Tag Archives: Benefits
The Benefits of Hobbies
Some people think of hobbies as a waste of time that provide little benefit to life; however, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Whenever I have a friend who is depressed or is just going through a tough time, I always ask what they do for fun. Most of the time they reply
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The Mental Health Benefits of Taking a “Staycation”
For many, travel is the perfect remedy for escaping from the stresses of daily life. However, with rising travel costs and the difficulty of sometimes getting just a few days away from the office, sometimes we have to use our imaginations and make the most of our limited free time.
Indulging in a
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The Benefits of Vitamin B
Vitamin B is part of the group of water-soluble vitamins; the individual B vitamins are classified into eight categories ranging from B1 through B12 . Each one of these vitamins plays a critical role in synthesizing neurotransmitters and metabolizing proteins and fats. Some benefits of vitamin B include relief for stress, anxiety and depression, plus aids memory and helps reduce the risk of heart attack. Recently a lot of focus has been on B12. Vitamin B12 is found in foods that come from animals, such as fish meat milk and eggs. It plays a key role in healthy brain functioning.
According to a study conducted by Rush University Medical center, older adults with low vitamin B12 levels are more likely to have smaller brains and cognitive problems. The study was posted in the medical journal Neurology and involved 121 patients from Chicago. The subjects had their blood drawn and measured for B12 levels and were also given a cognitive skills test. Around 4 years later the patients had MRI scans done to measure brain volume, they were also given another cognitive test. The researchers found that subjects with lower B12 levels performed worse on the cognitive test and had a smaller brain mass than subjects with higher B12 levels.
This study shows how powerful vitamins can be, and according the USDA, many Americans suffer from a lack of B12 and B6, so make sure to stock up on your Vitamin B. Even more benefits may be revealed in the future.
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The Evolutionary Benefits of Depression
(Guest post by Allison Gamble on behalf of psychologydegree.net
“Pain or suffering of any kind, if long continued, causes depression and lessens the power of action, yet it is well adapted to make a creature guard itself against any great or sudden evil.”
-Charles Darwin
For ages, our ancestors have known of the condition we call depression, though to them it was listed under a variety of other names: sadness and the blues, to name a pair. The question that they never asked, but scientists now seek to answer is: has there ever been any payoff from depression from an evolutionary perspective?
Depression is not a rare disorder by any means, and it is suggested that as many as 50 percent of Americans will experience the criteria for diagnosis with major depressive disorder at one point in life or another. It doesn’t take a psychology degree to know that’s a high percentage of people affected, particularly for a mental disorder. The majority of mental diseases are actually quite rare – how is it that depression slipped through the cracks?
For one, depression may actually have played a role in the process of natural selection regarding infants and young children, in the form of postpartum depression. It has been shown that parents will not invest sufficient care in every one of their offspring if the apparent costs outweigh the benefits of caring for certain offspring. Postpartum depression may be an evolutionary signal to a parent that risks involved in continued care of the unfit offspring outweigh the benefits, thus exacting a decidedly detrimental toll on the caregiver’s health and resources. It may also be an evolutionary signal for assistance from others for help caring for the child.
Socially, it may also have helped contain sexually transmitted diseases, as depression frequently causes disinterest in social interaction and sex. In addition, exposure to other diseases would have been lessened by a reduced exposure to events and elements outside the confines of the afflicted’s own home.
Plus, with a lack of energy and desire in even the most mundane things in life, our ancestors would have likely spent more time sleeping, which would have replenished the body in a time when stressful and excessive work conditions contributed to skyrocketing illness and mortality rates.
People with depression can focus on one issue and attack that issue as a whole, rather than breaking in down into bite-sized components, which is more taxing on the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC). Focusing on a number of problems requires a constant supply of neurons to keep up with the more numerous amount of tasks than can be accomplished by those who can digest the problem as a whole and concentrate solely upon finding an answer to that problem.
This is due to the presence of a receptor in the brain known as 5HT1A, which constantly fires new neurons for the VLPFC. Consequently, the subject can perform better in the functions regulated by the VLPFC, like focus and sustained concentration. Depression activates the VLPFC, while the 5HT1A sustains it vigorously to achieve its intended functions for longer periods of time.
This would have been a very valuable asset to our primal ancestors. Unlike us, they had fewer distractions to occupy their attention, though because of the volatility of their environment, every problem was potentially life-threatening. A chain of priority was absolutely necessary. A depressive mindset would allow our ancestors to take on the most pressing problem first, then adapt to the other problems facing them as necessary.
Another possible benefit is that by concentrating solely on the problem causing one’s depression, one has a greater chance for true introspection and self-enlightenment. Many of the greatest sages in the history of mankind probably suffered from one form of depression or another, yet by channeling their focus inwards, they found a deeper enlightenment and the ability to better interact with their environment and problems in a more meaningful and positive fashion.
Perhaps the greatest asset of depression is the most evolutionarily necessary: depression forces the hand of the species to reach out and try to eliminate the suffering of the one for the good of the race. And maybe, just maybe, this response is what separates us from the rest of the animals.
Allison Gamble has been a curious student of psychology since high school. She brings her understanding of the mind to work in the weird world of internet marketing with psychologydegree.net.Labels:depression,evolution,guest postpostedTuesday, September 06, 2011
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