Weight changes to sleep problems, depression is much more than feeling sad

There is more to clinical depression than just being sad or lonely

Depression is one of the most common mental health disorders that can affect any age-group. In India, the prevalence of depressive disorders is estimated to be 4.5 per cent of the total population. But despite being so common, the signs of depression are not well recognised in the country. In a cross-sectional study conducted on 916 college students, only about a third (29.04 per cent) of the group clearly identified depression.

The signs Of Depression 

There is more to clinical depression than just being sad or lonely. To identify whether you or someone else needs help, it is important to have a better understanding of the signs of depression. Feeling of futility or hopelessness. This is different from feeling helpless about a situation. A depressed person loses perspective of life and largely finds everything futile. Other associated feelings include worthlessness, self-hate, and inappropriate levels of guilt. The person loses interest in the things he/she loved and enjoyed doing and feels withdrawn from life.

Anxiety: This includes nervousness, panic, feeling of danger, rapid breathing and fluttering of heart, increased sweating, trembling muscles and troubled focus.

Sleep problems: Different individuals experience sleep problems differently. Some experience insomnia and others feel excessive sleepiness.

Weight changes: Depression causes people to either gain weight out of compulsive eating habits and inactivity or lose weight due to loss of appetite.

Uncontrollable emotions: Excessive depression can result in outburst of anger, followed by guilt and may be uncontrollable crying. There can be extreme mood swings as well.

Suicidal tendencies: The feelings such as “no one understands” are strongly felt by people with depression that leads to suicidal tendencies.

If you experience such feelings and challenges, you should definitely seek help. If you identify a person with such symptoms, you should take important measures like counseling, therapy and practice deep breathing techniques to immediately calm your thoughts. It is important that a psychologist or psychiatrist is consulted for proper diagnosis and treatment…

Read Source : Business Standard

Back pain linked to risky behaviours in teenagers: Study

Does your adolescent son or daughter suffer from back pain often? Beware, he or she may be more likely to smoke cigarettes, drink alcohol, and report problems like anxiety and depression.

BS | Although often dismissed as trivial and fleeting, adolescent back pain is responsible for substantial health care use, school absence, and interference with day-to-day activities in some children.

The findings showed that the rising frequency of pain increasing the proportion of participants reporting smoking, drinking, and missing school rose.

For example, 14-15 year olds that experienced pain more than once a week were 2-3 times more likely to have drunk alcohol or smoked in the past month than those who rarely or never had pain.

Similarly, students that experienced pain more than once a week were around twice as likely to have missed school in the previous term.

The trend with anxiety and depression was less clear, although there was a marked difference between the children who reported no pain, and those who reported frequent pain, the researchers said.

“Findings like this provide an argument that we should be including pain in the broader conversation about adolescent health,” said lead author Steven Kamper from the University of Sydney in Australia.

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Back pain linked to substance abuse in teenagers

Adolescents who experience back pain are more likely to frequently smoke cigarettes, drink alcohol, and report problems like anxiety and depression.

BS | A new study noted that during adolescence, the prevalence of musculoskeletal pain (pain arising from the bones, joints or muscles) in general, and back pain, in particular, rises steeply. Although often dismissed as trivial and fleeting, adolescent back pain is responsible for substantial health care use, school absence, and interference with day-to-day activities in some children.

Researchers used data collected from approximately 6500 teenagers. The proportion of participants reporting smoking, drinking, and missing school rose incrementally with increasing frequency of pain.++

For example, 14 to 15-year-olds who experienced pain more than once a week were 2-3 times more likely to have had alcohol or smoked in the past month than those who rarely or never had pain. Similarly, students who experienced pain more than once a week were around twice as likely to have missed school in the previous term.

The trend with anxiety and depression was less clear, although there was a marked difference between the children who reported no pain and those who reported frequent pain.

Back pain and unhealthy behaviors not only occur together but also track into adulthood. This means that they are responsible for current issues, and also have implications for future health. Adolescent back pain may play a role in characterizing overall poor health, and risk of chronic disease throughout life.

Lead author, Steven Kamper said, “Findings like this provide an argument that we should be including pain in the broader conversation about adolescent health.”

The researchers involved with the study believe this is of concern because the developing brain may be susceptible to negative influences of toxic substances, and use in early adolescence may increase the risk of substance abuse and mental health problems in later life.

The full findings are present in the Journal of Public Health.

The researchers noted that digital addiction is not our fault but a result of the tech industry's desire to increase corporate profits

 

People addicted to smartphones are more likely to feel depressed, anxious and lonely, a study has found.

Researchers said that overuse of smartphones is just like any other type of substance abuse.

"The behavioural addiction of smartphone use begins forming neurological connections in the brain in ways similar to how opioid addiction is experienced by people taking Oxycontin for pain relief - gradually," said Erik Peper from San Francisco State University in the US.

In a survey of 135 students, the researchers have found that students who used their phones the most reported higher levels of feeling isolated, lonely, depressed and anxious.

According to the study, published in the journal NeuroRegulation, they believe the loneliness is partly a consequence of replacing face-to-face interaction with a form of communication where body language and other signals cannot be interpreted.

The researchers also found that those same students almost constantly multitasked while studying, watching other media, eating or attending class.

This constant activity allows little time for bodies and minds to relax and regenerate, said Peper, and also results in "semi-tasking," where people do two or more tasks at the same time - but half as well as they would have if focused on one task at a time.

The researchers noted that digital addiction is not our fault but a result of the tech industry's desire to increase corporate profits.

"Push notifications, vibrations and other alerts on our phones and computers make us feel compelled to look at them by triggering the same neural pathways in our brains that once alerted us to imminent danger, such as an attack by a tiger or other large predator," Pepper said.

But, according to the researchers, we can take charge and train ourselves to be less addicted to our phones and computers.

The first step is recognising that tech companies are manipulating our innate biological responses to danger.

Peper suggested that we should turn off push notifications, only respond to email and social media at specific times to focus on important tasks.

Article source: Business standard

Cross-country biker, activist Sana Iqbal dies in car crash in Hyderabad

Sana suffered severe head injuries and was declared dead while undergoing treatment at a nearby private hospital

Cross-country woman bike rider Sana Iqbal, who had taken up the fight against suicide and depression by spreading awareness through her bike rides, died in a car accident on Tuesday in Hyderabad.

Sana suffered severe head injuries and was declared dead while undergoing treatment at a nearby private hospital.

A placard on her bike's rear read: "Solo ride across India by a woman on bullet to raise awareness about suicide and depression. Suicide is not the solution."

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"She had been riding bikes since Class VII. After successfully battling depression, she wanted to encourage others to never give up in life," Sana's mother told ANI.

In November 2015, Sana embarked on a solo bike ride from Goa through the length and breadth of the country on a Royal Enfield. Sana covered 38,000 km by a bike during her solo mission.

She was pursuing a Masters in Psychology and was also counselling people with depression. Sana also delivered talks on depression at various colleges.