Last week, Elly O’Brien blogged about mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) for various physical and psychological disorders. Today, another paper from the same authors, looking at the more broadly defined ‘mindfulness interventions’ for psychosis. Elly talked about the use of mindfulness to escape the “emotional quicksand” of negative thoughts, and the authors here again focus on [read the full story…]
Last week, Kirsten Lawson blogged about mindfulness-based stress reduction as a treatment for breast cancer. We have featured a number of blogs on mindfulness in the last couple of years, including a piece about the use of Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT). MBCT is recommended by NICE to prevent relapse in people who have already experienced three [read the full story…]
Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is widely researched and recommended as an evidence-based treatment for adult depression, but despite the strength of research comparing CBT approaches with other forms of care, there are few recent systematic reviews on this topic. Cuijpers and collaborators provide such a review in a recent meta-analysis published in The Canadian Journal of [read the full story…]
Within the woodland October is a month of themes. Many of you will be familiar with #Stoptober, which always helps any elves who sneak round the the back of the woodshed, to give up smoking. You may be less aware of our #MindfulnessMonday activities that will be sprinkled across the month; showcasing the potential benefits that [read the full story…]
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is characterised by inattention, excessive activity levels and impulsive behaviours. Although it is an early developmental condition and is associated with childhood, in many instances, it is a lifelong condition. ADHD in adulthood is increasingly being recognised. Clinical guidelines and research suggest that the stimulant drug methylphenidate can reduce ADHD [read the full story…]
Some mental health interventions feel intuitively right. Exercise for depression is a great example. Of course, people suffering from low mood, poor motivation, lethargy and all of the other symptoms of depression will benefit from a jog around the park and some fresh air, right? The logical explanation for how this might help is fairly [read the full story…]
Around the world, certain places have gained notoriety as suicide hotspots. These places are often heights, such as bridges or cliffs, from which suicide by jumping is common. Although not a major contributor to overall suicide rates, suicides by jumping are of particular concern due to their ability to cause distress or physical harm to [read the full story…]
Suicidal thoughts and actions are typically discussed in relation to depression, but a number of studies have suggested suicide may also be linked to anxiety disorders. Anxiety disorders often co-occur with depression, and this may be masking a risk of suicide specifically related to anxiety. Today is World Suicide Prevention Day so it seemed relevant [read the full story…]
We often hear about postnatal depression, a well-recognised depressive episode in mothers occurring after the birth of their baby. However, 54.2% of women suffering from postnatal depression actually developed their depressive symptoms before or during pregnancy (Burt and Quezada, 2009). Around 10% of pregnant mothers have depression and this number increases each trimester. Women are less likely [read the full story…]
As previously discussed on the Mental Elf, the rates of tobacco smoking in most developed countries are falling, helped in part by high levels of taxation and bans on smoking in public places. However, over 20% of adults in the UK continue to smoke, and this means that smoking is the greatest single cause of [read the full story…]
