Chill: A little stress may help you live longer -- Being frazzled can be good for you, but you've got to find the right balance
Here's a statement you never hear: "I'm so stressed out — it's awesome!" But the fact is, certain pressure-filled situations — say, the occasional public-speaking gig or cramming for an exam — can be good for your health. "There are good and bad types of stress. The bad kind is chronic and uncontrollable, like the tension caused by an unhappy marriage or a sick relative," says Edward Calabrese, Ph. D., a toxicologist at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
MSNBC - 11/6/2009
Without Job Stress, Retirees Sleep Better: Those who left demanding jobs report the most improvement, study finds
What you're not doing once retired seems to make a good night's sleep come more easily. A study of nearly 15,000 French workers who had retired found that the odds of having disturbed sleep in the seven years after retirement were 26 percent lower than in the seven years before they stopped working. Sleep improvements probably had less to do with how they were spending their retirement, though, than with the removal of the demands and psychological stress ...
HealthDay - 11/6/2009
Treating depression in teens has lasting benefits
Longer-term treatment of depression for adolescents is associated with persistent benefits, even after treatment ends, according to results of the Treatment for Adolescents with Depression Study (TADS). TADS is a randomized, controlled trial evaluating the effectiveness of three common treatments for adolescents with depression: the antidepressant Prozac (also called fluoxetine); "talk therapy," also called cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT); their combination ...
Reuters - 11/4/2009
Folate Levels in Pregnancy Tied to ADHD in Offspring
Low folate levels during pregnancy are associated with higher odds for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in offspring aged 7 to 9, new research has found. The findings seem to support the long-held belief that folate (folic acid) levels in expectant mothers influence their children's nervous system development.
HealthDay - 11/4/2009
How stressed are kids? More than we think
Howard Hirsch, an insurance executive from Lomita, Calif., was laid off two years ago, and it took him a few months to find work. Now the family is very cost-conscious – and he knows that can't help but affect his sons, ages 9 and 11. "They see that my wife and I are stressed. They see we are financially stressed. They see they can't do some of the things we used to do. We don't go out to eat as much. We don't go to movies as often. We have to explain to them there's ...
USA Today - 11/4/2009
Depression May Blur Memory of Aches and Pains: Expert suggests having people write down symptoms as they occur
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 records of whether they felt any of 15 common physical symptoms, including aches and pains, gastrointestinal problems and upper-respiratory issues. At the end of the three-week period, the women ...
HealthDay - 11/4/2009
Use Of Cannabinoids Could Help Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Patients
Use of cannabinoids (marijuana) could assist in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder patients. This is exposed in a new study carried out at the Learning and Memory Lab in the University of Haifa's Department of Psychology. The study, carried out by research student Eti Ganon-Elazar under the supervision of Dr. Irit Akirav, was published in the Journal of Neuroscience.
ScienceDaily - 11/4/2009
Why memory lane is such a mortifying stroll: Your brain is wired to keep mental souvenirs from times you'd rather forget
While most of us have a few humiliating memories tucked away in our heads, we seldom think about why they tend to stick around so long. But a researcher at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center offer insights into why the brain gloms on to certain memories, particularly ones stemming from a single incident.
MSNBC - 11/2/2009
Depression link to processed food
Eating a diet high in processed food increases the risk of depression, research suggests. What is more, people who ate plenty of vegetables, fruit and fish actually had a lower risk of depression, the University College London team found. Data on diet among 3,500 middle-aged civil servants was compared with depression five years later, the British Journal of Psychiatry reported. The team said the study was the first to look at the UK diet and depression.
BBC News - 11/2/2009
'Culture Of We' Buffers Genetic Tendency To Depression
A genetic tendency to depression is much less likely to be realized in a culture centered on collectivistic rather than individualistic values, according to a new Northwestern University study. In other words, a genetic vulnerability to depression is much more likely to be realized in a Western culture than an East Asian culture that is more about we than me-me-me. The study coming out of the growing field of cultural neuroscience takes a global look at mental health across ...
