Tag Archive for: mental health

Mental Health 2020: Take Control

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In the last Memo I said that there are no simple rules to be made whether we talk about the pandemic or politics. These are complicated issues no matter how much we wish they were not. There are no absolute answers, and that results in a loss of control. We appear to have lost control of our lives, and that uncertainty creates anxiety and subsequently depressive symptoms.

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder?

Could this unrelenting stress result in something such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)? Generally, PTSD is associated with a single traumatic event. After the last presidential election, that term was floated because for over half the electorate, the results were unexpected. Psychologists and psychiatrists were quick to suggest that term didn’t apply.

There have been no studies published on the general population related to PTSD and COVID-19 in the U.S., but research from Italy and China indicates that even though the pandemic is an ongoing stressor, it can potentially lead to a PTSD scenario in some people. Whether it’s called PTSD or given some other name, the loss of control is very stressful to most Americans.

Is It Time for Digital Detox?

Is there anything we can do to ease the current level of stress? One psychologist suggests that we take a social media and digital detox. I have to agree.

You want proof? “Russian interference.” That phrase alone can start a social-media firestorm. I don’t even have to go into the particulars, and people on both sides of the issue have their digital knives drawn. Didn’t you just for that split second get ready to attack, depending on your political persuasion, even though I didn’t say another word? Do you think that’s healthy? I don’t think so.

I think that if you use social media or the Internet, take a break or limit it the time spent on it every day. I certainly have. I believe in a controlled fast to help your body detoxify itself, and the same applies to our mental health. Just as you eat better foods while you detox your body, get back to reading more positive books and magazines to detox your mind. End your online session with cat videos or baby pictures or scripture—whatever makes you smile and feel good.

It comes back to control. You’re in charge of you, and you can control what you do and see. You can’t control what other people say or do. Do you really think you’ll be able to change someone’s mind about politics or the pandemic with what you have to say? When they respond in a vicious way, is that going to help your mental state? Get control of your digital world and detox your brain.

The Bottom Line

We live in challenging times and we certainly live in a constant state of stress. That can definitely impact our mental health whether we realize it or not. As I said, much of what is impacting us today is not under our control.

What we can do is control how we respond to it. Eat better. Eat less. Move more. And clear your mind with a digital detox. It all comes down to one question:

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

References:
1. https://wbur.fm/33q5hHX
2. https://bit.ly/2FsESRN
3. https://bit.ly/3kecphl

Mental Health 2020: The Stats

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At this point, there have been no substantive studies of mental health resulting from either the pandemic or the political climate in the U.S. There are metrics that have been tracked via online survey since April; the surveys added modified questions that ask about factors related to the pandemic.

The results for symptoms of anxiety show that 30.8% of respondents indicated more symptoms in late April compared to 31.4% in late August although the percentage fluctuated as high as 36.0%. The results for symptoms of depression ranged from 23.5% in late April to 24.5% in late August with a percentage fluctuation as high as 28.8%.

What do the numbers mean in comparison with pre-pandemic times?
From January to June 2019, 8.2% of adults aged 18 and over had symptoms of anxiety disorder while 6.6% had symptoms of depressive disorder. The current surveys are not perfect and there’s no statistical analysis, but by all appearances we are more anxious and tend to exhibit more depressive symptoms.

I think what contributes to the anxiety is that there’s no simple solution. Humans like binary choices: this is right, that’s wrong. And that just doesn’t apply in this case. Could we be creating a population at risk for a form of posttraumatic stress disorder? Is there anything we can do about it? We’ll take a look at that on Saturday.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

References:
1. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/covid19/pulse/mental-health.htm
2. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/depression.htm

Mental Health Update: Fall 2020

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As I write this, I just got back from working out. I went to my gym for the first time since it opened last Wednesday after closing in March. Everyone wore masks. Everyone cleaned up their equipment, but that’s the standard anyway so that wasn’t surprising. Nobody fainted from lack of oxygen. Everybody just worked out, cleaned up after themselves, and went on their way. No big deal.

But it’s a big deal to many people who have been anxious over the closures in their states, including their gym. That can lead to depressive symptoms. If you follow social media, that can hurt considerably: comments suggesting the virus is one big scam or people are too concerned. In fact neither is true; spending less time on social media might be the single best thing you could do for your mental health. I go back to what I wrote several months ago: don’t let yourself be immobilized by fear of this virus, but show it the proper respect.

On top of that, the political climate is a mess. There are no longer any discussions, just arguments that can be vicious. The anger is palpable. When you lose contact with family and friends you care about because of political differences, that also leads to anxiety and depression. Throw in unemployment, concern about finances, keeping a roof over your head, and more, and it seems our mental health is taking a beating.

But is it? I’ll take a look at the research this week.

