Category: Depression

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November, 2014—For many people, the comfortable fall air marks the end of daylight savings time and the start of a busy holiday season. However, the dark reality of less daylight, the approaching winter months, and heightened holiday stress can lead to depression.

According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, nearly six out of 100 people in the U.S. experience winter depression or Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). Research shows it is more common for those living in areas where winter days are very short. Common symptoms include a change in appetite, weight gain, fatigue, tendency to oversleep, irritability and avoidance of social situations. Researchers believe the lack of bright light during winter makes a difference on brain chemistry.

A study published in the Archives of General Psychiatry cites researchers from the University of Toronto, who performed brain scans on 88 healthy people over the course of a year. The scans showed that the serotonin system fluctuates in activity based on the season. The lowest levels of activity tend to be in the fall and winter, suggesting that less serotonin circulates in the brain during the darker, colder time of the year. The researchers believe that the serotonin levels may help explain why people have a change in mood and behavior during the darker seasons.

According to Dr. John Hawkins, Chief of Psychiatry and Deputy Chief of Research for Lindner Center of HOPE, “Many people develop cabin fever during the winter months. Individuals may find themselves eating more or sleeping more when the temperature drops and days offer less light.” These reactions are common and normal due to the change in season, however, people with SAD experience a much more serious reaction when summer shifts to fall and on to winter, he says. “Those at risk may have feelings of depression, lethargy, fatigue and other problems. If the symptoms are severely impairing daily life, they should be taken seriously and professional help should be considered.”

According to Dr. Hawkins, treatments such as light therapy or bright light treatment and medication are commonly used to treat SAD. Psychotherapy can also be helpful, reinforcing coping and support interventions. Preventative and coping tips include:

  • Exercising and eating well
  • Letting light in through windows
  • Participating in Stress Management classes
  • Seeking the help of a clinician if symptoms persist

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With National Depression Screening Day® approaching, learn about some statistics surrounding depression.

  • One-third of individuals with a chronic illness experience symptoms of depression
  • One in five 18 to 25 year olds experienced a mental illness in the past year
  • According to the World Health Organization, depression is projected to become the second leading contributor to the global burden of disease by 2020
  • An Estimated 1 in 10 U.S. Adults Report Depression (CDC)
  • Depression is a common mental disorder. Globally, more than 350 million people of all ages suffer from depression. (WHO)
  • Up to 80 percent of those treated for depression show an improvement in their symptoms generally within four to six weeks of beginning treatment. (NIH)
  • Depression is more common than AIDS, cancer, and diabetes combined
  • Depression is a prevalent and increasingly recognized risk factor for both the development of and the outcome from coronary artery disease (CAD). (National Institute of Health)
  • People with depression are 4 times as likely to develop a heart attack than those without the illness.
  • Many conditions may coexist with depression. Depression may increase the risk for another illness, and dealing with an illness may lead to depression. In fact, according to the NIMH, depression affects:
  • More than 40 percent of those with post-traumatic stress disorder
    • 25 percent of those who have cancer
    • 27 percent of those with substance abuse problems
    • 50 percent of those with Parkinson’s disease
    • 50 to 75 percent of those who have an eating disorder
    • 33 percent of those who’ve had a heart attack

To complete an anonymous screening, click here.

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Individuals can locate a mental health screening site or take an online screening by visiting www.HelpYourselfHelpOthers.org (beginning September 1, 2014).

WHAT: National Depression Screening Day (NDSD), held annually on the Thursday of the first full week in October, is dedicated to raising awareness and screening people for depression and related mood and anxiety disorders. This year, Lindner Center of HOPE is a sponsor of the screening day efforts. NDSD is the nation’s oldest voluntary, community-based screening program that gives access to validated screening questionnaires and provides referral information for treatment.
WHERE: Individuals can locate a mental health screening site or take an online screening by visiting www.HelpYourselfHelpOthers.org (beginning September 1, 2014).
WHEN: NDSD is October 9, 2014, but screenings may be available in your area as early as September 1, 2014.
HOW: Thousands of organizations nationwide register to host a NDSD event each year. The organizations, including hospitals, community centers, social service agencies, government organizations, older adult facilities, colleges, secondary schools and military installations, provide information about mood and anxiety disorders and offer screenings—in-person or online—to their community. After completing a screening, those who score positive receive referral information to local agencies that offer further evaluation and treatment if needed.
WHY: Depression screening is effective. Results from a 2009 independent research study by the University of Connecticut, commissioned by Screening for Mental Health, states that depression screenings are effective in connecting at-risk individuals with treatment. The study showed that 55% of participants, who completed an online depression screening and who agreed to participate in a follow-up survey, sought depression treatment within three months of the screening.

