Trapeze Depression Remedy

Swinging through the air on a rope might seem like the last thing you would want to do if you were feeling down. But for the leggings-clad crew at a trapeze class on the outskirts of London, it is both body and mind that benefit.

I started on what felt like a rather feeble bar - just a metre and a half off the ground.

Reaching up to grip the fat ropes and pulling myself up from sitting took all my strength. I felt a significant sense of achievement (and relief) when I graduated to a move that involved flipping backwards, landing on my feet on a crash mat.

The instructor, Amanda Miles, has been giving trapeze lessons for more than 20 years, so I was in safe hands.

The aim of My Aerial Home is to build fitness and confidence. "Everyone can have a go - we will get you on somehow… you feel empowerment physically, which makes you mentally stronger."

Positive influence

Very few of the 350 million people around the world who have depression will have been prescribed circus skills as a remedy.

Depression affects work and family life - and while talking therapies and medication can help, should doctors be doing more to promote the positive influence of physical exercise on well-being?

Swinging effortlessly through the air takes real skill but for a beginner like me it is back to basics.

Ms Miles is a patient teacher. "The day they can sit on the trapeze with their arms above them and pull themselves up - so I can see daylight under their bottom - it's like all their Christmases at once. They don't start thinking they can lift their own bodyweight - but things do get easier."

Watching the regulars, it looked relatively easy. But it was clear I had underestimated how much strength is required to lift your own body weight. I managed to straddle the bar. It wasn't elegant but I'd made it into the air and it felt like a big achievement.

A vision in purple whose toes grip the rope as she twirls above our heads is Adatka Radwanska. Originally from Poland, she looks like she was born for the trapeze. "The impact on me? It's made me much more confident. It got me from being extremely low and weak to a point where I am ready for challenges. I love it."

The classes are recommended by a charity that helps people with mental health problems or disabilities to return to work. Jo Rixom's own love of the ropes and trapeze (which is actually the bar you sit on) prompted her to offer sessions to people helped by Status Employment.

Data gathered from her clients after they had participated in the six or 12-week courses suggests people reported that taking part had helped them.

Those in the study kept journals and filled in questionnaires. These revealed improved well-being and self-esteem. It also generated practical results. People reported taking up volunteer roles, education or training and even finding employment.

The classes are open to everyone. Ms Rixom said the mix "helped to reduce stigma to see that everyone was just the same and didn't need separating or different care".

Sam Challis, of the mental health charity Mind, agrees about the benefits of exercise. "Physical activity is a natural stimulator of many important 'mood' hormones, including serotonin and dopamine, so after exercising you may feel less stressed and have a clearer head. If you keep on exercising, ideally for 30 minutes a day, you'll notice long-term benefits too."

But he cautions that activities like trapeze might not suit everyone. "Not everybody has a head for heights, and what helps one person may not work for another. People experiencing severe depression may find it difficult to engage in exercise, but may benefit from talking therapies, medication or a combination of both.

"Therapies such as arts therapy, drama therapy and ecotherapy can also have a positive impact, and people with severe mental health problems might find that their symptoms improve to the point where they can engage in physical activity - even trapeze."

Rebecca (not her real name) is one of those who says her mental health has benefited from the group.

At the time she was working a difficult environment where bullying and harassment were commonplace.Her partner spotted an advert for the classes in a local magazine but it was a year before Rebecca summoned the courage to go along.

She says: "I ended up hitting a very low point.

"I would only dwell on the bad and felt that I had nothing to offer anyone."

Rebecca says she was nervous, but the first lesson had her hooked. She says the "trapeze treatment" has helped to transform both her body and mind.

"I'm physically stronger and my shape has changed. I've since moved jobs and, although life is still throwing stuff at me, actually doing something physical like this takes me away from it all, just for a little while.

Ms Miles has seen similar transformations again and again as women attend her classes.

Rebecca says it changed her whole outlook on life. "The idea of facing fears, such as moving to a higher trapeze, climbing to the top of the rope… trickled in to my daily life and meant that I felt I could cope more with the pressures from work and home."

http://www.bbc.com/news/health-28681373

Psychology of Retail Therapy

Choosing something to buy makes shoppers more happy, less sad and feel more in control than when they are simply browsing, according to new research.

