Tag: depression

Tai Chi can improve Depression

Tai Chi can improve Depression and its Symptoms

The psychological benefits of physical exercise have been very well documented, but very few studies have checked and researched the possible mental health benefits of Tai Chi.  There has been a recent study which analyzed the effects of Tai Chi on emotional well-being.

The popularity of Tai Chi has spread worldwide over the past two decades. It is a slow motion moving meditative exercise for relaxation, health and self-defense.

According to the research conducted, Tai Chi may be associated with improvements in psychological well-being including reduced stress, anxiety, depression and mood disturbance, and increased self-esteem” among individuals with chronic physical illnesses as well as healthy individuals. There are certain populations which experienced the specific benefits of Tai Chi.

In the study conducted, there were several groups of individuals which included healthy individuals, elderly individuals with cardiovascular disease risk factors, adolescents with ADHD, obese women, and healthy adults, reported mood improvements associated with the practice of Tai Chi.  All the healthy elderly participants reported improved self-esteem. The team does not recommended that Tai chi has more benefits compared to other forms of exercise and mindfulness training.

Benefits of Tai Chi

  1. Practicing the precise movements also reduced stress and anxiety, researchers found.
  2. Millions of people practice Tai Chi every morning, and lot of people gets physical and mental health benefits.
  3. It is designed to promote relaxation and improve balance, strength and suppleness.

What is Tai Chi?

  1. Tai Chi refers to a set of 20 movements, learned over 8 weeks, that are a form of mindful exercise.
  2. The beneficial effects of Tai Chi Chih include lowering blood pressure and weight.
  3. “Chi” refers to the intrinsic universal energy present in all individuals.
  4. It is derived from Chinese martial art used both for exercise and for health benefits.

Multiple Sclerosis and Depression Patients

Multiple Sclerosis and Depression Effects on Each other

According to Mental Health America, if you are suffering from Multiple Sclerosis, whether you have depression or not can be judged by asking yourself following two questions:

  1. During the past two weeks, have you often felt down, depressed or hopeless?
  2. During the past two weeks, have you had little interest or pleasure in doing things?

If you have answered “yes” to either or both of above questions, you might be having depression which is one of the common symptoms of MS.

If you answered “no” to above these, but constantly have low mood, you may be experiencing normal grieving or other changes. Grief is generally time-limited and resolves on its own..

Many people with MS focus only on their physical health and neglect their emotional health — which is an essential component of overall health and wellness.

The Link between MS and Depression

Anyone having too much stress or a tough situation may suffer from depression. Hence it is easy to postulate the effects of MS can cause mood changes and hence depression.

  1. MS itself might also cause depression. The disease may destroy the protective coating around nerves that helps the brain send signals that affect mood.
  2. Depression is also a side-effect of some the drugs that treat multiple sclerosis, such as steroids and interferon.

Depression and other MS symptoms

There are many similarities when it comes about the symptoms of depression and MS. At times, when these conditions coexist what is causing what symptom is often misjudged. For example, fatigue can be related to depression, or may be a direct result of MS, or a combination.

There is no link established on the running length of one symptom being present due to depression and its severity direct impact of another.  For example, someone who is recently diagnosed can be as depressed as someone who has had MS for many years.

Nerve damage and depression in MS

Research has been done to see if depression can be directly linked to MS-related damage in particular areas of the brain. Some studies have suggested that there is a link, though they also suggest that MS-related nerve damage is only part of the equation.

Mental State of Moms Influenced Kids’ Health

Mental State of Mothers deeply Influence Kids’ Well Being

The children of mentally ill parents especially mothers have a higher risk of developing mental illnesses themselves over the course of their lives. This known risk must be taken into account in the practical provision of health care.

The increased psychiatric risk for children of mentally ill parents is due partly to genetic influences and partly to an impairment of the parent-child interaction because of the parent’s illness. Furthermore, adverse factors are more frequent in these families, as well as a higher risk for child abuse. Genetic and psychosocial factors interact with one another. For example, genetic factors moderate environmental effects; that is, the effect of adverse environmental factors depends on the genetic substrate.

