• Managing Your Depression
• Taking Care of Yourself
• Tools and Resources
• Managing Your Generalized Anxiety Disorder
• Managing Your Diabetic Nerve Pain
• Managing Your Fibromyalgia

Tools and Resources

Learning about depression can make it easier to take the first steps on the path toward feeling better. It helps to understand the symptoms and causes of depression, the range of treatments available, and how to care for yourself or a loved one with depression.

Tools

Here are some materials to help you get started:

• How Cymbalta Works shows how serotonin and norepinephrine work and how they may affect core mood and pain symptoms of depression
• Depression Impact Tool helps you understand and identify symptoms you may be experiencing by allowing you to select, rate, and print out your own list of symptoms to share with your doctor
• Support Partners Program for tips and tools for managing your own recovery or helping a loved one recover from depression
• Real Stories lets you hear from patients and their support partners about their experience with depression
• Glossary of relevant terms found on this site

Online Depression Resources

Advocacy & Support Groups

These nonprofit organizations can help you learn more about depression and how to treat and manage it. Some may also be able to direct you to support groups and doctors in your area.

Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA)
In-depth information on depression and other mood disorders from one of the nation's leading support and advocacy groups. Includes extensive links to local support groups. Find a physician or psychologist to treat depression. Resources and tools are available to help "improve the lives of people with depression and bipolar disorder."
www.DBSAlliance.org

Families for Depression Awareness
A resource for families grappling with depression and related mental illnesses. Includes educational information, personal stories, and advice and support for caregivers.
www.FamilyAware.org

Freedom From Fear
A mental health advocacy association founded in 1984, Freedom From Fear provides anxiety and depression resources for mental illness sufferers and their families. This site offers an anxiety and depression screening tool, as well as referrals to local healthcare providers who will review your results with you at no charge.
www.FreedomFromFear.org

Mental Health America (MHA)
Formerly known as the National Mental Health Association, MHA is "the country's leading nonprofit dedicated to helping ALL people live mentally healthier lives." This site offers advocacy, support, and research covering all aspects of mental health and mental illness.
www.MentalHealthAmerica.net

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)
NAMI works on the local and national level to provide support and advocacy to people with mental illness, their families, and their friends. This site contains information about depression and other mental illnesses, links to support resources, and news about policy and research initiatives.
www.nami.org

National Empowerment Center
This site offers information on myriad topics, such as self-help groups, legal services, meditation, and self-help techniques in your neighborhood.
www.power2u.org

On Our Own of Maryland
This site offers mental health education and advocacy network.
www.OnOurOwnMD.org

SharetheCaregiving, Inc.
This not-for-profit organization's mission is to promote and educate the public about group caregiving by using the "Share The Care" model. Caregivers will find in-depth information and resources.
www.ShareTheCare.org

Suicide Prevention Action Network of USA (SPAN USA)
SPAN USA is an organization for suicide-attempt survivors or people affected by suicide and is dedicated to preventing suicide through public education and awareness; community action; and federal, state, and local grassroots advocacy.
www.spanusa.org

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Government Agencies

These sites, which always end with ".gov," often include publications about an illness, news about medications and clinical trials, links to medical articles and research, and links to local groups and resources.

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
An information-rich site dedicated to mental health issues. Includes several easy-to-read government publications about depression in English and Spanish.
www.nimh.nih.gov

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
SAMHSA's National Mental Health Information Center provides a wealth of online mental health information and resources, including a tool that allows you to locate mental health services in your area as well as a list of national toll-free hotlines that provide mental health resources and referrals.
www.mentalhealth.samhsa.gov

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Health-related Sites

Medical sites usually cover a range of topics, offering information about many illnesses, their symptoms and causes, types of treatment, and links to other resources.

American Psychiatric Association
Find a psychiatrist, fact sheets, pamphlets, tips on choosing a psychiatrist, and other resources.
www.psych.org

American Psychological Association
Here you can find a psychologist to treat depression.
www.apa.org

National Women's Health Resource Center (NWHRC)
The NWHRC site contains excellent overviews of numerous health topics of interest to women, including depression.
www.HealthyWomen.org

Support Partners Program
This site, sponsored by Eli Lilly and Company, offers educational material about depression, suggestions for other online resources, and tips for people who are caring for someone with depression.
www.SupportPartnersProgram.com

WebMD
This site includes a comprehensive and easy-to-follow overview of depression, its symptoms, causes, treatments, and more.
www.WebMD.com

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Drug Information

These sites allow you to find detailed information about widely available medications, including specifics about precautions to take and potential side effects.

MedlinePlus
This site from the National Institutes of Health and the National Library of Medicine has a database with information about thousands of prescription and over-the-counter medications.
www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus

PDRhealth
Created by the publishers of the Physicians' Desk Reference, which doctors use to look up drug information, this site gives consumers plain-English explanations for the safe and effective use of prescription and nonprescription drugs.
www.GettingWell.com

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