Situational Depression or Reactive Depression (Adjustment Disorder)

What is Adjustment Disorder?

An adjustment disorder is characterized by the development of emotional or behavioral symptoms in response to an identifiable stressor (or stressors) occurring within 3 months of the onset of the stressor. A stressor is anything that causes a great deal of stress in the person's life. It could be a positive event, like a wedding or purchasing a new home, or a negative event, like a family member's death, the breakup of an important relationship, or loss of a job.

These symptoms or behaviors are clinically significant as evidenced by either of the following:

• Marked distress that is in excess of what would be expected from exposure to the stressor


• Significant impairment in social, occupational or educational functioning

The stress-related disturbance does not meet the criteria for another specific mental disorder. Once the stressor (or its consequences) has ended, the symptoms do not persist for more than an additional 6 months. By definition, if your feelings related to the event last longer than 6 months, it will no longer qualify for an adjustment disorder diagnosis.

An adjustment disorder can occur at any time during a person's life and there is no difference in the frequency of this disorder between males and females. An adjustment disorder is diagnosed by a mental health professional through a simple clinical interview.

Adjustment disorders are often diagnosed when it's not clear the person meets the criteria for a more severe disorder, or the actual diagnosis is uncertain. This diagnosis often gives the clinician time to further evaluate the client during additional therapy sessions.

Adjustment Disorder Types

Adjustment disorders are further categorized by the specific symptoms experienced:

• Adjustment disorder with depressed mood


• Adjustment disorder with anxiety


• Adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood


• Adjustment disorder with disturbance of conduct


• Adjustment disorder with mixed disturbance of emotions and conduct


• Adjustment disorder, Unspecified

Possible Triggers

Situational depression differs from major depression in that it is triggered by external events. The symptoms tend to disappear once the sufferer has learned to adapt to the new situation. A variety of stressors have been linked to the development of adjustment disorder. In large measure, what triggers the disorder depends on the individual, but the following types of events have a known association to situational depression:

*Divorce

*Ending a relationship

*Serious illness (yourself or in someone you love)

*Death of a family member or someone you love

*Becoming a victim of a crime

*Going through an accident

*Major life changes such as marriage, birth, or retirement.

*Surviving natural or manmade disasters

Symptoms

The emotional or behavioral symptoms begin to develop in response to a stressful event. The symptoms come on within a few months of the event and it is rare for the symptoms to last beyond six months of the stressful occurrence that prompted them. In this type of depression, the reaction to the stressful event seems out of proportion to what one would expect in relation to what has occurred. The symptoms may interfere with the sufferer's daily functioning. He may find it difficult to sleep, study, or work.

The symptoms of adjustment disorder can include any of the following:

*Anxiety

*Nervousness

*Tearfulness

*Sadness

*Hopelessness

*Worry

*Lethargy

*Fatigue

*Sleep Difficulties

*Heart palpitations

*Stomachache

*Headache

*Missing work or school

*Withdrawal from friends and activities

*Destructive behavior

*Loss of appetite

*Binge eating

*Abuse of recreational drugs or alcohol

Behavioral Issues

In children and teenagers, the disorder is more likely to be characterized by behavioral issues, for instance playing hooky, fighting with peers, or acting out. Adults tend to have symptoms that are emotional in nature, for instance anxiety and sadness. The disorder is very common and can affect people of every age, race, sex, or lifestyle. There is, however, a greater tendency to this condition during times of major life transitions, for instance, with the onset of adolescence, middle-age, or with the arrival of the golden years.

Adjustment disorder and clinical depression

Situational and clinical depression can certainly feel and appear to be the same thing, but there are significant differences that people should be aware of. On the whole, clinical depression can be much more serious and certainly requires the assistance of trained mental health professionals for treatment.

Unlike clinical depression, situational depression (SD) is triggered by an external stress and usually goes away once the person learns how to cope or adapt to whatever happened. Situations that cause it can include the death of a loved one, the end of a relationship, being fired from a job, being the victim of a crime, physical trauma/disease/illness, an accident, having a baby, economic hardship, living through a natural disaster, and loneliness.

Adjustment disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder

Adjustment disorder is not the same as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD generally occurs as a reaction to a life-threatening event and tends to last longer. Adjustment disorder, on the other hand, is short-term, rarely lasting longer than six months.

