Yoga helps pregnant women deal with depression

Pregnancy affects both the physical health of women and their mental well-being. Sometimes you can hear even such a term as “pregnant depression.” Most women do not want to take medications to treat this condition, nor do they visit a psychotherapist. Scientists have found that yoga helps to improve well-being and helps to set up a pregnant woman in the right way. Information on this subject was provided by Business Standard.

As part of the study, 34 women did perinatal yoga. The program was developed taking into account the capabilities and potential of women bearing a child. During the study, experts evaluated the mental status of the subjects and the dynamics of changes that occurred in the behavior of women.

If no changes were detected in the control group, then the mental state of many women who practiced yoga improved. At the same time, a moderate depressive state turned out to be converted into a mild form, and the simple forms of depression neutralized themselves.

What are the benefits and harms of antidepressants?

According to statistics, about 40% of people around the world live in non-stop mode. Such an intense pace of life, combined with mental stress, lack of rest and poor nutrition negatively affects the human body. There is a depletion of the nervous system, as a result of which chronic stress, neurosis, and then depression occur.

Depression is a dangerous and underestimated disease, characterized by a depressed psychological state, a feeling of dissatisfaction, anxiety, irritability, interest in life disappears, a feeling of hopelessness, and sometimes suicidal thoughts. In the absence of proper treatment, this condition can lead to serious consequences and cause complex mental illness and attempted suicide.

Of course, depression, like any other disease, requires treatment. But in this condition, people are usually not in a hurry to find the cause of the disease, but immediately goes for sedatives to the pharmacy, in particular antidepressants. As you know, even a short intake of such drugs can quickly solve the problem of a decadent state, providing a person with the desired reassurance, uplifting and coloring the surrounding world with different colors. But is it that simple? Recent studies show that antidepressants do not bring any benefit, but only harm the human body.

How antidepressants work

According to doctors, the effect of psychotropic drugs (antidepressants) is aimed at regulating the chemical imbalance in the body, compensating for the lack of such hormones of joy and happiness as serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine. After receiving such a “charge of vivacity and joy,” people forget about their worries and worries, they lose their lethargy and apathy, and they have a good sleep, good mood and appetite.

After reading the instructions for these drugs, it immediately becomes clear that they are not able to solve the problem of depression, because they do not affect the cause of its occurrence and do not eliminate stress factors. Thus, after a certain time after taking medication is completed, depression again makes itself felt. Thus, the question arises: is it worth taking drugs that are not able to treat, but only temporarily mask the problem?

What is the danger of taking antidepressants

According to the results of modern studies of antidepressants, it has been established that such drugs are not only ineffective, but also harm human health. After analyzing the harm from the use of antidepressants, doctors identified two key problems – addiction to the drug with further withdrawal syndrome and liver damage.

If we talk about liver damage, then the greatest harm to the body is caused by the amitiptilin component, which belongs to the group of tricyclic antidepressants. Its prolonged use can cause toxic drug hepatitis. Although the “withdrawal syndrome” is no less dangerous for the body. Those people who suffer from depression and chronic stress are constantly on antidepressants. Consequently, a sharp rejection of their use can provoke attacks of pronounced aggression in them, and sometimes even with attempts to lay their hands on themselves. This condition can be caused by an acute deficit of serotonin, the normal level of which was previously artificially ensured by the use of antidepressants. To avoid the appearance of withdrawal syndrome, the cessation of antidepressant use should be smooth.

What do we know about dysthymia

Do you, your relatives and friends have mood disorders? We have heard of a form of affective disorder such as depression. In some ways, the mood disorder in question will be reminiscent of depression. This is dysthymia. This disease has special manifestations, which allows you to select it in a separate group.

How dysthymia differs from depression

In a state of dysthymia, the picture of symptoms is slightly blurred compared to depression. Common to these two conditions is the episodic decline in mood. Although dysthymia is easier, its constancy depresses a person for many years. In everyday life, such people are pessimists dissatisfied with their lives, looking with the same pessimism into the future; they are deeply unhappy.

Manifestations of dysthymia

More often than not, women suffer from this mental disorder. The age composition is diverse: adults, adolescents, and even children. The percentage of prevalence of this disorder in the world is quite high. Among the symptoms – apathy to what surrounds, stay in a depressed mood. Indifference to loved ones can reach extreme forms and hurt them, which reduces the quality of family relationships and is attributed to selfishness.
The development of an inferiority complex leads to a prolonged feeling of uselessness, loneliness, hopelessness and fear. From such experiences is the depletion of the nervous system, vitality. As a result, only physical and mental inferiority remains with the person.
A person overcomes basic everyday worries with great difficulty. The need to make responsible decisions introduces him into a stupor. The fact that most people do not have any problems for a person suffering from dysthymia can be a huge problem: for example, paying for travel, choosing clothes in a store, buying groceries.
In addition, if a person is in a state of dysthymia, his appetite and sleep are disturbed, which leads to a deterioration in physical condition. Such people suffer from frequent headaches. Their suffering often leads to thoughts of death as a way to get rid of a painful existence.

