SATURDAY, Dec. 12 (HealthDay News) — With pressures from the economic hard times, dysfunctional families and countless other factors, the holidays can contribute to emotional stress and depression.
But there are ways to cope with the various scenarios that people experience at this time of year, according to Dr. Laura Miller, director of women’s mental health [...]
Archive for the ‘depression’ Category
13 Dec
How to Attack Holiday Stress Head-On
9 Dec
UNDERSTANDING MENTAL ILLNESS
This may be of assistance as you journey through my blog…
DEPRESSION
Problems and misfortunes are a part of life. Everyone experiences unhappiness, and many people may become depressed temporarily when things don’t go as they would like. Experiences of failure commonly result in temporary feelings of worthlessness and self-blame, while personal losses cause feelings of sadness, [...]
8 Dec
Antidepressant May Change Personality
Antidepressant May Change Personality While Relieving Symptoms
ScienceDaily (Dec. 7, 2009) — Individuals taking a medication to treat depression may experience changes in their personality separate from the alleviation of depressive symptoms, according to a report in the December issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Two personality traits, neuroticism and extraversion, have [...]
8 Dec
‘TIS THE SEASON
‘TIS THE HOLIDAY SEASON
I spent three Christmases in hospital; two I couldn’t even leave to go home for Christmas dinner. Difficult to accept for all concerned, but I was just too unwell and they felt I was a risk.
So, three or four others and me sat in a gloomy dining room and picked at our ‘turkey [...]
2 Dec
Fear of Anxiety May Lead to Depression
Some become so worried about what might happen that they develop other symptoms, researchers find
TUESDAY, Dec. 1 (HealthDay News) — Fear of anxiety may push “above-average” worriers into depression, a new study suggests.
“Anxiety sensitivity has been called a fear of fear,” study author Andres Viana, a graduate student in psychology at Penn State, said [...]
1 Dec
Fears and Facts About Antidepressants
Along with counseling, antidepressants are a common part of treatment for depression. And they are usually effective. Six out of 10 people treated with antidepressants feel better with the first one they try. If the first antidepressant medication doesn’t help, the second or third often will. Most people eventually find one that works for them. [...]
30 Nov
Cutting Costs On Prescription Drugs
Dispensing Prescription Drugs in 3-Month Supplies Reduces Drug Costs by a Third
ScienceDaily (Nov. 28, 2009) — Purchasing prescription drugs in a three-month supply rather than a one-month supply has long been regarded as a way to reduce the cost of drugs for patients and third-party payers. New research from the University of Chicago quantifies the [...]
29 Nov
DEPRESSION: Common Causes
Health experts’ understanding of depression has come a long way in the last few decades. In many cases, depression doesn’t have only one cause. It often results from a mix of biology, psychology, and stressful or traumatic events.
Reasons for depression include:
Biology. Researchers still have a lot to learn about exactly why people become depressed. But [...]
28 Nov
THREE WOMEN…and mental illness
I conducted ‘chats’ with these courageous women while an in-patient on the psychiatric floor of a medical hospital, recovering from depression in 2002. I was able to converse with each woman separately where they shared their stories.
Note: I was discharged earlier than any of these women; therefore at that point, a conclusion to each woman’s [...]
25 Nov
Early Relationships Influence Teen Pain and Depression
ScienceDaily (Nov. 25, 2009) — Angst could be more than a rite of passage for insecure teenagers, according to a study published in the Journal of Pain. Researchers from the Université de Montréal, Sainte-Justine University Hospital Center and McGill University have discovered that insecure adolescents experience more intense pain in the form of frequent headaches, [...]
20 Nov
Bipolar Disorder: Depression Symptoms
The dramatic mood swings of bipolar disorder do not follow a set pattern. Depression does not always follow mania. A person may experience the same mood state several times — for weeks, months, even years at a time before experiencing a change in mood. Also, the severity of mood phases can differ from person to person.
The [...]
19 Nov
DISSOCIATIVE DISORDERS
Dissociative disorders are so-called because they are marked by a dissociation from or interruption of a person’s fundamental aspects of waking consciousness (such as one’s personal identity, one’s personal history, etc.). Dissociative disorders come in many forms, the most famous of which is dissociative identity disorder (formerly known as multiple personality disorder). All of the [...]
