The Most Common Mental Disorders Differ For Men And Women (M)
Fifty percent of people develop a mental health disorder at some point in their lives, the researchers found.
Category: Mental Health
How Companion Animals Affect Serious Mental Illnesses (M)
Companion animals — typically dogs and cats — are sometimes thought beneficial for those who are depressed, anxious or lonely.
The ‘Life-Changing Treatment’ For Tourette Syndrome (M)
Common Tourette tics include blinking, coughing, sniffing and facial movements — these usually first appear during adolescence.
The Healthy Diet Linked To Good Mental Health
Almost one-in-five suffer from mental illness, the study found.
Almost one-in-five suffer from mental illness, the study found.
A healthy diet is linked to good mental health, whatever your age and background, research finds.
People who avoid unhealthy foods — like fried and processed foods — have fewer symptoms of psychological distress.
Only around one-in-ten people in the US eat the recommended amount of fruit and vegetables.
The recommended amount in the US is 1½ to 2 cups per day of fruit and 2 to 3 cups per day of vegetables.
In contrast, a poor diet is linked to poor mental health: sugar and processed grain are thought to be among the main culprits.
Dr Jim E. Banta, the study’s first author, said:
“This and other studies like it could have big implications for treatments in behavorial medicine.
Perhaps the time has come for us to take a closer look at the role of diet in mental health, because it could be that healthy diet choices contribute to mental health.
More research is needed before we can answer definitively, but the evidence seems to be pointing in that direction.”
The study included data from over 240,000 people in California, which was collected across ten years.
The results revealed that 13% of people experienced moderate psychological distress, with 4% in severe psychological distress.
The study’s authors conclude that their study is…
“…additional evidence that public policy and clinical practice should more explicitly aim to improve diet quality among those struggling with mental health.
[…]dietary interventions for people with mental illness should especially target young adults, those with less than 12 years of education, and obese individuals.”
A previous study found that the more fruit and vegetables people eat, the better their state of mind.
Eating just one extra portion of fruit and vegetables per day is enough to measurably improve mental well-being.
Just one portion has the same positive effect as going for a walk on 8 extra days a month.
The study was published in the International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition (Banta et al., 2019).
The Most Basic Sign That Your Brain Is Healthy
This is an indicator of brain health and a better functioning memory.
This is an indicator of brain health and a better functioning memory.
Feeling younger than your age is a sign of brain health, research finds.
Brain scans showed that those who felt younger than their age had increased gray matter in critical brain regions.
They also did better on memory tests and were less likely to report depressive symptoms.
It may be that people are able to intuitively sense their own brain aging.
Professor Jeanyung Chey, who led the study, said:
“Why do some people feel younger or older than their real age?
Some possibilities include depressive states, personality differences or physical health.
However, no-one had investigated brain aging processes as a possible reason for differences in subjective age.”
Many people feel older or younger than their actual age — psychologists call this subjective age.
The researchers asked 68 healthy people aged 59 to 84 years-old about their actual and subjective age.
Brain scans measured the amount of gray matter in various brain regions.
Professor Chey explained the results:
“We found that people who feel younger have the structural characteristics of a younger brain.
Importantly, this difference remains robust even when other possible factors, including personality, subjective health, depressive symptoms, or cognitive functions, are accounted for.”
On the other hand, feeling older could be a sign that it is time to start making changes to improve brain health.
Professor Chey said:
“If somebody feels older than their age, it could be sign for them to evaluate their lifestyle, habits and activities that could contribute to brain aging and take measures to better care for their brain health.”
The study was published in the journal Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience (Kwak et al., 2018).
The Surprising Link Between High IQ And Schizophrenia
How schizophrenia and high intelligence are linked.
How schizophrenia and high intelligence are linked.
High IQ could protect against schizophrenia amongst those at genetic risk from developing the condition, a study finds.
The findings are in stark contrast to the conventional wisdom that those with high intelligence are at increased risk of developing schizophrenia.
A large study has found that intelligence actually has a protective effect.
The study’s lead author, Dr Kenneth S. Kendler, said:
“If you’re really smart, your genes for schizophrenia don’t have much of a chance of acting.”
The study was conducted by researchers at Lund University in Sweden and Virginia Commonwealth University.
It included data from 1.2 million Swedish males born between 1951 and 1975 whose IQ and any hospitalisations for schizophrenia were tracked over 24 years.
Dr. Kendler explained the results:
“What really predicted risk for schizophrenia is how much you deviate from the predicted IQ that we get from your relatives.
If you’re quite a bit lower, that carries a high risk for schizophrenia.
Not achieving the IQ that you should have based on your genetic constitution and family background seems to most strongly predispose for schizophrenia.”
It may be that factors which reduce intelligence, such as childhood trauma, can also contribute to the risk of schizophrenia.
There was no evidence that, for the most intelligence people, there was a higher risk of schizophrenia:
“The question is, might we see some upward bump at that high level of intelligence where really brilliant people have increased risk for the disease and we show no such trend.”
The study was published in the American Journal of Psychiatry (Kendler et al., 2014).
Why You Should Tackle Existential/Spiritual Struggles Head On (M)
Over 80 percent of people report having very strong existential and spiritual needs in the past month.
The 4 Spiritual Needs That 80% Of People Feel Very Strongly (M)
People do not talk much about their spiritual needs, but 80 percent report a very strong interest in issues like the meaning of life.
The Personality Type Linked To Poor Mental Health
This personality type affects around one in six people in the US.
This personality type affects around one in six people in the US.
People with personality disorders are at double the risk of developing mental health problems by 35-years-old, research finds.
People with personality disorders are more likely to be socially disadvantaged, separated or divorced.
By 35, people with personality disorders are almost twice as likely to be experiencing depression and/or anxiety.
Personality disorders affect around one in six people in the US.
The three most common personality disorders in the US are:
- Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder.
- Paranoid personality disorder.
- Antisocial personality disorder
Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD) is one of the most well-known of personality disorders
Those with OCPD are typically perfectionists who are also highly fearful or anxious.
They want to control everything and find it very hard to relax.
In contrast, those with a paranoid personality disorder are extremely mistrustful of others.
They are very sensitive and are always on the lookout for things that confirm their worst fears: that everyone is out to get them.
They assume others are hostile, they bear grudges and find it hard to have an emotional connection with others.
Finally, people with an antisocial personality disorder typically have no regard for other people’s feelings or judgments.
They see themselves as free of society’s rules and standards and are similar to what we think of as a psychopath.
→ More details on how to spot personality disorders.
Dr Paul Moran, who led the Australian study of 1,520 people, said:
“At the age of 24, personality disorder was already linked with social disadvantage, substance misuse and poor mental health.
Eleven years later, the presence of personality pathology predicted the occurrence of anxiety and depression, as well as the absence of long-term relationships.
What is most striking is that these associations were not due to pre-existing mental health, substance use or social problems.
People with personality disorder appear to be a distinctly vulnerable group with regards to future mental health and relationship problems.”
The study was published in the The Lancet Psychiatry (Moran et al., 2016).
This Depression & Anxiety Treatment Beats Medication & Counselling By 50% (M)
The largest benefits were seen among people with depression, pregnant and postpartum women and healthy individuals.
