Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “Mental Health”
A new study published in the journal JAMA Network Open has found that even moderate levels of physical activity can protect against depression in older adults. The study, which was conducted by researchers at the University of Limerick in Ireland, looked at data from over 7,000 older adults with and without chronic disease. The researchers found that for every additional …
Qi Gong is an ancient Chinese practice that combines physical postures, breathing exercises, and meditation. It is said to promote health and well-being by harmonizing the flow of energy, or “qi,” throughout the body. Qi Gong is a safe and gentle practice that can be done by people of all ages and fitness levels. It is a good way to …
Blue spectrum light, as emitted by electronic screens of all kinds disrupts sleep patterns and circadian rhythms when they are used in the evening and at night. These disruptions are especially problematic for people with mood disorders, who often experience difficulty sleeping and maintaining regular daily schedules of activities. We recommend blue light blocking glasses that block at least 90% …
10 USEFUL* things you can do for suicide prevention *Spoiler: none of these things are about “fixing” a suicidal person. I’d like to apologize for missing the actual National Suicide Prevention Day, which was September 10, but, really, any day is a good day to talk about suicide prevention. Suicide prevention is not a matter of telling your distressed friend …
Diets and Moods Evidence for the importance of diet for mental health is slowly gathering. People are looking into the importance of specific diets like the Mediterranean diet, which we have highlighted here before. And the next big area of research into diet and mental health looks like being the ketogenic diet. Many people have heard of the Atkins diet, …
In the current edition of Biological Psychiatry there are several articles that point out how an understanding of brain function derived from new techniques that allow us to see how the brain functions much more clearly and to identify changes in the structure and function of the brain that could not be detected before may change our response to human …
When a loved one is diagnosed with a mental illness, it can throw the whole family into a tailspin, rife with self-doubt, suspicion, guilt, and helplessness. How we respond to the illness of a family member can make all the difference to their recovery and the rebuilding of the family’s foundations. Through many years of practice, we have evolved some …
The COVID-19 pandemic appears to be associated with a higher burden of depressive symptoms than might have been predicted in comparison with earlier disasters and society-wide disruptive events, such as the September 11th attacks. Since April 2020, self-reported symptoms of depression have increased over the previous year, and remain high. A survey1 published in The Lancet Regional Health – Americas …
Suicide remains a sad mystery in many ways. Those left behind can never really know what was in their loved one’s mind at the last. We blame ourselves, and we deal with all the guilt, anger and grief that the act leaves behind, but we can never completely understand what leads someone to take their own life. Willa Goodfellow, in …
Neurological and psychiatric symptoms are common in COVID-19 infections A recent meta-analysis looked at 215 studies from 30 countries and found that neurological and psychiatric symptoms such as depression and anxiety are common in patients, and are found as much or more in mild cases as in acute cases requiring hospitalization. Loss of sense of smell and taste, weakness, fatigue …