In the study, published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology, researchers from the University of Michigan carried out three experiments to investigate whether shopping restored a sense of control in people to counter feelings of sadness. Shopping was up to 40 times more effective at giving people a sense of control, and they were three times less sad compared to those who only browsed.

The researchers said “retail therapy” should no longer be dismissed, and that it could help people overcome sadness. Previous studies have shown that shoppers enjoy positive feelings when reflecting on their most recent purchase, when that shopping had been motivated by a desire to repair mood. Others said they were less likely to experience sadness while shopping than immediately before setting out on a buying spree.

However, researchers said until now it had remained unclear whether shopping conveys benefits beyond those produced merely by distraction, or the passage of time. “Our work suggests that making shopping choices can help to restore a sense of personal control over one’s environment and reduce sadness,” the researchers said.

“Retail therapy – shopping that is motivated by distress – is often said to be ineffective, wasteful and a dark side of consumer behaviour, but we propose that retail therapy has been viewed too negatively, and that shopping may be an effective way to minimise sadness.”

Retail therapy has been described as a way of regulating stress, along with overeating, and alcohol consumption. When the researchers asked men and women for the first word that came to mind at the mention of “retail therapy”, they were more than twice as likely to use a negative word, such as nonsense or debt, than a positive one, such as fun or enjoyment.

In one experiment, men and women were divided into choosers and browsers before looking at 12 products, from slippers to headphones, and asked to select four. Results show that 79 per cent felt more in control while choosing, compared with 2 per cent of browsers. Choosers were also three times less sad.

“Our experiments provided support for the notion that making shopping choices helps to restore a sense of personal control over one’s environment, and thus helps to alleviate sadness,” the study said.

“Our work suggests that restoring personal control after it has been lost may help to extinguish the emotion that elicited the appraisal.”

And with that, cash machines across Britain should be braced for extra demand.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/say-buy-buyto-the-blues-picking-goods-and-paying-for-them-really-does-banish-sadness-says-a-study-into-retail-therapy-9085509.html

Video Games And Technology Used To Treat Behaviour Health In Young People

Technology is playing more and more of a role in our lives today and the mental health field is taking advantage of all there is to offer as well. I was happy to come across some creative uses of this technology in treating mental and behavioral health. Video games!!

While there are just a few listed here, and two are not even ready for distribution, I am still excited to see the possibilities in using video games for good, rather than just promoting violence. In addition, these games are created with clinical professionals and undergoing clinical testing.

SPARX 

Using Avatars to Treat Depression
SPARX video game in New Zealand has created a video game to combat teenage depression using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. According the the Sparx website, this game is NOT yet available for distribution as it is still going through clinical trials. I will keep watch though!

“…And here’s your new therapists: the SPARX computer game uses cognitive behavioural therapy to try to remove depression”

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2181640/Meet-new-wizard-therapists-New-Zealand-trials-video-game-uses-role-playing-games-try-beat-depression.html#ixzz24fN7hOsV

Rather than simply encouraging players to engage in combat or destruction, the SPARX video game developed in New Zealand attempts to teach teenagers how to deal with depression using the psychological approach known as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT).

Just as importantly, its creators set out to make the game exciting for those teenagers who are often reluctant to seek counselling and bored by well-meaning advice on how to cope with depression.

The result is a role-playing fantasy game, where teenagers adopt a warrior avatar and get to blast negative thoughts with fireballs while trying to save the world from sinking into a mire of pessimism and despair.

Project leader Sally Merry, a child and adolescent psychiatrist at Auckland University, said the unconventional approach had proved popular with teenagers, allowing them to address their issues in privacy and at their own pace.

‘You can deal with mental health problems in a way that doesn’t have to be deadly serious,’ she said. ‘The therapy doesn’t have to be depressing in and of itself. We’re aiming to make it fun.’

RAGE CONTROL (Regulate And Gain Emotional Control)

According to an online article by Harvard Magazine, this video game is being tested as a way to help kids deal with anger and gaining control of their emotions.

