About.com Depression

Holiday Support Chat

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 13:58:54 +0000

Feeling especially blue this time of year? A moderated chat room is open 24/7 at Depression Haven to support you. I know all of the moderators personally and give this site my highest recommendation.

Holiday Support Chat originally appeared on About.com Depression on Wednesday, November 25th, 2009 at 13:58:54.

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Transcendental Meditation May Reduce Depression, High Blood Pressure Risk

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 03:15:14 +0000

Transcendental Meditation may be an effective way to reduce depression, anxiety, blood pressure and anger among college students at risk for high blood pressure, says a new study set to appear in the December 2009 issue of the American Journal of Hypertension.

The study was conducted at American University using 298 college students randomly placed in either a Transcendental Meditation group or a wait-list control group over a three-month period. A subset of 159 students considered to be at risk for high blood pressure were analyzed separately. At baseline and again after three months, blood pressure, psychological distress and coping ability were evaluated for this group.

Among the students at risk for high blood pressure, significant improvements in blood pressure, psychological distress and coping were observed. Compared to the controls, the students practicing Transcendental Meditation experienced a reduction of 6.3 mm Hg in systolic blood pressure and 4.0 mm Hg in diastolic blood pressure. This amount of reduction in blood pressure is associated with a 52% lower risk of developing high blood pressure in later years, according to the authors.

These results are important because "psychological distress such as anxiety, depression, and anger contribute to the development of hypertension in young adults," said lead author Sanford Nidich, of the Institute for Natural Medicine and Prevention at Maharishi University of Management. "This has major implications for the prevention of hypertension, heart attacks and strokes in adulthood," added Nidich's co-author, Robert Schneider, director of the Institute.

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Transcendental Meditation May Reduce Depression, High Blood Pressure Risk originally appeared on About.com Depression on Monday, November 23rd, 2009 at 03:15:14.

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Viagra for Women?

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 02:02:22 +0000

A new drug called flibanserin is being hailed as a potential "Viagra-like drug for women," according to researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine and the University of Ottawa in Canada.

Flibanserin, which was originally developed as an antidepressant, did a very poor job in treating depression, says principle investigator for North America John M. Thorp, Jr., but it is effective in treating low libido, a common problem among depressed women.

Thorp, Elaine E. Jolly, overall principle investigator, and their colleagues pooled data from four clinical trials of flibanserin conducted in the U.S., Canada and Europe, including a total of 1,946 pre-menopausal women aged 18 and older who had been randomly selected to receive either the drug or placebo for 24 weeks. The women were also measured four weeks prior to treatment to obtain a baseline and followed up for four weeks afterward. One of the four trials was eventually excluded from the final report, however, due to the fact that it dealt with doses too low to be effective.

The researchers found that treatment with a 100 mg dose once a day was associated with significant improvements compared to placebo in all of the measures used, including the number of satisfying sexual events reported by the women, sexual desire and function and distress associated with sexual dysfunction.

"These results point to a novel approach to pharmacologic treatment of the sexual problem that plagues reproductive age women the most, and may over time prove to be an effective treatment without the side effects of androgen replacement therapy, which is the only treatment currently available," said Thorp.

Flibanserin is currently an investigational drug only and is not available outside of clinical trials.

Thorp and Jolly presented their results on November 16 at the Congress of the European Society for Sexual Medicine in Lyon, France.

Viagra for Women? originally appeared on About.com Depression on Saturday, November 21st, 2009 at 02:02:22.

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Researchers to Investigate Whether More Sleep Can Help Depressed Teens

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 03:16:42 +0000

Depression in teens could be reduced, say researchers, by something simple, yet often lacking: a good night's sleep.

Teenagers should be getting about nine hours of sleep per night, according to experts, but few do. In fact, the average teen only gets about seven hours of sleep per night. While in the past it was believed that poor sleep was simply a byproduct of depression, thinking on this matter is changing. Chronic sleep deprivation may actually be a cause of depression, experts say.

Allison Harvey, a clinical psychologist at UC Berkeley and her team at the university's Sleep and Psychological Disorders Laboratory have plans to research this problem by recruiting 60 middle and high school students to discover if more sleep may indeed be a valid way to prevent or treat teen depression.

The 60 teens who participate in the 12-week study will self-report their sleep habits and participate in 12 one-hour, weekly sessions of cognitive behavior therapy focusing upon sleep and mood patterns.

If results are promising, says Harvey, a larger follow up study will be conducted to confirm the results.

If you live in the Berkeley area, have a middle school or high school aged child who is experiencing depression symptoms and are interested in having them participate in the project you can get more information by calling (510) 643-3797 or emailing teensleepucb@gmail.com.

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Researchers to Investigate Whether More Sleep Can Help Depressed Teens originally appeared on About.com Depression on Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 at 03:16:42.

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National Survivors of Suicide Day

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:43:59 +0000

On Saturday, November 21, 2009, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) will be sponsoring its 11th annual National Survivors of Suicide Day. This event, designed to reach out to those who have lost a loved one to suicide, offers participants a chance to connect with other survivors for support and healing.

