Mental illness is one of the last surviving stigmas in today’s liberal society. Class, race, religion, gender and sexual orientation, are all off-limits now as reasons for discrimination, social exclusion, jokes or disparaging remarks of any kind. Where these are concerned, we’ve come a long way in terms of tolerance, fairness and sensitivity to the feelings of others; as a rule, words are chosen carefully so as not to offend and legislation ensures fair treatment.
...[Read more]‘ A Depressed Life ’ Category
Today Gordian Health Solutions, Inc., a leading national personal health coaching company, released the results of a study showing that employees in different occupational industries report varying levels of depressive symptoms. Of the 13 occupational industries the study examined, the highest percentage of employees reporting feeling depressed for two weeks or more in the past year were those in the arts-entertainment-recreation, retail trade and utilities industries.
...[Read more]Depressed pregnant women have twice the risk of preterm delivery than pregnant women with no symptoms of depression, according to a new study by the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research. The study is published online in the Oxford University Press’s journal Human Reproduction on behalf of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology.
...[Read more]It is well known that patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) frequently suffer from depression and anxiety, but according to new research, depression and anxiety may actually cause increased hospitalizations and exacerbations.
...[Read more]Are genes destiny? Alternatively, are we simply the products of our environment? There is a growing sense that neither of these two possibilities fully captures the essence of the risk for psychiatric disorders. New light is being shed on the complex interaction of genetic and environmental factors as the result of growth in the field of epigenetics.
...[Read more]Those who worship a higher power often do so in different ways. Whether they are active in their religious community, or prefer to simply pray or meditate, new research out of Temple University suggests that a person’s religiousness – also called religiosity – can offer insight into their risk for depression. Lead researcher Joanna Maselko, Sc.D.
...[Read more]Governor Martin O’Malley today announced that Maryland has been awarded three-year, $1.5 million federal grant to combat the tragedy of youth suicide in local schools, communities and on campuses statewide. The federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has provided the funding to the departments of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH) and Education (MSDE).
...[Read more]Teen suicide gets plenty of airtime, but a new U.S. study finds that middle-aged whites are an emerging high-risk group. Before 1999, white middle-aged men were the least likely to kill themselves. However, for the period from 1999 to 2005, the rate for African-Americans, Asian-Americans and Native Americans declined or stayed stable even as middle-aged whites experienced a significant increase in suicides.
...[Read more]Despite treatment efforts, chronic pain management is failing one in three (n = 377) patients suffering from severe chronic pain, and three in five (n = 336) patients feel moderately or extremely anxious or depressed as a result of their pain. Whilst eight in ten (n = 377) chronic pain patients are taking prescription medication, one in two (n = 307) of these patients are suffering the additional burden of side effects.
...[Read more]In a prospective study of over 1800 interviewed young Finnish twins, early-onset depressive disorders at age 14 significantly predicted daily smoking, smokeless tobacco use, frequent illicit drug use, frequent alcohol use and recurrent intoxication three years later, even among those adolescents who were not users at baseline.
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