The study, published in proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences was co-funded by Briain’s National Institute for Health Research Biomedical Research Centre (NIHR BRC) for Mental Health at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College London. Depression is a common mental disorder worldwide affecting more than 350 million people of all ages. The World Health Organisation estimates that by 2030, depression will be the leading cause of the global burden of disease.

In India, a study in 2011 found that around nine per cent of people reported having an extended period of depression within their lifetime and nearly 36 per cent had suffered from a major depressive episode (MDE). Treatment for depression involves either medication or talking therapy, or usually a combination of both.

Current anti-depressant medication is only successful in treating depression in about 50-65 percent of cases and fewer than half of those affected worldwide receive such treatment. Depression and successful anti-depressant treatment is associated with changes in a process called neurogenesis – the ability of the adult brain to continue to produce new brain cells. ‘With as much as half of all depressed patients failing to improve with currently available medication, developing new, more effective anti-depressants is a priority,’ said Carmine Pariante of the King’s College Institute of Psychiatry and lead author of the paper.

‘In order to do this, we need to understand the abnormal mechanisms that we can target. Our study shows the importance of conducting research on cellular models, animal models and clinical samples, all under one roof in order to better facilitate the translation of laboratory findings to patient benefit,’ he said. In the study, the multi-disciplinary team of researchers studied cellular and animal models before confirming their findings in human blood samples. Christoph Anacker of the King’s College Institute of Psychiatry and co-author of the paper said: ‘Because a reduction of neurogenesis is considered part of the process leading to depression, targeting the molecular pathways that regulate this process may be a promising therapeutic strategy.’

Source: IANS

The 43-year-old actress, who won the Academy Award for best supporting actress for ‘Chicago’, checked in on Monday. She is expected to complete a 30-day programme there, tmz.com reports.

A source close to the actress said, ‘Zeta-Jones’ stint in the treatment centre is a proactive measure.’ Another source said, ‘It’s maintenance.’

Zeta-Jones had been to the treatment centre in 2011 as well, and that time her representative had said, ‘Zeta-Jones had made the decision to check in to a mental health facility for a brief stay to treat her Bipolar II disorder.’

The actress made her last public appearance on April 22, on the red carpet of the 40th Anniversary Chaplin Award Gala at Lincoln Center, New York with her actor-husband Michael Douglas. 

What is bipolar disorder?

A person suffering from bipolar disorder experiences episodes of mania which often end with bouts of depression. It is a mood disorder which can result in a person having difficulty in sleeping, extreme behaviour and unrealistic ideas of the future. 

There are several types of yoga that can be practised by individuals to deal with specific health problems:

• Ashtanga and power yoga are best suited to those looking for an aerobic type of workout where you push yourself to flow from one pose to another.
• A bikram yoga class is practised in a room with heightened temperatures of 37°Celsius, where you posture yourself to twenty-six poses. The high temperature makes your body more flexible and increases the removal of toxins from your body.
• A more relaxed form of yoga is Iyengar yoga. This form utilizes the same postures of ashtanga yoga, where the postures are held for a longer period of time and focuses more on posture and alignment.
• Jivamukti yoga caters to spirituality with meditation, chanting and spiritual readings.
• Kundalini yoga strengthens the physical, mental and spiritual discipline. It aims to awaken the creative spirituality of a person by waking up a coil of energy at the base of the spine.
• Ananda yoga focuses on creating an inner awareness and power control.

But no matter what subset of yoga you prefer and choose to perform, they all lead to one basic fundamental truth – that your mind and body are two sides of the same coin and they must be kept healthy in a consistent manner. Its primary focus has never been weight loss, although that is a wonderful and definite outcome! Yoga aims to cleanse your breathing, your posture, your thoughts, and your diet in order to achieve a healthier life.

