Posts Tagged ‘depression’

Despite the advances in the medical sciences, there are still many crippling diseases that affect people. These can be inherited, occur after birth due to mutations or anomalies within the body, contracted through activities in our daily lives or as a result of medical treatments gone wrong. They can also be physical or mental. Although many are rare, it affect persons or ages in rare circumstances or may be gender specific if not more prevalent in one than the other, in general they are impartial. Some like heart and lung diseases, many forms of cancer (some of which are untreatable), spinal abnormalities, liver, kidney and degenerative brain diseases can be fatal.

A crippling disease is not necessarily one that directly affects the physical legs but any disease with the ability to drastically affect one’s life. Conditions can range from those that render the legs or lower parts of the body useless, to those that affect the spine (causing severe pain, curvatures, shrinking/degeneration or sometimes even death) or those that make walking too painful.

Causes of Crippling Diseases

Diseases of the body that do not directly affect the legs or lower extremities but cause so much pain that they render sufferers immobile or limit their day to day activities are also very common; autoimmune diseases in whatever form are good examples. Many bone diseases characterized by the depletion or wearing done of ligaments or cartilages; like arthritis, affect both adults and children and where as some are mild, some lead to deformities of the body part affected bringing life to a grinding halt.

Mental diseases like depression, bipolar disorders, genetic disorders (like autism), Alzheimer’s and many others can disrupt daily life if left untreated. Unfortunately, many persons pay more attention to physical diseases than they do mental disorders especially when some; like depression, occur in children and teens which can make the daily symptoms harder to cope with. All mental disorders and conditions that seem common like depression or migraines should be taken seriously since they can be life-threatening. A migraine attack while driving or carrying out any other such activity can have devastating results.

Disorders that affect the mood or emotions can not only make persons unsuited for interaction with others but lead to violent behaviors including homicides and/or suicides. A child suffering from a mental disorder can develop a learning disability directly linked to the disorder or as a result of it being ignore or untreated. Antisocial behavior at home and school can arise from feeling ‘misunderstood’.

Dealing with Crippling Diseases

When dealing with anyone diagnosed with a crippling disease; whether physical or mental, it is best to understand the underlying cause, the symptoms, the effect these symptoms will have on the patient’s daily life, how it affects you and where you fit in. Taking into consideration the nature of the disease and how you are expected to contribute to the patient’s treatment can greatly improve your ability to ease some of the burden being felt.

Multiple crippling diseases that do not developed during pregnancy can develop without signs while many will show symptoms that can be linked to common conditions. Any symptom being experienced that persists or worsens especially if being treated at home for the maximum recommend time should be brought to a doctor’s attention. Unusual behavior especially in children, teens and the elderly should never be ignored. Also, the body uses pain, nausea and infections (all from no apparent source) as warnings so heed them, if you think something is wrong then see a doctor.

Depression is a very definite emotional overlay to the whole problem. Many women experience depression, bouts of irritability, feelings of anxiety and tension. Emotional conflicts often flare. By this time in life most children have grown up and have left home. The woman’s parents have usually died in recent years, or present a problem in a home or convalescent hospital.

Her husband has either failed in life or has made the grade. If he is a failure, there is not much chance of his extricating himself from it at this age. This fact, along with the economic and social stigma this can present in a vulnerable woman, is an extra burden she feels forced to face each day. Maybe he neglects her, and is more at home with his friends. Perhaps he drinks, gambles or otherwise spends more time following his own social pursuits than in caring for his wife.

On the other hand, if the spouse has made a success of his life, this inevitably means he is away from home for many hours each day, and perhaps is involved in trips on account of the business. He has little time to spend listening to her sad story, and often less patience to help her solve her problems that may seem trivial to him when he spends most of his waking hours involved in major decision- making experiences.

None of this benefits his wife, who often feels more and more alone in the world, deserted by all those who mean the most to her.

Doctors hear these sad but very plausible stories on a never-ending basis each working day:

“Life holds no more meaning for me.”

“Life has come to an end.”

“Nobody cares about me anymore.”

“Life is a bore, a drudge; I often wish I would never wake up in the morning.”

The sad phrases roll out regularly.

Because of the hormonal lack, the sex organs tend to be affected dramatically. With no oestrogen, the lining of the vulva and vagina thin out. They generally tend to shrink in size. However, while some women find that intercourse has lost its desirability and attraction for them, many others discover that their libido is considerably increased.

Suddenly, many realize that their child-bearing days are over. The risk of pregnancy is totally removed, and the need to take precautions for contraceptive reasons vanishes. This can add new dimensions to the thought of sex and intercourse. But when it comes to the physical act of lovemaking, the situations may be annoying and completely frustrating.

Penetration may be painful or difficult. The thin, atrophic, ageing lining tends to stretch less easily, and penile accommodation may be less readily achieved as in former times. Many women have found the demands of a thoughtless husband extremely trying. Considerable matrimonial disharmony can take place over this problem, and marriage disasters are not uncommon during the menopausal years.

Menopausal woman must be treated with love. Conversely, some husbands show a markedly reduced libido and capacity and desire for intercourse. Kinsey showed many years ago that after the age of 40, the sexual desire and capacity of most males tended to reduce gradually. Conversely, that of the female counterpart went in the opposite direction. So, once more, some women tend to accentuate their feelings of neglect. They believe their husbands no longer care, or are probably having an affair (usually imaginary) with some fictitious beauty.