Mindfully Healing

Better emotional control is linked to lower levels of depression and anxiety. The key to healthy emotional control is to be flexible, new research finds. People with lower levels of depression and anxiety tend to vary their emotional control strategy successfully depending on whether the situation can be explained. Dr Peter Koval, one of the study’s authors, said: “Our results caution against a ‘one strategy fits all’ approach, which may be tempting to recommend based on many previous findings regarding reappraisal as a strategy for regulating emotion. Simply using any

Thinking like a five-year-old can help you learn more in a new environment. Young children have one cognitive talent that most adults have forgotten. That is the ability to pay attention to everything. As adults we learn to focus our attention and block out distractions. But, sometimes being distracted means noticing and learning more. Professor Vladimir Sloutsky, study co-author, explained: “We often think of children as deficient in many skills when compared to adults. But sometimes what seems like a deficiency can actually be an advantage. That’s what we found

The Swedish research included 215 patients with anxiety, depression and stress-related problems. Learning mindfulness in a group can be just as effective as individual cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT), new research finds. Professor Jan Sundquist, who led the research, said: “Our new research shows that mindfulness group therapy has the equivalent effect as individual CBT for a wide range of psychiatric symptoms that are common among this patient group, We have shown in a previous study that mindfulness group therapy is just as effective as individual CBT for the treatment of typical

Drugs prescribed for anxiety, OCD, insomnia, post-traumatic stress disorder and other conditions linked to dementia. Benzodiazepines carry an increased risk of dementia and even death. Benzodiazepines include drugs marketed under the names Valium, Ativan, Klonopin and Xanax. These drugs are often prescribed for anxiety and other mental health issues such as OCD, insomnia and post-traumatic stress disorder. Research has now repeatedly linked these drugs to dementia and Alzheimer’s. Dr Helene Alphonso, a psychiatrist and Director of Osteopathic Medical Education at Texas University, said: “Current research is extremely clear and physicians

Both physical and mental health was better among people with these 5 life skills. Emotional stability, optimism, control, conscientiousness and determination are all vital to people’s success in life. Both young and old alike benefit from these life skills. They are linked to lower depression, greater financial stability, better health and lower social isolation. Professor Andrew Steptoe, who co-led the research, said: “No single attribute was more important than others. Rather, the effects depended on the accumulation of life skills.” The conclusions come from a study of more than 8,000

One-third of people experiencing major depression could be of this new type. Inflammation in the brain could explain episodes of major depression in some people, new studies suggest. Around one-third of people experiencing major depression have high-levels of inflammation markers in their blood. This persistent inflammation could explain some of the worst symptoms of depression. The inability to feel pleasure — called anhedonia — is a particularly stubborn symptom. Depressed people often find it hard to experience pleasure from everyday activities like eating or spending time with friends and family.

Cognitive control helps people resist temptations and make decisions that benefit them in the long-term. Pictures of cold temperatures help people to control their thoughts, new research finds. Imagining yourself in that cold environment helps to ‘cool down’ any quick emotional responses. Dr Idit Shalev, who led the study, said: “Metaphorical phrases like ‘coldly calculating,’ ‘heated response,’ and ‘cool-headed’ actually have some scientific validity, which we demonstrate in our study.” Studies have already shown that people who are actually colder, exhibit more cognitive control, Dr Shalev said: “Previous research focused