Tuesday, February 19, 2019

Sad music and depression: does it help?

Why don't we just listen to happy music when we feel depressed then? Our study showed that even when people reported feeling more depressed after listening to sad music, they still tended to argue that the music had helped them. Other studies too have shown that some people persist in listening to music that is actually making them feel worse.
A lack of understanding about the effect of behaviour on mood is quite common in people with depression. In fact, people tend to argue that they are benefiting from ruminative behaviour in general, despite the strong evidence that it exacerbates depression.

Mental Health Linked To Music Listening Habits | Science 2.0

Teens Who Choose Music Over Books Are More Likely To Be Depressed - anxietycentre.com

Relaxing Music May Not Be a Useful Stress-Reduction Strategy – Sciworthy

As it turns out, listening to relaxing music before a stressful event actually increased cortisol levels! 


Study on Teenage Depression & Music Listening Habits -- Health Blog

the ones who were the most frequent readers were ten times less likely to be depressed as those who read the least.  That could be because reading expends more mental energy than listening to music or watching TV -- which might be indicative of a teen who is correspondingly more proactive, rather than passive, about the circumstances they confront in life.

Study on Teenage Depression & Music Listening Habits -- Health Blog

those who spent the most time listening were found to be eight times more likely to be depressed than those who didn't listen as often. 

Study: Are Music-Loving Teens More Likely to Be Depressed? | TIME.com

By contrast, researchers found that reading books had the opposite association: with each level increase in time spent reading, teens' risk of depression dropped 50%. "This is worth emphasizing because overall in the U.S., reading books is decreasing, while nearly all other forms of media use are increasing," Primack said.


Study: Are Music-Loving Teens More Likely to Be Depressed? | TIME.com


The study, led by Dr. Brian Primack, an assistant professor of medicine and pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, found that teens who reported listening to music more often — rather than using other types of media like TV and books — were at higher risk of having major depressive disorder (MDD), compared with teens who listened to music less frequently. With each level increase in music use, teens had an 80% higher risk of depression, the study found.

Monday, February 18, 2019

‘Pentagon Papers’: Even at its best the press didn’t stop war | TheHill

All Politicians Lie. Some Lie More Than Others.

Opinion | Trump’s Lies vs. Obama’s - The New York Times

The Whoppers of 2017 - FactCheck.org

Tracking all of President Trump’s false or misleading claims - Washington Post

The Trump file: Trump's 10 top falsehoods of 2018 | PolitiFact

Donald Trump: The Most Fact-Checked President - The Atlantic

The Top 10 Fake News Articles on Facebook in 2018 [Infographic] | Social Media Today

How Your Brain Tricks You Into Believing Fake News

But today two-thirds of Americans get news from social media, where posts from publishers get the same packaging as birthday greetings and rants. 

How Your Brain Tricks You Into Believing Fake News

Thursday, February 14, 2019

A systematic review into the incidence, severity and duration of antidepressant withdrawal effects: Are guidelines evidence-based? - ScienceDirect

Many examples of longer durations, beyond a year, are reported by two recent, real life samples of people experiencing difficulties with withdrawal (Davies, Pauli, & Montagu, 2018aStockmann et al., 2018).

A systematic review into the incidence, severity and duration of antidepressant withdrawal effects: Are guidelines evidence-based? - ScienceDirect

In this study the withdrawal symptoms of an additional 17 people only ended after the reintroduction of an antidepressant, meaning that only 26% (11/43) experienced spontaneous remission of their withdrawal symptoms within 1 week.

A systematic review into the incidence, severity and duration of antidepressant withdrawal effects: Are guidelines evidence-based? - ScienceDirect

Additionally, a recent content analysis of a population likely to have experienced withdrawal difficulties assessed the content of 137 online posts about antidepressant withdrawal in the real world. The mean duration of withdrawal symptoms was 90.5 weeks for the 97 SSRI users and 50.8 weeks for the 40 SNRI users (Stockmann, Odegbaro, Timimi, & Moncrieff, 2018).

A systematic review into the incidence, severity and duration of antidepressant withdrawal effects: Are guidelines evidence-based? - ScienceDirect

. A recent international survey found that of the 580 people who had experienced antidepressant withdrawal and who answered the question 'How long have you experienced withdrawal symptoms?' 86.7% responded at least 2 months, 58.6% at least one year, and 16.2% more than three years (Davies et al., 2018b).

A systematic review into the incidence, severity and duration of antidepressant withdrawal effects: Are guidelines evidence-based? - ScienceDirect

The RCPsych survey of antidepressant users found that for the 512 who experienced withdrawal the symptoms 'generally lasted for up to 6 weeks' and that 'A quarter of our group reported anxiety lasting more than 12 weeks' (how much longer than 12 weeks was not reported) 

A systematic review into the incidence, severity and duration of antidepressant withdrawal effects: Are guidelines evidence-based? - ScienceDirect

 However, 34% of the 430 people who had had a withdrawal reaction when stopping paroxetine had reactions that were so severe and/or long-lasting that they had to be treated with a reintroduction of the drug, so the actual duration of untreated withdrawal reactions was minimised.

