Yoga's postures, controlled breathing and meditation may work together to help ease brains plagued by anxiety or depression, a new study shows.Brain scans of yoga practitioners showed a healthy boost in levels of the neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric (GABA) immediately after a one-hour yoga session. Low brain levels of GABA are associated with anxiety and depression, the researchers said.
Dr. Chris Streeter, assistant professor of psychiatry and neurology, believes yoga could prove a useful tool to help people battling depression and anxiety disorders. "We're not advocating that they chuck their medication, but I would advise that they could use it as an adjunct and see how they are doing," Streeter said.
Source: Yahoo News
Image: Wikipedia
Tags: Yoga | Depression | Anxiety Disorders
Comments
I have been working with Depression for 38 years.
There are two aspects about treating depression. How do we cure it? How do we prevent it?
They are not the same. No matter how we may cure depression this will not prevent depression.
Why is it so important to prevent depression?
Depression reoccurs. People who have the tendency to be depressed suffer from a permanent poor quality of life.
I no longer believe that Medications to be a panacea. They may cure depression. They do not increase quality of life.
But this begs a very serious question. When is someone depressed and not merely very sad? When do we cure? When do we prevent?
As a rule of thumb we can use functioning. If sadness is such that there is an objective limitation of functioning then we should address the problem as ’curing depression’.
If a person is sad but is not suffering a limitation in functioning then we should address the problem as ‘preventing depression’.
VNS, ECT, and Medications cure depression. They do not really prevent it.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, CBT, prevents it.
It really is as simple as that.
If you want a fuller insight into how CBT works, or how CBT can be offered online please refer to my free Online site http://www.myRay.com
If you wish to understand more about: Thoughts, feelings, emotions, moods, depression, what it means, what re your choices and how to choose please refer to my free online site http://www.MyDoctorExplains.com
Both sites, http://myRay.com and http://MyDoctorExplains.com are non commercial and free.
Use them as often and as long as you so wish.
With kindest regards.
Dr. Michael Benjamin,
Psychiatrist