The Mediterranean Diet

December 21, 2009 in Uncategorized | Tags: , , | by Nathan | Leave a comment

There’s a recent article on the bbc website on the ‘Mediterranean diet’, and depression. A recent study found evidence that those who are on a Mediterranean diet are 30% less likely to experience depression than those not on such a diet. The authors of the study state that more research is needed to confirm the results, but in the meantime this result reminds the importance of eating well. If you don’t eat well, your body isn’t going to be as healthy, and if your body isn’t healthy, it’s difficult to be mentally healthy. So with new years is looming, maybe it’s a good time to consider making a resolution to have a healthier diet?

If you’re looking at changing your diet, there are a number of approaches. The general rules are usually pretty well known; It’s important to get your fruit and vegetables (five plus a day!), and it’s usually a good idea to make sure we’re not eating too many calories, especially from animal fats (like KFC) or high glycemic index carbs (like white bread) – unless you’re an athlete, in which case you can eat a little more. It’s also nice to get some fish in your diet, as fish are a good source of omega-3s, and a good source of protein (especially for people who are uncomfortable eating other meats).

Now, looking the Mediterranean diet in particular, it emphasizes a couple of things:

  • High consumption of lots unsaturated fats (generally but not always plant fats), especially olive oil. This is in contrast to saturated (generally animal) fats.
  • High consumption of fruits and nuts, cereals, vegetables and fish
  • Medium consumption of alcohol (e.g. red wine) and dairy products. Personally, I’d exercise some caution with the alcohol, as a high consumption of alcohol is not a good thing for you physically or mentally  – Additionally, alcohol and anti-depressants are a bad combination, so if you’re on antidepressants, I’d be very cautious consuming any alcohol.
  • Low consumption of meat
So there you have it. The Mediterranean diet. If you’re looking to try something new, maybe try and put a bit of Mediterranean into your diet? Get a Mediterranean cookbook (or do a quick google search), and try out a few recipes. If you like a recipe / food that’s healthy, keep it, if you don’t like a recipe / food, look for another one. Make a few changes at a time and build yourself a healthier diet. It’s not going to solve all your problems, but it’s one step towards being healthier.
Mediterranean

Australian Politicians and Depression

November 27, 2009 in Uncategorized | Tags: , , | by Nathan | Leave a comment

I know there’s a bit of a rivalry between us and the country across the ditch, but I came across this article in an Australian news paper. I don’t know much about Australian politics, or who Andrew Robb is, but it’s good to hear that he is speaking out about his depression. To use his words: “It’s much easier, I think, if those you love and you work with and your mates … they know about it and they can help you rather than you try and hide it and live a lie.”.

Sharing personal struggles can be challenging, but it can also be rewarding.

Activity and Depression

September 17, 2009 in Uncategorized | Tags: , , , | by Nathan | Leave a comment

I came across an article talking about the benefits of yoga to depression and lower back pain, here. While the article doesn’t really talk much about how Yoga would help depression, I can think of a few reasons why yoga might be good for our mood:

  • Yoga is often done in groups, so you get some social contact. Sometimes we can find people annoying, and sometimes we just want to be alone, but other times it’s good to mix with people.
  • Practicing Yoga it is usually a calming and relaxing exercise, which directly makes us feel better. And most exercise is generally good for the body and the mind.
  • Doing new things often comes a self of self-accomplishment, it’s nice experiencing new things, and adding to our skills.

Come to think of it, part of the benefit is directly yoga, but part of it comes from just getting out there and being active. I wonder if anyone’s done any research on the beneficial effects of starting a new hobby? Whether it’s joining a social netball team, a dance class, or whatever, if it involves doing things with people, and trying out new things, it’s hard to see it not being helpful.

So, if you’re at a place where you have a lot of time on your hands, maybe you should think about getting out there and trying something new? It could be yoga, could be something else. Either way, it’s probably worth giving it a go.

