Type 2 Diabetes - Reducing Depression in Diabetics

When you have been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, it will be with you for life. This is a situation which many people will find upsetting. Depression is a very common problem and so is Type 2 diabetes.

Depression is unfortunately a frequent problem in diabetic patients. Researchers in the Department of Psychiatry of the South Savo Hospital District in Mikkeli, Finland, looked at folate and depression as part of the Finnish Type 2 Diabetes Prevention Program.

This particular study was published in February 2011 in the Journal of Affective Disorders, and included 4500 participants between the ages of 45 and 74 selected at random from the National Population Register.

It was found the participants with a high folate intake had slightly over half the risk of depression as those with low levels of folate intake.

Folate, or folic acid, also known as vitamin B9, is a water-soluble vitamin, which means your body cannot store it in fat tissues. Your body can become low in folate after a few weeks of an inadequate intake. Other causes of folic acid deficiency include:

• Crohn's disease or sprue, which inhibits absorption,


• drinking too much alcohol,


• overcooking food, and


• medications such as the anti-epilepitc drug Dilantin, and the antibiotic bactrim.

Folate is important for cell division and growth, and helps to prevent anemia and neurological birth defects. It works with vitamins B12 and C to help the body break down old proteins and build new ones, as well as aiding in the building of DNA, the genetic molecule.

Signs and symptoms of folate deficiency include:

• fatigue,


• prematurely gray hair,


• oral sores,


• poor growth, and


• a swollen tongue.

Deficiency of the vitamin can be diagnosed with a blood test.

The US Food and Drug Administration recommends a daily intake of:

• 400 micrograms per day for adults, and


• 600 micrograms per day for pregnant women.

The name "folate" is related to the word "foliage" and the vitamin is found in many green leafy vegetables and asparagus...

• 1/2 cup of cooked spinach contains 131 micrograms of folate.


• a cup of kale has about 19 micrograms of the vitamin.


• 2 cups of Romaine lettuce provide 128 micrograms, and


• a cup of asparagus provides 234 micrograms.

Whole grains, citrus fruits, strawberries, cantaloupe and fortified cereals also contain folate. Total cereal provides 100 per cent of the recommended daily requirement of folic acid in 3/4 of a cup. A cup of cantaloupe balls supplies about 37 micrograms of folate, and a cup of raw strawberries supplies about 36 micrograms.

The website Simplycook.wordpress recommends making a salad with Romaine lettuce, honeydew melon, cantaloupe, strawberries, and citrus vinaigrette that sounds like a tasty way to get your folate. Another website UrbanOrganicGardener offers a recipe for salad made with kale, lemon, onion, garlic, and honey.

7 Tips to Handle Pre-Retirement Depression

You are already fifty, and as early as now, you are already asking yourself the question, "What will I do when I retire?"

Retirement actually causes a lot of stress, and unfortunately, you feel it even before it happens. You become anxious or even depressed, and unless you resolve your issues right away, this supposed-to-be mild emotion becomes dangerous and deadly.

Here are top 7 tips in overcoming depression:

1. Save up or invest.

One of your greatest concerns is your finances. Will you be able to survive with your pension and insurance? That is why even before you retire, you should start saving up a lot of money. It is also the best time to invest in several types of portfolios, such as mutual funds, stocks, and bonds. They can earn you a lot of money with the least effort.

2. Start volunteering.

Is retirement making you feel unproductive or worthless? Volunteer in organizations, especially in those that you know you can greatly contribute. If you are a psychologist, look for anti-violence centers. If you have deep love for pets, apply in animal shelters. Volunteering makes you realize you still count for something.

3. Bring yourself much closer to the world.

Avoid getting more depressed by being alone. Surround yourself with family and friends, or bring yourself much closer to society. If your children are settled in Ohio, consider buying a property there. You and your partner can purchase an apartment in metropolitan cities where sources of entertainment are aplenty.

4. Plan ahead.

Instead of thinking about what you can no longer do after you retire, dream about those that you can. It is the most ideal time to be more rewarding, particularly to yourself.

You can already schedule travels, hobbies, and activities you have not pursued because of work. Before you know it, you can hardly wait to retire.

5. Keep yourself fit.

Compounding your stress is sickness. You think about your retirement funds going down the drain. You cannot really live your remaining years to the fullest.

Start taking care of yourself more as you age. Eat the right kind of diet, exercise, keep your mind alert by reading, and maintain a positive outlook in life.

6. Continuously inspire yourself.

When depression kicks in, you should inspire yourself a lot harder. Hey, your life does not end when you retire. But if this idea does not really sink in, you may want to use subliminal messages.

Referred to as affirmations, subliminal messages can motivate individuals to be the best they can be by changing their present negative mind-set. They are best used together with visualization.

When you are feeling down, listen to subliminal messages that deliver messages of hope, acceptance, and self-love.

