Category: Anxiety & Depression

Postpartum Depression May Last for Years

Many women develop depression after giving birth. This is called postpartum depression. A new study found that a large number of women had high levels of depressive symptoms at some point in the three years after giving birth. Researchers asked more than 4,500 women about their symptoms of depression four months and one, two, and…


COVID Dreams: The Pandemic’s Effect On Sleep and Mental Health

Research from the Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health at Australia’s Monash University has shown that the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the sleep habits and dreams of people across the world. The findings came out of a global survey on mental health and sleep, which was carried out during the pandemic with over 2000 participants,…


How Service Dogs Help Vets with PTSD

A service dog can lower the severity of a U.S. military veteran’s post-traumatic stress disorder, according to past research. Hoping to learn more about this therapeutic bond, researchers worked with 82 vets and their trained service dogs. Their study was published July 27 in the journal PLOS One. “This study provides new information about how…


How to Deal With Anxiety Dreams

When you think of a busy time of year, do you think of stress or spirit? Is your “to do” list the first thing that comes to mind or your soul? If it is indeed stress, then you are likely to have typical anxiety dreams that go hand-in-hand with the hectic pace and demanding days you are experiencing…


Early Intervention Critical to Mitigate Mental Health Impact on Children Exposed to Violence

A new study led by researchers from the University of Western Australia (UWA) has found that children exposed to domestic and family violence (DFV) are at a much greater risk of mental health issues such as anxiety and depression than children with no experience of violence, and are also five times more likely to require help…


Lithium: The Cinderella Drug

Dr. Walter Brown begins his 2020 book “Lithium, a Doctor, a Drug and a Breakthrough,” by asking, “What do Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill, and Ernest Hemingway have in common?” The answer is bipolar disorder, previously known as manic-depressive illness. Bipolar disorder is a serious mental illness characterized by extreme mood swings, including extreme excitement (mania)…


Psychoactive Drugs Often Linked to Mass Shootings

We do not know if Robert Crimo III, the confessed Highland Park Fourth of July parade shooter, was on psychoactive drugs when he murdered but we do know that police were called to his home for suicidal behavior and that he was remanded to the psychiatric system. Mass shooters in the U.S. tend to be…


Is Electroconvulsive Therapy Getting a New Image?

There are few psychiatric therapies that are as controversial as electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) which sends pulses of electric currents through the brain to intentionally cause a seizure. Few people would expect it to make a comeback. Intended to treat severe and treatment-resistant depression, severe mania, catatonia, and dementia-associated agitation and aggression, ECT is usually conducted two to…


Adolescents Predisposed to Insomnia-Driven Depression

New Australian research indicates that adolescents’ vulnerability to insomnia increases their likelihood of developing depression. Led by Flinders University in Adelaide, the paper published in the journal Nature Reviews Psychology suggests that a combination of adolescent sleep biology and psychology makes young people vulnerable to developing depression. Lecturer at the School of Psychological Sciences at…


10 Healthy Ways to Flip on the Brain’s ‘Happiness’ Switch

Guiyong Lin, a former vice president of Entie Commercial Bank in Taiwan, was on the verge of reaching the top of his career when he started to suffer from depression and hit the bottom of his life. After being discharged from the hospital, he started hiking. He would go out with a simple meal every…