02:34 there must be times that when you listen 02:38 to things that are going on and you 02:40 witness things that are happening in 02:42 people's life there must be times that 02:43 even as a Christian its difficult to shake 02:46 it off and turn it over to the Lord because 02:48 that would be enough to make you sad 02:51 in your own life to hear some of these things. 02:54 It really can, can affect you I can only 02:57 equate the first month that I worked on 03:00 the unit that worked with children that 03:04 had been molested by their actual parents 03:07 and I would and I will be dating myself 03:10 yet again back in those days they had a 03:14 tape recorder that you would dictate 03:17 your notes in, so for the first thirty 03:19 days as I was driving home I was sobbing 03:22 while dictating the notes because I have 03:24 like a 30 minute period and then I would 03:26 take it in for the stenographer too, 03:28 to transpose the notes. But it can't 03:31 be so I had to really come to terms and 03:33 ask the Lord if this is the ministry you 03:35 really want me to have than you are going 03:37 to have to not take away the empathy 03:40 or sympathy, but give me the strength 03:43 to be able to endure. Amen. And to recognize 03:46 what you can change and what you have 03:50 to turnover to the Lord so that. That's right. 03:52 We have to sometimes compartment even 03:54 in ministry and this is a sad admission, 03:57 but you have to compartmentalize your 04:01 work and the things that you hear 04:04 and you have to pray and be able to 04:06 release it all that burden over on the 04:07 Lord and kind of to keep your own sanity 04:10 you have to compartmentalize and be 04:13 able to change hats I guess is a good 04:16 word to say. That's an accurate way of 04:19 explaining it because when go into a 04:22 particular settings it's like the hospital 04:24 or the clinic or you are gonna go and give 04:26 a presentation, you are not really sure 04:27 what you are going to walk into, yeah, 04:29 its true. And as being a Christian, I can 04:33 share this story this is one of my, 04:34 the second month I was intern, I walked 04:36 into a room and when I ask the patient 04:39 well how are you feeling? And they will 04:40 say obliviously okay, and then after you 04:43 start asking one more questions then you 04:47 know in which direction you are going to go. 04:49 So, I did a DIP which is draw a person, 04:51 I ask this patient to draw a person. 04:55 When he finish, he had a little demon on his 04:59 shoulder with a little pitchfork and so you 05:02 can only imagine what I was thinking, 05:03 so I than started inquiring and asking 05:08 more and more about it and so he was 05:10 speaking more and more like dissociative 05:12 and speaking more of what this demon 05:16 was telling him to do. So, being my first 05:19 time ever seeing a psychotic patient I 05:21 assume because I was you know a 05:23 Christian in the church, however, that 05:25 he was demon possessed and so I ran 05:28 out of the room and went straight to my 05:30 therapist, I mean to my supervising therapist 05:32 I said I am not going back in that room, 05:34 I can't go back and they are the demon 05:35 possessed, I am not a pastor and so. So, 05:38 that's just a little, so the Lord had did, 05:40 to really work with yes, to show you. 05:41 That, that psychosis and various mental 05:45 illnesses really have nothing. I shouldn't say 05:48 never have anything to do with demon 05:50 possession, but it's a rare thing because 05:52 they are chemical imbalances and problems. 05:54 Well, let's for our audience, let's our 05:58 topic today is depression, how would 06:00 you define depression. Well, what I want 06:04 to really explain to everyone is that sadness 06:06 and disappointment is a normal way of life 06:10 it happens to all of us and it can be, 06:13 it can occur because we've lost our job 06:16 or because we are having financial issues 06:18 or just we are upset and when that sadness 06:22 which is so normal and disappointment 06:25 that occurs persist over periods of time 06:28 and then we are having different thought 06:31 processes as where we are either with lost 06:34 interest in getting out of bed or wanting 06:37 to go to work or interacting with other 06:39 people or our self image we are starting 06:42 to feel bad about ourselves, we are 06:43 looking in the mirror