psydtraks

We all know vitamin D is necessary for good health and that a lack of it can contribute to numerous health problems. Is depression one of those problems?

Research on the role vitamin D plays in mental health is growing. So far, studies have yielded links and tendencies between mood and levels of vitamin D, but no definitive answers.

Scientists cannot say whether low levels of this vitamin cause depression, or if depression causes production of vitamin D to drop. One thing researchers know is that vitamin D acts upon areas of our brain also associated with depression. This finding is important enough to warrant further study.

The Brain and Vitamin D

There are receptors for vitamin D in different parts of the brain. Receptors are docking stations on the surface of our cells. They chemically attract and connect with specific biochemical elements circulating in the body. Once a biochemical such as vitamin D docks at a receptor, it can do business with that cell.

So, the areas of the brain with receptors for vitamin D “do business” with vitamin D. They must need what vitamin D has to offer. This suggests that a lack of vitamin D in mood-related gray matter, where there are receptors for it, may be linked to the experience of depression.

One theory is that vitamin D is involved in the making and effectiveness of brain chemicals called monoamines. Serotonin is a well-known example of a monoamine. Antidepressants work by increasing the brain’s supply of serotonin and other monoamines.

If the presence of vitamin D is necessary for the natural manufacture of monoamines, a lack of vitamin D would cause a decrease in brain chemicals such as serotonin, contributing to depression.

What Vitamin D Research Has Learned

Despite the many questions remaining, vitamin D research is helping piece together the puzzle of depression, for instance:

1. A lack of vitamin D might be one of several factors contributing to depression. (Although some people in studies have experienced an improved mood after taking vitamin D, researchers cannot yet determine if that was the cause of the improvement.)
2. People who are depressed tend to stay indoors, and are less likely to replenish their supply of vitamin D with sunshine.
3. Research carried out over short time periods may not be effective in studying the association between vitamin D and depression.
4. People who are depressed and have adequate levels of vitamin D are less likely to be helped by taking vitamin D supplements.
5. Supplements may help people who are depressed and already have low levels of vitamin D.

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Our experience of life has much to do with the way we see or perceive it. One of the reasons a poem can be life altering is that it may change our experience by changing our view or perception of it.

April is National Poetry Month, the perfect time to explore the positive and profound effect well-chosen words have on our heart and mind.

Even when the symptoms of depression, or any mood disorder, are intense, it is possible to experience a shift in our point of view. Although the shift does not solve the problems in our life, it may allow us to manage them with less distress and a lighter heart. Being able to provide this change in perception is the magic of poetry.

A Poem That Lights the Darkness

Depression is often thought of as a type of darkness, frightening and unpleasant. The poem shared here, Sweet Darkness by David Whyte, offers a different perception. It transforms darkness into a space where we can rest, find love, and see further than is possible with our eyes open to daylight.

SWEET DARKNESS

When your eyes are tired
the world is tired also.

When your vision has gone,
no part of the world can find you.

Time to go into the dark
where the night has eyes
to recognize its own.

There you can be sure
you are not beyond love.

The dark will be your home
tonight.

The night will give you a horizon
further than you can see.

You must learn one thing.
The world was made to be free in.

Give up all the other worlds
except the one to which you belong.

Sometimes it takes darkness and the sweet
confinement of your aloneness
to learn

anything or anyone
that does not bring you alive

is too small for you.

~ David Whyte, from his book River Flow

Whyte’s poem also invites us to question what really belongs to us.

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A survey by Expedia shows that U.S. employees received an average of 12 vacation days in 2012. Typically, only 10 of the paid time off days were used. The only global area more workaholic is Asia, where workers were given about the same number of days off and used only half.

There is a different mindset in other parts of the world. Workers in Europe are guaranteed from 20 to 30 vacation days by national policy, and most Europeans take all of the allotted time off.

Why We Do It

There are at least three reasons why people in the U.S. do not take vacation days, and though they seem reasonable they also point to the fact that many of us live under nearly continuous stress and work pressure: 

1. People are new to a job and have not accumulated vacation time.
2. Employees use an option to roll over (save) unused vacation days.
3. Employees choose the option of getting paid for unused vacation days.

