Tips for Healing Sadness

by: continuum wellness - November 27th, 2011   Filed under: depression, wellness, women, women's health Add Comment

According to the American Psychiatric Association guidelines medication is the preferred form of treatment for depression (see below).  However this approach has drawbacks such as addiction, side-effects and possible withdraw symptoms.  Try these instead:

  • Check if you have any nutritional imbalances (i.e. B vitamins, vitamin D).
  • Are you addicted to sugar, caffeine, cigarettes or other substances?
  • How much time do you spend outdoors?  Fresh air, outdoor exercising such as walking is highly restorative.
  • How is your sleep?  Remove electronics such as tv’s from the bedroom, and don’t sleep with the tv on.
  • Change how you think.  There are numerous books on the topic.  Our thoughts shape our reality.  If your thoughts are terrorizing you, learn how to change them.
  • Explore homeopathic medicine; this natural approach is free from side-effects and helps to get at the core of the problem.
  • Explore flower essences.
  • Acupuncture can help too.
  • Watch funny movies.  Laugh.
  • Join a local Laughter Yoga chapter in your community.  Can’t find any?  Start one.  Which leads to the last solution on the list.
  • Find someone to help.  As you count your blessings and develop an attitude of gratitude you will become more peaceful.

Sadness in America

  • About one in 10 Americans aged 12 and over takes antidepressant medication.
  • About 14% of Americans taking antidepressant medication have done so for 10 years or longer.
  • Females are more likely than males to take antidepressant medication at every level of depression severity.
  • Non-Hispanic white persons are more likely to take antidepressant medication than persons of other races and ethnicities.
    • Fourteen percent of non-Hispanic white persons take antidepressant medications compared with 4% of non-Hispanic black and 3% of Mexican-American persons.
    • There is no difference by income in the prevalence of antidepressant usage.

Slightly over one-third of persons aged 12 and over with current severe depressive symptoms were taking antidepressants. According to American Psychiatric Association guidelines, medications are the preferred treatment for moderate to severe depressive symptomatology. The public health importance of increasing treatment rates for depression is reflected in Healthy People 2020, which includes national objectives to increase treatment for depression in adults and treatment for mental health problems in children.

References: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

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Be Happy with You

by: continuum wellness - July 14th, 2011   Filed under: depression, healing, healthy mind, inspiration, self-care, spirit, spirituality, stress, thoughts, wellness Add Comment

The majority of folks have heard the phrase, “be happy with yourself.”  Not new, right? Well, but are you?  Happiness  always seems to be just the corner.  It is on the plate for sure, but always seems to be the next course.  How often do we put something else on the plate for the next bite?

How are You Delaying Your Happiness?

Typical happiness delays include:

    I’ll be happy after I finish my degree,

      after I get a job,
      after I get a raise,
      after I “find myself“,
      after I have children,
      after the children are grown,
      when I lose weight,
      after I get that man or woman,
      after I move and so it goes, on and on…

    Until. 
    Until the day you stop. Stop trying to be amazing, unique, fabulous, special or any other “ego” supporting word you choose. The truth is, happiness is not something you have to earn or deserve. It is your birthright.
    Claim it.
    And don’t allow or permit anyone to take it from you.

    Cheers,

    Catherine

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Let Exercise Make You Happy

by: continuum wellness - August 31st, 2010   Filed under: Anxiety, depression, exercise, wellness, women, women's health Add Comment

Mental health providers should prescribe exercise more often for depression and anxiety
Traditional treatments of cognitive behavioral therapy and pharmacotherapy don’t reach everyone

Exercise is a magic drug for many people with depression and anxiety disorders, and it should be more widely prescribed by mental health care providers, according to researchers who analyzed the results of numerous published studies.

“Exercise has been shown to have tremendous benefits for mental health,” says Jasper Smits, director of the Anxiety Research and Treatment Program at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. “The more therapists who are trained in exercise therapy, the better off patients will be.”

Smits and Michael Otto, psychology professor at Boston University, based their finding on an analysis of dozens of population-based studies, clinical studies and meta-analytic reviews related to exercise and mental health, including the authors’ meta-analysis of exercise interventions for mental health and studies on reducing anxiety sensitivity with exercise. The researchers’ review demonstrated the efficacy of exercise programs in reducing depression and anxiety.

The traditional treatments of cognitive behavioral therapy and pharmacotherapy don’t reach everyone who needs them, says Smits, an associate professor of psychology.

“Exercise can fill the gap for people who can’t receive traditional therapies because of cost or lack of access, or who don’t want to because of the perceived social stigma associated with these treatments,” he says. “Exercise also can supplement traditional treatments, helping patients become more focused and engaged.”