TV One: Taming the Black Dog

August 25, 2009 in Uncategorized | Tags: , , | by Nathan | Leave a comment

On Sunday there was a clip about depression on TV One, if you didn’t see it, you can catch it on TVNZ ondemand. The segment covers a couple of personal experiences, as well as having an interview with a Doctor. There is also some discussion on how to recognize depression in yourself, and others, and what should be done about it. Worth a watch.

Time Article on Eco-Therapy

August 22, 2009 in Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | by Nathan | Leave a comment

A couple of months ago, we wrote about an ecological perspective on depression. I recently noticed Time Magazine has an article on Eco-Therapy. A couple of interesting exerpts:

…Eco-therapists point out that human beings have evolved in synchrony with nature for millions of years and that we are hard-wired to interact with our environment — with the air, water, plants, other animals. But in the past two centuries, beginning with the Industrial Revolution, people have been steadily removed from the natural world, our lives regulated not by the sun or moon but instead by the factory clock. Recently it’s gotten worse, with the rise of the Internet and other technologies, like iPhones and BlackBerrys, that dominate our lives, pushing us even further from any appreciation of our natural surroundings…

…A 2007 study by researchers at the University of Essex in England found that a daily dose of walking outside could be as effective as taking antidepressant drugs for treating mild to moderate depression. Of course, it’s no secret that regular exercise is a powerful mood enhancer — although researchers noted that a similar regimen of walking in a crowded shopping mall did not have the same impact — and the boost in vitamin D production in people who spent more time outside in the sun surely helped as well…

Food for thought.

Telephone Support for Post-Partum Depression

August 2, 2009 in Uncategorized | Tags: , , , | by Nathan | Leave a comment

I just came across an article discussing an intervention aimed at reducing post partum depression in mothers. Basically, mothers who had been through post partum depression received training, then regularly called new mothers. While 25% of ‘high risk’ mothers receiving usual care reported reported significant depressive symptoms, only 14% of ‘high risk’ mothers who received peer support reported significant symptoms.

Peer support is a big part of what the depression support network offers, so it’s good to see it’s effectiveness demonstrated in studies. The research also reminds us of the importance of keeping up contact with others when we’re going through tough times.

St John’s Wort

July 19, 2009 in Anti-Depressants, Research | Tags: , , , , | by Nathan | Leave a comment

The Irish Times has an article on St John’s Wort. St John’s Wort is a herbal remedy that has been quite popular in the treatment of depression. Interestingly, in some countries, for example Ireland and Germany, preparations of St John’s Wort are prescribed by Doctors to treat mild depression. In Germany, St John’s Wort extracts are prescribed more than other anti-depressant medications.

A recent review found that extracts of St John’s Wort were effective in treating major depression, having similar efficacy to standard antidepressants. There were also indications that St John’s Wort has fewer side effects. However, the authors noted there was a difference in the results from studies from German and Non-German speaking countries, which could mean some studies from German speaking countries were overoptimistic. Alternatively, it could be due to better administration of St John’s Wort in German speaking countries.

The mechanism by which St John’s Wort has this effect is currently unknown. There is some indication that some components – hyperforin and hypericin – may block serotonin re uptake, achieving a similar effect to conventional SSRIs. However, an extract of St John’s Wort without hyperforin still has antidepressant effects. St John’s Wort contains a number of different compounds, and this makes it difficult to establish which compounds are responsible for it’s effects.

It should be noted that St John’s Wort interacts with many drugs. For example, St John’s Wort can cause Serotonin Syndrome when taken with other antidepressants, presumably because both effect Serotonin. Also, St John’s Wort can interact with drugs that act on different parts of the body. This occurs when drug metabolism is altered – St John’s Wort can increase the rate which the body processes the drug, and so decrease the amount of active drug left in the body. For example, St John’s Wort can cause oral contraceptives to be ineffective. (A list of interactions is on wikipedia). For this reason, it is recommended that St John’s Wort should be only be taken after consultation with your Doctor.