and just only looking 06:46 at the negative side, not looking at the 06:47 cup being half full where I was looking 06:50 at the cup being half empty and if we 06:52 have major extremes as in sleep patterns 06:56 or in eating or in our weight or in our 06:59 sexual behavior, major you know activities 07:02 either increasing or decreasing or if we are 07:04 starting to feel hopeless and helpless 07:06 anything like there is nothing that can 07:09 make us feel better and then the more 07:11 severe part of the depressed moment 07:14 would be when people would want to end 07:17 their lives to end the pain and stuck or 07:20 possibly do self mutilation which seems 07:22 to be on the rise at this time. Very much 07:24 so particularly among the young people, 07:26 that's what I was gonna say and these 07:29 are definitely the signs of clinical depression 07:31 however if you only have one or two don't 07:34 be alarmed and run out and say oh my 07:36 goodness you know they told me today I am 07:38 clinically depressed and I must do something 07:40 because like I am saying it's a severity of it, 07:42 it's the intensity or the consistency of it. 07:44 So, is it accurate to say that depression 07:48 can be situational? Let's say that you 07:52 have lost a mate, I know when my 07:54 uncle died my precious aunt who is such 07:57 a go getter, she is such an active and up 08:01 person and she suffered some great 08:04 things in her life, but she always bounce 08:06 back and she told me I mean she continued 08:09 on with her life but she said that it took 08:12 her nearly a year to get her feet under 08:14 her and another year to walk without 08:15 wobbling, so it may have been a 08:18 situational depression as you are going 08:21 through the grieving process, the sadness 08:24 or loneliness but if depression is something 08:28 that or the sadness the loneliness, 08:30 the lack of motivation is extended for a 08:33 long period of time it can go into, 08:36 where it's effecting the brain chemistry, 08:38 right, sure, sure. And then you become 08:40 chronically depressed and they call it 08:43 what is that clinical depression at that point. 08:46 Clinical depression, I can go into major 08:48 depression and I am glad that you brought 08:49 up the issue of when you lose a loved one 08:52 especially couples that have been married 08:54 for years and people that are depending 08:57 upon each other and that's their support, 08:59 that's their person, the go to person that 09:03 they go to when they need to speak, 09:04 talk to someone like in the middle of the night 09:06 or if they just want to share something 09:12 they have heard or seen or if they are 09:13 having issues what is that person do? 09:15 You know during that time, so they have 09:18 that void, they have that vacuum and 09:20 if they don't fill it with something then 09:22 it can go into a far serious levels of 09:26 depression and clinically we really 09:29 look at it six months up to two years that 09:33 a person can really go through that, 09:35 that process after they have lost 09:38 their loved one. Yes, yes. Now, what 09:40 about people who, I have a friend whose 09:43 daughter most recently went through 09:47 I mean she was very active at church she 09:52 was, she held on a full time position 09:55 with the government office. She is God 09:59 grown children, but suddenly there was a 10:02 change in her behavior and she wanted to 10:06 sleep all the time, she started having the lot 10:08 of headaches, they went through various studies, 10:11 medical studies, to see if there was a 10:15 physiological reason but she got to the 10:19 point that over a period you could just 10:21 see how she was on this downhill slide 10:26 for over a year and then for about two 10:29 years she got into such a serious depression 10:33 that medication didn't help, they tried even 10:36 shock treatments didn't help, they done 10:39 many things now praise God. Now, 10:43 she has come back up was like the pendulum 10:46 has swung the other way and she is 10:48 doing much better. What is the physiological 10:53 happenings in the brain? What's happening 10:55 when a person gets depressed? What actually 10:58 causes depression? Some people can suffer 11:01 the loss of a job and not get depressed. 