Archive for the ‘Depression’ Category

Optimism Associated With Lowered Risk Of Dying From Heart Disease

Wednesday, May 7th, 2008

Patients who described themselves as highly optimistic had lower risks of all-cause death, and lower rates of cardiovascular death than those with high levels of pessimism, according to an article in the November issue of The Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

According to the article, major depression is a known risk factor for cardiovascular death. However, the relationship between optimism and death has not received as much attention.

Erik J. Giltay, M.D., Ph.D., of Psychiatric Center GGZ Delfland, Delft, the Netherlands, and colleagues analyzed data from the Arnhem Elderly Study to test whether participants who are optimistic live longer than patients who are pessimistic.

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Posted in Cardiovascular Death, Cardiovascular Health, Delft, Depression, Health, Heart Disease, Netherlands, Optimism, Optimistic, Pessimism, Pessimistic, Psychiatry, The Archives of General Psychiatry | No Comments »

Happiness: Good for Creativity, Bad for Single-Minded Focus

Monday, April 28th, 2008

Despite those who romanticize depression as the wellspring of artistic genius, studies find that people are most creative when they are in a good mood, and now researchers may have explained why: For better or worse, happy people have a harder time focusing.

University of Toronto psychologists induced a happy, sad or neutral state in each of 24 participants by playing them specially chosen musical selections. To instill happiness, for example, they played a jazzy version of Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 3. After each musical interlude, the researchers gave subjects two tests to assess their creativity and concentration.

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Posted in Artistic Genius, Concentration, Creativity, Depression, Focus, Happy People, Psychology, University of Toronto | No Comments »

Staying happier for longer

Monday, March 17th, 2008

From the Buddha to modern gurus of self-help, there have been more than 100 exercises proposed which are alleged to increase lasting happiness, says Professor Martin Seligman a contributor to BBC Two’s The Happiness Formula.

In strange contrast, scientific investigation until recently thought none of these exercises would, as there was an unchangeable and biological “set point” for happiness.

This suggested that our levels of happiness were largely pre-determined by our genes and our upbringing, varying slightly but always returning to our set point of happiness.

It also explained the annoying fact that lottery winners eventually revert to their customarily curmudgeonliness and the rosier finding that paraplegics eventually return to almost the same happiness level they enjoyed before their accident.

I have spent more than 20 years testing the effects of various psychotherapies and drugs on depression.

So when I became a positive psychologist, I first explored many of these exercises and then decided to test rigorously whether any of them really increased happiness…

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Posted in Buddha, Depression, Happiness, Positive Psychology, Psychotherapy, Self-Help | No Comments »