Asking for Help

A person who is in the early stages of depression will not find much solace in hearing that they just need to get over it. What they need initially is emotional support, someone who will listen and understand without judgment, so that they have a trusted confidant to share their feelings with. Dismissing their worries and concerns as trivial will only prolong the condition because they’re likely to turn more inward and suppress the very things that need to be brought out and dealt with.

Everyone reacts differently to what life throws at them, and dictating the way another should feel is almost never a good idea. The person will feel alone. Although it is said that time heals all wounds, it is the positive and helpful things that you do in that time that bring about healing and mental homeostasis quickest.

A five-year career plan is a worthless scrap of paper unless you have being a good friend/sibling/father/mother/husband/wife/citizen prominently displayed on the list. Being there when someone close to you is down is the true test for that. Fair-weather friends bail out of the fox hole at the first sign of trouble. In a sense you are helping to liberate a mind from the tyranny of depression.

Treatment

A treatment plan for adjustment disorder involves talking to a trained mental health professional who is capable of managing the patient's symptoms through therapy and providing them with effective coping mechanisms. Once the patient learns to deal with the issue that brought about the disorder in a healthy (and sometimes slightly detached) manner, they will most often be fully recovered from the grim effects of it in three to six months.

Asking for help may be the hardest hurdle to overcome for some folks who have situational depression. But it’s essential to do so; and to try as many different solutions or a combination of treatment techniques until the suffering is alleviated and finally terminated. They will need the help of a trained therapist, psychologist, or psychotherapist who knows the most effective way to handle grief, loss, or the disabling upheaval of what brought about the condition. Trained mental health professionals will also be able to determine that this is indeed what the patient is suffering from and not a more serious mental disorder.

In many cases, adjustment disorder is the result of some sort of loss which results in Dr Elisabeth Kübler-Ross's widely accepted five stages of grief that include denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.

So the goal is to get that person over the bridge to acceptance. As the Buddhists believe, non-acceptance is largely the root of all humanity’s troubles and there is a lot to be said for that ancient wisdom. While we’re on that topic, along with all the positive effects of regular and sustained exercise for attaining mental wellness, the ancient practice of Yoga is also ideal for healing a troubled mind. You can learn a whole lot more about that by reading Yoga has Far-Reaching Benefits on your Mental and Physical Well-Being. If it helps heal combat veterans who witnessed the horrifically depressing attributes of war, it can work for anyone else too.

Psychotherapy is the most common and trusted treatment plan for an adjustment disorder because the patient will begin to come to terms with how the external stressor affected them. A patient will learn to unravel the discouraging and bleak reoccurring thoughts until they gain a more healthy perspective.

Anti-depressants, medications to help with sleeping problems, and/or anxiety might be needed in some cases to bring a patient around. A psychotherapist will point out valuable insights that the patient is unable or incapable of seeing and understanding. Plus, they know effective coping mechanisms to employ such as cognitive therapy.

In many ways a person with situational disorder is his or her worst enemy. But the new skills learned to cope with this condition will actually improve their lives when they do overcome it. Some of our greatest lessons are learned after coming out of dismal anguish and when you realize that you can help someone who is going through the same thing. You are plugged into what Abraham Lincoln deemed "the better angels of our nature."

Sources and Additional Information:

http://www.wdxcyber.com/situational-depression.html

http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/s/situational_depression/treatments.htm

http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/mental-health-adjustment-disorder

http://www.brighthub.com/mental-health/depression-mood/articles/83648.aspx

http://www.brighthub.com/mental-health/depression-mood/articles/86591.aspx

http://psychcentral.com/disorders/sx6.htm

Alexander Technique for Depression and Stress

Background

The Alexander technique is an educational program that aims to change habitual patterns of movement and posture that are thought to be harmful. Teachers of the Alexander technique guide clients ("students") through various movements using verbal directions and light touch. The goal of these sessions can be to improve coordination and balance, reduce tension, relieve pain, decrease fatigue, improve various medical conditions or promote well-being. Students are encouraged to use what they learn in everyday life. Actors, dancers and athletes use the Alexander technique to improve performance.

F.M. Alexander, an Australian-English actor, developed the Alexander technique. He believed that poor head and neck posture was the cause of his recurrent voice loss. He suggested that people be trained to alter harmful movement patterns and positions.

