staticgirl
Abominable Snowman
- Joined
- Oct 12, 2003
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- 994
has there ever been a condition that has had so many disparate 'causes' and 'cures' attributed to it? It makes me think that all of these stories aren't about the same disease at all.
Depression
- Thread starter ramonmercado
- Start date
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Is depression actually good for you?
Experts now believe that mild to moderate depression may be good for us – and even help us live longer. Rebecca Hardy explains how to reap the benefits
Tuesday, 26 April 2011
We constantly hear how depression is blighting our lives, but some experts have an interesting, if controversial, theory: depression can be "good for us", or at least a force for good in our lives.
To anyone in the grip of depression, which can vary from mild to severe, this may sound absurd – offensive even. Clinical depression – a very different animal to "unhappiness" or "feeling low" – is a disabling, frightening illness that can ruin people's lives and shake them to their core, but experts say that, for some people at least, there can be benefits.
"If you have depression, which, by definition, is a paralysis of motivation, it will be hard to see any positive outcome," says Marjorie Wallace, founder and chief executive of SANE, who had depression herself. "But I believe that people who go through it come out stronger. It can act as a catalyst to survival because you have looked over the precipice and seen the abyss."
This may sound like wishful thinking, but the argument has been aired before: two years ago Professor Jerome Wakefield from New York University caused a stir when he argued in his book The Loss of Sadness: How Psychiatry Transformed Normal Sorrow Into Depressive Illness that if we embrace depression it can motivate us to change our lives for the better, helping us to learn from our mistakes and appreciate what we want. There is also research: one Dutch study suggested that people seemed to cope better with life's trials after depression, with improved averaged ratings of vitality, psychological health, social and leisure activities, occupational performance and general health. Meanwhile, a 2002 study from Duke University found that women who had had depression were more likely to live longer, fuelling speculation that the mildly depressed might learn to cope better and avoid harmful situations.
Other experts cautiously agree: "Depression can end in suicide, so it is not to be taken lightly," says Bridget O'Connell from Mind, "but many people say it helps them evaluate what is important. There is often a sense of 'I know I can survive', which gives self-belief and resilience." This can act as a wake-up call, encouraging people to change stressful patterns or situations. "They may find a job with shorter hours, or they may move in or out of cities."
According to Dr Paul Keedwell, a pyschiatrist and expert in mood disorders at Cardiff University, depression can do this by "taking off the optimistic sheen". In his book How Sadness Survived he argues that this has an evolutionary basis, as depression can benefit us by "putting the brakes on" and removing us from situations that cause chronic stress. "Though depression is horrible and no one would choose to go through it, it can help us be more realistic. And because it's so painful, we dig deeper and find out how not to go through it again." Antidepressants can help, adds Keedwell, "but if you carry on doing the same thing you did to get depressed, these antidepressants aren't going to work."
etc...
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style ... 74662.html
Experts now believe that mild to moderate depression may be good for us – and even help us live longer. Rebecca Hardy explains how to reap the benefits
Tuesday, 26 April 2011
We constantly hear how depression is blighting our lives, but some experts have an interesting, if controversial, theory: depression can be "good for us", or at least a force for good in our lives.
To anyone in the grip of depression, which can vary from mild to severe, this may sound absurd – offensive even. Clinical depression – a very different animal to "unhappiness" or "feeling low" – is a disabling, frightening illness that can ruin people's lives and shake them to their core, but experts say that, for some people at least, there can be benefits.
"If you have depression, which, by definition, is a paralysis of motivation, it will be hard to see any positive outcome," says Marjorie Wallace, founder and chief executive of SANE, who had depression herself. "But I believe that people who go through it come out stronger. It can act as a catalyst to survival because you have looked over the precipice and seen the abyss."
This may sound like wishful thinking, but the argument has been aired before: two years ago Professor Jerome Wakefield from New York University caused a stir when he argued in his book The Loss of Sadness: How Psychiatry Transformed Normal Sorrow Into Depressive Illness that if we embrace depression it can motivate us to change our lives for the better, helping us to learn from our mistakes and appreciate what we want. There is also research: one Dutch study suggested that people seemed to cope better with life's trials after depression, with improved averaged ratings of vitality, psychological health, social and leisure activities, occupational performance and general health. Meanwhile, a 2002 study from Duke University found that women who had had depression were more likely to live longer, fuelling speculation that the mildly depressed might learn to cope better and avoid harmful situations.
Other experts cautiously agree: "Depression can end in suicide, so it is not to be taken lightly," says Bridget O'Connell from Mind, "but many people say it helps them evaluate what is important. There is often a sense of 'I know I can survive', which gives self-belief and resilience." This can act as a wake-up call, encouraging people to change stressful patterns or situations. "They may find a job with shorter hours, or they may move in or out of cities."
According to Dr Paul Keedwell, a pyschiatrist and expert in mood disorders at Cardiff University, depression can do this by "taking off the optimistic sheen". In his book How Sadness Survived he argues that this has an evolutionary basis, as depression can benefit us by "putting the brakes on" and removing us from situations that cause chronic stress. "Though depression is horrible and no one would choose to go through it, it can help us be more realistic. And because it's so painful, we dig deeper and find out how not to go through it again." Antidepressants can help, adds Keedwell, "but if you carry on doing the same thing you did to get depressed, these antidepressants aren't going to work."
etc...
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style ... 74662.html
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- Aug 7, 2001
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- 54,631
It's in the genes:
Happiness linked to a gene that comes in long and short versions
Your overall happiness may depend in part on whether you drew the long or short version of a gene, say researchers
Ian Sample, science correspondent guardian.co.uk, Friday 6 May 2011 00.00 BST
In work that gives cranky teenagers another reason to blame their parents for all life's woes, researchers have uncovered a genetic link to happiness.
