There’s a good reason why depressed people find it much harder to deal with social rejection.
The food contains flavonoids, which are antioxidants that can reduce inflammation in the body.
The food contains flavonoids, which are antioxidants that can reduce inflammation in the body.
Eating dark chocolate could reduce the risk of depression by 70 percent, research suggests.
Dark chocolate has a high concentration of cacao (above 70%).
Cacao contains flavonoids, which are antioxidants that can reduce inflammation in the body.
Inflammation has been strongly linked to the onset of depression.
Chocolate contains a number of psychoactive ingredients, which can produce a feeling like euphoria.
Chocolate also contains phenylethylamine, which can enhance people’s mood.
Studies find, though, that it is not just about what is in the chocolate.
The sensual pleasure of eating chocolate is central to its effect on mood.
The study included 13,626 adults who were asked about their chocolate consumption and any depressive symptoms, among other things.
The results showed that those who ate dark chocolate had a 70 percent lower chance of depression.
Those eating the most chocolate, of any kind, were less likely to report being depressed than those who ate no chocolate, the study found.
In contrast, those eating non-dark chocolate did not have a lower risk of depression.
Dr Sarah Jackson, the study’s first author, said:
“This study provides some evidence that consumption of chocolate, particularly dark chocolate, may be associated with reduced odds of clinically relevant depressive symptoms.
However further research is required to clarify the direction of causation — it could be the case that depression causes people to lose their interest in eating chocolate, or there could be other factors that make people both less likely to eat dark chocolate and to be depressed.
Should a causal relationship demonstrating a protective effect of chocolate consumption on depressive symptoms be established, the biological mechanism needs to be understood to determine the type and amount of chocolate consumption for optimal depression prevention and management.”
The study was published in the journal Depression and Anxiety (Jackson et al., 2019).
One in 5 US women experience depression during their lifetime.
Caffeinated coffee may reduce depression risk by up to 20 percent.
Drinking caffeinated coffee reduces depression risk, research finds.
The more caffeine women in the study drank, the lower their chances of becoming depressed.
Drinking two to three cups of coffee a day was linked to a 15 percent reduction in depression risk.
Those drinking four or more cups per day had a 20 percent reduced risk.
Other studies in men have also suggested that caffeine intake is linked to lower depression.
The conclusions come from a study that followed 50,739 US nurses.
They were tracked for 10 years and none were depressed at the start of the study.
Over the study’s duration, their intake of caffeinated drinks was tracked.
This included caffeinated soft drinks as well as non-herbal tea and coffee.
The study’s authors explain the results:
“In this large prospective cohort of older women free of clinical depression or severe depressive symptoms at baseline, risk of depression decreased in a dose-dependent manner with increasing consumption of caffeinated coffee.”
However, due to the nature of the study it:
“…cannot prove that caffeine or caffeinated coffee reduces the risk of depression but only suggests the possibility of such a protective effect.”
Decaffeinated coffee was not linked to any reduction in risk.
The study was published in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine (Lucas et al., 2011).
After taking psilocybin, depressed people experienced feelings of unity, transcendence of space and time and a loss of boundaries.
After taking psilocybin, depressed people experienced feelings of unity, transcendence of space and time and a loss of boundaries.
Psilocybin – the active part of magic mushrooms — can help reduce depression symptoms and reawaken the emotions, research finds.
The stronger the ‘mystical experience’, the more the hallucinogenic drug helped.
People whose depression was most improved reported a more mystical experience, including feelings of unity and transcendence.
Although antidepressants like Prozac can often help those who are depressed, they reduce both positive and negative emotions.
Psilocybin therapy, though, may revive brain activity and help people reconnect with their emotions.
Dr Leor Roseman, the study’s first author, said:
“Our findings are important as they reveal biological changes after psilocybin therapy and, more specifically, they suggest that increased emotional processing is crucial for the treatment to work.”
The conclusions come from a small trial on 20 depressed people.
All stopped taking their antidepressants for two weeks and were given two doses of psilocybin under controlled conditions in the lab.
Afterwards, patients reported feeling emotionally re-connected.
Brain scans revealed that their response to emotional faces after taking psilocybin was increased.
Dr Roseman said:
“Having a healthy control group in future studies should be helpful in answering some of these questions.
We also want to investigate how the amygdala responds a longer time after treatment, which will inform us about longer term effects – compared to the current study, which was only looked at one day after the therapy.”
The researchers also looked at patients’ feelings about taking the hallucinogen.
Those who found it helped most reported a more ‘mystical experience’.
They were more likely to experience feelings of unity, transcending space and time, and a loss of boundaries.
The next stage for the researchers is to directly compare psilocybin with antidepressants.
The studies were published in the journals Neuropharmacology and Frontiers in Pharmacology (Roseman et al., 2017; Roseman et al., 2018).
Neuroticism and depression are linked but a study finds beneficial effects of two other personality traits together.
Neuroticism and depression are linked but a study finds beneficial effects of two other personality traits together.
Being extraverted and conscientious helps to reduce the risk of depression in neurotic people, new research finds.
People who are highly neurotic typically look at the world in a negative way.
