Lifestyle Choices

Many drugs have a depressant effect on the mind and body. Others have a stimulant effect, lack of which makes you feel depressed when you stop taking the drug.

Alcohol

Although alcohol relaxes the muscles, reduces anxiety and often removes social inhibitions, it can be a stimulant or a depressant—it tends to accentuate an existing mood. Sad people often become morose, especially when drinking alone. Whatever your mood at the time of drinking, afterwards, during the hangover, you may have a headache, feel lethargic and in low spirits.

Both alcoholism and depression are often mechanisms for avoiding feelings. Some genetic studies suggest that depression and alcoholism tend to go together in families, but that more men become alcoholic while more women become depressed. Depressives and alcoholics are the most likely to attempt or commit suicide. People who can cope while drinking regularly may get depressed when they stop drinking. (more…)

The brain consists of about ten thousand million neurones, ornerve cells, each cell having the capacity to conduct a tinyelectric charge to others, via seven or eight thousand interconnections. The tail of each cell spreads into thousands offibres, each ending with a swelling called a terminal button.The electric charge passes from the head of the cell to the tail,and ends in the thousands of terminal buttons. Between theterminal buttons of one cell and the head of the next cell aremicroscopic gaps called synapses. The electric current can not jump the synapse, but instead causes a change in the chemicals within the synapse, this change then causing a current to start in the head of the next cell. These chemicals are called neurotransmitters because they effectively transmit electrical charge from one neurone to the next. A few neurotransmitters have been isolated. They are divided into two groups, called the monoamines and the catecholamines. (more…)

Known as MAOIs, these drugs are also anti-depressants, but are used less frequently than tricyclics because they are generally less effective, have potentially worse side-effects and are more dangerous.

A comparison of 13 studies showed MAOIs to be more effective than placebo in eight. They are reckoned to come somewhere between placebo and tricyclic anti-depressants in terms of effectiveness, though they may be more effective in particular kinds of depression. (more…)

Drug interactions

Tricyclic anti-depressants potentiate the effects of the following drugs, which should therefore be taken with care:

Alcohol

l Barbiturates

• Other anti-depressants. Tricyclics must not be used within 14 days of using a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI)
• Local anaesthetics
• Some drugs used for high blood pressure, e.g. bethanidine
• Some drugs that dilate the bronchi of the lungs
• Drugs that dilate the pupils
• Drugs used for Parkinson’s disease
• Some drugs used to control vomiting.

If you are taking any of these drugs as well as tricyclics, ask your doctor if any dose adjustments are necessary. (more…)

These drugs can be useful in dark grey, black or white depression. Sixty-one out of 93 different studies have shown them to be more effective than placebo (tablets with no effective drug) in double blind trials (the patients and the doctors not knowing who was taking anti-depressants and who placebos). This is a significant finding, since placebo drugs are themselves fairly effective in reducing almost any kind of symptom. The drug is called “tricyclic” because the chemical structure contains three “circles”. More recently drugs of the same group but with four “circles” have been synthesized, called “tetracyclics”. (more…)

Seeking and Complying with Medical Advice

Some people purposely avoid seeking the advice of a physician because they fear that something may be wrong. This occurs in spite of the evidence that delay in treatment greatly increases the risk of death for many diseases that can be cured or controlled. In addition to medical readiness exams for those beginning exercise (see Concept 4), regular preventive medical exams are important. After age forty, a yearly preventive exam is recommended for all people. Young adults probably need a regular medical examination less often, but a regular examination is important for all people to help in the early diagnosis of problems. Regular self- examination for breast (females) and testicular (males) cancer are recommended, as are periodic mammograms and PAP tests for females (especially after age forty), and a prostate test for males. Other important behaviors that should be considered are listed as follows:

• Be familiar with the symptoms of the most common medical problems in our culture.
• If symptoms are present, seek medical help. Many deaths could be prevented if the early warning signs of medical problems were heeded.

(more…)

It’s a fact: healthy living means healthy-looking skin. Not surprisingly, habits that are bad for the rest of your body can also be bad for your looks. Drugs, smoking, too little sleep, and too much stress can cause breakouts, premature aging, and dull, lifeless skin.

Smoking and Your Skin

Most people know that smoking is bad for your lungs and heart. But did you know that the nicotine in cigarettes can make your skin look dull? Nicotine causes the blood vessels in the face to constrict (get smaller), limiting the amount of oxygen that reaches the skin. The reduced blood circulation from smoking can lead to puffiness under the eyes and early wrinkling.

Smoking can also rob your body of vitamins C and B, both important for your skin. The best way to avoid the bad effects of smoking on your skin is either to quit smoking or never start. (more…)