Readers of this blog will know that we have an interest in the topic of depression and mental well-being.  Among other things, Dawn and I run training sessions for the local anti-depression group Aware Defeat Depression, and I run workshops on positive psychology (NOT positive thinking).

So I was fascinated by new research that suggests a link between ‘internet addiction’ and depression.  Debate rages around two points.  (1) Is the internet a cause of depression, or do they go to it as an effect of depression?  (2) Is the internet a sole cause, or does it accompany an excess of other activities, such as TV watching and shopping.

The mention of TV got me thinking.  It’s true of course that when you’re on the internet, you are watching the same sort of screen as when you’re watch TV.  The mind is performing the same kind of activities, especially if you’re using the internet to watch video clips or play games.  So is there a link between TV addiction and depression?

It took me about 5 seconds with Google to find an answer in the affirmative.  Research last year by the University of Pittsburgh and Harvard Medical School found that ‘the amount of time teenagers watch television increases their risk of becoming depressed as an adult’.  Another study by the university of Maryland claims that ‘happy people read and socialize while unhappy people watch TV‘.  It was Csikszentmihalyi who first pointed out to me that the average mood while watching television is mild depression and apathy!

An interesting question is, What is the opposite of depression?  Health and happiness, yes, but what do these look like?  One possible answer is engagement (which is in part what Csikszentmihalyi means by flow).  Engagement with what?  With real people, with the natural environment, with productive achievement, with bodily exertion, with all our senses, with goal-directed effort, with future plans and prospects.  In a word, with life!

No doubt the internet can become an aid for life or a tool in life.  The problem I believe rises when it become a substitute for life.  Sometimes the internet deliberately offers us a second version of reality (as with Second Life).  At other times we can slip into using it in this way, as it eats up more of our time and priorities until we cannot spend a day without it.

Possible acid test – do you take your laptop and dongle with you on your holidays?  If so, please return to the start of the blog and read again…

Image credit: sskennel.

Politicians are taking notice of the impact on depression in the workplace and society.  And for once, their thinking seems smart to me.  Which is?  To start to tackle mental health issues at school age so there is a better chance of preventing depression from striking in the first place.

Teach people self-esteem and resilience while young and the chances of them suffering from depression in later life are measurably reduced.

As some of you know, Dawn and I are Sessional Trainers for Aware Defeat Depression, the only educational charity in Northern Ireland to deal exclusively with depression.  Going into schools to teach kids about mental health is exactly what we do.  It feels great to be part of this worthwhile cause.

I’ve chalked up a few blogs on preventing depression and improving mental health over the years.  I’ve mentioned innovative mental illness treatments like the use of humour and music as well as running, boxing, football and gardening.  Dawn has also designed and delivered training on depression for a specifically older audience.  I’ve also blogged on positive psychology and other scientific trends in with serious implications for the field of mental wellness.

IMHO politics is at its best when it follows and facilitates what’s going on at the grass roots level.  We the citizens are our country’s leaders and paymasters; politicians are public servants, no more.  Still, credit where credit’s due, I suppose.  A little good news about smart politics is useful to keep the blues – and reds – away.

I begin a 1-year training contract on 4th January with Love For Life, an educational project that works with teachers and pupils in their school setting.  The aim is to support and challenge young people in their personal development by employing a model of ‘information giving, attitude and value formation and skill development’.

As Programme Developer, its my job to deliver multimedia presentations in schools and other youth settings, as well as develop materials and conduct research for the project.

The focus of the Love For Life project is relationships and sexual health in a broad sense.  It covers issues like confidence and self-esteem,  emotional management, decision-making and those risk-taking behaviours that some young people wander into without full knowledge of the choices available and the likely consequences.  In many ways, this project meshes nicely with the work I do with Aware Defeat Depression, delivering the Mood Matters programmes throughout schools in Northern Ireland.

Those who read this blog will know of my passion for promoting personal development at school level, particulary among boys.  I feel privileged and excited to be part of this project.  But the question is – how will the kids take it?  Time will tell.  But one thing I do know for certain.  How I wish I could have had teaching like this when I was a young adult!

