an article by Mandy X. Hu, Yuri Milaneschi, Femke Lamers and Brenda W. J. H. Penninx (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam,The Netherlands), Ilja M. Nolte and Harold Snieder (University of Groningen, The Netherlands) and Conor V. Dolan and Eco J. C. de Geus (VU University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands) published in Depression and Anxiety Volume 36 Issue 12 (December 2019)
Abstract
Background
Depression and anxiety may unfavourably impact on cardiac autonomic dysregulation. However, it is unclear whether this relationship results from a causal effect or may be attributable to confounding factors. We tested the relationship between depression and anxiety with heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) across a 9‐year follow‐up (FU) period and investigated possible confounding by antidepressant use and genetic pleiotropy.
Methods
Data (no. of observations = 6,994, 65% female) were obtained from the longitudinal Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety, with repeated waves of data collection of HR, HRV, depression, anxiety, and antidepressant use. Summary statistics from meta‐analyses of genome‐wide association studies were used to derive polygenic risk scores of depression, HR, and HRV.
Results
Across the 9‐year FU, generalised estimating equations analyses showed that the relationship between cardiac autonomic dysregulation and depression/anxiety rendered nonsignificant after adjusting for antidepressant use. A robust association was found between antidepressant use (especially tricyclic antidepressants, selective serotonin, and noradrenalin reuptake inhibitors) and unfavourable cardiac autonomic activity across all waves. However, no evidence was found for a genetic correlation of depression with HR and HRV, indicating that confounding by genetic pleiotropy is minimal.
Conclusions
Our results indicate that the association between depression/anxiety and cardiac autonomic dysregulation does not result from a causal pathway or genetic pleiotropy, and these traits might therefore not be inevitably linked. Previously reported associations were likely confounded by the use of certain classes of antidepressants.
Full text (PDF 10pp)
Showing posts with label depression. Show all posts
Showing posts with label depression. Show all posts
Thursday, 19 December 2019
Tuesday, 17 December 2019
Depression increases the genetic susceptibility to high body mass index: Evidence from UK Biobank
an article by Anwar Mulugeta (University of South Australia Cancer Research Institute, Adelaide, Australia; Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia). Ang Zhou and Cameron Dickson (University of South Australia Cancer Research Institute, Adelaide, Australia), Karani S. Vimaleswaran (University of Reading, UK) and Elina Hyppönen (University of South Australia Cancer Research Institute, Adelaide, Australia; UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, UK; South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, Adelaide, Australia_ published in Depression and Anxiety Volume 36 Issue 12 (December 2019)
Abstract
Background
This study aimed to explore the association between depression and body mass index (BMI), and to investigate whether genetic susceptibility to high BMI is different among individuals with or without depression.
Methods
We used data on 251,125 individuals of white British ancestry from the UK Biobank. We conducted Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis to test for a causal association between depression and BMI using a major depressive disorder (MDD)‐related genetic risk score (GRSMDD) as an instrument for depression. We also examined whether depression modifies genetic susceptibility to high BMI, by investigating the interaction between depression and the BMI‐related GRSBMI.
Results
We found observational and genetic evidence for an association between depression and BMI (MR beta: 0.09, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.04–0.13). Further, the contribution of genetic risk to high BMI was higher among individuals with depression compared to controls. Carrying 10 additional BMI increasing alleles was associated with 0.24 standard deviation (SD; 95%CI 0.23–0.25) higher BMI among depressed individuals compared to 0.20 SD (95%CI 0.19–0.21) higher in controls, which corresponds to 3.4 kg and 2.8 kg extra weight for an individual of average height. Amongst the individual loci, the evidence for interaction was most notable for a variant near MC4R, a gene known to affect both appetite regulation and the hypothalamic‐pituitary adrenal axis (pinteraction = 5.7 × 10−5).
Conclusion
Genetic predisposition to high BMI was higher among depressed than to nondepressed individuals. This study provides support for a possible role of MC4R in the link between depression and obesity.
Abstract
Background
This study aimed to explore the association between depression and body mass index (BMI), and to investigate whether genetic susceptibility to high BMI is different among individuals with or without depression.
Methods
We used data on 251,125 individuals of white British ancestry from the UK Biobank. We conducted Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis to test for a causal association between depression and BMI using a major depressive disorder (MDD)‐related genetic risk score (GRSMDD) as an instrument for depression. We also examined whether depression modifies genetic susceptibility to high BMI, by investigating the interaction between depression and the BMI‐related GRSBMI.
Results
We found observational and genetic evidence for an association between depression and BMI (MR beta: 0.09, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.04–0.13). Further, the contribution of genetic risk to high BMI was higher among individuals with depression compared to controls. Carrying 10 additional BMI increasing alleles was associated with 0.24 standard deviation (SD; 95%CI 0.23–0.25) higher BMI among depressed individuals compared to 0.20 SD (95%CI 0.19–0.21) higher in controls, which corresponds to 3.4 kg and 2.8 kg extra weight for an individual of average height. Amongst the individual loci, the evidence for interaction was most notable for a variant near MC4R, a gene known to affect both appetite regulation and the hypothalamic‐pituitary adrenal axis (pinteraction = 5.7 × 10−5).
Conclusion
Genetic predisposition to high BMI was higher among depressed than to nondepressed individuals. This study provides support for a possible role of MC4R in the link between depression and obesity.
