Month: April 2006

Benefits of Exercise for Depression

Stroke patients who participate in a therapeutic exercise program can see a reduction in depression.
Depression is common in stroke patients. Earlier studies have discovered that physical exercise can help depressed patients, but the benefits of exercise on stroke patients are unknown.
During a study, the exercise program consisted of a progressive, structured, three-month regimen that targeted strength, balance, endurance and arm function.
After 3 months, depressive symptoms persisted in 14% of patients in the exercise group and 35.6% in the usual care group. After 9 months, the rates of depressive symptoms were 7.5% in the exercise group and 25% in the usual care group.

Domestic Violence Causes Depression in Adolescent

According to a study, teenagers who witness domestic violence between their parents are considerably more likely to suffer from symptoms of depression.
In the study of adolescents in the Philippines, almost half of all young people reported witnessing parental domestic violence.
The researchers studied data from 2,051 young men and women aged 17 to 19. They discovered that one in 10 of the male adolescents and one in 5 of the female adolescents had contemplated suicide occasionally or most of the time in the 4 weeks preceding the survey.
Young women reported the most depressive symptoms when they recalled that a parent needed medical attention as a result of domestic violence. Young men reported the most symptoms when they recalled mutual violence between their parents.

Depression in Senior Citizens

Senior citizens who suffer from mild depression are 5 times more likely to develop clinical depression within a year compared to those who had no symptoms.
A study at the University of Rochester found that lots of senior citizens struggle silently with depressed feelings, which in turn affect their physical conditions.
The study showed that depressive feelings in the elderly can grow worse if left unchecked.
Sadness about a medical condition or a loved one’s death is normal. But it becomes a serious problem when a person no longer leaves the house, does not groom himself or eat properly, or has thoughts of suicide.
The best place to notice the early signs of depression in senior citizens is in the primary care doctor’s office, where a physician can ask questions about a person’s attitude toward life and how the person is taking care of himself.

The laughter side of Life

Learn to see the lighter side of life
A sense of humor is learned, not inherited and you can sharpen your wits if you really want to, no matter what your age, sex or circumstance in life, is. Here are some of his tips for lightening up.
Be a good listener: most people are so self-absorbed they don’t pay full attention to what’s happening around them or even what’s being said for them. That’s half the trouble. Because humor is about life’s subtleties. A keen listener keeps his ear to the ground, is alert to nuances, changes in tone and actually hears what is being said.
Result: the more you hear, the wider your horizons will be and the bigger your stock of anecdotes.
Cultivate an atmosphere of humor and laughter at home
Make it a habit to daily regale your family with some thing funny that happened in the office, on your way home, or just recall something good from the past. This in turn forces you to start noticing the unusual things in a day.
Seek the right company if you don’t laugh as much as you used to and want to correct the situation, try to associate with humorous, fun loving people and avoid the downers. If you are a loner, turn to books on satire or watch comedy serials or movies, to keep your humour muscles vigorous. It’s okay even if they’re the slapstick kind.
Learn to laugh at yourself or you’ll end up handing over the job to others. Most people are unable to laugh at themselves because of their own insecurities and fears, we are afraid of looking foolish or incompetent in the eyes of others. It is important to realize that we all make mistakes and when we do, a good laugh makes the mistake seem trivial and more human.
Go back to lighthearted childhood favorites.
Watch the cartoon network once in while or just make a collage of the funniest jokes or snippets you came across, and put them up on display on the fridge or the bulletin board.
These can serve as daily reminders to laugh.
Use humor to neutralize conflicts sometimes self deprecatory humor can help lighten things up instantly. 

http://www.depression-guide.com/positive-thinking.htm
http://www.depression-guide.com/depression-self-help.htm 

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