There are also at least three unreasonable - but very real - reasons why people do not take allowed days off:

1. Using “too much” vacation time is frowned upon by management.
2. If employees fear lay-offs they tend to do what they can to be indispensable at work, including always being there.
3. Working hard and doing what it takes is a virtue in the U.S., even if it makes us miserable.

The Cost of All Work and No Play

John De Graaf made a documentary about overworked Americans called Running Out of Time. He said, “Women who don’t take regular vacations are anywhere from two to eight times more likely to suffer from depression, and have a 50 percent higher chance of heart disease.” The health risks are higher for men.

Not enough down time is a problem for individual well being and in the long run, it taps into employer profits. A study conducted by Middle Tennessee State University found that stress-related health expenses costs U.S. businesses approximately $344 billion each year.

The Livable Truth

It seems we do not believe what research is forever showing us, that productive workers take frequent breaks. They also take time to pursue interests, enjoy family, friends, and leisure pursuits which sometimes involves doing nothing.

The University of Singapore did an interesting study. It revealed that employees who spend up to 20 percent of their time at work goofing-off on the Internet are nine percent more productive than disciplined workers who avoid online distraction. This indicates that most of us know when we need a break and then we get on with our work.

Now that the workplace has gone digital we are more productivity obsessed than ever, and because the economy is rocky, fear and anxiety in the workplace are high. However, depriving ourselves of long or short vacations harms our health, lowers efficiency, and creates resentment toward employers over time.

Taking Care of Ourselves

Not having a job causes anxiety. Living in fear that we will lose our job if we appear to be less than superhuman produces anxiety. Working as if we are superhuman causes stress, anxiety, harms our health, and lowers our work efficiency. We have created a difficult world to live in.

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If you have been diagnosed with depression or bipolar disorder, it is a good idea to be screened for diabetes. Similarly, should you have diabetes, you might think about getting checked for depression. The reason for this caution is that depression and diabetes are linked.

One connection between diabetes and depression is positive; both are illnesses that no one wants to manage, but they can be managed.

There are steps you can take to reduce the discomfort and impact of their symptoms. Although adjustments in lifestyle are necessary and annoyance is inevitable, many people with either diagnosis continue to pursue fulfilling lives.

Diabetes Basics

Your body produces the hormone insulin. The job description of insulin is to haul sugar (glucose) from the food you’ve eaten into your body’s cells. The cells burn sugar for fuel to accomplish whatever it is a particular cell is meant to do.

If your body does not respond to insulin according to nature’s regulations, or if it does not produce enough insulin, the sugar you consume stays in the blood stream and causes:

• frequent urination
• increased hunger or thirst
• recurring infections
fatigue, anxiety, irritability, restlessness

Diabetes-Depression Overlap

Four signs of diabetes are also standard symptoms of depression:

• fatigue
• anxiety
• irritability
• restlessness

The two illnesses share some risk factors as well:

• blood pressure problems
• family history
• obesity
• inactivity
• coronary artery disease

Because the illnesses overlap, it is easy to mistake a sugar imbalance for signs of depression (lethargy, irritability) or to have both illnesses and not realize it. If given the diagnosis of one, it is wise to have a doctor screen for the other.

Diabetes-Depression Cautions

If you feel depressed after receiving a diagnosis of diabetes, it is likely a temporary reaction to some disturbing news. Difficulty sleeping, sadness, and anxiety are normal responses to discovering you have an illness. As you adjust your lifestyle and learn to manage diabetes, the depressed feelings should subside within a few weeks. If not, see your doctor.

Should you become depressed, you may find yourself eating more or less food than previously. There may be a tendency to consume comfort foods, which are frequently simple carbohydrates (i.e., french fries) or sweets. Even without a history of diabetes, this change in eating habits will naturally affect your body’s blood sugar level and insulin production.

Four More Important Facts

1. The incidence of both diabetes and depression is increasing in western societies.
2. People who have both diagnoses are at 52 percent higher risk for heart attack or stroke. Should you have both illnesses, ignorance is not bliss.  Both need to be managed well.

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