Doreen's World

Originally published at catloverdoreen.net.

What is Chakra Sky Jewelry?

Originally published at catloverdoreen.net.

When we lose someone - through death or a broken relationship - it is quite common for sadness, grief, or anxiety to emerge at some point. While it might seem like depression, grief is actually quite different.

Depression is marked by negative thoughts and feelings about oneself - low self-esteem and self-worth. Grief, on the other hand, is marked by distress over the loss of another or, in severe cases, overwhelming separation anxiety.

About a third of people experiencing grief go on to develop a depression, but it is usually weeks or months later. Loss can lead to changes in one's life - pleasurable things that were once done together, for example, are no longer done - and these in turn can lead to depression.

Counselling is usually the best treatment for grief. Some counsellors specialise in grief and loss counselling.

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Originally published at catloverdoreen.net.

Swimming with dolphins can be a therapy for people with depression, a new study finds.

Nature lovers or biophiles have long argued that interaction with animals can soothe a troubled mind but this claim has always lacked the scientific data to back it up.

Now UK psychiatrists publish the results of their randomised controlled trial in the British Medical Journal.

Dr Christian Antonioli and Professor Michael Reveley at the University of Leicester recruited 30 people in the US and Honduras who had been diagnosed with mild or moderate depression.

The severity of their symptoms was calculated according to established yardsticks for mental health, the Hamilton and Beck scales, which are based on interviews and questionnaires with the patient.

The volunteers were required to stop taking antidepressant drugs and psychotherapy for four weeks.

Half of the group was then randomly selected to play, snorkel and take care of bottlenose dolphins each day at an institute for marine sciences in Honduras.

The other half was assigned to a program of outdoor activities, also at the institute, that included swimming and snorkelling at a coral reef, but without the dolphins.

Two weeks later, both groups had improved, but especially so the patients who had been swimming with the dolphins.

Measurable symptoms of depression in the dolphin group had fallen by half and by two-thirds according to the two scales, twice as much as in the non-dolphin group.

In addition, a self-rating measurement of anxiety symptoms, the Zung scale, found a fall of more than 20% among the dolphin group, compared with a decline of 11% among the non-dolphin groups.

A first for dolphins

"To the best of our knowledge, this is the first randomised, single blind, controlled trial of animal-facilitated therapy with dolphins," say Antonioli and Reveley.

"The effects exerted by the animals were significantly greater than those of just the natural setting. The echolocation system, the aesthetic value, and the emotions raised by the interaction with dolphins may explain the mammals' healing properties."

Three months after the study, patients from both groups said their symptoms were still improved and did not need treatment.

Is biophilia the answer?

This suggests that in patients with mild or moderate depression, using drugs or conventional psychotherapy may not be necessary when biophilic treatment with animals is used, the scientists include.

Supporters of biophilia say that our affiliation with nature is an innate human tendancy. And disrupting that affiliation means tipping the equilibrium, so damaging our psychological health.

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Originally published at catloverdoreen.net.

More than a fifth of the population has a genetic predisposition to major depression triggered by a string of stressful life events, Australian researchers announce.

These events include: the loss of a parent or other significant relative; a relationship breakdown; or employment, financial, housing and health crises.

The study, published in the latest issue of the British Journal of Psychiatry, found a gene that controls the neurotransmitter serotonin is crucial.

The researchers found that people with a 'short' version of the serotonin transporter gene have an 80% chance of developing clinical depression if they have three or more negative life events in a year.

People with a 'long', or more protective, version of the gene only have a 30% risk of becoming depressed under similar circumstances.

The study, by researchers from the University of New South Wales with affiliated research institutes and teaching hospitals, evaluated the relationship between genes and life experience from young adulthood into middle age in 127 teachers across 25 years.

It is the first study to account for the timing of the first onset of depression across the lifespan.

The long and the short of it

'Short' and 'long' versions of the serotonin transporter gene 5-HTTLPR, located on chromosome 17, are created by a slight variation in the sequence of DNA.

One version of the gene is inherited from each parent in certain combinations. According to the research, those who inherit two short versions are the most susceptible to depression.

The study showed 21% of us have two short versions of the gene, 26% two long versions and the rest have one long and one short variant.

Professor Philip Mitchell, head of the university's School of Psychiatry and convenor of Brain Sciences UNSW, emphasises that this is a susceptibility or risk gene not a disease gene.

"Having two short versions of the gene doesn't make you depressed per se; it increases the likelihood of becoming depressed if you experience stressful life events," he says.

Identifying who's at risk

Mitchell says the findings could help identify people at increased risk of depression and help direct resources into preventative interventions for people with the susceptible genetic make up.

"I think this will spark off important clinical debate about when tests like this should become clinically available," he says.

"The ethical question is not only whether this test should be made available publicly, but also who should have access to the results. We err on the side of privacy but private insurance bodies, for example, could demand the information as part of their risk assessment."

For information about depression, including support and referral options, see Australia's national depression initiative beyondblue, or depressioNet.