ScienceDaily - 10/30/2009
Psychotherapy Beats Light Treatment for SAD: Study finds it easier, more effective therapy for seasonal affective disorder
As daylight hours dwindle, people with seasonal affective disorder (SAD) can often feel the onset of wintertime depression, but a new study suggests one type of remedy may work better than another at banishing the SAD blues. Cognitive behavioral therapy specially designed to treat people with SAD is more effective at preventing recurrences of depression than either light therapy or a combination of the two, the study found.
HealthDay - 10/29/2009
Millions of Americans Don't Get Enough Sleep: Seven hours of rest a night is important for good health, expert says
Only one-third of adults say they are getting enough sleep every night, a new U.S. government report shows. Some 50 million to 70 million American adults suffer from sleep and wakefulness disorders, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Not getting enough sleep has been tied to mental distress, depression, anxiety, obesity, hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol and certain risk behaviors including cigarette smoking, physical inactivity ...
HealthDay - 10/29/2009
No Pain, No Gain: Mastering A Skill Makes Us Stressed In The Moment, Happy Long Term
No pain, no gain applies to happiness, too, according to new research published online in the Journal of Happiness Studies. People who work hard at improving a skill or ability, such as mastering a math problem or learning to drive, may experience stress in the moment, but experience greater happiness on a daily basis and longer term, the study suggests.
ScienceDaily - 10/29/2009
Phone Counseling for Depression Rings With Promise: Talk sessions plus psychotherapy offer most benefit, study finds
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, feedback and care coordination. Another group received telephone care management plus psychotherapy, which added ...
HealthDay - 10/27/2009
Depression Often Goes Untreated in Working Moms: Health insurance, employee assistance could help mothers get treatment, researchers say
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 researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health.
HealthDay - 10/27/2009
Kids on psych drugs have alarming weight gain: Many gain between 10 and 20 pounds in only 11 weeks, new study shows
Children on widely used psychiatric drugs can quickly gain an alarming amount of weight; many pack on nearly 20 pounds and become obese within just 11 weeks, a study found. "Sometimes this stuff just happens like an explosion. You can actually see them grow between appointments," said Dr. Christopher Varley, a psychiatrist with Seattle Children's Hospital who called the study "sobering." Weight gain is a known possible side effect of the anti-psychotic drugs which are ...
MSNBC - 10/27/2009
Married With Children The Key To Happiness?
Having children improves married peoples' life satisfaction and the more they have, the happier they are. For unmarried individuals, raising children has little or no positive effect on their happiness. These findings by Dr. Luis Angeles from the University of Glasgow in the UK have just been published online in Springer's Journal of Happiness Studies. Previous research suggests that increasing numbers of children do not make people any happier, and in some cases the ...
ScienceDaily - 10/27/2009
Antidepressants get to work immediately to lift mood, contrary to current belief, UK researchers say
Although patients may not notice the effects until months into the therapy, the team say they work subconsciously. The action is rapid, beginning within hours of taking the drugs, and changes negative thoughts, according to the Oxford University researchers. These subtle, positive cues may add up over time to lift the depression, the American Journal of Psychiatry reports. It may also explain why talking therapies designed to break negative thought cycles can also help.
BBC News - 10/26/2009
Adolescents' Gambling A Part Of A Cluster Of Problem Behaviors
Ten percent of young adolescent boys -- or one in 10 -- exhibit a symptom of conduct disorder as well as a symptom of risky or problem gambling, according to new research findings from the University at Buffalo's Research Institute on Addictions (RIA). As the number of conduct disorder symptoms increase, the number of problem gambling symptoms increase in step, the study showed.
ScienceDaily - 10/26/2009
A younger, smarter wife is the secret of a happy marriage, say experts
The secret to a happy marriage for men is choosing a wife who is smarter and at least five years younger than you, say UK experts. These pairings are more likely to go the distance, particularly if neither has been divorced in the past, according to the Bath University team. The findings predict a happy future for pop star Beyonce Knowles, 28, and rapper husband Jay-Z, 39. The work is published in the European Journal of Operational Research.
BBC News - 10/26/2009
Pregnant and addicted, mothers find hope
Some are girlish 22-year-olds; others are women approaching 40. They come from South Carolina's rural counties and its booming cities. They are loud and muted, lively and vacant, hopeful and desperate. As different as they are, they share a connection to two powerful forces : their addictions and their babies. They are swallowed by the same shameful past. They don't know if they can be good mothers. They don't know if they can be clean mothers.
