 Summary:
"In the past 13 years, 217,409 incidents of anxiety disorders were diagnosed among the active component of the US Armed Forces, according to data from the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center's Medical Surveillance Monthly Report. "In the US Armed Forces, mental disorders ... are a leading cause of morbidity, disability, health care service utilization, lost duty time and attrition from military service," Army Col. William Corr, deputy director of the division of epidemiology and analysis at the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center, said in a press release. "Incidence rates of mental disorders diagnoses overall and anxiety disorders in particular have increased sharply among US military members during the past 10 years." From 2000 to 2012, the unadjusted incidence rate of anxiety disorder diagnosis among active members of the US Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard was 117.2 per 10,000 person-years. "Non-specific anxiety disorder" was the first anxiety disorder-related diagnosis among 205,717 incident cases. According to the report, more specific anxiety-related disorders were diagnosed among many of these active members, including generalized anxiety (14.3%), panic disorder without agoraphobia (8.2%), specified phobic disorders (4.5%) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (1.6%). Additionally, within 1 year before or after their case-defining anxiety disorder encounter, about one-third of service members diagnosed with an anxiety disorder also were diagnosed with an adjustment (34.3%) or a depressive (33.5%) disorder. Phobic disorders accounted for 21,675 cases and obsessive-compulsive disorders accounted for 8,370 cases. In terms of health care burdens during the 13-year period, anxiety disorders were responsible for 93,992 hospital bed days; researchers noted a 316% increase in anxiety disorder-related hospital bed days from the first to the last year of the study period." Full Article: Click Here
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 From The Huffington Post UK
Full Article: Click Here How can you actually reduce anxiety? 1. Build up your sense of control As I have highlighted above, building a strong sense of secondary control is important in reducing anxiety. You want to develop resilience and realise that you do have the skills and resources to deal with any situation. Two ways that will help you to do this are: • Start changing your thoughts whenever you think in a powerless way. Our language strongly influences our beliefs and emotions. By using positive, powerful language, you will create less stress, anticipate positive outcomes and feel more empowered. Pay attention to the words you use and change any unhelpful words for more helpful ones. For example, ‘‘it’s terrifying at the dentist, I’ll be a wreck” could become “it’s a bit unpleasant at the dentist, but I can cope with it”. • One of the best ways to feel more in control is to overcome challenges. So, set yourself a personal challenge that you are going to achieve over the next week or so. This should be something that will be a little bit difficult for you to achieve BUT is something that you can do, if you put in some effort. To ensure that you succeed, you want to think about what steps you are going to take to achieve your challenge. As you work towards your goal, you want to keep encouraging yourself and praising yourself for the effort you are putting in. Once you have completed your challenge you want to recognise your achievement and say ‘well done’ to yourself for your hard work. 2. Stop avoiding feared situations When you want to avoid a particular feared situation, remind yourself that you do not need to do so. Tell yourself that you are capable of tolerating any feelings of discomfort and that you do have the skills and resources to cope with the situation. Make sure that you praise yourself for tolerating the experience. If you start to feel anxious and want to get away, slow your breathing down and tell yourself you can cope with the situation. Eg. ‘This is OK, I can tolerate this situation’.  Both the BBC and CBS News are reporting that depression can make your cells age faster, thus making us biologically older. Both articles are based on research published in Molecular Psychiatry this week. BBC Article: Click Here CBS Article: Click Here  "Researchers have discovered that a child, as young as 18 months of age, is at an increased risk of developing emotional and disruptive problems if his or her mother suffers from anxiety and depression symptoms.