Wednesday, 11 December 2019
How Mother Nature and I Manage My Depression
a post by Amie Gabriel for the Tiny Buddha blog
“I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order.” ~John Burroughs
I sat on the front stoop sobbing, unable to move. Hunched over like a heaving dog hugging my knees and clutching a wad of decomposing tissues. About fifteen minutes before, I’d managed to get myself off the couch where I’d been parked, withered and absent, for the fourth consecutive day, and had made it through the front door.
Once there, I tried to stay upright, but like cool syrup I slid down the side of the wrought iron railing and down onto the steps. Now all I had to do was get up and walk to the mailbox and back and maybe I’d feel better. But I couldn’t do it. It was too much.
I hoisted my ladened head from my knees and stared out the driveway to the mailbox about seven hundred feet away. It may as well have been ten miles… or fifteen feet. It didn’t matter, it was too far.
“Please just help me get up,” I pleaded to a sombre sky. The help didn’t come and so there I sat crying, searching for the energy or the wherewithal to make myself move. Fifteen minutes, twenty minutes, twenty-five… the time oozed by thick and distorted.
It had happened before, more than once, and had overtaken me at varying speeds and intensity. Sometimes it leached in with the change of seasons; like an inflatable pool toy left floating past the end of summer, sad and wilted, the air having seeped out in infinitesimal degrees. Sometimes I could fight it off, catch it before things got too grim. Not this time. I’d felt myself spiralling down, hot wind escaping me until I was in a deflated heap, slack and flaccid on the sofa.
Continue reading
“I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order.” ~John Burroughs
I sat on the front stoop sobbing, unable to move. Hunched over like a heaving dog hugging my knees and clutching a wad of decomposing tissues. About fifteen minutes before, I’d managed to get myself off the couch where I’d been parked, withered and absent, for the fourth consecutive day, and had made it through the front door.
Once there, I tried to stay upright, but like cool syrup I slid down the side of the wrought iron railing and down onto the steps. Now all I had to do was get up and walk to the mailbox and back and maybe I’d feel better. But I couldn’t do it. It was too much.
I hoisted my ladened head from my knees and stared out the driveway to the mailbox about seven hundred feet away. It may as well have been ten miles… or fifteen feet. It didn’t matter, it was too far.
“Please just help me get up,” I pleaded to a sombre sky. The help didn’t come and so there I sat crying, searching for the energy or the wherewithal to make myself move. Fifteen minutes, twenty minutes, twenty-five… the time oozed by thick and distorted.
It had happened before, more than once, and had overtaken me at varying speeds and intensity. Sometimes it leached in with the change of seasons; like an inflatable pool toy left floating past the end of summer, sad and wilted, the air having seeped out in infinitesimal degrees. Sometimes I could fight it off, catch it before things got too grim. Not this time. I’d felt myself spiralling down, hot wind escaping me until I was in a deflated heap, slack and flaccid on the sofa.
Continue reading
Monday, 9 December 2019
Depression: men far more at risk than women in deprived areas
an article by Olivia Remesan for The Conversation [via World of Psychology’s Psychology Around the Net]
Loss of purpose. Shutterstock
Depression is a major cause of disability around the world, and if left untreated, can lead to substance abuse, anxiety and suicide.
Major depressive disorder is a particular form of the condition which affects many people, potentially causing loss of pleasure in activities that once used to bring joy. It can also lead to feelings of worthlessness, imbalances such as oversleeping or insomnia, and trigger thoughts of suicide. This is the condition we examined during our new study, which showed that living in a deprived area can lead to major depressive disorder in men, but not in women.
Before explaining these findings, it is important to provide some further background on this condition. There are certain factors which can place you at increased risk for major depression. Being diagnosed with a serious chronic ailment, such as diabetes or cancer, now or in the past, can increase your risk for it. As can experiences of trauma, such as physical or sexual abuse, or being raised in a dysfunctional family in which there was a high degree of marital discord.
These, however, are all individual factors – or personal circumstances – which can negatively affect your mental health. And most of the research on depression has indeed focused on such personal factors. But there are characteristics beyond the level of the individual – such as attributes of the communities in which we live – that can also have a profound effect on our mental well-being.
Continue reading
Loss of purpose. Shutterstock
Depression is a major cause of disability around the world, and if left untreated, can lead to substance abuse, anxiety and suicide.
Major depressive disorder is a particular form of the condition which affects many people, potentially causing loss of pleasure in activities that once used to bring joy. It can also lead to feelings of worthlessness, imbalances such as oversleeping or insomnia, and trigger thoughts of suicide. This is the condition we examined during our new study, which showed that living in a deprived area can lead to major depressive disorder in men, but not in women.
Before explaining these findings, it is important to provide some further background on this condition. There are certain factors which can place you at increased risk for major depression. Being diagnosed with a serious chronic ailment, such as diabetes or cancer, now or in the past, can increase your risk for it. As can experiences of trauma, such as physical or sexual abuse, or being raised in a dysfunctional family in which there was a high degree of marital discord.
These, however, are all individual factors – or personal circumstances – which can negatively affect your mental health. And most of the research on depression has indeed focused on such personal factors. But there are characteristics beyond the level of the individual – such as attributes of the communities in which we live – that can also have a profound effect on our mental well-being.