Screening for Mental Health, Inc. (SMH), the pioneer of large-scale mental health screening for the public, provides innovative mental health and substance abuse resources, linking those in need with quality treatment options. SMH programs, offered online and in-person, educate, raise awareness, and screen individuals for depression, bipolar disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, eating disorders, alcohol use disorders, and suicide. Thousands of organizations worldwide including hospitals, military installations, colleges, secondary schools, corporations, utilize our educational and screening programs, and in turn, have reached millions of people ranging from teenagers to adults.

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Millions of Americans suffer from depression each year.  While medication and psychotherapy can provide great benefit to those suffering from the disorder, researchers have found that less traditional treatment methods are worth another look.  In particular, exercise has been found to boost mood and contribute to overall mind/body wellness.  Whether used as a supplement to traditional methods of treatment for those with clinical depression or as a quick mood booster for a case of the blues, physical activity can pay dividends in anyone’s wellness routine.

The Power of Exercise

The effect of physical activity in easing depression has long been documented, and exercise is a wellness movement cornerstone for patients with mental illness.  Exercise is considered a self-care strategy that is frequently recommended to help patients manage their depression.

There are numerous ways in which regular exercise helps reduce depression, including:

  • Releasing endorphins and neurotransmitters that boost mood;
  • Reducing chemicals in the immune system that tend to worsen depression;
  • Raising body temperature, which can have a calming effect;
  • Decreasing stress and insomnia, both associated with depression;
  • Improving self-confidence as body image improves and exercise goals are met;
  • Providing distraction from negative thoughts;
  • Creating opportunities for social interaction.

Traditional exercise, ranging from brisk walks to team sports activities, can provide psychological benefits to everyone, including those who struggle with depression. As little as twenty minutes of exercise per day can have a meaningful impact on one’s mental health.

Exercise and Mindfulness

Research points to the particular benefits of exercise that combines physical activity with mental focus. “Mindfulness” activities use such techniques as deep breathing or meditation to help clear the mind of distracting or stressful thoughts.

Mindfulness refers to a state of having open and active attention to the present, without judging one’s thoughts and feelings. It means truly living in the moment and being more awake to one’s experiences.

Today, several practices combine tools from exercise, meditation, and mindfulness principles to offer physical fitness routines that are also calming to the mind.  Two popular examples are yoga and tai chi.

Yoga therapy has long been known to provide many health benefits, including pain and stress reduction.  Now researchers and practitioners have found that yoga can help individuals who suffer from depression.  Its calming and gentle nature is appealing to many for whom rigorous physical exercise may seem more challenging.

Yoga practice emphasizes concentration, breathing, and smooth movements that may calm both the mind and body.  Participants are often encouraged to focus on positive images or to block negative thoughts, thereby reducing stress and anxiety.

One way in which yoga appears to impact depression is through the increase of serotonin, an important brain chemical that is often deficient in individuals with depression.  Higher levels of serotonin in the brain can boost mood – a principle utilized by many modern antidepressant medications.

Tai chi is another type of workout that has been found to ease depression.  While this Chinese practice was originally developed centuries ago as a form of self-defense, tai chi is now used as a particularly gentle and graceful form of exercise.  It is often utilized for stress reduction and many health conditions.

Tai chi is designed to promote serenity through its flowing, stretching movements, which are performed in a focused and slow manner.  Deep breathing accompanies the movements. Classic tai chi combines elements of meditation, exercise, and focused breathing, all of which are associated with reductions in depression and anxiety. Numerous research studies support the mood benefits of practicing tai chi.

The practice of tai chi is often promoted among older adults because it is such a gentle, low-impact exercise.  Tai chi has been found effective in reducing depression in older adults with major depression, as well as improving cognition.

Almost any form of exercise can be a valuable part of a wellness routine for those who suffer from depression.  But exercises which also incorporate mindfulness activities may offer superior benefits for both physical and mental health.

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If you are the parent of a teenager, dealing with moodiness may seem like a fact of life.  But for many teens, something more serious than moodiness is affecting their behavior. Today, at least one in eight teenagers may experience depression. Severe depression in teens can even lead to suicide, the second leading cause of death among adolescents.

As a parent, you may wonder what you can do to determine if your own teenager has problems with depression.  Learn more about the nature of depression and how to respond if your teen exhibits warning signs, and you may make a difference in the life of someone you love.

