Exposure to COVID-19 news and its relation to stress, depression, and anxiety in the context of difficulty in accessing social support
.
… the aim of this study was to closely examine the relationships between [problematic smartphone use] (PSU) and anxiety and depression to identify the pathological mechanisms underpinning those relationships. A second aim was to identify important bridge nodes to identify potential targets for intervention. … … Five strongest edges appeared within the communities in both
In the Alpha-Stim Anxiety Insomnia and Depression cranial electrotherapy stimulation trial, Richard Morriss and colleagues reported no significant difference in their primary depression outcome between active and sham groups.1 Although not the headline of the article, 41% of recruited patients who received sham stimulation had remission of their depression. This remarkable result adds to the growing list of neurotechnology trials in psychiatry demonstrating very large responses in their placebo arms.
Utilizing data from Twitter and applying natural language processing artificial intelligence algorithms, researchers created a new, accurate prediction model for depression and anxiety.
… Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) identifies neurophysiological differences between psychiatric disorders by assessing cortical hemodynamic function. Few trials have studied differences in brain functional activity between first-episode medication-naïve depression patients (FMD) and recurrent major depression (RMD). We aimed to determine the differences between FMD and RMD in oxygenated hemoglobin concentration ([oxy-Hb]), and to investigate the
Compassion makes us more resilient and less anxious or depressed, and it increases self-worth and happiness, research tells us.
Rick Hanson: Compassion is a kind of superpower. Here’s what research says it can do. Read More »
Journal of Humanistic Psychology, Ahead of Print. A resurgence of research has begun to systematically examine the relationship between psychedelic use and mental health and well-being. Although preliminary findings examining the therapeutic value of these substances show promise, the mechanisms through which psychedelic use may predict reduced mental distress remain poorly understood. To this end, we surveyed a community sample of individuals (n = 159) who endorsed lifetime psychedelic use to examine relationships among psychedelic use and self-reported spirituality, difficulties in emotion regulation, and symptoms of mental health issues. Results revealed a pathway through which classic psychedelic use predicted greater spirituality, which in turn predicted better emotion regulation, ultimately predicting lower levels of anxiety, depressed mood, and disordered eating. These results contribute to our understanding of potential mechanisms of change with respect to psychedelics and mental health. They also add to the growing body of literature pointing to the healing effects of the cultivation of spirituality and emotion regulation as separate and related constructs.
BackgroundSeveral large-scale studies and reviews have reported both negative and positive associations of social media use with well-being, suggesting that the findings are more complex and need more nuanced study. Moreover, there is little or no exploration of how social media use in adolescence influences flourishing, a more all-encompassing construct beyond well-being, including six sub-domains (i.e., happiness, meaning and purpose, physical and mental health, character, close social relationships, and financial stability). This paper aims to fill this gap by understanding how adolescents might flourish through social media activities by fulfilling the basic needs pointed out by the Self-Determination Theory, i.e., relatedness, autonomy, and competence.MethodsThe study is drawn on cross-sectional data collected from 1,429 Swiss adolescents (58.8% females, Mage = 15.84, SDage = 0.83) as part of the HappyB project in Spring 2022. Self-reported measures included the Harvard Adolescent Flourishing scale, positive and negative online social experiences, self-disclosure on social media, and social media inspiration. Control variables included, among others, self-esteem, ill-being, and personality.ResultsAfter applying Bonferroni’s correction, results of the hierarchical regression analyses showed that positive social media experiences (β = 0.112, p
Social media use and adolescents’ well-being: A note on flourishing Read More »
This cohort study investigates the association of long-term exposure to multiple air pollutants and incident depression and anxiety.
Heart rate variability (HRV) is a known psychophysiological marker for diverse psychiatric symptoms. In this study, we aimed to explore the potential for clinical use of HRV by investigating the interrelationship between HRV indices and clinical measures mainly used to assess depressive and anxious symptoms. … … Our study showed that HRV is an objective