Continue reading
Wednesday, 27 November 2019
Bipolar disorder and depression in early adulthood and long‐term employment, income, and educational attainment: A nationwide cohort study of 2,390,127 individuals
an article by Christian Hakulinen (University of Helsinki, Finland; Aarhus University, Denmark) and Katherine L. Musliner and Esben Agerbo (Aarhus University, Denmark) published in Depression and Anxiety Volume 36 Issue 11 (November 2019)
Abstract
Background
Mood disorders are known to be associated with poor socioeconomic outcomes, but no study has examined these associations across the entire worklife course. Our goal was to estimate the associations between bipolar disorder and depression in early adulthood and subsequent employment, income, and educational attainment.
Methods
We conducted a nationwide prospective cohort study including all individuals (n = 2,390,127; 49% female) born in Denmark between 1955 and 1990. Hospital‐based diagnoses of depression and bipolar disorder before age 25 were obtained from the Danish psychiatric register. Yearly employment, earnings, and education status from ages 25 to 61 were obtained from the Danish labor market and education registers. We estimated both absolute and relative proportions.
Results
Population rates of hospital‐diagnosed depression and bipolar between ages 15–25 were 1% and 0.12%, respectively. Compared to individuals without mood disorders, those with depression and particularly bipolar disorder had consistently poor socioeconomic outcomes across the entire work‐life span. For example, at age 30, 62% of bipolar and 53% of depression cases were outside the workforce compared to 19% of the general population, and 52% of bipolar and 42% of depression cases had no higher education compared to 27% of the general population. Overall, individuals with bipolar disorder or depression earned around 36% and 51%, respectively, of the income earned by individuals without mood disorders. All associations were smaller for individuals not rehospitalized after age 25.
Conclusions
Severe mood disorders with onset before age 25, particularly bipolar disorder, are associated with persistent poor socioeconomic outcomes across the entire work‐life course.
Abstract
Background
Mood disorders are known to be associated with poor socioeconomic outcomes, but no study has examined these associations across the entire worklife course. Our goal was to estimate the associations between bipolar disorder and depression in early adulthood and subsequent employment, income, and educational attainment.
Methods
We conducted a nationwide prospective cohort study including all individuals (n = 2,390,127; 49% female) born in Denmark between 1955 and 1990. Hospital‐based diagnoses of depression and bipolar disorder before age 25 were obtained from the Danish psychiatric register. Yearly employment, earnings, and education status from ages 25 to 61 were obtained from the Danish labor market and education registers. We estimated both absolute and relative proportions.
Results
Population rates of hospital‐diagnosed depression and bipolar between ages 15–25 were 1% and 0.12%, respectively. Compared to individuals without mood disorders, those with depression and particularly bipolar disorder had consistently poor socioeconomic outcomes across the entire work‐life span. For example, at age 30, 62% of bipolar and 53% of depression cases were outside the workforce compared to 19% of the general population, and 52% of bipolar and 42% of depression cases had no higher education compared to 27% of the general population. Overall, individuals with bipolar disorder or depression earned around 36% and 51%, respectively, of the income earned by individuals without mood disorders. All associations were smaller for individuals not rehospitalized after age 25.
Conclusions
Severe mood disorders with onset before age 25, particularly bipolar disorder, are associated with persistent poor socioeconomic outcomes across the entire work‐life course.
Wednesday, 20 November 2019
The perks of being a bit neurotic
It's one of our five major personality traits, and arguably, it's the worst one. Why are some human beings neurotic?
a post by Matt Davis for the Big Think blog
a post by Matt Davis for the Big Think blog
- Scoring high in neuroticism is associated with a slew of negative outcomes for your physical and mental health.
- However, it appears to be an inherited trait, one that has persisted through the many thousands of years of human evolution.
- Some researchers argue that in the environment where humans first evolved, being a little neurotic may have been highly beneficial.
Monday, 11 November 2019
Why Am I so Sad? 9 Possible Causes You Shouldn’t Ignore
a post by Sarah Browne for the Lifehacker blog
Expressing emotions is difficult as it’s not always encouraged in society. People rely on comfort zones and a secure mask to get them through the day. You may feel emotions stirring and wonder, “Why am I so sad?” and not know where to begin in how to answer that.
In a way, being sensitive can be looked down upon. We ignore warning signs of sadness, depression and other forms of suffering because having feelings is something we cannot be open about in society. Stigma stifles us from speaking up.
It shouldn’t be something we are afraid of. With the release or catharsis of emotion, we find resilience and who we want to be. Sadness is one emotion of many. But it’s often the one most ignored. We don’t want to appear weak to others, or even to ourselves.
Ignoring sadness leads to repression. It may also lead to depression.
There is a difference between sadness and depression. Sadness you feel, depression may lead into numbness, intense sadness or a heaviness that cannot be easily coped with. You may go through all your coping skills for sadness, and it may still be there if it’s depression.
Typically, sadness is fleeting and brought on by something; it comes and goes, whereas depression holds us down for long periods of time maybe lasting weeks or so. It’s where we are in a hole we feel we cannot climb out of by ourselves, but we are even more afraid to ask for help.
When you are feeling sad, you are most likely feeling alone. You are most likely feeling helpless. You feel like it’s the end of the world or that you can’t go on. It’s a grief of something. But part of depression is feeling this way almost nonstop at a depth that can overrule your behavior.
When you feel sad, you may be at a juncture in life of confusion. Where do I go from here? What next? Or even, what is worth holding onto?
Do you find yourself hiding away from the world in shame or confusion?
Do you find yourself feeling hollow or empty, even though more tears may come up?
Do you find yourself feeling lost?
