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Can a Poor Diet Predict Mental Illness?

November 14, 2018 in Educate Yourself

Food is so much more than gaining energy to get through the day. Many see food as an experience: some see cooking as therapeutic, eating with others as a way to deepen relationships, and taking photos of their food and posting them as a hobby. This doesn’t even account for how good food can taste, given the variety in cuisine and combinations.

Because of its importance and presence, especially for adolescents as they enter a rapidly developing stage in their lives, food can also be a huge influence in other parts of our lives. Studies are starting to look at the relationship between food and mental health, seeing how one’s diet and what they eat can affect or even influence the presence of mental illnesses.

One recent article explored this, focusing on a poor diet, and particularly how sugar can impact a teenager’s mental health. In it, they explained the results of a study that showed that men who consumed 67 grams of sugar a day were 23% more likely to be diagnosed with depression than those who ate under 40 grams, as well as how teenage girls who consumed fast and processed food were associated with a higher risk of depression. These sorts of results can have a huge impact on adolescents in general, not just because they’re more at risk for mental illnesses, but youths are often the key demographic when it comes to marketing. The bright colors and cartoonish imagery in advertisements for sodas, sugary cereals, and processed snacks are meant to target those who are younger.

brain-1787622_1920Another study back in 2014 also looked into previous research to see if there was any overlap between a poor diet and mental health in children and adolescents. While not as strong, the results were still similar, the relationship was still there. This study went into more detail as to why this relationship exists, giving one example that the nutrients found in healthier food, such as magnesium and zinc was inversely associated with depressive disorders. This means that those nutrients were less likely to be consumed by those who have depressive disorders. Another explanation says that high-fat and high-sugar diets can negatively affect proteins that play a huge role in brain development. This sort of impact can affect how our brain processes things, and therefore can make people more susceptible to mental illnesses.

With this information, we must also keep in mind that some don’t have a choice in their diets. Eating healthy can be a privilege given the costs of organic products and food alternatives, as well as the accessibility and location of certain grocery stores and restaurants. Depression can influence how much and when we want to eat, and some may eat more as a coping mechanism when they’re anxious. Though studies have shown a link between mental health and a poor diet, there are still so many factors to consider as to why there is such a connection.

How do you think what you eat affects your mental health? Do you think your mental health affects what you eat? How do you think that changing one’s diet can impact their mental health? Let us know below!

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Can You be Extroverted and Have Social Anxiety?

November 13, 2018 in Educate Yourself

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Our minds often give us images of certain types of people when we think about certain things. For example, we tend to think of those with anxiety to be by themselves, preferring to be alone and in the quiet. It can be easy and even confusing to separate introversion and social anxiety, since both include a preference of being alone and away from crowds. Even though there are significant differences, the assumption is that most people with social anxiety are also introverts, and that the two go hand in hand.

It’s important to remember though that those with disorders and illnesses do not have to have the same personality traits. While the idea of extroverts – those who thrive off of crowds, enjoy talking to large groups of people, and get their energy when they’re around others – also having social anxiety doesn’t seem to make sense, it’s something that can still happen. Being an extrovert is not a protective factor against anxiety, since anxiety is something that your mind can’t help but think about.

StockSnap_GL2I1BU9Y3Extroverts with social anxiety have two major parts of themselves conflicting, but if you take a step back, you can see how the two can influence each other. Social anxiety often includes fears of having their anxiety be noticeable and facing criticism, and those who have these and are also extroverted can feel these fears to a larger degree. They like to be around people, but they also want to make sure that they are being accepted by them. Because they want to be accepted, their anxiety can make them afraid of the worst case scenarios and that people won’t actually like them, and will actually find their outgoing traits to be annoying.

Those with social anxiety (or other mental illnesses) who are also extroverts can also be afraid of admitting they have these issues, because people don’t think that this combination is possible. Because people expect extroverts to be social, lively, and loud, extroverts can feel that they have to be that way all the time, not just to meet the standards of others, but the image they have of themselves. One 24 year old woman goes into detail about her experience as someone with anxiety and depression, but considers herself to be an extrovert. She explains that her more extroverted traits, such as being loud, can come out because she uses it to try and make up her fears of being judged by others when in public.  

While there are images that we think of when we think about mental illness, they can still be stereotypes and damaging to not just those who meet that image, but those who “conflict” with it.

