I know some of you are dealing with stress. With the economy in turmoil, an unresponsive political class, and a culture that places a fairly low price on the value of a human life, it’s only natural for some of us to buckle under the weight of a harsh world. Not everyone succumbs to depression, but everyone has to cope with stress now and then.
To help you out, I’ve pulled up my sleeves and dug through the internet to provide you with some of the latest stress related articles. Hopefully some of these will help you out. You’ll find a few studies, a few stories, and a few self-help pieces. A little bit of everything, really.
And now for the round-up…
Women who smoke are at greater risk of becoming depressed
Filed Under Overcome Depression | Oct 9, MDT 10:25 am
Australian researchers have found that women who smoke are more likely to develop a major depressive disorder than women who don’t smoke.
A total of 671 women with no history of major depressive disorders were studied. Of the 87 women who were smokers, 13 (15%) went on to develop major depressive disorder.
However, among 584 non-smokers, just 38 (6.5%) developed major depressive disorder during a decade of follow-up.
Heavy smokers, those who smoke more than twenty cigarettes a day, are twice as likely to become depressed than more moderate smokers.
Our mind has a way of playing tricks on us. In this collection of videos, what you see won’t meet up with what really happened. Your eyes will say one thing, but nature will have said something else entirely. Our eyes aren’t the only thing deceiving us — it’s our minds that are at fault. For various reasons, we have evolved a capacity for self-deception, an inability to properly assess the world for what it is. This deception isn’t limited to magic tricks that entertain us. Our feelings, our beliefs, our states of mind are often built on a very flimsy fabric of make-believe, conjecture, and blind faith.
If your mind can convince you that a rubber hand actually belongs to your body, as scientists have done in one the videos below, then it’s reasonable to assume that your emotions themselves can be twisted in ways which separate you from reality. I’m providing you with this list of videos to offer you some food for thought. What illusions are you trapped by, what deceptions have you accepted? We are all prisoners to one set of lies or another — being able to suss out our captors can help us assert at least a limited degree of control over our lives.
1. Ten Optical Illusions in Two Minutes
Doctors and patients often underestimate the importance of screening for mental health problems. Unfortunately, people suffering from physical illnesses are often more susceptible to depression and other mental conditions, and the consequences can be life threatening. Today, we’ll briefly cover the problem of diabetics suffering from depression, and the risk of developing diabetes among the depressed.
The Mental Health of Diabetics
Depression is more common among diabetics than the general population. Many studies suggest that diabetes puts you at a greater risk of developing depression.
There’s clearly a harmful link between the two conditions — and a very lethal one at that. In one recent study, elderly diabetics suffering from depression were found to be nearly 40% more likely to die within a one year period than elderly diabetics who were not depressed. In different study published in Diabetes Care journal, the picture was even grimmer, and it wasn’t confined to the health of the elderly, either. If you’re depressed and diabetic, you’re health is much more vulnerable than it would be otherwise.
This has to be one of the best short movies I’ve ever seen. It’s the story of Dr. Stern, a therapist who, after learning he’s about to die, decides to provide his clients with a different form of therapy.
In a way, Dr. Stern only started living when he realized he was about to die. Most of us are the same way — we hide from our mortality, and in the process, we lose the courage to face life head on. Hiding is no way to go through life.
- The Posts of 2008
- In 2009, I resolve to be…
- A diet of happy thoughts
- Misery Around The Web
- Daily meditation stops wandering thoughts
- Quackery, Pseudoscience, and You.
- Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT)
- Personal Stories and Interviews, a round-up
- The Power of Posture
- Beating Seasonal Affective Disorder
anti-depressants buddhism celexa childhood abuse citalopram depression drugs FKBP5 genes genetics lithium loneliness mania meditation misanthropy misery nlp pharmacogenetics relationships SLC6A4 studies suicide Treatments and Therapies for Better Health videos website