Signs and Symptoms of Depression

Depression can affect people of any age, and it often first strikes individuals in adolescence.  The disorder crosses all gender, racial, and socioeconomic lines.  Depression in young people is of particular concern because of the increased impulsivity adolescents often display, as well as the lack of a mature, grounded sense of self.

While most people tend to associate depression with sadness and tearfulness, teenagers often exhibit different symptoms than adults or express feelings in different ways. For example, depressed teens often:

  • Demonstrate rebellious behavior, such as skipping school, sexually acting out, or shoplifting. Rather than showing sadness, teens tend to demonstrate anger, frustration, and irritability.
  • Have many somatic or physical complaints, such as frequent stomachaches, headaches, or fatigue. Other physical changes can include sleep problems, such as insomnia or excessive sleeping, as well as changes in eating habits, often associated with sudden weight loss or gain.
  • Engage in underage drinking or abuse drugs. While teens may use alcohol or drugs to dull their negative feelings, their effects often have the opposite effect.
  • Spend increased time alone, behind closed doors. Teens normally enjoy time with peers and busy schedules, so loss of interest in friends and activities should be of concern.

In addition to the above behaviors, watch for any of the following in your teen:

  • Sudden drops in school grades
  • Restlessness or difficulty concentrating
  • Feelings of hopelessness, worthlessness, and/or excessive guilt
  • Frequent sadness, crying, or anxiety
  • Increased sensitivity to criticism

While any symptoms of depression or other sudden behavior changes should be taken seriously, parents should be particularly alert to warning signs of suicide, such as:

  • Preoccupation with death and dying
  • Giving away possessions to others
  • Talking as if no one cares about them
  • Expressing feelings of hopelessness about the future
  • Expressing suicidal thoughts or threats

How Parents Can Help

The most critical way a parent can help a depressed teen is by recognizing the above symptoms.  By knowing signs and symptoms and by maintaining regular communication with your teen, you can potentially identify depression in its early stages.

If your teenager displays any of the symptoms of depression for an extended period, or if symptoms seem severe, don’t be afraid to intervene.  Begin by talking with your teen. Don’t let depression be the elephant in the room. Explain what you have observed, acknowledge that you are concerned, and explain why.  Make sure you talk in a non-judgmental and caring way.  Encourage your teen to open up to you or another respected adult about his or her feelings.

If your teen is reluctant to talk to you, it may be time to consider professional help. The experience may be less threatening if you begin with a visit to the pediatrician or family physician.  Your doctor can conduct a depression screening, which may include a physical examination and an interview with your teen.  You may then be referred to a mental health professional for follow-up.  Include your teen in the decision-making process so that greater buy-in will be achieved. Treatment may include psychotherapy and/or medication.

While depression can be a confusing and frightening experience for both teens and their parents, prompt treatment is generally successful. A depressed teenager today can go on to live a normal adult life and learn to cope more successfully with both his or her own moods and life’s challenges.

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Technology capable of reaching deeper brain areas may provide relief of symptoms for patients resistant to medication

Cincinnati, Ohio – For more than four million Americans in the United States, the symptoms of depression are not relieved by the use of antidepressant medications. This class of depression falls into one of two categories, treatment resistant depression (TRD)or treatment intolerant depression (TID). The TRD group often tries and fails several different types of medications – either alone or in combination – while the TID group has medication side effects so debilitating that they cannot tolerate the treatment.

For these patients, an entirely new type of treatment is being studied at the Lindner Center of HOPE, led by John Hawkins, M.D., chief of psychiatry at the center. The technology, called multicoil repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) or simply TMS, is a non-medication, non-systemic and non-invasive approach to treating depression.

“TMS offers patients that either do not respond to, or cannot tolerate medication, a new treatment option,” said Dr. Hawkins. “Our clinic is currently studying a new approach to this technology and we are hopeful that it will provide relief for these patients that have been suffering from depression in some cases for several years.”

Depression is thought to occur because of less than optimalchemical activity in the brain. TheTMS treatment currently under study by Dr. Hawkins and his team uses multiple magnetic fields, generated by coils placed on a patient’s scalp, to stimulate specific brain regions both on the surface and in deeper regions of the brain. This research is important in understanding whether TMS treatment restores normal brain chemical activity, thereby reducing the symptoms of depression. To date, more than 100 patients have been studied using this approach without the occurrence of serious side effects related to the device.

