Mental & Emotional Health

Misleading research is often published in major medical journals and doctors are lending their names to it, the editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association said on Tuesday. (Misleading Medical Research Common, Maggie Fox, WASHINGTON, Apr. 15, 2008 )

I imagine that’s been going on for a while. A doctor put me on an antidepressant that she said would help when I was going back to college. I’m already laid back but the meds made me zombified. When it came time to do one of my flash projects, it looked like a bad acid trip.

I did get off of it and managed to get my diploma but I think she was getting kick backs from the pharmaceutical company since it was a new drug at the time. Many antidepressants help people and I don’t mean to discourage anyone from going on them but this one wasn’t for me. Oh yeah, also no sex drive. Some of the side effects can be depressing on their own.

If I was deeply depressed I do think the trade off would be worth it but at the time it just seemed inconvenient. It got me thinking about how many people have medications suggested to them that are not necessary or appropriate by their doctors.

Everyone reacts differently to meds so what might not work for one may work for another. It does seem that if the doctors were being paid more prescribing certain medications it would be bound to make them more biased.

Do you think drug companies influencing doctors and patients is a problem? If so, do you have any suggestions, experiences or solutions to share?

This is a guest post written by Derek Williams.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (or S.A.D.) is a chemical imbalance causing depression that usually occurs in the winter months. The imbalance is due to lack of natural sunlight and the short days of winter sunlight that affect the hypothalamus of the brain.

It is estimated that half a million people suffer from S.A.D. during the winter months and many more have systems that are border-line depression caused by the lack of sunlight during this season. The milder cases of depression are called subsyndromal S.A.D. or the “winter blues�.

The symptoms of S.A.D. usually occur starting between September and November and continuing through March or April.

S.A.D. symptoms include (but are not limited to) :

• Mood swings- From depression to hypomania in some cases are an indication of S.A.D.

• Loss of Sex Drive- A noticeable decrease in the libido and physical contact.

• Attacks of Anxiety- Tension and a lower tolerance to the minor mishaps of daily living.

• Social Issues- A desire to avoid social contact and problems when doing so.

• Depression- Feelings of inadequacy, low self esteem, unexplained guilt, sadness, loss, and hopelessness.

• Overeating- Cravings for food (usually sweet) that tend to lead to weight gain.

• Lethargy- Feelings that one cannot carry out daily tasks because of tiredness and an inability to get the energy to function normally.

• Sleeping Disorders- Either sleeping too much or the inability to get a normal night’s sleep. Some people report early morning wakefulness.

S.A.D sufferers usually have weakened immune systems and tend to fall victim to more infections that do most people.

There is hope for those who suffer from S.A.D. Light therapy and anti-depressants have been effective in many cases, and the S.A.D sufferer can once again be a happy, productive member of society.

For more help or information see:

• The Seasonal Affective Disorder Association

• Depresssion & SAD at About.com

This is a guest post by Derek Williams. He has taken numerous psychology courses in university and is interested in continuing to explore ways to improve mental and emotional health.

Many of us live lives that are full of chaos and disruptive factors. We long for the peace that comes when the children are finally at school or the baby is asleep or the whole house is at a quiet standstill.

However, it is during these active and sometimes chaotic times that we can find ourselves losing our tempers with family members (or close friends). It is often when you are asked a simple question such as “when will supper be ready?� or “have you seen my blue math book?� that the kettle finally reaches its’ boiling point.

Some of us can’t help but to let go with a barrage of yelling about everything that our busy day has entailed from the time that we woke up to the present state that they now find ourselves in. But who is this barrage directed at?

Surely one single person has not caused us to be so stressed that they need to hear it (and hear it in spades). There has not been a child or a husband or any family member or friend that has caused this build-up of emotion to finally release it in their general direction. So why then do we direct the fruits of a rotten or stressful day in the direction of a loved one that has not caused all of this tension?

Truth be known, it is usually a matter of convenience. The person who we sometimes explode on is usually in the wrong place at the wrong time. This unfortunate scenario is known as redirection of anger. We even find ourselves yelling at a family pet when we’ve had one of “those days�

Next time before you blow up at someone who doesn’t deserve the full force of your wrath due to daily stresses, stop, step back and look at the situation. To use two clichés back to back, will you let spilled milk be the straw that breaks the camel’s back? Let’s hope not. Keep your head and let the little things go.

1. Say No

Life is too short to try to please everyone. Sometimes it’s best to say no if you’re feeling overburdened. If it’s a friend, they will probably understand and if they don’t you might want to consider whether to continue the friendship if it seems to be based on what they can get out of you.

2. Have a Sense of Humor

The ability to laugh at life and its strange turns is invaluable. When you take things too seriously and dwell on what horrible experiences you had it can lead to high stress, ulcers and other health problems. While you won’t look back at all hard times fondly, they often do build character.

3. Exercise

Pick an exercise you can live with and work it into your schedule. Many people join fancy gyms in the New Year but it’s not everyone’s thing. Maybe you would rather walk, play tennis, dance, jog, swim or canoe. Pick something you will enjoy so that you can stick with it. Exercise releases endorphins so is a natural and effective antidepressant for many people.