These are the key components to both sadness and depression. Sadness may hold on but it doesn’t linger. Depression doesn’t let go.
Seek a professional to help assist with either, but for now, reasoning through the causes may help to identify a way for a solutions.
Continue reading
Expressing emotions is difficult as it’s not always encouraged in society. People rely on comfort zones and a secure mask to get them through the day. You may feel emotions stirring and wonder, “Why am I so sad?” and not know where to begin in how to answer that.
In a way, being sensitive can be looked down upon. We ignore warning signs of sadness, depression and other forms of suffering because having feelings is something we cannot be open about in society. Stigma stifles us from speaking up.
It shouldn’t be something we are afraid of. With the release or catharsis of emotion, we find resilience and who we want to be. Sadness is one emotion of many. But it’s often the one most ignored. We don’t want to appear weak to others, or even to ourselves.
Ignoring sadness leads to repression. It may also lead to depression.
There is a difference between sadness and depression. Sadness you feel, depression may lead into numbness, intense sadness or a heaviness that cannot be easily coped with. You may go through all your coping skills for sadness, and it may still be there if it’s depression.
Typically, sadness is fleeting and brought on by something; it comes and goes, whereas depression holds us down for long periods of time maybe lasting weeks or so. It’s where we are in a hole we feel we cannot climb out of by ourselves, but we are even more afraid to ask for help.
When you are feeling sad, you are most likely feeling alone. You are most likely feeling helpless. You feel like it’s the end of the world or that you can’t go on. It’s a grief of something. But part of depression is feeling this way almost nonstop at a depth that can overrule your behavior.
When you feel sad, you may be at a juncture in life of confusion. Where do I go from here? What next? Or even, what is worth holding onto?
Do you find yourself hiding away from the world in shame or confusion?
Do you find yourself feeling hollow or empty, even though more tears may come up?
Do you find yourself feeling lost?
These are the key components to both sadness and depression. Sadness may hold on but it doesn’t linger. Depression doesn’t let go.
Seek a professional to help assist with either, but for now, reasoning through the causes may help to identify a way for a solutions.
Continue reading
Monday, 14 October 2019
Diet and depression: what you eat impacts your mood
a post by Jason Weisberger for the Boing Boing blog
For years a friend has been telling my diet was hurting my general demeanor.
Last year I stopped ignoring her and switched to a diet more like what is described in this study.
I will never be Mr. Cheerful, but it really did help.
NPR:
A randomized controlled trial published in the journal PLOS ONE finds that symptoms of depression dropped significantly among a group of young adults after they followed a Mediterranean-style pattern of eating for three weeks. Participants saw their depression "score" fall from the "moderate" range down to the "normal" range, and they reported lower levels of anxiety and stress too.Hazel’s comment:
Alternatively, the depression scores among the control group of participants – who didn't change their diets – didn't budge. These participants continued to eat a diet higher in refined carbohydrates, processed foods and sugary foods and beverages. Their depression scores remained in the "moderate severity" range.
"We were quite surprised by the findings," researcher Heather Francis, a lecturer in clinical neuropsychology at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, told NPR via email. "I think the next step is to demonstrate the physiological mechanism underlying how diet can improve depression symptoms," Francis said.
And it is no surprise that people in the UK trying to exist on Universal Credit are also depressed. Bread, potatoes, starchy root vegetables etc are cheaper than the non-carbohydrate vegetables that are good for you!
Wednesday, 2 October 2019
Daily technology interruptions and emotional and relational well-being
an article by Brandon T.McDaniel (Illinois State University, USA) and Michelle Drouin (Purdue University, Fort Wayne, USA) published in Computers in Human Behavior Volume 99 (October 2019)
Highlights
Abstract
The current abundance of technology in daily life creates opportunities for interruptions in couple interactions, termed technoference or phubbing.
The current study examined reports from both partners in 173 romantic relationships who completed daily surveys on technoference and relational well-being measures across 14 days.
By using daily diary data, we were able to examine within-person associations and more closely approximate everyday life. Utilizing multilevel modeling, we found that on days when participants rated more technoference than usual, they felt worse about their relationship, perceived more conflict over technology use, rated their face-to-face interactions as less positive, and experienced more negative mood.
These relationships existed even after controlling for general feelings of relationship dissatisfaction, depression, and attachment anxiety, and there were no significant differences between women and men in these associations. This suggests that regardless of an individual's or a couple's current level of well-being, if individuals perceive technology use as interfering in their interactions with their partner, these perceptions may affect their daily assessments of their relationship and mood.
Highlights
- Both partners in couples reported on technoference across 14 days of daily surveys.
- More daily technoference was related to worse relationship quality.
- More daily technoference was related to more conflict over technology.
- More daily technoference was related to less positive face-to-face interactions.
- More daily technoference was related to more negative mood.
Abstract
The current abundance of technology in daily life creates opportunities for interruptions in couple interactions, termed technoference or phubbing.
The current study examined reports from both partners in 173 romantic relationships who completed daily surveys on technoference and relational well-being measures across 14 days.
By using daily diary data, we were able to examine within-person associations and more closely approximate everyday life. Utilizing multilevel modeling, we found that on days when participants rated more technoference than usual, they felt worse about their relationship, perceived more conflict over technology use, rated their face-to-face interactions as less positive, and experienced more negative mood.
