family health

family health.

See family history.

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Patient discussion about family health.

Q. I feel like crying! Hi. My name is Liam Lukas. I believe that I'm suffering from a major depression brought on by a multitude of factors. Stress, work, family, poor diet, etc. . .and it has affected me very deeply. I have bouts of sudden mood swings, feelings of worthlessness, thoughts of suicide, a lack of interest in favorite hobbies, no social activities, and lack of sleep patterns... I'm 33, male, and I feel I'm a burden to my family and feel like a failure. I feel like crying all the time (although I try and hid it by avoiding others).

A. Welcome Liam,
The first and most important step to take is getting the appropriate treatment for your illness. You do not have to disclose to your boss that you are seeking treatment. I believe there are laws in place to protect employees from being terminated based on illness. Either way Anthoney is right.. your life is way more important than your job. Your health is the most important thing.. you will be of no help to your boss if you are not around. So please take care of yourself first.
I am not sure where you are but I would suggest going to the local emergency room and ask the treage nurse to speak with a crisis councellor, then enquire about a mood disorder clinic. Mood disorder clinics have group councelling, individual councelling and psychiatry. It will give you a councellor to speak to on your own and a group to share with and the psychiatrist to ensure you get the proper medications... Use that as a first step to regaining your self confidence...

Q. Not alone? I don’t feel so I have a cancer of the ovaries, and had operation, and chemo (which was not too bad). My family is very helpful and does everything they can to help me, but I feel alone. I always have this feeling in the back of my mind that the disease can return every day. It makes me feel that even if I currently feel good, I can’t enjoy anything because soon it’ll be over. It’s like these feelings raise some kind of wall between me and all those great people around me, and I pretend to be OK. Does someone else share these feelings?

A. I have worked with many ovarian cancer patients and have seen how difficult it was for them to cope with the disease, the continuous fear of the unkown and losing their ability to go back to normal living. You should look for online groups of women that have gone through the same process as you and contact them. That can be very helpful for you. There's also an organization called "women to women" that I know help with encouraging women to be strong and think positive.

Q. what can you guys tell me about dealing with a bipolar family member? I want to be supportive and not a burden...

A. You are welcome Sarina, I hope that I am offering a few tools to help you and your friend... You are a special person to take on this rsponsibility and I hope your friend.family member will be able to appreciate in time how much you love and care about him... Stay strong and patient and if you need anything you know where to find me I dont know the answers to everything but I always have an ear to listen...