Depression – Page 11 – Mental Health Matters

Book: The CBT Art Workbook for Coping with Depression

Published on 10/05/2020 by Andrew MarshallLeave a comment

Book Title:

The CBT Art Workbook for Coping with Depression.

Author(s): Jennifer Guest.

Year: 2020.

Edition: First (1st).

Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Type(s): Paperback.

Synopsis:

Using the principles of CBT, these illustrated worksheets help clients to understand and manage their symptoms of depression.

The activities follow the framework of a typical CBT course: how it works, looking at the nature of depression, linking thoughts, feelings, behaviour and physiology cycles, exploring different levels of thinking and beliefs, and identifying goals and future planning. It presents these theories in an accessible way so that clients are familiar with the foundations of CBT they will be using in the worksheets. They can complete them by writing or drawing, alongside the opportunity to colour in parts of the pages as they consider ideas.

Suitable for adults in individual or group work, this is an excellent resource to use as a standalone resource or in conjunction with professional therapy to deal with depression.

Book: The Science and Practice of Wellness

Published on 09/28/2020 by Andrew MarshallLeave a comment

Book Title:

The Science and Practice of Wellness: Interventions for Happiness, Enthusiasm, Resilience, and Optimism (HERO).

Author(s): Rakesh Jain and Saundra Jain.

Year: 2020.

Edition: First (1st).

Publisher: W.W. Norton Company.

Type(s): Hardcover.

Synopsis:

Wellness is rapidly becoming an issue of great importance in clinical practice. Wellness-centric clinicians look to improve various traits known to be beneficial to patients – traits such as happiness, enthusiasm, resilience, and optimism (referred to as the HERO traits). All of these not only improve global mental wellness, but also offer resilience against stress, depression, and anxiety. Wellness-centric interventions augment both psychopharmacology and traditional psychotherapies, such as CBT.

Rakesh and Saundra Jain start with an in- depth review of the scientific literature and a practical introduction on applying wellness interventions in various clinical settings. Additionally, they offer advice on such beneficial practices as exercise, mindfulness, optimised nutrition, optimized sleep, enhanced socialisation, and positive psychology enhancement. A robust resource section offers access to wellness-centric scales and forms developed by the authors.

Book: Resilience – How We Find New Strength At Times of Stress

Published on 09/28/2020 by Andrew MarshallLeave a comment

Book Title:

Resilience – How We Find New Strength At Times of Stress.

Author(s): Frederic Flach, MD.

Year: 2020.

Edition: Third (3rd).

Publisher: Ballantine Books.

Type(s): Hardcover, Paperback, and Kindle.

Synopsis:

Learn to bounce back from life’s inevitable crises by making friends with stress. There’s no escaping stress. It appears on our doorstep uninvited in the shattering forms of death and divorce, or even in the pleasant experiences of promotion, marriage, or a long-held wish fulfilled. Anything that upsets the delicate balance of our daily lives creates stress.

So why do some people come out of a crisis while others never seem quite themselves again? Now, Dr. Frederic Flach takes the anxiety out of hard times by showing you how to embrace you fears and become stronger because of them. Drawing on over thirty years of experience, Flach reveals the remarkable antidote to the destructive qualities of stress: RESILIENCE.

Book: Rainy Brain, Sunny Brain

Published on 09/28/2020 by Andrew MarshallLeave a comment

Book Title:

Rainy Brain, Sunny Brain – How to Retrain Your Brain to Overcome Pessimism and Achieve a More Positive Outlook.

Author(s): Elaine Fox.

Year: 2012.

Edition: First (1st).

Publisher: Baisc Books.

Type(s): Hardcover, Paperback, and Audiobook, and Kindle.

Synopsis:

Are you optimistic or pessimistic? Glass half-full or half-empty? Do you look on the bright side or turn towards the dark? These are easy questions for most of us to answer, because our personality types are hard-wired into our brains. As pioneering psychologist and neuroscientist Elaine Fox has discovered, our outlook on life reflects our primal inclination to seek pleasure or avoid danger – inclinations that, in many people, are healthily balanced. But when our “fear brain” or “pleasure brain” is too strong, the results can be disastrous, as those of us suffering from debilitating shyness, addiction, depression, or anxiety know all too well.

Luckily, anyone suffering from these afflictions has reason to hope. Stunning breakthroughs in neuroscience show that our brains are more malleable than we ever imagined. In Rainy Brain, Sunny Brain, Fox describes a range of techniques – from traditional cognitive behavioural therapy to innovative cognitive-retraining exercises – that can actually alter our brains’ circuitry, strengthening specific thought processes by exercising the neural systems that control them. The implications are enormous: lifelong pessimists can train themselves to think positively and find happiness, while pleasure-seekers inclined toward risky or destructive behavior can take control of their lives.

