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dg_teena

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Everything posted by dg_teena

  1. Welcome to the room! We are here to help each other as we deal with problems associated with panic and anxiety disorders. Please feel comfortable to discuss any concerns you are having. I hope you find the basic information you need to get some idea what anxiety disorders are about. I tried to get the information right out of the references that are used by the American Psychiatric Association, so you have some of the best criteria to base your own symptoms and findings on. I hope this will be helpful to you. It cleared up a lot of misinformation for me. If you have any questions, feel free to PM me! I'll try to get back to you in a timely manner. Sincerely, Admin Teena
  2. Welcome to the Manic Depression-Bipolar Forum! We're so glad you've come! Please feel free to look around and post on the threads that are already here. If you do not find a thread that meets your needs and you have questions that need to be asked, please feel free to start a new thread. Please follow all Forum TOS Rules when Posting. Grab a cup of coffee and sit back and enjoy yourself. Get to know each other. We'll soon see that we can unite and make this disorder work WITH us, not against us! Wishing you love and laughter, Your admin, Teena
  3. A 2003 issue of Time International reports on 41-year-old Amanda Jodhpuria, who had bad luck with lithium, and sought out a nutritionist who diagnosed a B vitamins and fatty acids deficiency, which prompted her to change her diet - no coffee, sugar, or salt, and more fish. She told Time: "My mood has levelled out, and the depressions are much shorter." The same article reports a survey from the British mental health group, Mind, which found that 80 percent of those who followed a diet low in sugar, caffeine, chocolate, and alcohol and high in water, vegetables, fruit, and oil-rich fish reported improved moods, with 26 percent citing major improvements. Scientists are coming up with new findings all the time now. For starters, there are clear connections between mood and foods rich in folates (green leafy vegetables). A 1997 Harvard study supports earlier findings that show: 1) a link can be made between folate deficiency and depressive symptoms, and 2) that low folate levels can interfere with the antidepressant activity of the SSRIs. A Tufts University study of nearly 2,948 individuals found that those who met the criteria for a lifetime diagnosis of major depression had lower serum and red blood folate concentrations than those who had never been depressed. Those with dysthymia had lower red blood cell folate only. The authors of the study recommend folate supplementation during the year following a depressive episode. An eight-week Harvard study of 322 outpatients with major depression on 20 mg/day of Prozac found that those with high cholesterol levels were "significantly more likely" not to respond to the drug than patients with low cholesterol. Toxic Foods for Depression and Bipolar Disorder Some people can't eat wheat, others are sensitive to the artificial sweetener aspartame, either of which can alter mood. The list goes on and on and on. Patients can take food allergy tests, though they are expensive and their reliability has been called into question. A more labored but failsafe means is to eliminate a suspect food from one's diet to see what happens. These would include: dairy, wheat, corn, eggs, citrus, caffeine, alcohol, refined sugar, honey, maple or barley syrup, tap water, or any food one eats more than three times a week. One is advised to read labels carefully, as hidden allergens are frequently found in packaged foods. An article by John Stegmaier on the New Hope Foundation website reports of Illinois psychiatrist Thomas Stone MD who is committed to seeking out any food sensitivities that may be causing or contributing to an individual's mental problems. New patients are put on a strict spring water fast for several days, then tested one food at a time for psychological reactions while being monitored for pulse and other functions. John's 23-year-old daughter, who had endured nine years of failed treatments, erupted into a psychotic episode after eating a test course of brussels sprouts. The article fails to report his daughter's outcome, which was presumably for the better, but does mention he and his wife got the cold shoulder from the honchos at NIMH when they tried to pass on the good news. Sugar and Carbs Meanwhile, the average American eats more than 125 pounds of white sugar a year, comprising 25 percent of our daily calorie intake. According to Diana Lipson-Burge, a nutrition consultant and co-author of "Un-Dieting", speaking at the 2003 DBSA conference, carbs release serotonin to the brain, which is why we crave the stuff. But we're not addicted to carbs, as we would just be eating sugar. You're addicted to the serotonin, she stressed. Carbs are the first thing your body turns to for energy. Simple carbs include sugar and white flour while complex carbs include fruit and vegetables. To avoid sugar crashes, says Ms Lipson-Burge, one needs to buffer carbs with proteins and fat, say 40-50 percent carbs to 20 percent protein and 20 to 30 percent fat. Think bagel with eggs or egg beaters. In the 1990s, food experts came up with the glycemic index to show how some foods raised blood sugar higher than others, but which failed the stupid test by not accounting for the total carbohydrates