File under “about time”: In Reporting Symptoms, Don’t Patients Know Best? “Increasingly, scientifically, we believe that whatever Mrs. Smith says is what Mrs. Smith is experiencing, and it’s important to know how patients themselves feel about how they’re doing.”
Patients Know Best Read More »
A study finds the molecular connection between stress, anxiety, and depression. It’s the corticotropin releasing factor receptors! Should’ve known.
The Stress-Depression-Anxiety Connection Read More »
A study measures the association between death and suicide to try to understand and predict suicidal behavior: [P]articipants presenting to the emergency room after a suicide attempt had a stronger implicit association between death/ suicide and self than did participants presenting with other psychiatric emergencies. In addition, participants with strong associations between death/ suicide and
Life and Death Depression Read More »
From ScienceDaily.com, Researchers Identify Secrets to Happiness, Depression Among Oldest of Old. Quick summary: To be happy later, try more happiness now. While there was no indication that resources affect happiness, past life satisfaction — even individual achievements — was found to have a direct association. Because of their results, the researchers urge caregivers of the
Late-Life Happiness Read More »
The L.A. Times profiles Beit T’Shuvah. The Venice Blvd. rehab combines the twelve steps with Jewish spirituality . At the helm, Mark Borovitz, con man turned rabbi–his autobiography is The Holy Thief.
L.A. Rehab: Beit T’Shuvah Read More »
A brain imaging study shows empathy and violence share circuitry in the brain. “We all know that encouraging empathy has an inhibiting effect on violence, but this may not only be a social question but also a biological one — stimulation of these neuronal circuits in one direction reduces their activity in the other.”
Empathy and Violence Vie for Brain Space Read More »
It may not have taken a psych study to figure out that there’s a gender split regarding feelings about hooking up among college students. But of interest: all still prefer dating to hooking up–or at least say they do to a psych researcher.
Hooking Up v. Dating Read More »
A pair of studies about self-control spotlit at PsyBlog: Self-Control Instantly Replenished by Self-Affirmation How to Increase Your Self-Control Without Really Trying See if you can keep yourself from clicking through.
Self-Control Studies Read More »
PsychCentral has news about two studies showing that Transcendental Meditation (TM) helps reduce depression…at least for African-Americans and Hawaiians over 55. Participants in both studies who practiced the Transcendental Meditation program showed significant reductions in depressive symptoms compared to health education controls. The largest decreases were found in those participants who had indications of clinically
Transcendental Meditation for Depression Read More »
From the NYT Opinionator section, In Sleepless Nights, a Hope for Treating Depression–post-partum depression, at least. (Since when did new moms get a lot of sleep anyway?) Sleep deprivation used as a treatment for depression is efficacious and robust: it works quickly, is relatively easy to administer, inexpensive, relatively safe and it also alleviates other
Sleep Deprivation v. Depression Read More »