Drawing on her own cutting-edge research, Fox shows how we can retrain our brains to brighten our lives and learn to flourish. With keen insights into how genes, life experiences and cognitive processes interleave together to make us who we are, Rainy Brain, SunnyBrain revolutionizes our basic concept of individuality. We learn that we can influence our own personalities, and that our lives are only as “sunny” or as “rainy” as we allow them to be.

Depression and Pre-Clinical Dementia

Published on 09/28/2020 by Andrew MarshallLeave a comment

Research Paper Title

A cross-national study of depression in preclinical dementia: A COSMIC collaboration study.

Background

Depression commonly accompanies Alzheimer’s disease, but the nature of this association remains uncertain.

Methods

Longitudinal data from the COSMIC consortium were harmonized for eight population-based cohorts from four continents. Incident dementia was diagnosed in 646 participants, with a median follow-up time of 5.6 years to diagnosis. The association between years to dementia diagnosis and successive depressive states was assessed using a mixed effect logistic regression model. A generic inverse variance method was used to group study results, construct forest plots, and generate heterogeneity statistics.

Results

A common trajectory was observed showing an increase in the incidence of depression as the time to dementia diagnosis decreased despite cross-national variability in depression rates.

Conclusions

The results support the hypothesis that depression occurring in the preclinical phases of dementia is more likely to be attributable to dementia-related brain changes than environment or reverse causality.

Reference

Carles, S., Carriere, I., Reppermund, S., Davin, A., Guaita, A., Vaccaro, R., Ganguli, M., Jacobsen, E.P., Beer, J.C., Riedel-Heller, S.G., Roehr, S., Pabst, A., Haan, M.N., Brodarty, H., Kochan, N.A., Trollor, J.N., Kim, K.W., Han, J.W., Suh, S.W., Lobo, A., De La Camara, C., Lobo, E., Lipnicki, D.M., Sachdev, P.S., Ancelin, M-L., Ritchie, K. & for Cohrot Studies of Memory in an International Consortium (COSMIC). (2020) A cross-national study of depression in preclinical dementia: A COSMIC collaboration study. Alzheimer’s & Dementia. doi: 10.1002/alz.12149. Online ahead of print.

Book: NLP Dark Psychology

Published on 09/25/2020 by Andrew MarshallLeave a comment

Book Title:

NLP Dark Psychology – Neuro-Linguistic Programming Techniques: The Essential Guide To Persuade and Influence People, Learn to Detect Deception, Covert Manipulation and Brainwashing Behaviour.

Author(s): J.R. Smith.

Year: 2020.

Edition: First (1st).

Publisher: Independently Published.

Type(s): Paperback, Audiobook, and Kindle.

Synopsis:

Has it come to your realisation that some people have the ability to dupe others using manipulative techniques and can as well get tricked by others using many secrets of dark psychology?

Some has the ability to victimise other people by preying on them. Whereas many restrain from this tendency, there are those who act on these instincts.

In this book you can discover Dark Psychology Techniques that are used by people to influence, manipulate, and coerce others to get whatsoever they want.

For so many years now, the concept of mind control has existed, and people have shown both fear and fascination of what would take place if an individual would control their thoughts and minds and lead them to do things that are against their wish and will.

There have been conspiracy theories on how government officials, as well as other influential persons, use their talents and capacities to control actions of the minorities and small groups.

Inside the book, you will come across interesting topics such as:

How We Receive Information.
The Animalistic Nature of the Brain.
The Dark Side of Manipulation.
How People Use Our Map of Reality Against Us.
Examples of Manipulation We Can Find in Our Day-To-Day Lives
Simple Mind Control Techniques to Use.
Personalities Likely to Manipulate.
Why Reframing is so Important.
NLP and Depression.
NLP and Anxiety.
Different Ways That You Are Persuaded Subliminally.

This is just a tiny fraction of what you will discover

Each of the mind control tactics works in a different way.

In the modern world, dark psychology is among the most powerful forces used by the most influential people to manipulate others.

People who are uninformed are in the danger of having it used against them.

Just imagine how different your life would be if you could get prospective customers, colleagues, employees, investors, friends, and literally anyone to do what you want them to do without you having to beg, cajole, or threaten.

So even if you have tried to learn these skills before but still feel lost and frustrated, this guide will give you the practical tools and knowledge to read and understand people in a way few others ever will.

Book: Learned Hopefulness – The Power of Positivity to Overcome Depression

Published on 09/23/2020 by Andrew MarshallLeave a comment

Book Title:

Learned Hopefulness – The Power of Positivity to Overcome Depression.