in a particular food. Thus carrots equated to sugar and potatoes to hard candy. A team from Harvard University then developed the glycemic load, derived by multiplying a food's glycemic index by grams of carbs in a serving of food. Using glycemic load as an index, carrots are restored to good standing, and potatoes conditionally so. The glycemic load affirms what most of us already knew: Opt for brown rice over white rice, enriched pastas over plain ones, peasant breads over white and whole wheat (commercial whole wheat and dark breads are basically white bread with coloring), fresh fruit over commercial fruit juice (which is basically sugar water), oatmeal over corn flakes, whole grains over processed grains, plenty of beans and vegetables. Restoring the Messed-Up Food Chain A 2003 review article in the International Journal of Circumpolar Health by biologist Able Bult-Ito and associates of the University of Alaska, Fairbanks offers an excellent case study on what happens when various populations change from their traditional means of procuring and consuming food to steak and Crisco and a lot of junk. Though the traditional diets of circumpolar people vary from region to region, the menu generally draws from marine mammals, fish, hoofed animals, fur-bearing animals, birds and their eggs, plants, and berries. These foods are rich in nutrients, with high levels of protein, omega-3 fatty acids, and antioxidants, while low in carbohydrates. Until contact with westerners, obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease were virtually unknown to the frozen north. That changed with the introduction of a western diet, which is high in carbs and saturated fats and low in essential nutrients such as omega-3. Bad physical and dental health followed like six-month night after six-month day. Mental health also headed south as a result, contend the authors of the article. Omega-3 is crucial to neuronal and brain development, function, and health, and is available from fish, grass-fed mammals, and certain plants. Lower levels of fish consumption and omega-3 have been linked to increased rates of depression and possibly suicide. Deficiencies in omega-3 can affect serotonin and dopamine transmission in the frontal cortex and hippocampus. Source:- McMan's Depression and Bipolar Web
  4. Exercise may equal medication in easing depression, experts say. The millions of Americans stricken each year by debilitating depression may want to consider running away from their problem -- or walking, swimming or dancing it away. "What the studies are showing is that exercise, at least when performed in a group setting, seems to be at least as effective as standard antidepressant medications in reducing symptoms in patients with major depression," said researcher James Blumenthal, a professor of medical psychology at Duke University in Durham, N.C. According to Blumenthal, other studies are beginning to suggest that solitary exercise, such as workouts at the gym or a daily jog, can be just as effective as group activities in beating the blues, and that "duration of exercise didn't seem to matter -- what seemed to matter most was whether people were exercising or not." Blumenthal was lead author on a much-publicized study released five years ago that found that just 10 months of regular, moderate exercise outperformed a leading antidepressant (Zoloft) in easing symptoms in young adults diagnosed with moderate to severe depression. And another study released earlier this year, by researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, found that 30-minute aerobic workouts done three to five times a week cut depressive symptoms by 50 percent in young adults. Theories abound as to how revving up the body helps uncloud the mind. Robert E. Thayer is a professor of psychology at California State University, Long Beach, and the author of Calm Energy: How People Regulate Mood with Food and Exercise. He said that while workouts probably affect key brain chemicals like serotonin and dopamine, physical activity may also trigger positive changes in other areas, too. "Depression is a condition characterized by low energy and moderate tension, something I call 'tense tiredness,'" he said. But exercise has a clear "mood effect" that seems to ease that anxious but lethargic state, he said. According to Thayer, moderate exercise -- a brisk 10-minute walk, for example -- results in a boosting of energy, although it may not be quite enough to relieve stress. "More intense exercise -- the amount you'd engage in with a 45-minute aerobic workout -- does give a primary mood effect of reducing tension. It might also leave you with a little less energy because you'd be tired, of course," he said. "However, there's also some indication from the research that there's a 'rebound' effect an hour or so later, in terms of [increased] energy." Blumenthal pointed to the more lasting psychological boost regular workouts can bring. "People who exercise might also have better self-esteem; it may help them feel better about themselves, having that great sense of accomplishment," he said. Still, the experts acknowledged that truly depressed individuals often find it tough to jump into an exercise routine. "Why do people not do the thing that's perhaps the most important thing for them to do?" said Thayer. "It's because a drop in energy is such a central component of depression -- you just don't have the energy to do the exercise." He said the key to breaking that cycle is to start small. "Thinking about going to the gym