11:04 They may be sad some people it can be just 11:07 the factor that trips them up, there are so 11:11 many different levels and reasons for the 11:15 depression but definitely chemical imbalance, 11:17 there is hormonal imbalances. Definitely 11:20 before anyone should really go and have, 11:25 they should have a physical, a complete 11:27 physical, Amen. Before they actually 11:29 say for sure they are totally clinically 11:31 depressed and most therapists and 11:32 psychiatrists will recommend that 11:35 because if you have a thyroid condition. 11:38 I mean you could be sitting in the 11:40 emergency room and they are getting 11:42 ready to hospitalize you, I have seen 11:44 it before and they are just overlooking 11:46 something so simple just look at the labs, 11:48 look at the levels, look at the imbalances 11:50 that can be in the brain as you have 11:52 said before or there could just be hormonal 11:54 imbalances, there lot of us pre-golden 11:57 girls or even golden girls, but you not 11:59 have to bring out that, just hormonal 12:02 something so simple you know, right. 12:04 You just look at the labs, just look at the 12:07 levels and there are medications or even 12:11 psychotropic medications or anti-anxiety 12:13 medications, they are just regular medications 12:16 that your OB/GYN or your family practitioner 12:20 or your endocrinologist could you know 12:24 can prescribe for you. You know, 12:26 I am wonder that we have had this discussion 12:28 because I recently had a thyroid condition 12:31 myself and for a period of months I didn't feel 12:36 depressed I wasn't sad, I was still very 12:38 active but the joy the motivation, I mean 12:43 my life is so overscheduled and 12:45 and overcommitted that I am constantly 12:47 going from one thing to another and I was 12:49 still in motion but what happened was I had 12:53 a tendency to wait till the very last 12:55 second to do something because I didn't 12:57 have the joy of preparation that I used 13:00 to have and when I was talking with my 13:02 doctor I said I don't think I am depressed, 13:05 but for some reason I am just, my motivation 13:10 is down and it turned out that my thyroid 13:13 was just that we have just caught it 13:15 before it completely crashed, great, 13:17 so there are things that happen in our 13:20 bodies that can affect this and I am glad 13:22 you brought out that people need to have 13:24 that serious physical exam before you 13:29 start taking the other drugs that are available, 13:32 definitely. And I am not wanting to be an 13:35 alarmist, but I think that you really need to 13:37 know yourself, you need to know your body 13:39 and like you were the first to say before 13:41 someone could say, you know you are 13:43 looking pretty sad, you are looking pretty 13:45 you know dysthymia or melancholy that 13:47 you knew something was changed, 13:49 you didn't really know what it was but 13:51 you know your affect, your mood was 13:52 so different. Yeah, yes. And I want to for 13:55 some reason I feel impressed to say this 13:57 right now we are handling this kind of on 14:01 a superficial level, but I feel like right now 14:03 there is somebody that's watching who may 14:06 think that you are beyond hope and that its 14:11 something that you feel like life is hopeless and 14:15 you are ready to take your life. Please, please 14:18 listen to the rest of this program because 14:20 my mother tried to commit suicide several times 14:24 and she got into that point of feeling hopeless 14:28 and the interesting thing is there is so many 14:31 times when people, when there is an 14:33 intervention in suicide that the person who is 14:35 considering taking their life if you can 14:39 intervene that within 24 hours that thoughts 14:44 gone from their head and they will never 14:46 try it again. Now, when we get to that 14:50 level of being suicidal if someone is speaking 14:55 of suicide, someone is thinking of suicide 14:58 what do we do? Well, I would recommend as to 15:02 get them intervention immediately, take them 15:04 to the hospital, take them to a doctor so 15:06 that someone can actually talk to them 15:09 further to see if it's a suicidal idea or a 15:12 suicidal ideation or if they would had a 15:14 suicidal attempt because some people may 15:16 say oh I just, I am not feeling well today 15:19 I just would like to die than someone else 15:22 may say I have these bottle of pills and I am 15:25 going into the kitchen, I am gonna you