Physical Activity: a Solution to Depression

Depression in college students is one of the major problems. Depression, at times leads to serious health related issues causing several problems in student life. Most of us don’t reach out for proper counseling for depression and this can lead to high risk with lower productivity of human life. In this blog I will explore an article “Undergraduate Physical Activity and Depressive Symptoms: A National Study” by Catherine A. Elliot et.al.  This study explores genders on depression and suicidal symptoms with relation to physical activity. Healthy and active lifestyles are the best and easy way to deal with depression disorders.

This study will further explore how physical activity leads to cure depression/suicidal symptoms among college students. The 'Healthy People 2010' initiative is a set of national health goals established by the United States Government and one of its objectives HC2010 was to reach a minimum of 55% of adults achieving 3 or more days of activity per week by 2010. (Elliot et.al, 2012,p.230). This study examines whether the desired set goal by the healthy people 2010 is achieved.

Method:

This study was conducted in the self report, 'National College Health Assessment (NCHA)'. This survey consisted of 7 pages of different health questions. (Elliot et.al, 2012,p.230). The data used in this study was limited to 107 institutions yielding 71860 usable surveys. But surveys with missing data and graduate students were eliminated which brings the total useable survey down to 61,011undergraduate student, 85% of those answering the survey. (Elliot et.al, 2012,p.233).The student self reported on two key construct mainly depressive and suicidal symptoms and physical activity. Participants were asked different questions on the survey and provided with a range of answers they had to choose from. Questions included for example;

“within the last school year how many times have you:

(1) felt things hopeless 

(2) felt very sad 

(3) felt depressed so it was difficult to function

(4) seriously considered attempting suicide 

(5) attempted suicide 

or

On how many of the past seven days did you participate in vigorous exercise for at least 20 minutes or moderate exercise for at least 30 minutes” and for this there are 8 answer options from 0, 1, 2, 3….7 days. Data of survey was gathered and analyzed using 4×2 analysis of variance ANOVAs and Games-Howell post hoc test. The Means and standard deviation was calculated to compare different variables within the genders. (Elliot et.al, 2012,p.233).  

Result

 

The result of this survey showed that men were more engaged in physical activity than women. The outcome of different variables was that females felt more hopelessness than males, females reported more feeling of sadness than males, females reported more frequent level of depression than males, students with less or no physical activity reported considering suicides more than students with more days of physical activity and students both male and female reported the same result for the attempted suicide variable. . (Elliot et.al, 2012,p.234-237). However, in the last variable, students with less physical activity reported more frequent attempts for suicide then students who were more physically active. (Elliot et.al, 2012,p.237). In the last only 43% of students were reaching the goal of 3 or more day of physical activity per week. The survey population failed to meet the requirement HC2010 physical activity objective of 55 % of adults being active 3 days per week. (Elliot et.al, 2012,p.237)

Conclusion

Physical activity may prevent depressive symptoms among college students. It further reveals that college men have less depressive symptoms and more physical activity than do women and finally students reporting no physical activity considered attempting suicide more than the students with one or more days of physical activity. (Elliot et.al, 2012,p.238). Students who might be at the risk of depressive and suicidal symptoms must reach out to counseling services provided by their institutions as this may help them overcome their risk and this can help them achieve a better life style.

Reference:

 Elliot CA, Kennedy C, Morgan G, Anderson SK, Morris D. Undergraduate physical activity and depressive symptoms: a national study. Am J Health Behav.  2012 Mar; 36(2):230-41. PubMed PMID: 22370260.

Controversy in the Sphere of Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) previously known as electroshock therapy has been in practice for  many years now, and was first introduced during the 1940’s by Dr. Cerletti and Dr. Lucio Ubini, Italian neuro-psychiatrists who derived it from the method of slaughtering pigs, before which they were electrocuted to unconsciousness. They found out, it was an effective way to ‘tame’ obsessive and troublesome mental patients. Use of substantial levels of insulin to shock patients into hour long comas also came under the category.

Unpleasant as it may sound, the treatment became widespread and psychotherapists added the process as one of their therapies which over the years has been made to be looked at as a useful treatment. The electroconvulsive therapy has now evolved to a brief application of electric stimulus used to produce generalized seizures through electrodes attached to the scalp. The treatment is advised to be used as a last resort for patients suffering from severe depression.