and doing all the stuff that's involved with that can be overwhelming for a depressed person," Thayer pointed out. "But if you think 'Hey, maybe I'll just walk down the street 30 yards or so, at a leisurely pace,' that's a start. And it turns out that your body becomes activated then -- you have more of an incentive to walk farther, to do more." Loved ones can play a key role, too, urging a depressed friend or family member to join in with them as they work out. "Social support, peer pressure, family support -- all of that can be helpful, certainly in getting people to maintain exercise," Blumenthal said. No one is saying that exercise is always a substitute for drug therapy, especially for the severely depressed. "But we also know that these drugs aren't effective for everyone -- about a third of people aren't going to get better with medication," Blumenthal said. For those patients, exercise may prove a viable, worry-free alternative -- with one great fringe benefit. "In addition to its mental health benefits, there are some clear cardiovascular benefits to exercise which we don't see with antidepressant drugs, of course," Blumenthal noted. So, he said, what keeps the mind fit strengthens the body, too. "You're killing two birds with one stone." More information For more on recognising and beating depression, head to the National Institute of Mental Health.
  5. Whenever we feel very upset, depressed, guilty or angry, we should stop what we're doing and try to become aware of what we are thinking, or what images are going through our minds. If we find ourselves saying 'I felt that. . .' or 'I thought that. . .', we are probably about to express a thought and not a feeling. For example, 'I felt that he had no right to say that to me' is a thought, not a feeling. We can all identify some of the familiar put-downs we use against ourselves, or the negative thoughts we have about ourselves, for example: 'I'm hopeless at . . .' 'Everyone is smarter than me.' 'I'll never get over what he said to me. The aim is to gather more accurate information about our thoughts so that we can pinpoint and counteract distortions. Best Regards Teena
  6. Some faulty thinking habits

    Let's look at a character called Smith who, unfortunately for him, illustrates all of the following faulty thinking habits. Black and white thinking. Smith sees an event either as a success or a total failure. He evaluates everything in extremes. Take, for example, his thoughts about this week's tennis match: 'I've got to be perfect this week, I was so lousy last Sunday.' Generalising. Smith needs only one example of behaviour to make a general rule for all times and all places. He forgets that behavior is very much determined by a specific situation, such as the other person's mood. For example, Smith's tennis partner, Ted, is not very talkative today. (Smith doesn't know that Ted's dog died last night.) Smith thinks, 'Joy doesn't like playing tennis with me-nobody has ever really enjoyed my company.' Getting things out of proportion. Smith focuses on an event that would be unpleasant (for anyone), but builds the situation up to an extreme. For example, Smith has made a mistake at work. He thinks, 'How incompetent of me. That's blown my chances with the boss. No-one else would have made such a stupid mistake. I'm hopeless.' He also treats criticism as total rejection. Personalising a situation. If someone is angry or upset, Smith thinks it is his fault or his responsibility. He feels that things are happening this way because of him. For example, tennis has been rained out. Joy was looking forward to the exercise, and now he is grumpy. Smith thinks, 'Joy is mad at me because this is the second Sunday that I've booked for tennis and it's rained. I'm embarrassed-it's rained two Sundays in a row!' Setting unrealistic expectations. Smith believes that it is essential to be perfect and in control at all times. For example, he finds taking his two-year-old, Sam, to a restaurant an irritating experience. He loses his temper with Sam because he is messy and noisy. Smith thinks, 'I should be able to control Sam better. I'm a hopeless parent, always yelling at him.' Arbitrary inference. Smith often draws conclusions or inferences from situations where there is no evidence to support conclusions. He then uses these inferences to put himself down. For example, 'Everyone else looks happy all the time. I should be happy all the time. I'm a failure if I feels unhappy.' Selective abstraction. Smith is sensitive, always on the lookout for signs of rejection or criticism. He dwells on things that others have said or done and interprets them as critical of himself. 'Joy rushed off straight after tennis today. I thinks he finds me boring. He didn't want to stop for coffee.' (Joy was, in fact, under orders to be home on time after tennis to put on the barbecue for guests.) Best Regards Teena
  7. Recognise that you are angry

    Many people don't recognise anger. Their feeling come out as hurt or fear. They feel powerless, belittled or humiliated and don't want to dwell on these feelings. Others ruminate on the experiences that have made them angry and nourish grudges. Some become sour, vindictive or depressed. It is common to fear anger's destructive force. In many families, therefore, displays of anger are not tolerated: they may be shifted in the children and repressed in parents. This can happen regardless of whether or not the anger is justified, leading to an added level of confusion and discomfort for those who are feeling angry. There is generally a taboo on expressing anger or even feeling it. We should consider our own behaviour. Are we being deliberately provocative or irritable? Perhaps passive aggressive? It may be that the person who is making us angry reminds us of less attractive parts of our own character. If we recognise why we are angry, this can help us to control the anger. Don't shy away from anger, acknowledge it. Best regards Teena