17 Nov
Failed anti-depressant drug could be ‘women’s Viagra’
WASHINGTON (AFP) – November 17, 2009 – A drug that failed to fight the blues could be the female answer to the little blue pill Viagra, the lead North American investigator analysing tests of the drug said Tuesday.
Women who took the drug flibanserin when it was being tested as an anti-depressant said it didn’t help [...]
17 Nov
Depression as Deadly as Smoking?
Depression as Deadly as Smoking, Study Finds
ScienceDaily (Nov. 17, 2009) — A study by researchers at the University of Bergen, Norway, and the Institute of Psychiatry (IoP) at King’s College London has found that depression is as much of a risk factor for mortality as smoking.
Utilising a unique link between a survey of over 60,000 [...]
12 Nov
Is This As Good As Life Gets?
I used to ask myself, practically every day during my illness; is this it? What if I never get better? Does it get any better?
Sounds pessimistic, but my history of recurring hospital admissions and medications that were ineffective, coupled with suicide attempts and unrelenting depression, didn’t illustrate a positive picture. At separate hospital admissions, I [...]
11 Nov
Women, Depression & Stroke
Women More Likely Than Men To Suffer Depression After Stroke
ScienceDaily (Nov. 11, 2009) — Depression occurs in as many as one-third of patients after a stroke, and women are at somewhat higher risk, according to a large new review of studies. Post-stroke depression is associated with greater disability, reduced quality of life and an increased [...]
10 Nov
Depressed and Pregnant? Flu Shot May Be Needed
MONDAY, Nov. 9 (HealthDay News) — Pregnant women who are depressed may suffer severe symptoms if they catch seasonal flu, a new study suggests.
Ohio State University researchers assessed depressive symptoms and took blood samples from 22 pregnant women before they received a seasonal flu shot. Those with significant symptoms of depression had a stronger inflammatory [...]
9 Nov
CAN YOU TELL?
I’m just re-posting this in case readers have come across this before. It’s probably one of my favorite articles as it just describes my bp disorder and always brings me back down to earth again when I think I’m an oddity when I expect too much from myself.
~~~~~~~~
Mental illness is surrounded by a glut of [...]
5 Nov
Depression May Blur Memory of Aches and Pains
Expert suggests having people write down symptoms as they occur
TUESDAY, Nov. 3 (HealthDay News) — Depressed people tend to report more physical symptoms than they actually experience, a new study finds.
The study involved 109 women who completed questionnaires designed to assess their levels of neuroticism and depression. For the next three weeks, they kept daily [...]
5 Nov
SITTING IN JUDGMENT
Who am I to judge someone? Who are they to judge me?
Dictionary: Judgment: the ability to judge, makes a decision, or form an opinion objectively, authoritatively, and wisely, esp. in matters affecting action; good sense; discretion: a man of sound judgment.
Stigma: a mark of disgrace or infamy; a stain or reproach, as on one’s reputation; [...]
2 Nov
Processed food link to depression: research
LONDON (AFP) – November 2, 2009 – A diet heavy in processed and fatty foods increases the risk of depression, according to British research published on Monday.
Researchers at University College London also found that a diet including plenty of fresh vegetables, fruit and fish could help prevent the onset of depression.
They compared participants — all [...]
31 Oct
KEEPING UP APPEARANCES
I was in a dilemma a few years back. My husband’s company was having their annual picnic and he felt obligated to go. I, of course resisted initially, and then thought I was being self-centered since I had backed out of several of his company functions previously. These functions were of course met with forever [...]
27 Oct
Phone Counseling for Depression Rings With Promise
TUESDAY, Oct. 27 (HealthDay News) — An intensive telephone counseling program for people with depression offers substantial benefits at moderate cost, U.S. researchers say.
They studied 600 people who were randomly assigned to one of three types of care for their depression. One group received telephone care management, which included five outreach calls for monitoring, support, [...]
27 Oct
Depression Often Goes Untreated in Working Moms
TUESDAY, Oct. 27 (HealthDay News) — More than 65 percent of U.S. mothers with depression don’t receive adequate treatment, a new study has found.
Black, Hispanic and other minority mothers are least likely to receive adequate treatment. Mothers with health insurance are three times more likely to receive adequate treatment than those without insurance, wrote the [...]
What you thought...