Features of dysthymia, in contrast to depression

Dysthymia occurs due to the influence of several factors on a person at the same time
• Banal low level of production of serotonin – a hormone of joy;
• Genetic conditioning for the occurrence of dysthymia;
• Problems of interpersonal relationships, problems at work, a series of life troubles.
For the whole life of a person, no matter how much we would like it, they leave an imprint of an event and even a disease of the past. Various mental disorders arise due to the destruction of the protective mechanisms of the nervous system.

Why it is necessary to consult a specialist.

It is very important in the treatment of this disorder to make a diagnosis. This cannot be done outside a specialized clinic. It should be recognized that due to the blurred symptoms, their similarity with the symptoms of a number of other nervous disorders, an accurate diagnosis is not easy.
Treatment must be started as early as possible, because irreversible changes occur in the patient’s mental state, the situation is aggravated, and the psyche can be completely destroyed.

Treatment of dysthymia

A widespread treatment method is psychotherapy and drug therapy. Although this disorder is not easily treated, experience nevertheless shows that an integrated approach gives good results.
Drug treatment involves the use of antidepressants, as well as drugs designed to stabilize processes in the brain. Psychotherapeutic sessions are designed to teach you to overcome negative emotions, increase vitality, gain faith in yourself and love of life.
If you suspect you have a similar problem, there is no reason to panic. Today, many people are faced with mental disorders, and medicine is moving forward in the fight against them. It is necessary to enlist the support of loved ones, to choose an adequate treatment. In combination with the desire to restore mental health and balance, the result of treatment can become unexpectedly high.

Scientists: divorce is aging a woman

It has long been proven that married life has a beneficial effect on the condition of men. It not only allows them to feel comfortable, but also extends their life. American scientists have proven that in a similar way, married life affects women.

Researchers conducted an experiment that lasted for 2 years. It involved more than 35 thousand married couples. During this period, doctors carefully recorded the state of health of people who took part in the experiment. At the same time, scientists discovered a curious pattern: when couples broke up, and even more so filed for divorce, the health of women in them worsened sharply.

In addition, the researchers revealed another surprising feature. The longer a woman remains divorced after a divorce, the more this affects her health. Cardiovascular and reproductive systems are particularly affected during such periods. In such women, the biological age began to rapidly increase, which even led to a reduction in life expectancy.

Experts note that in ordinary life, women sometimes try not to advertise the fact that they are married. For example, when interviewing for a job, they often remove their wedding rings. But a real divorce in all cases without exception has a very painful effect on women’s health. Moreover, scientists have observed extremely difficult conditions, provoked by the rupture of marriage ties.

Interestingly, parallel studies by Australian scientists fully confirmed the findings of their American colleagues. Examining the psychological state of different categories of the female population, they found that divorced women are twice as likely to be depressed. And this condition is very often the cause of other diseases, which then pursue them.

Scientists told how men experience depression and how women

A group of British neurophysiologists found differences in the response of the brain of a stronger and weaker sex to a depressed state.

According to experts, the information obtained in the framework of the study will fundamentally change the approach to the treatment of severe depression in women and men. So it was found that men are characterized by a protracted depression that can cause suicide, while an episodic feeling of depression is characteristic of the female gender.
This observation became the basis of the work of neurophysiologists, in which they suggested that the control group of subjects give the words an emotional color. In a depressed state, it is difficult for a person to cope with this exercise than an ordinary person. Indications were obtained using a magnetic resonance imager.

It turns out that the brain function of men and women is significantly different. Scientists have discovered a difference in the level of activity of certain sections of the cerebral cortex, which are responsible for consciousness, speech processing, episodic memory, and the perception of people’s thoughts in their surroundings. There have also been violations of some nerve cell connections.

The depressive state affects the brain of men and women in completely different ways, scientists say, therefore, treatment should take place in different ways, taking into account gender differences and brain activity. This will help determine the disease at the initial stage and prescribe successful treatment in especially difficult cases.

Music helps children get rid of depression

A group of scientists from the Royal Research Institute in Belfast conducted a very interesting experiment. Over 250 children and adolescents were invited to participate in it. Moreover, all volunteers suffered from various types of psychological problems and developmental disorders. With the help of experience, scientists wanted to know how music can affect the psycho-emotional development of children.