They also find it hard to deal with stress and can experience a lot of negative emotions.
However, it seems being social and organised helps to ameliorate the effect.
Dr Kristin Naragon-Gainey, the study’s first author, explained:
“If someone has high levels of extraversion they might be very good at gathering social support or increasing their positive affectivity through social means.
Similarly, conscientiousness has a lot to do with striving toward goals and putting plans in action, which can combat the withdrawal and avoidance that can go along with neuroticism.”
Typically, in the past psychologists have focused on how individual aspects of personality affect depression risk.
Dr Naragon-Gainey explained that the key to this new study was looking beyond one single personality trait, like neuroticism:
“We know individually how these traits relate to symptoms, but now we are beginning to understand how the traits might impact one another.
We have to consider the whole person in order to understand the likelihood of developing negative symptoms down the road.”
For the study, 463 people who had had psychiatric treatment in the last year were interviewed and surveyed.
Many were had both high levels of neuroticism and depression.
Statistical analysis showed that high conscientiousness and high extraversion together had a protective effect on people who were highly neurotic.
Dr Naragon-Gainey said:
“I think there’s a tendency in treatment and clinical psychology to concentrate on the problems and the negatives.
If you utilize the pre-existing strengths that clients bring with them, it can positively affect treatment and the level of symptoms going forward, as well as reinforcing what the person is already doing well.”
The study was published in the Journal of Research in Personality (Naragon-Gainey & Simms, 2018).
Some people are at greater risk of depression due to their genes, but this resource counters it.
Speech analysis reveals the signs of depression, suicidal ideation and psychosis in people’s speech.
Ayahuasca for alcoholism and depression may be effective, according to a survey of almost 100,000 people.
Ayahuasca for alcoholism and depression may be effective, according to a survey of almost 100,000 people.
Ayahuasca — a psychedelic drug traditionally used in South America — may help treat depression and alcoholism, research suggests.
The survey of over 96,000 people around the world found that ayahuasca users reported higher well-being and lower problems with alcohol abuse.
Ayahuasca contains dimethyltryptamine (DMT), which is a powerful psychedelic that acts over a short period.
In the 60s it was known as the ‘businessman’s trip’ because its effects last between 5 and 15 minutes, instead of the hours resulting from LSD or magic mushrooms.
Dr Will Lawn, the study’s first author, said:
“These findings lend some support to the notion that ayahuasca could be an important and powerful tool in treating depression and alcohol use disorders.
Recent research has demonstrated ayahuasca’s potential as a psychiatric medicine, and our current study provides further evidence that it may be a safe and promising treatment.
It is important to note that these data are purely observational and do not demonstrate causality.
Moreover, ayahuasca users in this survey still had an average drinking level which would be considered hazardous.
Therefore, randomised controlled trials must be carried out to fully examine ayahuasca’s ability to help treat mood and addiction disorders.
However, this study is notable because it is, to the best of our knowledge, the largest survey of ayahuasca users completed to date.”
Of over 96,000 people who answered the online survey, 527 people said they used ayahuasca, while 18,138 used magic mushrooms or LSD.
Most users of ayahuasca took it with a healer or shaman.
Professor Celia Morgan, who co-authored the study, said:
“Several observational studies have examined the long-term effects of regular ayahuasca use in the religious context.
In this work, long-term ayahuasca use has not been found to impact on cognitive ability, produce addiction or worsen mental health problems.
In fact, some of these observational studies suggest that ayahuasca use is associated with less problematic alcohol and drug use, and better mental health and cognitive functioning.”
The study was published in the journal Scientific Reports (Lawn et al., 2017).
This is the best evidence so far of gardening’s beneficial effects on mental health.
Huge rise in depression risk is linked to eating certain types of foods.
Eating fast food is linked to a huge increase in depression risk.
Depression is linked to eating fast food, like hamburgers and pizzas as well as commercially produced cakes, research finds.
People who eat fast food — when compared to those that eat none — have a 51% higher depression risk, the scientists found.
There is also a so-called ‘dose-response effect’ for fast food.
Dr Almudena Sánchez-Villegas, the lead author of the study, explained:
“…the more fast food you consume, the greater the risk of depression.”
The research showed that those eating the most fast food and commercial baked food were more likely to be:
Fairy cakes, doughnuts and croissants also showed a strong link to depression, said Dr Sánchez-Villegas:
“Even eating small quantities is linked to a significantly higher chance of developing depression.”
The study involved 8,964 people who were followed for an average of 6 months.
Of these, 493 started taking antidepressants during the study or were diagnosed with depression.
The results are in line with a previous study which found that eating fast food was linked to a 42% increase in depression risk.
Dr Sánchez-Villegas said:
“…although more studies are necessary, the intake of this type of food should be controlled because of its implications on both health (obesity, cardiovascular diseases) and mental well-being.”
Certain nutrients are thought to have a preventative effect on depression.
These include B vitamins, omega-3 fatty acids and olive oil.
The Mediterranean diet has also been repeatedly linked to lower levels of depression.
It is more difficult to get these vital nutrients from fast food.
The study was published in the journal Public Health Nutrition (Sánchez-Villegas et al., 2012).
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