Category: Depression

One way that depression could be ‘good’ for you comes from a radical positive view of depression.

People who are depressed find it easier to let go of goals that are hurting them, research finds.

Depression could be a useful mechanism to stop people doing things that are making them unhappy.

For example, depression could stop people from:

• working too hard,
• taking on too many commitments outside work,
• or aiming for an impossible goal.

Unobtainable goals could spark bouts of depression, which then encourage the person to give up.

This unusual view of depression as a ‘useful’ state comes from a paper published in the Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry.

For the study, some people who were depressed and some who were not were asked to solve some anagrams.

The trick was that some of the anagrams could not be solved.

Ms Katharina Koppe, the study’s first author, explained:

“These unsolvable tasks represented unattainable goals, which it was necessary to give up as soon as possible in order to use the time effectively.”

The results showed that people who were depressed spent less time on the unsolvable anagrams than the control group.

However, depressed people spent the same amount of time on the anagrams that could be solved — showing they still pushed on with tasks that could be completed.

Professor Klaus Rothermund, who co-authored the study, said:

“The general lack of motivation that is typical of many patients with depression apparently gives rise to a greater ability to abandon goals, and one could use this in therapy.”

Giving up on an impossible task is clearly beneficial — as long as the unattainable goal is replaced with something meaningful that can be achieved.

Ms Koppe said:

“If we stop seeing depression simply as a psychological burden, which just needs to be removed through therapy, we might also be able to use the patient’s crisis as an opportunity for personal development.”

The study was published in the Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry (Koppe et al., 2016).

The more mental health problems people had early on, the greater their memory problems in later life.

Episodes of depression early in life are linked to memory loss later on, research finds.

People who experience depression and anxiety in their 20s, 30s and 40s tend to develop memory problems in their 50s.

It suggests depression might lead to dementia in later life.

Tackling depression and anxiety in young adulthood may help to reduce memory problems as well as the risk of dementia.

Approaches such as meditation, exercise and maintaining strong relationships can all help.

Dr. Darya Gaysina, study co-author, said:

“We found that the more episodes of depression people experience in their adulthood, the higher risk of cognitive impairment they have later in life.

This finding highlights the importance of effective management of depression to prevent the development of recurrent mental health problems with long-term negative outcomes.”

The conclusions come from a study that followed over 18,000 babies born in 1958, who have been followed into adulthood.

The results showed that the more mental health problems people had early on, the greater their memory problems in later life.

A single episode of depression or anxiety had little effect later on.

However, two or three episodes in their 20s, 30s or 40s were linked to worse memory function in their 50s.

Ms Amber John, the study’s first author, said:

“We knew from previous research that depressive symptoms experienced in mid adulthood to late adulthood can predict a decline in brain function in later life but we were surprised to see just how clearly persistent depressive symptoms across three decades of adulthood are an important predictor of poorer memory function in mid-life.

…this research should be a wake up call to do what you can to protect your mental health, such as maintaining strong relationships with friends and family, taking up physical exercise or practicing mindfulness meditation—all of which have been shown to boost mental health.”

The study was published in the The British Journal of Psychiatry (John et al., 2019).

Depression is more than just the experience of negative emotions, like sadness and anxiety.

People who have difficulty experiencing positive emotions are at greater risk of depression, research finds.

A lack of ‘positive affectivity’ is one aspect of the personality trait of introversion.

People with low levels of positive affectivity tend to lack cheerfulness and optimism and they can be lethargic and distressed.

Their brains also typically have lower levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine, leading to a ‘flatter’ emotional state.

Introvert vulnerability

The conclusions come from a study of 2,942 adults who were followed over four years.

All were given tests of depression and aspects of the personality trait of extraversion: sociability, activity and positive affectivity.

People who are high in positive affectivity tend to be more confident, energetic, alert and enthusiastic.

Positive affectivity is an aspect of extraversion — so a lack of it is linked to being an introvert.

The authors explain the results:

“…trait depression had a large association with lack of positive affectivity, while trait social anxiety showed moderately strong associations with both low sociability and lack of positive affectivity.”

Social anxiety was also linked to the personality trait of low positive affectivity, the authors write:

“…socially anxious individuals reported fewer everyday positive emotions and positive events than did non-anxious individuals.

