- With Mayo Clinic psychiatrist
Gabrielle J. Melin, M.D.
read biographyclose windowBiography of
Gabrielle J. Melin, M.D.
Gabrielle J. Melin, M.D.
Dr. Gabrielle Melin, board certified in general psychiatry and psychosomatic medicine, is looking for ways to empower patients and families dealing with chronic mental illness. She encourages patients to commit to working together with their physicians and health care teams.
Dr. Melin completed medical school at the University of Minnesota. She completed both her psychiatry residency and consultation-liaison fellowship at Mayo Clinic before joining the Mayo Clinic staff in 2001. She is medical director of Mayo Clinic Psychiatry Emergency Services in Rochester, Minn. She has special interests in emergency psychiatry, adult psychiatry and addiction psychiatry.
"Instilling hope is one of the most important things we can do for patients and families. Mental illness can be chronic and significantly impacts lives. Our goal is to provide the best treatment and education so that patients can manage their symptoms more effectively," she said.
Latest entries
- Being grateful: Giving thanks helps with depression
Nov. 18, 2009
- Depression and diet: Make healthy choices
Oct. 27, 2009
- Depression and heart disease: Get the facts
Oct. 21, 2009
- Depression and pregnancy: What you need to know
Oct. 8, 2009
- Treating depression helps productivity
Sept. 30, 2009
Mayo Clinic Health Manager
Get free personalized health guidance for you and your family.
Get Started
About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Depression blog
-
Feb. 13, 2009
Repeat episodes of depression: Look for warning signs
By Gabrielle J. Melin, M.D.
| Need more help? |
|
Just as it's important to know that depression is a treatable disease, it's worth knowing that having had an episode of depression increases your risk down the road for more episodes. That shouldn't discourage you because proper treatment can make a huge difference. But it's important to watch for warning signs of repeat episodes of depression.
What's an episode of depression you ask? An episode is a period of time. For example, depression (formally called major depression, major depressive disorder or clinical depression) is diagnosed by having at least two weeks duration of five or more of the following symptoms:
- Depressed mood
- Decreased enjoyment in pleasurable activities
- Sleep disturbance (increased or decreased)
- Appetite disturbance (increased or decreased)
- Excessive or inappropriate guilt or feelings of worthlessness
- Decreased energy
- Concentration difficulties or indecisiveness
- Change in your daily activity. You may feel slowed down, or sped up; increased to the point of feeling fidgety
- Recurrent thoughts of death
These symptoms need to present almost all day nearly every day. In addition, the symptoms also need to cause significant concern or difficulty in all areas of one's life. Finally, the symptoms can't be due to a medical illness or feelings of grief, such as with the loss of a loved one.
Please see your health care provider for additional information about depression, evaluation for depression and options for treatment. If you have suicidal thoughts, contact your provider or seek care at the nearest medical center. Another resource for help is the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
23 comments posted