Reminder for all Insiders: our monthly Conference Call is tomorrow night at 9 p.m. ET. One topic I’ll be discussing is a remarkable study done on COVID-19 and genetics by a supercomputer. You don’t want to miss it. If you’re not yet an Insider, you have until 8 p.m. to join and still participate live.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

Digital Media and Relationships

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In observing the people at Paula’s high school reunion, the one thing that stood out was that the relationships the classmates had formed during their time together had endured. True, they had a small graduating class with fewer than 75 students, but even in bigger schools with hundreds of graduates, there are groups of students who still know each other well because of activities they participated in together.

What impact would digital media have had back then? Paula was asked to speak as a representative of her class and in looking back, she said this:

We didn’t have an amazing computer in our pockets that we use for vital things such as taking pictures of our food and watching cat videos and texting each other: “What do you want for dinner?” “I don’t know, what do you want?” But we had down time, free time to spend just being a teenager. No one stared at the phone—that would have been silly. We looked at the scenery and at each other.

How would social media have affected the class of 1967? They were a social network. They were involved in each other’s lives during school, sports, and other activities, live and in person. I’m sure it would have had an impact; I just don’t know if it would have been in a positive way. There would most likely have been less live social contact and instead a lack of human contact. There would have been less time to talk face to face because there would be so much more access to more people, even in a very impersonal way.

The irony of digital media today is that social media is how many members of the class reunion found each other; it certainly helped spread the word of the reunion itself. They had gotten reacquainted before they got together in person and had seen pictures of each other’s spouses and kids and grandkids on Facebook and Instagram. Digital media are just tools of communication, and that’s how the reunion class uses them.

Digital Media and the Class of 2018

Don’t for a minute think I’m a Luddite. After all, I’m communicating with you three times a week via email and many of you read this on your cell phones.

Whether the use of digital media contributes to ADHD is not certain, but it does contribute to one thing for sure: isolation. A 2016 article in Psychology Today said:

Humans are hardwired to interact with others, especially during times of stress. When we go through a trying ordeal alone, a lack of emotional support and friendship can increase our anxiety and hinder our coping ability … Other studies confirm that loneliness isn’t good for anyone’s health. It increases levels of stress hormones in the body while leading to poor sleep, a compromised immune system and, in the elderly, cognitive decline.

Texting and commenting on social media platforms cannot convey true emotion, no matter how many emojis you use. The only way that works is live social interaction where you can look someone in the eye when you talk to them or at the very least hear their tone when speaking on the phone.

When you think about health and what can impact it, the bonds we make with other humans is important. It can help our mental health in many ways and that can impact our physical health. To me, that’s what the class of 2018 might be missing: the social interaction and personal bonds that transcend decades. When they meet in 50 years, will they talk about the great text or Tweet someone sent or the excellent Instagram story someone put together? I doubt it. And that’s their loss.

What are you prepared to do today?

Dr. Chet

 

References:
1. JAMA. 2018;320(3):255-263. doi:10.1001/jama.2018.8931.
2. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/out-the-ooze/201611/the-perils-social-isolation

 

Question Time: Professional Help

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Wrapping up this week on recently asked questions, I saved the most serious question for today. I talked to a number of people who were concerned about themselves, friends, or family members. The simplest way of explaining the questions is to say they or people they knew had medical issues related to nutrition and diet, and the inability to resolve health and eating issues may have contributed to a state of depression and anxiety.

Note that I said “may have.” This is not my area of expertise. I wouldn’t presume that I know enough to be able to say . . .

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Why Optimism Isn’t Enough

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In the messages this week, we’ve looked at a study that examined an optimistic mental state along with health metrics related to cardiovascular health. I left you with a question on Thursday:

Do you simply need to maintain a positive mental attitude to have great heart health?

I told you I think there’s more to it. Let’s begin by talking about something called The Stockdale Paradox.
The Stockdale Paradox
You might remember Vice-Admiral Jim Stockdale as a third-party candidate for Vice President in 1992. Before that, he was a Navy pilot who was shot down . . .

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Optimism and Heart Health: The Results

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Tuesday I told you about a study on optimism and cardiovascular health and gave you the details of how the study was done. Today let’s look at the results.

The researchers compared over 5,000 subjects’ level of optimism to their scores on the Life’s Simple 7 assessment of heart health. The subjects were divided into quartiles of optimism, from most to least. When researchers compared the top quartile (highest level of optimism) to the bottom quartile (lowest level of optimism), the optimists were 51% more likely to have an intermediate rank of heart health and 92% more . . .

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Optimism and Heart Health

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Every day, I check the health headlines to see the latest research in medicine, nutrition, and fitness. Recently an intriguing headline said “Optimistic People Have Healthier Hearts”; I’ve seen that type of statement before and it makes sense. The problem is that pencil and paper tests on mental health and attitude and the occurrence of heart disease are not metrics based on hard numbers like blood pressure, but I think this study did it right.

In 2000, researchers began the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) of over 6,000 subjects aged 52–84. Data were collected for 11 . . .

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