An international non-profit group called the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) was established in 1979. The mission of this group is to prevent, treat, and ultimately eradicate anxiety, depression, and other related disorders worldwide. Through practice, research, and education, this group carries out its mission. The ADAA is dedicated to achieving its goal of raising the standard of life for everyone who experiences these disorders. The primary services offered by the ADAA are education for those in need and assistance for victims in locating necessary resources, care, and support. About 22 million individuals worldwide are assisted by ADAA. This organization is committed to improve the care of the patients through promotion and implementation of evidence-based treatments. They also promote best practices across all disciplines through continuing of education and trainings and ensuring the latest research is put into practice. This organization works closely with qualified researchers and promotes innovation and implementation of new treatments in the anxiety and depression sector. This is in line with the organization’s promise of finding new treatments for these disorders and hope to be able to prevent and cure them.
ADAA is basically all about people. They are committed to helping people suffering from different disorders understand their conditions, find the right treatment for them, and help them recover. ADAA is committed to educate people on well-researched scientific treatment to enable them make informed decisions on the best treatment for their disorders. This organization supports existing professional researchers who come up with the treatment and also encourages young students and upcoming trainees in order to protect the future. ADAA is a unique organization since they accommodate researchers and clinicians from different academic backgrounds such as psychology, social work, and medicine among others. The main aim of the diverse backgrounds is to ensure that all areas are covered and they can all work together towards achieving the organization’s objectives.
ADAA is an organization that is evolving with time to accommodate the changes in the market and ensure that they give better services. The organization started over 30 years ago as The Phobia Society of America. Since then, the organization has invested in knowledge and understanding leading to its expansion to cater for anxiety and mood disorders, PTSD, and OCD. ADAA has also become stronger through experience in business, leadership, and coping in the digital world. ADAA is a supporter of public health through setting an example to improve millions of lives and creating awareness of anxiety and depression related disorders. ADAA has a mental health professional base which they use to advance scientific knowledge about causes and treatments of different disorders related to anxiety and depression. This organization has also taken the mandate of linking people who are in need of treatment with the right health care professionals who will help them understand their conditions and find the right treatment. ADAA also works hard to reduce the stigma around anxiety and depression related disorders.
Problem Overview
Depression is a mood disorder that affects the normal functions of the body of a human being. It affects the daily activities of the human body such as sleeping, eating, and even working. Depression causes the victim to withdraw from the rest of the world and enter into a state of loneliness and carry the weight of the entire world on their shoulders. Depression victims tend to have poor sleeping and feeding habits, and they are mostly unable to control their emotions. Usually they end up irritating everyone around them hence their lonely lives.
The rate at which the world is changing so fast is such that depression is becoming too common. The pressure from the world itself creates a conducive environment for depression. Depression affects people from all ages and genders, but not necessarily from the same causes. Technology is changing daily and it is meant to help make the world a better place. Young people are able to access the internet at a very tender age where they suffer addictions and bullying leading them to a state of depression. Drugs are becoming more and more readily available in the streets. Young people are joining gangs and are introduced to drugs and bad behaviors such as robbery. They end up taking hard drugs which get them to the depression level where they hardly find help.
The business world is also becoming competitive daily and only the strongest survive. Employers are having sleepless nights on how to cope with the current state of affairs. They end up putting a lot of pressure on their employees where some of them develop stress that eventually turns to depression. The unemployed are not left out either. Unemployment is a major challenge all over the world. Most unemployed people are unable to cater for their bills leading to broken marriages and some end up on the streets. These people are normally frustrated in the long run and end up being depressed. Diseases have come up that do not have cures with HIV being a good example. When people are diagnosed with the virus they enter a state of shock and denial. They withdraw from others and live a bitter life of pain and regret. Most of them get depressed and some even lose their lives.
Stapinski, Lexine A. et al. "Peer Victimization During Adolescence: Concurrent And Prospective Impact On Symptoms Of Depression And Anxiety." Anxiety, Stress, & Coping, vol. 28, no. 1, 2014, pp. 105-120. Informa UK Limited, doi:10.1080/10615806.2014.962023.
Summary
This article shows the relationship between peer victimization in teenagers and anxiety and depression. Peer victimization is universal across all the schools and cultures regardless of where they are situated. Victimization has long lasting effects on the victims and eventually affects their physical and mental health. A lot of research has been conducted on the effects of victimization on children, but the teenagers have been largely ignored. Peer relationships are more important especially at adolescent level. A research was conducted on 5030 participants who were selected from schools across the UK. Anxiety and Depression symptoms were studied on the victims thrice over a year. The research was looking for anxiety and depression symptoms from victimization in school. The results of this research showed that victimization in schools causes early and delayed symptoms of anxiety and depression. If the issue is tackled early enough, then we could prevent the teenagers from getting into a state of anxiety and depression.