In 1964, the American Center for the Alexander Technique was founded to provide teaching certification. The certification process generally involves 1,600 hours of training over three years in an approved program. The North American Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique was established in 1987 to educate the public and to maintain standards for certification of teachers and training courses in the United States. The Alexander technique is taught at wellness centers, through health education programs and by individual teachers.

Theory

Basic beliefs underlying the Alexander technique are that musculoskeletal movements and relationships can directly affect other aspects of health or function and that beneficial movement patterns can be reinforced through repetition. The position of the head and spine is thought to be important in this approach. Many physiologists and behavioral scientists are advocates of musculoskeletal techniques similar to the Alexander technique, although there are few scientific studies of the Alexander technique specifically.

Method

The Alexander Technique is a way of becoming more aware of your balance and how you move. It's based on the premise that most people have bad postural habits that, over time, stop us using our bodies as easily and comfortably as we should be able to. Wrongly used muscles contract and pull down, giving rise to the classic sign of bad use: head tipped back at the start of any movement, especially sitting down or standing up. As well as the long-term damage to joints and cramped internal organs, poor posture causes a lot of tension, most commonly felt as chronic backache or stiff shoulders. It's also linked with respiratory ailments: people develop round shoulders from hunching protectively around their painful chests as they cough and wheeze, which in turn restricts their airways still further.

Frederick Matthias Alexander believed modern living gives rise to our bad postural habits: shoulders raised and stiffened by stress, neck poked forward over desk work, tired bodies slumped into saggy armchairs. Soon we've lost all sense of how we really are, so that what feels natural (because it's habitual) is wildly out of line. That's why it's very hard to correct our own posture without expert help.

The Alexander Technique aims to re-educate each body into moving more easily - relearning the natural grace all children have till they go to school and start slouching over desks.

It's based on what Alexander teachers call 'good use of the body' - allowing the spine to regain its natural curves, holding the head effortlessly in the easiest position and distributing weight evenly over your feet. The bonus is that you look taller and feel two stone lighter.

It's a hands-on teaching method, though you don't undress; after three years' full-time training Alexander teachers can 'read' people's muscles through layers of clothes with their fingertips. To start with, you and the teacher observe your stance and movements for some time, and the first shock is seeing how asymmetrical you are when you think you're standing up straight. Then you're gently moved into a healthier position when you're sitting, standing and lying down.

As part of the relearning process, you stop and think before plunging into a habitual move, then make the movement mindfully. It feels odd to practice getting up or walking with someone's hand lightly holding the back of your neck, and even odder for the first few days when you keep making conscious efforts to do it the way you've learnt. If you're used to standing with your pelvis jutting further forward than your toes, for example, you feel as though you're going to fall over backwards when you tuck your tailbone in and bring your weight nearer a point above your heels. But your legs, no longer struggling to hold you at a slant, now carry you effortlessly. You may be noticeably taller. Walking upstairs feels like levitating. The idea is that this soon becomes second nature.

The Technique's basic idea is that when the neck muscles do not overwork, the head balances lightly at the top of spine.  The relationship between the head and the spine is of utmost importance.  How we manage that relationship has ramifications throughout the rest of the body.  As the boss -- good or bad -- sets the tone for an organization, the head / spine relationship -- compressed or free -- determines the quality of the body's overall coordination.  Our neuromuscular system is designed to work in concert with gravity.  Delicate poise of the head sparks the body's anti-gravity response: a natural oppositional force in the torso that easily guides us upward and invites the spine to lengthen, rather than compress, as we move.  Instead of slouching or holding ourselves in a rigid posture, we can learn to mobilize this support system and use it wherever we go -- in the car, at the computer, in the gym.

And the homework couldn't be easier: for 20 minutes a day you lie on your back on the floor, with just enough books under your head to keep your neck parallel to the floor (so you can swallow comfortably), knees raised and hands on abdomen. Keep your mind on the Alexander mantra: 'Let the neck be free so the head can move forwards and upwards and the back can lengthen and widen.'

Young children have this natural poise. If you watch a toddler in action, you will see an erect spine, free joints and a large head balancing easily on a little neck.  A healthy child walks and plays with regal posture.  Barring birth defects, we all began that way.  But over the years, we often lose that spontaneity and ease.