7. Fight depression.

There is always a depression hotline you can dial if you need someone to talk to. You can also watch out for the warning signs of depression. If you feel less sociable, moody, violent, or deeply sad most of the time, ask for professional help.

How to Save Big With Health Insurance

This recession has taken a toll on nearly every American and no place has it hit us harder than with health insurance and healthcare costs. It has been stated that the number one cause for bankruptcies in the US is healthcare crises and lack of proper health insurance and coverage. All it takes is for you to go and take one visit to the doctor and what used to be $100 bill or so is now easily $400 or even $500 or more.

All it takes is for the doctor to prescribe some lab tests and your bill will quickly escalate to several hundred dollars. This doesn't even include any prescribed medication that you have to pick up at your local pharmacy. Now usually you can get the pharmaceutical costs of your prescriptions down by asking for generics and to do this right you must tell your doctor before they give you a prescription that you want a generic. If you don't do this you will go to the pharmacist with a non-generic prescription and they will most likely tell you that it is not available in generic form. This happens on purpose because the doctor and pharmacist all get paid a commission or similar based on how many non-generic prescriptions they write.

Now let's get back to the purchase article which show you how to save money with health insurance. I just want to show you how healthcare costs can quickly get out of hand if you don't have healthcare coverage or inadequate health insurance. Now the best way to get where save money on health insurance nowadays is by searching online and getting a quote online. There's only a few websites online that I recommend you use select a quote and Ehealthinsurance. Through these sites you can submit one application to numerous companies and you can get a quick quote for several different policies and you can even compare different plans, coverages, etc...

Be sure and read all the fine or small print as subtle differences could make huge changes in your monthly payments and coverages. Also be sure and look into the difference in add-ons like dental coverage, zero deductible prescriptions ( some companies have this and some don't), higher total insurance coverage amounts (Aetna allows you to select a higher total like 7 million instead of 2 million), etc...

Be wary of sites that tell you they will give you instant quote and then after you've entered in your information they tell you that an insurance trouble contact you. Many sites like this will try and send a scammy insurance representative to your house whom will try and sell you on high deductible low coverage insurance which basically doesn't cover anything but with the promise of a free ambulatory helicopter flight from anywhere in the world if needed - just be sure and read the fine print because this probably isn't even covered under most circumstances anyway. So there are some scams to beware of.

The easiest way to root out the scams is to not answer your home phone and to tell them that they need to send you the actual quotes through your e-mail. If they cannot do this they are scam. So go online and use select a quote and ehealthinsurance to get your free quick quotes and compare the various plans and costs and save yourself some big money on your health insurance.

Use Alternative Medicine to Treat Depression Without Side Effects

There are many people who take anti-depressants for years and feel dependent on these drugs. But today, you can find alternative medicine for depression that have no side effects and are completely holistic. The drugs companies keep very quiet about it so as there sales are not affected.

Before looking at alternative medicine for depression, one's body condition is taken into account. The intake of medicine varies from individual to individual. Drugs may have side effects such as rashes, tremors, dizziness, insomnia, sexual dysfunction, urinary tract infections, disturbed dreams and excessive sweating. It is unlikely that one patient could suffer from all of these side effects while taking alternative herbal medicines.

As per the estimates, about 54% of patients seek alternative depression medications. Apart from yoga, acupuncture, diet and nutrition and exercise, the herbal remedies such as those that use hypericum extract have been just as effective as the standard anti-depressants and have minimal or no side effects. This was the conclusion of a study conducted by a well known research institute.

In looking for herbal remedy as the ideal alternative medicine for depression, you should make sure that the company is a reputable one and is certified with the authorities. It should have own manufacturing facilities and it also offers guarantees. Just because it says 'natural' on the bottle is no guarantee of the purity of the product and its ingredients. Check out their website for details and make sure that they have reputation in the market.

Taking alternative medicine for depression helps you come out of its grip without any compromise on health. Depression patients do not get addicted to these medicines and they can enjoy life as a normal person does. Today you can find a lot of information about alternative medications through online health portals. Just browse through these websites and achieve holistic health.

Psychology Of Women - Part I - Self-Attribution, Cognitive Distortions, And Depression

Purpose of this article

The overall purposes of this and future articles under development are to enhance women's psychological strengths to cope with the stresses and pressures in their daily lives. This article in particular is to create awareness especially in women, to understand depression from a multifaceted perspective, with "Self-Attribution, Cognitive Distortions and Depression" being the first perspective examined in this current study. The expectant outcome is the hope that women's coping knowledge and abilities will be enhanced, through a more scientific (researched based) and empirical understanding and awareness.

Women and Depression

The author would like to begin the discussion of this present topic: "Psychology of Women: Self-Attribution, Cognitive Distortions and Depression", with two questions. 1) How can depression be described in a brief manner? 2) Is depression a universal and common experience?

