Sleep and Health Journal

Anger is one of the oldest and strongest emotions.

The main function of anger is to threaten the enemy, and most importantly, to mobilize all body and mental resources for the fight.

The windows are open, cool air blows through the house, and it is getting darker at an earlier hour each passing day. Although some individuals look forward to the comfortable fall temperatures, sufferers of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) prepare to brace themselves for what winter brings: lethargy, carbohydrate cravings, weight gain, hypersomnia, and other depressive symptoms. SAD gives its sufferers another reason to dislike winter other than shoveling snow.

By SARAH SKIDMORE, Associated Press Writer

Not long after 72-year-old Anne Beale Golsan had retired on disability from her job as a librarian, she put a stack of paid bills out for the mail, hung up a freshly pressed outfit and taped a note to the front of the house.

"Don't come in by yourself. Get somebody to come with you. Sorry, Love Beale."

Final Word May Not Come for a Year

The FDA has issued a public health advisory regarding data linking the possibility of an increased risk of suicidal behavior in adults taking antidepressants.

The FDA says it is reviewing recent scientific evidence showing a possible link. It is releasing this information now to update patients and health care providers with the latest information on this subject.

In October 2004, federal health officials ordered makers of antidepressants to use new warnings alerting doctors and patients that the medications increase the risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviors in children and adolescents who take them.

Taste sensitivity is altered by changing levels of so-called neurotransmitters that are thought to be involved in depression, British investigators report. In a press release from the University of Bristol, Dr. Lucy F. Donaldson said, "we hope that using a taste test in depressed people will tell us which neurotransmitter is affected in their illness," and thus assist in treatment decisions. Neurotransmitters are chemicals that generate nerve signals in the brain. Serotonin, dopamine and noradrenaline are three that are believed to affect mood states. Some reports have linked changes in taste sensitivities with severe depression and anxiety.

By Charnicia Huggins

Nightmares Linked to Suicide: Study

Sleep disturbances, especially nightmares, are common among people who have attempted suicide, new study findings show.

"To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on an association between nightmares and suicidality in suicide attempts," co-author Nisse Sjstrm, RN of Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Goteborg, Sweden, and colleagues write. However, they add that "our findings of an association between nightmares and suicidality does not imply causality."

Until now we have had no easy way of deciding, which is the best medication for depression

Lead researcher Dr Lucy Donaldson said: "Because we have found that different tastes change in response to changes in the two different neurotransmitters, we hope that using a taste test in depressed people will tell us which neurotransmitter is affected in their illness."

The genetic foundation of emotional expression has been considered ever since Charles Darwin’s initial publication in 1872 about emotional expressions in humans and animals. Until recently, however, this concept did not have a solid scientific foundation.

By Dr. Ronald Pies, Globe Correspondent  |  November 20, 2006

We've all heard about the holiday blues, but much of what we think we know about them may be wrong. First off, the notion that the winter months lead to a big surge in suicide is generally not supported by careful studies. According to the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, US suicide rates are lowest in winter and highest in late spring. Explanations for this finding abound: Most emphasize the painful disparity between the chirpy happiness many feel with the coming of spring and the consuming misery of the severely depressed person.

As Dan Romer of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania recently wrote in an e-mail, "We argue in our work that there is no evidence of an increase in suicides during the holiday period and that suicide rates are actually lower during this period in the US."

By Scott Frankel

The 28 mph gusts of wind blew 20-year-old Lindsay Naso’s golden hair across her eyes outside of University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s (UIUC) undergraduate library. The junior in community health was the only person who occupied the library’s benches at 2 p.m. in the overcast, 53 degree weather.  “The only reason I’m sitting outside is because I’m waiting for my friend,” Naso said.  With the rain drizzling and cold air circulating on this mid-October Wednesday, the weather is beginning to make its season change more noticeable.