The study of more than 2,500 Americans revealed two variants of a gene that influenced how satisfied – or dissatisfied – people were with their lot.
Those born with two long versions of the gene (one is passed down from each parent) were more likely to declare themselves "very satisfied" with life than those who inherited two short versions.
The study marks a tentative step towards explaining the mystery of why some people seem naturally happier than others.
"This gives us more insight into the biological mechanisms that influence life satisfaction," said Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, a researcher at the London School of Economics and Political Science.
"If you're feeling down, you can say it's your biology telling you life is less rosy that it is," he added.
A greater understanding of happiness genes might in future allow would-be parents to create a child who will be more satisfied with their life.
Happiness is only partly influenced by genetic makeup. Studies in twins suggest that genes account for roughly a third to a half of the variation in happiness between people. It is not yet known how many genes affect how cheerful we are.
De Neve looked at the genetic makeup of 2,574 people selected to be representative of the general population, whose medical histories were recorded for the US National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Among the records were answers to a question participants were asked in their early 20s about life satisfaction.
In response to the question, "How satisfied are you with your life as a whole", they answered either "very satisfied", "satisfied", "neither satisfied or dissatisfied", "dissatisfied" or "very dissatisfied".
Writing in the Journal of Human Genetics, De Neve describes how roughly 40% said they were "very satisified" with life, and among these, 35.4% had two long variants of the gene and only 19.1% had two short versions. Of those who were "dissatisfied" with life, 26.2% had two long variants of the gene, while 20% had two short versions. That indicates a slight over-representation of the long variants in happier people.
The gene, known as 5-HTT, is involved with the transport of serotonin, a feelgood chemical, in the brain. The longer variant leads to more efficient release and recycling of the neurotransmitter.
De Neve calculated that, everything else being equal, having one long version of the gene increased the number of people claiming to be "very satisfied" with life by around 8.5%. Having two long versions raised the number by 17.3%.
In unpublished work, De Neve and other researchers have since replicated the result in a separate group of people.
De Neve urged caution over the result, however, and emphasised that inheriting two short versions of the gene did not condemn a person to a life of misery any more than two long versions would make someone impervious to sadness.
"This gene has an important influence, but you cannot say it causes happiness. Happiness is hugely complex and your experiences throughout the course of your life will remain the dominant force on that," he said.
A 2009 study by Elaine Fox at the University of Essex suggested that people who carried long versions of the 5-HTT gene had a greater tendency to focus on the positives in life. The "bright side" version of the gene might bolster people's resilience to stressful events, and protect against anxiety, depression and other mental health problems.
Ed Diener, a psychologist at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and author of the 2008 book, Happiness: Unlocking the Mysteries of Psychological Wealth, said: "We are just beginning to understand the actual genetics of happiness, and how genes might influence brain hormones and other physiology that influence our well-being.
"This exciting work offers insights that one day may help us counter disorders such as depression. Parents one day might have the choice of whether to choose genes that will create a child who is more satisfied with his or her life."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2011/ ... t-versions
Happiness linked to a gene that comes in long and short versions
Your overall happiness may depend in part on whether you drew the long or short version of a gene, say researchers
Ian Sample, science correspondent guardian.co.uk, Friday 6 May 2011 00.00 BST
In work that gives cranky teenagers another reason to blame their parents for all life's woes, researchers have uncovered a genetic link to happiness.
The study of more than 2,500 Americans revealed two variants of a gene that influenced how satisfied – or dissatisfied – people were with their lot.
Those born with two long versions of the gene (one is passed down from each parent) were more likely to declare themselves "very satisfied" with life than those who inherited two short versions.
The study marks a tentative step towards explaining the mystery of why some people seem naturally happier than others.
"This gives us more insight into the biological mechanisms that influence life satisfaction," said Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, a researcher at the London School of Economics and Political Science.
"If you're feeling down, you can say it's your biology telling you life is less rosy that it is," he added.
A greater understanding of happiness genes might in future allow would-be parents to create a child who will be more satisfied with their life.
Happiness is only partly influenced by genetic makeup. Studies in twins suggest that genes account for roughly a third to a half of the variation in happiness between people. It is not yet known how many genes affect how cheerful we are.
De Neve looked at the genetic makeup of 2,574 people selected to be representative of the general population, whose medical histories were recorded for the US National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Among the records were answers to a question participants were asked in their early 20s about life satisfaction.
In response to the question, "How satisfied are you with your life as a whole", they answered either "very satisfied", "satisfied", "neither satisfied or dissatisfied", "dissatisfied" or "very dissatisfied".
Writing in the Journal of Human Genetics, De Neve describes how roughly 40% said they were "very satisified" with life, and among these, 35.4% had two long variants of the gene and only 19.1% had two short versions. Of those who were "dissatisfied" with life, 26.2% had two long variants of the gene, while 20% had two short versions. That indicates a slight over-representation of the long variants in happier people.
The gene, known as 5-HTT, is involved with the transport of serotonin, a feelgood chemical, in the brain. The longer variant leads to more efficient release and recycling of the neurotransmitter.
De Neve calculated that, everything else being equal, having one long version of the gene increased the number of people claiming to be "very satisfied" with life by around 8.5%. Having two long versions raised the number by 17.3%.
In unpublished work, De Neve and other researchers have since replicated the result in a separate group of people.
De Neve urged caution over the result, however, and emphasised that inheriting two short versions of the gene did not condemn a person to a life of misery any more than two long versions would make someone impervious to sadness.
"This gene has an important influence, but you cannot say it causes happiness. Happiness is hugely complex and your experiences throughout the course of your life will remain the dominant force on that," he said.