Today, when almost everyone is suffering from some form of ailment or the other, yoga is an effective way to deal with your problems. Yogic meditation allows the mind and body to slow down, controls the heart rate and breathing, and relaxes the mind. Balance is an important element of yoga. Yoga exercises allow you to shift weight to different organs of your body, allowing oxygenated blood to enter these organs and flush out the toxins. Yoga postures push your muscles to hold their stances, and strengthen their core. There are three systems that help in elimination of waste from the body – circulatory, digestive and lymphatic – and the stretching and breathing exercises of yoga work at all three levels. Various poses in yoga help in improving bowel movements and several yoga exercises drain the lymph nodes of toxins. Here are some diseases that yoga can help with: 

Asthma

If you suffer from asthma, the daily practice of yoga can help you overcome it, and prevent asthma attacks. Deep breathing as practised in yoga, pushes your lungs to take in more oxygen and, at the same time, regulates your breathing rate.

Indigestion and stomach ailments

Practice of the child pose, or the wind relieving pose is known to cure indigestion problems by helping in bowel movements.

Migraines and headaches

Migraines and headaches are common problems with far too many people these days. The primary cause of migraine attacks is the lack of oxygen to the brain. The sirsasana pose or the headstand is known to increase the flow of oxygen to the brain.

Bone, joint and muscle pains

The tadasana or the tree pose aims at correct back alignment, strengthening the lower back muscles and helping to relieve any pain. Stretching the body, as in Surya namaskaras, is an effective way to deal with joint pains and arthritis.

Heart problems

The bhujangasana or the cobra pose, helps in stretching the chest and opening the chest area, allowing more blood flow to the heart, thus stimulating it.
The kapalbhati is a breathing exercise which is effective in dealing with cardiac disease, since it enhances the absorption of oxygen in the blood stream.

Diabetes

Surya namaskara, which is a twelve step yogic routine of stretching and breathing, is extremely effective in controlling diabetes, as it promotes the production of insulin from the pancreas.

Anxiety and depression

The breathing techniques from yoga are an effective method to help your mind relax, and fight against depression and hypertension. When your body and mind go into panic mode, your body is flooded with the ‘fight or flight’ hormone. Simple yogic breathing exercises lower stress hormones, relaxing the mind and enhancing the immune system. Yoga practices such as deep breathing, force the heart rate to slow down and your lungs to take in more oxygen.

Life threatening diseases

Intensive treatment for AIDS and Cancer can be terrible for patients. However, practiced with yoga, it can be used as a coping facility. Yoga helps treat the body and mind and is also a great way to overcome addictions such as alcoholism or drug abuse, helping the body reject excess doses of poison while helping the mind pull itself together.

Yoga offers healthier and more natural options than your local doctor, and the constant barrage of pill-popping. It deals with the body and mind in a combination of ways to strengthen your individual organs. As much as yoga cures many ailments, it also prevents problems from arising. It’s not for nothing that the who’s who of the world has taken to practising yoga to calm their nerves, and keep fit. Everyone from Madonna to Gwyneth Paltrow to Matthew McConaughey to Robert Downey Jr., swear by yoga and its benefits. Don’t get left out!

Tired of reading? Check out our YouTube Channel 

Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal and deputy CM Sukhbir Singh had warned PM Manmohan Singh of a backlash in the state if Bhullar was hanged and requested the PM and Home Minister to accord clemency to Bhullar on medical grounds.

Last Friday, the Supreme Court had rejected Bhullar’s lawyers’ plea to commute his death sentence to life imprisonment. Interestingly, it was split verdict and the court didn’t consider his present mental health status. The medical board will likely consist of doctors from VIMHANS and AIIMS. If Bhullar is declared mentally unstable, that might pave the way for clemency because the law forbids hanging of mentally-ill patients.

