Mi raza
La imagen perfecta de la soledad es la de una persona pequeña en el patio de un colegio, aterrada y padeciendo humillaciones que nadie percibe, que a nadie pueden contar y que, cree, no terminarán jamás
anxiety
Older People with Anxiety Frequently Don’t Get Help. Here’s Why
Source: CNN – Top Stories Anxiety is the most common psychological disorder affecting adults in the United States. In older people, it’s associated with considerable distress as well as ill health, diminished quality of life and elevated rates of disability. Yet when the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, an independent, influential panel of experts, suggested
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An ADHD Diagnosis in Adulthood Comes with Challenges and Benefits
Source: APA Monitor When Terry Matlen, a clinical social worker, was in her 40s, she was diagnosed with ADHD. “My entire life, there was something off,” Matlen said. This included significant anxiety as well as academic and behavioral issues, all of which started at a young age. Although Matlen was initially quite skeptical of her
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As Climate Changes, Climate Anxiety Rises in Youth
Source: CBS News – Health Kids often worry about much different things than their parents do. One of the big ones is climate change. Research shows most youth are “extremely worried” about it, leading to a phenomenon called climate anxiety. Kids and young adults with this anxiety feel they have no future or that humanity
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Effectiveness of cognitive analytic therapy for mixed anxiety and depression in the context of borderline traits: A quasi-experimental single case design evaluation.
Journal of Psychotherapy Integration, Vol 33(1), Mar 2023, 34-46; doi:10.1037/int0000281 The evidence base for the use of cognitive analytic therapy (CAT) as a short-term, integrative, and relational psychotherapy for anxiety and depression is building. This study contributes by intensively studying change in two types of quantitative outcomes (ideographic and nomothetic) over treatment time. The study
Blood Test for Anxiety Developed
A newly developed blood test screens for biomarkers associated with anxiety to determine a person’s risk of developing the disorder as well as monitor the severity of symptoms in those with anxiety.
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Psicodelia: un mundo alucinante que revela fenómenos de profundo interés filosófico
Los tratamientos han confirmado la eficacia terapéutica y transformadora de sustancias psicoactivas como el LSD y el THC, pero el debate sobre su relación con la conciencia apenas acaba de comenzar
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Improved lifestyle is associated with improved depression, anxiety and well-being over time in UK healthcare professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic: insights from the CoPE-HCP cohort study
Background
One potential modifiable factor to improve the mental health of healthcare professionals (HCPs) during the pandemic is lifestyle.
Aims
This study aimed to assess whether an improved lifestyle during the pandemic is associated with improved mental health symptoms and mental well-being in HCPs over time.
Methods
This was a cohort study involving an online survey distributed at two separate time points during the pandemic (baseline (July–September 2020) and follow-up (December 2020–March 2021)) to HCPs working in primary or secondary care in the UK. Both surveys assessed for major depressive disorder (MDD) (Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9)), generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) (Generalised Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7)), mental well-being (Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Score (SWEMWBS)) and self-reported lifestyle change (compared with the start of the pandemic) on multiple domains. Cumulative scores were calculated to estimate overall lifestyle change compared with that before the pandemic (at both baseline and follow-up). At each time point, separate logistic regression models were constructed to relate the lifestyle change score with the presence of MDD, GAD and low mental well-being. Linear regression models were also developed relating the change in lifestyle scores from baseline to follow-up to changes in PHQ-9, GAD-7 and SWEMWBS scores.