A 2009 study by Elaine Fox at the University of Essex suggested that people who carried long versions of the 5-HTT gene had a greater tendency to focus on the positives in life. The "bright side" version of the gene might bolster people's resilience to stressful events, and protect against anxiety, depression and other mental health problems.
Ed Diener, a psychologist at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and author of the 2008 book, Happiness: Unlocking the Mysteries of Psychological Wealth, said: "We are just beginning to understand the actual genetics of happiness, and how genes might influence brain hormones and other physiology that influence our well-being.
"This exciting work offers insights that one day may help us counter disorders such as depression. Parents one day might have the choice of whether to choose genes that will create a child who is more satisfied with his or her life."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2011/ ... t-versions
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2001
- Messages
- 54,631
More on happiness:
Brain scans of happy people help explain their 'rose-tinted' outlook
The brains of people with a happy disposition seem to respond more strongly to positive things in their environment
Ian Sample, Washington DC guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 16 November 2011 15.08 GMT
The brains of happy people are tuned to notice and enjoy the positives in life that may pass others by, according to research that may explain why some folk seem to go about wearing rose-tinted spectacles.
Brain scans of volunteers who scored high on a standard test for happiness showed activity in regions that reinforced their happy dispositions and set them up for a "cycle of positivity", scientists said.
The positive outlook on life was not a reflection of naivety or ignorance of the world's threats and dangers, they said, but an enhanced response to positive events and the opportunities around them.
Psychologists Wil Cunningham and Tabitha Kirkland at Ohio State University uncovered the effect while scanning the brains of 38 volunteers as they looked at a series of pictures designed to evoke positive, negative or neutral feelings.
The negative images included an unhappy person sitting in a chair and someone being threatened with a gun, while positive images included a basket of kittens and a bunch of flowers. Among the neutral images were patterns and household objects.
The scientists focused on part of the brain called the amygdala, an almond-shaped region used in early processing of information about the world around us and emotional reactions to it.
The scans showed that all the volunteers' brains reacted the same way to negative and neutral images, with negative pictures causing more arousal in the amygdala than neutral ones.
But the most striking result was in the happiest volunteers, who had scored five and above on a seven-point happiness test. When they saw positive images, the activity in their amygdalas rose much higher than it did in the less happy people.
The findings were reported at the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in Washington DC.
"People with rose-tinted glasses are more responsive to positive things in the environment. But it's not at the expense of the negatives in life. They're not seeing the positives in everything, but they see the positives where they can find them," Dr Cunningham said.
"They extract both types of meaning from the world and probably have a better life because of it."
The amygdala guides other neural processes, including attention and perception, to deal with the threats and opportunities that a person encounters. Because happy people notice and respond more strongly to joyful objects and events in the world, their increased sensitivity helps reinforce their happiness over time, Cunningham added.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2011/ ... ose-tinted
Perhaps I should ask the doc if I could get an amygdala transplant..?
Brain scans of happy people help explain their 'rose-tinted' outlook
The brains of people with a happy disposition seem to respond more strongly to positive things in their environment
Ian Sample, Washington DC guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 16 November 2011 15.08 GMT
The brains of happy people are tuned to notice and enjoy the positives in life that may pass others by, according to research that may explain why some folk seem to go about wearing rose-tinted spectacles.
Brain scans of volunteers who scored high on a standard test for happiness showed activity in regions that reinforced their happy dispositions and set them up for a "cycle of positivity", scientists said.
The positive outlook on life was not a reflection of naivety or ignorance of the world's threats and dangers, they said, but an enhanced response to positive events and the opportunities around them.
Psychologists Wil Cunningham and Tabitha Kirkland at Ohio State University uncovered the effect while scanning the brains of 38 volunteers as they looked at a series of pictures designed to evoke positive, negative or neutral feelings.
The negative images included an unhappy person sitting in a chair and someone being threatened with a gun, while positive images included a basket of kittens and a bunch of flowers. Among the neutral images were patterns and household objects.
The scientists focused on part of the brain called the amygdala, an almond-shaped region used in early processing of information about the world around us and emotional reactions to it.
The scans showed that all the volunteers' brains reacted the same way to negative and neutral images, with negative pictures causing more arousal in the amygdala than neutral ones.
But the most striking result was in the happiest volunteers, who had scored five and above on a seven-point happiness test. When they saw positive images, the activity in their amygdalas rose much higher than it did in the less happy people.
The findings were reported at the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in Washington DC.
"People with rose-tinted glasses are more responsive to positive things in the environment. But it's not at the expense of the negatives in life. They're not seeing the positives in everything, but they see the positives where they can find them," Dr Cunningham said.
"They extract both types of meaning from the world and probably have a better life because of it."
The amygdala guides other neural processes, including attention and perception, to deal with the threats and opportunities that a person encounters. Because happy people notice and respond more strongly to joyful objects and events in the world, their increased sensitivity helps reinforce their happiness over time, Cunningham added.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2011/ ... ose-tinted
Perhaps I should ask the doc if I could get an amygdala transplant..?
ramonmercado
CyberPunk
- Joined
- Aug 19, 2003
- Messages
- 58,246
- Location
- Eblana
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2001
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Oh dear...
Exercise 'no help for depression', research suggests
By Branwen Jeffreys, Health correspondent, BBC News
Combining exercise with conventional treatments for depression does not improve recovery, research suggests.
In the NHS-funded study - published in the British Medical Journal - some patients were given help to boost their activity levels in addition to receiving therapy or anti-depressants.
After a year all 361 patients had fewer signs of depression, but there was no difference between the two groups.
