ScienceDaily: More than just baby blues: How postpartum depression arises and how it could be prevented.
Within the first week after giving birth, up to 70 percent of all women experience symptoms of the baby blues. While most women recover quickly, up to 13 percent of all new mothers suffer from symptoms of a clinical-level postpartum depression…
NYT: Add Psyche of Gulf Workers to Spill’s Toll.
Beyond the environmental and economic damage, the toll of the mammoth spill in the Gulf of Mexico is being measured in hopelessness, anxiety, stress, anger, depression and even suicidal thoughts among those most affected, social workers say.
NYT (again): Exploring the Links Between Depression and Weight Gain.
In a society enamored with thinness, many assume that being fat is depressing — that if there is a cause and effect relationship, it’s obesity that makes people feel down. But “there is an alternative explanation,” said Belinda L. Needham, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, “and that is that being depressed actually makes you gain weight.”
Another study showing that depression declines with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. This one with longer-term treatment–35 sessions.
“On completion of therapy, patients reported significantly fewer symptoms than on commencement,” Schindler summarizes the results of a before/after comparison. Whether patients were also concomitantly taking psychotropic drugs or not evidently had no effect on the outcome.
Another set of three articles–ultrasounds, waistbands, and parenting–related by being a little more interesting than the others coming up in Google Reader right now:
Brain stimulation with ultrasound may enhance cognitive function
Link between depression, abdominal obesity confirmed by new study
First-time parents’ daily sleep duration predicts their relationship satisfaction
Three clicks to three articles on three topics:
Pain, Depression Linked (PsychCentral)
Exercise May Ward Off Anger (WebMD)
Memory Improved By Saying Words Aloud (PsyBlog)
From PsychCentral: Stop Smoking, Reduce Risk of Depression?
“Our findings are consistent with the conclusion that there is a cause and effect relationship between smoking and depression, in which cigarette smoking increases the risk of developing symptoms of depression…”
Headlines (same survey) tell a story: Talk therapy as good as antidepressants. But Americans prefer drugs for depression. Go figure.
From Web MD, a study showing that, with or without meds, increased face-to-face time with health care staff can result in decreased depression.
About 30% of patients on placebo who were given one screening test per visit showed mood improvements on a commonly used scale known as the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale. In contrast, about 42% of patients on placebo improved when given four assessments per visit.
From PsychCentral: Cell Phone Therapy for Fibromyalgia. Virtual reality and accelerometers! Background:
Fibromyalgia is a complex and chronic pain syndrome which causes generalized pain and deep exhaustion, among other symptoms. It is a serious public health problem, more usual among adult women, and causes significant negative psychological effects. In fact, 35 percent of affected patients suffer from depression and anxiety.
A TMS/stress illness doc might want to look into which came first…