These relationships existed even after controlling for general feelings of relationship dissatisfaction, depression, and attachment anxiety, and there were no significant differences between women and men in these associations. This suggests that regardless of an individual's or a couple's current level of well-being, if individuals perceive technology use as interfering in their interactions with their partner, these perceptions may affect their daily assessments of their relationship and mood.
Monday, 30 September 2019
Instagram: Friend or foe? The application’s association with psychological well-being
an article by Samantha B Mackson, Paula M Brochu and Barry A Schneider (Nova Southeastern University, USA) published in New Media & Society Volume 21 Issue 10 (October 2019)
Abstract
The current study examined the association between the social media application Instagram and its users’ psychological well-being.
Participants, both Instagram users and non-users, were surveyed online on measures of depression, anxiety, loneliness, self-esteem, body image, and social comparison. Participants who reported having an Instagram account were also asked about their time spent on Instagram and Instagram anxiety.
To understand the association between Instagram and psychological well-being, the study’s first aim was to compare participants who had an Instagram account with those who did not have one. Results revealed that participants with the application reported lower levels of anxiety, depression, and loneliness, and higher levels of self-esteem, than participants who did not have an account. Furthermore, loneliness and self-esteem mediated the association between having an Instagram account and depression and anxiety.
The second aim of the study was to examine what factors are associated with Instagram users’ reports of anxiety and depression, focusing specifically on participants who reported having an Instagram account. Results revealed that anxiety and depression were predicted by Instagram anxiety and social comparison, respectively.
Overall, these results show that Instagram is associated with psychological well-being.
However, when Instagram users experience Instagram anxiety or engage in social comparison, it is associated with poorer psychological outcomes.
This research provides an insight into the psychological impact that Instagram can have on its users.
Abstract
The current study examined the association between the social media application Instagram and its users’ psychological well-being.
Participants, both Instagram users and non-users, were surveyed online on measures of depression, anxiety, loneliness, self-esteem, body image, and social comparison. Participants who reported having an Instagram account were also asked about their time spent on Instagram and Instagram anxiety.
To understand the association between Instagram and psychological well-being, the study’s first aim was to compare participants who had an Instagram account with those who did not have one. Results revealed that participants with the application reported lower levels of anxiety, depression, and loneliness, and higher levels of self-esteem, than participants who did not have an account. Furthermore, loneliness and self-esteem mediated the association between having an Instagram account and depression and anxiety.
The second aim of the study was to examine what factors are associated with Instagram users’ reports of anxiety and depression, focusing specifically on participants who reported having an Instagram account. Results revealed that anxiety and depression were predicted by Instagram anxiety and social comparison, respectively.
Overall, these results show that Instagram is associated with psychological well-being.
However, when Instagram users experience Instagram anxiety or engage in social comparison, it is associated with poorer psychological outcomes.
This research provides an insight into the psychological impact that Instagram can have on its users.
Monday, 2 September 2019
We Need to Stop Making Mental Illness Look Cool On Social Media
a post by Alyson Zetta Williams for i-D US
The trend of falsely portraying anxiety and depression threatens the already fragile well-being of more young people than ever before.
A quick search of #depressed on Instagram brings up over 12 million posts. Interspersed between black and white photos and gifs of crying cartoons are pictures of pretty girls smoking and the occasional sadboi-with-tattoo overlaid with text like "Help me" and "I want to go far away … forever."
These romanticized depictions of mental illness are what mental health professional Aditi Verma calls “beautiful suffering”: a meme-ified version of mental illness that reduces anxiety and depression to a temporary feeling capable of being depicted through dark edits and simplified text.
Continue reading
The trend of falsely portraying anxiety and depression threatens the already fragile well-being of more young people than ever before.
A quick search of #depressed on Instagram brings up over 12 million posts. Interspersed between black and white photos and gifs of crying cartoons are pictures of pretty girls smoking and the occasional sadboi-with-tattoo overlaid with text like "Help me" and "I want to go far away … forever."
These romanticized depictions of mental illness are what mental health professional Aditi Verma calls “beautiful suffering”: a meme-ified version of mental illness that reduces anxiety and depression to a temporary feeling capable of being depicted through dark edits and simplified text.
Continue reading
Friday, 23 August 2019
Smooth Sailing: A Pilot Study of an Online, School-Based, Mental Health Service for Depression and Anxiety
an article by Bridianne O’Dea, Catherine King, Nicole Cockayne and Helen Christensen (Black Dog Institute, Prince of Wales Hospital, Sydney, NSW, Australia; University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia) and Mirjana Subotic-Kerry and Melinda Rose Achilles (Black Dog Institute, Prince of Wales Hospital, Sydney, NSW, Australia) published by Frontiers in Psychiatry: this article is part of the Research Topic “Transforming Youth Mental Health Treatment Through Digital Technology”
View all 8 articles
Abstract
Background
Schools play an important role in supporting young people’s mental health, but face challenges identifying and responding to students in need of care. To assist secondary schools, the Black Dog Institute has developed an online, school-based, mental health service (Smooth Sailing). Delivered in the classroom, Smooth Sailing uses a website to screen, assess, allocate, and deliver care for depression and anxiety.
The service is based on the principles of stepped care, offering treatments with varied intensity and follow-up by a school counselor when necessary. The current study aimed to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and safety of this new type of service among secondary school students.