Previously, the project participants were divided into two groups, which were assigned a specific treatment. A feature of the experiment was that in one of the groups, in addition to the usual treatment, music therapy was additionally used.

After observing two groups of children, the experts made a statement that when using music therapy, children increased self-esteem and depression decreased to a minimum level. In addition, this group of children has significantly improved commutative skills. Scientists note that the effect of such specific therapy persists for a long time, and if combined with the main treatment, much better results can be obtained.

As you know, when working with children and adolescents, music is often used for general development. However, this project has become the largest in recent years and was able to prove that music therapy can help in the treatment of children with certain mental disorders.

Now the main goal of scientists is to study the ways of introducing music therapy during the treatment of children with mental disorders, as well as the degree of its payback.

Postpartum Depression Dad Spoils Child Management

It has long been known that postpartum depression is characteristic not only of young mothers, but also of fathers who have a baby. In addition, as a recent study by specialists from Oxford University showed, postpartum depression of young fathers can cause more serious harm to a child than depression of young mothers after the baby is born. 

According to the authors of the study, depression affects more than five percent of young men who have become fathers. The factors that provoke the development of depression are sleepless nights and a frightening feeling of being in the new status of the father.

Young dads who are depressed spend much less time with their children. In the future, such a lack of paternal attention can lead to the development of behavioral problems in children. This conclusion was made according to the latest research.

Forty men who have recently become fathers were selected for the study. All participants were approximately the same age and had the same level of education. The children of men participating in the study were three months old. It was not previously established which of the men is in a state of postpartum depression. Participants were invited to interact with their children for three minutes. It turned out that those men who least contacted the babies suffered from depression after giving birth.

Depression will be diagnosed by blood test results

If earlier psychiatrists diagnosed depression only on the basis of the patient’s story and history, now it is now possible to determine the level of depression using a blood test. Moreover, with the help of such an analysis, it is possible not only to establish the presence of depression, but also to determine its severity. 

A blood test works on the basis of measuring the concentration of phosphoric acid in the blood, and the content of ethanolamine phosphate in it.

A little earlier, experts found a relationship between the concentration of phosphoric acid and the presence of depression in humans.

People with depression had lower blood ethanolamine levels, less than healthy individuals.

Even when conducting only the first stage of the test, it was found that a blood test for depression gives a very accurate result, and the procedure itself takes only a couple of minutes. 

Earlier attempts to diagnose depression using blood tests were based on a study of leukocytes of the DNA chain. But such tests were not accurate.

The introduction of a new method for the diagnosis of depression makes it possible to reliably make the specified diagnosis. In this case, the procedure is performed quickly, which allows not to start the patient’s condition.

According to the developers of the new method, doctors will be able to use the novelty about a couple of years after all clinical trials and tests are completed.

The cause of female heart attack is depression

Posted on January 6, 2020  in Uncategorized

Women who are experiencing depression in the postmenopausal period increase the risk of heart problems.

Researcher from New York Medical College. Alberta Einstein, along with her colleagues, conducted a study on the relationship of postmenopausal depression with various diseases. The material for this study was the medical history of 95 thousand women over a period of 4.5 years.

The study organizers found that signs of depression are observed in more than 16% of women during postmenopausal women. And accompany this condition of the disease of the heart and blood vessels.

Of all women experiencing postmenopausal depression, approximately 11% more cases of hypertension, 55% more women who have had a stroke and heart attack than among women whose psychological state is within normal limits. Representatives of the weaker sex who have not previously suffered from heart disease, the state of depression increases the risk of death due to heart attack or stroke by 2 times. 

It is necessary to take into account that the use of drugs that suppress the depressive state does not reduce the likelihood of developing heart diseases, nor does it interrupt the relationship of the depressive state with heart diseases.

Researchers have developed several schemes that interpret the relationship of these ailments – this is inhibition of the depressive state of lipid metabolism and the functioning of the autonomic system. Nevertheless, the reasons for this ratio remain unclear.

Social networks provokes the development of depression

Posted on January 2, 2020  in Uncategorized

A group of American experts, after conducting a scientific experiment, was able to determine why depression appears. According to experts, social networks have a strong negative impact on adolescents.
Scientists have found that even one week spent on social networks significantly increases the level of depression. And there are several reasons for this.

According to experts, active users may appear envy, in particular, to subscribers. This can even happen because while sitting at home discouraged from boredom, people look at photos of others and vacationers in warm countries.

Another important problem for modern users is low self-esteem, as well as a sporting sense of inferiority. This can be triggered even by the fact that the user’s photos put few likes.

It is precisely because of these reasons that the negative impact of social networks on the mood of a person, especially adolescents, who are too emotional about every little thing, is made.