Bhullar has been lodged at the Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences (IBHAS) for the last three years and is suffering from manic depression and is suffering from ‘depression with psychotic features’ and has exhibited suicidal behaviour on numerous occasions. A TOI report from 2011 suggests that he had tried to commit suicide at least twice in four months on IBHAS premises. Before that he had attempted to commit suicide several times in Tihar Jail.  The decision not to have a current medical report was lambasted by experts all over the country. Dr Nimesh Desai, Director of IHBAS, said: ‘As per norms, if and when there is an order by a court for medical opinion on any of our prisoners, we constitute a medical board that puts together a cumulative opinion. In Bhullar’s case, such a board was never constituted because there was no order from the judiciary.’

Who is Devinderpal Singh Bhullar?

Bhullar was a Khalistan Liberation Force terrorist who triggered a bomb blast at youth Congress office in Delhi in September 1993 which killed nine people and injured 25 others. The main target, Maninderjit Singh Bitta – an outspoken opponent of the Khalistan movement was injured in the attack. The Khalistan movement is a secessionist movement that wanted a separate nation called Khalistan for the Punjabi speaking populace.

Here are some common sex saboteurs: 

Sex saboteur 1: Life

Amidst the chaos of modern life, the household chores or having an extra hour in bed often takes precedence over sexy time between the sheets. Try arranging one night per week where you and your partner pledge to cast your worries aside and spend some quality time together. Make this a regular occurrence and it won’t be long until your dry spot is a distant memory.

Sex saboteur 2: Hormone-based contraceptives

Most contraceptive pills inhibit the production of androgens, which directly impact the level of pleasure we experience during intercourse.  It’s a bit of a cruel irony really isn’t it?  You go on the pill as a form of contraception and then suddenly you don’t feel like sex anyway – great! If you’re going through a sexual dry spot and you feel that the contraceptive pill is the culprit, speak to your doctor who may be able to suggest an alternative.

Sex drive saboteur 3: Overactive bladder

An overactive bladder isn’t the best thing to be thinking about during sex, and it can really put you off doing it in the first place. During an orgasm, there is a momentary blip in communication between the brain and the bladder, making it common for the bladder to release urine. There are medicines available that may be able to help with this problem so it’s worth consulting your doctor about this. Paying a visit to the toilet before sex can also be effective.

Sex drive saboteur 4: Lack of sleep

Sleep is a common sex drive saboteur for both genders. Researchers from the University of Chicago found that men who get less than five hours sleep per night have lower levels of testosterone, which leads to a lack of desire between the sheets. Sleep specialists also state that women with depleted energy due to a lack of sleep often report a low libido. So ladies and gents, if your sex life is declining it might be time to start stocking up on sleep. 

Sex drive saboteur 5: Body image

Small boobs, a hairy back, lack of muscles … whatever it is you’re conscious of, body image issues make for a sure-fire short circuit in terms of your sex drive. If you’re getting naked with the lights off, or not getting naked at all, it’s time to stop filling your mind with negative thoughts about your body and start focussing on what you love about yourself. Every time you have a negative thought about your body, make sure you back it up with a positive one.

Sex drive buster 6: Menopause

Ladies, mood swings, vaginal dryness, hot flushes and depression don’t exactly set the mood for a night of hot sex. Add to that your decline in oestrogen levels that prevent blood flow around the pelvis area and it’s probably feeling pretty dry ‘down there’, meaning that sex has become painful. Wow – it’s no surprise you’re not feeling up to it. While lubricants may provide short term relief, you could speak to your doctor about alternative solutions such as hormone replacement therapy if this is causing you trouble.

 Sex drive buster 7: Alcohol

Alcohol can really take the wind out of your sails for obvious reasons. Alcohol breath? Drooling? Can’t even stand up straight? No thanks! Alcohol in men can really affect his ability to get an erection, too. Gents, if you’re planning on getting it on but you can’t get it up recently, cut alcohol out of your diet and you’re likely to see an improvement.