Current guidelines suggest sufferers do up to three exercise sessions a week.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) drew up that advice in 2004.
At the time it said that on the basis of the research available, increased physical activity could help those with mild depression.
The latest study, carried out by teams from the Universities of Bristol and Exeter, looked at how that might actually work in a real clinical setting.
All 361 people taking part were given conventional treatments appropriate to their level of depression.
But for eight months some in a randomly allocated group were also given advice on up to 13 separate occasions on how to increase their level of activity.
It was up to individual patients what activity they chose to increase and by how much.
This approach produced good results in terms of encouraging people to do more over a sustained period of time - something which could have benefits to their general physical health.
But at the end of a year, researchers found no additional reduction in the symptoms of depression in the more active group.
Prof John Campbell, from the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry, which also took part in the study, said: "Many patients suffering from depression would prefer not to have to take traditional anti-depressant medication, preferring instead to consider alternative non-drug based forms of therapy.
"Exercise and activity appeared to offer promise as one such treatment, but this carefully designed research study has shown that exercise does not appear to be effective in treating depression."
But he added that GPs were often faced with patients with a number of health problems for whom encouraging an active lifestyle might be of overall benefit.
"The message of this study of course is not that exercise isn't good for you, exercise is very good for you, but it's not good for treating people with what was actually quite severe depression.
"That buzz we all get from moderate intensity of exercise is certainly acknowleged but it's not sustained and it's not appropriate for treating people with depression."
At present, the NHS can refer patients for a course of supervised exercise sessions as part of treatment for a number of illnesses, including depression.
These findings are therefore likely to be taken into account when Nice next reviews its guidelines.
The research was funded by the National Institute for Health Research, a government-backed programme.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-18335173
Exercise 'no help for depression', research suggests
By Branwen Jeffreys, Health correspondent, BBC News
Combining exercise with conventional treatments for depression does not improve recovery, research suggests.
In the NHS-funded study - published in the British Medical Journal - some patients were given help to boost their activity levels in addition to receiving therapy or anti-depressants.
After a year all 361 patients had fewer signs of depression, but there was no difference between the two groups.
Current guidelines suggest sufferers do up to three exercise sessions a week.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) drew up that advice in 2004.
At the time it said that on the basis of the research available, increased physical activity could help those with mild depression.
The latest study, carried out by teams from the Universities of Bristol and Exeter, looked at how that might actually work in a real clinical setting.
All 361 people taking part were given conventional treatments appropriate to their level of depression.
But for eight months some in a randomly allocated group were also given advice on up to 13 separate occasions on how to increase their level of activity.
It was up to individual patients what activity they chose to increase and by how much.
This approach produced good results in terms of encouraging people to do more over a sustained period of time - something which could have benefits to their general physical health.
But at the end of a year, researchers found no additional reduction in the symptoms of depression in the more active group.
Prof John Campbell, from the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry, which also took part in the study, said: "Many patients suffering from depression would prefer not to have to take traditional anti-depressant medication, preferring instead to consider alternative non-drug based forms of therapy.
"Exercise and activity appeared to offer promise as one such treatment, but this carefully designed research study has shown that exercise does not appear to be effective in treating depression."
But he added that GPs were often faced with patients with a number of health problems for whom encouraging an active lifestyle might be of overall benefit.
"The message of this study of course is not that exercise isn't good for you, exercise is very good for you, but it's not good for treating people with what was actually quite severe depression.
"That buzz we all get from moderate intensity of exercise is certainly acknowleged but it's not sustained and it's not appropriate for treating people with depression."
At present, the NHS can refer patients for a course of supervised exercise sessions as part of treatment for a number of illnesses, including depression.
These findings are therefore likely to be taken into account when Nice next reviews its guidelines.
The research was funded by the National Institute for Health Research, a government-backed programme.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-18335173
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2001
- Messages
- 54,631
The Birthday Honours are announced today, and yet again I'm not on the list.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22904807
How depressing is that? People who are already rich, famous, or successful don't need Honours. For the rest of us, Honours just remind us how poor, unknown, and unsuccesful we are!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22904807
How depressing is that? People who are already rich, famous, or successful don't need Honours. For the rest of us, Honours just remind us how poor, unknown, and unsuccesful we are!
ramonmercado
CyberPunk
- Joined
- Aug 19, 2003
- Messages
- 58,246
- Location
- Eblana
rynner2 said:The Birthday Honours are announced today, and yet again I'm not on the list.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22904807
How depressing is that? People who are already rich, famous, or successful don't need Honours. For the rest of us, Honours just remind us how poor, unknown, and unsuccesful we are!
Baldric got a knighthood, theres hope for us yet.
sherbetbizarre
Special Branch
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- Sep 4, 2004
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- 5,242
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2001
- Messages
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Stephen Fry thanks 'kind' public after suicide revelation
Comedian Stephen Fry has thanked the "warm, caring majority" who contacted him after he revealed he had attempted suicide in 2012.
Writing on his website, Fry said "the outburst of sympathy and support that followed my confession" had touched him "very deeply".
The 55-year-old said his mental health had improved, but he still struggled with loneliness and unhappiness.
"I am writing this for any of you out there who are lonely too," he added.
"I am luckier than many of you because I am lonely in a crowd of people who are mostly very nice to me and appear to be pleased to meet me. But I want you to know that you are not alone in your being alone.
"Loneliness is not much written about... but humankind is a social species and maybe it's something we should think about more than we do."
Fry, who has bipolar disorder, disclosed details of his suicide attempt while speaking to fellow comedian Richard Herring last month.
He said he had taken "a huge number of pills and a huge [amount] of vodka" while filming abroad, and a producer found him in an "unconscious state".
