A region of the brain that responds to bad experiences has the opposite reaction to expectations of aversive events in people with depression compared to healthy adults, finds a new study. Read the article.
Brain Structure That Tracks Negative Events Backfires In Depression
Behavioral Activation is Effective, Less Expensive Therapy for Depression
A new large-scale study has found that a simple and inexpensive therapy called behavioral activation may be equally as effective at treating depression as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Behavioral Activation is relatively simple, meaning it can be delivered by more junior staff with less training — making it a cost-effective option. It is estimated to be approximately 20 percent less expensive than CBT, meaning it could help ease current difficulties in accessing timely and affordable treatment. Read the full article.
Mental-health Issues Often Well Hidden
From the Toronto Star, Jowita Bydlowska writes, “Having mental-health issues is not like belonging to a secret society where there’s a sign — invisible to all except other sufferers — hovering overhead, indicating that, yes, this particular person, too, has the thing! Personally, the only time when I sometimes become aware of others’ issues is when I take a break from worrying about me. It’s not easy, lately, to do that and I have a natural tendency to self-obsess when things are bad. But this kind of obsession is only comfortable in a murderous way — it’s like a crushing, dark blanket of gloom that I could just bury myself in and that will eventually bury me. And ignore you.” Read the full article.
How Exercise May Help the Brain Grow Stronger
The New York Times reports that a new study with mice fills in one piece of that puzzle. It shows that, in rodents at least, strenuous exercise seems to beneficially change how certain genes work inside the brain. Though the study was in mice, and not people, there are encouraging hints that similar things may be going on inside our own skulls. Read the News
Two in Five Formerly Depressed Adults are Happy, Flourishing
A new study reports that approximately two in five adults (39%) who have experienced major depression are able to achieve complete mental health. “This research provides a hopeful message to patients struggling with depression, their families and health professionals. A large number of formerly depressed individuals recover and go on to reach optimal well-being” said Esme Fuller-Thomson, lead author of the study. Read the News
Blood Test to Personalize Depression Treatment for the First Time
Scientists have developed a blood test that accurately and reliably predicts whether depressed patients will respond to common antidepressants, which could herald a new era of personalized treatment for people with depression. Read the News
Book Review: ‘Ordinary Well: The Case for Antidepressants
Dr. Abigail Zuger writes in The New York Times, “Dr. Kramer’s bottom line is well summarized by the double meaning of “Ordinarily Well: The Case for Antidepressants” — he argues that antidepressants work just about as well as any other pills commonly used for ailing people, and that the drugs keep people who take them reasonably healthy.” Read the News
How to Defy Your Genes: Improving Your Health Odds May Be Easier Than You Think
Check out this article from AARP Magazine about seven people, including Dan Lukasik, who have family histories of various illnesses and what they’ve done to overcome them and lead healthy lives. Read the News
Depression Lowers Chances of Pregnancy
Women with symptoms of severe depression have a decreased chance of becoming pregnant, according to a new study that found a 38 percent decrease in the average probability of conception in a given menstrual cycle among women who reported severe depressive symptoms, compared to those with no or low symptoms. Read the News
Half of the People Taking Antidepressants Aren’t Depressed
Time Magazine reports that millions of people take antidepressants as a way to treat depression, but a new study reveals that some physicians are prescribing antidepressants for off-label uses that are not depression-related. Read the News
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