10
Apr
2016
Written by Bassey Ikpi / The Root
Many like to use the metaphor of darkness when it comes to depression. My experience is more like a fog: a thing descending slowly; a thick something that surrounds me and distorts the vision of myself and the world around me. One day, there is nothing but sun, and without warning, things that felt like they were on the right path suddenly take a detour into a spiral of failure and rejection that I never saw coming. It floods my chest with what I know, or hope, must be the falsehood of my unimportance. My mind wanders into a list of my mistakes and missteps over the last few decades, and something in the darkness whispers, “You are a failure. Why are you here?” And then sleep decides it wants no part of me. Midnight stretches into 4 a.m., then rolls into 5 and then 6 until it becomes too late to sleep. The alarm will startle me into a new day soon enough. So I just lie there alone, like the forgotten, staring at the blurred walls or ceiling of my bedroom, having given up on wiping the tears from my face. I’ve lived with depression (or something like it) my entire life. I have slid in and out of it as easily as the size 2 jeans that fit only when I know that it has fully welcomed itself back. It is like a rumor that grows quietly and steadily, causing no problems or distractions, reminding me of the time I left the stove on or the last heartbreak or the project that fell through, and that whisper of failure becomes the soundtrack; the blaring, broken jazz in my mind.
09
Apr
2016
Written by Shira Rubin / The Atlantic
Mira Aztil, a clinical psychologist with the Israeli NGO IsraAid, recalls the traumatic stories she’s heard from her refugee patients in Lesbos, Greece: One Iraqi woman described how she had suffered through an encounter with “The Biter,” a spiked metal tool used by the Islamic State to clip off the flesh of women deemed to be immodestly dressed. Another woman, a Syrian mother of four, had been racked with guilt since her husband died on the trek across the snow-laden Syrian-Turkish border. She was convinced that her urgency to get the family to safety quickly had caused his heart to fail.
Severe trauma cases are seen on a daily basis on Lesbos, the pastoral Greek island currently serving as the front line to Europe’s largest wave of forced migration since the Second World War. Since January, 2015, 1.2 million refugees have entered Europe, almost half of whom (48 percent) are from Syria, according to figures from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The Guardian recently reported that nearly 450,000 of them have come through Lesbos.
08
Apr
2016
Written by Therese Borchard / Everyday Health
Whenever I hit a depression rut, where I feel disabled by the illness and therefore pathetic for being brought to my knees by a bunch of thoughts, it helps me to review celebrities — esteemed politicians, actors, musicians, comedians, astronauts, writers, and athletes — that I admire from both the past and present who have also wrestled the demons of depression andbipolar disorder. I feel less alone knowing that this infuriating condition doesn’t discriminate, and that I’m fighting alongside some of the world’s most talented and accomplished people. Here are a few of the luminaries that have, over the course of their lives, shed some of the stigma of mental illness with their stories and who serve as inspiring role models for those of us in the trenches.
1. Ashley Judd
While visiting her sister, country singer Wynonna Judd, at a treatment center in 2006, counselors suggested that the actress and political activist check herself in, too. So Ashley Judd did just that and spent 47 days in a Texas treatment facility for depression and emotional problems. In a Today interview, she told Matt Lauer:
I was absolutely certifiably crazy, and now I get to have a solution. And for those who are codependent or suffer from depression, there is a solution.
In her memoir, All That Is Bitter and Sweet, Judd describes the abuse and neglect in her turbulent upbringing that led, in part, to her emotional pain and breakdown — and also the hope she feels by focusing on humanitarian work around the world.
07
Apr
2016
Written by Brian Zahn / New Haven Register
n New Haven, says Abbe Miller, director of the Graduate Art Therapy program at Albertus Magnus College, there is a lively art scene, one in which art is sometimes identified as a way to heal. Art therapy is a profession that uses artistic techniques, Miller said. In practice, an art therapist uses both art as therapy and therapy as art. Evie Lindemann, associate professor and clinical coordinator for the Albertus program, called it a “blended program.” The graduate program at Albertus Magnus is the only accredited art therapy program in the state, and only one of 39 in the nation, Miller said. The program was established to address mental health challenges in 1997, conceptualized by professor Ragaa Mazen.
06
Apr
2016
Written by Maranda Tankersley / The Oracle
Ah, spring. The sun is shining, the temperatures are remotely higher than before and the amount of depressive episodes I face will hopefully decrease now that the weather is getting better. Yes, you read that correctly. My name is Maranda and I suffer from clinical depression and anxiety. I have days where getting out of bed is the hardest task I have to face that day and I struggle with getting through the day without letting my depression show. I put myself under immense pressure to be the best for everyone else, ignoring my needs. Turns out that I’m not alone. 44 percent of American college students experience symptoms of depression, according to Healthline Network. To make matters worse, 75 percent of college students do not seek help for those mental health problems, and young adults diagnosed with depression are five times more likely to attempt suicide than adults. Why do so many students neglect their mental health during some of their most important years in life? Is it because of the stigma society has put on mental issues? Is it the stubbornness of our generation, where admitting that we need help ultimately means that we are weak or a failure? Or is it the fear that our friends, family or classmates will judge us for having it? All three? If so, I get that. I’ve been there. It’s taken years of pent up emotions and a multitude of bad life experiences for me to finally walk into the Counseling Center and say those three dreadful words: “I need help.” It took two years to admit to my mother that I had once attempted suicide, while I was away at school. I was (and still am) afraid of what everyone in my life thought of me and of the decisions I make on a daily basis. If you’ve experienced that or something similar, I’m sure I know how you feel. But once I did seek help, the weight of the world has slowly been lifted off my shoulders.
04
Apr
2016
Written by Gabrielle Moss / Bustle
On the surface, it might seem like there’s not too much of a difference between bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder. Both mental health disorders can involve mood shifts and problems with impulse control — so much so that even doctors in a clinical setting can sometimes have a difficult time telling the two disorders apart when making an initial diagnosis. Though bipolar disorder involves a series of manic or depressive “mood episodes,” while borderline personality disorder is more about an ongoing pattern of behavior, the extreme ups and downs that sufferers of both disorders must deal with can make them look awfully similar from the outside. If you have questions about a loved one’s unpredictable moods — or even your own — you might have a hard time figuring out which disorder seems more applicable to your situation.
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.