The actor has always been candid about his experiences of depression, and campaigns to end the stigma around mental health issues for the charity Mind.
He said that, following his latest revelation, the public had been overwhelmingly kind.
"There's something a little flustering and embarrassing when a taxi-driver shakes you by the hand, looks deep into your eyes and says, 'You look after yourself, mate, yes? Promise me?'" he wrote.
"And there's something perhaps not too helpful to one's mental health when it is the only subject people want to talk to you about, however kindly or for whatever reasons."
Fry is heading to the US in October, where he is due to appear in Shakespeare's Globe theatre's acclaimed production of Twelfth Night, alongside Mark Rylance.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-23039071
Comedian Stephen Fry has thanked the "warm, caring majority" who contacted him after he revealed he had attempted suicide in 2012.
Writing on his website, Fry said "the outburst of sympathy and support that followed my confession" had touched him "very deeply".
The 55-year-old said his mental health had improved, but he still struggled with loneliness and unhappiness.
"I am writing this for any of you out there who are lonely too," he added.
"I am luckier than many of you because I am lonely in a crowd of people who are mostly very nice to me and appear to be pleased to meet me. But I want you to know that you are not alone in your being alone.
"Loneliness is not much written about... but humankind is a social species and maybe it's something we should think about more than we do."
Fry, who has bipolar disorder, disclosed details of his suicide attempt while speaking to fellow comedian Richard Herring last month.
He said he had taken "a huge number of pills and a huge [amount] of vodka" while filming abroad, and a producer found him in an "unconscious state".
The actor has always been candid about his experiences of depression, and campaigns to end the stigma around mental health issues for the charity Mind.
He said that, following his latest revelation, the public had been overwhelmingly kind.
"There's something a little flustering and embarrassing when a taxi-driver shakes you by the hand, looks deep into your eyes and says, 'You look after yourself, mate, yes? Promise me?'" he wrote.
"And there's something perhaps not too helpful to one's mental health when it is the only subject people want to talk to you about, however kindly or for whatever reasons."
Fry is heading to the US in October, where he is due to appear in Shakespeare's Globe theatre's acclaimed production of Twelfth Night, alongside Mark Rylance.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-23039071
ramonmercado
CyberPunk
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- Aug 19, 2003
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- Eblana
I'm glad he didn't succeed, I hpe he finds peace & happiness.
ramonmercado
CyberPunk
- Joined
- Aug 19, 2003
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- 58,246
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- Eblana
I've suffered very badly from depression on a number of occasions so I'm always excited at the possibility of new treatments. But with Ketamine being reclassified as a Class B Drug it will be difficult to get the bureaucrat blockheads to approve it
.
Cochise
Priest of the cult of the Dog with the Broken Paw
- Joined
- Jun 17, 2011
- Messages
- 8,474
"Doctors say you shouldn't self-medicate" because a lot of them would be out of a job...
It's a pity. I used to trust the medical profession, same as I did the police.
They now seem to be just as much in the grip of faddish pseudo-science as much of the rest of the establishment. An excessive reliance on over-simplified numbers and the consequent 'facts' of global organisations seems to entirely blow common sense out of the window.
If you cannot demonstrate your theory by repeatable experiment its not science, whatever faculty of the university you went to.
It's a pity. I used to trust the medical profession, same as I did the police.
They now seem to be just as much in the grip of faddish pseudo-science as much of the rest of the establishment. An excessive reliance on over-simplified numbers and the consequent 'facts' of global organisations seems to entirely blow common sense out of the window.
If you cannot demonstrate your theory by repeatable experiment its not science, whatever faculty of the university you went to.
Loquaciousness
The misuse of the word "fact" annoys me
- Joined
- Sep 3, 2011
- Messages
- 1,327
It's an interesting fact, that creative people such as actors and artists have an unusually high proportion of bi-polar sufferers amongst them. The thinking is that during the periods of mania is when they are at their most creative. Another interesting fact ( not demonstrated in lab experiments as this would be impossible ) but rather by large scale natural experiments and correlations ( which yes I know do NOT establish cause and effect ) is that bipolar and schizophrenia seem to be the two mental disorders with the highest genetic component.
Loquaciousness
The misuse of the word "fact" annoys me
- Joined
- Sep 3, 2011
- Messages
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Incidentally I have lost trust in English doctors, as they do seem to slap the label depression and anxiety on everyone and drug them to the eyeballs. I speak from experience, as a few years ago, I started feeling depressed, had severe anxiety accompanied by sever somatic symptoms of increased sweating, feeling hot all the time, etc. Doctor ( as I had just had a baby ) prescribed anti-depressants. However, this didn't seem to work, soon I had tremors in my hands and severe muscle and joint pains so bad I could no longer lift my baby. In addition, my hair started to fall out by the hand full, my heart would race for nor reason, etc. . Doctor diagnosed it as being all in my mind, and upped the dosage - as on reading my notes all he saw was depression/anxiety.
When I went to Germany to see my parents, my mum took one look at me, dragged me to her GP, who took one look, ordered a thyroid test, and four hours later diagnosed me as having a severely hyperactive thyroid. ( 4 times what it should be). So all my symptoms actually had a very physical cause. When I went back to see my doctor in England, he said he hadn't thought about it because I looked well and was still overweight and hyperthyroidism causes massive weight loss ( apart from if you read the literature for 1/10 it doesn't ).
Even now whenever I go to the GP with anything, like recently with palpitations and rapid heart beat / dizziness, the whole are you depressed saga starts off again as when they scroll back through my notes that word jumps out at them. One Doctor got quite offended when I told him I wasn't, and as I was a Psychologist I thought I might recognise it. He got very defensive and said he had to ask. Turns out symptoms due to viral infection and a massive secondary sinus infection..... not anxiety/depression.