CNN - 10/26/2009
Why Antidepressants Don't Work For So Many
More than half the people who take antidepressants for depression never get relief. Why? Because the cause of depression has been oversimplified and drugs designed to treat it aim at the wrong target, according to new research from the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. The medications are like arrows shot at the outer rings of a bull's eye instead of the center.
ScienceDaily - 10/26/2009
Workplace health may be declining -- what to do
Amid the highest unemployment rate in recent decades and massive job losses around the country, most workers feel happy to at least be employed. What they aren't feeling, however, is healthy. One in three workers has at least one symptom of clinical depression; 41 percent say they feel stressed sometimes, often, or very often; and one in five has trouble falling asleep often or very often. In all, 14 percent are being treated for high cholesterol and one in five is ...
CNN - 10/22/2009
Childhood Risk Factors For Developing Substance Dependence
There is ample evidence for the genetic influence of alcohol dependence, and ongoing studies are actively looking for specific genes that may confer this increased susceptibility. In addition, while it is well-known that individual risk is increased with the number of relatives with alcohol dependence, scientists have not been in a position to identify who among these individuals might have greater or lesser risk.
ScienceDaily - 10/22/2009
Pesticides exposure linked to suicidal thoughts
A new study in China has found that people with higher levels of pesticide exposure are more likely to have suicidal thoughts. The study was carried out by Dr. Robert Stewart from the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London together with scientists from Tongde Hospital Zhejiang Province.
EurekAlert - 10/22/2009
For SAD Sufferers, Cognitive Behavior Better Than Light Therapy At Preventing Recurrence, Study Suggests
In the September issue of the journal Behavior Therapy, University of Vermont psychologist Kelly Rohan presents the first published research study of the long-term effects of different treatments for seasonal affective disorder (SAD), a form of severe depression that occurs annually in the fall and winter seasons. The first year Rohan randomized 69 people with SAD into one of four groups: light therapy treatment, cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), a combination of the two or ...
ScienceDaily - 10/19/2009
Fine-tuning treatments for depression
New research clarifies how neurotransmitters like norepinephrine, serotonin, and dopamine, are regulated – a finding that may help fine-tune therapies for depression. Current drugs for depression target the regulatory process for neurotransmitters, and while effective in some cases, do not appear to work in other cases. Recent findings suggest that synucleins, a family of small proteins in the brain, are key players in the management of neurotransmitters ...
EurekAlert - 10/19/2009
Study: Working past retirement boosts health - And mental health is better for those in jobs related to their original field
Older people who hold temporary or part-time jobs after retirement enjoy better physical and mental health than those who stop working entirely, according to a U.S. study released on Tuesday. Those who continue to work in their original field also have better mental health than those who change fields, according to a study published in the October issue of the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology published by the American Psychological Association.
MSNBC - 10/19/2009
Post-Traumatic Stress May Raise Death Risks: Veterans with disorder more likely to die within a year of major surgery, study finds
Veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder face an increased risk for dying after surgery, even if the surgery is performed years after they have completed their service, according to a U.S. study. Researchers analyzed data on 1,792 male veterans who had major non-cardiac, non-emergency surgeries between 1998 and 2008. Of that group, 129 (7.8 percent) had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) before their surgery.
HealthDay - 10/19/2009
What Is Munchausen Syndrome? What Causes Munchausen Syndrome?
Munchausen syndrome is the recurrent faking of catastrophic illnesses. It is a psychological disorder in which the individual keeps coming back for treatment for an acute and often serious illness which does not exist or has been deliberately induced - patients recurrently pretend they are seriously ill and ask for treatment. Munchausen syndrome should be spelled with a double "H", as in Munchhausen. However, the misspelling with just one "H" has become so common that it ...
Medical News Today - 10/19/2009
Fear Of Being Laughed At Crosses Cultural Boundaries
Laughter is an emotional expression that is innate in human beings. This means laughing at others is also believed to be a universal phenomenon. However, the fear of being laughed at causes some people enormous problems in their social lives. This is known as gelotophobia, a disorder that affects people in all cultures alike. What is the difference between a shy person and another who suffers from gelotophobia? One of the aims of a study published recently in ...