Conferences will be offered in cities nationwide, with those conferences being linked by a live national broadcast by satellite/webcast from 1-2:30 p.m. EST. The conference will be broadcast live on the AFSP website at the same time, followed by an online chat. Many of the conference sites will also hold panel discussions, workshops and other activities both for survivors and for professionals.

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National Survivors of Suicide Day originally appeared on About.com Depression on Monday, November 16th, 2009 at 00:43:59.

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Women More Likely to Be Depressed After Stroke

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 03:13:12 +0000

Women are at somewhat greater risk of suffering from depression following a stroke than are men, according to a new review of the existing medical literature.

Brittany Poynter and colleagues from the University of Toronto examined 56 studies related to stroke and depression, consisting of more than 75,000 people, 12,000 of which were women. The time between the stroke and the onset of depression in these people ranged from between under two weeks to 15 years.

In women, rates of depression after stroke ranged from about 6% to 78%, while in men rates ranged from 4.7% to 65%.

This finding is significant, according to Poynter, because depression after a stroke is associated with greater disability, reduced quality of life and an increased risk of death.

The authors say these higher rates of depression in women might occur because there are higher rates of depression in women in general, not just in those with stroke. They might also occur because women have less access to care.

Regarding treatment, Poynter says that "A multimodal approach may be the most effective," with treatments like exercise, physical rehabilitation and support groups being utilized in addition to the standard treatments of medication and counseling.

Poynter also suggests that stroke patients should be routinely screened for depression, rather than taking a wait-and-see approach.

The review appears in the November issue of the journal Psychosomatics.

Women More Likely to Be Depressed After Stroke originally appeared on About.com Depression on Friday, November 13th, 2009 at 03:13:12.

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Americans Don't Believe They Know Much About Depression, Says Survey

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 02:46:18 +0000

In a survey conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), respondents reported that they do not believe the know much about depression. They are, however, very aware of the risks of not getting treated.

The survey included responses from members of the general public who do not know anyone with depression, caregivers of adults with depression and adults living with the condition. It was conducted online between September 29 and October 7, 2009 and included 1,015 people who did not know anyone with depression, 263 caregivers and 513 with depression.

Some of the survey's other findings:

Seventy-one percent of the survey takers believe they know some symptoms of depression, while 39% reported that they did not know many or any at all.
Fifty percent of caretakers admitting to having had depression themselves, but only 25% were actually seeking treatment.
Nearly 60% of people with depression reported that they depend upon their primary care physician for treatment rather than seeing a mental health professional.
Among the reasons that people reported discontinuing treatment were: cost, a desire to "make it on my own", a belief that the treatment was not helping and medication side-effects.

The complete survey results can be found at: http://www.nami.org/depression.

Americans Don't Believe They Know Much About Depression, Says Survey originally appeared on About.com Depression on Thursday, November 12th, 2009 at 02:46:18.

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Depressed and Pregnant? You May Need a Flu Shot

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 05:08:44 +0000

According to Ohio State researchers, pregnant women who are depressed may be more prone to severe flu symptoms if they catch the seasonal flu.

The researchers based their conclusions upon 22 pregnant women who had received a seasonal flu shot. Those with significant depression symptoms had a stronger inflammatory response to the flu shot than those who were not depressed. These findings suggest, say the researchers, that a depressed pregnant woman's immune system behaves differently, possibly causing them to have more serious symptoms if they do contract the flu.

"Inflammatory responses to vaccination do no harm, are mild, and typically go away within a few days. But an extended inflammatory response to vaccination, such as the one seen in women with the most depressive symptoms, isn't expected, and it serves as a way to estimate how somebody might respond to an actual infection or illness," said lead author Lisa Christian in a university press release.

The researchers suggest that, based upon these results, it would be wise for pregnant depressed women to get seasonal flu shots in order to avoid having a severe reaction if they do contract the flu.

Public health agencies advise that pregnant women get seasonal flu shots, but only 12-13% actually do, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"It will be interesting to see how that might change this year, in light of CDC recommendations that pregnant women receive seasonal and H1N1 flu vaccinations," said Christian.

The study was published online in advance of publication in the November issue of Brain, Behavior, and Immunity.

Depressed and Pregnant? You May Need a Flu Shot originally appeared on About.com Depression on Monday, November 9th, 2009 at 05:08:44.

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Before You Buy a Light Box

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:30:48 +0000

There are many products on the market that claim to help Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), but not all meet the recommended requirements. These are the requirements recommended by the Center for Environmental Therapeutics (CET) for effective light box therapy. Make sure that any unit you purchase meets these specifications.

Light Box Requirements

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Before You Buy a Light Box originally appeared on About.com Depression on Sunday, November 8th, 2009 at 00:30:48.

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In Crisis?

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:54 +0000

Are you feeling overwhelmed and are considering suicide, but you're not sure whom you can call on for help? There are numerous agencies and organizations out there who want to help you. In the U.S., you can make a toll free call to either 1-800-784-2433 or 1-800-273-8255 for immediate assistance. Canadian crisis resources can be found through the Centre for Suicide Prevention. To locate crisis assistance in other countries, please consult The Befrienders Worldwide for listings. To learn more about your options for assistance during times of crisis, click the blue link at the top of this post.

In Crisis? originally appeared on About.com Depression on Friday, November 6th, 2009 at 00:00:54.

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