Help dealing with Anxiety - Mental Health with Kati Morton

Living with Major Depression: Dealing with anxiety

Dealing with Anxiety

Dealing with Panic Attacks & Anxiety | Zoella

Dr. Sandra Parker - Dealing with Anxiety

Teenage girls are more prone to depression because their hormones affect blood flow to the brain

• Scientists at University of Pennsylvania found puberty marks change in blood flow to the brain with girls seeing a higher blood flow than boys
• Females are known to be at higher risk of depression and anxiety
• New study found parts of the brain with highest difference in blood flow were parts associated with higher cognitive functions
• Area affected involves emotions and regulates control of social situations
• Researchers say it could explain why females are more prone to depression

Teenage girls could be more prone to depression and anxiety disorders because they experience greater blood flow to the brain, a new study has found.

The sex hormone oestrogen drives more blood to the heads of young women compared to men - and that could explain disparities in psychiatric disorders.

Blood flow is known to be higher in adult women than men, but a study now shows it is markedly different during adolescence when teenagers are going through puberty.

Professor Theodore Satterthwaite, of the University of Pennsylvania, said: 'In general, females have a higher prevalence of anxiety and depression and in males higher prevalence of schizophrenia.

Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania say greater blood flow to the brain in adolescent girls could explain why females are more likely to suffer depression and anxiety disorders

'The parts of the brain that saw the highest difference of blood flow were in parts of the brain associated with higher cognitive functions.'

He added the area affected was important as it involves 'emotions and regulates and controls social situations'.

Professor Satterthwaite and his colleagues used MRI scans to analyse the development of brain blood flow in 922 young people aged between eight and 22 to find out when such sex changes emerge.

Previous studies have shown brain blood flow falls during adolescence. But by about the age of 15 it began to decline more rapidly in males than in females, and by late puberty it rose in females but continued to decline in the males.

The results published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggest the gender difference may originate during puberty, and may have implications for understanding psychiatric disorders that often manifest later.

The psychiatrists added: 'Puberty is the defining biological process of adolescent development, yet its effects on fundamental properties of brain physiology such as cerebral blood flow have never been investigated.'

The study found the areas of a girl's brain that saw the highest increase in blood flow was that which deals with emotions and controls social situations

It is the first time to the researchers' knowledge that such different patterns of development have been linked to the effects of puberty.

Prof Satterthwaite said: 'These results may have important implications for neuropsychiatric disorders with adolescent onset and strong gender disparities such as mood disorders, anxiety disorders and schizophrenia.'

Sex differences in brain structure are well documented and are increasingly tied to developmental effects related to puberty.

In particular, several studies have found puberty in females and rising oestrogen is related to increased grey matter in structures such as the hippocampus.

Added Prof Satterthwaite: 'The present results have potential relevance to a wide range of psychiatric disorders that often manifest following puberty and have marked sex disparities including depression, anxiety disorders and schizophrenia.'

He added that future research could test whether increased brain blood flow in girls after puberty may be linked to the greater risk for mood and anxiety disorders, and a lower risk of schizophrenia.

Boys are twice as likely to develop schizophrenia which is linked to the male sex hormone testosterone.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2639701/Teenage-girls-prone-depression-hormones-affect-blood-flow-brain.html

The kindest way to banish anxiety: Compassion Focused Therapy can help conquer crippling worries by teaching sufferers to be nice to themselves

• Amelia Adams, 22, from Surrey has suffered from anxiety since her teens
• Standard NHS treatment, cognitive behavioural therapy, is ineffective
• With compassion focused therapy (CFT) she is finally being helped

Back in control: Amelia Adams has learned to overcome her panic attacks through the therapy

Amelia Adams has suffered from anxiety since she was a teenager – a constant worry that can leave her light-headed, shaky and exhausted. 

Now aged 22, she had her first panic attack at 17 and has spent years trying to overcome her overwhelming feelings.

Today, after two courses of cognitive behavioural therapy – the standard NHS treatment for anxiety – proved ineffective, Amelia is finally being helped by a new type of psychological intervention: compassion focused therapy (CFT).

Inspired by Buddhism, CFT was  conceived 30 years ago by Professor Paul Gilbert, a clinical psychologist for Derbyshire Health Care Foundation Trust. It is now being offered as a therapy option at a number of NHS hospitals.

Sessions can be either for individuals and last about 50 minutes, or be 90-minute group discussions.

‘It’s similar to CBT, which works by helping patients to consider their negative thoughts and come to more realistic alternative views,’ says Prof Gilbert.

‘But while CBT focuses on changing behaviour in a neutral, practical way – such as using timesheets to plan the day more productively –  in CFT the focus is more on being kind to yourself.’