So, St John’s Wort is a herbal antidepressant that can be effective in treating depression, and with less side effects. However, as with most medications, it is not advisable to take St John’s Wort without consulting your Doctor -especially if you are on other medications.

Listening to Depression

July 13, 2009 in Depression Awareness, Resources, Self-Help | Tags: , , | by Nathan | 1 comment

I came across an interesting article today, reviewing a book called ‘Listening to Depression’. The premise of the book is to not treat Depression as a problem in your life, but as reaction to problems in your life. The article uses the analogy of a warning light coming on when a plane drifts off course, to let the pilot know to make some changes to get back on course. So the experience of  depression is our brain’s way of letting us know that something is not right.

The analogy of a warning light is good, as it reminds us what to focus on. Sometimes we focus so much on the symptoms of depression, and forget about dealing with the underlying issues. It can be worthwhile to take a step back and stop focusing on the ‘warning light’, and look at what is setting the ‘warning light’ off in the first place.

The article has an exercise you can go through to try and explore what has set off your ‘warning light’, which I’ve copied here so you can try it:

Read the rest of this entry »

A cultural perspective on Depression

June 18, 2009 in Issues, Research, Self-Help, Studies | Tags: , , , , , , , , | by Nathan | 2 comments

One of the more startling findings is that the rate of depression in the western world has been on the increase over the past century. One study (summary here) found the rate of major depression in U.S. adults increased from 3.33% to 7.06% over a ten year period. The study interviewed a large sample, and used their own questions, rather than relying on the numbers diagnosed by doctors, so an increase in the rates of diagnosis wouldn’t explain the result. The study found increasing substance abuse could account for some, but not all of the change.

One researcher has explained the increase in depression in cultural terms. Stephen Ilardi, from the University of Kansas, argues that depression arises because people are more adapted to primitive times:

“As a species, humans were never designed for the pace of modern life, we’re designed for a different time — a time when people were physically active, when they were outside in the sun for most of the day, when they had extensive social connections and enjoyed continual face time with their friends and loved ones, when they experienced very little social isolation, when they had a much different diet, when they got considerably more sleep and when they had much less in the way of a relentless, demanding, stress-filled existence.” (Source: Kansas University News)

His six recommendations for depression are to get more physical activity, spend more time in the sun, keep up social connections, improve our diet (by eating more food with omega-3s, and less fast foods), getting more sleep, and engaging ourselves in tasks to avoid rumination. I’ve come across similar recommendations before, and they are good self-care behaviours.

The thing about culture is that we can often be sucked into thinking that the way we do things is the way things are meant to be done. So we should look at whether we’re buying into the modern high-stress culture, and consider whether we should make some changes to our lives. Maybe it’s time to go ’primitive’, and live healthier lives?

Male Postpartum Depression

June 7, 2009 in Depression Awareness | Tags: , , , | by Nathan | Leave a comment

Postpartum Depression is a form of depression that affects parents after the birth of their children. It is speculated that the stress of childbirth, lifestyle changes associated with having children, and for women, hormonal changes can precipitate a depressive episode in parents. Although men don’t undergo childbirth, it can still be a stressful time. I recently came across two stories on CNN, and The Daily Mail, telling stories about Male Postpartum depression.

It’s interesting to note that male postpartum depression can often occurwhen the partner also has postpartum depression. If your partner is depressed, not only does this mean having to spend more time caring for your new born, but also supporting your partner. The lesson here is that if you’re supporting someone through a difficult time, be aware that you’re vulnerable yourself, so make sure you’re getting the support you need, otherwise you might find yourself getting depressed.

Another lesson to take away from this is to be prepared. If you’ve got a history of depression, be aware of things which can put you under stress, such as child birth, and be aware of the signs you see when you get depressed. If you start to see signs that you aren’t coping, do something about it.

If you’re looking at doing something about depression (whether or not you’re a parent) have a look at some of the links on the side bar, or contact us. If you’re interested in reading more about Postpartum Depression, there’s a lengthy wikipedia article on it.