According to the findings from the TOPP study, the risk persisted into adolescence and also gave an increased risk of depressive symptoms. For the study, which was conducted at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, researchers used Norwegian mothers' self-reports of their own mental health and their children's problem behaviors, both disruptive and emotional, at five different ages from early childhood (18 months) to early adolescence (12.5 years). Questionnaire data from the adolescents are from 14.5 years and 16.5 years old. When the mother reported high levels of anxiety and depression symptoms early in the children's lives, the children had a higher risk of emotional and disruptive problem behaviors during their childhood, the results showed. In addition, the children had a higher risk of reporting depressive symptoms during adolescence. The study is published in the Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics." Full Article: Click Here  By: Pat Nash
Full Article: Click Here "Depression is sneaky and has many forms. The Mayo Clinic website, www.mayclinic.org, lists seven types, the most common of which are major depression, SAD (seasonal affective disorder), adjustment disorder, post-partum depression and dysthymia. Although they are all different, they share several of the same symptoms: loss of interest in life, constant fatigue, sleep pattern disturbances and a feeling of hopelessness. The diagnostic differences among them are based on the cause, severity and duration of the symptoms. According to the Mayo Clinic site, major depression lasts more than two weeks and is a “chronic illness that usually requires long-term treatment, like diabetes or high blood pressure.” People with major depression are affected physically as well as mentally and have “frequent thoughts of death, dying, or suicide.” Anyone with those symptoms requires immediate care from medical and mental health specialists. SAD is fairly common in northern areas that receive considerably less sunlight during the winter. Most of us feel a let down as summer wanes and we’re daylight-deprived. The symptoms are similar to those of other types of depression, but they don’t last as long and aren’t as severe. We usually adjust but, if we don’t, it can lead to a more severe type. Adjustment disorder, according to the site, is a “depressed mood that occurs after a particularly stressful event.” I’ve also heard it described as situational depression, and is probably what I had after my mother’s death. Most people can empathize with that sort of depression because they can see the cause. But other forms of depression are harder for many people to understand. Dysthymia is, also according to the Mayo site, a mild, but long-term chronic form of depression. Its symptoms include loss of interest in living, low self esteem, feelings of guilt, sleep problems, a pessimistic attitude, anger and difficulty making decisions. Medical experts agree that anyone who has those symptoms for longer than two weeks should seek help. Men, the site points out, often show different symptoms of depression which may include anger, aggression and reckless behaviors. It also reminds readers not to forget the possibility of depression in children, teens and the elderly if their behaviors or attitudes change. It has a helpful guide to options for treatment on its Road to Depression Recovery page. It’s helpful to know that long-term stress can also cause depression and physical symptoms. Our bodies are often smarter than our brains, so if we experience unexplained aches or pains, the cause may be stress and can be a warning that depression or illness may soon follow if we don’t identify and eliminate the stressors in our lives. Nobody wants to live in a state of irritability or hopelessness, but many who live with those feelings don’t realize they can be symptoms of depression. If someone you care about exhibits any of the symptoms, urge them to seek help. It may take a family and friends’ intervention to force them into treatment, but the results will be worth their initial anger and reluctance. It could even save their lives."  "The most depressed country is Afghanistan, where more than one in five people suffer from the disorder. The least depressed is Japan, with a diagnosed rate of less than 2.5 percent.
The researchers also quantified the national “burden” of depression using a metric called DALY -- disability-adjusted life years, or the number of healthy years a person loses because of depression or a depression-related premature death. Predictably, depression burdens for the most part follow depression rates. The burden is highest in Afghanistan and in Middle Eastern and North African countries, as well as in Eritrea, Rwanda, Botswana, Gabon, Croatia, the Netherlands (!) and Honduras. It’s lowest in Asia’s most prosperous economies, including Japan. See some patterns here? The researchers did, too. While they can’t conclusively explain why depression is so much more prevalent and damaging in some countries than in others, they have a few theories. Those include conflict, which pushes depression rates up, and the presence of other serious epidemics, which makes depression less of a social burden relative to other public health issues. Notably, Afghanistan, Honduras and the Palestinian territories are the three most-depressed areas researchers looked at." By: Caitlin Dewey Full Article & Map: Click Here  "Don’t we all wish we could feel calmer? More at peace? Less worried? Anxiety—or what we often refer to as ongoing feelings of stress, worry and fear—is a very common reason to go to therapy." "Of course, there are some things to try at home first. A good start would include regular exercise, healthy eating, getting plenty of rest and reducing stimulants like caffeine. Some other good habits include quiet reading, time with friends and enjoying a hobby. A regular practice of meditation is also helpful to many people." "For adults, symptoms may include difficulty sleeping or concentrating, uncomfortable feelings of panic or fear, recurring nightmares, phobias or physical symptoms such as a pounding heart or feeling sick to your stomach. In children, watch for sleep troubles, nightmares, constant worries about family, friends and activities, panic and tantrums at separation from parents that extend beyond pre-school years or frequent physical complaints like stomach aches and headaches." By: Leigh Ann Charlot Full Article: Click Here Conquer Worry Would Like To Share Your Success Story!
