Depression Archive

In the journals

A study published online May 17, 2017, by JAMA Psychiatry found that while depression symptoms later in life were associated with dementia, having symptoms in midlife was not. The findings indicate that depression may not be a risk factor for dementia as previously thought, according to the researchers. In the study, about 10,000 people (two-thirds of them men), ages 35 to 55, were recruited and followed for 28 years. Those who reported chronic or recurring depression symptoms at the study's beginning did not show a significant increased risk of developing dementia by the study's end. However, those who reported depression symptoms within the final 11 years of the study were twice as likely to be diagnosed with dementia.

The researchers said that if depression symptoms were a true risk factor for dementia, there would be an association with people who had symptoms earlier in life and not just later. They concluded that depression later in life instead might be an early sign of dementia.

Creative activities can relieve stress, aid communication, and help arrest cognitive decline.

 Image: © Katherine A. Gallagher Integrative Therapies Art Therapy Program at the Mass. General Cancer Center

The title of a recent documentary film, I Remember Better When I Paint, sums up the findings of a growing body of research into the cognitive effects of making art. The movie demonstrates how drawing and painting stimulated memories in people with dementia and enabled them to reconnect with the world. People with dementia aren't the only beneficiaries. Studies have shown that expressing themselves through art can help people with depression, anxiety, or cancer, too. And doing so has been linked to improved memory, reasoning, and resilience in healthy older people.

This ancient practice can be used alone or with conventional therapy to help ease your pain.

 Image: © zilli/Thinkstock

Men looking for an easy and effective means to manage pain should consider acupuncture.

"There are many different types of pain — neuropathic, muscular, degenerative joint — all of which can make management complex," says Hugo Lopez, a licensed acupuncturist with Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center. "Sometimes you need to treat not just the physical components, but also the psychological ones, and that is where acupuncture can help, as it addresses both problems."

Don't assume age is to blame for changes in memory, attention, and decision making.

Image: © pixelheadphoto/Thinkstock

Depression has a way of sucking the joy and meaning from life. Chronic feelings of hopelessness, apathy, or despair are part of the condition. It may also bring physical symptoms, such as weight loss, sleep disturbance, fatigue, and aches and pains. But depression can be sneaky, causing subtle changes in thinking skills that you may not attribute to the condition. "Very often, one of the first signs of depression in people ages 70 or older is a change in thinking," says Dr. Helen Farrell, a psychiatrist with Harvard-affiliated Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

What's the connection?

Depression may involve the interruption or reduction of chemical messengers in the brain called neurotransmitters, such as serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine. These chemical changes may be the cause of your depression (if the brain systems that regulate them go awry), or they may result from other depression triggers, such as the following:

You could argue that the physical and mental changes that occur during menopause aren't really "symptoms." The term is usually associated with a disease, which menopause is not. Also, it is often hard to say which changes are a direct result of a drop in hormone levels and which are natural consequences of aging. Some of the symptoms overlap or have a cascade effect. For example, vaginal dryness may contribute to a lower sex drive, and frequent nighttime hot flashes may be a factor in insomnia.

Hot flashes and vaginal dryness are the two symptoms most frequently linked with menopause. Other symptoms associated with menopause include sleep disturbances, urinary complaints, sexual dysfunction, mood changes, and quality of life. However, these symptoms don't consistently correlate with the hormone changes seen with menopause transition.

For too many women, joyfully anticipated pregnancy and motherhood bring depression as an unexpected accompaniment. Children as well as mothers suffer. Depression during pregnancy may result in poor prenatal care, premature delivery, low birth weight, and, just possibly, depression in the child. Depression after childbirth (postpartum depression) can lead to child neglect, family breakdown, and suicide. A depressed mother may fail to bond emotionally with her newborn, raising the child's risk of later cognitive delays and emotional and behavior problems. Fortunately, if the depression is detected soon enough, help is available for mother and child.

Depression During Pregnancy

Depression in pregnant women is often overlooked, partly because of a widespread misconception that pregnancy somehow provides protection against mood disorders. In reality, almost 25% of cases of postpartum depression in womem start during pregnancy, and depression may peak at that time, according to a study published in the British Medical Journal.

Hurting bodies and suffering minds often require the same treatment.

Pain, especially chronic pain, is an emotional condition as well as a physical sensation. It is a complex experience that affects thought, mood, and behavior and can lead to isolation, immobility, and drug dependence.

In those ways, it resembles depression, and the relationship is intimate. Pain is depressing, and depression causes and intensifies pain. People with chronic pain have three times the average risk of developing psychiatric symptoms — usually mood or anxiety disorders — and depressed patients have three times the average risk of developing chronic pain.

Author and migraine sufferer Joan Didion once wrote, "That no one dies of migraine seems, to someone deep into an attack, an ambiguous blessing." At that time, migraines weren't something that could be prevented. Today, that's a possibility for some people who have severe migraines, frequent migraines (more than three or four times a month), or migraines that don't respond well to treatment.

The cornerstone of migraine prevention is managing triggers like stress or certain foods or strong perfumes. Alternative and complementary therapies (like acupuncture) help some migraine sufferers keep headaches at bay.

Older adults who report feeling lonely had a greater risk of testing positive for high amyloid levels in the brain, a marker of Alzheimer’s disease, according to research from the Harvard Aging Brain Study.

At a time of loss, it's important to focus on maintaining your health and getting the support you need.

Image: natalie_broad/iStock

Losing a family member, a close friend, or even a beloved pet can be devastating. All the small details of daily life—getting out of bed, making meals, going to appointments, taking care of children, handling responsibilities at work—may seem monumentally hard or inconsequential. Yet, even as you grieve, you've probably been reminded that life must go on. But working through the emotional pain can be difficult, particularly during the holidays, when you may feel you are supposed to be celebrating.

The normal process of grieving