Mindfully Healing

People are least happy and at the highest risk of suicide during these years. Middle-aged people are at the highest risk of suicide, research shows. The risk is particularly high among middle-aged women. Middle-aged people — those in their 40s and 50s — are at twice the risk of suicide as those in their 30s or 60s. The results tie in with surveys of happiness which find that people are at their lowest point, on average, as they approach their 50s. Professor Andrew Oswald, the study’s first author, said: “Suicide

Even relatively small amounts of exercise can help reduce the risk of developing depression. Only one hour of exercise per week is enough to help prevent depression, new research finds. In the largest survey of its kind, the anxiety and depression levels of 33,908 Norwegians were monitored for more than 11 years. The researchers concluded that just one hour of exercise a week reduced the chances of developing depression by a massive 44%. Dr Samuel Harvey, the study’s lead author, said: “We’ve known for some time that exercise has a

Drug thought safe for teenagers linked to suicidal and self-harming behaviours. A common antidepressant thought safe for adolescents is actually ineffective, new research finds. Worse, it has been linked to serious side-effects. The drug is called paroxetine, which is marketed as Paxil, Seroxat and Aropax. The conclusions come from a re-evaluation of a study — known as ‘Study 329’ — carried out in 2001 . Study 329, which was funded by the pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline, originally claimed paroxetine was effective and safe. Not only were these conclusions wrong, the new

Not all depression symptoms are easy to spot. When depressed, people have a distorted view of the past, new research finds. When they look back, people experiencing depression feel that the bad things that happened to them were inevitable. Worse, they feel there was nothing they could do about them. Dr Hartmut Blank, one of the study’s authors, said: “Depression is not only associated with a negative view of the world, the self and the future, but we now know with a negative view of the past.” What people feeling

…and the 12 linked to the least satisfaction with life. The clergy are the happiest and most satisfied workers in America, a large US survey finds. 87% of them reported being very satisfied with their work. They are closely followed by physical therapists, 80% of whom were very satisfied with their work and firefighters, 78% of whom were very satisfied. Dr Tom W. Smith, the study’s author, explained the common thread in these different jobs: “The most satisfying jobs are mostly professions, especially those involving caring for, teaching, and protecting

Are you just shy or is it a social anxiety disorder? The classic sign of a social anxiety disorder is a strong fear of embarrassment or humiliation in social situations, research finds. Bear in mind that many people are apprehensive in unfamiliar social situations or with those they do not know. Social anxiety disorder is more than being shy. To be a social anxiety disorder, the fear should be so great that the social situation can only be born with considerable distress. Either that or social situations are often avoided

First study to find these changes in the brains of depressed people experiencing suicidal thoughts. People experiencing suicidal thoughts have a certain type of inflammation in their brain, new research finds. Microglial cells activate as part of the body’s inflammatory response. The researchers found that these immune cells were more active in depressed people who were also having suicidal thoughts. The study suggests that neuroinflammation could play an important role in suicidal thoughts and behaviour. It may also offer another route to treat this type of depression: through the use

There are 9 risk factors for dementia, which can all be reduced. One-in-three cases of dementia is a result of manageable lifestyle factors, a new report from 24 international experts concludes. There are nine risk factors identified by dementia experts: low levels of education, midlife hearing loss, physical inactivity, high blood pressure (hypertension), type 2 diabetes, obesity, smoking, depression, and social isolation. These risk factors account for 35% of dementia cases. In other words: changing or managing these factors will help fight off dementia. Addressing high blood pressure, obesity and

The brains and bodies of identical twins were compared over ten years. Stronger leg muscles are linked to better brain ageing, a new study finds. It’s the first time a connection has been found between power in the lower limbs and healthy ageing in normal people. The study suggests that increasing levels of simple exercises like walking or even standing for longer may lead to healthy cognitive ageing. The study followed 324 identical female twins over a ten-year period. Fitness and lifestyle habits were measured by researchers. They also gave

Insomnia is the most common complaint people have about their health. Insomnia is not just “all in your head”, neuroscientists have found. For the first time, seven risk genes have been identified for insomnia. This could be the first step in understanding the biological causes of insomnia. It helps to show that insomnia is not — as is sometimes claimed — just a psychological condition. Professor Van Someren, one of the study’s authors, said: “As compared to the severity, prevalence and risks of insomnia, only few studies targeted its causes.