Sessions have three elements: encouraging patients to do activities or make changes that are kind to themselves, such as writing to a friend; helping them focus on seeing the good in other people and their own lives rather than the negative aspects; and getting the patient  to speak out loud to themselves in a kind, warm tone.

‘Our brains naturally focus on the negative,’ says Prof Gilbert. ‘For example, if we go shopping and in nine shops the assistants are extremely helpful but in one shop the assistant is very rude, we focus on the latter and lose sight of the positive experiences.

 

‘Deliberately training our attention to notice kindness in others can be very helpful, which CFT does.’

Through tackling the self-criticism and replacing it with kindness, patients then judge themselves and their lives less harshly and therefore feel happier. 

‘By helping people feel compassion, we believe you can create  a positive physiological change in your body – just like imagining a delicious dinner will stimulate saliva and appetite,’ continues Prof Gilbert. ‘CBT is primarily focused on thinking and behaviour change but CFT looks at the emotion behind people’s thoughts.’

Kind words: In compassion focused therapy (CFT) the focus is on being kind to yourself and encouraging positivity

CFT therapist Chris Irons adds: ‘It is a relatively new therapy but we are working hard to show that this approach has something important to offer.

‘So far there has been one successful randomised control trial of CFT which found a reduction in symptoms in patients with depression.’ Up to 30 per cent of the population suffers anxiety at any one time.  Last month a report from the  Office for National Statistics said young women are more anxious than young men, while growing numbers of middle-aged women  are suffering chronic anxiety – females aged over 60 are the most likely group to need hospital treatment for the condition.

‘My anxiety started on a night  out with friends when we were on holiday in Greece,’ says Amelia, a personal assistant from Surrey.

‘I felt suddenly overwhelmed by panic and I ended up walking back to our apartment alone and then  was up all night in absolute bits trying to calm myself down.

‘I ended up getting in the shower every hour to cool down and I had no one to speak to, which made it ten times worse.

‘It was so terrifying I flew home early from the holiday, and afterwards I was always really nervous that I’d have another panic attack somewhere far from home with nobody there to comfort me.’

Following that trip, Amelia’s attacks became regular, happening once or twice a month. They lasted about ten minutes each time and left her upset and exhausted. Her GP referred her for two courses of CBT, but the anxiety persisted.

‘It sounds silly, but I couldn’t stop worrying about my cat during the day – thoughts about her getting run over. Whatever the trigger, I feel light-headed and shaky, my stomach churns and for a moment it’s a bit like I’m having a panic attack. It’s really upsetting.’

Amelia heard about CFT through her volunteer work at a mental health charity and, hoping to eliminate her anxiety, she booked a course of six sessions with a private therapist.

Amelia says: ‘CBT had helped with my generalised anxiety but I preferred CFT because it involved more talking and delving into things like my childhood. I’m usually quite hard on myself so it’s taught me to be kinder, which has really helped.

‘Now when I’m on my own and start to feel panic, I am more gentle on myself, so instead of panicking  I sort of talk myself round with comfort. I now know that the anxiety I feel is not my fault. For the first time in years I have found a way to calm down rather than wind myself up still further.’

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2619470/The-kindest-way-banish-anxiety-Compassion-Focused-Therapy-help-conquer-crippling-worries-teaching-sufferers-nice-themselves.html

Anxiety & Depression are linked: Stephen Fry talks about his depression

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcPRF9slENI

Can the scent of your mum's perfume reduce stress?

Be it money troubles, work pressures or stress at home we all feel anxious at some time or another.
However according to new research as many as one in five women feel anxious most or all of the time.
The Mental Health Foundation’s Living With Anxiety report revealed 22 per cent of women experience symptoms of anxiety all of the time, a number that has almost doubled during the past five years.

Despite this rising figure a fifth said they hadn't taken any action to combat it. Here our experts explain the surprising ways you can overcome stress and worry once and for all.

When we discover a smell we truly love it will have large numbers of ingredients within it, all which have positive, feel-good associations

Roja Dove, perfume expert

SMELL FAMILIAR?

Scents can alter how we feel so surrounding yourself with a familiar smell can help to beat anxiety.

“Scent stimulates synapses in the brain which trigger the release of the hormones that govern every bodily function or action,” says perfume expert Roja Dove (rojadove.com).

“When we discover a smell we truly love it will have large numbers of ingredients within it, all which have positive, feel-good associations,” explains Roja.

“The scent develops positive associations, relieving us from anxiety and helping us stay calm.”

Roja adds that a spritz of your mum’s perfume or the smell of freshly cut grass could remind you of your childhood and help you to feel less anxious.

http://www.express.co.uk/life-style/health/475927/Unusual-methods-to-reduce-anxiety-in-a-stress-filled-world