Are you an introvert or extrovert? How do you think that the stereotypes and stigmas about mental illness can affect those who don’t meet them on the outside, such as outgoing and extroverted people?

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New Places to Write

November 9, 2018 in LINKS

Startup Stock PhotosIf you like, or are interested in writing, you’ve probably heard of National Novel Writing Month, also known as Nanowrimo. Here, writers of all kinds attempt the intense challenge of writing 50,000 words over the 30 days of November, which is about 1,667 words a day! 50,000 words is a large amount, and is about as long as a 200 page book. Some authors have even been published with the books they started during Nanowrimo, such as The Night Circus, Fangirl, and some of the books in The Lunar Chronicle series.  

Even if you’re not interested in writing, you have probably written something recently, including at some point during November, even though we’re only 9 days in. The most obvious example are things for school, especially around this time of year now that classes are in full swing and more than halfway done for the marking period or semester, but they can also include jotting quick ideas or to-do lists. For some, writing is therapeutic as well, where you can have a private space to write about how you’re feeling that day or over a certain period of time.

The classic journal is always an option for scribbling down thoughts and ideas, but in the technological age, the convenience and the fact that we spend so much time on our electronic devices already can make computers and cell phones much more ideal options. Another classic is Microsoft Word, which for some, can feel like the only option to get things written down. Unfortunately, while effective, it may not be the best fit for all of us, and the spaces where we work can make a huge difference, whether it be our physical location or where we’re staring for hours on end. If you’re looking for something new, here are a few writing systems you can install, and the best part? All of their main features are free, and are available as phone apps too!

StockSnap_M6XC5T3JY3Google Docs You’ve likely also used Google Docs at some point, since Google Drive is pretty much the Gmail equivalent of Microsoft Office. It can be really convenient, since everything syncs up to your Gmail and you can access it on all your devices. It’s also great for collaborations and group projects, since you can add others to read and edit the same document too.

Evernote Evernote is also a cloud, letting you access anything you’ve written on all your devices with the same login. You can organize similar documents under the same folder to keep things de-cluttered, and Evernote is also connected to Google and Siri so you can update things using your voice.

Bear Like the other two, Bear can be used for a variety of things, from checklists to prose. Te variety of things available from Bear can seem endless too: you can change color schemes, link notes together, and use a markup editor. You can also have the app take over the entire computer screen so you’re not distracted by other things too. Unfortunately, however, it’s only available for Apple products.

Do you like to write? How do you think writing, whether for fiction or nonfiction, can help with mental health? Do you have any other recommendations for writing apps?

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A Smartphone-Less Week

November 8, 2018 in Social Media Guide

no-phone-2533390_1280Have you ever wanted to try going off the grid for a while, or even just wanted to see what happens if you didn’t have your phone on you, period? We’ve talked in the past about these kinds of situations before, and how they can benefit you. The effects aren’t always positive though: regardless of the situation, have you ever found yourself itching to use your phone when it wasn’t on you? Maybe you felt more impatient, or even nervous that something was going to happen if you didn’t access your phone ASAP.

One study wanted to look into this in more detail to see if science would back up the idea of how removing yourself from social media on your phone can affect people. The researchers felt that our addiction to our smartphones is similar to other addictions, and wanted to see if removing them would result in similar withdrawal experiences. Instead of completely removing people from their phones, however, they wanted to see if the subjects could control the temptation to use their phones even if it was right there in front of them. They refer to this as nonuse by choice, which is different than involuntary nonuse, which can happen, for example, if you lose your phone or it breaks. Nonuse by choice involves you fully being able to use your phone, but for whatever reason, from needing to study to taking a digital cleanse, you make an effort to not use it. In this case, participants had access to their phones, but information was recorded about how often they used social media sites, and every evening, they were asked to record their feelings on their experience throughout the week.

The study only collected information from adults, ranging from 18 to 80 years old. Once the results were collected, the study found that the strongest results were extreme: 41% of them never plug-1859843_1280relapsed, but 29% relapsed more than twice. The main reason for the relapses seemed to be because of FOMO and people being afraid that they were missing something important if they weren’t on their phones. They also noticed that participants had strong withdrawal symptoms of craving and boredom. This means that that there was temptation to use social media, almost as if it was something that they needed. And because they had to try and not to use something that they were usually constantly on, the participants were experiencing a disruption in their routine, now having all this free time, but didn’t know how to fill it.

