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A new study performed by researchers at the National institutes of Health has determined that children who suffer from Cushing Syndrome may be at a higher risk for suicide and depression than children who do not have this syndrome. The condition is a disorder of the endocrine system which is rare, and it results in the production of abnormally high levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Often the excess hormone is caused when a tumor forms on the pituitary or adrenal glands, but it can also be the result of taking excessive steroid medications as well. There is a marked difference in the development of depression between adults and children who suffer from Cushing Syndrome. Adults typically experience anxiety and depression before receiving treatment while children generally develop these same symptoms after treatment is received.
NIH’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Division of Intramural Research director Constantine Stratakis, a senior author of the study on Cushing Syndrome, depression, and suicide, explained the study results. Stratakis stated “Our results indicate that physicians who care for young people with Cushing syndrome should screen their patients for depression-related mental illness after the underlying disease has been successfully treated. Patients may not tell their doctors that they’re feeling depressed, so it’s a good idea for physicians to screen their patients proactively for depression and related conditions.” The findings for the study have been published in Pediatrics. Researchers have suggested that children who have Cushing Syndrome should be informed that they could experience changes after treatment so these patients know what to expect and they can report any changes to their physician.
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Co-dependency is a behavior that is learned, often starting in early childhood, and it usually leads to unhealthy relationships and dysfunctional family dynamics. This learned behavior can be passed down through generations, and it is often called relationship addiction. The relationships that people who are co-dependent have are usually emotionally destructive, abusive in some way, and completely one sided. This condition was first noticed when researchers studied the families of alcoholics, and co-dependency is learned by watching members of the family unit display these traits. People in a co-dependent relationship are usually suffering from some type of substance abuse or they are a relative or friend of someone who has an addiction or substance abuse issue. Co-dependency can also be found in cases of compulsive gambling, compulsive shopping, sex addiction, and other addictions as well.
Co-dependency results in unhealthy relationships for many reasons. The person who cares about the individual with a substance abuse disorder or other problem may unconsciously enable the destructive behavioral pattern. The co-dependent individual may feel a need to be needed, or they may have learned in childhood that their needs are less important than the needs of the alcoholic or addict. Before co-dependency can be addressed and resolved the person must evaluate why they enable certain behaviors and what they need to work on to be emotionally healthy themselves. Co-dependency can be eliminated but this requires the right treatment and a healthy state of mind. Co-dependency can not help build a healthy relationship and the destructive patterns that this condition causes can ruin your life.
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New research on cellphones and mental health shows that when cellphone use is excessive this could lead to depression or anxiety. The study determined that for some college students a cellphone may be used like a security blanket, allowing the individual to avoid situations or experiences that they find uncomfortable or stressful. The latest study involved over 300 college students, and determined that heavier use of technology was linked to a higher risk for anxiety or depression. These findings were not true when cellphones were used to relieve boredom or to entertain though. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign researchers also concluded that the devices themselves did not cause or contribute to mental health issues.
Tayana Panova, a co-author for the study on cellphones and mental health risks, noted that “Handheld devices, with their countless applications and entertainment options and their constant presence at our fingertips, make it easier than ever before to disconnect with the problems [and] stresses of reality, and avoid actively engaging with them. But over time turning to the device whenever an uncomfortable situation or feeling arises can become an escapist pattern of behavior, and may make people more vulnerable to stressors due to insufficient emotional ‘exercise.” The study was conducted as part of the undergraduate honors thesis by Panova, and she cautioned that “The causation of the effect is unknown. It may be that individuals with higher anxiety/depression use [phone] devices more intensively or that using devices more intensively can eventually lead to the development of anxiety/depression. Or it can mean that there is a cyclical relationship.”
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Anorexia nervosa, an eating disorder that can be very difficult to treat, can cause a number of physical and mental health problems and even lead to death in some cases. A new study found that people who suffer from this eating disorder may benefit from brain stimulation. Transcranial stimulation is a treatment which has received approval for depression, and researchers in Britain evaluated patients who were diagnosed with anorexia nervosa both before and after the patients received the brain stimulation. According to a news release from King’s College London by researcher and first author of the study Jessica McClelland “With rTMS we targeted … an area of the brain thought to be involved in some of the self-regulation difficulties associated with anorexia.” The treatment involves magnetic pulses which are delivered to specific brain areas, and it alters the nerve cell activity in the patient’s brain.
The study on brain stimulation and anorexia nervosa was published in PloS One, a medical journal. McClelland explained “We found that one session of [brain stimulation] reduced the urge to restrict food intake, levels of feeling full and levels of feeling fat, as well as encouraging more prudent decision-making. Taken together, these findings suggest that brain stimulation may reduce symptoms of anorexia by improving cognitive control over compulsive features of the disorder.” Kings College London professor and the senior author of the study Ulrike Schmidt also commented in the news release, stating “Anorexia nervosa is thought to affect up to 4 percent of women in their lifetime. With increasing illness duration, anorexia becomes entrenched in the brain and increasingly difficult to treat. Our preliminary findings support the potential of novel brain-directed treatments for anorexia, which are desperately needed.”
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Arizona State University researchers have determined that a natural resilience to life stressors is not the norm after all, although until now many have claimed that this is the case. When a life altering event occurs the researchers found that people may “struggle considerably and for longer periods of time” than previously believed. The study results and data were published in the journal Perspectives on Psychological Science. Study co-author and assistant professor of psychology at Arizona State University Dr. Frank Infurna explained “We show that, contrary to an extensive body of research, when individuals are confronted with major life stressors, such as spousal loss, divorce, or unemployment, they are likely to show substantial declines in well-being and these declines can linger for several years. Previous research largely claimed that individuals are typically resilient to major life stressors. Whereas when we test these assumptions more thoroughly, we find that most individuals are deeply affected and it can take several years for them to recover and get back to previous levels of functioning.”
According to Dr. Infurna the natural resilience to life stressors that has always been assumed in the past may not hold true after all, and there are many variables at play in each case. “Our findings go against the grain and show there can be more to the picture than that,” Infurna said. “It may not be the case that most people are unperturbed and doing fine. We used previous research as a basis and analyzed the data based on their specifications. Then we used our own specifications that we feel are more in line with conceptual assumptions and we found contrasting results. The previous research postulated that most people, anywhere from 50 to 70 percent, would show a trajectory characterized by no change. They are largely unperturbed by life’s major events. We found that it usually took people much longer — several years — to return to their previous levels of functioning. These are major qualitative shifts in a person’s life and it can have a lasting impact on their lives. It provides some evidence that if most people are affected, then interventions certainly should be utilized in terms of helping these individuals in response to these events.”