I despair........ ( maybe I shouldn't say that in case a Doctor reads it )!!!
When I went to Germany to see my parents, my mum took one look at me, dragged me to her GP, who took one look, ordered a thyroid test, and four hours later diagnosed me as having a severely hyperactive thyroid. ( 4 times what it should be). So all my symptoms actually had a very physical cause. When I went back to see my doctor in England, he said he hadn't thought about it because I looked well and was still overweight and hyperthyroidism causes massive weight loss ( apart from if you read the literature for 1/10 it doesn't ).
Even now whenever I go to the GP with anything, like recently with palpitations and rapid heart beat / dizziness, the whole are you depressed saga starts off again as when they scroll back through my notes that word jumps out at them. One Doctor got quite offended when I told him I wasn't, and as I was a Psychologist I thought I might recognise it. He got very defensive and said he had to ask. Turns out symptoms due to viral infection and a massive secondary sinus infection..... not anxiety/depression.
I despair........ ( maybe I shouldn't say that in case a Doctor reads it )!!!
ramonmercado
CyberPunk
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The doctors should have carried out blood tests to determine whether or not there was another cause for the symptoms. I'm on anti-depressants but I still have regular blood tests to check as to whether or not another problem is cropping up. My psychiatrist insists on it.
Cochise
Priest of the cult of the Dog with the Broken Paw
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They are very keen to say any side effects of the pills they are pushing are all in the mind. They even at first tried to claim the symptoms of my wife's bowel cancer were caused by stress. By the time they got round to doing blood tests it was too late. Had they done the tests first they just might have caught it in time - to be fair they might not because with that particular cancer it is often too far advanced by the time the symptoms show.
Also highly distressing was the surgeon who started measuring her up for a major op before they even had results of the scan - which of course showed that it had spread to her liver and other organs and operations were pointless - indeed might have killed her outright.
The reasons why our local, funded by charities, cancer care ward has insufficient access to scanning equipment is another story. As is the fact that the health authority or whatever they call themselves these days is trying to shut it down, presumably because it is partly staffed by non-NHS people who seem to actually care. The PTB's would clearly prefer that we we travelled two hours into Liverpool or three hours to Cardiff.
My B-I-L, who is a senior doctor in Aus, despairs of the UK doctors, GP's in particular.
Also highly distressing was the surgeon who started measuring her up for a major op before they even had results of the scan - which of course showed that it had spread to her liver and other organs and operations were pointless - indeed might have killed her outright.
The reasons why our local, funded by charities, cancer care ward has insufficient access to scanning equipment is another story. As is the fact that the health authority or whatever they call themselves these days is trying to shut it down, presumably because it is partly staffed by non-NHS people who seem to actually care. The PTB's would clearly prefer that we we travelled two hours into Liverpool or three hours to Cardiff.
My B-I-L, who is a senior doctor in Aus, despairs of the UK doctors, GP's in particular.
ramonmercado
CyberPunk
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Depression treatment technique uses new helmet therapy
By Malcolm Brabant, BBC News
A helmet that delivers electro-magnetic impulses to the brain has shown promise in treating people with depression, Danish researchers have said.
About 30% of those with the condition fail to respond to medication or psychological counselling.
The new device targets malfunctioning blood cells in the brain.
In clinical trials two-thirds who used it reported that their symptoms had disappeared, and improvements in mood were noticeable within a week.
The helmet was tested on 65 patients with treatment-resistant depression.
The trials were conducted by the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine at Copenhagen University and the Psychiatric Centre at Hillerod in North Zealand.
Patients also continued taking their regular anti-depressant medication for the eight weeks of the trial.
"They were feeling well, they were functioning well, they could start work," said Birgit Straaso, chief doctor at Hillerod.
"The helmet is amazing," said Annemette Ovlisen, a graphic artist who suffered recurrent depression for 16 years and a participant in the Hillerod trials.
"It's like the fog lifts. It was like somebody hit the reset button."
The device contains seven coils that deliver a dose of Transcranial Pulsating Electro Magnetic Fields (T-PEMF) to brain tissues.
The pulses are so minute that the patient cannot detect any sensation, and the only side effect so far is occasional "tiny" nausea that immediately disappears after treatment.
Prof Steen Dissing, of Copenhagen's Faculty of Health Sciences is the helmet's principal architect.
He said: "The device mimics electrical fields in the brain, and triggers the body's own healing mechanism."
The pulses activate capillaries in the brain, which form new blood vessels and secrete growth hormones.
"We think it works so well because we have imitated the electrical signalling that goes on in the brain and we figured out that this signalling communicates with the blood vessels," said Prof Dissing.
"And blood vessels do communicate with blood tissue. And we found that communication pathway."
In the trial, whose results were published this month in the journal Acta Neuropsychiatrica, 34 patients received half an hour of T-PEMF once a day, and 31 had two 30-minute doses.
The treatment had the additional benefit of enabling patients to improve their tolerance of the anti-depression medicine, researchers found.
They are currently seeking permission from the European Union to market the helmet within six months to a year, and said the potential demand was enormous.
According to the World Health Organization, more than 350 million people are suffering from depression and the number is rising, especially amongst the elderly, where one in five succumb.
At its worst, depression leads to suicide and one million take their own lives each year.
etc...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-27115432
By Malcolm Brabant, BBC News
A helmet that delivers electro-magnetic impulses to the brain has shown promise in treating people with depression, Danish researchers have said.
About 30% of those with the condition fail to respond to medication or psychological counselling.
The new device targets malfunctioning blood cells in the brain.