Author(s): Dan Tomasulo, PhD.

Year: 2020.

Edition: First (1st).

Publisher: New Harbinger Publications.

Type(s): Paperback and Kindle.

Synopsis:

Cultivate hope with strengths-based practices grounded in positive psychology.

If you suffer from depression, sub-clinical depression, or low mood, you may have days where you feel like you have lost hope – hope that you will ever feel better, that the world will be a better place, or that you will someday find the happiness that always seems to elude you. You are not alone. Many people struggle with feelings of sadness and hopelessness – especially in our difficult, modern world. The good news is that you can change.

Learned Hopefulness offers powerful exercises grounded in evidence-based positive psychology to help you identify your strengths; ditch the self-limiting beliefs that diminish your capacity for positivity; and increase feelings of motivation, resiliency, and wellness. You will also learn to untangle yourself from rumination over past negative events, while shifting your perspective to the present moment and anticipating your future through a more positive lens.

With this unique, compassionate, and life-affirming guide, you will find the tools you need to break free from hopelessness and start living a life of happiness and vitality.

Book: Combined Treatments for Mental Disorders

Published on 09/16/2020 by Andrew MarshallLeave a comment

Book Title:

Combined Treatments for Mental Disorders: A Guide to Psychological and Pharmacological Interventions.

Author(s): Morgan T. Sammons and Norman B. Schmidt (editors).

Year: 2001.

Edition: First (1st).

Publisher: American Psychological Association.

Type(s): Hardcover.

Synopsis:

An exploration of the best way to integrate pharmaceuticals and pyschotherapy in the treatment of mental disorders. Combined treatment is relatively common, but because of biases in the fields of medicine and psychology that champion one form over another, many clinicians are not fully informed about use of both modalities. This practical volume seeks to end this situation.

As this text reveals, exclusive reliance on one mode of treatment may result in a practitioner being unable to address many clients’ needs. Each chapter closely examines the combined treatment for a different disorder, such as insomnia, depression, schizophrenia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Different disorders are addressed in separate chapters in relation to combined treatments which many clinicians may not be fully informed of. The social and ethical ramifications of prescriptive authority for pyschologists is also addressed in relation to its increasing relevance. A practical guide for clinicians both experienced and non-experienced in the psychological and pharmacological fields.

Alzheimer’s Disease: Carers and their Mental Health

Published on 09/16/2020 by Andrew MarshallLeave a comment

Research Paper Title

Predictors of mental health problems in formal and informal caregivers of patients with Alzheimer’s disease.

Background

Caring for a person with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is associated with significant mental burden e.g., depression and anxiety, and difficulties with social, familial, and professional functioning. To date, few studies have examined variables which would allow for a comprehensive and detailed study of the relationship between personal resources and caregiver health status, with a majority of studies focusing on factors that contribute to increased caregiver’s burden. Moreover, the available evidence fails to address differences in the functioning of formal and informal carers. Paying proper attention to the problems of nursing home staff can help identify important risk factors. Therefore, this study compared mental health problems in informal and formal caregivers and examined the relationship between mental resources and mental health problems in both groups of caregivers.

Methods

This cross-sectional study examined 100 formal (n = 50) and informal (n = 50) caregivers of AD patients. Personal resources were measured with the Social Support Questionnaire (SSQ), the Generalised Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES), and the Sense of Coherence Questionnaire (SCQ), while mental health was assessed with the Depression Assessment Questionnaire (DAQ) and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ). Multivariate stepwise regression was performed separately for both investigated groups.

Results

There were no significant differences between informal and formal caregivers in terms of psychological variables, i.e., sense of coherence, social support, self-efficacy, or mental health problems. In contrast, there were different significant predictors of mental health problems in both groups. Comprehensibility (SCQ) was a significant predictor of mental health problems measured by DAQ and self-efficacy (GSES) was a significant predictor of mental health problems measured by GHQ in informal caregivers. For formal caregivers, emotional support (SSQ) and comprehensibility (SCQ) were significant predictors of mental health problems measured by DAQ, while tangible support (SSQ) and meaningfulness (SCQ) were significant predictors of mental health problems measured by GHQ.

Conclusions

Personal resources are significant predictors of mental health outcomes in caregivers of AD patients. Preventive actions should therefore include assessment of factors affecting caregivers’ mental health in order to provide them with necessary care and create appropriate support groups.

Reference

Soltys, A. & Tyburski, E. (2020) Predictors of mental health problems in formal and informal caregivers of patients with Alzheimer’s disease. BMC Psychiatry. 20(1), pp.435. doi: 10.1186/s12888-020-02822-7.