November 2010 - Mental Health Update

Body clocks, genes and depression

People suffering from depression can often suffer from sleep problems as well, particularly waking up early in the morning and not being able to get back to sleep again. Researchers from Ohio State University compared 30 people with a history of depression...

Published Fri, Nov 19 2010 2:16 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Body Clocks, Depression - genetics

Talking and trauma

Talking or writing about trauma that one might have experienced (emotional disclosure) is widely seen as being therapeutic for people but the evidence about this is mixed and the best way of achieving it is unclear. Researchers from Wayne State University...

Published Tue, Nov 23 2010 1:43 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: PTSD, Psychotherapy

Most people don't stay the course with antidepressants

Most people who take antidepressants give them up before they are supposed to. Researchers from the Catalan Institute of Health studied 7,525 people who were starting antidepressant treatment. They found that 56% stopped taking their medication during...

Published Tue, Nov 23 2010 3:08 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Antidepressants, Compliance

Could meditation help preserve your DNA?

A new study by researchers at the University of California, Davis and the University of California, San Francisco has provided more evidence of the links between meditation, psychological wellbeing and health by measuring the levels of an enzyme called...

Published Fri, Nov 05 2010 7:38 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Meditation

Parents' death and adolescent suicide risk

Most young people who lose a parent actually adjust remarkably well but a minority go on to develop mental-health problems which are, in turn, known to be a risk factor for suicide, something attempted by 5-8% of adolescents in Western societies. A Danish...

Published Tue, Nov 09 2010 3:59 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Child Psychology, Suicide, Bereavement

Major review backs family interventions for schizophrenia

People with schizophrenia are more likely to suffer a relapse if they come from families where they experience high levels of criticism and hostility and where family members blame themselves for the sufferer's illness. There are a number of ways...

Published Fri, Nov 12 2010 3:54 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Schizophrenia, Family Therapy

Study backs religious and spiritual therapies

Religion can be defined as adherence to a belief system and practices associated with a tradition in which there is agreement about what is believed and practiced whereas spirituality can be defined as a more general feeling of closeness and connectedness...

Published Fri, Nov 26 2010 3:45 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Psychotherapy, Religion and Mental Health

Reducing seclusion on mental-health wards

People with severe mental-health problems are sometimes locked in a room on their own for the protection of themselves and other people. This practice is known as seclusion and is very controversial with critics seeing it as degrading and traumatising...

Published Tue, Nov 16 2010 2:13 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Seclusion

Resistance, reactance and psychotherapy

Despite expressing a sincere wish to recover some patients behave in almost exactly the opposite way from that suggested by their psychotherapist - something sometimes called patient resistance. However, a team of researchers from Palo Alto University...

Published Thu, Nov 25 2010 4:08 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Psychotherapy

Pathological gambling and suicide

People with gambling problems are not only at risk financially they are also far more likely to kill themselves. 5% of people who kill themselves are pathological gamblers and gamblers are three times more likely to kill themselves than people who don't...

Published Fri, Nov 26 2010 6:23 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Suicide, Gambling

Mothers' mental health and children's feeding problems

Mothers' eating disorders, depression and anxiety are all known to cause feeding difficulties in their children, however, there have been few studies investigating how eating disorders interact with mothers' other mental-health problems to create...

Published Tue, Nov 16 2010 3:28 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Child Development, Depression, Eating Disorders, Parenting, Anxiety

Internet therapy - how many people drop out?

The internet is used more and more to deliver treatment for mental-health problems and research has shown that internet-based treatment is effective for a number of different psychological conditions. However, there are worries about the number of people...

Published Fri, Nov 12 2010 2:39 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Telemedicine, Psychotherapy

Exercise and preventing depression - it works but only if you're having fun

Exercise can help to stave off depression but only if you do it in your spare time. Researchers from Norway and the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London studied 40,401 Norwegians asking them about their physical activity and their levels...

Published Mon, Nov 01 2010 3:20 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Depression, Exercise and Mental Health

Energy drinks and drink problems

Students often drink so-called energy drinks, which contain large amounts of caffeine, so they can either study or stay up longer socialising. However, new research by scientists at the University of Maryland suggests that they could also lead to more...

Published Wed, Nov 17 2010 2:25 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Alcohol Problems, Caffeine

Getting to grips with the neuroscience of Alzheimer's

Researchers from Rush University Medical Center in Chicago have been using MRI scans to investigate what happens in people's brains when they develop Alzheimer's disease. They followed 52 people with mild cognitive impairment, often seen as a...

Published Wed, Nov 17 2010 2:09 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Alzheimer's Disease, Neuroscience