This article discusses a recent study analyzing the effects increased exposure to smart devices can have on mental health. Predictably, an unhealthy amount of screen time increases one’s sense of isolation and loneliness while limiting their social interactions (dating, spending time with friends etc.). Read the article here.
Are Depression and Excessive Screen Time Linked?
Brain Inflammation Linked to Suicidal Thinking in Depression
Patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) have increased brain levels of a marker of microglial activation, a sign of inflammation, according to a new study. Scientists have found that the increase in the inflammatory marker was present specifically in patients with MDD who were experiencing suicidal thoughts, pinning the role of inflammation to suicidality rather than a diagnosis of MDD itself. Read more here.
Sleep Deprivation Can Rapidly Reduce the Symptoms of Depression
It may sound counter-intuitive, but for decades it has been known that sleep deprivation can rapidly alleviate symptoms of depression. A new meta-analysis from a team at the University of Pennsylvania has examined more than 30 years worth of studies on the strange phenomenon and concluded that sleep deprivation can result in antidepressant effects in up to 50 percent of people. Read the article here.
Magnetic Treatment Takes on Depression
This article in the Columbian Health Reporter details Todd Walker’s, a middle aged man suffering from major depressive disorder, experience with FDA-approved transcranial magnetic stimulation. Read the article here.
A Type of Sleep Therapy Reduces Depression, Anxiety and Paranoia
A type of therapy originally designed for insomnia has been found to also help a range of mental health issues, including negative thoughts, anxiety, depression and psychosis. Read about it here.
Pilot Study Shows That Neurofeedback May Help Treatment-Resistant Depression
A small pilot study has indicated that neurofeedback — where patients concentrate on modifying their own brainwave patterns — has potential to treat many of the 100 million people worldwide who suffer from treatment-resistant depression (TRD). This is the first time that neurofeedback has been shown to improve both individual symptoms and overall recovery in TRD. Read more about the study here.
Will Psychedelics for Depression be Just Another False Dawn?
Given existing antidepressants don’t work for many people, the excitement surrounding the development of a new class of treatments from recreational drugs such as magic mushrooms is understandable. But there are strong reasons to doubt they will have the kind of impact hoped for. Instead, this article in New Science illustrates that we are more likely to be seeing the latest episode in a long-running saga of repeated disappointment. Read the full article here.
7 Unusual Treatment Options to Battle Depression
There are a number of ways to treat depression, some tried and true – psychotherapy, antidepressants and exercise – and some, depending on whom you ask, ranging from the sublime to the (seemingly) ridiculous. US News & World Report details seven unusual treatment options that you may have heard about, with a short discussion on their merits – or lack thereof. Read about them here.
Mental Health Experts Recommend Their Favorite Depression Books
If you go to Amazon.com and search for “depression,” you’ll be presented with more than 50,700 choices in the book category alone (as of late August). For someone looking to learn more about the disease, that number in itself can be a bit, well, depressing.
US News & World Report asked a handful of mental health professionals to help trim that number down to a more manageable amount by recommending some of their favorite books about depression. Find their suggestions here.
Getting Some Shut-Eye With Anxiety and Depression
From The New Yorker Magazine, a great set of illustration and wonderfully capture the world of living with depression and anxiety. Read the article.
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