Depression
Study Identifies Effective Prevention Method for Depression in Elderly
Considering the impact that major depression can have on an individual, identifying risk factors and fighting to prevent their occurrence can be important. University of Rochester Medical Center researchers have pinpointed some of these factors in the elderly and their findings are summarized in a Science Daily release.
The research was led by Jeffrey M. Lyness, M.D., professor of Psychiatry at the Medical Center, which could lead to preventative measures. Such an approach could hold promise for those by providing the greatest health benefit at the lowest cost.
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How Exercise Affects Depressive Symptoms in Overweight Children
Exercise is often recommended for battling the blues, including fighting off depressive symptoms. Runners sometimes refer to a “runners’ high,” a euphoric feeling that makes them energized and enthusiastic after what would be expected to be a long, exhausting workout.
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Women at Greater Risk of Depression after Stroke
Depression is a common side effect for a person who has suffered a stroke. In fact, it happens in as many as one-third of patients. According to a large new review of studies in the field, post-stroke depression is associated with greater disability, a reduced quality of life and an increased risk of death.
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Depressed Individuals Tend to Exaggerate Symptoms
Do you remember when you had a sore finger as a child and mom would make it feel better by simply applying a band aid and a kiss? It is quite likely that the finger did not hurt as much as we would like to believe and when we received the attention and comfort desired, the pain went away.
Much of this same concept applies for those who are dealing with depression. This is not to say they have made up their depression, but instead that their depression is leading to the creation of symptoms that may or may not actually exist.
Science Daily recently examined this phenomenon in a post which featured new research that found those who feel depressed tend to recall having more physical symptoms than they actually experienced. According to the study, depression – and not neuroticism – is the cause of over-reporting.
Psychologist Jerry Suls is a professor and collegiate fellow in the University of Iowa College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. He attributes the findings to the fact that depressed individuals recall experiences differently. As a result, these individuals tend to dwell on and exaggerate the bad.
“People who felt depressed made the most errors when asked to remember their physical symptoms,” Suls said. “They tended to exaggerate their experience. For 30 years, the hypothesis has been that neuroticism is behind inflated reports of symptoms. We’re saying no — depression appears to be the big player,” Suls said. “We discovered that people high in neuroticism but low in depression are not likely to misremember symptoms.”
While this study focused only on women, Suls and colleagues plan to examine results for a group of mixed genders. Those who participated in the studies were considered to be in good health overall. Suls also plans to investigate how depression affects symptoms reported in individuals with chronic illnesses.
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Mindfulness Mental Training Eases Anxiety and Depression
Mental training based on mindfulness – or an emotional self-regulating tool consisting of a focus on what we are doing, thinking about or feeling at every moment – helps to fight against psychological diseases such as anxiety, depression, concern or complaints about health.
According to a doctoral thesis from the University of Granada and summarized in a Science Daily post, psychological diseases are very common among secondary education teachers. Mental training based on mindfulness may offer an answer as it has been proven to be very positive for emotional regulation.
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Associations Explored Between Chronic Pain, Depressive Symptoms in Adolescent School Performance
Adolescents have much to distract them during their school days. A sudden awareness in the opposite sex, new independence as they gain freedom from more restrictive elementary school schedules, and pressure to do well academically and in extracurricular activities keep adolescents’ minds busy. What happens if you throw an additional major circumstance into a child’s life?
Recent research says that adolescents who struggle with chronic pain can have depressive symptoms that lead to problems with school functioning. A study done by Logan, Simons, and Kaczynski at Harvard University Medical School examined the dynamics of the challenges adolescents face when dealing with chronic pain.
SAD Long-Term Treatment Effects Studied
Seasonal affect disorder (SAD) is a very common – and often overlooked – condition. This severe form of depression occurs for millions of people every year in the fall and winter seasons. University of Vermont psychologist Kelly Rohan wanted to study the long-term effects of different treatments of this disorder. Rohans findings were summarized in a recent release in Science Daily.
High Blood Lead Linked to Major Depression and Anxiety
Young adults with higher blood lead levels appear more likely to have major depression and panic disorders, even if they their exposure to lead levels are generally considered safe, according to a report in the December issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
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Certain Antidepressants Change Personality
A new study suggests that antidepressants like Paxil do more than just make people feel less sad and stressed. Such drugs may alter two key personality traits linked to depression—neuroticism and extraversion—independently of their effect on depression symptoms.
“Medication can definitely change people’s personalities, and change them quite substantially,” says the lead author of the study, Tony Z. Tang, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. The findings show that “those changes are very important,” he says.
Military Children Suffer More Emotional Challenges than Other Children
A new study shows that children in military families may suffer from more emotional and behavioral difficulties when compared to other American youths. The study also found that when a parent is deployed overseas, older children and girls struggle the most.
Science Daily reports that RAND Corporation researchers found that having a parent deployed for a longer period of time and having a non-deployed parent who has struggled with emotional problems were important factors associated with whether military children would struggle themselves, according to the study, which was published online by the journal Pediatrics.
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