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Do Tell: Do You Know Anyone With Mental Illness?

TresSugar — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 07:00:00 -0700

Earlier this week actress Glenn Close spoke up about her sister's bipolar disorder and her family's struggle to understand it. Glenn and her sister Jessie have started a public service campaign hoping to create awareness and acceptance of people with mental illness.

One in four adults deal with a diagnosable mental disorder in the US, and about one in 17 lives with a serious mental illness. Do you know anyone living with a mental illness?

Today Is National Depression Screening Day

TresSugar — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 13:10:39 -0700

Some of us say, "I'm so depressed" and refer to situational depression - something happened that bummed us out. But for some people, undiagnosed clinical depression can affect quality of life and lead, in extreme cases, to suicide if untreated.

Today is National Depression Screening Day, so if you're worried you may have more than a passing case of the blues, go to this website to find out where in your area you can get free and confidential screening for depression. The screening doesn't diagnose depression but helps lead you to qualified professionals who can provide a full assessment. You can also take their online assessment questionnaire.

Relax Already: Get Out of Your Brain

FitSugar — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 12:30:25 -0700

Sometimes stress brings with it a never-ending tape loop of worries. Once the litany begins, it's hard to quiet it down. I find the best way to battle my tireless tape loop is to get out of my brain or change my focus. It is said that depression-prone women tend to ruminate over their problems, mentally picking them apart repeatedly. The best defense against rehashing the situation is to stimulate another part of your brain. Challenging exercises, be they multitasking moves or short and speedy interval workouts, are a great way to distract a busy brain and release some much-needed endorphins. Stop the worrying by saddling your brain with a creative project or try a new recipe. Engaging other parts of your gray matter is a great way to stop obsessing, and maybe you will even be able to solve your problem by letting it go for a bit.

Have You Ever Taken Antidepressants?

FitSugar — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 04:30:57 -0700

Yesterday, I read that the number of Americans taking antidepressants doubled over the past decade, totaling 27 million. But interestingly enough, fewer of us are being treated for depression.

According to a study published in the Archives of General Psychiatry, half of the folks taking antidepressants are using them to treat issues other than depression, like back and nerve pain, as well as fatigue and sleeping issues. Physicians, not psychiatrists, are prescribing 80 percent of the drugs, and this could be for a variety of reasons. One reason is that insurance doesn't cover therapy, so patients are seeking help from their regular doc. A second is that the newer drugs create fewer side effects and are safer than previous antidepressants, so doctors are more comfortable issuing prescriptions. I am curious about you . . .

Depressed? Ecotherapists Say, "Go Take a Hike!"

TresSugar — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 08:30:00 -0700

Although some depressed people think they should see a psychotherapist or get meds prescribed (or both), psychologists from the burgeoning field of eco-therapy have a simpler prescription: go outside and mingle with nature.

We humans, they argue, evolved to interact with nature and the outdoors, but beginning with the Industrial Revolution two centuries ago, we've largely become alienated from that world. Now that more than half of the world's population lives in cities, and those lives are increasingly taken over by computers and BlackBerrys (or iPhones), some people don't go outside at all except to travel from their homes to their offices. In fact, eco-therapists say that when their patients' begin writing in a nature journal to record how much time they spent outside, their records are pretty pathetic: most people spent less than 15 to 30 minutes walking to and from their cars!

I went on a long weekend in Yosemite recently, and although I'm not the type who loves not bathing for four days - it was wonderful not to get one email or phone call. Instead, I slept soundly from hiking so much and woke up looking at mountains, trees, and woodland creatures. We don't all need to go camping to cure the blues, though. Researchers have found that simply taking a walk outside every day could have the same effect as an antidepressant in treating moderate depression. I believe it.

A&E's Obsessed Explores Extreme Hoarding

TresSugar — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 10:35:00 -0700

Do you have a slight problem with being messy? This week's A&E’s Obsessed, in its exploration of the obsessive compulsive disorder extreme hoarding, will have you cleaning up your apartment or desk and feeling for poor Russ, who can't stop buying things and also can't bear to throw anything away. "I get attached to things," he says, "because I don't have people to care about."

As a result, Russ's apartment is packed to the gills with furniture, mattresses, antiques, and tchotchkes that literally keep him from getting past his front door. In fact, he admits he's slept in front of it before because he couldn't get past his junk. He sometimes even sleeps outside, where he says there's at least fresh air and no feeling of claustrophobia. To find about Russ and extreme hoarding, read more

Why would someone accumulate so much stuff that his home becomes uninhabitable and unfit for guests? According to Russ's cognitive behavioral therapist, a hoarder cannot distinguish the level of an object's importance with respect to other objects. Everything is important, everything imbued with sentimental value, everything may be something the hoarder will need in the future.