To answer the first question, the author refers to Sharf (2000) who considered the mild "signs of depression" as including: "sadness, feelings of worthlessness, guilt, social withdrawal, and loss of sleep, appetite, sexual desire, or interest in activities". He considered the severe" signs of depression" as displaying "slow speech, difficulty in sitting still, inattention to personal appearance, and pervasive feelings of hopelessness, anxiety, as well as suicidal thoughts and feelings".

The answer to the second question, the author refers to Evans & Tait (1991) who when answering their own question, as to whether depression was a universal experience, quoted Seligman (1975), who described depression as the 'common cold of abnormal behavior'. Evans & Tait (1991) believed that, Seligman's description was to draw attention to the fact that we all experience it occasionally. So, while depression can be experienced either mildly or severely, depression is definitely both universal and common. And it is an especially a common experience among women.

Gender differences in depression

Why is mental illness (depression) more common among women? Weiten & Lloyd (2006) in asserting that women were "twice as likely as men to suffer from depression and anxiety disorders...", also quoted Rosenfield (1999) to explain the "gender difference in mental illness" (depression). According to Rosenfield (1999), women seem to direct their "negative, hostile, anxious feelings and conflicts" inwards against their self, while, men direct them outwards - either against another person or against the society. In short, under the influence of mental illness like depression, women seem to want hurt themselves, while men seem to want to hurt others. Why is this so? The author would answer this question in a future article entitled: "Psychology of Women: Self-Identity", as the scope of this article is limited to the examination of "Self-Attribution and Depression".

Self-Attribution, Cognitive Distortions, and Depression

The author would emphasis again, that self-attribution is one of the perspectives through which one can understand depression, which is multifaceted in nature. Therefore, women should not attribute everything in their lives to self-attribution, neither is depression all the time due to negative self- attribution. But all negative self-attributions, involves some sort of cognitive distortions. The author would like to next describe the inter-link between cognitive distortions, self-attribution and depression. To begin with, who initially developed the self-attribution theory? And what is the self-attribution theory?

Self Attribution Theory

Fritz Heider (1958), Edward Jones (1965), Keith Davis (1965) and Harold Kelley (1967), who were all social psychologists, were responsible for the initial development of self-attribution theory. What is self-attribution? Based on the studies of Heider (1958); Jones (1965) Davis (1965) and Kelly (1967), self-attribution can be understood as the cognitive perception of persons in attributing the causes of behavior (theirs or others) or events to three dimensions of: 1) internal or external; 2) stable or unstable and 3) controllable or uncontrollable.

Internal refers to the location of a cause of behavior or event to oneself, whether it is disposition, trait or personality of a person. External refers to the location of a cause of behavior or event to external (outside the disposition, trait or personality of a person) behaviors, events, luck, or chance. Stable refers to a permanent or an unalterable state of being in a person or condition in a situation. Unstable refers to impermanent or an alterable state of being in a person or condition in a situation. Controllable refers to having power over someone or something, to change or alter the state of being in a person or a condition in a situation. Uncontrollable refers to having no power over someone or something, to change or alter the state of being in a person or a condition in a situation. Based on these three dimensions, there are multiple combinations of cognitive perceptions of self-attribution. The following examples are meant to be fictitious demonstrative scenarios in relation to two combinations of cognitive perceptions of self-attribution.

1. Self- attribution: internal, stable, uncontrollable

Event: Mr. A has an affair with Ms. B.

Mrs. A's Response according to first combination of cognitive perceptions of self-attribution.: Mrs. A would blame herself (internal) for her husband's infidelity. She views (subjective) her physical and sexual deficits in comparison to Ms. B as an unalterable handicap (stable). Thus, based on her physical and sexual deficit causes that could not satisfy Mr. A, Mrs. A would view her husband's actions as naturally predictable (uncontrollable). What would be the impact on Mrs. A? The answer is obvious, depression (Riso et. al, 2003). How can Mrs. A prevent her depression from being long termed or chronic? The answer lies in the second scenario.

2. Self- attribution: external, unstable, controllable

Event: Mr. A has an affair with Ms. B.

Mrs. A's Response according to second combination of cognitive perceptions of self-attribution: Mrs. A would blame Ms. B. and her husband (external) for their infidelity. Why accept the blame for a perpetrator of a wrong doing? Why not locate the blame where it is due? She would view (objectively) her physical and sexual deficits to satisfy Mr. A, in comparison to Ms. B as alterable (unstable), untrue or as unjustified. Physical and sexual deficits are very subjective. What is considered beautiful and sexy, in one culture and to one individual, may not be the same with another. There is always an opportunity to enhance one's beauty and sexuality. Anyway a woman must be reminder that in infidelity, spouses for the purpose of rationalizations may look for deficits even when there is none.

