Antidepressant drugs may be doing more harm than good, with their use linked to higher risks of developmental problems in infants and stroke in the elderly, according to new research from McMaster University.

“We need to be much more cautious about the widespread use of these drugs,” Paul Andrews, an evolutionary biologist at the Hamilton university said in a release. “It is important because millions of people are prescribed antidepressants each year, and the conventional wisdom about these drugs is that they’re safe and effective.”  That may indeed be the conventional wisdom, but previous studies have sounded the alarm over antidepressants and particular populations.

In 2006, a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that taking antidepressants during pregnancy might be associated with persistent pulmonary hypertension in newborns, which can be fatal. The study prompted Health Canada to issue an advisory, which noted that earlier research had found that use of antidepressants was associated with an increase in the risk of major birth defects.

In the latest research, published Tuesday in the journal Frontiers in Psychology, Prof. Andrews and colleagues examined previous patient studies to determine the overall effects of antidepressants on the body. Their conclusion? The risk may outweigh the benefits.

Most antidepressants work by manipulating levels of serotonin, a naturally produced chemical that regulates mood. But that’s not all serotonin does. It also plays a role in reproduction, forming blood clots at wound sites and digestion.

“Serotonin is an ancient chemical. It’s intimately regulating many different processes, and when you interfere with these things you can expect, from an evolutionary perspective, that it’s going to cause some hard,” Prof. Andrews said.

The analysis of earlier studies linked antidepressant use to higher risks of not only developmental problems in infants but also problems with sexual stimulation, function and sperm; digestive problems such as constipation, diarrhea, indigestion and bloating; and abnormal bleeding and stroke in the elderly.

As well, a handful of studies showed that elderly people who take antidepressants have higher death rates than non-users, even when accounting for other variables. Given these findings, it is time for a serious, widespread discussion about the total effects of antidepressants, not just their benefits, according to Prof. Andrews.

“The thing that’s been missing in the debates about antidepressants is an overall assessment of all these negative effects relative to their potential beneficial effects. Most of this evidence has been out there for years and nobody has been looking at this basic issue,” he said.

The field of non-drug therapies is a very exciting and rapidly expanding area in part due to the vast quantity of research studies being conducted on these treatments options. There are several kinds of non-drug therapies encompassing psychotherapies or talk therapies as well as various physical treatments including electric convulsive therapy, transcranial magnetic stimulation and the two therapies we are currently concentrating on – bright light therapy and negative ion therapy.

We know that medication is a very effective treatment for severe depression. In cases of mild and moderate depression there is a variety of options that range from medications to non-drug treatments. Research studies have shown that bright light therapy is an effective first-line treatment for seasonal depression, particularly winter depression, of any severity.

More than 50 to 60 per cent of patients with recurrent winter depression respond to bright light treatment, which uses a light box that mimics natural outdoor light without harmful UV rays. Unlike medication, bright light therapy often works in seven to 10 days and has a more tolerable profile, with fewer side effects. Therefore, it tends to be used more than medication for the treatment of seasonal depression. The timing of the bright light therapy is critical; light should be administered daily, in the morning with duration of 15 to 30 minutes.

In the 1990s, negative ions were evaluated for their stimulating qualities of the nervous system and their effects on mood. The theory of negative ion therapy arose based on the knowledge that during the winter months there are less negative ions in the atmosphere and perhaps bombarding the individual’s environment with negative ions would have a therapeutic effect on their mood.

Negative ions generally have a molecule of oxygen and an extra electron, whereas positive ions are molecules that have lost an electron. Many scientists were skeptical of this form of treatment but to their surprise negative ions have been shown to have a positive effect in winter depression. But since this is a relatively new discovery we are still studying how highly ionized environments lead to these antidepressant properties.

The antidepressant effects of bright light therapy in winter depression have been more widely studied. But we do not yet know whether bright light therapy works for all types of depression, not just winter depression. There is some very preliminary evidence that suggests light therapy can be used to treat people with all types of clinical depression. What is most intriguing is that light therapy may work very quickly, perhaps even quicker than antidepressant medication.

