Posts Tagged ‘help’
Treatments For Depression
October 29, 2009
New research clarifies how neurotransmitters like norepinephrine, serotonin, and dopamine, are regulated – a finding that may help fine-tune therapies for depression.
Current drugs for depression target the regulatory process for neurotransmitters, and while effective in some cases, do not appear to work in other cases.
Recent findings suggest that synucleins, a family of small proteins in the brain, are key players in the management of neurotransmitters – specifically, alpha- and gamma-synuclein. Additionally, researchers have found elevated levels of gamma-synuclein in the brains of both depressed animals and humans.
In a study presented at the 39th annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, Georgetown University Medical Center researchers observed increased depressive-like behavior in mice where gamma-synuclein acts alone to regulate neurotransmitters, confirming earlier studies by this group.
“These findings show the importance of, and clarify a functional role for, gamma synuclein in depression and may provide new therapeutic targets in treatment of this disease,” says Adam Oaks, a student researcher in the Laboratory of Molecular Neurochemistry at GUMC. “Understanding how current therapies work with the synucleins is important because the drugs don’t work for all patients, and some are associated with side effects including an increased risk of suicide.”
The study was funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health. A provision patent application has been filed by Georgetown University related to the technology described in this paper, on which Anita Sidhu, one of the authors, is an inventor.
However, some symptoms of depression, such as sleep and appetite disturbances, significant concentration problems, and chronic fatigue, interfere with your ability to make the life changes necessary to eliminate the depression. In more serious depression, suicidal thoughts and urges, and preoccupation with death, may require medication in addition to psychotherapy. Antidepressant medication can help relieve those symptoms, and allow you to make needed life changes. The decision to take medication, in addition to participating in psychological treatment, should be discussed with your treating psychologist and your primary care physician.
Carlo Mueres is a excellent depression therapist who have been working with depression for seven years. If you want more his help please check his depression and anxiety guide!
Nervous Breakdown
October 29, 2009
A nervous breakdown refers to a mainstream and often-used term to generically describe someone who experiences a bout of mental illness that is so severe, it directly impacts their ability to function in everyday life. The specific mental illness can be anything – depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, or something else. But the reference to a “nervous breakdown” usually refers to the fact that the person has basically stopped their daily routines – going to work, interacting with loved ones or friends, even just getting out of bed to eat or shower.
A nervous breakdown can be seen as a sign that one’s ability to cope with life or a mental illness has been overwhelmed by stress, life events, work or relationship issues. By disconnecting from their regular responsibilities and routines, an individual’s nervous breakdown may allow them to try and regroup their coping skills and temporarily relieve the stress in their life.
Someone with a nervous breakdown may be seen as having “checked out” from society temporarily. They no longer maintain their social relationships with others, and find it difficult or impossible to go to work and may call in sick multiple days in a row. People with a nervous breakdown often don’t even have the coping resources available to take care of themselves, or do much more than rudimentary self-care and maintaining. They may over-eat (if it provides them comfort) or simply fail to eat altogether, not feeling the need or energy to do so.
Since a nervous breakdown is not a clinical or scientific term, it’s meaning can also vary in terms of its length and severity, as well as outcomes. Many people who suffer from a nervous breakdown usually seek out treatment (or have treatment sought out on their behalf by a loved one), and treatment is usually on the serious end of the spectrum of all the interventions available. Inpatient hospitalization for a serious nervous breakdown would not be unusual, to help a person become stabilized and find an effective treatment strategy for the mental disorder they’re affected by.
People who suffer from a nervous breakdown and seek out treatment for it will usually recover from the most extreme depths of the “breakdown” within a few weeks’ time (which may be quickened with inpatient psychiatric treatment). Longer-term recovery usually takes months of ongoing outpatient treatment with mental health specialists, such as a psychiatrist or psychologist.
A nervous breakdown is not a condition to be afraid of, as it is simply an indication of overhwelming stress and mental illness in a person’s life. Loved ones and friends of someone who is suffering from a nervous breakdown should be supportive of the individual’s efforts in seeking help for it.
Carlo Mueres is a gifted depression therapist who have been working with depression for seven years. If you want more his help please check his depression and anxiety guide!
Uk Food Market Growth
October 26, 2009
Nostalgic and ‘retro’ foods have helped drive continued sales value growth in the UK food and beverage market even as the country entered recession, according to a new report from Leatherhead Food Research.
The global movement toward comfort eating has grown as the economic climate has worsened and many food companies have sought to cash in on the trend by reintroducing discontinued product lines and expanding in categories like frozen foods and desserts.
Market research manager at Leatherhead Chris Brockman told FoodNavigator.com: “The nostalgia trend has intensified this year: People are going back to comfort foods and emotional eating. Canned foods have been doing quite well and sales of things like jellies and frozen desserts are performing well.”
Leatherhead’s UK Food and Drinks Report 2009 covers market information from 2004 to 2008, so although it reports three percent annual sales value growth during this time, the full effects of the recession may not yet be apparent.
“Clearly the recession intensified at the beginning of this year so the figures are likely to get worse,” said Brockman.
Comebacks
However, products that hark back to better times have proved popular with cash-strapped consumers.
Brockman gives the example of Birdseye’s Arctic Roll, a frozen dessert which was popular in the UK during the 1970s and 80s, but lost fans in the early 1990s, leading the company to discontinue the product. It was reintroduced in December.
In addition, he said that consumers are treating themselves to chocolate and confectionery products, even as they are choosing private label products and cutting back on non-food luxuries.
“People are trading down to own label versions but they are always buying treats as well. There is still quite a good market for that,” said Brockman. “We always say that chocolate does very well in a recession, and it has done.”