The researchers presented their findings March 6 in Baltimore at the annual conference of the Anxiety Disorder Association of America. Their workshop was based on their therapist guide “Exercise for Mood and Anxiety Disorders,” with accompanying patient workbook (Oxford University Press, September 2009). For links to more information see www.smuresearch.com.

“Individuals who exercise report fewer symptoms of anxiety and depression, and lower levels of stress and anger,” Smits says. “Exercise appears to affect, like an antidepressant, particular neurotransmitter systems in the brain, and it helps patients with depression re-establish positive behaviors. For patients with anxiety disorders, exercise reduces their fears of fear and related bodily sensations such as a racing heart and rapid breathing.”

After patients have passed a health assessment, Smits says, they should work up to the public health dose, which is 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity activity or 75 minutes a week of vigorous-intensity activity. At a time when 40 percent of Americans are sedentary, he says, mental health care providers can serve as their patients’ exercise guides and motivators.

“Rather than emphasize the long-term health benefits of an exercise program – which can be difficult to sustain – we urge providers to focus with their patients on the immediate benefits,” he says. “After just 25 minutes, your mood improves, you are less stressed, you have more energy – and you’ll be motivated to exercise again tomorrow. A bad mood is no longer a barrier to exercise; it is the very reason to exercise.”

Smits says health care providers who prescribe exercise also must give their patients the tools they need to succeed, such as the daily schedules, problem-solving strategies and goal-setting featured in his guide for therapists.

“Therapists can help their patients take specific, achievable steps,” he says. “This isn’t about working out five times a week for the next year. It’s about exercising for 20 or 30 minutes and feeling better today.”

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B Vitamins, Can Help Your Aging Brain

by: continuum wellness - August 17th, 2010   Filed under: aging, baby boomers, brain, depression, elderly, nutrition Add Comment

B vitamins–B-6, B-12 and folate–all nourish the brain. But much remains to be discovered about the relation between these essential nutrients and our brainpower.

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) nutritionist Lindsay H. Allen has collaborated in ongoing research that has taken a closer look at the role these nutrients may play in preventing decline in brain function. The investigations, led by Mary N. Haan of the University of California-San Francisco, are part of the multiyear Sacramento (Calif.) Area Latino Study on Aging, or “SALSA.” Begun in 1996, the study attracted nearly 1,800 Hispanic seniors, ages 60 to 101, as volunteers.

According to Allen, the research is needed because many studies of B vitamins and brain function have given inconsistent or conflicting results. Allen is director of the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Western Human Nutrition Research Center in Davis, Calif. ARS is the chief intramural scientific research agency of USDA. Scientists from the University of California-Davis (UCD) and the UCD Medical Center also are collaborating in the research.

An analysis of volunteers’ blood samples showed that lower levels of one B vitamin, folate, were associated with symptoms of dementia and poor brain function, also called “cognitive decline,” as determined by standard tests of memory and other factors. The impairments were detectable even though less than 1 percent of the volunteers were actually deficient in folate.

In women, but not men, low levels of folate were associated with symptoms of depression. In fact, female volunteers whose plasma folate levels were in the lowest third were more than twice as likely to have symptoms of depression as volunteers in the highest third. That finding provided new evidence of an association between lower blood folate and depression. Depression is already known to affect brain function.

In research with vitamin B-12, the SALSA team determined that a protein known as holoTC, short for holotranscobalamin, might be key to a new approach for detecting cognitive decline earlier and more accurately.

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The researchers have published these and other findings, beginning in 2003 and continuing through this year, in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine, The European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, The Journal of Nutrition, and The Journal of Nutrition, Health, and Aging.

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Research: Holy Basil Plant May Relieve Anxiety

by: continuum wellness - March 17th, 2009   Filed under: Anxiety, depression, mood changes, women, women's health Add Comment

Ocimumn sanctum, an Indian medicinal plant, has been on trial for its role in generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) in hospital based clinical set-up. Hamilton’s brief psychiatric rating scale (BPRS) and thorough clinical investigations were used to screen the subjects. Thirty-five subjects (21 male and 14 female; average age 38.4 years) were medicated with the plant extract in a fixed dose regime (500 mg/capsule, twice daily, p.o. after meal).

They were thoroughly investigated clinically and using standard questionnaires based on different psychological rating scale at baseline (day 0), mid-term (day 30) and final (day 60). The observations exhibited that, O. sanctum significantly (p<0.001) attenuated generalized anxiety disorders and also attenuated its correlated stress and depression. It further significantly (p<0.001) improved the willingness to adjustment and attention in human.

