Mental Health

Effects of stress on brain cells offer clues to new anti-depressant drugs

Research from King's College London reveals the detailed mechanism behind how stress hormones reduce the number of new brain cells - a process considered to be linked to depression. The researchers identified a key protein ...

Neuroscience created May 06, 2013 | popularity 3.9 / 5 (7) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Antidepressant reduces stress-induced heart condition

A drug commonly used to treat depression and anxiety may improve a stress-related heart condition in people with stable coronary heart disease, according to researchers at Duke Medicine.

Cardiology created 5 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

One in five U.S. kids has a mental health disorder, CDC reports

(HealthDay)—As many as one in five American children under the age of 17 has a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year, according to a new federal report.

Psychology & Psychiatry created May 16, 2013 | popularity 2.7 / 5 (6) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Father absence in early childhood linked to depression in adolescent girls

(Medical Xpress)—New research from the Children of the 90s study at the University of Bristol shows that girls whose fathers were absent during the first five years of life were more likely to develop depressive ...

Psychology & Psychiatry created May 15, 2013 | popularity 2 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Flu in pregnancy may quadruple child's risk for bipolar disorder

Pregnant mothers' exposure to the flu was associated with a nearly fourfold increased risk that their child would develop bipolar disorder in adulthood, in a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. The findings ...

Psychology & Psychiatry created May 14, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

To suppress or to explore? Emotional strategy may influence anxiety

When trouble approaches, what do you do? Run for the hills? Hide? Pretend it isn't there? Or do you focus on the promise of rain in those looming dark clouds? New research suggests that the way you regulate ...

Psychology & Psychiatry created May 13, 2013 | popularity 3 / 5 (2) | comments 2 | with audio podcast

Study finds brain system for emotional self-control

Different brain areas are activated when we choose to suppress an emotion, compared to when we are instructed to inhibit an emotion, according a new study from the UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and Ghent University.

Psychology & Psychiatry created May 09, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Study sees link between mom's flu, bipolar risk for children

(HealthDay)—Women who come down with the flu during pregnancy may be at increased risk of having a child who develops bipolar disorder, a new study suggests.

Psychology & Psychiatry created May 08, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Study finds health insurance helps lower-income Americans avoid depression, diabetes, major financial shocks

Enrollment in Medicaid helps lower-income Americans overcome depression, get proper treatment for diabetes, and avoid catastrophic medical bills, but does not appear to reduce the prevalence of diabetes, high blood pressure ...

Health created May 03, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Risk of depression influenced by quality of relationships, research says

The mantra that quality is more important than quantity is true when considering how social relationships influence depression, say U-M researchers in a new study.

Psychology & Psychiatry created Apr 30, 2013 | popularity 4.2 / 5 (5) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Sniffing out schizophrenia: Neurons in the nose could be the key to early, fast, and accurate diagnosis

(Medical Xpress)—A debilitating mental illness, schizophrenia can be difficult to diagnose. Because physiological evidence confirming the disease can only be gathered from the brain during an autopsy, mental health professionals ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created Apr 29, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Children's brain processing speed indicates risk of psychosis

(Medical Xpress)—New research from Cardiff and Bristol universities shows that children whose brains process information more slowly than their peers are at greater risk of psychotic experiences.

Psychology & Psychiatry created Apr 26, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Bipolar disorder drugs may 'tweak' genes affecting brain

(HealthDay)—Medications taken by people with bipolar disorder may actually be nudging hundreds of genes that direct the brain to behave more normally, according to new research.

Psychology & Psychiatry created Apr 25, 2013 | popularity 2 / 5 (4) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Forced exercise may still protect against anxiety and stress, study says

Being forced to exercise may still help reduce anxiety and depression just as exercising voluntarily does, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder.

Health created Apr 25, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Suppressing protein may stem Alzheimer's disease process

Scientists funded by the National Institutes of Health have discovered a potential strategy for developing treatments to stem the disease process in Alzheimer's disease. It's based on unclogging removal of ...

Alzheimer's disease & dementia created Apr 25, 2013 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast


Mental health describes a level of psychological well-being, or an absence of a mental disorder. From the perspective of 'positive psychology' or 'holism', mental health may include an individual's ability to enjoy life, and create a balance between life activities and efforts to achieve psychological resilience. Mental health can also be defined as an expression of emotions, and as signifying a successful adaptation to a range of demands.

The World Health Organization defines mental health as "a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community". It was previously stated that there was no one "official" definition of mental health. Cultural differences, subjective assessments, and competing professional theories all affect how "mental health" is defined. There are different types of mental health problems, some of which are common, such as depression and anxiety disorders, and some not so common, such as schizophrenia and Bipolar disorder.

Most recently, the field of Global Mental Health has emerged, which has been defined as 'the area of study, research and practice that places a priority on improving mental health and achieving equity in mental health for all people worldwide'.

This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.

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