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Category: Depression
This Type Of Introvert Is At Higher Depression Risk
Depression is more than just the experience of negative emotions, like sadness and anxiety.
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.
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.”
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).
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This Diet Reduces Inflammation And Depression
Those that adhered to this diet had a 33 percent reduced chance of developing depression.
Those that adhered to this diet had a 33 percent reduced chance of developing depression.
A diet rich in vegetables, nuts, fruits and fish could lower depression risk by up to a third, research suggests.
The results come from studies on tens of thousands of people around the world.
The so-called ‘Mediterranean diet’ is also linked to reduced inflammation in the body.
Anti-inflammatory foods include olive oil, legumes, and many other foods rich in plant fibre, vitamins and minerals.
Foods that increase inflammation in the body, such as sugar and saturated fats, were linked to higher depression risk.
Dr Camille Lassale, the study’s lead author, said:
“There is compelling evidence to show that there is a relationship between the quality of your diet and your mental health.
This relationship goes beyond the effect of diet on your body size or other aspects of health that can in turn affect your mood.”
The results come from an analysis of 41 different studies.
Of these, four examined the link between depression and diet in 36,556 people.
The results showed that those that adhered to the Mediterranean diet more closely had a 33% reduced chance of developing depression than those who shunned it.
Five of the studies showed that eating foods high in saturated fat, sugar and processed foods was linked to a higher risk of depression.
Dr Lassale said:
“A pro-inflammatory diet can induce systemic inflammation, and this can directly increase the risk for depression.
There is also emerging evidence that shows that the relationship between the gut and brain plays a key role in mental health and that this axis is modulated by gastrointestinal bacteria, which can be modified by our diet.”
Dr Tasnime Akbaraly, study co-author, said:
“By showing that an adherence to healthy dietary patterns is associated with a reduced risk of depressive disorders, we contribute to the growing body of evidence regarding the importance of our daily diets to our mental and brain health.
Added to recent randomised trials showing beneficial effects of dietary improvement on depression outcomes, there are now strong arguments in favour of regarding diet as mainstream in psychiatric medicine.”
The study was published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry (Lassale et al., 2018).
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