Using the Alexander Technique, you can learn to strip away harmful habits, heighten your self-awareness, and use your thought process to restore your original poise.  In a way, you are learning something that, deep down, your body already knows.  With the Alexander Technique, you come to understand much more about how your body works, and how to make it work for you.  You can tap more of your internal resources, and begin on a path to enhancing your comfort and pleasure in all your activities. 

Self-Help

Begin observing yourself in a mirror. A full length one is best. Pay special attention to the relationship of your whole head (not just your face) to the rest of your body. Notice how this relationship changes as you perform simple activities like talking, walking or raising an arm or leg.

How does what you see in the mirror correspond to what you think you're doing, and what do you feel you're doing? Which do you think is more accurate? Take plenty of time to explore and compare your experiences with Alexander's.

Experiment with changing the relationship of your head to your body, perhaps tilting it a little forward or backward from the top of your neck and observe what difference these shifts make to your movements and to your breathing.

Alexander found that the most useful change he could make was to mentally direct his neck to be free so that his head, followed by his body, could release in an upward direction - delicately, without any stiffening or undue effort.

Try this. What do you notice? Does anything look or feel different?

Now, try doing the opposite. Stiffen your neck a little as you gently push your head down towards the rest of your body. What effect does this have on your ability to breathe, speak and perform simple activities?

What happens when you just leave yourself alone? Is there a relationship between your head and your body that you tend automatically to go back to? 'Exaggerate yourself' for just a moment. Notice what happens to your head/body relationship when you do this.

Feel free to experiment in other ways that occur to you. Pay close attention to the results of your experiments. Remember that you are both the experimenter and the object of the experiments. So you are always going to have to be careful that you are not deceiving yourself. Continue comparing what you see with what you're thinking about and what you feel.

After you've experimented in front of the mirror long enough to have made for yourself some of the same kinds of observations that Alexander wrote about, extend your self-study to your daily round of activities. Can you sense how your body reacts to stressful situations, for example? How about pleasant experiences? Does the presence of some people act as a stimulus to tighten your neck? Do others seem to encourage freedom and expansion in your body?

Notice the effects of sound on your physical mechanism. Experiment with scanning your auditory 'horizon' and noting the effects of actively listening to the highest pitched sounds available to you. These could be high musical notes, the chirping of birds, even the sound of wind blowing through the branches of a tree. Then, shift your conscious attention to the lowest-pitched sounds you can hear - drum beats, the sounds of heavy machinery, for example. What effect does this shift have on the way you're using your body?

Keep in mind that Alexander's purpose in performing his investigations was to improve the quality of his performance. So begin to observe other people--and animals and small children--with a view toward becoming a good judge of quality of movement. Keep a look out for particularly good examples of ease, balance and co-ordination. Look also for particularly bad examples. Can you make any generalizations about quality of movement and the nature of the head/body relationship?

Potential Dangers

Instruction or practice of the Alexander technique has not been associated with reports of severe complications. However, safety has not been studied systematically. Some practitioners believe that this technique may be less beneficial in people with mental illness or learning disabilities. Safety during pregnancy has not been established scientifically, although the Alexander technique has been used by pregnant women and during delivery without reports of complications.

Do not rely on the Alexander technique alone as an approach to treat medical conditions. Speak with your health care provider if you are considering using the Alexander technique.

Summary

The Alexander technique has been used to address several health issues, but there is still no overwhelming scientific evidence that it has been proven effective for any specific condition. Do not rely on the Alexander technique alone to treat a potentially severe medical condition. Speak with your health care provider if you are considering using the Alexander technique.

Sources and Additional Information:

http://www.healthyplace.com/alternative-mental-health/treatments/alexander-technique-for-depression-stress/menu-id-1017/

http://www.alexandertechnique.com/jwright.htm

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/traineo/exercise/article3773825.ece

http://www.alexandertechnique.com/at/

http://www.ati-net.com/articles/dm-rrick.php

May Clinical Depression Be Contagious?