Response
This article shows us how anxiety and depression are common in our schools today. It also reminds us that we have forgotten about our adolescents who are actually struggling with anxiety and depression in their daily lives. I will use this article to show that anxiety and stress is universal to all people. It does not have a specific age group that it does not affect. I will also use this article to come up with strategies that will help adolescents recover from anxiety and depression and help others prevent this situation from happening.
Lev-Ran, S. et al. "The Association between Cannabis Use and Depression: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Longitudinal Studies." Psychological Medicine, vol. 44, no. 04, 2013, pp. 797-810. Cambridge University Press (CUP), doi:10.1017/s0033291713001438.
Summary
Research has shown mixed results when it comes to the relationship between the use of cannabis and the development of depression. The main objective of the study was to determine how different ways of using cannabis are related with the development of depression. This study uses meta-analysis of longitudinal studies. Previous peer-reviewed writings discussing the risk of going into depression for those who use cannabis were collected using online searches from EMBASE, Medline, PsychINFO, and ISI Web of Science. The findings of the study showed that heavy cannabis usage increases the risk of developing anxiety and depressive disorders. There is room for more research to explore the relationship between the use of cannabis and the development of depression, especially including other potentially significant factors.
Response
The use of drugs is becoming the norm in the lives of many people attributing it to fashion and new generation behaviors. Young people have lost their lives due to drugs while others have turned into cabbages unable to make any reasonable decisions. The above study shows that the use of cannabis increases the risk of getting into depression. I will use the above article to educate the public that the use of drugs is more harmful than beneficial to the body. The above study took a large sample which means the results are accurate. I will use the study to reach the young people out there in the streets and show them that they are only hurting themselves. I will also use the same study to show how bad this issue of drugs has affected our society and sensitize the public to make it their personal responsibility to deal with depression through the eradication of drug use.
Yohannes, A. M., and G. S. Alexopoulos. "Depression and Anxiety in Patients With COPD." European Respiratory Review, vol. 23, no. 133, 2014, pp. 345-349. European Respiratory Society (ERS), doi:10.1183/09059180.00007813.
Summary
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a condition that has symptoms very similar to anxiety and depression. Sometimes COPD patients suffer from anxiety and depression, but it is very hard to tell leading to serious fatigue and healthcare issues on their physical and psychological lives. Anxiety and depression can be caused by many factors including biological, social, and behavioral factors. Only about 33% of COPD patients suffering from Anxiety symptoms and comorbid depression are receiving the right treatment for their conditions. About 67% do not receive the right treatment or do not receive any treatment at all. Reasons for not treating these patients are varied from lack of enough resources to treat mental illness, patients’ reluctance to receive therapy, and poor compliance of patients towards the recommended treatment. There is still need for more research on antidepressant drug therapy in COPD patients suffering from comorbid depression and anxiety. There are some promising findings from recent research in new methods of reducing depression and anxiety in COPD patients. The methods are pulmonary rehabilitation, collaborative care model, and psychological therapy, but they are limited to frequent short term follow ups. There is need for more research to study these methods under controlled trials performed randomly on a larger sample and long term follow up on the patients.
Response
There are many grey areas when it comes to diagnosing and treatment of anxiety and depression disorders. Patients suffering from COPD hardly receive the right treatment for their conditions. It is even hard to tell when they are suffering from anxiety and depression disorders because the symptoms are very similar to COPD symptoms. I will use the above article to show the need for more research in the area so that people who suffer from these disorders can also receive the right treatment. There is also a shortage of resources in the medical facilities to assist them deal with anxiety and depression disorders. I will use the above article to show the need for the government to invest more on mental facilities so that anxiety and depression can be treated and cured.
Whiteford, Harvey A et al. "Global Burden of Disease Attributable To Mental And Substance Use Disorders: Findings From The Global Burden Of Disease Study 2010." The Lancet, vol. 382, no. 9904, 2013, pp. 1575-1586. Elsevier BV, doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(13)61611-6.
Summary
The above article is a study that used data from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2010 (GBD 2010) to approximate the burden of disease caused by mental and drug use disorders. The variables used are: disability adjusted life years (DALYs), years lived with disability (YLDs), and years of life lost to premature mortality (YLLs). There are 20 disorders listed in GBD 2010. For each of them, epidemiological data was studied using a Bayesian meta-regression tool to model occurrence by year, region, sex, age, and country. An online survey was used to calculate YLDs and disability weights were obtained from community surveys. YLLs were calculated from the estimates of causes of death between 1980-2010 for 20 age groups for both males and females in 187 nations. DALYs were calculated as the sum of YLLs and YLDs. The burden estimates for comorbidity were adjusted and presented with 95% uncertainty intervals.
