Depression Blog

In a sharp contrast to the suicide rates among U.S. teens during 1990-2003, where they fell by 28% have risen by 76% from 2003 to 2004. As per a report, this has been the biggest jump in suicides in the last fifteen years. Today, most of the suicides are done by hanging and guns are used exceptionally. The age group of 10-14 has witnessed the maximum number of suicides. It is important to mention here that suicide ranks as the eleventh major cause of deaths in U.S. It has risen to the third position for deaths among young Americans.

If you an exercise freak, here’s a good news for you. Your love for exercise can actually come as a bonus for your health. Do you know, it stimulates the formation of new brain cells? It means, exercise can do the work of antidepressant for a depressed.

And, if you love being lazy after hours of your non-physical office works, then better adopt exercising habit right away. If you experience mild to moderate depression, and not a clinical and acute one, keep those pills away and kick off that burning outs habits.

That exercise has a similar effect of antidepressants on depression, is no new a finding. It has been established by previous research. But, what the new study has revealed is how this can happen! - i.e. how does exercise stimulates new brain cells production.

Courtesy, Astrid Bjørnebekk at Karolinska Institutet, for uncovering the underlying biological mechanisms that explain

– why can exercise be a form of therapy for the depressed. To make this finding, Bjørnebekk has also compared it with pharmacological treatment with an SSRI drug.

She says,

What is interesting is that the effect of antidepressant therapy can be greatly strengthened by external environmental factors.

A finding, a statement is not as convincing as an explanation to it - this is exactly what the new study did. It clearly explains how exercise can have an effect of an antidepressant in mild to moderately severe depression.

So, we can surely conclude that exercise is a very good complement to medicines - A bit of exercise a day can keep the doctor away.

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Are you one of those people who are sad because it’s fall and about to be winter? Then, you are probably down with SAD or Seasonal affective disorder. With the eerie silence of snow falls, comes a season of depression.

Christmas isn’t always fun for everyone. The American Academy of Family Physicians reported that about half-million people in the U.S. experience this disorder.

Chocolate lovers around the world have long associated the consumption of chocolate, manufactured from the simple cocoa bean, with enjoyment and pleasure. However, researchers have found that chocolate has a greater benefit and can make some people — who are prone to depression — less anxious.

Defining stress has never been an easy task for scientists. It is simply because; the ’subjective sensation’ is linked with varied symptoms differing from each other.

While for someone or sometimes stress is helpful by encouraging one to meet a deadline or get things done, it may not be the same for others.

Whatever it may be , long-term stress is really bad for anyone!It can eventually increase the risk of diseases like depression, heart disease and a variety of other problems. And, if a social stress is chronic, it could worsen ‘neuro-degenerative disorder!’

In such a case, brain cells and spinal cord — composed of neurons — are gradually destroyed. Thus, it affects different functions of the body like controlling movements, processing sensory information, and even making decisions.

Stress may also elevate levels of ‘protein cytokine’ — interleukin-6 (IL-6). This can eventually increases severity of illnesses like multiple sclerosis - the serious, incurable neurological disease that can cause blindness as well as paralysis.

The lead researcher of the study, Mary Meagher said,

People exposed to chronic social conflict experience high levels of stress and consequent dysregulation of the immune system, thereby increasing vulnerability to infectious and autoimmune diseases.

So, if you are suffering form chronic social stress, deal with it immediately ether yourself, or by taking the help of counseling that may help you relax and calm down in the first place. If, required follow it by medicines - whatever work on it before it’s too late!

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Depression and anxiety disorders are increasing among young people having high stress jobs according to a study conducted by researchers at the institute of psychiatry at King’s College London to find a link between stressful working conditions and the mental health of workers.

Nearly 1,000 people in the early stages of their careers whose average age was 32 and those who had no previous history of disorders were assessed. It was found that forty five percent of the participants were going through major depression or anxiety disorders and attributed these symptoms to work related stress.

Work stress appears to bring on diagnosable forms of depression and anxiety in previously healthy young workers; in fact the occurrence is two times higher than among workers whose jobs are less demanding

says Dr Maria Melchior, lead author of the study.

It is interesting to note here, that most of the high pressured jobs were not only high collared jobs, but included ordinary jobs like chefs, school teachers and construction workers. This is probably due to the inflexible deadlines and also the constant struggle to meet up to the public expectations.

The rate of depression has nearly doubled in the last decade and the number of women going through depression due to work related stress has also increased.

The least stressful jobs according to the study were librarians, speech therapists, hairdressers, postmen and those in administrative jobs.

Find out what you can do to remain stress free at your work place here.

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As per a new study, the teenagers and adults of America, suffering from bipolar disorder have increased in number as compared to the past. Bipolar disorder which is basically a psyche illness is basically characterized by depression and elevated moods for some period. The study was done by Dr. Mark Olfson of Columbia University and New York State Psychiatric Institute. He and his colleagues compared the figures between 1994-1995 and 2002-2003 with respect to one group involving individuals aged 19 and younger, the other comprising of adults aged 30 and above.

A latest study reveals that consumption of cannabis in small amount can be useful sometimes and it helps in reducing depression, but its high doses can prove to be very harmful and it can lead to the polar opposite effect.

Soldiers returning home from Iraq are found to be suffering from depression during their first months at home, according to a new study. The ‘adjustment struggle’ was more profound for the National Guard troops and reservists than it was for the active-duty soldiers.

According to the study conducted by the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, about 42% of the Guard and reserves compared to 20% of active-duty soldiers needed mental health treatment in two screenings. The first testing was immediately after return from Iraq and the second after six months. Problems became more severe in the second screening with rise in interpersonal problems and difficulty in adjusting in home.

The study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that over 88,000 returning soldiers showed signs of depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, conflicts in relationship and other problems after six months.

To cope with the problem the US army has created a training program called Battlemind that helps soldiers and their families to prepare for the stress of war and what signs of war to watch for.

Source:yahoo news
Image:ruvr

Fifty percent of university students suffer from clinical anxiety with more than one in 10 suffering from clinical depression, with the percentage only rising alarmingly on college campuses. This statistics is revealed by the UK-based Mental Health Foundation.

This is majorly prevailed in the western countries, with high work-pressure and insecurities rising from professionalism and cut-throat competition.

To add to the crisis, more than half of these students suffering significantly from anxiety or depression do not seek help.

This disappointing situation, in which mental health service is not accessed by depressed students is revealed by a Web-based survey conducted by Daniel Eisenberg, assistant professor at the University of Michigan (U-M) School of Public Health.

This is, in brief, what the survey found:

• Anywhere from 37 to 84 percent of students didn’t seek disorder-depending treatment.

• And, only 10 percent of surveyed students are found to have taken some type of psychotropic drug.

Though disappointed with the prevailing scenario, but optimistic for the future, Eisenberg said,

Often college student mental health is framed as a problem on the rise. One can also think of it as a unique opportunity because college campuses offer several ways to reach students and affect their lives positively.

Ah! Here is a better opportunity for students to take assistance to curb their growing depression. The University of Michigan has developed a mental health assessment instrument to be used by a US national network of counseling centers to host a ‘Depression on College Campuses’ conference annually.

It has conducted a stigma reduction campaign called “Real Men, Real Depression.” To read more about it, visit here...

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