A man is walking a very long road from one village to another. At the outskirts of the new village he encountered a farmer laboring in his field, cutting hay. He said to the farmer, “I have walked a great distance to come to this village of yours. I have left my village looking for a new home, perhaps I will find it here. Tell me, how are the people in this village? What kind of people are they?” The man in the field thought a moment, then asked, “What were the people like in the village you came from?” The traveler replied, “They were uncaring, self-absorbed, cynical, and unfriendly. That’s why I left.” The farmer paused before replying and then said, “I think that’s how you’ll find the people here, too.” The traveler replied, “In that case, I’ll just move on and look somewhere else.” A couple of days later, the farmer was again out in his field when another man approached him and said, “My village was destroyed and the people scattered. I am looking to find myself a new home, perhaps in this village. Can you tell me, how are the people in this village? What kind of people are they?” The farmer asked, “What were the people like in your village?” The traveler replied, “They were wonderful people. Loving, close, helpful, and I will miss them terribly.” The farmer said, “I think that’s how you’ll find the people here, too.”

How many of you out there have ever wondered if depression is in fact contagious? The reactions so many of us get when we tell loved ones of our condition would lead us to believe that they fear catching depression, like one would catch a cold or chicken pox. Their denial, fear, misunderstanding, or abandonment of us is a strong testament to this contagen theory. However, science tells us that depression is a result of physical changes occurring in the brain, which leads to chemical imbalances, hence the depression.

Both fact and fiction aside, there can be no worse experience for the depressed person than to see someone they love act so negatively. This kind of reaction can make a depressed person feel even more isolated and hopeless then before. To have those people who we trust so deeply reject us; can there be no greater setback for us?

Instead, what we need from our loved ones is their support, understanding and willingness to help see us through the depression, especially the initial period following diagnosis. To ensure our loved ones' support, we must educate ourselves as to what depression is beyond the complex feelings that we experience. By doing this, we can better convey to our loved ones what depression is, how common it is, and especially how treatable it is. Instead, if we choose to be unprepared and uneducated, the chances are far greater that those around us will react unfavorably towards us, leaving us to feel all sorts of negative things about ourselves because we could not get from them what we need most…understanding.

Some studies show that if one spouse is depressed, the other can become depressed, and that up to 40 percent of people whose spouses have bipolar disorder get clinical depression. That's according to Dr. Igor Galynker, director of the Family Center for Bipolar Disorder at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York and professor of clinical psychiatry at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. "We can mimic other people's facial expressions," Galynker said. "When we mimic other people's facial expressions, we also can adopt the mood that these people are in. It affects us, even on a superficial level." But such mimicry can go beyond the superficial and become emotional. Studies in which monitors track brain activity while a subject is shown smiling or frowning faces show that the areas associated with happy or sad emotions are active when the subject is presented with the corresponding face.  This ability to tune in to other people's feelings, or empathize, can be useful, but it can also get a person in trouble if they are around someone who has depression.

"If a genetic predisposition exists, and a person is surrounded by people with a behavior, that may give rise to or create an environment that would fertilize that behavior," said Steven Lappen, a writer and frequent public speaker who has bipolar disorder. Also, it is important to note that depression has a hereditary factor associated with it. In such a situation, it is possible that one or both parents may have depression. That fact is possibly increasing the chances that their offspring will develop this condition. If the parental depression is present but has never been diagnosed, their negative reaction toward their child could be even greater.

In addition, the fear of receiving a negative reaction can compel some of us not to seek help. The idea of family or friends becoming aware of our condition can have a debilitating affect on us. This fear can prevent us from seeking the necessary confirmation of the condition and seeking professional help. This avoidance of diagnosis and treatment is far more serious than any negative reaction that may come from our loved ones.

To deal with all situations, we must remind ourselves that our physical and emotional well being is paramount. We must convince ourselves that seeking professional help is more important than what others think. That treatment for depression can allow us an opportunity to regain a positive outlook on life. To deny us of this opportunity is to deny ourselves the freedom and dignity that each and every one of us prizes above all else. To lock ourselves within a world of internal depression by hiding behind doors, never going out, and never speaking to others is the greatest harm we can do to ourselves.

The choice is ours and ours alone to make. We can worry about what others think or how they will act or we can concern ourselves with our needs and seek out the professional help that we so desperately need. It is up to us to do the right thing before it's too late. By seeking professional guidance and educating ourselves about depression, we can show those we love that depression is NOT contagious.