In terms of negative ion therapy, again the focus has been on seasonal depression, and we are exploring the idea that this treatment modality may be effective in all kinds of depression. It has yet to be tested on other types of depression. Similar to light therapy, ion therapy is a very appealing treatment because it is very safe, easy to use and well tolerated with limited side effects.

Although medications work in both seasonal and other types of depression, they are effective in only about 60 per cent of cases. We are now hypothesizing that if we can provide a combination of therapies (such as light therapy or ion therapy plus medication) this would lead to a greater improvement in treating depression. This combination of treatments may lead to improvement in a larger proportion of people, and may shorten response time. The current study is taking place in multiple centres across Canada over the next three years and if we do demonstrate that combining treatments is better than any single treatment alone then this could change the way we understand and treat depression not just in Canada but worldwide.

This study is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.  Dr. Anthony Levitt is psychiatrist-in-chief and Dr. Amy Cheung is adolescent psychiatrist at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health/new-health/conditions/addiction/depression/can-depression-be-treated-without-drugs/article1771753/

There are freakishly happy couples who never fight – and those who argue about everything from grocery bills to the colour of their dish towels.  And even if they make it to their 20th wedding anniversary, they’re unlikely to change, new research suggests.  According to a study published in the Journal of Family Issues, conflict levels don’t vary much over the course of marriage.  That’s bad news for scrappy couples who think things will get better as their relationship skills improve.

“The most important takeaway is there is a lot of stability in conflict,” Claire Kamp Dush, lead author of the study and an assistant professor of human development and family science at Ohio State University, told Time.

“If you’re finding it difficult to live with the level of conflict in your relationship before you get married, you probably shouldn't get married.”

The findings echo research by John Gottman, the Seattle-based psychologist famous for his 94-per-cent accuracy rate in determining whether newlyweds will divorce within six years. The predictions are based on the level of criticism, contempt, defensiveness and stonewalling (emotional withdrawal) in their marriages.

Ms. Kamp Dush’s study of marital conflict used data from a telephone survey that interviewed the same people up to five times between 1980 to 2000.  Researchers divided the couples by conflict level: low (16 per cent), moderate (60 per cent) and high (22 per cent).

Using marriage types developed by psychologists, researchers identified “validator marriages” – those in which spouses shared decision-making and had moderate levels of conflict – as the healthiest, Science Daily reports.

But don’t think you can create a “validator” relationship if you don’t already have one. “Before you get married,” Ms. Kamp Dush said, “you need to think about the level of conflict you can tolerate.”  Seeing a therapist will help the relationship; but it may never fix that environment.

Information garnered from :
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/the-hot-button/arguing-a-lot-with-your-partner-why-its-unlikely-to-stop/article2212240/

It's not enough to have a great product anymore. Consumers want to buy into company culture.

From the beverage they drink to the car they drive, consumers want more than just a product. They want an experience. Consumers today are too well informed to be sold a story alone though. It has to be genuine and it has to come from the innermost depths of the organization. It comes from company culture.

A company's core values are what define its culture. Your culture is the outward facing perception given by your values. What does the company feel like for employees? For customers? For the community?

Your culture should be so strong that it comes out in everything you do. People don't want to buy just a product, they want to buy you. Large companies like Google and Zappos have done a fantastic job of exuding a culture that appeals to most consumers today-they're about innovation and customer service.

At OtterBox, our culture is so important we have cultural interviews as a part of the hiring process. The point is to make sure  the candidate is not only a good fit for the skills, but that they will also be a seamless addition to the OtterBox family. It takes a long time to fill a position, but the people we hire tend to stick. Our culture is so strong that if someone isn't a fit, they won't stay long.

