03
Apr
2016
Written by Robert Preidt / U.S. News Health
Mindfulness training can trigger brain changes that help veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) manage disturbing memories and thoughts, according to a new study of war veterans. The goal of mindfulness training is to help people develop in-the-moment attention and awareness. This study included 23 U.S. veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars who all received some form of group therapy. After four months of weekly sessions, many had reductions in their PTSD symptoms. However, some of the participants received mindfulness training, and only those veterans showed brain activity changes that could be detected on functional MRI brain scans. Before mindfulness training, when the veterans with PTSD were resting quietly, they had extra activity in brain regions involved in responding to threats or outside problems, the study authors said.
02
Apr
2016
Written by Kristy Eldredge / Splitsider
The link between depression and comedy is well known; Woody Allen shot to fame joking about low self-esteem, while currently, Maria Bamford and Louis CK turn depression into comic gold — even if, in Bamford’s case at least, the off-stage struggle with it was painful and scary. The British Journal of Psychiatry found in a 2014 study of 523 comedians that they scored “significantly higher” than the norms for depression in four areas, noting, “Most striking was the comedians’ high score on both introverted anhedonia and extroverted impulsiveness.” “Introverted anhedonia” is a good way to describe the humor of talented standup comedian Aparna Nancherla, whose pithy expression of the depressive mindset is gaining her an impassioned following on Twitter, where she contributes one-liners that rival Allen’s in their self-deprecating moroseness.
01
Apr
2016
Written by 98.1 FM / 98.1 FM
You’ve probably heard about therapy dogs, or even therapy cats. But what about therapy chickens? A metro-area school is helping kids learn life skills through chickens.There are several chickens at the Lakemary Center in Paola. They serve special needs children with developmental or psychiatric problems. The chickens are the center’s newest way to connect with the kids, says Dr. Courtnie Cain, who’s the clinical program administrator. “Seeing them connect to specific chickens, and name them, you can see the kids project some of their own family ties. And the kids being able to connect with the animals in a way that they haven’t been able to connect with people.” Dr. Cain laughs as she describes just how much the kids love the chickens. “I think we’re probably going to be a pioneer in therapeutic chickens.” Bob the rooster and his four hens, plus another 8 chicks, have their own coop on the southern side of the school. And they’re really popular. School principal Amanda Martell tells us about the first egg, “literally the chicken egg was laid when the kids were in there and they held up the egg like it was a Simba.” The kids are learning life skills too, like making sure the chickens have enough food and water and even how to collect and sell the eggs. “Figuring out if they need more feed, and which kind is the best? Learning the life cycle of a chicken egg. We have the ability to have all that educationally brought in too, I mean it’s just been a win-win,” Martell tells KMBZ.
31
Mar
2016
Written by Leonor Vivanco / Chicago Tribune
Rats genetically bred to be depressed improved greatly after spending a month in a stimulating “playground” with toys and hiding places, Northwestern University researchers reported. The study, published Tuesday in the Translational Psychiatry journal, set out to determine whether a fun environment would decrease depression or a stressful environment would increase depression, said lead study investigator Eva Redei, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. The study found that rats genetically bred to be depressed saw a “dramatic” reduction in depression-like behavior after undergoing rat psychotherapy: spending one month in a “playground” — large cages where they could play with toys, climb and hide, Redei said.
30
Mar
2016
Written by Jo Abbott / The Conversation
The relationship between insomnia and mental illness is bidirectional: about 50 percent of adults with insomnia have a mental health problem, while up to 90 percent of adults with depression experience sleep problems. Sleep problems can also create a loop, slowing recovery from mental illness. People with depression who continue to experience insomnia, for instance, are less likely to respond to treatment for depression. They are also at greater risk of relapse than those without sleeping problems. It is unclear how insomnia makes a person more likely to develop mental illness. Research suggests, however, that it may affect our ability to process negative emotions. In one study, sleep-deprived people were found to show greater emotional reactivity to unpleasant images than to pleasant images or images with neutral emotional content. People who weren’t sleep-deprived showed no differences in emotional reactivity. In another study, brain scans revealed that people with insomnia showed greater activity in the brain’s emotional processing area when they used a strategy to reduce their negative reactions to images than when they did not use this strategy. That suggests insomnia makes it difficult to react appropriately to negative emotions. This may exacerbate their sleep difficulties and make them vulnerable to experiencing depression.