In their article, the authors mention how communicating through social media has become an integral part of everyday life. This can be the main reason for these strong withdrawal symptoms in the participants. In today’s society, where most of us have some sort of phones, if not a social media account that we can log into on our computers, communicating online is probably one of the most convenient and effective forms of talking.It’s possible that by now, especially for adolescents, where these forms of communicating have been present for the majority of their lives, social media is a key component of our daily lives, and taking that away can have extreme effects.

What advice do you have for controlling how often you use the phone? How do you think the results would have been different if they used tested this on teenagers and adolescents?

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The Mental Effect of Family Separations

November 7, 2018 in Educate Yourself

childThere have been a lot of stories lately, particularly in the last couple of years, regarding immigration. They have a more depressing tone to them, often discussing how there have been more attempts to put rules in place to make it more difficult to enter the United States. The most common of these stories involve deportation cases that take place at the United States and Mexico border.

Unfortunately, other groups are also being affected by the threat of deportation. Southeast Asian American groups are going through a similar situation, with twice as many Vietnamese people being deported in 2017 compared to 2016. In February, a man was deported back to Jordan, a country he had moved from nearly 40 years ago.

The situation itself is already worrying, but as a result of sending people back to their original country, families are being separated. Family separation is a situation that has increased recently, where forceful, unwilling separation of parents from their children can not only impact their relationship, but how the child views future relationships and their current living situation.

Because families are literally being separated from each other, the effects on everyone can be severe. This is especially true for the children in these families – both adolescents and kids. Regardless of the age, seeing their parents taken away from them can drastically impact children in a negative way. For example, in the span of just over a month, nearly 2,000 children were separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border. These children can also go through extreme situations after the separation, especially those separated at the border. This includes being sent to detention centers with extremely poor living conditions. Even if there are still able to see their parents, it can still be hard on the child. It can cost a lot of money for their family to afford legal fees, and a lot of time devoted for their caregiver to drive them to visit the detention center.

As a whole, these sorts of situations are extremely stressful, and can have lasting effects that can have huge impacts not just immediately, but as they get older. These sorts of effects are the results of something called toxic stress. When a child experiences intense difficulties that are out of their control, such as exposure to violence or neglect, or in this case, family separation, their development can be affected. This doesn’t just include the increased chances of developing mental illnesses, but their physical health can also be affected, such as a poorer development of their organ systems. Overall, development is delayed, which can result in a higher chance of behavioral problems, chronic illnesses, and dropping out of school.

These are in addition to the troubles that come with puberty and adolescence, and as we mentioned, the effects can be extreme. Removing parents from their children impact both groups, especially when it’s something neither of them choose to do. People are noticing though, and the outcry has been strong. The election just occurred, and it may come with action to keep families together, but if there’s anything else you want to do, check out the following articles from Huffington Post and Time.

What other kinds of effects do you think that family separation can have on a child? What do you think can be done to help reduce the mental and physical effects of toxic stress?

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Helping Where You Can

November 2, 2018 in LINKS

Trigger warning: mass shooting, terrorist attack

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We understand that this week may have been a difficult one, given the tragedy that occurred last Saturday here in Pittsburgh. Our thoughts continue to be with those affected.

If you are still looking for resources for coping and finding someone to talk to, we have offered a few options below:

There has been an outpour of things that you can do to help. For those who are still looking for a way to help, here are a few resources:

You can also call 412-350-4456 for the Allegheny County DHS Mental Health Services. By telling them what kind of resources you’re looking for, they can direct you to relevant options.

The local and national support in response has been overwhelming, so the options above aren’t the only ones available. Whatever you choose to do, or if you feel like you can’t do so, know that you’re not alone.

 

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Screen Time and Mental Health

November 1, 2018 in Social Media Guide

hourglass-620397_1280If you have an iPhone or keep some sort of track on the latest technology, then you know that one of Apple’s most recent update for iOS 12 included Screen Time, letting you know how much time you spend on your phone. This includes information about how much time you spend on specific websites and apps. For those who are brave enough, you can see here how to enable the feature and see how much time you spend on your phone.