Infancy and early childhood

The following alterations of parental behavior affect the child during infancy and early childhood:

  • Depression reduces maternal empathy and emotional availability.
  • The mother’s ability to perceive the child’s signals, interpret them correctly, and respond promptly and appropriately is limited.
  • Maternal eye contact, smiling, speaking, imitating, caressing, and interactive games are all reduced compared to the normal situation.

The kindergarten and elementary school years

The following alterations of parental behavior commonly affect the child in this developmental phase:

  • Mothers tend to perceive their children as being more than normally difficult.
  • Verbal communication is reduced.
  • In the context of new developmental tasks, mothers find it difficult to control their children’s behavior and to set boundaries.
  • Mothers sometimes react with excessive anxiety and restrict their children’s expansive tendencies too much (vacillation between permissive and controlling child-rearing styles).
  • Positive comments that reinforce the child’s self-esteem are more rarely expressed.

Preventive measures

Time and again, one sees children who are able to overcome these stresses without any apparent damage, even under the least favorable environmental circumstances. The concept of resilience indicates that many individuals undergo a relatively good mental development even though they have been exposed to risk factors that can often cause serious illness. The goal of resilience research is to identify the mechanisms that explain this variability of developmental course, and thereby to point the way to effective preventive strategies.

Preventive strategies for the risk group that consists of the children of mentally ill parents must involve reducing the psychosocial stresses to which they are frequently subject, as well as reinforcing individual and societal protective factors in order to enable normal development. To date, however, there are very few preventive strategies for this risk group whose effectiveness has been tested in randomized, controlled studies

Depression increases risk of Dementia

Is Depression Known to Increase risk of Dementia Multifold?

Lot of things has been researched and studied in the field of mysteries of Alzheimer’s disease and other form of dementia. One of the very interesting areas of research is depression and its connection with dementia.  Depression is known to create impact in people with dementia in following two different ways.

  1. Individuals who have significant depression are at higher risk of developing dementia.
  2. People who are having dementia have depression too which if left untreated worsen confusion and forgetfulness further disrupting the quality of life.

Contribution from Studies on Connection of Depression and Dementia

Dementia and depression are mental health problems that are commonly encountered in neuropsychiatric practice in the elderly. Approximately, half of the patients with late-onset depression have cognitive impairment. The prevalence of depression in dementias has been reported to be between 9 and 68%. Depression has been both proposed to be a risk factor for dementia as well as a prodrome of dementia. The relationship between the two disorders is far from conclusive.

The relationship between depression and dementia is far from clear with the existing body of evidence pointing to a complex interaction. There is a need to sort out several methodological limitations that hinder us from elucidating the relationship. Some of these may include use of uniformed criteria for cognitive impairment, operationalizing, and validating criteria for depression in dementia, using better instruments to measure depression and cognitive impairment when they coexist. This area has enormous public health implications considering our growing elder population, and there is a need to understand the mechanisms involved in the association of these two disorders.

Relationship between these two major illnesses

There are several ways in which depression could be related to dementia and cognitive impairment. First, both being common conditions, they could occur together in the same individual by chance alone. Second, in some individuals, cognitive impairment and depressive symptoms could both be manifestations of the same brain disease. Third, individuals experiencing cognitive deficits could become depressed as a reaction to recognizing their losses and poor prognosis. Fourth, depression might unmask a dementia which had until then remained undetected. Fifth, depression itself could be an independent risk factor for the future development of dementia; this seems a more plausible explanation when the individual has had early-onset recurrent or chronic depression than if the depression occurs for the first time shortly before the dementia is manifested. Finally, these are not mutually exclusive possibilities.

Depression Affects The Body

Effects of depression on the body and its well being

Depression and stress are closely related. Stress hormones are known to increase the heart rate and make blood vessels tighten. This puts the body in a permanent state of urgency and emergency. This can cause heart diseases in the long run.

There has been many studies and in particular a study from Harvard Medical School which proved that the patients who are suffering from depression when hospitalized for heart diseases, are two to five times likelier to have severe chest pain, stroke, attack over the course of 1-2 years.  Cardiovascular problems recurrence is more closely linked to depression as compared to conventionally thought diseases like smoking, diabetes, high blood pressure, or high cholesterol. Heart disease on another angle can also cause depression.

Depression and Blood Glucose

Depression and hyperglycemia are known to be a recurring condition. In hyperglycemia the body is not able to tolerate glucose and it can lead to kidney diseases and type 2 Diabetes.

