AUTHOR: Elizabeth Landau
PUBLICATION NAME: CNN Health
DATE OF PUBLICATION: November 29, 2010
SUMMARY: There is a correlation between depression in teens and facial ance outbreaks. Having ance creates stress and lowers self esteem. This is because the media and society tells one that they are supposed to have perfect, airbushed skin as it appears on models in advertisement or actors in television. This stress can cause an increase iin depression and in turn the depression can exacerbate acne. As one can see, this can become a viscious cycle. The acne causes the patient to have low self confidence, hence becoming more depressed, and the stress of this situation again causes the ance to get worse. Although this does seem to be a recurring pattern in teens and young adults, there is no evidence that directly links depression and ance, Psychologist Bobbie Mc Donald says that once teens move out of high school, these symptoms of depression seem to go away for a while. She says that because these young adults are shifting towards a new phase of life, and "redefining" themselves, the are more prone to viewing themselves in a more positive light. Teens easily fall prey to viewing themselves in a negative way if they are different from the norm. Acne can be painful and embarrassing for a young adult to live with, and often the effects of this stress can be seen in depression.
ARTICLE: cnn
Showing posts with label mood disorders. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mood disorders. Show all posts
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Fear Not the Winter Blues
AUTHOR: Henry Emmons, M.D.
PUBLICATION NAME: Psychology Today
SUMMARY: During the winter months, people begin to feel more tired and depressed. The reason behind this is because of the increased levels of melatonin that our bodies produce. The human body automatically produces melatonin, the sleep hormone, when light levels are low. In order to create melatonin, the body uses up seratonin, one of the hormones which keeps us happy. If we were to go to sleep at the time that the brain begins the production of melatonin, perhaps as early as 6pm, there would be no issue. But, because our schedules do not change much with the seasons, we keep ourselves awake, forcing the brain to create more melatonin, which lowers the level of seratonin and makes us more tired.
Researchers have found that 10% of people who live in northern latitudes will develop significant symptoms of depression. As many as 25% of northern populations will develop the milder version, known as SAD or Seasonal Affective Disorder.
Fortunately for us, there are ways of combating these "Winter Blues." In order to prevent SAD, you must trick your brain into thinking that it is summer. Scientists suggest that you expose yourself to brighter lights when you feel tired, get about 8-9 hours of sleep each night, eat light foods, exercise in the afternoon, and take B complex, Omega-3, and Vitamin D3.
LINKS TO STUDY: None
ARTICLE: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-chemistry-calm/201012/fear-not-the-winter-blues
SUBMITTED BY: Rosemary Barrass
PUBLICATION NAME: Psychology Today
SUMMARY: During the winter months, people begin to feel more tired and depressed. The reason behind this is because of the increased levels of melatonin that our bodies produce. The human body automatically produces melatonin, the sleep hormone, when light levels are low. In order to create melatonin, the body uses up seratonin, one of the hormones which keeps us happy. If we were to go to sleep at the time that the brain begins the production of melatonin, perhaps as early as 6pm, there would be no issue. But, because our schedules do not change much with the seasons, we keep ourselves awake, forcing the brain to create more melatonin, which lowers the level of seratonin and makes us more tired.
Researchers have found that 10% of people who live in northern latitudes will develop significant symptoms of depression. As many as 25% of northern populations will develop the milder version, known as SAD or Seasonal Affective Disorder.
Fortunately for us, there are ways of combating these "Winter Blues." In order to prevent SAD, you must trick your brain into thinking that it is summer. Scientists suggest that you expose yourself to brighter lights when you feel tired, get about 8-9 hours of sleep each night, eat light foods, exercise in the afternoon, and take B complex, Omega-3, and Vitamin D3.
LINKS TO STUDY: None
ARTICLE: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-chemistry-calm/201012/fear-not-the-winter-blues
SUBMITTED BY: Rosemary Barrass
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Despite Warnings, Antidepressants Rarely Trigger Suicidal Thoughts
AUTHOR: Catherine Donaldson-Evans
PUBLICATION NAME: Aol Health
DATE OF PUBLICATION: September 3, 2010
SUMMARY: People on antidepressants are more likely to have suicidal thoughts? Rarely. Researchers in Germany analyzed more than 140,000 European psychiatric patients who were all taking some sort of medicine for depression. Studies found that only a small percentage of these patients were suicidal, numerically speaking, out of 142,090 about 33 patients had thoughts of committing suicide and eighteen tried killing themselves (Journal of Clinical Psychiatry). “In clinical practice, seeing a patient on antidepressants who has thoughts of suicide is extremely rare” said psychiatric Dr. Daniel Carlat. In 2005 about 10 percent of Americans were taking medication for depression. Just like other studies, this study has problems: doctors used reports from the patients themselves about whether they felt suicidal, physicians didn’t watch the patients around the clock, and some patients were on antidepressants such as SSRI and others on benzodiazepines or other tranquilizers. This research counters existing theories that connect antidepressants to suicide. A Welsh psychiatric Dr. David Healy said, “There is no doubt that such medicine [antidepressants] can trigger suicidal feelings”. The issue on whether drugs or medicine can trigger suicidal feelings is controversial and affects all of us because since 1996 the number of users has doubled in 2005 (about 27 million people taking prescription drugs).