The pilot study at Children’s Hospital Boston tests an intervention that features a video game based on the 1980s arcade favorite Space Invaders. Players shoot down space aliens, but with an important modification: they wear a monitor on one pinkie that tracks heart rate as they play. If that indicator rises above resting levels—signaling that they’re overexcited—players lose the ability to shoot.

Succeeding at the game, known as RAGE Control (Regulate and Gain Emotional Control), is a careful balancing act. “You need to learn how to control your level of arousal,” he says, “but just enough that you can still react rapidly and make quick decisions.”

Participants play during sessions with Peter Ducharme, a licensed clinical social worker who has adapted traditional anger-management therapy to complement the game. During the course of five hour-long sessions, he teaches kids strategies to regulate their emotional states—including deep breathing and progressive muscle relaxation—and then encourages them to experiment to see which strategies aid their game play.

SECOND LIFE

Second Life is a real world style of video game where players create their own avatar and interact with the social world around them. It is now being used to help individuals with Aspergers and others on the Autism spectrum learn to interact socially, but at their own pace. Brigadoon is the project leading this trend. I can see where there would be some controversy surrounding the use of Second Life for this purpose, but, while games are not a replacement for real social interaction, it’s a good start for some. After all, we need to meet them where they are first.

http://www.kimscounselingcorner.com/2012/08/27/wizard-therapists-video-games-that-target-depression-anger-management-and-social-skills/

http://www.kimscounselingcorner.com/

Oxford University Podcast: New Psychology of Depression

Understanding Depression

Reviewed by Dr Ciaran Mulholland, MRC clinical scientist, senior lecturer and honorary consultant psychiatrist

What is depression?

The word 'depression' causes much confusion. It's often used to describe when someone is feeling 'low', 'miserable', 'in a mood' or having 'got out of bed on the wrong side'. However, doctors use the word in two different ways. They can use it to describe the symptom of a 'low mood', or to refer to a specific illness, ie a 'depressive illness'. This fact sheet relates to depression, the illness.

This confusion is made all the worse because it is often difficult to tell the difference between feeling gloomy and having a depressive illness. Doctors make a diagnosis of depression after assessing the severity of the low mood, other associated symptoms and the duration of the problem. 

Depression is very common. Almost anybody can develop the illness; it's certainly NOT a sign of weakness. Depression is also treatable. You may need to see a doctor, but there are things you can do yourself or things you can do to help somebody suffering from the illness.

What you cannot do is 'pull yourself together' – no matter whether this is what you think you should be able to do or what other people tell you to do.

People who have experienced an episode of depression are at risk of developing another in the future. A small proportion may experience an episode of depression as part of a bipolar affective disorder (manic depression), which is characterised by episodes of both low and high moods.

Who gets depressed?

• Depression is very common.
• Between 5 and 10 per cent of the population are suffering from the illness to some extent at any one time.
• Over a lifetime you have a 20 per cent, or one in five, chance of having an episode of depression.
• Women are twice as likely to get depression as men.
• Bipolar affective disorder is less common than depressive illness with a life-time risk of around one to two per cent. Men and women are equally affected.

Getting depression is not a sign of weakness. There are no particular 'personality types' that are more at risk than others.

However, some risk factors have been identified. These include inherited (genetic) factors – such as having parents or grandparents, who have suffered from depression, and non-genetic factors – such as the death of a parent when you were young.

What causes depression?

• We do not fully understand the causes of depression.
• Genes or early life experiences may make some people vulnerable.
• Stressful life events, such as losing a job or a relationship ending, may trigger an episode of depression.
• Depression can be triggered by some physical illnesses, drug treatments and recreational drugs.

It's often impossible to identify a 'cause' in many people, and this can be distressing for people who want to understand the reasons why they are ill.

However depression, like any illness, can strike for no apparent reason.

It's clear that there are definite changes in the way the brain works when a person is depressed.

• Modern brain scans that can look at how 'hard' the brain is working have shown that some areas of the brain (such as at the front) are not working as well as normal.
• Depressed patients have higher than normal levels of stress hormones.
• Various chemical systems in the brain may not be working correctly, including one known as the serotonin or 5-HT system.
• Antidepressants may help to reverse these changes.