  8. Thought stopping

    Thought stopping is a useful technique to interrupt negative thinking. Say STOP! STOP! to yourself, as loudly as you can, in your head and simultaneously imagine a stop sign. Immediately distract yourself by concentrating on regulating your breathing, relaxing, thinking of something positive or imagining something pleasant.
  9. Hello All, I want to welcome you all to Depression-Guide, a place that, I hope, you will find helpful and supportive and maybe find some friends that share an understanding and mutual bond. Please feel free to browse through the forums and jump in wherever you feel comfortable. There are certain pinned topics in certain forums that may help you to know more and better about us as a community. We have an Off Topic Forum, where you can go to relax a little and take a break, you can either chat about anything or find your silly self in the Games Room. If you have any questions or concerns feel free to contact me and I will be happy to help. I look forward to reading your posts Teena
  10. I was just thinking how depressing life can be and how it affects your self-esteem and self-image. I know this can be a tough thing to see in your darkest hours, but it may help to bring you up out of that depression and self-hating cycle we often go through. Think of your best qualities and write them down...here I'll go first: Patient Kind Approachable loyal friendly caring
  11. No Suicidal Posts, PLEASE

    It is a request for all the members of depression-guide forum -- this forum is not the place to post suicidal ideation or feelings. If you're feeling suicidal, go get help NOW. Suicide is nothing that should be taken lightly, it is a serious symptom of depression. Depression-Guide has this page about suicidal resources for more help. Members who continue to post on suicidal topics will receive warnings and may have their membership revoked here if they continue. Please, respect our community standards here, and refrain from posting on suicidal topics in the future. Thank you!! Teena
  12. I've found a couple of small things that really help with depression. One is getting outside in the sunshine and fresh air. It does lift the mood. When the weather's good one try to eat breakfast in the garden and have lunch in the park. The other thing is listening to classical music - at full volume. It takes me out of myself. It can be so hard to do "self-help" stuff when we're depressed, so I thought I'd mention these two things because they're relatively small and simple. Obviously they don't cure the depression, but they lift our mood a little and help cope day to day. So, come on - please share - what are the little things that help you?
  13. Hi folks, Here you can post birthday wishes, "has anyone seen..." posts and other personal messages and topics. This forum is for the posting of any kind of virtual emotional support, kudos, positive affirmations, and congratulations for other members of our community. Please feel free to post away here!! Best Regards Admin
  14. Dangers of the Bottle

    A new study led by researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and the Harvard School of Public Health has found that heavy drinkers — men who consume an average of three or more alcoholic beverages daily — are nearly 45% more likely to have an ischemic stroke than nondrinkers. While light and moderate drinkers appear to be at neither greater risk nor greater advantage than abstainers when it comes to ischemic stroke, their frequency of alcohol consumption may have a modest influence on their risk, the study also found. The findings help shed light on a subject that has been the source of some confusion, and they reinforce the importance of drinking patterns, which refers to the number of days per week alcohol is consumed and the amount consumed on drinking days. "In this study the participants who were at lowest risk for stroke were the men who consumed one or two drinks on 3 to 4 days of the week," says lead author Kenneth Mukamal, MD, MPH, a general internist at Beth Israel and an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. Men whose average alcohol intake was three or more drinks per day had a 42% higher risk of ischemic stroke, particularly embolic stroke, than abstainers, the findings showed. This may be attributable to the association of alcohol with both high blood pressure and atrial fibrillation, says Mukamal. Although the researchers also found that average intake of lower amounts of alcohol was associated with neither a significantly higher nor lower risk of stroke, the light and moderate drinkers who consumed alcohol 3 to 4 days per week had a modest 32% lower stroke risk than did nondrinkers when drinking frequency was taken into account. "Compared with other types of alcohol, red wine was associated with a step-wise lower risk of ischemic stroke," he observes. "This is curious because red wine is not linked to a lower risk of heart disease among this population of men any more than any other type of alcohol, so it's unclear why this would be the case with stroke." Read More...