Why volunteer to give reasons for the rationalizations of an unfaithful spouse? Thus, she would view her husband's actions as inexcusable (controllable). Mr. A has control over his decisions and actions in his affair with Ms. B, for if there is none, Ms. B can be possibly accused for rape. Was Mr. A raped by Ms. B? What would be the impact on Mrs. A? The answer is obvious, there might be an initial depression, but it will not be long term or chronic, especially, if Mrs. A opens herself to marital counseling. Next, the author would like to discuss about the cognitive distortions found in the foregoing first combination of cognitive perceptions of self-attribution.

Get Rid Of Depression: Qibounding Relieves Melancholic Depression Symptoms

Do you have melancholic depression symptoms? You can get rid of depression by Qibounding. Discover how others have used this soft bounce rebounder to remove the sadness, inertia, nervousness, and low confidence levels that plague you when you're depressed.

Did you know that every month, thousands and thousands of people search for painless ways to commit suicide or the best way to commit suicide? These people are looking for a way out because they can't stand being depressed anymore. You may be one of these people. If you are, don't give up! You can feel good again.

I know this from personal experience. Twenty years ago, I was minutes from committing suicide. I stopped because I couldn't leave my beloved dog behind. After that, I went looking for the best ways to relieve depression. And I found them.

One of them is rebounding. And if you're going to rebound, Qibounding is the way to go.

People who have discovered Qibounding (which is using a mini trampoline called a Qibounder) have described the exercise as a "joyful experience" and a "miracle cure" for being in the midst of the dark cloud of depression. More scientifically, researchers have discovered that the body produces a rather large amount of serotonin during rebounding. This is what creates the chemical changes in your brain that allow you to feel better.

This isn't a placebo. There's scientific evidence to prove the impact of this type of exercise on depression.

Can it really be this easy to lift your mood out of the cellar?

My own experience and that of a friend and others I've talked to says, "Yes!"

I no longer suffer from the severe depression that nearly drove me to suicide. By using a combination of energy healing, meditation, and exercise (walking and rebounding), I've removed the "black dog" of depression from my life. But I do sometimes experience some milder symptoms. A few minutes a day on the rebounder truly does lift my mood.

A friend picked up a rebounder at a garage sale. She bought it for exercise. But it pulled her completely out of a deep depression she'd been in for months. She was amazed.

She's talked to others who have bought rebounders and had the same results. And here's what a Qibounder said on the Bellicon (the maker of this rebounder) site: "I battle periodic depression and found myself at a low point after a build up of life events. I happened upon a blog that talked about the benefits of rebounding to the lymphatic system and for depression. I began my research on rebounders and luckily found QiBounding!....Rebounding has truly changed my life! I cannot believe how happy it makes me."

See? You can get rid of depression and put melancholic depression symptoms behind you. Just start Qibounding!

Healing Anxiety And Depression - An Holistic Approach Works Best

Healing anxiety and depression can be a very challenging health concern but with advances in pharmaceutical treatments and psychotherapy methods it can be done with some sustained work.

Oftentimes medicinal drugs are the first treatment offered by your health care professional due to the fact that the correct medication can bring very quick relief from the anxiety and depression symptoms helping you to feel better sooner rather than later.

However, successfully healing anxiety and depression in the long term usually requires a combined approach of drugs and psycho-therapy.

Singularly these treatment options are very effective. Combined they allow for rapid easing of your symptoms as well as developing an understanding about why the anxiety and depression occurred and how to modify your behavior and thinking so it does not occur again.

Medical Advances Help In The Healing Of Anxiety And Depression:

Fortunately for many who suffer with depression and anxiety medical science has been working to find the answers as to why these conditions occur at a bio chemical level and also what chemicals can help to eliminate the problem.

This research and experimentation has allowed for the creation of a variety of pharmaceutical drugs that can help a wide variety of anxiety and depression like conditions.

The wide variety of pharmaceuticals available today for sufferers gives physicians a lot of choice in what drugs they prescribe to their patients. This allows for greater results and safer treatment as the best drug for each patients specific needs can be used.

Be aware though that some medication can have major side effects and if they are not the correct medication for your specific condition they may in fact make your condition worse.

Make sure to let your doctor know immediately when you experience any worsening of your condition or any other side effects that you notice. It does not mean that your condition cannot be treated with medication, it simply means that there is a certain amount of trail and error experimentation that must go on before the correct medication and dosage is discovered.

Similar advances in psychotherapeutic techniques allow for much greater flexibility in choosing the most appropriate treatment for each individual anxiety and depression sufferer.

Just as it is important to find the appropriate medication for your specific needs, so to is it important to find the appropriate psychological intervention to help you get the best long lasting results.

While it may take some time and effort on your part when you get the appropriate treatments and treat your condition holistically, it will be possible for you to heal your anxiety and depression.