In clinical trials two-thirds who used it reported that their symptoms had disappeared, and improvements in mood were noticeable within a week.
The helmet was tested on 65 patients with treatment-resistant depression.
The trials were conducted by the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine at Copenhagen University and the Psychiatric Centre at Hillerod in North Zealand.
Patients also continued taking their regular anti-depressant medication for the eight weeks of the trial.
"They were feeling well, they were functioning well, they could start work," said Birgit Straaso, chief doctor at Hillerod.
"The helmet is amazing," said Annemette Ovlisen, a graphic artist who suffered recurrent depression for 16 years and a participant in the Hillerod trials.
"It's like the fog lifts. It was like somebody hit the reset button."
The device contains seven coils that deliver a dose of Transcranial Pulsating Electro Magnetic Fields (T-PEMF) to brain tissues.
The pulses are so minute that the patient cannot detect any sensation, and the only side effect so far is occasional "tiny" nausea that immediately disappears after treatment.
Prof Steen Dissing, of Copenhagen's Faculty of Health Sciences is the helmet's principal architect.
He said: "The device mimics electrical fields in the brain, and triggers the body's own healing mechanism."
The pulses activate capillaries in the brain, which form new blood vessels and secrete growth hormones.
"We think it works so well because we have imitated the electrical signalling that goes on in the brain and we figured out that this signalling communicates with the blood vessels," said Prof Dissing.
"And blood vessels do communicate with blood tissue. And we found that communication pathway."
In the trial, whose results were published this month in the journal Acta Neuropsychiatrica, 34 patients received half an hour of T-PEMF once a day, and 31 had two 30-minute doses.
The treatment had the additional benefit of enabling patients to improve their tolerance of the anti-depression medicine, researchers found.
They are currently seeking permission from the European Union to market the helmet within six months to a year, and said the potential demand was enormous.
According to the World Health Organization, more than 350 million people are suffering from depression and the number is rising, especially amongst the elderly, where one in five succumb.
At its worst, depression leads to suicide and one million take their own lives each year.
etc...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-27115432
A fair few of my friends suffer from depression and are prescribed Diazepam and the like. The different kinds are then traded between each other or sold in strips to other friends. The whole thing is alarming, I don't know why the doctors seem so happy to just to give these scripts out, but I don't see these drugs do anybody any good. *
Diazepam (or other uppers and downers) are also used to combat the class A drug come down. So essentially the doctor is giving drugs to people who have drug addictions!
I suffered with depression like most, but I got over it by smoking weed and thinking about who I was and what I wanted from life. It took a very long time and I'll never get those years back. It can be crippling.
* I don't mean to offend anyone who has been helped by these drugs, but from what I see around me, they're being abused, and I don't think it helps a lot of people to be braindead all the time.
ramonmercado
CyberPunk
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ramonmercado
CyberPunk
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You have to be able to laugh at depression. Its a small sample size but it gives hope.
Nitrous oxide, or laughing gas, has shown early promise as a potential treatment for severe depression in patients whose symptoms don't respond to standard therapies. The pilot study, at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, is believed to be the first research in which patients with depression were given laughing gas.
In 20 patients who had treatment-resistant clinical depression, the researchers found that two-thirds experienced an improvement in symptoms after receiving nitrous oxide. In comparison, one-third of the same patients reported improved symptoms after treatment with a placebo. The patients were evaluated on the day of and day after each treatment.
The findings, presented Dec. 9 at the annual meeting of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology in Scottsdale, Ariz., were published online the same day in the journal Biological Psychiatry. ...
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2014-12-gas-depression-treatment.html
Nitrous oxide, or laughing gas, has shown early promise as a potential treatment for severe depression in patients whose symptoms don't respond to standard therapies. The pilot study, at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, is believed to be the first research in which patients with depression were given laughing gas.
In 20 patients who had treatment-resistant clinical depression, the researchers found that two-thirds experienced an improvement in symptoms after receiving nitrous oxide. In comparison, one-third of the same patients reported improved symptoms after treatment with a placebo. The patients were evaluated on the day of and day after each treatment.
The findings, presented Dec. 9 at the annual meeting of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology in Scottsdale, Ariz., were published online the same day in the journal Biological Psychiatry. ...
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2014-12-gas-depression-treatment.html
Ulalume
tart of darkness
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Interesting about the nitrous oxide. Not a suitable treatment for me though, as it had some nightmarish effects when I've had it at the dentist. They insist it will only be "relaxing" but every time it sends me into sheer panic. Reminds me of what happened when I tried marijuana back in the day and discovered I have cannabis-induced psychosis. 
Can't go near the stuff.
Recently heard that ketamine has had lasting good effects on depression. Probably can't go there either though,
as I try to avoid horse tranquilizers. I've been trying this home-made EMDR treatment, along with binaural beats, and it does appear to be helping...no drugs, no freak-outs - so it's all good.
Can't go near the stuff.Recently heard that ketamine has had lasting good effects on depression. Probably can't go there either though,
as I try to avoid horse tranquilizers.
I've been trying this home-made EMDR treatment, along with binaural beats, and it does appear to be helping...no drugs, no freak-outs - so it's all good. 
David Plankton
I AM HIM.
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- 6,077
Reminds me of what happened when I tried marijuana back in the day and discovered I have cannabis-induced psychosis.
This happened to me on the couple of occasions I tried it many, many years ago. Why did I try more than once? No one had heard of cannabis related psychosis then and I was just a kid and everyone else I knew kept saying it was the most amazing relaxing experience ever. For me it was the opposite of relaxation, with extremely intrusive, delusional thoughts and auditory hallucinations. Never ever again.