In Russ's case, losing his mother was the trigger for his hoarding. "When I touch or hold a keepsake," he says, "it's like being held nearby her." But we're not just talking about photos of his mother or things she owned. Russ struggles with his therapist to throw away a dime store Santa figurine because it's wearing a purple scarf - his mother's favorite color.

Lucky for Russ, he has a great therapist and the true desire to let go of these objects and their relation to his losses so that he can clear the way for a new life.

Recession Depression: Men Have It Worse Than Women

TresSugar — Tue, 12 May 2009 11:00:00 -0700

According to a new survey conducted by a British nonprofit, traditional gender roles may cause men to suffer recession blues more than women. Men, for example, are told they need to be both solvent and stoic: they're traditionally the bread winners, and if they're blue, they'd better not seek mental health help - it's a sign of weakness. To make matters worse, in general, psychologists say that men feel more shame when they lose a job or a home.

The survey found that 40 percent of British men feel bad about their job security or money situation. In addition, men are less likely than women to talk about their problems with friends or to seek professional help and are thus less likely to be diagnosed and treated for mental health problems. The study suggested that the government introduce more "male friendly" treatment strategies, like prescribing exercise.

All things being equal, do you think men are more susceptible than women to being depressed about their financial situation?

Source

Daddy Issues: Depressed Fathers Affect Kids Too

TresSugar — Thu, 07 May 2009 13:00:00 -0700

Blame the mother? Not so fast. Turns out, depression in dads can be just as bad for kids as having a mother with mental health issues. According to experts from the University of Oxford, doctors have been focusing far too much on the mothers' problems. Kids, especially boys raised by alcoholic or depressed dads, are far more influenced by troubled fathers than previously thought. But until recently, no one was paying much attention:

The Oxford team said it was not surprising much of researchers' emphasis had focused on mothers as, in most societies, it is mothers who provide the majority of childcare - particularly when children are very young. But they said the role of men had been "underemphasised" . . . In addition, the peak age for men to be affected by psychiatric disorders is the same as the peak age for becoming a father - between 18 and 35.

As a result, young kids can develop behavioral problems, while teens are at a higher risk of depression and other mental-health issues. Do you think daughters are more affected by their mothers' mental health, while boys are more impacted by dads?

Source

Yoga Therapy Is More Than Deep Breathing

FitSugar — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 12:00:00 -0700

The mind-body connection is being taken to a whole new level with the growing practice of yoga therapy. People who practice yoga have been known to report emotional breakthroughs during class, and some psychotherapists are introducing elements of yoga into their private sessions.

Dr. Elizabeth Visceglia, a NYC-based psychiatrist and yoga therapist, explains, "Emotional memories are stored in your body. A group yoga class, is not structured to enable you to process that. Ideally one would want to work with someone who is paying attention to both the physical and emotional experiences." To learn how yoga is incorporated into therapy sessions, read more.

Dr. Visceglia typically begins her sessions with breath work determined by her clients' needs. For example, she'll guide depressed patients through energizing breaths and her patients dealing with anxiety would perform balancing breaths. She then introduces yoga poses using the same type of rationale; a client suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder would go through a series of grounding poses (like warrior or chair) before moving into the talking portion of the session.

The health of our minds and bodies is so deeply intertwined, so yoga therapy seems like a natural development in the world of healing. Critics of the practice aren't opposed to the logic behind it; they're concerned about the safety of psychotherapists instructing yoga. There are nearly 50 yoga schools offering yoga-therapy training, but in the world of psychotherapy there aren't any official licensing requirements. This seems like the necessary next step as yoga therapy becomes increasingly popular.

Source

Well-Being: That's What Friends Are For

TresSugar — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 06:00:00 -0700

This will come as no surprise to women who have strong bonds with their friends, but friendship helps them to be healthier and to live longer lives - even more so than their relationships to their spouse or family.

“In general, the role of friendship in our lives isn’t terribly well appreciated,” said Rebecca G. Adams, a professor of sociology at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. “Friendship has a bigger impact on our psychological well-being than family relationships.”

Among its benefits? People with strong friendships tend to get fewer colds, have lower stress levels, and can recover from catastrophic illness like breast cancer faster because of their friends. Close friends don't even have to do anything for us in times of need, nor even live near us.

I know who I go to when I'm blue - and when I'm happy. And apparently medical research approves. Karen A. Roberto, director of the center for gerontology at Virginia Tech, says "Friendship is an undervalued resource. The consistent message of these studies is that friends make your life better.” Click here to read more.

Photo courtesy of New Line Cinema