Spirituality Tied to Higher Depression, Anxiety Rates

A researcher finds that people with a religious affiliation tend to have lower rates of depression and anxiety. If, however, you are seeking a higher meaning for life, as the researcher characterizes spirituality, you're more likely to have symptoms of depression and anxiety. So, go to church, but think about the meal planning for the next church supper rather than pondering the meaning of the pastor's sermon.

Spirituality was significantly linked with higher lifetime odds of having depression, manic episodes, and social phobia. Spirituality was also coupled with higher lifetime odds of having panic disorder, although this connection was not statistically significant.

Spirituality Tied to Higher Depression, Anxiety Rates -- Arehart-Treichel 41 (21): 26 -- Psychiatric News

How Prozac sent the science of depression in the wrong direction - The Boston Globe

A little late in posting this. From last Sunday's Boston Globe: How Prozac sent the science of depression in the wrong direction.

In sum, Prozac and its SSRI cousins purportedly treated depression by increasing the level of serotonin in the patient. Well, it turns out that it's not quite so. Raising or lowering serotonin, by itself, seems to have little direct effect on depression.

"The scientists showed that fluoxetine gave brain cells the ability to take on new roles and form new connections, which erased the symptoms of the disorder."

So, Prozac can help, but not in the way that we thought it did.

Sleep as art, science, or what?

Sunday nights are often not a good night for sleep for me. It's as though I've forgotten how to sleep. Last night was typical. I fell asleep around 9:30, woke an hour later, stayed awake for maybe a couple more hours, and then got up somewhat early (4:30). Even though my mood is pretty good today, I also know that I'm not at my best.
I've been through the stress reduction program and can practice lots of different meditation techniques while waiting for sleep to come. Sometimes I listen to the radio, sometimes not. Last night, I got up and read through the Sunday papers until I felt drowsy.
I used to get mad at my inability not to sleep some nights, but not so much anymore. Getting mad, of course, doesn't do any good.
It might be easier to understand if my sleeplessness came as the result of something interesting - perhaps I'm excited about something, past or future, for example. My head is pretty empty as best as I can tell.
Ah, well, tonight's another night.

It's been a quiet week ...

It's a good week when there isn't much to report about depression. I met with an endocrinologist on Monday to see if we can figure out some of my recent lab results, including an elevated parathyroid (PTH) level. I had a follow-on 24-hour calcium test to help determine if this is primary hyperparathyroidism or secondary. Hyperparathyroidism can mimic or exacerbate depression symptoms. Stay tuned.
The endocrinologist also said that she'd never seen glasses as thick as mine.
My sleep has been uneven, although the last couple of nights have been ok. Yesterday, I got frustrated because I wasn't able to solve a problem with one of our websites; a task that should have taken 15 minutes wound up taking maybe three hours. I know that I can't think as clearly as I would like to (or as clearly as I used to), so it's important to be careful about the tasks that I take on.
Still, it's been a pretty good week. I remember two years ago at this time, I had, in addition to deepening symptoms of depression, double pneumonia and malignant melanoma Both of the latter two conditions have been treated successfully.