Methods
Between February and June 2017, a single-arm, pre-post, pilot study was conducted among students from four NSW secondary schools. Schools were given access to the service for 6 weeks. Feasibility measures (consent rates and step allocations), acceptability measures (service use and satisfaction) and safety measures (deterioration in help-seeking intention scores and mental health symptoms) were assessed at baseline and completion of the 6-week trial period.
Results
A total of 59 students took part in the service pilot (mean age, 14.57 years; SD, 0.89 years; range, 13-16 years). At baseline, 18.64% of students were found to require follow-up from the school counselor, and 80% of these were new cases. Although completion of the online modules was low, service satisfaction was high. At 6 weeks, the mean scores for help-seeking, depression, and anxiety remained relatively stable or improved.
Conclusions
The current study presents important findings for the development and implementation of an online mental health service that screens students’ mental health and allocates care accordingly, all within the school setting. Although the findings provide some support for the feasibility, acceptability, and safety, service improvements are needed. The modifications outlined are likely to improve the quality of the service and its effectiveness.
Full text (HTML) with access to downloadable PDF
View all 8 articles
Abstract
Background
Schools play an important role in supporting young people’s mental health, but face challenges identifying and responding to students in need of care. To assist secondary schools, the Black Dog Institute has developed an online, school-based, mental health service (Smooth Sailing). Delivered in the classroom, Smooth Sailing uses a website to screen, assess, allocate, and deliver care for depression and anxiety.
The service is based on the principles of stepped care, offering treatments with varied intensity and follow-up by a school counselor when necessary. The current study aimed to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and safety of this new type of service among secondary school students.
Methods
Between February and June 2017, a single-arm, pre-post, pilot study was conducted among students from four NSW secondary schools. Schools were given access to the service for 6 weeks. Feasibility measures (consent rates and step allocations), acceptability measures (service use and satisfaction) and safety measures (deterioration in help-seeking intention scores and mental health symptoms) were assessed at baseline and completion of the 6-week trial period.
Results
A total of 59 students took part in the service pilot (mean age, 14.57 years; SD, 0.89 years; range, 13-16 years). At baseline, 18.64% of students were found to require follow-up from the school counselor, and 80% of these were new cases. Although completion of the online modules was low, service satisfaction was high. At 6 weeks, the mean scores for help-seeking, depression, and anxiety remained relatively stable or improved.
Conclusions
The current study presents important findings for the development and implementation of an online mental health service that screens students’ mental health and allocates care accordingly, all within the school setting. Although the findings provide some support for the feasibility, acceptability, and safety, service improvements are needed. The modifications outlined are likely to improve the quality of the service and its effectiveness.
Full text (HTML) with access to downloadable PDF
Thursday, 20 June 2019
How Ketamine Opens a New Era for Depression Treatment
an article by Donald Moore published in the Washington Post [brought to us by World of Psychology’s “Psychology Around the Net”]
Researchers have discovered that ketamine, a drug of choice for club-goers for decades, can be used to fight severe cases of the blues. For more than three decades, patients seeking treatment for depression in the U.S. have been steered primarily to one family of pharmaceuticals.
Doctors have been looking for more treatments, particularly for patients who haven’t had success with drugs or who have had suicidal thoughts. (The U.S. suicide rate increased 30% from 1999 to 2016.) Could a party drug be the key to solving the nation’s suicide crisis?
Continue reading
There’s not a lot of information in this piece and it applies to the USA but it can serve eas a reminder that research continues into relieving this nasty illness called depression.
Researchers have discovered that ketamine, a drug of choice for club-goers for decades, can be used to fight severe cases of the blues. For more than three decades, patients seeking treatment for depression in the U.S. have been steered primarily to one family of pharmaceuticals.
Doctors have been looking for more treatments, particularly for patients who haven’t had success with drugs or who have had suicidal thoughts. (The U.S. suicide rate increased 30% from 1999 to 2016.) Could a party drug be the key to solving the nation’s suicide crisis?
Continue reading
There’s not a lot of information in this piece and it applies to the USA but it can serve eas a reminder that research continues into relieving this nasty illness called depression.
Wednesday, 19 June 2019
Research Watch: can adversity make you stronger?
an articvle by Sue Holttu, (Salomons Centre for Applied Psychology, Canterbury Christ Church University, UK) published in Mental Health and Social Inclusion Volume 23 Issue 2 (2019)
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine what helps people come through difficult events and circumstances.
Design/methodology/approach
A search was carried out for recent papers on adversity and thriving.
Findings
One paper reviewed 27 studies of coping and wellbeing after adversities. Maybe some kinds of adversity can help us get stronger, but people’s social contexts were not considered and the studies measured different things that may not be as easily compared as first appears. A second paper examined wellbeing at work, and reported that a certain type of supervisor is important for preventing burnout. The final paper reported on 55 people who survived depression. Many (though not all) participants felt their life was better than before. Surviving was assisted by practical and social support rather than pills.
Originality/value
The review of research on adversity highlights that patterns of data may look similar but may not tell us as much as we hoped. The study of workplace thriving highlighted how supervisors might support people to do their best work while preventing burnout. The study on surviving depression suggested that social resources were key to a good outcome and a better life. Social inclusion is likely to be important.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine what helps people come through difficult events and circumstances.
Design/methodology/approach
A search was carried out for recent papers on adversity and thriving.
