Daily meditation stops wandering thoughts


Filed Under Media, Overcome Depression | Dec 11, MST 9:29 am

In a study of twelve zen meditators and twelve control subjects, brain scans revealed that those who practiced daily meditation for a period of at least three years were faster at clearing their mind of distractions than those who had never meditated.

The scientists who performed the study suggest that this area of research is clinically relevant for conditions that involve excessive rumination — like depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, and anxiety disorders.

I have to agree with them on that point. People who learn to let go of their thoughts, who are quicker at releasing them, are much less likely to be held ransom to their demands.

Unfortunately, at this point in time, though we’re becoming aware of how meditation can be used to counter these conditions, we’re still not entirely aware of why it works. More research is needed before psychologists are able to devise a foolproof therapy which incorporates meditation — though, mindfulness based cognitive therapy comes close.

For now, we know this zen study shows that daily meditation creates a swifter, quicker brain. I can’t see many down sides to that, so for people who have the time, I would recommend taking up a zen habit. At the very least, in a few years, you’ll be better at managing your thoughts.

Zen isn’t a cure-all

Zen meditation is, of course, not a cure-all for depression, or other mental disorders. This story of a woman who turned to zoloft after failing to find peace through Zen testifies to that fact.

However, it’s another tool in the quest to wrest control of our minds away from the devils that often plague it. It won’t save people from depression on its own, but it might make the process of being saved easier.

How to practice zazen

For those of you who would like to start practicing zen meditation, otherwise known as zazen, this following ten minute clip from teacher Gudo Nishijima will show you the basics.

Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT)


Filed Under Media, Overcome Depression | Dec 4, MST 8:36 am

 
Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy is one of the newest tools in the fight against depression. MBCT combines meditation and cognitive therapy to create an awesome, life enriching cocktail. How life enriching?

A recent study of 123 depressed patients shows that MBCT is just as effective as medication in preventing relapses in the depressed, and more effective in improving their quality of life.

The simple act of practicing a few mental exercises a week can radically alter the way people experience the world. MBCT shows us how potent our mental habits are. Change those habits, and you change your reality.

The great thing about MBCT is that it provides people with an easy, simple alternative for taking back control of their lives. I’m a strong supporter of psychotropic therapies, however I believe that they should only be turned to after having exhausted more natural alternatives.

If you’re interested in learning about the neuroscience of mindfulness meditation, and how the practice can be used to improve the lives of those suffering from anxiety and depression, I recommend watching this video from the Google Tech Talks series. In it, Philippe Godin, a scientist that heads the Clinically Applied Affective Neuroscience group over at Stanford University, discusses the research that’s been done on the subject.

Beating Seasonal Affective Disorder


Filed Under Overcome Depression | Nov 3, MST 12:23 pm

 
According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, up to twenty percent of people suffer from seasonal affective disorder, also known as SAD, with about six percent of cases being severe. I’ll caution that the exact numbers are currently unknown, and that the numbers of cases for winter depression vary depending on how rigorous the study was and where the study was taken. Canadians, for example, are much more likely to be diagnosed with the condition than are Americans. What we know for certain is that SAD is a very real and common condition, and that it makes the winter season a miserable one for millions of people.

SAD Symptoms

Not everyone experiences SAD in the same way. Some symptoms are more pronounced in certain sufferers than they are in others. Personal genetics and environmental factors play a role in shaping how people experience seasonal affective disorder. With that out of the way, the following list of symptoms will give you an idea of some of the things SAD sufferers might experience:

  • Unwanted weight gain
  • Constant fatigue
  • Lethargy
  • Feeling irritated
  • Carbohydrate cravings
  • Decreased interest in sex
  • Mood swings
  • Feelings of apathy and depression

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Why do depressed people wake up exhausted?


Filed Under Improve your sleep, Media, Overcome Depression | Oct 27, MDT 12:21 pm

 
This little video addresses an important issue — why do people who suffer from depression often wake up feeling exhausted? The answer that this video advances is rather interesting.  It turns out that depressed people dream more intensely and have longer periods of REM sleep then people who aren’t depressed. Expectation fulfillment theory helps explain why the depressed spend more time dreaming.

Dreams, according to this theory, help people act out undischarged emotions. The more emotions we haven’t acted on, the more intensely we dream.  Eventually, if we’re not careful, we end up with a backlog of unresolved emotions that our subconscious simply can’t cope with. We wake up feeling tired because our minds have spent a good chunk of the night trying to resolve issues we didn’t take care of during the day.

That of course, is my spin on the subject. I haven’t read the book yet, but I find the ideas discussed in the video fascinating, and I look forward to learning more about them.

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.

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