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Originally published at catloverdoreen.net.

For most people the passage of time helps rebuild lives after losing a loved one, but for others it may takeover their lives and need specific treatment, say Australian researchers.

Researchers from the Traumatic Stress Clinic at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) and Westmead Hospital are testing a new way to deliver cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT), a type of psychotherapy known to be effective for depression and anxiety.

Study leader, Professor Richard Bryant from UNSW, says 'prolonged grief disorder', which has recently been recognised as a significant clinical condition, requires a grief-specific form of CBT.

"In recent years there has been new interest in the finding that losing a loved one by death can cause real mental health problems," says Bryant.

"Most people initially experience intense sadness arising from longing or yearning for the deceased. But if these reactions persist six months after the death their grief can become complicated or stalled, preventing them from moving on with their lives."

Bryant says that there is considerable evidence that people with this disorder suffer marked impairment beyond the effects of depression.

Changing focus

Initial evidence from a trial involving 50 people suggests that people who received grief-specific CBT were more likely to resolve their grief reactions, than people who received traditional CBT.

"People with prolonged grief need help to resolve outstanding issues they may have about the death or about the person who has died, and learn to develop a new relationship with the person, which determines their capacity to cope in the future," says Bryant.

"We have learnt through research that people with prolonged grief are very much fixated on painful negative memories of the deceased.

"These people need to be getting access to memories that are reassuring rather than memories that are triggering further anxiety and depression."

Resolving issues

Grief-focused CBT engages participants in techniques such as writing letters to the person who has died, and having imaginary conversations with him or her in a highly structured way with the therapist.

"Talking through those issues, rehearsing them and having an appraisal helps people find a more constructive interpretation of the loss and of the future.

"Often when the memories of the death are dealt with, it is very important in therapy to then focus on new goal setting, developing new social networks, and structuring a daily or weekly schedule."

The researchers say the grief-specific treatment provides a promising alternative to counselling that may not be as helpful for people suffering from the longer-term effects of grief.

link

Originally published at catloverdoreen.net.

THIS amazing photo shows the chilling details of the execution of two Nigerian drug traffickers who were tied to wooden crosses and shot dead by firing squad in Indonesia this year in the same isolated spot where the Bali bombers will also be executed soon.

The two men were executed on June 26 this year on Nusa Kambangan Island off the coast of Central Java.

The Daily Telegraph can reveal thata series ofpictures, taken two days before the execution and obtained by The Daily Telegraph, chronicle the lead-up to the deaths of Samuel Iwachekwu Okoye and Hansen Antonious Nwaolisa.

Gallery: See the haunting photographs that give the first insight into what faces the Bali Bombers

They show poignant final visits with family, the men being being told by prosecutors the end is near and asked to sign paperwork, given medical check-ups by a prison doctor including heart, pulse and blood pressure checks.

Another picture shows Okoye standing up tall for his height to be measured with a tape measure in order for his coffin to be made.

All the while the pair are surrounded by police and officials involved in the business of death.

Most frightening is the photo here, taken in the night, of the wooden execution cross on which each man was tied, hands behind his back, shortly before midnight on June 26 this year. The picture was taken two days before the execution as officials prepared the site.

The condemned in Indonesia are given a choice - die standing, sitting or kneeling. The execution post is set up with a chair which is then removed if the men decide to die standing up.

The two men were executed in the same spot on Nusa Kambangan Island as where the three Bali bombers - Amrozi bin Nurhasyim, 46, his brother Mukhlas aka Ali Ghufron, 48 and Imam Samudra aka Abdul Aziz, 38 - will soon be shot dead by firing squad.

The Daily Telegraph has learned it is expected the bombers will also be strapped to the same kind of wooden cross before they are hooded and shot through the heart.

original story

I hope these assholes are executed asap after what they have done

Originally published at catloverdoreen.net.

A FEMALE worker in a matress factory worker who was virtually 'scalped' by an unguarded machine and has been awarded $360,000 by her employer in damages.

Sharon Shacklock, 37, was bending down to investigate the source of a squeaky noise in a cotton-folding machine at Bazmac Pty Ltd's bedding factory in Melbourne's west when her hair became entangled in the machine in April last year.

The Victorian County Court heard the machine tore and ripped her hair, pulling her head towards the machine.

Ms Shacklock suffered permanent scaring to her scalp and lost 40 per cent of her hair. She was in The Alfred hospital for nine days and has since undergone multiple skin grafts.

Bazmac, who were trading as Omni Bedding at the Braybrook factory, pleaded guily to failing to provide and maintain a plant that is safe and and failing to provide necessary information, instruction, training or supervision.

Judge John Barnett said in sentencing that it was a gross failure by the company to comply with workplace safety standards.

original story

Originally published at catloverdoreen.net.

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original post

Originally published at catloverdoreen.net.

it's here at Beat the Blues and has some interesting looking retreats and programs too - shame it's in Queensland which is too far for me to attend any of them!

here's a couple of other interesting links - headspace and reach out!

Originally published at Depressed Mama.