One of the well-researched forms of psychotherapy called interpersonal therapy (IPT) emphasizes the importance of having positive and healthy relationships and provides skill-building strategies for developing them. There is good evidence that when people improve their relationship skills, their depression improves. When people feel better about themselves, they get better feedback from the world around them. They feel empowered instead of victimized, and they finally feel like they are a part of something more compelling than themselves and their depression.

There are times when people need an intervention in their lives to move in a healthy direction. You may have tried many times to cheer someone up, but to no avail. Your guilt will not help your loved one. It actually can hurt because it can prevent both of you from seeing what is really wrong. Once someone knows they are depressed, they can do something about it.

Here’s what you can do:   

1. Provide empathy. People who are depressed often feel they are crazy and life’s situations are hopeless. Share your own experiences with depression. Everyone who breathes has suffered through some depression at various times in their lives.


2. Provide encouragement. As hopeless as it seems in the moment, depression can go away in a short period of time given the right recovery tools. It may take longer to get to the deeper sources of depression, but along the way a helpful therapist can give you tools to enable you to pull yourself up from despair much quicker – and believe that it can happen. For instance, people who suffer from depression and have experienced some type of weight problems will benefit from going beyond treating the surface depression and looking toward what is underneath. Often past loss, trauma, extremely high expectations and other issues extend much deeper.


3. Show you continue to care. Send notes, cards or e-mail. Invite your loved one to activities. Keep your expectations low.


4. Do not assume responsibility for their depression. While you definitely want to show you care, you cannot change another person. That person has to do that. You can throw life lines. You can’t make them accept. That means if another person is raging out at you, don’t accept it. Their depression does not give them an excuse to hurt you. State that in clear terms. Otherwise, you accept responsibility and the depressed person becomes even less empowered. Be careful that you do not become isolated because that person doesn't want to do anything. Make sure you get out and circulate with a support system of your own because you may have temporarily lost support from a person very important to you.


5. Accept that you cannot do it alone. Many times it will take a professional’s assistance. See a licensed mental health counselor. This not only gives you a second opinion, it also spreads some of the assessment and caring around. The counselor has been trained to move people out of depression. You may have been trained to be a caretaker. Those things do not always mesh. Sometimes it takes letting go and moving out of someone’s way to support a loved one. The therapist may even want your loved one to consult with a psychiatrist. Sometimes medications are needed for a short-time or long term, due to changes in the body's chemistry. If their body chemistry is at odds with a person, they may need the boost medication can give before therapy is effective – no matter what their best intentions are. It is important your professional contacts spend time and listen to you. If a medicine isn’t working, tell them. As a concerned relative or friend, ask that your friend sign a release of information which allows the mental health professional to talk with you if you call. Even if you do not have that, you can call or write a message stating your concerns and specific symptoms you see. People often will not fully disclose or even be aware of their behaviors. An upset voice to one person may be a complete rageaholic to those around him. Family members may disclose their worry about someone staying in bed all the time. That same person may simply tell the doctor they sleep ok. Family members can provide vital information and often are important in therapy sessions, too.


6. It may take an intervention for a change to occur. These provide a loving, yet firm reminder that your loved one’s depression affects you and your relationship. In interventions, you ask them to listen, then talk about specific incidents and how it affected you. Share that you love and care about them, but that you will not be a part of their depression. You want them to seek professional help. Offer to go with the person the first time. It may ease their anxiety. However, make it clear you will not sit through the entire first session with a therapist, and thereafter will participate as invited by the patient-therapist team.


7. Recognize that healing may include changes you are not too comfortable with. For instance, a very compliant person who hid all her feelings may become more assertive. That can be an adjustment for family or friends.


8. Do not become totally absorbed. It is crucial you take care of yourself, get out with friends. Otherwise, you may also become severely depressed. If you are worried about leaving a loved one alone, definitely seek professional help. You need a trained outsider to help you through these times and ease your fears.


9. If someone you love or care about expresses thoughts of suicide or violence to others, seek help immediately.

Sources and Additional Information:

http://www.healingwell.com/library/depression/aitken2.asp

http://health.msn.com/health-topics/depression/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100256871

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/MindMoodNews/story?id=4539059&page=1

http://www.forgetaboutdiets.com/depression/DepressionCanBeContagious.htm

Laughter Therapy to Fight Depression

Patient: I have a problem doctor. I feel depressed and worthless.

Doctor: You should cut down on your drinks.