29
Mar
2016
Written by JR Thorpe / Bustle
If you suspect a friend is suffering from an anxiety disorder and you want to help them, the first order of business is to talk to them about it — because you can’t help your friend unless they agree that they want your help. But how can you tell if they’re struggling with anxiety in the first place — especially if your friend isn’t quite sure about it, either? Anxiety disorders, like many mood disorders, are unfortunately sometimes hard to spot, since they’re not like visible diseases — the sufferers don’t go around with red spots and a temperature. If you know what you’re looking for, however, it becomes a little easier to see whether your friend is simply a bit high-strung, or if they are suffering from something more intense and disordered.
28
Mar
2016
Written by Goldie Taylor / The Daily Beast
Sixteen months after the horrific, near-fatal accident that claimed the life of of one of his closest friends, funnyman Tracy Morgan made a triumphant return to Studio 8F in Rockefeller Plaza. Fellow comedian James “Jimmy Mack” McNair died in the multi-car pileup on a rain-soaked highway in New Jersey, and Morgan was lucky to be alive, he told the Saturday Night Live audience. “I’m back. It feels so good to be here,” Morgan exclaimed from center stage. “You may have seen on the news I was in a terrible car accident a year ago. It was awful. But it also showed me how much love and support I have in this world.” What he did not say as he opened the show that night—and what the audience could not have possibly known—is that after eight days in a coma and amid months in a hospital bed, Morgan suffered a debilitating mental collapse and contemplated taking his own life. “I was in a very dark place,” Morgan told Rolling Stone. “I was sitting right here, contemplating suicide.” His path to recovery was as much about the rigors of physical therapy as it was about making peace with himself and embracing the road ahead.
Morgan battled what is known as “survivor’s guilt.” As he spiraled into depression, trapped in a fog of grief, Morgan blamed himself for the tragic collision that killed McNair.
27
Mar
2016
Written by Health Editor / Health News & Views
The more time young adults spend using popular social media, the greater the link to depression, new research suggests. The finding stems from research—which involved nearly 1,800 men and women between the ages of 19 and 32—that tried to get a handle on how depression and social media habits may interact. But does greater involvement with social media actually promote depression? Or, are people who are already depressed simply more likely to gravitate to social media? The jury, according to the study authors, is still out. “One strong possibility is that people who are already having mental illness symptoms start to use social media more, perhaps because they do not feel the energy or drive to engage as many in direct social relationships,” said senior study author Dr. Brian Primack. He is the director of the Center for Research on Media, Technology, and Health at the University of Pittsburgh. “However, there are also a few reasons why increased social media use may lead to more depressive thoughts,” Primack added. “For example, people who engage in a lot of social media use may feel they are not living up to the idealized portraits of life that other people tend to present in their profiles. This phenomenon has sometimes been called ‘Facebook depression.’ ”
26
Mar
2016
Written by Melissa Dahl / Science of Us
In 2007, writer Jen A. Miller went through a terrible breakup. (Her ex’s parting words: “I’ll keep you in the top eight of my Myspace friends.”) Soon afterward, her grandfather died. Soon after that, she bought a house and signed the paperwork just months before the recession hit. “I did not handle this well,” Miller wrote in a widely shared 2014 column headlined “Running As Therapy” for the New York Times. “As I was helping my mother pack up her parents’ house, I found myself too drained to move and lay down on the floor and sobbed. My mother suggested I try therapy. I signed up for a 10-mile race instead.”
That column could be seen as an early draft of Miller’s memoir, Running: A Love Story, which is out this week. In it, she details her lifelong relationship with the sport and how the simple act of putting one foot in front of another over 10, 15, or 26.2 miles brought back her mental clarity. In her book, Miller distances herself from the Times headline, writing that she “probably should have sought professional help,” and that she doesn’t mean to suggest self-care is an adequate treatment for the depressed. And it’s true that many severely depressed people are so ill that physical activity becomes impossible; it is also true that seeking professional help is crucial for those who struggle with mental-health issues.
25
Mar
2016
Written by Rachel Fradette / The State News
Each year, MSU hosts a Mental Health Awareness Week with help from the Associate Students of Michigan State University, or ASMSU. The week aims to highlight resources, generate discussions, and ultimately lessen the stigma surrounding mental illness.
These four students share their own battles with mental health in hopes that it will shine a light on what it is like to live with a mental illness. A simple act — walking to class or sitting in lecture — can spiral into a terrifying event for microbiology-environental biology senior Mirijam Garske.
Garske was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder and a panic disorder in addition to her phobias, which can cause problems especially with her anxiety.