Because of its disagreeable nature, the treatment has been a controversy and an issue still debated on among the medical community. This is one of the reasons why informed consent of the patient has become a vital requirement for the treatment. Informed consent is considered vital as memory loss is one of the several side effects.

The controversial therapy has been in debate ever since its use became common. The predicament is whether it should be used as a ‘last resort’ or as a preliminary intervention.  In the book, “The Practice of Electroconvulsive Therapy, Second Edition”, a task force report by the American Psychiatric Association, it is said that the use of ECT is more effective if used as a primary intervention as it may bring better results due to the prompt use of the therapy, however, patient consent and their general health condition should be taken into consideration.

On the other hand, In a research based study about the issue by National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), ECT has shown fast and short term improvements in people having severe symptoms of depression. But this therapy should be the last resort for patients who have failed to respond to all other kinds of treatments or when the situation is life threatening. About 50% of depressed people who do not improve through antidepressant medication and other forms of therapies have showed signs of improvement with ECT.

When Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) should be used:

•             When medication fails to respond

•             When antidepressants have side effects

•             When the patient has a life threatening condition 

•             When no other psychotherapy is making improvement

•             When the patient have gone through ECT in the past and it has helped

•             When the patient is ready for it with their own consent

It is also important to keep in mind the responses of the individuals who undergo this treatment. In  a paper by Anne Donahue, “A Basic Layperson’s Guide to Decision making about ECT”, thorough research about the success of the therapy and its side effects are discussed in detail since she is a former patient who went through ECT, and in her research she informs that ECT as a primary intervention however useful it may be in the short term, the relapse time lasts maximum up till 6 months and getting the treatment done again and again is not a very healthy option and has numerous negative effects.

Considering both sides of the story, I believe, the choice of going for an Electroconvulsive Therapy should depend entirely on the patient suffering from the mental illness since only they’d best understand the need for such a treatment and how necessary it is for them. After much research about the method of treatment and its process, ECT should only be used as a last resort of treatment and the patient should be made aware of the side effects of the treatment when given the option. Furthermore, the equipment, machinery and the doctors should be experts on the field before starting treatment on any of their patients.

References:

American Psychiatric Association. (2001). The Practise of Electroconvulsive Therapy: Recommendation for Treatment, Training & Privileging. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Publishing.Inc.

Barnes, R. (2011, July). The Royal College of Psychiatists. Retrieved from RcPsych: http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/mentalhealthinfoforall/treatments/ect.aspx

Donahue, A. (2007, Feburary). Timesargus. Retrieved from http://www.timesargus.com/assets/pdf/BT345701212.PDF

Technology appraisals TA59. (2003, Apirl). National Institute for Health & Clinical Excellence. Retrieved from http://www.nice.org.uk/TA059

Implausibility of Information on Internet

Since my subject is mental health issues, I have focused on websites regarding health issues and their authenticity on the WORLD WIDE WEB, mainly focusing on depression. Going through the cures for depression on the web, an interesting kind of cure for depression caught my attention and like I mentioned before, the whole article fascinated me until I found out it had no credible sources. The link for the website is: http://www.affirmations-for-radical-success.com/depression-crushers.html

 

Following is a screen shots of the website:

Health Information credibility checks are as following:

•   Whenever we look at a website, we should check author of the article.  Is the author a specialized person in the field of study?  Is his/her qualification enough to support the study? Going through the website mentioned above there was no credible author to support this new treatment for depression. Because this we can believe that the article lacks credibility.

•       The website also tells us that Depression Crushers is a new scientific invention which reprograms the brain and is not expensive at all. Before believing in an article we should always ask ourselves, what evidence is provided to support the new invention. Is it all over the News and Internet? We should not just believe in one website making a claim of this new evidence. Before we believe in something, it is in our best interest to find evidence about any new invention and read it through a trust worthy website.