Findings
One paper reviewed 27 studies of coping and wellbeing after adversities. Maybe some kinds of adversity can help us get stronger, but people’s social contexts were not considered and the studies measured different things that may not be as easily compared as first appears. A second paper examined wellbeing at work, and reported that a certain type of supervisor is important for preventing burnout. The final paper reported on 55 people who survived depression. Many (though not all) participants felt their life was better than before. Surviving was assisted by practical and social support rather than pills.
Originality/value
The review of research on adversity highlights that patterns of data may look similar but may not tell us as much as we hoped. The study of workplace thriving highlighted how supervisors might support people to do their best work while preventing burnout. The study on surviving depression suggested that social resources were key to a good outcome and a better life. Social inclusion is likely to be important.
Friday, 31 May 2019
How to manage anxiety and depression in 10 easy* steps *NOT REALLY
a post by Faris for the Boing Boing blog
Anxiety and depression are deeply inter-related and both are among the most terrible things I have ever experienced.
This is in no way to say that they are worse than other things. It’s not a competition and one of the many terrible things anxiety and depression do is make you feel guilty about feeling bad because so many people have it worse off than you, because of disaster or illness or poverty or circumstance, which just makes the whole thing worse.
Anxiety often starts with a specific concern, something you are worried about, either personal [aggh money, agggh relationships, aggg jobs, aggg illness] or public [agggh run around screaming the whole world is on fire and no one seems to be able to do anything oh dear god I can never look at the news again did that really say nuclear war why won’t it stop and gosh isn’t it getting hot recently].
At some point, it metastasizes, spreading from a particular thing you have been over-thinking about and becomes a persistent feeling of dread and discomfort that will then alter your perception of anything that you think about.
Continue reading (be aware of use of F-word)
This is one of the most powerful things I have read in a long time. Where was it when I needed it 50 years ago?
I've actually learned most of this the hard way although I fortunately missed out on the suicidal ideation.
Anxiety and depression are deeply inter-related and both are among the most terrible things I have ever experienced.
This is in no way to say that they are worse than other things. It’s not a competition and one of the many terrible things anxiety and depression do is make you feel guilty about feeling bad because so many people have it worse off than you, because of disaster or illness or poverty or circumstance, which just makes the whole thing worse.
Anxiety often starts with a specific concern, something you are worried about, either personal [aggh money, agggh relationships, aggg jobs, aggg illness] or public [agggh run around screaming the whole world is on fire and no one seems to be able to do anything oh dear god I can never look at the news again did that really say nuclear war why won’t it stop and gosh isn’t it getting hot recently].
At some point, it metastasizes, spreading from a particular thing you have been over-thinking about and becomes a persistent feeling of dread and discomfort that will then alter your perception of anything that you think about.
Continue reading (be aware of use of F-word)
This is one of the most powerful things I have read in a long time. Where was it when I needed it 50 years ago?
I've actually learned most of this the hard way although I fortunately missed out on the suicidal ideation.
Tuesday, 21 May 2019
How To Make A Digital Detox Last, According To Science
an article by JR Thorpe for Bustle [with grateful thanks to Tara at ResearchBuzz: Firehose]
Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images News/Getty Images
The way social media validates our desire to be seen can be a double-edged sword. Sharing and feeling connected with others can be paired with the dopamine rush of their approval — and discomfort if the likes don't roll in. In order to combat that incredibly common letdown feeling, Instagram has begun to trial a 'like-less' feed, where people can't compare their numbers of likes with other accounts, as part of an explicit focus on the mental health of their users. If fixes like that don't go far enough for you, though, some experts recommend a full digital detox or reset in order to reframe your relationship with your phone entirely. But what happens when the week of your reset is over, and you can go back to your past scrolling habits? Science has some ideas on how to make the lessons of a digital reset stick.
Some aspects of social media can play into individual traumas or triggers. I was ordered (yep, ordered) off Twitter by my therapist when the comparisons with other people's shiny achievements started to push my depression triggers. You don't need to feel triggered in order to want to make a change, though. Studies have shown that social media can negatively impact body image, and that teenage girls and young women are particularly vulnerable to social media-induced depression. If you want to do a digital reset, here are some tips from science on how to make it stick.
Continue reading
Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images News/Getty Images
The way social media validates our desire to be seen can be a double-edged sword. Sharing and feeling connected with others can be paired with the dopamine rush of their approval — and discomfort if the likes don't roll in. In order to combat that incredibly common letdown feeling, Instagram has begun to trial a 'like-less' feed, where people can't compare their numbers of likes with other accounts, as part of an explicit focus on the mental health of their users. If fixes like that don't go far enough for you, though, some experts recommend a full digital detox or reset in order to reframe your relationship with your phone entirely. But what happens when the week of your reset is over, and you can go back to your past scrolling habits? Science has some ideas on how to make the lessons of a digital reset stick.
Some aspects of social media can play into individual traumas or triggers. I was ordered (yep, ordered) off Twitter by my therapist when the comparisons with other people's shiny achievements started to push my depression triggers. You don't need to feel triggered in order to want to make a change, though. Studies have shown that social media can negatively impact body image, and that teenage girls and young women are particularly vulnerable to social media-induced depression. If you want to do a digital reset, here are some tips from science on how to make it stick.
Continue reading
Tuesday, 14 May 2019
Semantics of patient choice: how the UK national guideline for depression silences patients
an article by Susan McPherson and Peter Beresford (University of Essex, Colchester, UK) published in Disability & Society Volume 34 Issue 3 (2019)
Abstract
Several stakeholders, including the National Survivor User Network and the British Psychological Society, have called for the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to include an up-to-date review of patient experience research in the new depression guideline.
