Facebook statuses can predict signs of depression

Can Facebook status updates reveal clues to a budding depression? A recent study says these emotional posts can subconsciously offer more than you think.

There’s always that one friend on Facebook who keeps posting confessional statuses, emo pictures, or links of alarming mental states. We might see them as attention seeking or even get annoyed enough to hide the person’s updates from our news feed, but according to a recent New York Times report, such melodramatic posts can offer signs of an actual depression.

For many people, young adolescents and older individuals alike, social media sites are their only sources to vent. Last year, a research study conducted by the University of Washington stated that 30 percent of 200 students posted updates that reported “feelings of worthlessness or hopelessness, insomnia or sleeping too much, and difficulty concentrating,” all of which met the American Psychiatric Association’s criteria as symptoms of depression. Internet spaces allow for a certain wall of security that help people admit to things they would ordinarily hide in real life. Only 10 percent of these depression victims seek counseling to get them through their mental issues.

“You can identify adolescents and young adults on Facebook who are showing signs of being at risk, who would benefit from a clinical visit for screening,” Dr. Megan A. Moreno, a principal investigator in the Facebook studies and an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison told the New York Times.

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The Worst Ways to Treat Depression

Have you ever tried to eat, sleep, or drink your blues away?

Booze, comfort food, and all-day snooze-fests can temporarily numb feelings of depression — and because of that, self-medicating with these methods (instead of actually getting to the source of your depression and seeking treatment) may sound like a viable quick fix.

Actually, numbing your blue mood with unhealthy coping mechanisms may be one of the first signs of depression, explains Stephanie A. Gamble, PhD, assistant professor in the department of psychiatry at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York. Gamble’s current research into depression in alcohol-dependent women reveals that many women aren’t fully aware of the link between their depression symptoms and their alcohol use until they take a lifetime look at their alcohol usage — when they started, and what they were using alcohol in reaction to.

By some estimates, nearly one in three people with depression have a substance abuse disorder, such as drugs or alcohol. But turning to these vices won’t actually get you the depression relief you seek — instead, it can just make things worse. On top of feeling depressed, you may find yourself in the midst of financial hardship, family conflict, and worsened mood.

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Bell creates world’s first chair in anti-stigma research at Queen’s

Bell Canada and Queen’s University have announced a world-first with the establishment of a new $1-million research initiative to help fight stigma associated with mental illness.

The Bell Mental Health and Anti-Stigma Research Chair will enable Queen’s Faculty of Health Sciences to advance its anti-stigma research, scholarship and outreach programs.

“Bell’s generous donation has allowed Queen’s to appoint a leading scholar to further this important field of study,” says Dr. Daniel Woolf, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of Queen’s University. “We welcome this opportunity to work with the Bell Let’s Talk mental health initiative as we continue to reduce the stigma associated with mental illness; Bell has helped today to improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of Canadians now and in the future.”

The first chair holder is internationally-renowned Queen’s professor of Community Health and Epidemiology Heather Stuart. As chair, Dr. Stuart will continue her multi-disciplinary work developing and disseminating best practices in stigma reduction, expand her applied research collaborations around the world and raise awareness about the significance of mental health and mental health research.

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Designing Video Games for Mental Health

By Douglas Eby
There are many different flavors of video games – and many critical or conflicting studies on their psychological and social impacts. Articles on Psych Central, for example, include Brain Scans Show Violent Video Games Alter Brain Activity, By Rick Nauert PhD and Video Games May Not Enhance Cognitive Skills After All, By Traci Pedersen.
Gaming is not of any particular interest to me, but I was intrigued with a recent newspaper report about Erin Reynolds, a USC cinematic arts graduate student, and her team who are developing a video game that “uses heart-rate sensors to help players learn to stay calm as they wind their way through a decrepit house filled with their characters’ horrific memories.
“She believes her psychological thriller game, Nevermind, can help people develop ways to cope with stress.”
[From USC competition pushes the limits of modern video games, By Matt Stevens, Los Angeles Times December 11, 2011.]
The Nevermind site explains their upcoming game:
“You can’t fix stress – it is a constant force in our everyday lives that spans geographic borders and cultures. However, you can fix the unhealthy, knee-jerk responses many people have to stress and prepare people to face inevitable conflict. This is exactly what Nevermind intends to do.

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Blogging Can Help Calm Anxious Teens

THURSDAY, Jan. 12 (HealthDay News) -- Blogging appears to help teens deal with social problems, according to a new study.
It included 161 Israeli high school students, 124 girls and 37 boys, average age 15, who had some level of social anxiety or distress. They all had difficulty making friends or relating to current friends.
The students were divided into six groups. Four groups were assigned to blog, one group wrote in a private diary about their social problems and one group did nothing.
Two of the blogging groups focused their posts on their social problems, and one of those groups opened their posts to comments. The two other blogging groups were free to write about any topic, and one of those groups also opened their posts to comments.
All the blogging groups posted messages at least twice weekly for 10 weeks.
The researchers assessed all the teens' self-esteem, everyday social activities and behaviors before, immediately after, and two months after the 10-week experiment.
The teens in the blogging groups showed significant improvements in self-esteem, social anxiety, emotional distress and the number of positive social behaviors, compared to the teens who wrote in a private diary or did nothing.

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Mental health awareness: ‘Suicide is preventable’

By Iris Winston
Harmony Brown recalls having suicidal thoughts when she was as young as nine years old. She attempted suicide at 17 and went through years of emotional turmoil before finally finding the help she so desperately needed.
It’s a personal history many people in a similar situation would hide even from their closest friends. But Brown talks about it openly because she knows discussing her mental health is a way to give hope to others facing similar challenges.
“I know suicide is preventable,” says Brown, 36, a Toronto-based mental health advocate. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here. And I know recovery is possible because I have gone through it.”

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32 of the Best Ways to Get Organized When You Have ADHD

Organization is a common challenge for adults with ADHD. But it can be done! Below, ADHD specialists share their foolproof tips for cutting out clutter, managing time, creating an efficient space and more. Remember that the key to organization is having a simple system that works for you and your family. So experiment with these tips, keep what you like and toss the rest.
1. Use a planner.
People often underestimate the power of a simple planner. “An effective, consistent planning system is the number one strategy to better organize, prioritize and manage time,” according to Laurie Dupar, a certified ADHD coach, nurse practitioner and editor and co-author of 365 Ways to Succeed with ADHD, a full year of bite-sized strategies to help you thrive with ADHD.
Psychotherapist Terry Matlen, ACSW, who has ADHD, uses a teacher’s style spiral “at a glance” calendar with large boxes. And it goes everywhere she does.

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