Patient: I don't drink and have never touched a drop in my life.

Doctor: You should cut down on your smoking.

Patient: I don't smoke either doctor.

Doctor: You should cut down on womanizing.

Patient: Good heavens!! Haven't touched a woman in my entire life.

Doctor: Your problem is you have no problems!! Get yourself a drink, learn to smoke, and find a couple of girlfriends and you will be alright.

Therapeutic Effects of Laughter

Plato's remark that "Even the Gods love jokes." must be correct, for the value of laughter is recorded in sacred scripture. For example, the Koran states that "He deserves Paradise who makes his companions laugh." By the fourteenth century, the healing power of humor was recognized by the medical community. An important French surgeon, Henri de Mondeville (1260-1320), wrote, "Let the surgeon take care to regulate the whole regimen of the patient's life for joy and happiness, allowing his relatives and special friends to cheer him, and by having someone tell him jokes."

However, extensive research on 'laughter therapy' did not begin until after the New England Journal of Medicine published an article by Norman Cousins in 1976. Later, in 1979, this article became the first chapter of his book, 'Anatomy of an Illness.' In it he explained how he was diagnosed in 1964 with ankylosing spondylitis (also known as spondylitis, AS, or Bechterew Disease). The disease usually results in acute inflammation of the spine and can affect other areas of the body as well. Norman Cousins' case was so severe that he was given a one in five hundred chance of recovery and a few months to live.

Realizing that negative thoughts and attitudes can result in illness, he reasoned that positive thoughts and attitudes may have the opposite effect. So he left the hospital and checked into a hotel where he took mega doses of vitamin C and watched humorous movies and shows, including 'Candid Camera' and the Marx Brothers. He found that ten minutes of boisterous laughter resulted in at least two hours of pain-free sleep. He continued his routine until he recovered. Thus, he proved that laughter is the best medicine, and pointed the way to mind-body medicine.

William Fry, M.D., professor of psychiatry at Stanford University Medical School and expert on health and laughter, reports the average kindergarten student laughs 300 times a day. Yet, adults average just 17 laughs a day. Why the difference? Are we too uptight, too tense? Do we take life too seriously? Isn't it time we learned how to relax? We don't stop laughing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop laughing. So, if we want to fly like the angels and share in their happiness, we'll have to follow their example and take ourselves lightly.

Our five senses are not enough for ideal living. We need to use our sixth sense: our sense of humor. Humor isn't about merely telling jokes; it's the way we view the world. We can be sincere about life without taking it so seriously. We can laugh about our mistakes and pain. Louis Kronenberger explains: "Humor simultaneously wounds and heals, indicts and pardons, diminishes and enlarges; it constitutes inner growth at the expense of outer gain, and those who posses and honestly practice it make themselves more through a willingness to make themselves less."

Recent Research

I'm absolutely healthy... The voices in my head agreed as well.

Presented at a meeting of the American College of Cardiology in Orlando, Florida, the two studies showed how psychological factors could affect a person's health.

”We don’t recommend that you laugh and not exercise, but we do recommend that you try to laugh on regular basis. Thirty minutes of exercise three times a week, and 15 minutes of laughter on a daily basis is probably good for the vascular system,” said Dr Michael Miller of the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore.

In the experiment, researchers showed two movies, one humorous and the other stressful to 20 healthy volunteers and monitor the blood vessels’ reaction. The researchers specifically looked at the endothelium, the linking of the vessels, and found that the blood flow was reduced 35% in 14 of the 20 volunteers after watching the stressful movie clips. However in 19 of the 20 volunteers who laughed at the funny movie segments, blood flowed 22% more freely.

“The endothelium is the first line in the development of the atherosclerosis or hardening of the arteries, so, given the result of our study, it is conceivable that laughing may be important to maintain a healthy endothelium, and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease”. Miller said.

“The magnitude of change we saw in the endothelium is similar to the benefit we might see with aerobic activity, but without the aches, pains and muscle tension associated with exercise”.

Laughter against Depression

I was depressed last night so I called Lifeline. They've got a call center in Pakistan. I told them I was suicidal. They got all excited and asked if I could drive a truck.

Laughter can be a powerful antidote to depression and anxiety – without a prescription and without side effects.  Laughter relieves tension, improves our sense of well-being, serves as an outlet for anger and provides a healthy escape from reality.