  15. We do have a lot of guidelines here, but please take the time to read them. The Message Board is Not Here for... No solicitation of any kind is allowed. Anyone who uses this site to promote a commercial product will be banned. Anyone who is visiting strictly to save souls will likewise be banned. If you're depressed, we don't care what your religion is, but if you're just looking for vulnerable people to convert, you'll be banned. This is a support group atmosphere, not one-on-one therapy. No one here owes anyone else support. Anyone who tries to guilt another member into giving them help will be asked to re-consider their participation in the forum. Depression Guide™ purpose is to create a safe environment for discussing depression. We prefer to keep confrontation to a minimum; many of our members find it distressing. Therefore, it should be expected that moderators will step in on any topic that has become too heated or confrontational. This is not a place for heated debates of a political, regligious, cultural, etc. nature. While we recognize that it's impossible to avoid conflict in a group this large, we prefer to keep it to a minimum. Any threads that get too heated or confrontational will be closed. Usernames, Avatars and Signatures If you're inclined to make your username sexually explicit, scatalogical or offensive in some other way, reconsider it. There are very few usernames changed by the admin, but realize that if you choose a username for its shock value, some members will be shocked, not impressed. If your avatar depicts anything that might trigger someone (cutting, suicide method, etc.) you will be asked to change it. Image signatures are limited to 300x300 in dimension and 17k in file size. Although there is no limit to lines on text signatures, please remember that each signature adds to the time everyone spends scrolling through posts. Respect for Other Members No personal attacks, for any reason. Non-depression related sexual content should be kept to a minimum. Some members are sexual abuse survivors. Do not in any way encourage someone else to commit suicide. Sounds incredible, but it has happened. This includes suicide pacts. This is a potential banning offense. Do not even consider faking your own suicide to get attention or sympathy. Everyone here is in a fragile emotional state, and a suicide has a devastating effect on the community. If you need attention that badly, please discuss your situation with a therapist. Never, never try to make other members feel guilty for how they treated you by talking about being suicidal or going into the hospital. You have no idea how this is going to affect the other members. If you feel a member has treated you poorly, please contact Administrators. In this community, there is no "one true way" to handle depression. No evangelizing or preaching about any form of treatment. Problems and Personal Conflicts If you have a personal problem or personality clash with another member, please try to settle it between yourselves before coming to a moderator or administrator. If someone is bothering you, please try blocking their posts and PMs before coming to us. If two members are having a disagreement in a thread, it should be taken to PM or email. No one else is as interested in your personality clash as you are and it upsets people. Anyone who publicly or privately attacks a moderator is subject to banning. The way to handle a disagreement or problem that you have with a moderator is to contact Administrator by Private Message. Message Board Etiquette Don't SHOUT. Typing in all capital letters is the online equivalent of shouting. If you have any kind of disability that makes it necessary to type in caps, explain that if possible before the question comes up. Feel free to "lurk" (read but not post on the message board) until you're comfortable. No spamming (posting a message in more than one folder). Safety Use good judgement with information you receive on the message boards. Take all information given with a grain of salt and remember that it is not being given by a medical professional. For your own safety, don't post your phone number, mailing address or email address on the message boards. Remember that this is a public venue. Crisis Situations Anyone who is severely suicidal should be encouraged to go the emergency room or to their doctor. Suicide prevention number listings: US: SuicideHotlines.com US/Canada/International: Hopeline Samaritans: Phone: UK 08457 90 90 90, Republic of Ireland 1850 60 90 90 Internet: http://www.samaritans.org.uk Email: jo@samaritans.org.uk
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