Weaker Immune System

Recognizing the symptoms of depression early on is important since it slowly weakens the immune system of the body. The T-cells of the body are impaired by depression which can lead to conditions such as asthma, heart conditions, osteoarthritis and autoimmune disorders.

Depression can cause physical symptoms and may worsen certain physical illnesses or conditions.

Depression Causes Physical Symptoms

Depression is known to effect and worsen many physical conditions such as:

  1. Increased aches and pains,
  2. Chronic fatigue
  3. Decreased interest in sex
  4. Decreased appetite
  5. Insomnia, lack of deep sleep, or oversleeping

Depression can in another way affect the weight, diet patter and appetite leading to diseases like obesity-related illnesses, type 2 diabetes, etc. Many other people lose their appetite, others might have stomachaches, cramps, constipation, or malnutrition.

Competition Leads to Depression In Girls

Competition Leads to Depression In Girls – Truth and facts

Competition is everywhere and almost inevitable in the current times. All people whether small or big are exposed it to it. It is both good as well as bad. Competing to win is very important for girls’ social relationships and it may cause depression if they lose or do not come first. The scenario for boys is completely different. According to the study performed by Dr. David Hibbard from California State University and Dr. Duane Buhrmester from the University of Texas The consequences of this completion on psychological well-being and social role in adolescents depends on both the type of competitiveness and the teenager’s gender.

In a competing world, one is set to win and others are set to lose. If the spirit of competition is taken far from just winning and losing, it may lead to selfishness and lack of compassion. It can affect people socially and emotionally. People of different genders have different effects of these changes.

Teenage Girls leading to depression

 

  1. Lack of fun – study days are mix of the cycle – Learn. Revise. Eat. Sleep. Repeat. This makes some students crumble under pressure and go deep in depression. The fun need to be there and has to be mixed just well with studies.
  2. Relationships and commitments are important. We all need care and affection and this is what girls need when they are in college or school. Knowing what they are going through is a sure shot way to take early pointers for any problem areas.
  3. Dying dreams – Know what the girls are really looking to do in their life. The competition is fierce. If the child is working towards something which is not their dream – half of their battle is lost. So know their dream or build one for them.

Sickening competition – this has been the issue with every one of us. The ever increasing population has made everyone run faster than other to take the limited fruits hanging in the future.  You’re a dancer? That’s not enough. You have to be an excellent dancer. You’re a coder? Watch her code in Python. She’s better than you.  You’re a singer? See she has a higher pitch than yours.

Best tips to Deal with Depression and its Gray World

Everyone wants to know the ways to get out of the blues and gray of depression and conquer it from the bottom. But, rarely, we find something which can do this miracle. Here are some tips to perform this action with ease and speed.

  1. Bond with mother nature

Do not ever underestimate the healing power of the natural world. You need to be connected to Earth and it is crucially important to restore the energy levels by staying connected.  The great outdoors is a very precious stress-free zone. Without a wifi zone, cell phones buzzing, cameras, noise, etc. all around us, we are bound to get the time of the day.

Few tips to consider is to head to a park during lunch, exercise outside rather than in a gym, and plan regular weekends away to escape the oppressive urban jungle.

 

  1. Turn off the TV

Switch off the idiot box to stop feeling like an idiot all the time.  TV according to many studies is like a drug which can change your brain chemistry. If you can’t stop watching TV altogether at least, try to cut down on your consumption. You should see positive, funny, uplifting or educational stuff on TV sometime, but limit that too.

 

  1. Get involved

 

There is nothing which can be achieved by sitting and cribbing about global issues and concerns at hand. There are many such issues from which you can choose one and concentrate your energy in that cause instead of putting only thoughts on multitude of issues. Dwelling on the many urgent global issues isn’t going to help you or anyone else. If you care or concern about animal cruelty, you could offer to help out at your local shelter.

So stay involved and do not doubt about the things which a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can do to change the world.

  1. Nurture yourself

Believe in yourself and always do things to reward and nurture yourself. Exercise, sleep and eat well. Do what you love. Give yourself a break. Be your own best friend. Dancing around your living room to uplifting music will give you an instant energy and endorphin boost. Sing in the shower. Smile even if you don’t feel like it.