Depression Tips

Green Therapy for Depression

Go green to bit depression

71 per cent report depression decrease after green walk (Green Therapy), 22 per cent report depression increase after urban walk.

New green agenda for mental health. With a mass of new and growing evidence, Mind calls for ecotherapy to be recognised as a clinically-valid frontline treatment for mental health problems. As 93 per cent of GPs have prescribed drugs due to a lack of alternatives and access to Cognitive Behavioural Therapy takes up to four years in some areas of the UK, it is vital that ecotherapy is considered by GPs alongside these as a treatment option.

Ecotherapy involves getting outdoors and getting active in a green environment as a way of boosting mental wellbeing. Whether it’s taking regular walks in the park, flying a kite or participating in a gardening therapy project, green exercise is proven to have huge benefits for mental health.

Ecotherapy versus retail therapy

Mind’s new report Ecotherapy: the green therapy for mental health presents the findings of the first ever study looking at how green exercise specifically affects people with mental health problems. A walk in a country park was compared with a walk in an indoor shopping centre. The results are startling:

• 71 per cent reported decreased levels of depression after the green walk
• 22 per cent felt their depression increased after walking through an indoor shopping centre and only 45 per cent experienced a decrease in depression
• 71 per cent said they felt less tense after the green walk
• 50 per cent said their feelings of tension had increased after the shopping centre walk
• 90 per cent had increased self-esteem after the country walk
• 44 per cent said their self-esteem decreased after window shopping in the shopping centre.

Green activities boost mental health:

Mind’s second research study showed the views of people who regularly partake in green activities run by Mind’s network of local Mind associations:

• 90 per cent said it was the combination of nature and exercise that had the greatest effect on them
• 94 per cent said that green activities had benefited their mental health, lifting depression.

Recommendations for mental health and depression:

• Ecotherapy should be recognised as a clinically-valid treatment for mental distress.
• GPs should consider prescribing green exercise as a treatment option for every patient experiencing mental distress.
• People on care plans should be supported in accessing green space.
• Referral to care farms should be incorporated into health and social care referral systems.

An environmentalist or an eco-tourist would agree that there is no better alternative to depression treatment, then “ecotherapy.” But in a shocking figure, GPs have been found to have prescribed antidepressants to over 31 million people in the UK in 2006 alone, making it an all-time high..

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Add comment May 29th, 2007

GP-first Choice of Depression Patients

GP or general practitioner is still the first choice when it comes to seeking help for depression. This fact came to the fore through a new poll organized by irishhealth.com A general practitioner (GP), family physician or family practitioner (FP) is a physician/medical doctor who provides primary care. A GP/FP treats acute and chronic illnesses, provides preventive care and health education for all ages and both sexes.

Another facts, which came out brightly through this poll were as under:-

• 14% said that they won’t seek help for treating their depression.
• 12% preferred to consult counselors.
• Just 3 % of the people showed interest in contacting support groups for seeking help for their depression.
• 27% of the people said that they would prefer their friends for help during depression.
• While a big percentage of 44% showed interest in going to GP for seeking help.

On the basis of these figures, it can definitely be asserted that still, GPs are taken as the first priority by a big number of depression patients, which means still they are looked at as the most efficient helpers for depression treatment. These figures confirm the fact that GPs have a big responsibility to shoulder. Keeping these figures and beliefs in mind, we can say that there is need of these GPs to be trained in such a way so that they may impart depression patients with effective treatment, which would help embanking the spate of depression in which whole world is delving slowly but steadily.

General practitioners’ attitudes to psychiatric and medical illness:

Background. General practitioners are increasingly involved in the care of patients with long-term psychiatric disorders. We have previously reported that general practitioners are less willing to treat patients with schizophrenia than those without such a diagnosis, but this may have been attributable to a reluctance to treat patients with any psychiatric or chronic illness. We, therefore, examined general practitioners’ attitudes to patients with chronic psychiatric or medical illnesses.

Methods. A random sample of 260 local general practitioners were each sent one of our case vignettes which were identical apart from mention of a previous diagnosis of schizophrenia, depression, diabetes or no illness. The general practitioners were asked to indicate their level of agreement with 13 attitudinal statements based on the vignette.

Results. One hundred and sixty-six (66%) of the general practitioners responded to the case vignettes. Those responding to the vignette about the patient with schizophrenia were less happy to have that patient on their practice list and were more concerned about the risk of violence and the child’s welfare. Those responding to the depression vignette were more likely to offer the patient antidepressants or counselling; and those who replied to the diabetes case were most likely to refer the patient to a hospital specialist. These differences were not attributable to the personal or practice characteristics of the general practitioners.

