Children's longing for everydayness: life following traumatic brain injury in the USA.

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: Little is known about life after traumatic brain injury (TBI) from the child's perspective. RESEARCH DESIGN: This descriptive phenomenological investigation explored themes of children's experiences following moderate-to-severe TBI. INCLUSION CRITERIA: (1) 6-18 years of age at injury; (2) moderate-to-severe TBI; (3) ≤3 years since injury; and (4) English speaking and could participate in an interview. Children participated (n = 39) in two interviews at least 1 year apart. A preliminary model was developed and shared for participants' input. MAIN OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: Six themes emerged: (1) it is like waking up in a bad dream; (2) I thought going home would get me back to my old life, but it did not; (3) everything is such hard work; (4) you feel like you will never be like the person you were before; (5) it is not all bad; and (6) some people get it, but many people do not. CONCLUSIONS: Social support was important to how children adjusted to changes or losses. Most children did adjust to functional changes by second interviews. Children had a more difficult time adjusting to how others defined them and limited their possibilities for a meaningful life.

Two overlooked mood disorders in women: subsyndromal depression and prenatal depression.

The purpose of this article is to assist nurses in developing a heightened sense of awareness about two often-overlooked types of mood disorders that can have a profound effect on women lives subsyndromal depression and prenatal depression. Subsyndromal depression can no longer be considered "minor" because we now understand the intense negative effect on many women's everyday lives. Screening for this disorder needs to be a routine part of care given to women in most health care environments. Simply helping women with subsyndromal depression to recognize that they may not feel sad or blue will create new opportunities for women to seek care when they are weighed down by symptoms such as sluggishness, foggy thinking, irritability, and food cravings. Nonpharmacologic interventions for subsyndromal depression dovetail with the holistic perspective that is the hallmark of nursing practice. Prenatal depression is a particularly hazardous condition because it isa "silent" form of depression that impacts women and their developing fetuses. It is often difficult to recognize against the backdrop of pregnancy and the tendency to blame emotional changes on pregnancy hormones. Practitioners must be aware of this phenomenon and take it seriously. Prenatal depression can have far-reaching effects if left untreated, impacting the pregnant woman and following that soon-to-be-born child through-out life in various detrimental ways. The pregnant woman who is laboring through the transitions of pregnancy and preparing to transition to the mother of a newborn baby should not be further burdened by the impact of depression.