Depression Boosts Blindness Risk for Diabetics

African Americans with type 1 diabetes who are depressed are more likely to have poor control over their blood sugar levels and, over time, experience a more rapid progression of diabetic retinopathy, a new study shows. In previous research with the same group of patients, Dr. Monique S. Roy of UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School in Newark and her colleagues found that poor control over blood sugar (glucose), high blood pressure and kidney disease were primary medical risk factors for diabetic retinopathy, damage to the blood vessels around the retina. However, these factors only explain 37 percent of the variation in retinopathy severity in these patients...  Read More   |   Discuss   |   Suggest An Article

Is it Depression or your Thyroid?

In the twelve years that I've been writing about depression, I have often included the caution that it is very important to have a complete physical examination to eliminate any underlying conditions that might be causing the depression. Chief among these conditions that can cause depression is thyroid malfunction. A few months ago, I came down with strep throat. Simultaneously I started feeling a lump in my throat. After several doctor's appointments, I was finally diagnosed, tentatively, with thyroiditis, an inflammation of the thyroid... Read More   |   Discuss   |   Suggest An Article 

Parental Stress Can Keep Kids Obese

Parental stress or bullying by peers can make it even tougher for overweight or obese children to get healthy, a U.S. study finds. "If a parent is distressed, that seems to impact a child's symptoms of depression, which then impacts quality of life. It's the same with peer victimization. It impacts depression, which then impacts quality of life. And it seems to affect not just the emotional aspect of quality of life, but also their health status," lead author David Janicke, assistant professor of clinical and health psychology in the University of Florida College of Public Health and Health Professions, in Gainesville, said in a prepared statement... Read More   |   Discuss   |   Suggest An Article

Smaller Light Device Useful for Winter Blues

Treatment with a light-emitting diode (LED) device is effective for seasonal affective disorder, according to a report in an August 7th online release from BMC Psychiatry... Read More   |   Discuss   |   Suggest An Article

What to Do When Your Partner is Depressed

Relationships with our partners can be complicated when both people are mentally and emotionally healthy. When one person becomes depressed, it can play havoc with the dynamics of a relationship, even one that was previously stable. As the person on "the outside," it may be hard to understand what your partner is going through, unless you've been depressed yourself. But being able to empathize with your partner's internal struggle is not as important as learning how to balance helping your partner with staying emotionally healthy yourself... Read More   |   Discuss   |   Suggest An Article

Back to School – Time for Depression?

I know that the idea in itself is depressing. After all, isn’t back to school time for fresh starts and new pencils and all that jazz? If you’re wondering what happened to the past summer’s happy kid and are concerned that your child, or a child you know is depressed, here’s my perspective. I grew up with undiagnosed depression. It seems to have begun when my family moved to a town where a child’s social life and self-worth revolved around playing sports. I, as a bespectacled, uncoordinated bookworm, definitely did not fit in. I was the target of teasing and some physical bullying. In addition, I had undiagnosed ADD, which made certain aspects of schoolwork very difficult as well as causing me to lose focus pretty frequently. A few teachers appreciated my love of reading, but let’s face it – most teachers don’t like the geeky misfits any more than the kids do. .. Read More   |   Discuss   |   Suggest An Article

Why Sunday Nights Stink, or How We try to Escape Depression

Why is Sunday night the cruelest night of the whole week to a person with depression? You would think that all nights would be bad with depression, which is basically true. But I think, without a doubt, Sunday nights are the worst. I remember that when I was depressed, Sunday nights seemed like the absolute pit of despair. They were even worse, in some ways, than Monday morning. The cause boiled down to one thing: escapism. If you work or go to school, weekends are, for the most part, the only time you can use escapism to, well, escape from depression... Read More   |   Discuss   |   Suggest An Article

Farmers Have Lowest Levels Of Happiness Among Self-employed People

According to a new report published in Occupational and Environmental Medicine, farmers fare badly on every measure of health and quality of life, despite the fact that self-employment has been shown to be advantageous for productivity... Read More   |   Discuss   |   Suggest An Article

What You Need to Know Before Joining an Online Support Group

I believe that online support groups can be a real boon to someone with depression who is seeking peer support. They, by their very nature, overcome some of the barriers that keep people from seeking peer support offline, in the real world. However, there are still some barriers to overcome and caveats to keep in mind when using online support forums... Read More   |   Discuss   |   Suggest An Article

Fending Off Depression with Exercise: Five Ways to Stay Motivated

It's one of the best things you can do for your mind and body. Here's how to break a sweat when it's the last thing you want to do. Whether you're in the midst of a difficult time or feeling good and wanting to stay that way, exercise is an important piece of the puzzle. But how to make yourself exercise when you have no energy, no motivation to leave your house, and certainly no desire to break a sweat? Here are five tips that will keep you moving... Read More   |   Discuss   |   Suggest An Article