Depression Archive

Pain, anxiety, and depression often coincide because the parts of the brain and nervous system that handle sensations and touch interact with those that regulate emotions and stress.

In the journals

People with anxiety or depression often have trouble making sound decisions. But a study suggests their judgment can improve if they focus on past successes instead of mistakes. The findings were published online Dec. 22, 2020, by the journal eLife.

Researchers recruited 86 adults, divided into three groups. In one group were people diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder or major depression. Another group consisted of people who showed anxiety or depression symptoms, like excessive worrying and not feeling good about the future, but were not clinically diagnosed. The final group included those without anxiety or depression.

Lifestyle changes — along with other proven therapies — can help improve these often-overlapping conditions.

Everyone goes through periods of feeling gloomy, irritable, or listless at least once in a while. And these emotions are perfectly normal after a diagnosis of a serious health problem such as heart disease. But if those unpleasant feelings drag on for weeks and gradually erase your sense of well-being, you may have depression.

Over a lifetime, about one in five Americans is affected by depression. But the risk of depression in people who've had a heart attack is three times as high as the risk among the general population.