Anti Depression Guide

by Susan

David and I would like to wish each of you a very Merry Christmas.   Sometimes those of us with depression struggle to be merry but for me it’s worth the effort.   I enjoy shopping, wrapping, baking and visiting with my family during the holidays.

I know that many people see gift buying as a bad thing but I get a great deal of pleasure from buying and giving gifts to my loved ones.  I also know that saying Happy Holidays is the politically correct thing to say these days….. but I’ve never worried too much about being politically correct.   For my family it is Christmas and we love celebrating it.  

Today my brother David and I shared a wonderful day together.  We exchanged gifts, went to lunch at our favorite restaurant, and then went to purchase a few last minute items for Christmas with our children.   It was a blustery, cold day and the store was packed with shoppers.  Traffic was horrendous, but I’ll never forget this special day we spent together. 

We sincerely hope you share a fun day with someone you love during the Christmas holiday.

The truth about give and take in social situations

Men consistently outperform women on spatial tasks, including mental rotation, which is the ability to identify how a 3-D object would appear if rotated in space. A University of Iowa study shows a connection between this sex-linked ability and the structure of the parietal lobe, the brain region that controls this type of skill.

Neuroscientists from Duke University Medical Center have discovered that older people use their brains differently than younger people when it comes to storing memories, particularly those associated with negative emotions.

8,900 Danish schoolchildren behind new research findings

Chimpanzees recognize their pals by using some of the same brain regions that switch on when humans register a familiar face. The study — the first to examine brain activity in chimpanzees after they attempt to match fellow chimps’ faces — offers new insight into the origin of face recognition in humans, the researchers said.

Nostalgia has a long history, being viewed initially as a medical disease, then as a psychiatric disease. According to a new report in Current Directions in Psychological Science, only recently have psychologists begun focusing on the positive and potentially therapeutic aspects of nostalgia. Research suggests that nostalgia can promote psychological health, including counteracting the effects of loneliness and providing us with a greater sense of continuity and meaning to our lives.

Theories suggest that we forget when information simply decays from our memory (when too much time has passed) or when we confuse an item with other items that we have previously encountered (also known as temporal confusability). Psychologists investigated the two theories to pinpoint the main cause of forgetfulness over the short term. The results, reported in Psychological Science, reveal that temporal confusability, and not decay, is important for forgetting over the short term.

Psychologists at Harvard University have found that pain hurts more when we think that someone intended to cause hurt. Intentional pain also seems to have a fresh sting every time, whereas we get used to unintentional pain.

by Susan

A family member recently mentioned having a case of the blahs.  I was busy wrapping presents, making cookies and doing other things in preparation for Christmas.   I remember thinking about how I often get the blahs after Christmas, but seldom before the holiday.

Well, today I awoke with the blahs myself.  I still have Christmas preparations to keep me busy but I’m bogged down by this lethargic feeling.   I have no motivation to do anything.   My relationships are going well and I have plenty of interesting things to do.   The only thing that has changed is the weather.  

Here in Southwest Missouri the weather has turned dreadfully cold and dreary with just enough ice to keep me off the streets.  When I finally dragged myself out of bed this morning it was so dark and dreary!   It seems more like late evening.  Maybe I’ll pamper myself today by taking the day off to read or watch a good program we have recorded.   I think the weather is supposed to improve towards the end of the week and my depression will once again subside for a while.  

If you get the cold and dreary blahs this winter, give yourself a break from your routine and pamper yourself a bit.   It may work wonders.   I plan to find out today!