Response
The above study found that there was a small contribution of YLLs. However, the findings of the study show how fast these disorders are growing and posing a great challenge to governments in developed and developing countries. These disorders are becoming a threat to nations and are supposed to be addressed at national level and very fast. The study actually suggests that prevention and treatment of mental health disorders should be made a national priority for all countries. I will use this article to open the eyes of the world. Most people do not realize how much burden mental health disorders are.
"Symptoms | Anxiety and Depression Association of America, ADAA." Adaa.Org, 2017, https://adaa.org/understanding-anxiety/depression/symptoms.
Summary
The above website gives us a clear summary of the symptoms that come with depression. Depression comes with a wide variety of symptoms which affect your mood. Serious depression symptoms include persistent feelings of sadness, feeling hopeless, pessimistic feelings of guilt and worthlessness. These feelings make a person feel useless and of no value in life. Depressed people also lose interest in their hobbies and activities they usually enjoy, decreased sex drive, and fatigue. These are the feelings that make the victim lazy and antisocial because they are not in the mood to be around people. Depression makes it hard for the patients to concentrate, sleep, eat, and lose weight. They also develop suicidal thoughts and constant headaches and digestive disorders.
Response
It is very important to know the exact symptoms of anxiety and depression since it will enable the public to be able to run a self-diagnosis and can tell if they are suffering from depression. It will be easier to deal with patients who can detect their disorders at an early stage before they develop suicidal thoughts. Friends will also be able to tell when one of them is getting to the depressed stage.
Leahy, Robert L et al. Treatment Plans and Interventions for Depression And Anxiety Disorders. New York, Guilford Press, 2012.
Summary
Depression and anxiety have proved to be a threat to the mental health of people from all over the world. This book has come up with different treatment plans and interventions for the people who suffer from these disorders and shows different stages of the disorder and the appropriate treatment for that stage.
Response
Published information in a form of a book is often trusted as authentic information. I will use the information from this book to help people know how far their conditions are and how best to treat them since the book shows some of the latest research and treatments that are best suited for patients of anxiety and depression disorders.
Luciani, Joseph J. AARP Self-Coaching. Hoboken, John Wiley & Sons, 2012.
Summary
Self-coaching is a book that shows the victims of anxiety and depression disorders a road map to recovery. This book is written by Dr. Joseph Luciani, who is an expert in these disorders. The books says that anxiety and depression are brought about by habits and insecurity. The book trains the victims on how to change their way of thinking into a positive one which will help them recover from their conditions. This book uses cognitive behavioral therapy techniques that have proved to be effective.
Response
This book is very helpful to those people who have already gone too far into the depression. I will use this book to encourage them that there is still hope for them and show them that they can still lead normal lives. This book is effective because it encourages victims to take responsibility and be their own therapists. They only need to buy the books and follow the guidelines without any extra payments to expensive therapists.
Davidson, Richard J. Anxiety, Depression, And Emotion. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2000.
Summary
According to this book, millions of people suffer from anxiety and depression across the globe. The author tells us that anxiety and depression can be observed from an open mind or a scientific mind. This book covers several causes and treatments of anxiety and depression. It also has options for those who prefer natural or chemical-free treatments. The book offers real life examples of people who suffered from anxiety and depression and managed to beat it.
Response
This is a very important book to those who are suffering from anxiety and depression. It is also very important for those who are interested in knowing more about such disorders. The author of this book outlines the different causes of anxiety and depression and different ways of dealing with the situation. I will use information from this book to encourage people that there are chemical-free treatments that have actually been tested and proven. This will help convince those who are afraid of chemical treatments especially with the help of real life examples.
Miller, Mark D, and Charles F Reynolds. Depression and Anxiety in Later Life. Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University Press, 2012.
Elderly people are at a higher risk of suffering from anxiety and depression since most of them reflect on their lives and have a lot of regrets. They wish that they had done some things differently in their younger lives. At their old age, they have lost their loved ones, retired from their jobs, developed health complications, and side effects from medications among others. This book shows how the elderly people can manage the changes in their lives and avoid anxiety and depression.
Summary
Elderly people in the society tend to be neglected. Most people feel like they had their fair share of fun during their time and they do not deserve much attention. They end up being lonely and chewing up on stress because they get the feeling that there is nothing more left for them in this world. Some people even take their parents to the elderly homes so that they get rid of the burden that comes with taking care of them. I will use this book to show that the elderly are just like everyone else. They need to be engaged on a daily basis to help them keep a positive mind and avoid anxiety and depression.
