December 2009 - Mental Health Update

Sleep problems and hyperactivity

Researchers from the Universite de Montreal have been looking into the links between lack of sleep and hyperactivity in small children. 2,057 mothers answered yearly questionnaires about how well their children slept and their hyperactivity. The study...

Published Wed, Dec 09 2009 3:50 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: ADHD, Sleep Disorders

Antidepressants and personality

Antidepressants could affect people's personalities as well as their moods. Researchers from Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois studied 240 volunteers. They gave 120 the antidepressant paroxetine, 60 received cognitive behaviour therapy Read...

Published Tue, Dec 08 2009 7:42 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Antidepressants

Craving, concentration and cigarette smoking

Researchers from the University of California, Santa Barbara have been studying the effects of craving cigarettes on people's concentration. They studied 44 heavy smokers, none of whom had had a cigarette in the last six hours before the start of...

Published Tue, Dec 08 2009 7:16 AM by Mental Health Update

CBT for depression in older people

Older people's depression problems are sometimes put down to loneliness and old age but new research suggests that they can benefit from cognitive behaviour therapy in the same way as younger people. Researchers from University College London studied...

Published Mon, Dec 14 2009 7:04 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Depression, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy

CBT may not be a miracle cure for major mental illness

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is now the dominant form of psychotherapy and is being used in severe mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, major depression and bipolar disorder that have traditionally been treated primarily with drugs. A team of...

Published Tue, Dec 15 2009 4:14 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Cognitive Behaviour Therapy

Self esteem and drinking

Self-esteem is generally thought to be a good thing. However, there is evidence that it is not so helpful when it comes to health promotion. People with high self-esteem tend to have an 'it'll never happen to me' philosophy and underestimate...

Published Thu, Dec 03 2009 7:08 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Alcohol Problems

Drug use soars in Scotland

The number of drugs being prescribed for depression and dementia has soared in Scotland over the last few years as the country grapples with an ageing population and the global recession. Official figures estimate that 9.7% of people aged 15 and over...

Published Wed, Dec 16 2009 4:57 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Antidepressants

Eating disorders and death rates

People with eating disorders are more likely to die early either from the effects of their eating disorder or because they kill themselves. There is evidence that people with eating disorders are more likely to kill themselves than people with other mental...

Published Thu, Dec 17 2009 1:46 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Eating Disorders

Pleasure, depression and neuroscience

Anhedonia is the inability to experience pleasure and is one of the main symptoms of depression. A brain-scan study by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has been looking into the neuroscience of anhedonia. The researchers studied 46 people...

Published Tue, Dec 22 2009 7:09 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Depression

Depression in mothers of autistic children

It is estimated that 1 in 150 children born in the U.S. has autism. Mothers of autistic children face a number of challenges including uncertainty about their child's capabilities, difficulties in dealing with their children's behaviour and making...

Published Fri, Dec 04 2009 6:34 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Depression, Autism

I feel your pain - no really

'I feel your pain' is one of the most widespread - and some might say nauseating - cliches of the C21st. However, researchers from the University of Birmingham (U.K.) have found - that for some people at least - it may have an element of truth...

Published Tue, Dec 22 2009 7:34 AM by Mental Health Update

Healthy bodies and healthy minds

Mens sana in corpore sano - a healthy mind in a healthy body - was one of the most popular sayings in traditional education. Researchers from the University of Gothenburg and the University of Southern California looked at the data for all 1.2 m Swedish...

Published Mon, Dec 14 2009 6:41 AM by Mental Health Update