Antidepressant discontinuation syndrome - Wikipedia

Approximately 20-50% of people who suddenly stop an antidepressant develop an antidepressant discontinuation syndrome.[2][3][4] The condition is generally not serious,[2] though about half of people with symptoms describe them as severe.[4] Some restart antidepressants due to the severity of the symptoms.[4]


Are You Taking SSRIs? What You Need To Know

One common side effect of SSRIs is treatment-induced sexual dysfunction. Sexual dysfunction is seen as a side effect in approximately 70 percent of patients taking paroxetine, and most other SSRIs produce similar rates.2 Other side effects include drowsiness, insomnia, and long-term weight gain. Rare but more severe risks include increased suicidal thoughts in children and young adults and serotonin syndrome, a life-threatening adverse reaction to the medication. Furthermore, patients are much more likely to disclose negative side effects on a questionnaire rather than tell their doctor about it, which is the traditional method of obtaining side effect data in clinical trials.3 Thus, published findings may underestimate the true level of adverse effects. In addition to side effects while taking antidepressants, there are also withdrawal effects following discontinuation of the medicationthat may trigger a relapse of symptoms.4 These withdrawal effects may help to explain why most people stay on antidepressants for two years or longer.5

Antidepressant-associated sexual dysfunction: impact, effects, and treatment

Monday, February 11, 2019

The Alarming Rise in Teen Mental Illness | Psychology Today

Although some may believe adolescent depression stems from heavy homework loads or economically-stressed families, these researchers found no significant evidence to support these beliefs. 

Saturday, February 9, 2019

The press asserts its freedom < The Colonial Period < History 1963 < American History From Revolution To Reconstruction and beyond

Cambridge, Massachusetts, early boasted a printing press, and in 1704, Boston's first successful newspaper was launched. Several others soon entered the field, not only in New England but in other regions. In New York, for instance, there occurred one of the most important events in the development of the American press. This was the case of Peter Zenger, whose New York Weekly Journal, begun in 1733, was the mouthpiece of opposition to the government. When, after two years of publication, the colonial governor could tolerate Zenger's satirical barbs no longer, he had him thrown into prison on a charge of libel. Zenger edited his paper from jail during the nine-month trial which. excited intense interest throughout the colonies. Andrew Hamilton, a great lawyer, defended him, arguing that the charges printed by Zenger were true and hence not libelous in the real sense of the term. The jury returned a verdict of not guilty, and Zenger went free. The consequences were farreaching, not only for colonial America, but for the America of the future. The decision was a landmark in the establishment of the principle of freedom of the press.
http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/outlines/history-1963/the-colonial-period/the-press-asserts-its-freedom.php

Wednesday, February 6, 2019

China is 'the world's biggest prison for journalists', says media watchdog Reporters Without Borders | Hong Kong Free Press HKFP

Supreme Court, 6-3, Upholds Newspapers on Publication of Pentagon Report

New York Times Co. v. United States - Wikipedia

Did the Pentagon Papers matter? - Columbia Journalism Review

Senate Unanimously Passes Resolution Declaring the Press Is Not 'The Enemy of the People'

Senate adopts resolution backing free press after Trump attacks | Reuters

Congressional Record | Congress.gov | Library of Congress

US Senate unanimously passes resolution affirming the press ‘is not the enemy of the people’ - The Boston Globe

How we've hooked a generation of children on depression pills they don't need


Why freedom of the press is more important now than ever – ideas.ted.com

U.S. Press Freedom Tracker - U.S. Press Freedom Tracker

United States | RSF

Tuesday, February 5, 2019

Early Sedition: How a Thin-Skinned U.S. President Jailed a Vermont Newspaperman

Matthew Lyon, Vermont's Spitting Irishman - New England Historical Society

The Alien and Sedition Acts [ushistory.org]

The History of Fake News in the United States

The Birth of Press Freedom | Newseum

The press asserts its freedom < The Colonial Period < History 1963 < American History From Revolution To Reconstruction and beyond

Why Trump’s assault on NBC and “fake news” threatens freedom of the press — and his political future

Newsflash: The US Senate Has Passed a Resolution Backing Freedom of the Press | History News Network

History shows us why a free press is essential to our freedom | Macon Telegraph

Freedom of the Press - HISTORY

Freedom of the Press 2017 | Freedom House

Blog: Joel Simon - Committee to Protect Journalists

The Washington Post launches press freedom initiative with Committee to Protect Journalists, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and Reporters Without Borders - The Washington Post

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press – A 501(c)(3) nonprofit association dedicated to assisting journalists since 1970

Dinniman tells students free press crucial to America's freedom | Local News | dailylocal.com

Washington Post airs Super Bowl ad honoring journalists, press freedom | TheHill

Proposed bill would protect college student journalists freedom of expression

Trump Threatens to Take Away Press Credentials From ‘Fake News’ Media

President Trump threatens NBC's broadcast licenses following critical stories - Los Angeles Times

Opinion: Freedom of the press — A pillar of every democracy

‘Student Press Freedom Day’ reminds Arizonans that high school journalists need First Amendment protections now – Northeast Valley News

Dear foreign secretary, here’s how to protect journalists and press freedom

Monday, February 4, 2019