Therefore, it may be concluded that O. sanctum may be useful in the treatment of GAD in human and may be a promising anxiolytic agent in near future

Bhattacharyya D, Sur TK, Jana U, Debnath PK.

Department of Pharmacology, Dr. B.C. Roy Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research, 244B, Acharya J.C. Bose Road, Kolkata 700020, India. surtapas_2007@rediffmail.com

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Children seriously affected when a parent suffers from depression

by: continuum wellness - March 9th, 2009   Filed under: adolescents, children, depression, family, healing, Health, healthy mind, men, mind and body, women, women's health Add Comment

The article below outlines some of the challenges that are thrust on a child when a parent is sad or depressed. Homeopathic care (with a qualified homeopath) can offer solutions to those seeking an alternative to allopathic care. Homeopathy is of help for the entire family and as the article below suggests, health services must help the whole family. Visit our site, continuumwellness.org and contact us for more information.

Children seriously affected when a parent suffers from depression

Life is hard for the children of a parent suffering from depression. Children take on an enormous amount of responsibility for the ill parent and for other family members. It is therefore important for the health services to be aware of this and have support functions in place for the whole family, and not just for the person who is ill. This is the conclusion of a thesis from the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

Registered Nurse Britt Hedman Ahlström has examined the way in which family life is affected when a parent is suffering from depression. Nine families, including ten children and young adults between the ages of 5 and 26, and eleven parents were included in the study.

The results show how the family’s daily life changes and becomes more complicated when a parent is suffering from depression. Uncertainty about what is happening has an effect on the daily life of the entire family. Depression also means that the parent becomes tired and exhausted, which then affects and weighs heavily on the children’s daily life. Depression changes the relationship between a parent and his/her children, since they no longer communicate with each other as they used to. Family interplay and reciprocity decrease. The depressed parent withdraws from the family, and the children feel that they have been left to themselves.

Daily family life becomes unfamiliar to the children

The family members try their utmost, both as individuals and together, to cope with the situation, so that daily life can be restored to a more manageable level. The children take responsibility for both the depressed parent, siblings and themselves, when they notice that the parent cannot cope.

“The toughest burden of responsibility that children take on is ensuring that the depressed parent doesn’t commit suicide. So children take on an extremely heavy responsibility by monitoring and keeping an eye on the depressed parent,” says Britt Hedman Ahlström.

For children, the parent’s depression means both a sense of responsibility and a feeling of loneliness The feelings of responsibility and loneliness include a striving and yearning for reciprocity with the parent, and for things to return to a state of normality.

“Even if the depression goes away for a time, the family is never entirely free from anxiety over it coming back. This means that there is a prolonged period of suffering associated with depression,” says Britt Hedman Ahlström.

Health services must help the whole family

Involving the entire family when a parent becomes ill is important, both for the children and the parents. It is essential to have a well-defined level of guaranteed care on how, when and from whom the families will get support. Psychiatric healthcare personnel meet people suffering from depression at an early stage, and therefore have the opportunity to focus the care on the family, in order to together identify ways of helping the family get through the depression.

“We need a new approach within the health services, in which the focus is on the family’s own perspective when a parent is suffering from depression. It’s vital to be aware of the whole family’s needs in terms of help and support, and not just those of the person who is ill. It’s particularly important to be aware of the children’s situation. Research can therefore focus on how to develop various ways of providing families with care and support, and introduce them into the existing organisation, as well as evaluating the consequences for the whole family, the parents and the children,” says Britt Hedman Ahlström.

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Feeling Sad? Be Careful, You May Spend More

by: continuum wellness - March 2nd, 2009   Filed under: depression, self-care Add Comment

According to the research abstract below, feeling down may lead to an increase in spending.

Misery is not miserly: sad and self-focused individuals spend more.

Psychol Sci. 2008 Jun;19(6):525-30.

Misery is not miserly: Sadness increases the amount of money that decision makers give up to acquire a commodity. The present research investigated when and why the misery-is-not-miserly effect occurs. Drawing on William James’s concept of the material self, we tested a model specifying relationships among sadness, self-focus, and the amount of money that decision makers spend. Consistent with our Jamesian hypothesis, results demonstrated that the misery-is-not-miserly effect occurs only when self-focus is high. That is, self-focus moderates the effect of sadness on spending. Moreover, mediational analyses revealed that, at sufficiently high levels, self-focus mediates (explains) the relationship between sadness and spending. Because the study used real commodities and real money, the results hold implications for everyday decisions, as well as implications for the development of theory. For example, economic theories of spending may benefit from incorporating psychological theories — specifically, theories of emotion and the self — into their models.