Symptoms of depression

Stress can lead to you to feeling 'down' and 'miserable'. What is different about a depressive illness is that these feelings last for weeks or months, rather than days.

In addition to feeling low most or all of the time, many other symptoms can occur in depressive illness (though not everybody has every one).

• Being unable to gain pleasure from activities that normally would be pleasurable.
• Losing interest in normal activities, hobbies and everyday life.
• Feeling tired all of the time and having no energy.
• Difficulty sleeping or waking early in the morning (though some feel that they can't get out of bed and 'face the world').
• Having a poor appetite, no interest in food and losing weight (though some people overeat and put on weight – 'comfort eating').
• Losing interest in sex.
• Finding it difficult to concentrate and think straight.
• Feeling restless, tense and anxious.
• Being irritable.
• Losing self-confidence.
• Avoiding other people.
• Finding it harder than usual to make decisions.
• Feeling useless and inadequate – 'a waste of space'.
• Feeling guilty about who you are and what you have done.
• Feeling hopeless – that nothing will make things better.
• Thinking about suicide – this is very common. If you feel this way, talk to somebody about it. If you think somebody else might be thinking this way, ask them about it – it will not make them more likely to commit suicide.

How is depression diagnosed?

Unfortunately, there's no brain scan or blood test that can be used to diagnose when a person has a depressive illness.

The diagnosis can only be made from the symptoms.

Generally speaking a diagnosis of depression will be made if a person has a persistently low mood that significantly influences their everyday life and has been present for two weeks or more, and there are also three or four or more other symptoms of depression.

Who treats people with depression?

• General practitioners (GPs), most commonly help treat people with depression.
• Patients may also be seen by counsellors, who are often attached to GP surgeries.
• If the diagnosis is unclear, or the person is particularly ill, the GP may refer the patient to a psychiatrist.
• Patients may be referred to community psychiatric nurses (CPNs) by their GP or psychiatrist.
• People suffering from depression may also be seen by CBT therapists and other psychotherapists.

Treatments for depression

Sometimes when we are going through a 'bad patch' in our life, it's enough to talk through our problems with a friend or relative.

However, this may not be enough and we may need to seek professional help.

The important thing to remember about depression is that it's treatable.

There are many different types of treatment. These include medication and talking therapies (psychotherapy).

Psychotherapy

• There are many different forms of psychotherapy.
• Simply talking to somebody or your doctor about your problems is a form of psychotherapy and can help greatly.
• It's far better to talk about your problems than 'bottling-up' your emotions.
• More formal psychotherapy includes counselling, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) and dynamic psychotherapy or psychoanalysis.

As a general, rule psychotherapies are as effective as medication for the treatment of mild depression. However, for more severe illnesses, medication is likely to be needed but may be supplemented with psychotherapy.

Exactly which type of therapy a doctor recommends depends on the particular problems a patient is suffering from, the views of the patient and local availability of psychotherapy. There's little evidence to suggest that one form of therapy is better than another.

Medication

• Antidepressant medication (for example fluoxetine) helps to correct the 'low' mood and other symptoms experienced during depression – they are NOT 'happy pills'.
• Antidepressants do not change your personality.
• Antidepressants are NOT addictive.

In the last few years, there has been an explosion of new antidepressant medications. The main advantage of these new drugs is that they have fewer side effects than older drugs and so are more pleasant to take.

Your doctor will choose which medication to prescribe for you based on the side-effects of the drugs and your particular symptoms. We do not fully understand how antidepressants work. However, they appear to act on chemicals in the brain to correct the abnormalities that cause the illness.