Depression is a mental disorder characterized by loss of interest or pleasure in activities that were previously enjoyable, a decrease in energy, feelings of low self-worth, disturbed sleep or appetite and difficultyin concentrating.1 Depression often comes with symptoms of anxiety and these problems can become chronic, substantially impairing the ability of an individual to take care of everyday responsibilities.  On a global scale, depression affects more than 350 million people and is the leading cause of disability worldwide.2

To find out more information about the TMS study at Lindner Center of HOPE contact 513-536-0712 or visit http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01909232.

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1Marcus, M. et al. Depression: A Global Public Health Concern. World Health Organization 2012, Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse. http://www.who.int/mental_health/management/depression/who_paper_depression_wfmh_2012.pdf.Accessed 04.6.2013.

2Marcus, M. et al.

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Statistics can be somewhat ambiguous when it comes to eating disorders. Over the years, there have been countless studies conducted surrounding the prevalence of illnesses such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder. Although many of these studies convey slightly different findings, one thing is certain: Millions of Americans struggle with eating disorders.

While the majority of eating disorder sufferers are young women and adolescent girls, research has discovered that more and more males — an estimated 10 to 15 percent — are struggling with eating disorders as well. Additionally, incidents of these disorders in older women have been on a steady incline in recent years.

Why the Upward Trend?

New information is surfacing in regard to women in their 40s, 50s and 60s maintaining a negative body image, and as a result, continuing unhealthy eating patterns or developing eating disorders. Recent studies have found that over 60 percent of women 50 years of age and older are acutely concerned about their weight. Roughly 13 percent of these women suffer from some type of eating disorder.

Some older women keep their eating-related struggles hidden for years. Others, after having addressed an eating disorder earlier in life to at least some degree, relapse as they approach middle age. There are of course a variety of other factors that may contribute to the development of eating disorders in middle-aged women. These include a divorce or the loss of a mate where a woman feels she needs to lose weight to regain a level of attractiveness. It’s also not out of the question for a woman to develop an eating disorder for the first time later in life.

Never Too Late to Begin Treatment

Regardless of age or gender, anorexia treatment, bulimia treatment and treatment methods for other eating-related illnesses have evolved throughout the years. The percentage of successful outcomes continues to increase. Treatment for eating disorders usually consists of a combination of nutritional counseling, individual or group therapy, and in many cases, medications.

With the discovery of eating disorders in so many older women, mental health professionals are realizing that life-long care may be required even after a young woman has shown significant signs of recovery. However, those who get help for eating disorders early do have the best chance at long-term recovery.

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This blog is written and published by Lindner Center of HOPE.

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Armodafinil - Donuts2

 

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This blog is written and published by Lindner Center of HOPE.

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When the subject of disabilities surfaces in our thoughts or conversations, it is common to first consider those caused by some type of physical ailment or affliction. Conditions such as arthritis, heart disease and back problems are certainly primary causes of long-term disabilities in our nation. However, mental illness is the leading cause of disability in U.S. citizens ranging in ages from 15 to 44, according to National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) statistics.

What these numbers show is that many Americans and people around the world are affected by illnesses such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and a host of other mood and anxiety disorders in the prime of their working lives. Unfortunately, these numbers show no sign of subsiding anytime soon. In fact, they continue to rise, as do the number of filings with the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) for disability benefits due to mental illnesses.

The SSA and Mental Illness Claims

The SSA has established specific criteria that qualify those suffering with mental disorders for disability benefits. Basically, it must be determined that an existing mental condition limits or impairs one’s ability to fulfill their work obligations. In most situations, assessments and evaluations must be performed by mental health professionals. Additionally, evidence must be submitted to the SSA that indicates the individual in question is unable to perform their assigned job duties as a consequence of their condition.

Getting Back on their Feet

It is important for those with mental health issues to make their employers aware of their situation. All too often, workers are hesitant or afraid to address their condition with their employers for fear of negative repercussions. But behavioral or productivity problems could lead to termination, which also often results in the loss of insurance, creating even more problems for these individuals in regard to receiving treatment.

When documented mental health issues are reported to an employer, they are obligated under Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations to accommodate that employee with whatever they need to successfully perform their job duties, or to make their working situation as comfortable as possible. In lieu of applying for disability benefits, this can allow an employee to continue to work while receiving mental health treatment and take measures that will eventually enable them to effectively manage their condition.

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This blog is written and published by Lindner Center of HOPE.

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Shire BP Depression - Blue Man - 11-17-10

 

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This blog is written and published by Lindner Center of HOPE.