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A Healing Method Holds Promise as Antidote to 9/11 Toxicity

by: continuum wellness - March 31st, 2008   Filed under: 911, Ayurveda, depression, detox, drugs, healing, Health, health care, herbal therapy, herbs, holistic, holistic medicine, Uncategorized 1 Comment

There are many who still suffer from the tragic events of 9/11. A natural herbal detox program developed by an Ayurvedic physican shows a promise of relief. The study abstract, below.

Ayurvedic herbal supplements as an antidote to 9/11 toxicity
Dahl JJ, Falk K.

Phoenix House Foundation, New York, New York, USA.

An in-treatment web-based survey was conducted in 2005 with 50 New York World Trade Center rescue and recovery workers, volunteers, and area residents and workers who were treated with Ayurvedic herbs for post-9/11 symptoms. The survey documented pretreatment efforts at symptom relief, post-treatment symptom impact, and the context for using the herbal intervention. Herbal treatment was administered and monitored by a private non-profit organization. The natural detoxification and immune-strengthening program consists of 4 herbal supplements developed by an Ayurvedic physician. A minimum 6-month basic program was recommended, but many participants continued to 1 year and longer. All 50 respondents reported high incidence of alleviation of previously intractable symptoms, chiefly respiratory symptoms, fatigue, and depression.

Altern Ther Health Med. 2008 Jan-Feb;14(1):24-8

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FDA Probing Possible Link Between Asthma Drug and Suicide Risk

by: continuum wellness - March 28th, 2008   Filed under: adverse events, allergies, asthma, common cold, depression, drugs, FDA, mood changes, side effects, Singulair, suicide 3 Comments

FDA is investigating a possible association between the use of Singulair and behavior/mood changes, suicidality (suicidal thinking and behavior) and suicide. Singulair is a medicine in the drug class known as leukotriene receptor antagonists. Singulair is used to treat asthma and the symptoms of allergic rhinitis (sneezing, stuffy nose, runny nose, itching of the nose) and to prevent exercise-induced asthma.

Over the past year, the maker of Singulair, Merck & Co, Inc., has updated the prescribing information and patient information for Singulair to include the following post-marketing adverse events: tremor (March 2007), depression (April 2007), suicidality (suicidal thinking and behavior) (October 2007), and anxiousness (February 2008).

In February 2008, FDA and Merck discussed how best to communicate these labeling changes to prescriber’s and patients. Merck plans to highlight the recent changes in the prescribing information in face-to-face interactions with prescriber’s and provide prescriber’s with patient information leaflets about Singulair. The Singulair website includes the most current prescribing information and patient information for Singulair (www.singulair.com).

FDA is working with Merck to further evaluate a possible link between the use of Singulair and behavior/mood changes, suicidality and suicide in response to inquiries received by FDA. FDA has requested that Merck evaluate Singulair study data for more information about suicidality and suicide. FDA is reviewing the postmarketing reports it has received of behavior/mood changes, suicidality and suicide in patients who took Singulair.

Due to the complexity of the analyses, FDA anticipates that it may take up to 9 months to complete the ongoing evaluations. As soon as this review is complete, FDA will communicate the conclusions and recommendations to the public.

Other leukotriene modifying medications include zafirlukast (Accolate), which is also a leukotriene receptor antagonist and zileuton (Zyflo and Zyflo CR), which is a leukotriene synthesis inhibitor. FDA is reviewing postmarketing reports it has received of behavior/mood changes, suicidality and suicide in patients who took Accolate, Zyflo, and Zyflo CR and will assess whether further investigation is warranted.

This early communication is in keeping with FDA’s commitment to inform the public about its ongoing safety reviews of drugs.

The FDA urges both healthcare professionals and patients to report side effects from the use of Singulair, Accolate, Zyflo, and Zyflo CR to the FDA’s MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program

Weekly Reflection #4 – Our Deepest Fear

by: continuum wellness - March 24th, 2008   Filed under: culture, depression, fear, happiness, healthy mind, holistic, life, meditation, spirit, spiritual development, spirituality, thoughts, Uncategorized, wellness Add Comment

hidden-falls-thumb57153.jpg

This poem is my Marianne Williamson and provides excellent food for contemplation.

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness
That most frightens us.

We ask ourselves
Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.

Your playing small
Does not serve the world.
There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking
So that other people won’t feel insecure around you.

We are all meant to shine,
As children do.
We were born to make manifest
The glory of God that is within us.

It’s not just in some of us;
It’s in everyone.

And as we let our own light shine,
We unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we’re liberated from our own fear,
Our presence automatically liberates others.”

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