Sex drive buster 8: Children

Once you’ve had children, it may seem as though the romance and intimacy in your relationship has been swapped for stress and fatigue. Caring for babies and/or children makes you exhausted, which is a recipe for a no-sex night. Try and set aside one night a week to stop worrying about the chores once the children have gone to bed, and spend time as a couple instead. Watch a movie or cook a meal and you’re sure to get your va-va-voom back after a week or two!

 Sex drive buster 9: Disinterest in your partner

Most couples experience temporary disinterest in their partner at some point during their relationship. If you have been experiencing this for a long time and you no longer feel like getting intimate, there’s a good chance that there are unresolved issues that need to be addressed. Sit down and talk with your partner about what you are happy with in your relationship and what could be improved.

Sex drive buster 10: Performance anxiety

Both men and woman may suffer from performance anxiety. When men are anxious about sex, it can cause erectile dysfunction which, in turn, can make women feel inadequate. Speak to your partner about what he/she likes you to do to them and try it out. Once you realise how much they love it, you’re sure to overcome your dry spell.

Also read: 7 surprising sex facts

Content source: RealBuzz

Dr Nimesh Desai, Director of IHBAS, said: ‘As per norms, if and when there is an order by a court for medical opinion on any of our prisoners, we constitute a medical board that puts together a cumulative opinion. In Bhullar’s case, such a board was never constituted because there was no order from the judiciary.’

His doctors maintain that he is suffering from ‘depression with psychotic features’ and has exhibited suicidal behaviour on numerous occasions. A TOI report from 2011 suggests that he had tried to commit suicide at least twice in four months on IBHAS premises. Before that he had attempted to commit suicide several times in Tihar Jail.

The SC instead relied on a 2011 medical certificate produced by his counsel KTS Tulsi which gave an indication that the petitioner was suffering physically and mentally due to his prolonged detention in jail, and though the report suggested his mental health had deteriorated, the court’s finding was that it hadn’t deteriorated enough to the extent that the sentence awarded to him couldn’t be carried out.

Yesterday his lawyer Tulsi said, ‘My client’s doctors were never summoned to ascertain his medical condition… the few documents I submitted were part of the records the hospital sent to the jail in September 2011. No subsequent summons was issued to his doctors to take their opinion in the last two years.’ Tihar Jail officials have however, gone on record to say that Bhullar won’t be hanged until he’s declared ‘mentally and physically fit’.

What does the law state about executing the mentally-ill?

The UN Commission of Human Rights urges all states that maintain the death penalty ‘not to impose it on a person suffering from any form of mental disorder; not to execute any such person.’ In India, the capital punishment is reserved for those who have committed the most heinous crimes what the SC calls the ‘rarest of rare cases’ – crimes like rape amounting to murder or leading to the victim going into a vegetative state, abetting child suicide or killing a child, war against the nation and terrorist activities. In India, capital punishment is only given after a person has been analysed by a team of doctors to ascertain he is ‘mentally and physically fit’.

Is Bhullar really mentally ill or is he faking it?

Of course the abovementioned laws could lead to any individual claiming mental incompetence so that he/she can escape or delay capital punishment. However, Bhullar’s doctors claim that he has been put through a series of tests periodically to ascertain his mental status.  ‘To the best of our ability, we have made all possible efforts to rule out the possibility of him feigning mental illness.’

Bhullar has attempted suicide twice in the hospital bathroom and has attempted to do so before in Tihar jail. He was also being treated with anti-depressant drugs and was undergoing regular counselling, but he has only shown marginal improvement which makes it unlikely that he has been feigning his mental illness.

 ‘His cognitive abilities have improved and he is able to establish rapport fairly well. So, we can say there is a minimal or marginal improvement in the symptoms of depression, but it is only to the tune of 20-30 per cent,’ a senior doctor said.  Some of his doctors also claimed that his understanding and meaning of the rejection of his mercy petition is at best ‘shadowy’ and since 2011 he has been disinterested about his fate. At most times he is confined to his hospital bed and occasionally wakes up screaming at night saying he had dreamt of being hanged.