In response, the Guideline Committee (GC) postponed publication, the guideline now due in February 2020. Yet the GC also stated it will not review patient experience research. Instead, it will incorporate a new element of ‘patient choice’, without elaborating what this entails.
Here, we attempt to untangle a number of similar sounding terms including ‘patient choice’, ‘patient preference’, ‘patient experience research’ and ‘service user involvement’ in terms of how they relate to the NICE depression guideline.
We argue that by conflating these concepts and implying that one will serve the purpose of another equally well, NICE risks leaving patients without a real voice, their perspectives buried in semantically void rhetorical jargon.
Full text (PDF 8pp)
Abstract
Several stakeholders, including the National Survivor User Network and the British Psychological Society, have called for the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to include an up-to-date review of patient experience research in the new depression guideline.
In response, the Guideline Committee (GC) postponed publication, the guideline now due in February 2020. Yet the GC also stated it will not review patient experience research. Instead, it will incorporate a new element of ‘patient choice’, without elaborating what this entails.
Here, we attempt to untangle a number of similar sounding terms including ‘patient choice’, ‘patient preference’, ‘patient experience research’ and ‘service user involvement’ in terms of how they relate to the NICE depression guideline.
We argue that by conflating these concepts and implying that one will serve the purpose of another equally well, NICE risks leaving patients without a real voice, their perspectives buried in semantically void rhetorical jargon.
Full text (PDF 8pp)
Thursday, 9 May 2019
Differences in Depression Between Men and Women
a post by Kurt Smith for the World of Psychology blog
Depression is one of the most difficult conditions to contend with and manage. This is due in part to the fact that it can go undiagnosed for years. Many people suffer with depression not realizing that the problems they are having and the way they are feeling can be addressed and improved with help, time, and effort. And while anyone can suffer with depression, there are some significant differences in the way that it affects men versus women.
Although there are several symptoms of depression that are common to both men and women, the way that a man experiences and expresses depression can be very different than the way a woman does. And women are twice as likely to experience depression during their lifetime than men. So understanding how to recognize the symptoms of depression and the differences in how they are expressed in men vs. women are vital when helping yourself or someone you love.
Continue reading
Depression is one of the most difficult conditions to contend with and manage. This is due in part to the fact that it can go undiagnosed for years. Many people suffer with depression not realizing that the problems they are having and the way they are feeling can be addressed and improved with help, time, and effort. And while anyone can suffer with depression, there are some significant differences in the way that it affects men versus women.
Although there are several symptoms of depression that are common to both men and women, the way that a man experiences and expresses depression can be very different than the way a woman does. And women are twice as likely to experience depression during their lifetime than men. So understanding how to recognize the symptoms of depression and the differences in how they are expressed in men vs. women are vital when helping yourself or someone you love.
Continue reading
Tuesday, 23 April 2019
A quick reference guide to mental health on university campus: a brief rhetorical analysis of fear
an article by Joel Hawkes (University of Victoria, BC, Canada) published in Disability & Society Volume 34 Issue 1 (January 2019)
Abstract
I was teaching rhetoric at the University of Victoria when I received the ‘Quick Reference Guide: Assisting Students in Distress’, part of the university’s initiative to address the increasing problem of mental illness on university campuses.
I immediately read a rhetoric that presented mental health as Madness, as something to be feared, a threat to the university, class and the individual.
This short article is a brief rhetorical analysis of this Guide, and suggests that we must move beyond fear if we are to begin to address the mental health crisis on university campuses.
Full text (PDF 8pp)
Abstract
I was teaching rhetoric at the University of Victoria when I received the ‘Quick Reference Guide: Assisting Students in Distress’, part of the university’s initiative to address the increasing problem of mental illness on university campuses.
I immediately read a rhetoric that presented mental health as Madness, as something to be feared, a threat to the university, class and the individual.
This short article is a brief rhetorical analysis of this Guide, and suggests that we must move beyond fear if we are to begin to address the mental health crisis on university campuses.
Full text (PDF 8pp)
Tuesday, 9 April 2019
Emotional Numbness and Depression: Will It Go Away?
a post by Therese J Borchard for the World of Psychology blog
Even as we don’t like pain, it is a reminder that we are alive and have a steady pulse. Worse than heartbreak or rage can be the sensation of numbness, when you lose access to your feelings and can’t feel the sadness of an important loss or the aggravations that used to make you scream. Emotional numbness is a common, yet not talked about, symptom of depression.
In an informational video, Will This Numbness Go Away?, J. Raymond DePaulo, Jr., M.D., co-director of the Johns Hopkins Mood Disorders Center, describes emotional numbness and helps people to distinguish between the numbness caused by depression and that from medication side-effects. He also assures anyone experiencing it, that it WILL go away.
Continue reading
Even as we don’t like pain, it is a reminder that we are alive and have a steady pulse. Worse than heartbreak or rage can be the sensation of numbness, when you lose access to your feelings and can’t feel the sadness of an important loss or the aggravations that used to make you scream. Emotional numbness is a common, yet not talked about, symptom of depression.
In an informational video, Will This Numbness Go Away?, J. Raymond DePaulo, Jr., M.D., co-director of the Johns Hopkins Mood Disorders Center, describes emotional numbness and helps people to distinguish between the numbness caused by depression and that from medication side-effects. He also assures anyone experiencing it, that it WILL go away.
Continue reading
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