In contrast to other anxiety conditions, excessive social anxiety seems to be associated with diminished positive subjective experiences.”

Work on positive emotions

One way to combat depression and anxiety may be by working on positive emotions, along with targeting negative emotions.

The authors write:

“…boosting positive emotionality may be a treatment goal not only in the treatment of depression but also in the treatment of social anxiety.

It has recently been shown that mindfulness-based cognitive therapy is associated with increased experience of momentary positive emotions as well as greater appreciation of, and enhanced responsiveness to, pleasant daily-life activities in persons vulnerable to depression.

Moreover, engaging in kind acts has been found to increase positive affect in socially anxious individuals.”

The study was published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences (Spinhoven et al., 2014).

Hundreds of studies have linked a better diet with improved mental health.

Adding more fibre to the diet is linked to a lower risk of depression.

Dietary fibre is mostly found in legumes, fruits, vegetables and whole grains.

Fibre is commonly recommended for a healthy diet as it reduces the risk of heart disease, diabetes and some types of cancer.

But it has also repeatedly been linked to a lower risk of depression.

The latest findings come from a study of almost 6,000 pre- and post-menopausal women.

The results showed that in pre-menopausal women higher fibre intake was linked to a lower risk of depression.

The link was not, however, seen in post-menopausal women.

Higher fibre intake improves the diversity and richness of the gut’s microbiota.

Dr. Stephanie Faubion, director of the The North American Menopause Society, said:

“This study highlights an important link between dietary fiber intake and depression, but the direction of the association is unclear in this observational study, such that women with better mental health may have had a healthier diet and consumed more fiber, or a higher dietary fiber intake may have contributed to improved brain health by modulating the gut microbiome or some combination.

Nonetheless, it has never been more true that ‘you are what you eat,’ given that what we eat has a profound effect on the gut microbiome which appears to play a key role in health and disease.”

Diet and mental health

Hundreds of studies have linked a better diet with improved mental health.

For example, studies have shown a link between a diet rich in vegetables, nuts, fruits and fish and a lower risk of depression.

Raw fruits and vegetables in particular have been linked to better mental health.

Avoiding a high-fat diet can reduce depressive behaviour in mice.

Reducing the intake of common inflammatory foods including fast food, cake and processed meats reduces the risk of depression.

Similarly, cutting down on refined carbohydrates, such as white bread, white rice and soda, may lower depression risk.

All sorts of positive dietary changes, including weight loss, fat reduction and nutrient boosting diets, have been shown to improve mental health.

The study was published in the journal Menopause (Kim et al., 2020).

People eating this way are less likely to suffer from depression and other mental health problems.

People who eat intuitively have a lower chance of developing mental health problems, research finds.

Eating intuitively means eating based on hunger and fullness.

Dieting or restricting food intake is the opposite of intuitive eating.

Everyone is probably an intuitive eater when they are born.

But, over the years, the effects of social conditioning change how some people view food.

People learn that wasting food is bad, that certain tasty foods should be avoided, along with a host of other rules.

Unfortunately, these rules can paradoxically make people desire the banned foods more.

Some end up eating to excess because of the restrictions they have placed on themselves.

The conclusions come from a study of 1,491 adolescents who were tracked over 8 years, between the ages of around 14 to 22.

They were all asked questions like:

• do you stop eating when you are full?
• do you trust your body to tell you how much to eat?
• do you eat everything on your plate, even when no longer hungry?

The idea was to see whether the young people were trusting their own internal bodily states or following some external guidelines.

The results showed that intuitive eaters tend to trust their own body so they stop when they are full, rather than when the plate is empty.

Intuitive eaters, it emerged, experienced fewer depressive symptoms, more satisfaction with their body, higher self-esteem, less binge eating and fewer extreme or unhealthy weight control behaviours.

People with the intuitive food behaviours were 74 percent less likely to binge eat.

Dr Vivienne Hazzard, the study’s first author, said:

“The fact that these results came from such a diverse sample suggests that the benefits of intuitive eating seem to cut across racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic lines.”

The study was published in the Eating and Weight Disorders – Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia and Obesity (Hazzard et al., 2020).