As the conversation about technology and young people continues, so do the questions about the how being connected all the time can affect children and adolescents. This is especially true when the majority of the time, time spent on screens for fun is mostly used on social media. It’s easy to get sucked into endless feeds and explore pages, and with infinite scrolling, it seems like there’s no bottom to reach.

joystick-1216816_1280A recent study explored this relationship, looking at over 40,000 children and adolescents from as young as 2 to 17 years old. Their caregivers answered questions regarding how much time their child spent using anything that involved a screen for fun. This involved not just cell phones, but TVs, computers, and video games. On average, the total amount of time children and adolescents spent using screens was about 3.5 hours a day. The older the person was, the more likely they were to spend longer on their phones. The largest increase in screen time use occurred when children entered middle school, and by high school, teenagers on average spent about 4.5 hours on screens a day.

From there, the study discovered that those who spent a large amount of time on their screens a day – more than 7 hours – were twice as likely to have a lower psychological wellbeing and twice as likely to be diagnosed with depression. Though not as strong of an effect, those with “moderate” screen usage, or about 4 hours a day, were also significantly lower in wellbeing compared to those who only spent an hour a day looking at a screen.

While there are flaws with the study, mostly that the caregivers were reporting on their kid’s usage versus those who are actually using the devices, there might be a relationship with mental health and how long we spend looking at a screen, particularly with cell phones. For those who feel that the amount of time you spend on specific apps, or just on your phone in general, is taking a toll on their mental health, Screen Time isn’t there just to shame you for your phone usage, but to help you gain some control on what you see and how long you want to see it for. For example, you can tell your phone to lock you out of Instagram once you’ve used it for an hour during the day. Some may feel that this can help them, and by looking at a screen less, they can look at other activities that can keep them busy and also help their mental health.

How often do you think you spend leisurely looking at screens? What do you think you spend most of your time looking at? Do you think phone usage is something you would want to have more control over?

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Why Do We Like Getting Scared?

October 31, 2018 in Educate Yourself

Being left on read can make us feel invisible.

Whether it’s celebrating on the first day of Autumn, the entire month of October, or just today on Halloween, now’s not just the time for posting photos of changing leaf colors and apple picking, but for pumpkin carving, costumes, and yes, spooky activities. Everyone has different feelings about whether they like to get frightened or not, and all are completely justified. While some refuse to watch a show with just the slightest hint of a jump scare, others will jump at the opportunity to enter a pitch black maze, excited to see what the unknown has in store for them.

But why do some of us like that feeling? Why do we like to be startled, and for the briefest of moments, feel unsafe and have our world shaken up? Margee Kerr, a sociologist at Pitt, explored this, explaining how voluntarily engaging in high arousal negative experiences (known as VANEs), like going on a roller coaster or watching a scare movie, can be positive. This is especially true when the activity comes across as dangerous, but is almost always in a safe environment.

For the study, the researchers went to ScareHouse (be warned, the website itself can be a little terrifying for some), advertised as Pittsburgh’s “scariest haunted house.” She not only talked with those who worked and haunted-house-2839157_1280designed the haunted house to see how it worked, but gave surveys to those who had already purchased tickets to get information about their feelings before and after. The majority of the participants, about half, said that their mood had improved, especially those who were tired or stressed. Some of the participants wore sensors and had less brain activity when completing tasks after, which was described as being similar to a “zen state,” the kind of calm feeling that happens during mediation, for example. Think of it like ripping off a Band-Aid: you’re afraid of the pain before it happens, once it does, it hurts for the briefest of seconds, but afterwards, you feel better and almost relaxed.

The article goes on to explain on how getting scared and the positive feelings that come afterwards are similar to the goals in exposure therapy, a kind of treatment for different types of mental illnesses where the person is shown the things they don’t like, but in a safe environment. This is done in order to reduce that fear. Kerr suggests that for those with social anxiety, for example, going to a haunted house with a ridiculous situation like a subway car full of zombies makes an everyday, packed subway, less terrifying.

This isn’t the only way to help anxiety, so if you don’t like getting scared, don’t think that it’s the only solution. However, if you do, a scary movie playing in the background as you work on a paper may make that assignment slightly less scary.

Happy Halloween! 

Do you like getting scared? If so, how do you think you can adapt it so you can use it when you’re feeling anxious or stressed? What are your favorite Halloween activities?