I'm going to brag for a moment in order to give a great example of culture at OtterBox. As I mentioned in my last column, in addition to giving back to our local community through the OtterCares Foundation we also empower our employees to give back. It's a part of our culture that to whom much is given, much is expected.

This year, coinciding with National Volunteer Month in April, we held the second "OtterCares Get it, Grow it, Give it Challenge." Each employee was given a $200 grant voucher to award to a non-profit of their choice. They were challenged to grow that donation over a 24-day period. OtterBox employees answered the call by hosting golf tournaments, concerts, car washes, quilt raffles and many barbeques and bake sales. Our employees rose to the occasion with a total of $266,249.76 donated to 156 charities globally.

This will make a big impact for the non-profit recipients and, in turn, our local community. Just as important, though, is the impact it makes on our employees. They feel inspired, uplifted and refreshed by this activity; those feelings come out in the work they do, which touches our customers and business partners. They are oozing with OtterBox culture and that is the OtterBox story.

Culture is key to giving customers more than a product, business partners more than a client and community more than an employer. You want to have a complete sensory package, according to E-Myth author Michael Gerber. When a customer touches your product, they should feel something that isn't necessarily tactile. This isn't something you can buy. No number of Super Bowl ads or Times Square billboard placements can convey company culture.

AGENT OF CHANGE | Curt Richardson Founder and CEO of OtterBox Apr 20, 2012

... next blog will be about People and Caring

Info:
http://www.inc.com/curt-richardson/how-to-cultivate-a-culture-of-caring.html

People turn to superstitions, rituals and conspiracy theories as a way to deal with complex or chaotic circumstances, according to the study, published in the journal Science.

They said their findings help explain why baseball players perform elaborate rituals and stock analysts sometimes see ominous trends in perfectly innocuous data. The need for structure or understanding leads people to trick themselves into seeing and making connections that do not exist, said Jennifer Whitson of the University of Texas at Austin.

"When we lack control, we are going to see and seek out patterns, sometimes even false patterns, to regain our sense of control," said Prof. Whitson, whose research appears in the journal Science.
She and colleague Adam Galinsky, of Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., conducted a series of experiments in which they manipulated control in different ways - for instance by asking people to answer a series of questions, then randomly telling half of them they were making mistakes.  Then the volunteers had to find patterns. In one task, they were asked to find faint images in grainy patterns of dots. Half of the pictures had images and the others were random dots.  While people in both groups correctly spotted the images, the group that felt they lacked control from a previous part of the experiment also "saw" images in 43 per cent of pictures that were not there.

In another experiment, the team asked people to pick stocks based on data that were fairly neutral.  Prof. Whitson said people in the study who felt they lacked control were more likely to form strong conclusions about a stock even though there was no real pattern in the data.  Given the precarious position Wall Street is in as it awaits a bailout package from the U.S. government, Prof. Galinsky said, traders may start avoiding cracks in the sidewalk or other such rituals.

"They may grasp at any type of pattern that will make them feel better," he said.  People often see patterns where none exist in an attempt to give structure and security to unpredictable situations, a new study on loss of control suggests.

For instance, it found the study's participants saw imaginary trends in the stock market in their attempt to control the situation, said University of Texas professor Jennifer Whitson, who conducted the study with Adam Galinsky, a professor at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill.  "What we found is that when people feel like there is a lack of control — that they are in a more volatile situation — they are more likely to form strong conclusions, even though there is no pattern between the data they see and the companies they evaluate," Whitson said.  Although the participants were given the same ratio of positive to negative information about the different companies, those who lacked control chose to invest in companies that did not warrant it, she said.

People often trick themselves into seeing and believing connections that simply don't exist to create order, she said.  "The less control people have over their lives, the most likely they are to try to regain control through mental gymnastics," Galinsky said.

Feelings of control are so important to people that a lack of control is inherently threatening, he said.  Although some misperceptions can be bad or lead a person astray, they're extremely common and most likely satisfy a deep and enduring psychological need, he said.  The psychological need is for control and the ability to minimize uncertainty.