know, 15:27 I don't want to give suggestions or ideas 15:29 but you know that they might want to end 15:32 their lives that way or someone may say you 15:35 know here's my risk I have already tried 15:37 this and this or you know how come I woke up, 15:40 I took this bottle of pills so you definitely 15:43 would like someone a health professional or 15:45 mental health professional to be able 15:47 to intervene with that and what we are 15:49 also need to know is because we have to go 15:52 outside of our comfort zone like speaking 15:55 to our pastor or family or friends it doesn't 15:58 mean that we are less of a Christian or 16:00 that our walk with Christ is any less. 16:02 Oh! Cynthia I am so glad you said that because 16:05 what I have found is that many Christians 16:08 feel guilty for being depressed and you know 16:12 I also want to say this that sometimes pastors 16:14 are not really trained in handling that 16:17 and may be your husband or your wife or 16:20 your spouse or maybe a parent is telling 16:23 you snap out of it, you know come out of 16:25 this you don't need to mope around all the time 16:28 and its impossible for people to snap out of it 16:32 if they are clinically depressed. So, depression 16:36 is not, is not a mental condition so much 16:40 as it is a physiological condition, it's an illness 16:43 is it not? It's an illness just like hypertension 16:47 or like cancer or like diabetes. It's just 16:51 an illness that recently people are coming 16:54 to terms with and saying that there is no 16:56 shame in having a mental disorder because 17:00 if I told you I was hypertensive and my 17:02 medication wasn't working and I would ask 17:05 you for advise but if I had a mental illness 17:08 nine times out of ten I wouldn't tell you that 17:10 and I wouldn't share what type of medications 17:12 that I was taking, I guess you even use 17:13 the words like depression and mental illness 17:15 and equating that its like wait, yeah, 17:18 you know, you are trying say that I am 17:19 mentally ill and when you are mentally depressed 17:23 then what can we say it is something that 17:27 is effecting the mind and often it is chemical. 17:30 Now, for that very reason I have interviewed 17:32 a number of doctors who believe, Christian 17:36 doctors, who are trying to do a way 17:40 with the idea and put to rest I should say 17:45 the myth that it is wrong for a Christian 17:49 to take an antidepressant would you how 17:53 do you feel about that? What role do 17:56 antidepressants play in treatment? I see it 18:00 as a major stabilizer because the one thing 18:03 is you don't want the patient to continue 18:04 spiraling out of control and if you are 18:07 constantly feeling worthless, hopeless 18:10 and useless, the goal is to elevate you to 18:14 make you feel better, to make you feel as 18:16 normal as you possibly can and to keep you 18:19 from wanting to harm yourself. And is it not 18:22 true I was, I remember Dr Neil Nedley many 18:25 of our audience members will be familiar with 18:29 that name and he has written a book called 18:32 Depression The Way Out and he says that 18:36 when the serotonin level is so low that 18:39 sometimes it is absolutely necessity to put 18:42 people on an antidepressant which then 18:45 helps this the production of serotonin and 18:49 then once you get them up to a normal level 18:52 now you can start treating them with 18:54 cognitive behavioral therapy and whatever, 18:57 you know the idea of positive thinking but you 19:00 can't reach them when they are that low. So, 19:03 you have to get them as you said stabilize, 19:05 okay, and then you can start even possibly 19:08 weaning them off that medication but its not 19:11 something that just happens by itself, 19:13 is that right? You are absolutely right, and 19:15 it is just like hormonal levels and you can 19:17 always test those, you know going to your 19:20 physician also and having lab work done 19:23 but you are absolutely right with those 19:25 levels because if you can't get people 19:27 up to the level that they need to be than they 19:29 are not gonna be able to receive the additional 19:31 type of treatment. Okay. So, what about, 19:34 what I am hearing a lot of lately is people 19:38 who are having anxiety attacks, how do 19:42 anxiety attacks tie in with depression, can it 19:48 lead to depression or what is causing 19:50 the anxiety of that? Well, unfortunately 19:51 almost everything kind a leads to that level, 19:54 okay, of depression and its anything that 19:57 is excessive but once again go back to the 20:00 hormones, go back to your other levels of 20:03 chemicals within your bodies to see and 20:06 also reduce the pressure and the stress 20:10 in your life because that can trigger anxiety. 