He said that Mars in particular has done well – and it has also tapped into the trend for nostalgia, by bringing back Treets, its brown-shelled chocolate-covered peanuts, for a limited time, even though it discontinued them in 1988.
Meanwhile, there are marked differences across Europe when it comes to which sections of the food and drink market are doing well.
For example, while the retail sales value of carbonated soft drinks increased in the UK by a modest 5.3 percent from 2004-2008, it shot up in Spain by 22.7 percent. And the sales value of ice cream fell by 10.9 percent in the UK during the period, while it grew by 7.1 percent in Italy.
Stephen Trenen is trainer in a sport club and he runs his own informative website about Best Diet Plans, check it out to learn more really working Diet Plans.
categories: diet,food,health,fitness,help,blogs,free,advice,education,sickness,illness,weight loss
Forget Diets Over The Holidays
October 25, 2009
Changing your focus from dieting to living healthy during the holidays boosts the chances of maintaining your perfect weight.
“Many of us will gain at least five pounds from the middle of October through New Year’s Day,” said Stefanie Barthmare, a psychotherapist with the Methodist Weight Management Center in Houston. “Because weight gain is gradual, we don’t realize the damage of our indulgences right away. But the scale tells all when the holidays are over. That’s why “lose weight” is at the top of our New Year’s resolution every year.”
Barthmare says stop counting every calorie and restricting yourself from your holiday favorites and instead try focusing on the core elements of living a healthy lifestyle, i.e. staying active in your everyday life.
“If you can’t get to the gym, do whatever it takes to move your body. Walk the dog more, plan a walking coffee break at work, play in the yard with the kids after dinner, or throw the football around with your brothers,” Barthmare said. “Plan an active, rather than a passive vacation this holiday season. If you normally go somewhere to sit, read and eat, plan a trip where you hike, bike or ski. Learn a new sport just for fun, and notice the impact on your waistline.”
Have a plan for days when there will be high calorie meals and possibly stressful family gatherings that cause you to eat comfort foods. Not planning is what leads to trouble.
“The once-a-year mentality contributes to overindulgence, which eventually leads to weight gain,” Barthmare said. “You can still have a serving of grandma’s stuffing or mom’s apple pie, the stuff you only get once a year, but it’s important to develop a strategy. Filling up on more high fiber, high volume foods earlier in the day will give yourself a better chance of maintaining your weight. Also, then there’s not as much room for the seconds at dessert.”
Another way to avoid overindulgence is to turn the focus of holiday gatherings away from food and to connecting with family and friends. Put more emphasis on finding out what others have been doing, what you have in common and how you can support one another at holiday functions.
“If you’ve been dieting all year long, you’re going to want to cut loose during the holidays and indulge in all your favorite treats,” Barthmare said. “But, this year, try switching the focus. Eat well all year, keep your body moving and make time for connections. Then you can have some guilt free holiday indulgences without sacrificing the goal of maintaining your perfect weight.
Stephen Trenen is trainer in a sport club and he runs his own informative website about Best Diet Plans, check it out to learn more tried-out Diet Plans.
Web Surf Saves Your Aging Brain
October 25, 2009
Surfing the Internet just might be a way to preserve your mental skills as you age.
Researchers found that older adults who started browsing the Web experienced improved brain function after only a few days.
“You can teach an old brain new technology tricks,” said Dr. Gary Small, a psychiatry professor at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the author of iBrain. With people who had little Internet experience, “we found that after just a week of practice, there was a much greater extent of activity particularly in the areas of the brain that make decisions, the thinking brain – which makes sense because, when you’re searching online, you’re making a lot of decisions,” he said. “It’s interactive.”
Small is co-author of the research, which was scheduled to be presented Monday in Chicago at the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting.
“This makes intuitive sense, that getting on the Internet and exploring and getting new information and learning would help,” said Paul Sanberg, director of the University of South Florida Center of Excellence for Aging and Brain Repair in Tampa. “It supports the value of exploring the Internet for the elderly.”
Most experts now advocate a “use-it-or-lose-it” approach to mental functioning.
“We found a number of years ago that people who engaged in cognitive activities had better functioning and perspective than those who did not,” said Dr. Richard Lipton, a professor of neurology and epidemiology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City and director of the Einstein Aging Study. “Our study is often referenced as the crossword-puzzle study – that doing puzzles, writing for pleasure, playing chess and engaging in a broader array of cognitive activities seem to protect against age-related decline in cognitive function and also dementia.”
The new study takes the use-it-or-lose-it concept into the 21st century.
For the research, 24 neurologically normal adults, aged 55 to 78, were asked to surf the Internet while hooked up to an MRI machine. Before the study began, half the participants had used the Internet daily, and the other half had little experience with it.
After an initial MRI scan, the participants were instructed to do Internet searches for an hour on each of seven days in the next two weeks. They then returned to the clinic for more brain scans.
“At baseline, those with prior Internet experience showed a much greater extent of brain activation,” Small said.
After at-home practice, however, those who had just been introduced to the Internet were catching up to those who were old hands, the study found.
“This is a demonstration that, over a relatively short period of time, patterns of brain activation while engaging in cognitive activities change,” Lipton said. “That is at least a first step toward gaining insight into the mechanisms that might allow cognitive engagement to influence brain function.”
But, Small said, beware how you use the Internet.
“You can exercise your mind by using the Internet, but it depends on how it’s used,” he explained. “If you get hooked on gambling or eBay shopping, that may not be positive.
Carlo Mueres is a experienced depression therapist who have been working with depression for seven years. If you want more his help please check his depression and anxiety guide!