Full Moon

Episode 36: Full Moon, by host, Laura Milkins. Our guest, Tracey tells the story of her depression, and how her suicidal attempt during a blackout rage/possession, lead her on a rocky path to wellness through yoga and meditation. Sunday, September 18, 2016

Berkley Wellness
The Moon Mood Connection

http://www.berkeleywellness.com/healthy-mind/mood/article/moon-mood-connection

The idea that a full moon is connected with lunacy (violence, aggression, sleepwalking and general craziness) is probably as old as language, but is born anew with every generation. In fact, “lunacy” comes from the latin word luna, meaning moon. A full moon is also supposed to send pregnant women into labor and make nursing home residents more agitated. According to ancient philosophers, the moon affects human behavior and health by its gravitational pull on body fluids.

Scientists have investigated these and other lunar notions—and repeatedly debunked them. They have been unable to substantiate any links between phases of the moon and bizarre, murderous or suicidal behavior, various medical conditions or birth rates. And as astronomers and physicists will tell you, the gravitational pull of the moon on humans is virtually nil. (The moon influences tides in large bodies of water, but not water in our bodies.)

It seems, however, as if some of these researchers may have done their studies under the influence of a full moon. For instance, a paper published in the Journal of Emergency Medicine back in 1987 claimed to find that 80 percent of randomly selected nurses and 64 percent of doctors in emergency rooms in unnamed hospitals believed that lunar cycles affect mental health. The paper also noted that 92 percent of these nurses said they should be paid extra—“lunar pay differentials”—during a full moon. It’s probably safe to assume that the author’s tongue was firmly in his cheek when he wrote this.

Even so, those statistics were prominently cited in a new study in the journalGeneral Hospital Psychiatry. It looked for correlations between phases of the moon and psychological problems (such as panic attacks, anxiety or mood disorders and suicidal thoughts) by examining records from the emergency rooms of two major Canadian hospitals. Once again, the researchers found no lunar connections. They warned health care professionals to abandon unfounded beliefs about the moon’s effect on their patients, which could become “self-fulfilling prophecies.”

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Uncertainty

Episode 35: Uncertainty, by host, Laura Milkins. Our guest, Tina tells the story of her depression, and her suicidal attempt lead to successful therapy for a childhood trauma and eventual health and wellbeing. Sunday, September 11, 2016

You can find out more about her book Amanda, a fairytale that deals with childhood depression: https://www.amazon.com/Amanda-Tina-Huerta/dp/1517578329

The Atlantic (excerpts used on the show)
http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/03/how-uncertainty-fuels-anxiety/388066/

How Uncertainty Fuels Anxiety

One of the downsides of the mostly awesome phenomenon of human consciousness is the ability to worry about the future. We know the future exists, but we don’t know what’s going to happen in it. “In other animals, unpredictability or uncertainty can lead to heightened vigilance, but I think what’s unique about humans is the ability to reflect on the fact that these future events are unknown or unpredictable,” says Dan Grupe, a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Center for Investigating Healthy Minds. “Uncertainty itself can lead to a lot of distress for humans in particular.”

As a rule, humans prefer certainty to uncertainty. Studies have shown that people would rather definitely get an electric shock now than maybe be shocked later, and show greater nervous-system activation when waiting for an unpredictable shock (or other unpleasant stimulus) than an expected one. Where people differ is in the degree to which uncertainty bothers them.

“When nothing is sure, everything is possible.”

-Margaret Atwood

Community!

Episode 34: Community, by host, Laura Milkins. Our guest, Jay tells the story of his depression, and the challenges of losing a beloved cat, but that having twins on the way has alleviated some of his dark feelings. Sunday, September 4, 2016

Psych Central

http://psychcentral.com/news/2014/03/20/social-connections-can-help-to-reduce-depression/67371.html

Social Connections Can Help to Reduce Depression By Rick Nauert PhD

A new study finds that belonging to a social group helps to alleviate depression and prevent relapse. And, it appears the closer the tie to the group, the better the results.

In both cases, patients responding to survey questions who did not identify strongly with the social group had about a 50 percent likelihood of continued depression a month later.

But of those who developed a stronger connection to the group and who came to see its members as “us” rather than “them,” less than a third still met the criteria for clinical depression after that time. Many patients said the group made them feel supported because everyone was “in it together.”

“We were able to find clear evidence that joining groups, and coming to identify with them, can alleviate depression,” said Haslam.

The Depression Session Meetup Tucson

Isolation and Depression: Do you know the feeling?

Tuesday, September 13, 2016

7:00 PM to 8:00 PM

Quincy-Douglas Library

“Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much.”

-Helen Keller

The Depression Session Meetup Tucson!

Presenting… drumroll…

The Depression Session Meetup Tucson! Mellinda Cromeens and Laura Milkins have started a Meetup group to talk openly about depression, still with the same mission of de-stimatizing depression in our community and the world. If you know anyone interested in joining, please share, especially if you know someone suffering with depression.

About the group:

The Depression Session Meetup is about de-stygmatizing depression. It meets once a month on Tuesdays. It’s perfect for anyone who has struggled with depression and wants to share what they are going through or have gone through. Depression is isolating and it can be difficult to open up and share your struggles. Or when you do tell friends and family what your going through, they give suggestions rather than really listening. The group designed to talk openly about depression in a non judgmental space, and have a chance to share your story. It is not therapy, but just an open conversation about depression.