Results
613 HCPs completed both baseline assessment and follow-up assessment. Consistent significant cross-sectional associations between increased lifestyle change scores and a reduced risk of MDD, GAD and low mental well-being were observed at both baseline and follow-up. Over the study period, a whole unit increase in the change in novel scores (ie, improved overall lifestyle) over 4 months was inversely associated with changes in PHQ-9 (adjusted coefficient: –0.51, 95% confidence interval (CI): –0.73 to –0.30, p
Alteration of faecal microbiota balance related to long-term deep meditation
Background
Advancements in research have confirmed that gut microbiota can influence health through the microbiota–gut–brain axis. Meditation, as an inner mental exercise, can positively impact the regulation of an individual’s physical and mental health. However, few studies have comprehensively investigated faecal microbiota following long-term (several years) deep meditation. Therefore, we propose that long-term meditation may regulate gut microbiota homeostasis and, in turn, affect physical and mental health.
Aims
To investigate the effects of long-term deep meditation on the gut microbiome structure.
Methods
To examine the intestinal flora, 16S rRNA gene sequencing was performed on faecal samples of 56 Tibetan Buddhist monks and neighbouring residents. Based on the sequencing data, linear discriminant analysis effect size (LEfSe) was employed to identify differential intestinal microbial communities between the two groups. Phylogenetic Investigation of Communities by Reconstruction of Unobserved States (PICRUSt) analysis was used to predict the function of faecal microbiota. In addition, we evaluated biochemical indices in the plasma.
Results
The α-diversity indices of the meditation and control groups differed significantly. At the genus level, Prevotella and Bacteroides were significantly enriched in the meditation group. According to the LEfSe analysis, two beneficial bacterial genera (Megamonas and Faecalibacterium) were significantly enriched in the meditation group. Functional predictive analysis further showed that several pathways—including glycan biosynthesis, metabolism and lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis—were significantly enriched in the meditation group. Moreover, plasma levels of clinical risk factors were significantly decreased in the meditation group, including total cholesterol and apolipoprotein B.
Conclusions
Long-term traditional Tibetan Buddhist meditation may positively impact physical and mental health. We confirmed that the gut microbiota composition differed between the monks and control subjects. The microbiota enriched in monks was associated with a reduced risk of anxiety, depression and cardiovascular disease and could enhance immune function. Overall, these results suggest that meditation plays a positive role in psychosomatic conditions and well-being.
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Proactive psychological and psychiatric support of patients with chronic non-communicable diseases in a randomised trial: a Ukrainian experience
Background
Presently, approaches for the early treatment of pathological anxiety in patients with chronic non-communicable diseases are lacking, thus delaying the initiation of symptom management at the early onset of the illness. Proactive psychological and psychiatric support, to alleviate subclinical symptoms of anxiety and to improve the quality of life in patients with chronic non-communicable diseases, is a promising candidate for the role of such therapy.
Aims
To investigate and determine the effectiveness of proactive psychological and psychiatric support for alleviating subclinical symptoms of anxiety and improving quality of life, in patients with chronic non-communicable diseases.
Methods
The study design was a monocentric randomised controlled trial with parallel groups. The study, involving 193 inpatients with chronic non-communicable diseases, complied with the ethical and deontological norms in accordance with the principles set out in the Declaration of Helsinki. Instruments used in the study included the Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAM-A) to assess subclinical symptoms, the Scale of Somatic Symptoms and the Chaban Quality of Life Scale. Block randomisation was used to randomise patients to a 2-month-long study group with a proactive counselling psychiatry model care or a control group with standard regulated treatment for chronic non-communicable diseases. The allocation ratio was 1.15:1 owing to the expectancy of a higher percentage of dropout in the intervention group.
Results
After 60 days of treatment (T2), there was a statistically significant difference in all clinical parameters between the study and control groups. The median HAM-A value differed between the groups by 4.87 points, with statistically significant lower results in the study group. The comparison of the study group’s scale values on day 1 and day 60 demonstrated statistically significant changes in all three indicators.
Conclusions
Our results support existing evidence for the effectiveness of proactive psychological and psychiatric support to reduce subclinical anxiety and somatisation symptoms and to improve the quality of life for patients with common chronic non-communicable diseases. However, continued research on the effectiveness of proactive psychological and psychiatric support for patients with chronic non-communicable diseases is needed.