LINKS TO STUDY: N/A
ARTICLE: http://www.aolhealth.com/2010/09/03/despite-warnings-antidepressants-rarely-trigger-suicidal-thoughts/
ARTICLE: http://www.aolhealth.com/2010/09/03/despite-warnings-antidepressants-rarely-trigger-suicidal-thoughts/
SUBMITTED BY: Lovedeep Uppal
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Parental Depression After Childbirth
AUTHOR: “There is a well-established link between depression and social and economic deprivation both in the general population and among parents. This finding may reflect the stresses of poverty, unemployment, low employment grade and lower social support among people of lower socioeconomic status”.
19,286 mothers surveyed had a total of 25,176 episodes of depression and 8,012 fathers had a total of 9,683 episodes of depression.
Based on the findings, researches have concluded that there should be awareness among clinicians of the risk factors of depression in parents and immediate detection of depression is crucial. Authors also say that in the future, other factors for depression should come into play during research, such as the couple's relationship and stressful life situations.
LINKS TO STUDY: none
ARTICLE: Parental Depression After Childbirth
SUBMITTED BY: Kimberly Truong
19,286 mothers surveyed had a total of 25,176 episodes of depression and 8,012 fathers had a total of 9,683 episodes of depression.
Based on the findings, researches have concluded that there should be awareness among clinicians of the risk factors of depression in parents and immediate detection of depression is crucial. Authors also say that in the future, other factors for depression should come into play during research, such as the couple's relationship and stressful life situations.
LINKS TO STUDY: none
ARTICLE: Parental Depression After Childbirth
SUBMITTED BY: Kimberly Truong
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Can Preschoolers Be Depressed?
Author: Pamela Paul
Publication Name: The New York Times
Date of Publication: August 25, 2010
Summary:The article, “Can Preschoolers Be Depressed” by Pamela Paul, the cases of different preschoolers found to have been diagnosed with depression and how these children interact are discussed. The first example is about a boy named “Kiran” (a fake name to keep the boy’s identity anonymous). He seemed to be a good child while growing up, until his parents noticed that his actions were not as lively and bright as a normal preschooler should be. When Kiran was 5, he was diagnosed with preschool depression.
Depression was originally thought to have only affected adults, and not something that is found in children. Diagnosis of depression for preschoolers has also been a debate because of the belief that children cannot have such a mental disorder. However, ongoing studies show that children can in fact go through depression despite the young age and that depression can surface in children as young as 2 or 3. Although the fact that children can become depressed is true, it is extremely difficult to diagnose the child because there is little that a young child can directly tell about what is going on in their mind and life.
Studies also show that parents who are also depressed, particularly the mother, have a higher chance of their own children having depression. The children become afraid that they are bad children, and that their parents do not love them. In an effort to correct this thinking in children, they are sent to psychotherapy, with a parental unit, to go through “play therapy.” Another type of therapy is known as the Parent-Child Interaction Therapy, or P.C.I.T in which parents are taught to “encourage their children to acquire emotion regulation, stress management, guilt reparation and other coping skills” (Paul). PCIT was originally started in the 1970s and has now been modified to work for depression.
Although there are no definite results, PCIT is known to be a proficient method if the parents are an active part of their child’s process of overcoming depression. Psychologist Alicia Lieberman at U.C.S.F. said that “if you intervene early enough to change negative conditions, rather than perpetuate negative behaviors, you really are preventing the development of a full-fledged diagnosis.”
Links to Study: none
Article: Can Preschoolers Be Depressed?
Submitted by Julia Wong
Publication Name: The New York Times
Date of Publication: August 25, 2010
Summary:The article, “Can Preschoolers Be Depressed” by Pamela Paul, the cases of different preschoolers found to have been diagnosed with depression and how these children interact are discussed. The first example is about a boy named “Kiran” (a fake name to keep the boy’s identity anonymous). He seemed to be a good child while growing up, until his parents noticed that his actions were not as lively and bright as a normal preschooler should be. When Kiran was 5, he was diagnosed with preschool depression.
Depression was originally thought to have only affected adults, and not something that is found in children. Diagnosis of depression for preschoolers has also been a debate because of the belief that children cannot have such a mental disorder. However, ongoing studies show that children can in fact go through depression despite the young age and that depression can surface in children as young as 2 or 3. Although the fact that children can become depressed is true, it is extremely difficult to diagnose the child because there is little that a young child can directly tell about what is going on in their mind and life.
Studies also show that parents who are also depressed, particularly the mother, have a higher chance of their own children having depression. The children become afraid that they are bad children, and that their parents do not love them. In an effort to correct this thinking in children, they are sent to psychotherapy, with a parental unit, to go through “play therapy.” Another type of therapy is known as the Parent-Child Interaction Therapy, or P.C.I.T in which parents are taught to “encourage their children to acquire emotion regulation, stress management, guilt reparation and other coping skills” (Paul). PCIT was originally started in the 1970s and has now been modified to work for depression.
Although there are no definite results, PCIT is known to be a proficient method if the parents are an active part of their child’s process of overcoming depression. Psychologist Alicia Lieberman at U.C.S.F. said that “if you intervene early enough to change negative conditions, rather than perpetuate negative behaviors, you really are preventing the development of a full-fledged diagnosis.”
Links to Study: none
Article: Can Preschoolers Be Depressed?
Submitted by Julia Wong
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