Posts tagged with 'depression'
Recent research: lifestyle - five papers on sleep, exercise & stress management
26th February 2009
Here are five papers on lifestyle and the benefits of making healthy choices. The first by Cohen et al on sleep habits and susceptibility to the common cold, showed increased risk of developing a cold after infection for those with shorter sleep duration. Interestingly the increased risk was even greater …
A couple of interesting, helpful websites
21st February 2009
Here are a couple of very interesting, helpful websites that I've been reminded of recently. They illustrate in a fun way the diversity and possibilities of the internet. The first is http://www.meetup.com/ which calls itself the "World's largest community of local Meetups, clubs and groups" with its strapline "Do something, …
Time to change: let’s challenge mental health discrimination
7th February 2009
On 26th January the BMJ reported on the new £18 million Time to Change campaign " ... to tackle the discrimination and stigma that surrounds mental health ... The Time to Change initiative is funded by Comic Relief and the National Lottery. Its aim is to tell the public that …
Recent research: half a dozen papers relevant to psychotherapy
22nd January 2009
Here are half a dozen papers relevant to psychotherapy. The first two throw some light on the question of whether it matters which form of established psychotherapy one uses to treat a particular depression sufferer - bearing in mind Cuijpers et al's recent meta-analysis suggesting that " ... there are …
Recent research: six studies on prevalence of depression & anxiety, and risk factors for depression, bipolar disorder & suicide
15th January 2009
Here are a couple of studies on the prevalence of depression and anxiety, and four on risk factors for depression, bipolar disorder and suicide. Strine et al report on a major survey of depression and anxiety in the United States. They found "The overall prevalence of current depressive symptoms was …
Recent research: two papers on mindfulness & four on sleep
8th January 2009
Here are two papers on mindfulness and four on sleep. The Kuyken et al paper is important. It compares mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) with continuation antidepressants in the prevention of relapse in recurrent depression. The results are great - "Relapse/recurrence rates over 15-month follow-ups in MBCT were 47%, compared with …
Recent research: mind-body & body-mind effects for cancer, allergy, dementia, & mental health
18th December 2008
Here are five studies on the loose theme of how the mind affects the body, and the body affects the mind ... and that the distinction between mind and body is pretty arbitrary anyway. Using meta-analysis, Chida & colleagues highlight considerable evidence suggesting that stress-related psychosocial factors have an adverse …
Recent research: six studies on depression – bereavement, pregnancy, bipolar disorder, suicide, & stress in hospital staff
11th December 2008
Five of these six studies are from last month's American Journal of Psychiatry. Kendler et al discuss the many similarities and only occasional differences between bereavement-related and other life event-related depression - an issue explored further in Maj's editorial. Li et al show that depression in pregnancy (exacerbated further by …
Barbara Fredrickson’s recent research study on loving-kindness meditation (first post)
7th December 2008
I've just been reading the recent paper by Barbara Fredrickson and colleagues "Open hearts build lives: Positive emotions, induced through loving kindness meditation, build consequential personal resources" (Fredrickson, Cohn et al. 2008). It's quite a long read - 16 closely printed A4 pages - and it's fascinating in a whole …
Recent research: seven studies on diet, supplements & smoking
27th November 2008
Here are a couple of studies on smoking, a couple on B vitamins, a couple on vitamin D, and an intriguing study on iron. The smoking papers underline the varieties of damage this habit produces. So the Pasco et al study shows that, for women, being a smoker is associated …