Anome
Bibliomancer
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Might have to get some nitrous, see if it helps. I've had it once at the dentist, and it enabled me to go through two rather unpleasant extractions. The fact I was conscious meant I had some nasty flashbacks, though. Nothing to do with the nitrous.
I have worried in the past that I might have a tendency to addiction, though. That's one reason I only take tea. That and not liking the taste of alcohol.
The ketamine studies are interesting, since it's fairly rapid acting and long lasting. I heard some stuff suggesting that it could be permanent, but that doesn't seem to be supported by any sources I could find with a quick check. Interesting that both it and nitrous are primarily used in anaesthesia.
I have worried in the past that I might have a tendency to addiction, though. That's one reason I only take tea. That and not liking the taste of alcohol.
The ketamine studies are interesting, since it's fairly rapid acting and long lasting. I heard some stuff suggesting that it could be permanent, but that doesn't seem to be supported by any sources I could find with a quick check. Interesting that both it and nitrous are primarily used in anaesthesia.
ramonmercado
CyberPunk
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SOCIAL NETWORKS ASPIRE to connect people, which is a noble but naive goal. When we uncritically accept connection as a good thing, we overlook difficult, important questions: Are some forms of virtual communication more nourishing than others? Might some in fact be harmful? Is it possible that Facebook, for instance, leaves some people feeling more lonely? No one knows for sure. We tend to build things first and worry about the effects they have on us later.
Robert Morris is taking the opposite approach. Starting with the desired effect of helping people deal with depression, he developed Panoply, a crowdsourced website for improving mental health. The site, which was the focus of his doctoral thesis at MIT Media Lab, trained users to reframe and reassess negative thoughts, embedding an established technique called cognitive behavioral therapy in an engaging, unthreatening interface. After a study confirmed the site’s effectiveness, Morris formed a company and is now working on turning the idea into a polished consumer app. ...
http://www.wired.com/2015/04/social-network-designed-combat-depression/?mbid=social_twitter
Robert Morris is taking the opposite approach. Starting with the desired effect of helping people deal with depression, he developed Panoply, a crowdsourced website for improving mental health. The site, which was the focus of his doctoral thesis at MIT Media Lab, trained users to reframe and reassess negative thoughts, embedding an established technique called cognitive behavioral therapy in an engaging, unthreatening interface. After a study confirmed the site’s effectiveness, Morris formed a company and is now working on turning the idea into a polished consumer app. ...
http://www.wired.com/2015/04/social-network-designed-combat-depression/?mbid=social_twitter
ramonmercado
CyberPunk
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A herb used in traditional European folk medicine for over 3,000 years could be a potential treatment option for depression, according to the results of a new study.
Many common therapies for mild to moderate depression can have side effects such as nausea and sexual dysfunction.
The study, published in Phytomedicine, was led by Dr. Jun J. Mao, an associate professor of family medicine, community health and epidemiology at the Perelman School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania.
Rhodiola rosea, also referred to as roseroot, has been used in traditional folk medicine to promote work endurance, increase longevity and promote resistance to several health conditions including fatigue, altitude sickness and depression.
Previous studies have suggested that roseroot could enhance mood by stimulating the receptors of neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin in the brain that are involved with mood regulation. Other research also suggests the herb affects beta-endorphin levels in the body.
In what is the first ever randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, comparison trial of roseroot extract, the researchers compared its effects on mild to moderate major depressive disorder with sertraline, a commonly prescribed antidepressant therapy. ...
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/291596.php
Many common therapies for mild to moderate depression can have side effects such as nausea and sexual dysfunction.
The study, published in Phytomedicine, was led by Dr. Jun J. Mao, an associate professor of family medicine, community health and epidemiology at the Perelman School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania.
Rhodiola rosea, also referred to as roseroot, has been used in traditional folk medicine to promote work endurance, increase longevity and promote resistance to several health conditions including fatigue, altitude sickness and depression.
Previous studies have suggested that roseroot could enhance mood by stimulating the receptors of neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin in the brain that are involved with mood regulation. Other research also suggests the herb affects beta-endorphin levels in the body.
In what is the first ever randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, comparison trial of roseroot extract, the researchers compared its effects on mild to moderate major depressive disorder with sertraline, a commonly prescribed antidepressant therapy. ...
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/291596.php
ramonmercado
CyberPunk
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Scientists have created a potential new treatment for depression by combining a medication for pain relief with one for combating addiction. Current antidepressants increase the level of serotonin in the brain, though the exact mechanism by which they work is unclear. Up to 50pc of patients do not respond to the treatment, which can take several weeks to work and cause significant side-effects.
A team at the University of Bath have combined buprenorphine, a painkiller used post-surgery, and naltrexone, used for treating addiction. The combination produced antidepressant-like responses in mice.
Researchers believe the time it would take to gain regulatory approval for the treatment could be reduced as both drugs are already licensed .
"No new drugs for depression have been developed for decades - they all work in a similar way - so there's an urgent need to develop new treatments," said Dr Sarah Bailey, of the university's Department of Pharmacy & Pharmacology. ...
http://www.independent.ie/life/heal...-depression-in-new-breakthrough-31305155.html
A team at the University of Bath have combined buprenorphine, a painkiller used post-surgery, and naltrexone, used for treating addiction. The combination produced antidepressant-like responses in mice.
Researchers believe the time it would take to gain regulatory approval for the treatment could be reduced as both drugs are already licensed .
"No new drugs for depression have been developed for decades - they all work in a similar way - so there's an urgent need to develop new treatments," said Dr Sarah Bailey, of the university's Department of Pharmacy & Pharmacology. ...
http://www.independent.ie/life/heal...-depression-in-new-breakthrough-31305155.html