By all accounts, it would seem that Bhullar is indeed suffering from mental illness and is in what the law calls Non compos mentis – Latin for not of sound mind.  Human rights activists claim that regardless of the nature of the crime committed it would be unlawful to execute someone who isn’t mentally fit to defend themselves. This judgement could actually set off a vicious circle because under law he won’t be executed till he’s mentally competent and Dr Desai believes that full recovery is out of the question now, ‘We cannot hope he will fully recover now because there is no hope for him with the sentence.’

Who is Devinderpal Singh Bhullar?

Bhullar was a Khalistan Liberation Force terrorist who triggered a bomb blast at youth Congress office in Delhi in September 1993 which killed nine people and injured 25 others. The main target, Maninderjit Singh Bitta – an outspoken opponent of the Khalistan movement was injured in the attack. The Khalistan movement is a secessionist movement that wanted a separate nation called Khalistan for the Punjabi speaking populace. 

‘Bhullar is undergoing treatment by a panel of five to six doctors,’ Rajesh Kumar, one of the doctors treating Bhullar at the IHBAS, said. ‘It is not easy to say how much time is required for him to be mentally fit. We usually share his clinical condition with the court every fortnight,’ he said.

Tihar Central Jail spokesman Sunil Gupta told IANS: ‘As per Indian law, a convict cannot be hanged till he is declared mentally and physically fit.’ ‘When we get Bhullar’s fitness certificate from the asylum, he will be lodged back in Tihar Jail and hanged as per procedure,’ he said.

Bhullar was given capital punishment for the 1993 blast at the Youth Congress office in Delhi, which left nine dead. The attack targeted then Youth Congress leader M.S. Bitta, an outspoken critic of the Khalistan movement. Bhullar had filed a mercy petition Jan 14, 2003, which was rejected by the president May 25, 2011. He approached the Supreme Court in 2011, which Friday again rejected his plea.

Source: IANS

 The Supreme Court  on Friday rejected the mercy plea of Khalistani terrorist Bhullar, convicted and sentenced to death in 2003 for carrying out a bomb blast outside the Indian Youth Congress office in Delhi in 1993, leaving nine people dead.  Bhullar had sought commutation of his death penalty to life sentence on the ground that there was inordinate delay by the president in deciding on his mercy plea. He had approached the Supreme Court in 2011.

Source: IANS

The results of this new study have now been published in the international journal Biological Psychiatry. ”The effects, as well as the speed of the response has so far not been achieved with any other method,” says Prof. Dr. Thomas E. Schlapfer from the Bonn University Hospital Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy.

What is depression?

In everyday language depression refers to any downturn in mood, which may be relatively transitory and perhaps due to something trivial. This is differentiated from clinical depression which is marked by symptoms that last two weeks or more and are so severe that they interfere with daily living.

Source: IANS

The service will commence at 10 places in the state, using Skype, a popular video conferencing platform. The platform would also be used by the CRPF to treat its personnel suffering from psychiatric disorders like depression and stress.

The Director AIIMS, Nitin M Nagarker, said the aim of the service was to make expert advice available to people in the far-flung areas of the state. He also said that a panel of three doctors would be available twice a week over Skype. Patients and paramedics at various CRPF camps would be connected for a consultation. The Director assured the media, that the internet connection being used would be a high speed one, therefore eliminating any cause for worry over technical glitches. The Director also stated that the hospital would also make psychiatrist available as well, to help the CRPF personnel deal with conditions such as depression and suicidal tendencies. However the CRPF director general, Pranay Sahay, said the rate of suicides is not as high as it is made out to be. He said that there are 40 to 45 cases of suicide every year, which is not high by any standards.

This new initiative is a boon for people settled in remote villages, where proper medical treatment is a dream.  The service would initially be launched from Kondagaon, Jagadalpur and Narayanpur.