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Why Your Physical Space is Important for Recovery

October 30, 2018 in Educate Yourself

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LEAD Pittsburgh hosted its first speaker series for FOCUS (For Our Children and Us) this month, addressing topics concerning children’s mental health to the adults that have a presence in their lives. During this inaugural Inside Out workshop at the FOCUS workshop, Shanon Williams spoke about her business Self Care House Keeping, and the implications of physical space in regard to any person’s mental health. Shanon discussed the mission of her business, and the purpose of the services she provides.
She explained during the discussion that a person’s physical space is very important in a person’s mental health recovery. However, she recognized that for many people suffering with mental health problems, it is very difficult to take care of one’s physical space needs. These needs include cooking, cleaning, organizing, and even paying one’s bills. As these tasks pile up they seem to become impossible , and unmanageable. To help, Self Care Housekeeping provides services such as cleaning, organizing, meal prep, and paying bills.
The tips she has for people suffering is to remember to ask for help. She emphasizes that it is okay to need a break and a helping hand during a mental health crisis. Another tip she has is to look at one’s surroundings and recognize that if you aren’t taking care of your physical space needs it may be an indication of mental health distress. The first sign of mental health distress usually are change in behaviors, and not taking care of one’s self.

While organization and cleanliness can help clear a distressed and anxious mind, it’s not always easy to take that step, particularly during a mental health crisis. Shanon recognizes that, and offers these services in order to help.

What are the signs to you that your mental health isn’t at its best? What do you think of others helping you clean and get organized when you’re unable to?

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Gratitude Prompts

October 29, 2018 in Be Positive

gratefulAccording to Grateful, researchers at Harvard Medical School report, “Gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships.”

However, Brianna Steinhilber writes that while practicing gratitude seems simple enough, it can be difficult for some, “especially if you’re a person who has a hard time expressing emotions, or you’re going through a rough patch that makes channeling gratitude difficult.”

Therefore, to begin, use a gratitude prompt. Gratitude prompts can tap into your creativity and help you recognize the things you’re grateful to have in your life. You can also use gratitude prompts as a conversation starter with others. And try writing them down by keeping a gratitude notebook or using an app!

Try these gratitude prompts:

  1. List five small ways that you can share your gratitude today.
  2. Write about a person in your life that you’re especially grateful for and why.
  3. What skills or abilities are you thankful to have? (You communicate well, you’re a good cook, you have an uncanny ability to dominate in Fantasy Football. Hey, it’s your journal).
  4. What is there about a challenge you’re experiencing right now that you can be thankful for? (This is a tough one, but you have learned something or grown from the hardship—how?)
  5. How is where you are in life today different than a year ago–and what positive changes are you thankful for?
  6. What activities and hobbies would you miss if you were unable to do them?
  7. List five body parts that you’re grateful for and why. (Those long legs help you reach items on the top shelf … don’t forget the little things.)
  8. What about the city you live in are you grateful for?
  9. What are you taking for granted about your day to day that you can be thankful for? (Can’t think of any? Your alarm clock, your coffee machine, the paperboy who delivered your newspaper, your friendly neighbor who always says good morning … and that’s before you even leave the house.)
  10. List 5 people in your life who are hard to get along with—and write down at least one quality for each that you are grateful for.
  11. What materialistic items are you most grateful for?
  12. Write about the music you’re thankful to be able to listen to and why. (We couldn’t make it five minutes on the treadmill without our beats.)
  13. Who has done something this week to help you or make your life easier and how can you thank them?
  14. What foods or meals are you most thankful for? (Bacon, egg and cheese on Monday morning, we’re looking at you.)
  15. What elements of nature are you grateful for and why? (The beach, a starry sky or one speckled with fluffy clouds, the sunset…)
  16. What part of your morning routine are you most thankful for? (A big stretch before you get out of bed, that warm cup of coffee, a cuddle session with your pet…)
  17. Write a letter to someone who has positively impacted your life, however big or small.
  18. What is something you’re grateful to have learned this week?
  19. When was the last time you laughed uncontrollably—relive the memory.
  20. What aspects of your work environment are you thankful for? (Supportive co-workers, flexible hours, great snacks in the kitchen…)

Don’t have time to write?  Check out one of these apps instead:

  • Grateful: A Gratitude Journal
  • My Gratitude Journal
  • HappyFeed: Graditude Journal
  • Gratitude Journal 365
  • Gratitude Journal: The Life-changing App

Answer one of the prompts above, and if you feel comfortable, share your response in the Comments section below!  Have your own prompt? Let us know!

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