20:13 I tell women all the time wherever I go hang up 20:16 your supergirl suit you know, I mean we 20:19 multitask all the time, all the time hang up 20:23 that suit because that can lead to anxiety, 20:25 overwhelmingness just listening to your 20:27 schedule that you are gonna be doing within 20:28 the next 24 hours would overwhelm 20:31 some people but you are able to balance 20:34 it and handle it very well. I mean you look 20:36 very gracious you know, you are tried, 20:41 but the average person might not be able 20:43 to handle that and that would put them 20:45 into an anxiety attack and then they 20:47 might start having some of the 20:49 symptomatology which would be the headaches, 20:53 the clamminess in the hands, the dizziness, 20:57 the just overwhelmingness you know, yeah. 21:00 So, if let's talk about because we want to give 21:04 you hope today there are so many people 21:06 that you know life can be overwhelming 21:09 and particularly with the economic down turn 21:11 it seems that we are seeing many more calls 21:14 to 3ABN about issues of depression people 21:18 who are sad besides number one if there is 21:22 someone in your family you are a loved one 21:25 who are feeling this way, I have talked with a 21:28 lady the other day praise the Lord who had a 21:31 suicidal thought and she said as soon as 21:34 she did she just was impressed by the lord 21:36 to drive herself to the hospital, which doesn't 21:39 always happen but then she went to the hospital 21:42 and within 48 hours she had gone beyond 21:46 that crisis. Now, she is seeing a Christian 21:50 physiologist, excellent, and she is in treatment 21:52 and doing much, much better. There are 21:56 people who are chronically depressed, 21:58 but we want to give you a hope and some 22:01 ideas so first is if seeking intervention 22:06 if it serious but we should seek professional help, 22:10 talk with your doctor get them the medical exam, 22:13 if you are diagnosed with clinical depression 22:18 what are some of the treatments other 22:20 than taking anti-anxiety and anti-depressant 22:24 drugs? If you are truly a major clinical depressed 22:27 person I would still recommend the medication 22:30 if I could, right starting with that, the 22:32 medication and then get in a support group, okay. 22:35 And then have a therapist you can see 22:38 a psychiatrist, social worker, psychologist, 22:41 marriage, family, child counselor they are 22:43 more than capable of helping you with how 22:46 to function and process within your day because 22:50 that's how we want to lift people up. So that, 22:53 they can function and become productive 22:55 citizens as they used to be and have a normal 22:58 pattern and normal activities, also get 23:01 yourself involved with support groups with 23:03 church groups, I tell you if you ever want to fill 23:07 loved and needed go and tell someone, hey 23:11 I have free time what can I do? Churches have 23:13 different ministries, Amen. Amen. 23:15 And you know I think that prayer if 23:19 getting involved with people who will pray 23:21 with you, definitely, learning to turn your 23:23 problems over to the Lord, learning to claim 23:25 the promises of God if you are going to. 23:27 If you want to take those negative thoughts 23:29 captive and make them obedient to the 23:32 will of the Lord. If you get the promises of 23:34 God in your heart and kind of to overcome 23:39 your negative thought get God thoughts in 23:42 your heart, definitely, and that can really 23:43 be helpful can it not. Definitely. And be 23:46 careful who you associate with. And so what 23:49 you are saying is, if you are feeling in a 23:51 melancholy mood and you have a friend who is 23:53 always down in the mouth in melancholy, 23:56 a negative that can, attitudes are contiguous 23:59 like that. Oh! Definitely, definitely. So, 24:02 find someone that's just the opposite. Yeah, 24:04 that's very positive and very active. If that's 24:08 not gonna you know overwhelming, 24:11 definitely if you aren't able to handle the 24:13 schedule but definitely be around uplifting people. 