Vegetarian or Vegan Diet: Stimulating or at Risk to Mental Health?

Vegetarians and vegans are more preoccupied with their health and conscious of their food habits than omnivores and often have pronounced views on killing animals for food. They are generally aware of a healthy lifestyle. Their mental attitudes, strengths and vulnerabilities may differ from meat eaters. Nowadays, health considerations would seem to play a role in the decision to become vegetarian/vegan. This chapter presents an overview of the most recent scientific literature with some emphasis on aspects of the relation between psychiatric disorders and personality characteristics in subjects with a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle compared to subjects who do not follow this lifestyle

Tijd van slapen, verstoring van de biologische klok door nacht- en wisseldiensten

Een 43-jarige vrouw woont samen met haar 15-jarige zoon en 13-jarige dochter; ze is 4 jaar geleden gescheiden. Ze werkt als verpleegkundige in een verpleeghuis. Het gezin heeft het financieel niet breed en daarom besloot de moeder 2 jaar geleden als nachtverpleegkundige te gaan werken nadat ze jarenlang overdag had gewerkt. Haar stemming was met name rond en na de scheiding niet optimaal en daarvoor kreeg ze medicatie voorgeschreven. Toch bemerkt ze dat ze toenemend depressief wordt en steeds slechter gaat slapen. Verhoging van de medicatiedosis lijkt maar beperkt te helpen

Seasonal affective disorder, winter type:current insights and treatment options

Ybe Meesters,1 Marijke CM Gordijn,2,3 1University Center for Psychiatry, University Medical Center Groningen, 2Department of Chronobiology, GeLifes, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands; 3Chrono@Work B.V., Groningen, the Netherlands Abstract: Seasonal affective disorder (SAD), winter type, is a seasonal pattern of recurrent major depressive episodes most commonly occurring in autumn or winter and remitting in spring/summer. The syndrome has been well-known for more than three decades, with light treatment being the treatment of first choice. In this paper, an overview is presented of the present insights in SAD. Description of the syndrome, etiology, and treatment options are mentioned. Apart from light treatment, medication and psychotherapy are other treatment options. The predictable, repetitive nature of the syndrome makes it possible to discuss preventive treatment options. Furthermore, critical views on the concept of SAD as a distinct diagnosis are discussed. Keywords: seasonal affective disorder, review, light treatment, medication, psychotherapy, preventio

Seasonal patterns in mindfulness in people with seasonal affective disorder (SAD)

Background: Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) is a well-known, effective treatment in the prevention of relapse in Major Depression Disorder (MDD). However, a recent study in people with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) showed that MBCT given in spring was ineffective in preventing a next depressive episode. To test the hypothesis that people with SAD may experience sufficient levels of mindfulness in spring and therefore less benefit from MBCT, this study examines variations in levels of mindfulness over seasons. Methods: This longitudinal prospective study followed 77 people with SAD over a two-year period. Participants filled out a self-report questionnaire, Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) on a quarterly basis. Results: Levels of mindfulness differed throughout the seasons, with overall results suggesting lower levels of mindfulness in winter. Limitations: The results are limited by the small sample size and varying levels of mindfulness over the two years of the study period. Conclusion: Findings suggest a seasonal component in levels of mindfulness exists, implying that people with SAD are less mindful during the winter compared to other seasons. Future research is needed to examine to what extent the motivation of people with SAD to participate in MBCT and benefit from it is higher in the winter

Day treatment of patients with severe work-related complaints

A day treatment program was developed for patients suffering with severe work-related complaints who were unable to function at work because of this. The program consisted of a number of treatment modalities, including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, protocolized nonverbal therapies, and activation. The main objective of all these therapies was to analyze participants’ personal qualities and vulnerabilities when functioning at work and to teach them new coping strategies and social skills to reduce their vulnerability in stressful situations. The results of the program were assessed in terms of scores on a number of self-rating questionnaires and hours spent at work. In a follow-up assessment one year after the original program had finished, we found a significant reduction in complaints and an increase in the number of hours spent on the job. At the start of the program, patients worked 25.2% of their contracted hours; a year later, this had increased to 77.3%. Even though this natural field study has its limitations, the results of the day treatment program seem very promising

Sensitivity to change of the Beck Depression Inventory versus the Inventory of Depressive Symptoms

Background: In a previous study which made a comparison between disorder-specific and generic instruments to assess outcome of treatments for depression, the Beck Depression Inventory, Second Edition (BDI-II) seemed to be more sensitive to change than the Inventory of Depressive Symptoms- Self Rating (IDS-SR). Methods: A set with longitudinal data from Routine Outcome Monitoring (n=144) were analyzed with multilevel models with random intercepts. The sensitivity to change of two disorder-specific instruments, the BDI-II and the IDS-SR, were compared head to head. Results: The BDI-II was more sensitive to change when measuring treatment outcome compared to the IDS-SR. The BDI-II decreases significantly more over time than the IDS-SR: the average decrease per week for the IDS-SR is -.012 (95%CI -0.015, -0.009) and for the BDI-II it is -.017 (95%CI -0.021, -0.014). Limitations: Conclusions can only be preliminary due to a small sample size. Conclusions: Treatment outcomes measured with questionnaires may differ depending on the degree of sensitivity to change of the instruments

Chronotherapy Network Netherlands (CNN)

Information is provided about the Chronotherapy Network Netherlands (CNN)