•     When searching for reliable information if we assume that we found a reliable author, the next thing is we should make sure about the source of the article. Based on my knowledge from Ms.Diana Bedoya a well-known Professor in Kinesiology department in Simon Fraser University, credible websites are sites which end in an .org, .edu, ca, or .gov. Usually  articles ending with .com or .net lack credibility. We should make sure that the article we are reading is from a good, reliable source  for example: : http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hl-vs/iyh-vsv/diseases-maladies/depression-eng.php#rd

As we can see from the screen shot above, this website is a credible source as it is provided by Health Canada. This website is sponsored by the Canadian Government and it provides reliable information with proper sources and referencing. The Canadian Government will by no means provide false information at the risk of losing its credibility. It will provide no flawed information to break the trust and harm its own citizens.

•       Websites with no author, no proper sourcing and not enough evidence to support their claim often have market campaigns on their page. I believe that unreliable sources often try to fool their readers to buy products which are not useful as in the example of the website we can see that it is trying to sell so called AFRS depression crushers. They claim that this will help eliminate depression and will bring positivity in life. They try to fool readers into amazing offers like ‘buy one get one free’ or ‘money back if no results’. These claims made by websites usually convince readers to try the products which at the end has no results. So we can conclude from it that unreliable websites can also make us waste our money on products with no benefits.

•       There is no magic product which will help us fight our illness in a day or two. Usually websites with lack of credibility make claims about magic products. As the above website tells us that the AFRS depression crusher is an mp3 audio file which can make improvements in your life within 10 minutes of using it.In my knowledge, the cure of depression is a process which takes time. Also, according to the Health Canada they tell their readers to see a doctor and take proper medication for the illness. 

As we can see from the above screen shot that the proper way to deal with depression is successful Psychological counseling, therapy or prescribed medicine. Health Canada provides the proper protocol to deal with depression and in case of emergency they have contact information of health professionals for patients. A credible source will never mislead its visitor to a “magic product” rather provide the right protocol to deal with the illness. For instance, there are several therapeutic treatments available for depressions which are referred as psychotherapy where a patient can go for Psychodynamic therapy, interpersonal therapy, Cognitive behavioral therapy or in extreme cases Psychiatric drug therapy. 

I really hope that my findings helped enlighten those of you who were unaware. Cheers!

References:

Hales, D., & Lauzon, L. (2007). An Invitation to health Second Canadian Edition. Toronto: Nelson Education Ltd.

Affirmation of radical success. (2007). Retrieved from http://www.affirmations-for-radical-success.com/depression-crushers.html

Canada, H. (2009, feburary). Health Canada. Retrieved from Health Canada: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hl-vs/iyh-vsv/diseases-maladies/depression-eng.php

 

Live Life Forever: its never too late...

My name is Muhammad Ali.I suffer from mental health problems and I have depression!

For most of us we are reluctant to share issues regarding our mental health. This is because we do not recognize the actual meaning of ‘mental health’. Mental health, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), is  "a state of well-being in which every individual realizes his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community".  But for most of us, these are just extreme psychotic diseases. This is not the case; psychological problems can take many shapes like depression, anxiety, mood swings etc. These problems can affect the human body and can lead to other major chronic diseases if not dealt with in time.

Back in time, walking through the hallways at my university I could not really feel the difference between me and other people around me. I always thought my mental health was perfect. Until later one day I realized while sharing it with my doctor that I suffer from depression and anxiety. It is not only me; there may be many more victims of mental health problems in that hallway roaming around unaware of their problem. However, the issue is that people these days are hesitant to share their mental health issues, in fear of a change in the attitude of the society towards them. From my experience, sharing one’s problems with their loved ones or even doctor makes a big difference. Doing so was my first step towards a healthier me and a contented life.

My area of research will focus on the people who suffer from mental health issues and never share them with anyone because of the fear which lies deep inside them. Most of the people suffering from such problems are students like me, whose psychological issues are never let out and are unnoticeable amongst most of us. These issues might not seem to be a major part of our lives, though their effect on us is immense and can make all the difference in our lives. Therefore, I believe that it is an issue of high concern for all of us and as a student myself; I know how living healthy, physically and more importantly mentally can have a positive impact on our lives.

 Identifying the problem and accepting it is the first step towards getting better. Staying positive and getting to know yourself better leads to the road to recovery from these problems. My diagnosis taught me to accept my problems and not be shy to share them, because I want you to consult your doctor for a better & healthy living. It is never too late…










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