depression

Depression is a mental health disorder that can affect the way you eat and sleep, the way you feel about yourself, and the way you think about things. A depressive disorder is more than a passing mood. It is not a sign of personal weakness, and it cannot be willed or wished away.

A depressive disorder involves the body, mood, and thoughts. People who are depressed cannot "snap out of it" and get better. Without treatment, symptoms can last for months or years. Treatments such as antidepressant medications and psychotherapy can reduce and sometimes eliminate the symptoms of depression.

Depressive disorders come in different forms. Three of the most common are Major Depression, Dysthymia, and Bipolar Disorder. Even within these types of depression there are variations in the number of symptoms, their severity, and persistence.

The word "hallucination" comes from Latin and means "to wander mentally" (Davis & Palladino, 2000). Hallucinations are the "perception of a nonexistent object or event" (Carlson, 1998). Davis and Palladino further define these as "sensory experiences that are not caused by stimulation of the relevant sensory organ" (2000). In laymen's terms, hallucinations involve hearing, seeing, feeling, smelling and even tasting things that are not real. However, auditory hallucinations (hearing voices or other sounds that have no physical source) are the most common type (Papolos & Papolos, 1999).

Hallucinations are most often associated with mental illness schizophrenia. However, they may also occur for those with bipolar disorder when either depression or mania has psychotic features.

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