Research has proven the benefits of laughter for our mental health. In one study, says Faiz Qadri, MD, director of the Creighton University Mood Disorders Clinic, movie-watching patients who watched only comedies for three months had measurably more enhanced positive attitude and social interaction than patients who watched a variety of types of movies. “I recommend to my patients that they watch a comedy every week,” he says.

Our brains actually process laughter to produce mood-lifting brain chemicals. “Laughter causes our body to release a bath of serotonin and other "feel good" chemicals into the blood stream and opens us up to experiencing a situation differently,” says Tian Dayton PhD, author of Emotional Sobriety: From Relationship Trauma to Resilience and Balance. “It reduces at least four of the neuroendocrine hormones associated with the stress response: epinephrine, cortisol, dopac, and growth hormone.”

Welcome to the Psychiatric Hotline.

If you are obsessive-compulsive, please press 1 repeatedly.

If you are co-dependent, please ask someone to press 2.

If you have multiple personalities, please press 3, 4, 5, and 6.

If you are paranoid-delusional, we know who you are and what you want. Just stay on the line so we can trace the call.

If you are schizophrenic, listen carefully and a little voice will tell you which number to press.

If you are depressed, it doesn't matter which number you press. No one will answer.

If you are delusional and occasionally hallucinate, please be aware that the thing you are holding on the side of your head is alive and about to bite off your ear.

Here are some of the ways laughter can help you:



* Laughter may strengthen the immune system by activating cells that attack viruses.

* Laughing may lower blood pressure for some by inducing relaxation and preventing the release of stress hormones such as cortisol.

* Some describe laughter as “internal jogging” as you inhale oxygen which stimulates heart and blood circulation.

* Laughter can trigger the release of endorphins which give you a sense of well being. These endorphins are also natural painkillers.

* It is possible that the stimulation of particular cerebral regions, involved in depression pathogenesis, and the normalization of the hypothalamic pituitary adrenocortical system dysfunctions, both mediated by laughter, can counteract efficiently depressive symptoms.

* Laughing can reduce stress and anxiety because it naturally relaxes you. Laughter induces your heart rate to slow down and your blood pressure to decrease.

* Some experts say that laughter increases our creativity as it encourages a new perspective to look at things.

* Laughing with others may be the best way to reap the benefits of laughter as it improves our mood through social connection and an increased feeling of belonging. Laughing with friends can decrease feelings of alienation and lowers our risk for depression.

Laughter Yoga

One of the first things to go when you're depressed is your sense of humor. Nothing is funny, even things that previously made you roll on the floor laughing. When the brain's chemistry is out of balance, it's more difficult to make that humor connection.

Laughing at a comedian on TV or watching a funny movie can provide a little lift in mood but some take it a step further and believe that regular group sessions where you laugh with others can be a therapeutic treatment for depression. There is a method called “Laughter Yoga” which is gaining ground as a credible treatment for depression and anxiety. Laughter Yoga concentrates on the purely physical aspects of laughter. You can just start laughing, even if you don't feel like it. You can learn to laugh for no reason. To do this, begin with some fake laughter. It's always better with 2 or more people, because as you look each other in the eye, you just start to laugh more.

Laughter yoga groups around the world are coming together to participate in exercises which combine yoga techniques with forced laughter. The people who run such groups believe that you don’t need to laugh at a joke to reap the benefits of laughter. For example, participants in the Pasadena Laughter Club chant, “Ho-Ho-Hah-Hah-Hah!” as they march and clap to the rhythm. This is no comedy club and the members laugh for no reason as a part of this unique therapy.  “Fake it until you make it” is the mantra of the creator of laughing yoga, Dr.Madan Kataria, who is otherwise known as “the Guru of Giggling” by his followers. Dr. Kataria has been quoted as saying, “Laughter cannot solve your problems but it can give you the energy to face your problems, to look at life in a different light, a positive light.”

Video Presentation:

Laughter Yoga Against Depression

Sources and Additional Information:

http://www.personal-development.com/chuck/laughter.htm

http://www.oohoi.com/inner_self/mind/laughter.htm

http://www.moodletter.com/Laughter.html

http://www.healthcentral.com/depression/c/84292/117961/depression

http://depression.ygoy.com/laughter-therapy-for-depression/