How Untreated Depression Changes the Brain Over Time

Years of untreated depression may lead to neurodegenerative levels of brain inflammation. That’s according to a first-of-its-kind study showing evidence of lasting biological changes in the brain for those suffering with depression for more than a decade.

The study findings are from the same research team that originally identified a link between brain inflammation and depression. Along with subsequent research, the findings have started to change the thinking about depression treatments. Evidence is

Kim Kardashian ‘demanded’ Kanye West seek therapy, Yeezy tweets ‘I’m not crazy, I’m free’

Increasingly erratic Kanye West needs to get help before his marriage heads south, according to his wife.

Kim Kardashian wants her rap mogul husband — who embarked on yet another antagonistic Twitter rant Tuesday night — to seek counseling, reports Us Weekly.

 

“Kim is very concerned and frustrated. She and Kanye are having big problems that are escalating,” a family insider told the magazine. “Kim has demanded that Kanye get therapy.”

Over the last few weeks, West has unleashed lengthy Twitter tirades, public pleas for help paying off his $53 million debt, and even a bizarre backstage blowup at “SNL.”

Use your Mind’s Power to Control your Addictions and Vices

Dopamine is one of the main chemicals released in the brain when something pleasurable occurs. It regulates motivation — sending the signal, “This makes me happy!” — whether it's alcohol, drugs or a cup of coffee.

Now consider this: It sends that signal before you've ever even touched the object. It sends it when you sit down at the restaurant and consider which wine you're going to order.

Dopamine is released when you see a picture of french fries.

 

This is where you have a great opportunity to outsmart your brain. If you see a trigger, rather than acting on it take a step back and think through the urge; recognize the options available to you.

Make a choice using your logical, conscious mind rather than the impulsive, emotional unconscious mind.

Hit pause

Establish Healthy Sleep Habits in 2016 to Improve Mood, Focus and Even your Salary

Not surprisingly, sleep discipline is fundamental to my work as a mental trainer, in which I help top athletes, business leaders, and others take their games to the next level.

In fact, it's one of the seven rules of my concept, Hell Week — a civilian version of the military ritual that helps people unleash their best selves in the span of seven days.

It's a pretty simple adjustment with enormous benefits. Clients who sign up for my Hell Week must be in bed by 10 p.m. every night and up at 5 a.m. each morning — no exceptions.

Between 50 and 70 million Americans suffer from some form of sleep disorder, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But after one week of improving their sleep habits, people have gotten results in that they’re of sleeping through the night — seven uninterrupted hours of fully restorative sleep.

Establishing a regular schedule is the first big step towards effective sleeping. I'm a firm believer in the 5 a.m. wakeup call, since there's so much you can get done before the rest of the world (including, perhaps, your spouse and kids) is up and out of bed.

Health Checkup: Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation uses magnets to do battle with depression

The Specialist:

The director of the adult psychopharmacology program at Mount Sinai, Dr. Dan Iosifescu is a psychiatrist who specializes in difficult-to-treat mood and anxiety disorders. He is a 15-year veteran of the field.

Who’s at risk:

Dr. Dan Iosifescu, the director of the adult 

psychopharmacology program at Mount Sinai, 

describes non-invasive ways of treating depression.

Using magnets to induce activity in parts of the brain might sound like space-age medicine. But doctors are already using this futuristic technology to combat some types of depression.

“Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) is a non-invasive way of stimulating specific areas of the brain and, in the process of doing that, helping to correct or improve certain brain functions,” reports Iosifescu. “It’s been six years since the FDA approved the first generation of TMS devices for treating severe major depressive disorder and now a newer form, Deep Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, has been approved to help people with major depressive disorder who have failed multiple medications — patients with what we call treatment-refractory or treatment-resistant depression.”

True to its name, Deep Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation is able to activate deep regions of the brain.

“Deep TMS utilizes a special magnetic coil to create a magnetic field that goes much deeper into the brain than previous technologies could,” Iosifescu says. “Going deep into the brain allows us to stimulate areas involved in the management of emotions.”