4. Have a Plan and Take Action

Use a daily planner and include what can be realistically accomplished in one day. If you add too many things to your schedule, it encourages procrastination because you may not be able to finish the tasks. This can then cause you to be stressed and overwhelmed.

While planning is important, action is more important. Even when you make mistakes, you learn and can fine tune your plan by persisting and making it better. If you don’t even try, you lose the opportunity to practice, learn and grow.

5. Think Positive

This might take practice and include methods such as thought stopping. You can do this by canceling out negative thoughts and replacing them with positive thoughts. There are various methods but two of the most popular are simply saying stop to yourself or snapping an elastic band on your wrist to interrupt the negative thought.

6. Avoid Drugs and Alcohol

Using substances to cope with stress is a crutch that temporarily masks pain but makes you feel worse in the end.

7. Eat right

What you put into your body makes an enormous difference in how you feel physically and mentally. Your body can’t function well for long running on coffee and donuts so will eventually crash and burn.

8. Have Patience

Having patience helps avoid a heap of trouble and stress. It enables you think before you speak and slow down and enjoy the time that you have with loved ones. Sometimes patience gives you the opportunity to make new friends in unexpected places. When you’re in a long shopping line for example rather than grumble at the person ahead of you, you could strike up a conversation with a stranger or acknowledge to the cashier how busy he or she is. You could also take that time as an opportunity to catch up on some reading.

9. Rest and Relaxation

Try to make sure you get enough rest. Having a nighttime ritual helps rest come easier so if you read, have a bath and go to bed at the same time every night it becomes a relaxing routine.

Taking breaks throughout your day helps decrease stress as well and often you can think better if you step away from a task for 15 or 20 minutes. You could use this time for visualization, walking or just enjoying nature.

10. Prioritize

Consider whether it’s really that important to press the point of a silly argument and let the little things go. Put what’s important to you first and concentrate on those things such as your family, friends and love. What does it matter how successful you seem in the eyes of acquaintances if you have no time for your family.

On this Nova program on aging, scientists were investigating why some live longer than others do.

The bottom line seems to be good genes because several people who lived to be 100 admitted to leading what some would consider unhealthy lifestyles. Most of them had parents and grandparents who lived long lives so it does seem to be passed down in the genes.

Cholesterol

It was discovered that 60% of the centurions had high HDL cholesterol levels (the good fat). Their HDLs were also larger so could fight the bad fat more effectively.

• To learn more about research and experiments with genes that may help you live longer, watch the segment on aging at Nova Science Now.

Secrets Before You Die

What were not studied were the attitudes of people who lived longer than average. It did come out with a few of them though because one couple mentioned that they didn’t feel old and they seemed fairly active.

When you focus on helping others and enjoying the present, you don’t have time to worry about aging or dying. In Dr. John Izzo’s book Five Secrets Before You Die one of the secrets is to live the moment.

“I came to believe that through this secret, live the moment, they were telling me to judge my life less and enjoy it more.� said Dr.Izzo. It was an excellent book and he interviewed over 200 wise elders so that they could help share their secrets in his book.

While the Nova investigation was interesting, I find it ironic that the people who did live to be 100 didn’t seem to obsess about what they ate or drank, yet they managed to live long lives.

Positive self talk and repetition is one way people successfully manage pain and stress.

When you keep repeating something over and over again positive or negative, you start to believe it. This is precisely why many people have negative tapes playing in their heads years later about themselves.

You don’t need to keep telling yourself you’re sick or weak even if you feel that way. If you begin to tell yourself you’re healthy and strong instead, that is what you will likely become.

On the other hand, complaining can become a habit because it’s rewarded by friends and family members with attention. If you grimace and say you’re sick and in pain, it often gets a reaction from people who care about you. Although it may be true, the more you’re rewarded for being sick and in pain, the more frequently you may complain so it becomes a cycle.

Exercise

Avoiding exercise to avoid pain often backfires because muscles tend to atrophy the less you use them. When you do finally use them, the pain may be worse. A lot of people joke about hating their physiotherapist but in the end, they become stronger by continuing to exercise.

Nutrition

Eating a varied diet that includes a balance of healthy fruits and vegetables is important and a good idea for anyone who wants to stay healthy and strong. Foods that are high in fat, sugar and additives contribute to more health problems. If you have a fatalistic view and think you’re going to be sick anyway so eat junk, then it becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy.

Beliefs

The belief that you’re in control of your own destiny rather than at the mercy of some preordained fate is empowering. If someone or something else is in control that also means you can blame someone, which puts you in a victim position.

How do you come to believe that you’re in control of your own life and health?

One way you could increase that belief is to look to others for inspiration. Many people have managed to improve their health and decreased pain with positive thoughts and actions. These actions may include prayer, meditation and visualization. Others find creative pursuits to be a good stress release and distraction.

• Jennifer Mannion is an example of a person who managed to heal her pain naturally. Her blog is dedicated to help people do that so she expands on how various methods worked for her. Jennifer’s most recent post was how thoughts affect your body. She explains how she was able to heal herself and includes some interesting article links.