Depression in Seniors
The Los Angeles Times takes look at depression in seniors.
When dealing with her older patients, [Dr. Laura] Mosqueda tries to avoid using the term depression — or any others that might indicate a mental problem. People in their 70s, 80s and 90s are intimidated by those words, she says.
“I’ll say to them, ‘This low mood is something we can help you with.’ And I often talk to them about coping and tell them they might feel a whole lot better if they get help.”
Philosophy Bites
For people who took and didn’t hate Philosophy 101, here’s a podcast you also may not hate: Philosophy Bites. A pair of British philosophers bring in an outside philosopher and chew on a topic for 10 – 20 minutes. Shows often touch on topics that are cousins to psychology: What is Consciousness?, Sense of Self, Morality. All comes out in a book soon, if you prefer, but that won’t be as commute-friendly, accent-filled, or free.
Exercise Science
Research gathered for an NYT article, Weighing the Evidence on Exercise.
The newest science suggests that exercise alone will not make you thin, but it may determine whether you stay thin, if you can achieve that state.
Speed Dating Overwhelm
Too many choices, at the grocery store or in dating, can lead to hasty decision-making–or so says a study reported at PsychCentral:
In this environment, researchers found that people respond by paying attention to different types of characteristics – discarding attributes such as education, smoking status, and occupation in favor of physical characteristics such as height and weight….[I]f the brain is faced with abundant choice, even about who to go out with, it may make decisions based on what it can evaluate most quickly.
Is Solitude Good for You?
Also from the NYT, Embracing a Life of Solitude, a look at extreme, off-the-grid, away-from-everything loner living.
His infrequent visitors would ask things like “What are you going to do if a coconut falls on your head?” — given that the nearest doctor was hundreds of miles away. “I said, ‘Oh my, if I think like that, I’ll never do anything.’ ”
Is Marriage Good for Your Health?
A big NYT Magazine piece by Tara Parker-Pope surveys the research about marriage, health, and happiness, and finds mixed messages.
[W]hile it’s clear that marriage is profoundly connected to health and well-being, new research is increasingly presenting a more nuanced view of the so-called marriage advantage. Several new studies, for instance, show that the marriage advantage doesn’t extend to those in troubled relationships, which can leave a person far less healthy than if he or she had never married at all…
Online CBT for Panic and Depression
A doctoral thesis out of Stockholm gives a boost to the growing practice of online therapy.
Smoking Depressed
Reported in the Los Angeles Times, a study showing 43% of smokers over twenty are depressed. A chicken-egg study–which came first?
Depressed people were more likely to smoke within five minutes of awakening and to smoke more than one pack of cigarettes a day. Twenty-eight percent of adult smokers with depression smoked more than a pack a day, which is almost twice the rate for adult smokers without depression.
Happiness Research
John Grohol sums up the positive psychology basics in 5 Reliable Findings from Happiness Research. Here they are, minus the explanations, which await you at PsychCentral:
1. You control about half your happiness level.
2. Money doesn’t buy happiness.
3. Lottery winnings create only temporary, short-term happiness.
4. Relationships are a key factor in long-term happiness.
5. Focus on experiences, not stuff.
Depression and PMDD
A study looks at the difference between depression and Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD):
“We found the greatest weight of evidence that PMDD and major depression are really two distinct entities in terms of biological response to stress and with respect to pain sensitivity and pain mechanisms.”
More, including a description of PMDD’s intensity, in the article.