Featured Article:
Depression
Living day in and day out with cystic fibrosis can be a bit of a double-edged sword. On the one hand, no one knows better than you how precious life is. You recognize the importance of time and people better than many of your friends. It's a perspective that comes as an unexpected gift when living with a life-threatening disease like CF.
On the other hand, living with the treatments, the hospital stays, and everything else that accompanies this disease, can take a toll on your emotional stamina. It may be no surprise to you, then, to learn that rates of depression are higher in people living with CF than they are in the general population. It certainly is no surprise to health care providers working in CF clinics.
“It's natural for people to get depressed about some of the limitations that CF will cause for them,” says Bill Taub, a social worker at the Duke Cystic Fibrosis Clinic. Taub, along with many other health care providers attending the 2008 North American Cystic Fibrosis Conference in Orland, Florida, spoke to the issue of depression. The attention they gave the condition reflects the CF community's increasing awareness of the role that depression plays in the lives of people living with cystic fibrosis.
Of particular concern, since quality and length of life are heavily reliant on dedication to treatment, exercise and nutrition, is the fact that depressed patients are less likely to keep their commitment to treatment, and more likely to miss clinic appointments. This dangerous combination is motivating clinics and health care providers to consider ways they can best identify patients who may be experiencing depression.
Be on the Lookout
You can help yourself, and your physician, by keeping an eye out for any of the symptoms that might signal depression. Should any of the following responses embed themselves in your daily life and stay, you may want to consult with your primary care physician for a referral to a counselor who can help you work through what may very well be depression:
- Loss of interest in normal daily activities
- A sense of sadness
- Guilt
- Difficulty concentrating
- Crying spells for no apparent reason
- Problems making decisions
- Irritability
No one needs to weather depression, and its ensuing sense of isolation, alone. In this journey, you are surrounded by friends, family and health care providers who can help you transition through emotionally difficult times.
- Bibliography
- Quittner, A. L. (2008). Prevalence and impact of depression in cystic fibrosis. Current Opinion in Pulmonary Medicine (14), 582-588