When taking medication, it's important to remember:

• to take your medication regularly
• you are unlikely to see any improvement in your symptoms for two to four weeks after starting the medication
• once you have started to respond, you should slowly improve over several weeks
• current World Health Organization guidelines recommend that patients continue to take their medication for six months after having recovered. This is to prevent a recurrence of the illness when the medication is stopped
• antidepressants are effective for both treating episodes of depression and also for preventing further episodes of illness. Some patients who have had severe or many episodes of illness are therefore recommended to take medication for a long time
• stopping to take medication once you feel well is a common cause of a return of the symptoms of depression. You should therefore only stop after discussion with your doctor
• generally coming off antidepressants is not a problem, though usually you should gradually reduce the dose of the medication over a few weeks rather than stopping abruptly. If you stop antidepressants abruptly you may notice anxiety, headaches, stomach upset, sleep disturbance or other symptoms.

What happens if you do not respond to treatment?

Some people unfortunately do not get better with simple straightforward treatments.

It may be that they need to try a higher dose or different antidepressants. A combination of medication and psychotherapy could also be helpful.

It may be necessary for these people to be referred to a psychiatrist for more specialised help. The psychiatrist will want to talk about the problems the person is suffering and find out about background information, such as work and family, previous health or emotional problems and current medication.

The psychiatrist may then recommend different treatments. Rarely, it may be necessary for the person to be admitted to hospital if the depression is very severe. This is only necessary in about 1 in 100 patients with depression.

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)

Most people do not like the idea of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). It's a treatment that is reserved only for patients who have severe depression, for which it's highly effective and can work faster than medication.

It involves having a brief anaesthetic, which sends the person to sleep for 5 to 10 minutes. While asleep, a muscle-relaxing drug is given and a small electric current is passed through the brain for a fraction of a second.

Once the person has woken, it takes half an hour or so to get over the effects of the anaesthetic.

ECT is only given under the close supervision of an anaesthetist, a psychiatrist and nursing staff.

Most commonly, ECT is administered twice a week and around 6 to 10 treatments are necessary to treat the depression, though an effect may be seen after the first one or two treatments.

There's no evidence that properly administered ECT damages the brain in any way.

What to do if you are depressed

• Talk to people about how you feel. Don't bottle things up. It is NOT a sign of weakness to get help for your problems, in the same way that it would not be to get medical help for a broken leg or a chest infection.
• Although you may not be able to do the things you normally would (such as work), try to keep active as much as you can. Lying in bed or sitting thinking about your problems can make them seem worse. Physical exercise can also help depression and keep your mind off your worries.
• Do not increase your alcohol intake to try and 'drown your sorrows' or help you sleep better. Alcohol will only make the depression worse and harder to treat.
• If you are having problems sleeping, try not to lie in bed thinking about your problems and anxieties. Do something to take your mind off your worries, such as reading or listening to the radio.
• Self-help books may be helpful. Check out the health section of any good bookshop.
• If you are feeling suicidal or desperate contact a voluntary sector organisation, such as the Samaritans.
• Always remember that you are suffering from an illness. It is not you being weak, and you can NOT simply 'pull yourself together'. Your illness is treatable. You are also NOT ALONE. Depression is extremely common.

What to do if you know somebody who is depressed

Sometimes people are not aware that they are depressed. This can happen when the depression comes on slowly.

In addition many people suffering from depression blame themselves for not coping as they normally would, rather than thinking there might be some illness that has caused them to be this way. The illness can make a person think that it would be a sign of weakness to seek help for their difficulties. If you think that this has happened to somebody, you should try to talk to him or her about it.

Also try to remember the following.

• Listening can really help.
• Avoid saying, 'pull yourself together' or other remarks that make the person think that it is their fault that they are ill.
• If the person's problems do not sort themselves out in a week or so, suggest that the person seek professional help. Remind the person that this is not a sign of weakness or of being a failure.
• Don't nag the person or try to get them to do what they normally would. Remember they are suffering from an illness.
• Remind the person that they have an illness, it's not their fault and they'll get better no matter how hopeless they feel.
• Try to help them avoid resorting to alcohol, which does not help the situation. If the person talks of harming themself or committing suicide, take this seriously. Insist that they see a doctor.
• Remember that it does NOT increase the chances of a person committing suicide to talk to them about it.

Based on a text by Dr Hamish McAllister-Williams, MRC clinical scientist, senior lecturer and honorary consultant psychiatrist

http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/whoisnd.htm