Archives for January 2009

As anyone who's shared a house with a teenage girl and a telephone will know, they certainly like to talk. But too much chatting with their friends can make girls prone to anxiety and depression, a study has found.

The opportunity for youngsters to share their problems through texting, email and social networking sites such as Facebook has never been greater.

But excessive discussion  -  known to the experts as co-rumination  -  can be unhelpful. Repeated conversations among adolescent girls, particularly about romantic disappointments, worsen their mood and create negative emotions, according to the study.

'There is a wealth of communication technology available to teens today that allows them to talk over and over again about the same emotional difficulties,' said Dr Joanne Davila, the psychology professor who led the research.

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After dealing with depression following his son Jeff's suicide, former Lions quarterback Eric Hipple is dedicated to speaking to others about depression, an illness he says, "No one likes to talk about."It is estimated about 20 percent of teens will experience depression before they reach adulthood, and that 30 percent of teens with depression also develop a substance abuse problem, according to teendepression.org.

Hipple will be offering a free presentation aimed at middle and high school students, families and professionals at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Grosse Pointe South High auditorium.Hipple spent his entire career (1980-90) with the Lions and went on to have successful business career in the auto industry and as a motivational speaker.

But in 2000, his 15-year-old son Jeff, committed suicide after struggling with depression. Following Jeff's death, Hipple decided to devote his energies to helping others detect and treat depression and to break down the stigma surrounding depressive illnesses.

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Symptoms of anxiety and depression do not affect a woman's chances of falling pregnant during fertility treatment, it has been claimed.Dutch researchers claim their survey, published in the Human Reproduction journal, is the first to examine the link between depression and fertility treatment.

Dr Bea Lintsen from Radboud University, Nijmegen, asked 783 women via questionnaires to assess their level of psychological distress before and during fertility treatment.For 421 women, depression levels had no impact on their chances of becoming pregnant or cancelling treatment.

"Despite participation of a fairly large number of women in this study, the number was probably not high enough to reach significance in the prediction of pregnancy," Dr Linsten writes.

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One in four women aged between 45 and 64 now experience some form of mental disorder - an increase of 20 per cent in the last 15 years.This decline in mental health is greater than any other age or gender group, according to the research.

The study also found that women in general suffer more mental problems - or talk about it more -with 21.5 per cent complaining of stress or depression compared to 13.6 per cent of men.Mental health charity Mind said women in their 40s and 50s were becoming increasingly affected by trying to manage the responsibilities of family, home and work.

The figures emerged as the independent psychiatric Capio Nightingale Hospital reported a 20 per cent rise in enquiries relating to depression since the start of the year, many related to financial pressures.The NHS Information Centre report, entitled the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey 2007, was carried out by the National Centre for Social Research and the University of Leicester and questioned 7,461 adults.

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Do you feel fine during spring and summer, but you fall into a slump each year as fall progresses into the darker months of winter? You may be suffering from a type of depression called seasonal affective disorder.

Question: What Are the Symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder? Answer: Millions of people suffer from a biologically based depression during the winter months called seasonal affective disorder.

Although these people may feel fine or even "better than normal" during the spring and summer, late fall and winter are an entirely different experience.

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You've got no interest in your sex life.  Exercise is an alien concept. You're either overeating or food tastes like cardboard. To this classic list of depression symptoms, add heart disease.William W. Eaton, Ph.D., of the Johns Hopkins School of  Public Health, found that study subjects who'd had at least one episode of depression were four times as likely to have a heart attack as those with no history of clinical depression. At first glance, it makes sense.

When you're down, you may smoke, drink too much alcohol, overeat and skip exercise -- all heart disease risk factors. Experts now say biochemistry may also play a role. "When you're depressed your body is constantly in a fight or flight pattern," says Stephen T. Sinatra, M.D., a cariologist at Connectcut's.

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When cold nights bring on a long face, this can mean winter depressiondefine or seasonal affective disorder (SAD). Those seeking help by turning to tanning salons are warned by the leading expert saying tanning beds cannot cure SAD.

Seasonal depressiondefine is much more severe than those normal winter blues; it is an affective disorder in which the individual will feel depressed, sad during the early fall or winter season, when the days are short and nights are of longer duration.

A large number of people may suffer from milder form like winter blue and nearly as many as half a million American people may have ‘winter-onset depression’ or SAD. Another 10 percent to 20 percent may experience milder SAD. SAD is more common in women than in men.

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Anti-depression drugs like prozac have revolutionized the treatment of depression, but are not for all patients. For those who don't respond to the medication, ECT, or electroconvulsive therapy, can be a lifesaver, reports CBS station WCBS-TV.

Claudia Shavelson was suffering from major clinical depression. In addition to suicide, the depression made her non-functional."It was major depression. I tried to kill myself a few times, and I ended up as an in-patient in a few facilities and nothing seemed to work," Claudia said.

"And, you know, she'd be laying in bed. She'd never get out of bed," said Jeffrey Shavelson, Claudia's husband. Anti-depression drugs like prozac have revolutionized the treatment of depression, but not for everyone.

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Everybody feels low now and then. But depression is a real medical illness. It can affect anybody, including teenagers.About 1 in 20 teenagers may be depressed, so it's common to feel this way.[3]

The good news is you can get treatment and feel better soon.When depression isn't treated, it can last longer and stop you getting the most out of this important time in your life.

Symptoms to look forYou may be depressed if you have the two main symptoms below and at least two other symptoms for more than two weeks.[You feel sad and you might cry a lot, and your sadness doesn't go away.

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Katherine Musgrave, 89, grew up during the Great Depression on a Tennessee farm. She'll be featured in a story this week: "Lessons from the Depression."A registered dietitian and a University of Maine professor, Musgrave still teaches part-time.

She has tried to instill in her students an excitement about cooking from scratch. It's healthier, and a person can express creativity through cooking. "You're like an artist in the kitchen."That said, she sympathizes with working moms, and said many can't cook every day, and time in the kitchen can't take away from reading to or spending time with children.

Planning is essential when preparing healthy, affordable meals, Musgrave said.When cooking, she uses a lot of fresh carrots, potatoes, dried beans and cabbages for salads, soups and casseroles. Those foods are nutritious and inexpensive.

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