ScienceDaily - 10/16/2009
Green Spaces Boost the Body and the Mind: Study finds measurable health benefits for those with easy access to nature
The closer you live to nature, the healthier you're likely to be. For instance, people who live within 1 kilometer of a park or wooded area experience less anxiety and depression, Dutch researchers report. The findings put concrete numbers on a concept that many health experts had assumed to be true. "It's nice to see that it shows that, that the closer humans are to the natural environment, that seems to have a healthy influence," said Dr. David Rakel, director of integrative ...
HealthDay - 10/15/2009
'ECG for the mind' could diagnose depression in an hour
An innovative diagnostic technique invented by a Monash University researcher could dramatically fast-track the detection of mental and neurological illnesses. Monash biomedical engineer Brian Lithgow has developed electrovestibulography which is something akin to an 'ECG for the mind'. Patterns of electrical activity in the brain's vestibular (or balance) system are measured against distinct response patterns found in depression, schizophrenia and other ...
EurekAlert - 10/15/2009
Popular antidepressant associated with a dramatic increase in suicidal thoughts amongst men
Nortriptyline has been found to cause a tenfold increase in suicidal thoughts in men when compared to its competitor escitalopram. These findings are published in the open-access journal BMC Medicine.
EurekAlert - 10/15/2009
Abused women suffer more mental, physical ills
Even if the obvious signs of domestic violence can be hidden, women who are abused may be at risk of other conditions not usually associated with such abuse, according to a new study. Women who have been abused by their partners in the past year are more likely than women who have never been abused to be diagnosed with illnesses ranging from depression to chest pain to urinary tract infections, a new study in the Archives of Internal Medicine shows.
Reuters - 10/13/2009
Sports Stars Help Level The Playing Field For People With Mental Illness
Frank Bruno, Tony Adams and Marcus Trescothick back the publication of Levelling the Playing Field, a new report from Time to Change that applauds five sportspeople who have bravely spoken out about their experiences of mental illness. It is launched ahead of World Mental Health Day and comes as 30,000 people around the country take part in hundreds of Time to Change Get Moving events to get active and learn more about mental illness.
Medical News Today - 10/13/2009
Recession Adds to Ranks of Americans With Depression: Being unemployed or underemployed puts mental health at risk, survey finds
Unemployed Americans are four times more likely than those with jobs to report symptoms of severe mental illness, such as major depression, according to a new national survey that reveals the mental health toll of the recession. The poll of 1,002 adults aged 18 and older also found that people with jobs who were forced to accept work changes, such as reduced hours or pay cuts, were twice as likely to have symptoms.
HealthDay - 10/9/2009
A few months of talk therapy treats bulimia
A specific form of talk therapy may help people with binge-type eating disorders stop their unhealthy behaviors with just a few months of treatment, research suggests. A multi-study review of psychological therapies for bulimia nervosa showed that bulimia-specific talk therapy, also called cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), compared with no treatment, led to cessation of binge eating in about 37 percent of those treated, Dr. Phillipa P. J. Hay, at the University of ...
Reuters - 10/9/2009
Mediterranean diet cuts depression risk: Eating plenty of fish, veggies and whole grains may brighten your outlook
People who follow a Mediterranean-style diet rich in vegetables, fruits, nuts, whole grains and fish are less likely to become depressed, scientists said on Monday, but the reasons are unclear. Spanish researchers studied 11,000 people and found that those who followed the Mediterranean diet most closely had a more than 30 percent reduction in the risk of depression than those whose diet had few of the crucial Mediterranean elements.
MSNBC - 10/7/2009
Teens With ADHD, Depression Risk Internet Addiction: In a wired world, obsessive use is likely to increase, experts say
Teenagers with psychosocial disorders such as ADHD, depression and social phobia are more likely to be addicted to the Internet than other teens, new research suggests. Because computer use is a way of life in the United States, the potential exists for childhood computer addiction to become a major public health problem, the Taiwanese study authors say.
HealthDay - 10/7/2009
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