Information :
http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2008/10/03/control-study.html
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/superstition-linked-to-lack-of-control/article57904/

It's the beginning of the week, and Jessica is already feeling run-down and longing for the weekend. For the past few months she's been feeling out of sorts at work and at home and she's not quite sure why. She's always tired, she feels disengaged and unmotivated most days, and she's constantly checking how long it is until she can go home.

Jessica is also snapping at her colleagues (something she never used to do), and she feels that there's never enough time to get everything done. This leaves her feeling perpetually behind and demoralized.  Jessica is showing classic signs of burnout. In this entry, we'll look at what burnout is, what its consequences are, and how you can avoid burnout in your career.

What is Burnout?   Two important definitions of burnout are:

• "A state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion caused by long term involvement in emotionally demanding situations." – Ayala Pines and Elliot Aronson.
• "A state of fatigue or frustration brought about by devotion to a cause, way of life, or relationship that failed to produce the expected reward." – Herbert J. Freudenberger.

Between them, these definitions embrace the essence of burnout, with the first stressing the part that exhaustion plays in it, and the second focusing on the sense of disillusionment that is at its core.  Anyone can become exhausted. What is so poignant about burnout is that it mainly strikes people who are highly committed to their work: You can only "burn out" if you have been "alight" in the first place.  While exhaustion can be overcome with rest, a core part of burnout is a deep sense of disillusionment, and it is not experienced by people who can take a more cynical view of their work.

Specific symptoms of burnout include:

• Having a negative and critical attitude at work.
• Dreading going into work, and wanting to leave once you're there.
• Having low energy, and little interest at work.
• Having trouble sleeping.
• Being absent from work a lot.
• Having feelings of emptiness.
• Experiencing physical complaints such as headaches, illness, or backache.
• Being irritated easily by team members or clients.
• Having thoughts that your work doesn't have meaning or make a difference.
• Pulling away emotionally from your colleagues or clients.
• Feeling that your work and contribution goes unrecognized.
• Blaming others for your mistakes.
• Thinking of quitting work, or changing roles.

Stress and Burnout ... so, what's the difference between stress and burnout? Although the two share some characteristics, there are distinct differences.

Stress is often relatively short-term, and it is often caused by a feeling that work is out of control. You might experience stress several days in a row, especially when you're working on a large project or under a tight deadline.

However, once the situation changes, stress often lessens or disappears entirely. (Stress can affect you over the longer-term, however, if you're consistently experiencing these things.)

Burnout often takes place over a longer period. You might experience it if you believe your work is meaningless; when there's a disconnect between what you're currently doing and what you truly want to be doing; or when things change for the worse – for example, when you lose a supportive boss, or when your workload increases beyond a sustainable point.

You go through "the motions" instead of being truly engaged. Over time, this leads to cynicism, exhaustion, and, sometimes, poor performance.

Causes of Burnout  : People experience burnout for a variety of reasons.

Lack of autonomy is a common cause, so you might experience burnout if you don't have much control over your work, or if you feel that you never have enough time to finish tasks and projects.  Another common cause is when your values don't align with the actions, behaviors, or values of your organization, or of your role.

Other causes include:

• Having unclear goals or job expectations.
• Working in a dysfunctional team or organization.
• Experiencing an excessive workload.
• Having little or no support from your boss or organization.
• Lacking recognition for your work.
• Having monotonous or low-stimulation work.

If you suspect you might be experiencing burnout, take our Burnout Self-Test.
http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTCS_08.htm

Consequences of Burnout : Clearly, the consequences of burnout can be severe. Your productivity can drop dramatically; and this not only impacts your career, but it negatively impacts your team and organization as well. Your creativity will also be affected, so you're less likely to spot opportunities (and you don't have the interest or desire to act on them), and you may find excuses to miss work or take days off sick.  Career burnout can also spill over into your personal life, negatively impacting your well-being and your relationships with friends and family.