We are currently conducting interviews and compiling stories from people who have conquered worry, anxiety or depression and are now living successful, happy lives. Your story could help others, so please click on the "Share Your Story" tab at the top and we will set-up a time to talk.  By: Rachel Browne
Summary: "One in seven Australians admits to experiencing severe to extremely severe depressive symptoms with almost half citing job-related issues as a source of the stress. The latest snapshot of the nation's mental health by the Australian Pyschological Society paints a distressing picture of workers, with an increasing number reporting they are suffering immense pressure. The survey, released on Sunday, found a significant decline in workplace wellbeing with workers being driven to despair as more pressure is put on increasing productivity and jobs become increasingly insecure. The society's executive director, Lyn Littlefield, said the findings reflected the fragile economic environment. ''There is much more pressure on the employers and the leaders to get performance out of their workers,'' Professor Littlefield said. The survey of 1500 people, which included almost 1000 workers, found that working Australians reported lower levels of wellbeing, job satisfaction and interest in their job, compared with previous years. Workers under the most pressure were aged between 36 and 45. Professor Littlefield said workplace stress was one of the most common causes of compensation claims and called on employers to improve their practices. ''The more stressed people are, workers compensation claims go up,'' she said. ''We know that wellbeing improves productivity. By turning things around, the employer gets a benefit.'' Worrying about money was the top source of stress identified in the research, with people aged 18 to 25 most likely to be anxious about their finances. ''People are worried about whether they will have enough money for everyday living requirements,'' Professor Littlefield said. One in seven participants reported depressive symptoms in the severe to extremely severe range, with significantly more reporting moderate to severe levels of distress compared with previous years. ''People are reporting a considerable impact of that on their physical health and even on their mental health. It is having quite a widespread affect.''  Summary: 'Almost depression' is not a mental disorder, but a 'low mood.' "People who are almost depressed report a number of issues, including lower job satisfaction, lower satisfaction with their marriage and other personal relationships, more anxiety issues, less control over their lives and lower overall well-being than people who do not fall into the almost depressed range." The author states that 75% of low grade depression will result in full blown depression, and those who are depressed have 4 times the risk of heart disease and 9-16 times the risk of suicide. Solutions:
By Shelly Carson Full Story: Click Here Conquer Worry Would Like To Share Your Success Story!
We are currently conducting interviews and compiling stories from people who have conquered worry, anxiety or depression and are now living successful, happy lives. Your story could help others, so please click on the "Share Your Story" tab at the top and we will set-up a time to talk.  Summary: The Journal of the American Medical Association has release a study finding that not all doctors are able to treat depression effectively, "including those who are most likely to see patients' first symptoms." "Even though patients may turn first to their primary-care physicians with any concerns about depression, the tools that those doctors use to evaluate their patients for mental-health disorders aren't necessarily helping to improve their patients' symptoms." "Researchers from the University of California, Davis, looked at techniques, designed for patients, that help primary-care physicians to assess mental-health symptoms more easily in a doctor's office or even the waiting room." Results: "Among 925 adult patients treated by 135 primary-care doctors in the study, 603 patients were already diagnosed with depression and 322 patients did not show signs of the condition. All the patients were randomly assigned to either of the two digital assessments, or to a control group, and then followed up 12 weeks later to see if the interventions improved the patients' mental-health symptoms." By Alexandra Sifferlin Full Article: Click Here Conquer Worry Would Like To Share Your Success Story!
We are currently conducting interviews and compiling stories from people who have conquered worry, anxiety or depression and are now living successful, happy lives. Your story could help others, so please click on the "Share Your Story" tab at the top and we will set-up a time to talk. |
 
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