Conclusions. Patients with schizophrenia arouse concerns in general practitioners that are not simply due to those patients suffering from a psychiatric or chronic illness. Our results suggest that some patients with schizophrenia may find it difficult to register with a general practitioner and receive the integrated community-based health care service they require. Psychiatrists should provide education and support to general practitioners who look after patients with schizophrenia.

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Add comment May 25th, 2007

Girls at Higher Risk of Depression

Girls’ risk for developing depression after puberty increased significantly if they had low birth weight, in a study funded in part by National Institute for Mental Health (NIMH). Yet low birth weight didn’t appear to be just one more risk factor for depression. Rather, it seemed to increase the risk effects of other adversities.

Among the 5.7 percent of girls in the study with low birth weight, more than 38 percent developed at least one episode of depression as teens, compared to only 8.4 percent with normal birth weight.

If a teenage girl with low birth weight had just one other risk factor — such as teenage pregnancy or sexual abuse — her odds of developing depression increased to 19.6 percent versus 3.6 percent for normal birth weight girls. If she had two more risk factors, the risk rose to 68.5 percent versus 19.7 percent for normal birth weight girls. But if she had no other risk factors, low birth weight posed no additional risk. Nor did it increase depression risk in teenage boys.

The findings suggest that adaptations in the womb that optimize survival under adverse conditions that can lead to low birth weight may later impair girls’ ability to cope with stress. Their lower thresholds for stress-triggered illness may remain latent until they “encounter adversities that strain their capacity,” suggest Drs. Elizabeth Jane Costello, Adrian Angold, Duke University, and colleagues, in the March 2007 Archives of General Psychiatry.

The researchers drew on assessments of depression in 1,420 North Carolina boys and girls, ages 9-16, during the l990s, relying on mothers’ recollections of birth weights and other risk factors.

“Low birth weight predicted depression, only in adolescence and only in girls,” even after other depression-related adversities — such as living in a dangerous neighborhood, having single or mentally ill parents, or poor health — were factored into the analysis, report the researchers.

Even though boys are more prone to low birth weight, fewer than five percent of low birth weight teenage boys became depressed — about the same rate as other boys. The researchers note that boys appear to be more prone to early developmental insults and have higher rates of early-onset disorders like ADHD and autism, while girls seem more prone to later-onset disorders like depression.

Social phobia, post-traumatic stress disorder and generalized anxiety disorders were three times higher in girls with low birth weight than in boys or girls with normal birth weight. However, evidence suggested that this was likely a reflection of the fact that these disorders co-occurred with depression.

“The findings suggest that pediatricians and parents of girls who were of low birth weight should pay close attention to their mental health as they enter puberty,” suggest the researchers.

Girls with low birth weight showed much higher rates of depression after puberty than boys with low birth weight or girls with normal birth weight. Chart shows three-month prevalence of depression.

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Add comment May 20th, 2007

Clozapine May Cause Heart Risks and Diabetes

Clozapine is an anti-psychotic medication that works by blocking receptors in the brain for several neurotransmitters (chemicals that nerves use to communicate with each other) including dopamine type 4 receptors, serotonin type 2 receptors, norepinephrine receptors, acetylcholine receptors, and histamine receptors. Unlike traditional anti-psychotic agents, such as chlorpromazine (Thorazine) and haloperidol (Haldol) as well as the newer anti-psychotics, risperidone (Risperdal) and olanzapine (Zyprexa), clozapine only weakly blocks dopamine type 2 receptors.

PRESCRIBED FOR: Clozapine is use in the management of psychotic disorders including schizophrenia. Because of concern for the side effect of agranulocytosis (see side effects), clozapine should be reserved for patients who have failed to respond to other standard medications or who are at risk for recurring suicidal behavior.

DOSING: Clozapine is given once, twice, or three times daily. The dose often is increased slowly until the optimal dose is found. The full effects of clozapine may not be seen until several weeks after treatment is begun.

DRUG INTERACTIONS: Risperidone (Risperdal) may cause an increase in the amount of clozapine in the blood. This could lead to an increased risk of side effects from clozapine.

PREGNANCY: There are no adequate studies of clozapine in pregnant women. Studies in animals suggest no important effects on the fetus. Clozapine can be used in pregnancy if the physician feels that it is necessary.

Animal studies suggest that clozapine is secreted in breast milk. Therefore, women taking clozapine should not nurse their infants.

