Mind & Mood Archive

Try repeating words, using a day planner, and associating new names
and faces with vivid mental images.

More than two dozen antidepressants are approved to treat mood and anxiety disorders, and one person in 10 takes them.

Antidepressants are among the most commonly prescribed medications in the United States. But using them can be tricky. "We can't predict exactly how someone will respond to treatment because we're all biologically different," says Dr. Michael Craig Miller, assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.

Exercising, meditating, socializing, and volunteering can lift you out of a funk.

Getting the blues can happen to anyone, but it doesn't mean you have a chronic medical condition like depression. A little diversion might help you feel like yourself again. "If you're down about something, step away from it for a period and do something else," suggests Dr. Michael Craig Miller, assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Consider these boosters, and take the steps to fit them into your life.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force says there is not enough evidence to support routine screening for dementia or mild cognitive impairment among people ages 65 and older if they have no symptoms.

Some research suggests that disclosing deep emotions through writing can boost immune function as well as mood and well-being. Conversely, the stress of holding in strong feelings can ratchet up blood pressure and heart rate, and increase muscle tension.

Deeply troubling situations, such as suicide or a violent death, are best explored with the help of an experienced therapist. You might want to seek professional support to help you start to deal with your grief before trying journal writing. If you'd like to try keeping a journal to help you process feelings of grief, keep these things in mind:

Simply observing the breath can damp down stress and open a door to a more healthy and mindful lifestyle.

Psychological stress has a devastating effect on health. Research shows that people with heart disease do worse over time if they don't control stress, and stress seems to be associated with a higher risk for cancer. Stress is strongly associated with poorer memory and more aches and pains. However, reducing stress helps you sleep more restfully and control high blood pressure.

Q. I have been feeling sad and without much interest in my social life for the past few weeks. My doctor diagnosed me with mild depression. She asked that I come back in a month for follow-up. Isn't there something else I should do to feel better?

A. Mild depression is more common in women than in men. When you're depressed, you may have symptoms like a sad mood, crying spells, lack of pleasure in your regular activities, anxiousness, or irritability. You might also feel physical symptoms, like gastrointestinal discomfort (diarrhea, nausea, pain, or vomiting), chest pain, dizziness, fatigue, headache, and sexual problems. Depression can interfere with your concentration, memory, and decision-making ability and make you feel worthless and hopeless.

Moderate-intensity exercise can help improve your thinking and memory in just six months.

Widespread screening isn't recommended, but symptoms are cause to get evaluated.

We routinely undergo mammograms and colonoscopies with the objective of catching breast and colorectal cancer early, when they're most treatable. So why don't we also get periodically screened for dementia using questionnaires, blood tests, or imaging scans? The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force—a panel of disease prevention experts—advises that there is no proven value in screening women without cognitive problems.

Millions of Americans have turned to meditation to reduce stress, ease anxiety, and relieve depression. Although there aren't any risks associated with the practice, there also hasn't been much medical evidence to confirm meditation works. To add some medical validity to the claims about meditation, researchers analyzed 47 studies involving some 3,500 participants. Their review, which was published online January 6, 2014, in JAMA Internal Medicine, found that meditation did improve anxiety, depression, and pain, although it didn't have much of an effect on eating habits, sleep, weight, or attention. One of the techniques studied in the review was mindfulness meditation, which teaches practitioners to sit calmly and quietly and focus their mind inward so they can connect with their body. If you're interested in learning more about this practice, look for a class at a local college or community center.