24:16 Let me ask you this question because we just 24:19 have a few more minutes but are there 24:20 certain people who are more prone to depression 24:23 and are there certain people who are more 24:26 resistant to treatment because I do know 24:29 when you are talking about going to therapy 24:30 I have talked with so many people who been 24:33 to a therapist and said ah! You know, 24:35 it was just nearly life changing for them. 24:38 We have a friend who was having anxiety attacks 24:42 and it turned out that a project he was working 24:45 on in just a recent year connected in his brain to 24:51 something he had worked on like 15 years ago 24:55 that was a very, it was a project where he 24:58 saw a lot of trauma, where he stuffed it, 25:00 he didn't get deprogrammed from the 25:03 horrendous things he had seen and so now 25:06 working on a similar project kind of opened 25:09 up things for his past but for men in particular 25:12 it seems that women are anxious to talk 25:15 out their problems, yes, but is it more difficult 25:18 for a man to go and admit that he need 25:21 somebody to talk to. Lots of times because men 25:24 are the head of the household, men are always 25:25 in charge. Men feel that if they show that side 25:29 of them then everything will fall apart and 25:32 then people will think less of them a lot of 25:35 the times and especially when you are talking 25:36 about mental illness. If you just talk about 25:38 regular health more women visit the 25:42 physician or a therapist than men do. 25:45 Lots of time we just see men in the emergency 25:48 room and they have to see you versus then 25:51 when they just wanna do preventative things 25:53 but women will ran to the physician quite a 25:56 bit you know just for prevention, so you are 25:58 absolutely right and you also mentioned 26:01 like the trigger point for this particular person 26:04 with something that he has suppressed 26:06 for years and years. So, that's why lots 26:08 of times when you go for therapy you go and 26:10 you have regressive therapy, where they 26:12 always say tell me about your childhood 26:14 because that is pretty crusade and you see it 26:16 almost in every movie and people are lying 26:18 on the sofas, but it really tells you about 26:22 the adult that you are seeing clinically 26:25 and all this. Are they are more women 26:26 depressed then men or do we see any 26:28 I mean as we said it effects all 26:32 nationalities, its effects all social and 26:35 economic situations but, and the answer to that 26:38 question is the reason that we see at least as 26:41 this is my belief that we see more women 26:44 as far as you know the CTC was stated that the 26:47 more women that are clinically depressed 26:48 because more of us are going to the doctors. So, 26:51 we are more you know they are regulating us 26:55 more and so the doctors are reporting that 26:57 there are more women at that time. You know 26:59 Cynthia, I can't believe that our time is already 27:02 gone and I feel like we just barely touched 27:04 on this, you we will come back and talk 27:06 with us some more on this topic will you not? 27:08 Of course, thank you so much and thank you 27:11 for being here and I just admire you the 27:14 work that you have done in your life and 27:16 continue to do and I know it hasn't always 27:18 been easy. Thank you so much for having me. 27:21 We are very blessed, again we just want 27:25 to encourage you if you are feeling 27:28 overwhelmed talk to a pastor, talk to a friend, 27:31 go to your doctor, find out if you need 27:35 to have a medical exam, check the thyroid, 27:37 check out what's going on in your life. 27:39 It could well be that, that life is just 27:43 overwhelming you by problems and this is 27:44 the situational temporary thing but if you 27:48 had been suffering a feeling of sadness or 27:51 loss of motivation or just feeling like you 27:54 don't know if you can go on with life very long, 27:57 you need help and please reach out and get 28:01 that help and don't think that you could 28:03 just pull yourself up by your bootstraps, but 28:06 remember to pray turn that burden over to the Lord 28:09 and ask him to lead you to someone who 28:11 can help you today, thanks for joining us. |
Revised 2014-12-17