Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) in clinical depression treatment

Clinical ResearchThe research, just published in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, found that the group-based psychological treatment called Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) was as good or better as treatment with anti-depressants like Prozac in preventing a relapse of serious depression -- and the non-drug therapy was more effective in enhancing quality of life. What's more, the study concluded MBCT is cost-effective in helping people with a history of depression stay well for the long term.The research team, which included British investigators from the Mood Disorders Center at the University of Exeter and the...

Antidepressants for Major Depression - Selective Serotonin and Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors (SNRI)

In one of our previous articles we discussed on why and how serotonin impacts our mood and mental stability. The three main neurotransmitters involved in depression are dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin (also known as 5-HT). When brain levels of one or more neurotransmitter are low or unbalanced, depression and other conditions can result. Generally, antidepressant drugs work by increasing the production or decreasing the breakdown of one or more neurotransmitter.The new type of antidepressants (known as selective serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, or serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, or SNRIs for short) affect...

Ice Water and Googles Therapeutic Approaches for Depression Treatment

Two new theories of depression are refining traditional interest in the once fashionable topic of how the left and right sides of the human brain interact. Dr. Jack Pettigrew, a neuroscientist at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, proposed that people with manic depression have a ''sticky switch'' somewhere deep in their brains.In normal people, the switch allows either the left or right hemisphere to be dominant during different mental tasks, with the two sides constantly taking turns. In people with manic depression, one hemisphere becomes locked into a dominant position in periods of depression while the other hemisphere...

Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs)

What is serotonin and how it is linked to depressionSerotonin acts as a neurotransmitter, a type of chemical that helps relay signals from one area of the brain to another. Although serotonin is manufactured in the brain, where it performs its primary functions, some 90% of our serotonin supply is found in the digestive tract and in blood platelets.There are many researchers who believe that an imbalance in serotonin levels may influence mood in a way that leads to depression. Possible problems include low brain cell production of serotonin, a lack of receptor sites able to receive the serotonin that is made, inability of serotonin to reach the...

Dysthymia - Mild Form of Chronic Depression

What is Dysthymia?Dysthymia, sometimes referred to as chronic depression, is a less severe form of depression. With dysthymia, the depression symptoms can linger for a long period of time, perhaps two years or longer. Those who suffer from dysthymia are usually able to function adequately but might seem consistently unhappy.In other words, Dysthymia is a common type of a low-grade depression. Harvard Health Publications states that, “the Greek word dysthymia means ‘bad state of mind’ or ‘ill humor’. As one of the two chief forms of clinical depression, it usually has fewer or less serious symptoms than major depression but lasts longer. At least...