In a multidisciplinary study that combines molecular biology with neuroscience, researchers have found that Tob gene plays an important role in reducing depression, fear, and anxiety.
‘Jumping gene’ found to be strongly linked to depression, fear, and anxiety Read More »
Feeling anxious? This simple trick can help alleviate some of those worries
How to use the 333 rule for anxiety Read More »
Depression, anxiety, worry, perceived stress, and loneliness measured early in the pandemic, before infection with COVID-19, were associated with up to 45% increased risk of developing long COVID. Distress was more strongly associated with developing long COVID than physical health risk factors such as obesity, asthma, and hypertension. The increased risk associated with distress was not explained by health behaviors, such as smoking, or by physical health conditions, like asthma.
Psychological distress before COVID-19 infection increases risk of long COVID Read More »
Ombudsman says children are going months and even years without proper alternative educationCouncils are failing to put adequate alternative education in place for the growing numbers of children in England who are unable to attend school because of social anxiety, according to a report by the local government ombudsman.Many have complex special educational needs and are unable to go to school because there are no suitable places available in their area, meaning they can go months and even years without any proper alternative arrangements, the report said. Continue reading…
Children too anxious to attend school being failed by English councils – report Read More »
After bottling up his own anxieties for a decade, Scott Oughton-Johnson created a group for other men who’ve felt the same. Now it’s his turn to be treatedScott Oughton-Johnson simply did not talk about his feelings. Not when he separated from the mother of his children a decade ago, and not during their subsequent custody battle.“I was in and out of court for the best part of 10 years,” says the 35-year-old community sports coach from south London. “It was a nightmare. I bottled it all up. People would say, ‘I don’t know how you do it.’ But inside, it was terrible. The stress and anxiety were killing me.” Continue reading…
Medication is often prescribed as a quick-fix but therapy can be more helpful in the long-run, if accessible. Here’s how to work out what is best for youSince the beginning of the pandemic, there has been a soaring demand for mental health services, with an estimated 1.6 million people in England waiting for specialised support, and another 8 million who would benefit but whose deterioration in mental health is not considered serious enough to even get on the waiting list. Anxiety rates have been recorded as rising significantly between 2008 (the year of the financial crash) and 2018, with increases in all age groups under 55, but trebling in young adults.The number of prescriptions issued for anti-anxiety medication has also been rising. Earlier this year, research was published showing that between 2003 and 2008 the use of drugs to treat anxiety was steady, but by 2018 it had risen considerably. During that earlier period, new anti-anxiety prescriptions rose from 25 or 26 per 1,000 person years at risk – a measure of the prevalence of anxiety – to 43.6 in 2018. Nearly twice the number of women are being prescribed medication as men. Continue reading…
Therapy v medication? How to choose the best treatment for anxiety Read More »
Feeling anxious? This simple trick can help alleviate some of those worries
How to use the 333 rule for anxiety Read More »
People who were more distressed — showing signs of anxiety or depression — during the COVID-19 pandemic were less likely to follow some best practice recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to a new study. However, those same people were more likely than their non-distressed peers to get vaccinated. The authors refer to this as differential distress: when people act safely in one aspect while disregarding safety in another, both in response to the same psychological distress.
In a survey study of more than 3,000 adults, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers compared psychedelic experiences with near-death experiences that were not drug related and found notable similarities in people’s attitudes toward death. Survey participants in both groups reported having less fear of death and dying after the experience. They also reported that the experience had a lasting positive effect, providing personal meaning, spiritual significance and psychological insight.
The study was published Aug. 24, 2022 in the journal PLOS ONE.
The results are consistent with several recent clinical trials showing that a single treatment with the psychedelic psilocybin produced sustained decreases in anxiety and depression among patients with a life-threatening cancer diagnosis. The largest of these trials (Griffiths et al., 2016) was conducted at Johns Hopkins Medicine by the authors of this survey. That study, a randomized trial of 51 patients with cancer who had clinically significant anxiety or depressive symptoms, demonstrated that receiving a controlled, high dose of psilocybin given with supportive psychotherapy resulted in significant increases in ratings of death acceptance, as well as decreases in anxiety about death.
For the present study, the researchers analyzed data gathered from 3,192 people who answered an online survey between December 2015 and April 2018. Participants were divided into groups: 933 individuals had non-drug-related near-death experiences, and the rest of the participants had psychedelic experiences, which were prompted by either lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) (904), psilocybin (766), ayahuasca (282) or N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) (307). Participants were predominantly white (85%) and mostly from the United States. Compared with the non-drug group, there were more men in the psychedelic group (78% versus 32%), and they tended to be younger (32 versus 55 years of age) at the time of the experience.
Similarities between the groups include: About 90% of participants in both groups reported a decrease in fear of death when considering changes in their views from before to after the experience. Most participants in both groups (non-drug group, 85%; psychedelics group, 75%) rated the experience to be among the top five most personally meaningful and spiritually significant of their life. Participants in both groups reported moderate to strong persisting positive changes in personal well-being and life purpose and meaning.Differences between the groups include: The non-drug group was more likely to report that their life was in danger (47% versus the psychedelics group, 3%), being medically unconscious (36% versus the psychedelics group, 10%), or being clinically dead (21% versus the psychedelics group, less than 1%). The non-drug group was more likely to report that their experience was very brief, lasting five minutes or less (40% versus the psychedelics group, 7%).The researchers say that future studies are needed to better understand the potential clinical use of psychedelics in ameliorating suffering related to fear of death.
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Materials provided by Johns Hopkins Medicine. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
MP for Hazel Grove reveals his struggles and says he looks forward to returning in better mental healthWilliam Wragg has said he is taking a short break from his duties as an MP as he is suffering from a period of severe depression and anxiety.The Conservative MP for Hazel Grove, who is chair of the public administration committee, revealed his struggles in a statement on Twitter titled “banishing the black dog”. Continue reading…
Tory MP William Wragg takes break due to depression and anxiety Read More »