Last night, as a Sessional Trainer for Aware Defeat Depression, I delivered a Depression Awareness Training session to Evergreen Pensioners’ Club.  Preparing for the evening over the last few days, I was stunned (and “depressed”) at the statistics for this age-group, which differ significantly to that of the normal groups we deliver to, teenagers:

• 10-15% of people over 65 suffer from depression
• 2 out of 5 people over the age of 85 suffer from depression
• 40% of people in care homes suffer from depression

And, even more stunned by one of the most common myths surrounding depression:

• That it’s just something you have to put up with as you get older.

In contrast, Sessional Trainers at Aware have been trained to deliver the facts and the good news:

Depression is Common

Depression is Devastating

Depression is Treatable

“Aware Defeat Depression has been working since 1996 to support all those in Northern Ireland affected by depression or bipolar disorder (manic depression). We also welcome and support carers.”

My audience of last evening was one of the most appreciative I have ever had the privilege to deliver to.  The group was full of life experience, good and bad.  They were incredibly clued in about the connections between mental health and physical health.  I was impressed with their knowledge of human biology and the connection between physical exercise, eating healthily and mood.  (See Matthew Arrell’s take on the nutrition side of this.)  All showed an appreciation of the importance of maintaining an active social life during retirement.  In fact, some of those in attendance could very well have delivered a competent seminar without me.  The sheer honesty of their willingness to share the experiences of their lives, their own advice and recommendations to the group, was truly awesome to behold.  And, there was a complete lack of any patronising attitude toward those of advanced years that we sometimes fall into in NI.

I’m inspired now, to start preparing next week for my next QUB Open Learning event, Retirement: One Big Loose End.  To read more, or book your place, click the link.

Also, I’d love to hear from you, about your strategies for dealing with the changes retirement brings.  How to you plan your week?  What activities do you take part in, to keep both mind and body active and healthy?  Are you engaged in working with a community or youth group?  Feel free to comment on this blog, or contact me by email or phone.

…is that it can be treated with humour.

Regular readers of this blog will know my interest in this topic.  In March this year I delivered a 1-day workshop on the power of humour as a personal development tool.  Read about the hilarious antics that ensued in Borat Comes to Queen’s University, Funny Peculiar or Funny Ha Ha?, and All Hail the Comedians!.

Now the scientific egg-heads have finally caught up with me.  Laughter is indeed the best medicine.  A comedian called John Ryan was recruited by Surry NHS Primary Care Trust to create a stand-up show about mental health.  This wasn’t a stand alone cure of course; it was part of a larger production they were developing about suicide, depression and anxiety.  This comes after Canadian comics used humour to break down the prejudices against those with mental ill health.

In case you think this is some sort of wacky, ‘more money than sense’ ploy by health providers to paste over the cracks, I would point out that there is good science behind it.

Humour gets people talking, and talking is possibly the single greatest treatment for depression in particular.

This is doubly the case where men are concerned.  What man willingly signs up for a course of  ‘talk therapy’ for depression or CBT (even though it is very effective)?  Very few.  But how many would enroll to hear a bit of live stand-up?  Yes please!

Now, forget about all that, here’s my favourite depression joke!

Welcome to the Psychiatric Hotline.
If you are obsessive-compulsive, please press 1 repeatedly.
If you are co-dependent, please ask someone to press 2.
If you have multiple personalities, please press 3, 4, 5, and 6.
If you are paranoid-delusional, we know who you are and what you want. Just stay on the line so we can trace the call.
If you are schizophrenic, listen carefully and a little voice will tell you which number to press.
If you are depressed, it doesn’t matter which number you press. No one will answer.
If you are delusional and occasionally hallucinate, please be aware that the thing you are holding on the side of your head is alive and about to bite off your ear.

[PS Don't take any of this to mean that we take depression and mental health lightly.  Dawn and I are both Sessional Trainers for Aware Defeat Depression, and spend some of our working life deliving Mood Matters and Depression Awareness Training.]

Image credit: Texas to Mexico.