SIDE EFFECTS: Clozapine may cause a severe reduction in white blood cell count, a condition known as agranulocytosis, in approximately1 in 100 patients who take it for at least one year. White blood cells fight infections, and a severe reduction in white blood cells can result in severe infections. If not caught early, agranulocytosis can be fatal. Therefore, the white blood cell countshould bemeasured (with a blood test) prior to starting treatment and regularly (weekly) while patients receive this medication, and for 4 weeks after it is stopped.

Among elderly patients with dementia-related psychosis, treatment with clozapine is associated with an increased risk of death for unclear reasons. Clozapine is not approved for use in dementia-related psychosis.

Seizures have occurred in approximately 1 of every 20 to 30 persons receiving clozapine. Patients receiving higher doses seem to be at higher risk.

Diziness may occur in 1 of 5 persons taking clozapine. In some cases this may be due to orthostatic hypotension, a marked decrease in blood pressure that occurs when going from a lying or sitting position to a standing position. The drop in blood pressure may lead to loss of consciousness or even cardiac and respiratory arrest.This reaction is more common during the first few weeks of therapy while the dose is increasing, when drug is stopped briefly, or when patients are taking benzodiazepinessuch asdiazepam (Valium) or other anti-psychotic drugs.

The most common side effect of clozapine is drowsiness. Other side effects include increased heart rate, increased salivation, headache, tremor, low blood pressure and fever. Clozapine has anticholinergic effects that interfere with the function of smooth muscles. This can lead to blurred vision and difficulty urinating (when there isenlargement of the prostate) due to effects on the muscles of the eye and bladder. Clozapine slows the intestine and leads to constipation in approximately 14% of patients. Paralysis of the intestinal muscles can lead to paralytic ileus, a conditionin which the intestine stops working.

Clozapine is eliminated from the body by enzymes (P450) in the liver. Numerous medications can increase or decrease the activities of these enzymes leading to low (potentially ineffective)or high (potentially toxic) levels of clozapine in the blood. When used with these medications, the dose of clozapine may need to be reduced or increased

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Add comment May 15th, 2007

Antidepressants not dangerous for children, claims research

Whenever there is a dilemma about a fact, we, the medical science people conduct a research, and that helps in a way to understand the trends and the curves that a particular dilemma can take. Recently there has been a volunteered debate on the effects of the so called antidepressants on the children. There was a chaos around the medical world about the fact, and hence all it needed was one more research. Here are the results.

In a recent study funded by the National Institute of Mental Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have claimed that children and adolescents who’re on anti-depressants are infact, at a lower risk of having suicidal tendencies or unusual changes in behavior, this comes as a relief for those guardians who risk their child by staying away from home for long and then these children become a permanent customers of these drugs.

But, this apparently comes as a contradiction to the previous findings of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that led to a special product labeling change (boxed warnings) for children and adolescents, according to which the antidepressants are nothing but a slow killer as, it breeds in a feeling a self destruction or say creep suicidal tendencies in the children of tender age.

In their report, which is a compilation of an analysis done on 5,310 children and adolescents from 27 separate studies, the researchers have concluded that for every 100 kids treated with antidepressants; only about one child tends to suffer from suicidal tendencies. No suicides have been reported so far among children and teenagers who’re on notable drugs like Celexa, Effexor, Lexapro, Paxil, Prozac, Remeron, Serzone and Zoloft.

Dr. David Brent from the Univ. of Pittsburgh School of Medicine added -
“The medications are safe and effective and should be considered as an important part of treatment. The benefits seem favorable compared to the small risk of suicidal thoughts and behavior.”

However, the constant monitoring of patients who’re on antidepressants by their doctors has still not been ruled out. Thus it is not a very big deal that suicidal tendencies are not getting breaded in, but the crucial point is why these little kids have to depend on drugs such as antidepressants. Can u imagine, a kid actually being depressed because of problems in his or her home, very rarely, then why are they getting depressed.

Well, the major reason for these depressed children is child molestation and this is an area where we have to look to secure our future, else the day is not far, when every mother would be packing a set of antidepressants with the school lunch box of her kids. These children need to be safeguarded against such inhuman acts as they can affect a child’s whole nervous system and then it becomes really difficult to forget such experiences.

Thus instead of researching the effects of drugs on depressed children, why don’t we research the ugly reasons that led to all these. Once we are able to attack the root, there are larger possibilities of fighting this deadly disease.

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Add comment May 9th, 2007