Note:
Burnout can cause a variety of health problems including sleeplessness, physical ailments and sicknesses, depression, and even substance abuse. If you're concerned for your health, speak with an appropriate health professional.

How to Avoid Burnout When feelings of burnout start to occur, many people focus on short-term solutions such as taking a vacation. While this can certainly help, the relief is often only temporary. You also need to focus on strategies that will have a deeper impact, and create lasting change.

Let's look at specific strategies that you can use to avoid burnout:

1. Work with Purpose : Do you feel that your career has a deeper purpose, other than just earning a paycheck? Most of the time, rediscovering your purpose can go a long way towards helping you avoid burnout and keeping stress at bay.

Look at the deeper impact of what you do every day; how does your work make life better for other people? How could you add more meaning to what you do every day?

These are important questions, so spend time thinking deeply on them. You could also use the PERMA Model to bring more meaning and happiness to your life.

If you think that you're in the wrong role or career, develop a career strategy to help you plan for a career that's better for you. Or, use job crafting to shape your role, so that it fits you better.

2. Perform a Job Analysis  : When you experience work overload day in and day out, you can start to feel as if you're on a treadmill and that you'll never catch up. This is demoralizing, stressful, and often leads to burnout.

Perform a job analysis so you can clarify what's expected of you, and what isn't. This tool will help you identify what's truly important in your role, so that you can cut out or delegate tasks that aren't as essential.

If you feel that your boss is assigning more work than you can handle, then schedule a private meeting to discuss the issue. Let him or her know that your excessive workload is leading to burnout. Come prepared with some options that could be considered for shifting certain tasks or projects to someone else.  You can also make life easier by learning how to manage conflicting priorities and deal with unreasonable demands.

3. "Give" to Others  : One quick and easy way to add meaning to your career is to give to others, or to help them in small ways.  When you do this, it makes you feel good. Even the smallest act of kindness can re-energize you and help you find meaning in your work.

4. Take Control  : You can avoid or overcome burnout by finding ways to create more autonomy in your role. Try talking with your boss to see if he or she is willing to let you have more control over your tasks, projects, or deadlines.

You'll also feel more in control of your work if you manage your time effectively. Learn prioritization techniques, and make use of To-Do Lists or an Action Program to take control of your day. Then tie these in with daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly personal goals.

5. Exercise Regularly : Exercise can help alleviate stress and create a sense of well-being. You will also experience increased energy and productivity when you exercise regularly. What's more, regular exercise will help you get a good night's sleep.

Get more exercise by getting up earlier, or even by exercising at lunchtime. You might also be more motivated to exercise by teaming up with colleagues, or by setting up an office fitness challenge.

6. Learn to Manage Stress : When not managed well, short-term stress can contribute to burnout. This is why you should learn how to manage stress effectively.

There are several strategies that you can use to cope with stress. For instance, you could keep a stress diary to document what routinely causes you stress. Practicing deep breathing, meditation, and other relaxation techniques can help you calm down when you're experiencing stress.  You can also manage the way you think – this can contribute to stress. By monitoring your thoughts and practicing positive thinking, you can change unhelpful reactions and manage your emotions through a stressful situation.

Key Points
Burnout is a mixture of professional exhaustion, and disillusionment with other people, the organization, or the career, over the long term.  Symptoms of burnout include low energy, a loss of interest in your work, and irritability with colleagues or team members. As such, it can cause low productivity, high absenteeism, low creativity, and even health problems.

To avoid burnout, follow these tips:

1. Work with purpose.
2. Perform a job analysis, and eliminate or delegate unnecessary work.
3. Give to others.
4. Take control, and actively manage your time.
5. Get more exercise.
6. Learn how to manage stress.

Remember, if, at any time, stress and burnout are causing you to worry about your health, seek the advice of an appropriate health professional, a psychiatrist, a doctor, or a therapist.  
Information extracted from :
http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/avoiding-burnout.htm#np