A Healthy Lifestyle Can Reduce Your Risk of Depression

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Maintaining a healthy lifestyle can significantly lower the risk of developing depression, according to a recent study published in Nature Mental Health. Conducted by researchers at the University of Cambridge and Fudan University, the study examined data from nearly 290,000 individuals. The findings revealed that those who adhered to a healthy lifestyle had a 57% reduced likelihood of experiencing depression …

New Research Shows That Even Moderate Physical Activity Can Protect Against Depression

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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 …

Healthy Breathing

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Don’t neglect breath work Breathing is fundamental to life, so much so that we usually aren’t aware of doing it at all.  Yet many experts say people are breathing “wrong” – too rapidly and too shallowly – and breathing wrong may be affecting our physical and mental health in myriad ways. Healthy breathing, according to a recent article in the …

Qi Gong

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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 …

Orthostatic Vital Signs to Evaluate Medication Effects

Peter Forster Physical Conditions and Health, Self Care Leave a Comment

Many of the medications that psychiatrists prescribe can affect the body’s ability to respond to changes in blood pressure that occur naturally when you stand up, after being in a sitting or lying position for some time – orthostatic vital signs are taken as part of an evaluation of that risk. Heart rate and blood pressure should be obtained when …

Ketogenic Diet

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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, …

Inflammation and Depression – Specific Symptom Cluster

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A study of 15 population-based cohorts, totalling 56,351 individuals, suggests that there is a correlation between inflammation as measured by elevated  C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) and a specific sub-group of symptoms of depression. The inflammation cluster consisted of four physical symptoms: changes in appetite, felt everything was an effort, loss of energy, sleep problems; and one cognitive symptom: little …

Breastfeeding and Psychotropic Medication

Psychotropic Medications and Breastfeeding

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80% of women in the U.S. will experience at least one pregnancy and 84% of babies will be breastfed. In addition, more than half of women use medications during lactation. There are many reasons for using medications during breastfeeding, but the post-partum period is a time of high vulnerability to mood and anxiety episodes, and the effects of a mood …

Pre-Diabetes Weight Gain and Depression

Insulin Resistance, Pre-Diabetes, Central Obesity, Elevated Triglycerides and Depression

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Three different findings associated with insulin resistance and pre-diabetes are predictive of developing depression according to a study published online from the American Journal of Psychiatry. Study Summary MedPage Today (9/23/2021) writes that, “Three surrogate measures for insulin resistance all showed a significant link with developing a major depressive disorder [MDD] over a nine-year follow-up period,” researchers concluded. The 601-participant study …

Covid-19 Mental Health Effects

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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 …