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Cool trend: Mental Health apps are use gaming techniques to motivate you

There are a lot mental health apps out there, but the newest string of them might be the most intriguing — apps that make a game out of fighting your anxiety/depression/ocd etc.

Vox has a great breakdown, and gives the app SuperBetter as an example.

The whole mental health thing is approached like a game. Your opponents are things like black-and-white or catastrophic thinking, and you use classic anxiety-battling techniques to beat them.

Now what makes this different? It’s all set to video game things like “Power-Ups,” “Quests,” and “finding allies.”

I just downloaded it, told the app I wanted to battle depression and the game suggested I “activate” 3 Power-Ups today: It gave me choices like “Chug a glass of water,” “Walk around a Block,” and “Human Tag,” which I guess is reaching out to a friend or something.

I can already imagine some Christians rolling their eyes and saying, “Oh come on. You honestly think this hokey-stuff can beat prayer for busting depression?”

Well, the app lets you create your own “Power-Up.” So you could create “Pray 15 minutes” or better yet “Pray 2 hours”, if you wanted to.

And remember, God uses exercise and tons of other things, including medication, to help our health. Also, I want to clarify that during severe episodes of anxiety/depression, many of us (including myself) tend to be treatment resistant, but there’s scientific proof apps like SuperBetter work (more below).

But anyway, just for kicks — I just chugged a glass of water, a cool sound happened, and I got +2 resilience.

Next, I have to battle one “Bad Guy” today — examples are “the self-critic,” “the sticky chair” etc. Or you can create your own.

It’s a really great idea because it uses clinically-validated anxiety-busting techniques (exercise etc) in a format that’s proven to boost motivation (the creator even wrote a dissertation on how the psychology of games can help us).

But does it work? Seems to.

Vox:

The website also boasts impressive results in two meta-analysis studies, which showed that SuperBetter had the greatest effect for reducing anxiety and depression symptoms, compared to a host of other smartphone apps also evaluated in randomized controlled trials.
Even on SuperBetter itself, McGonigal likes to lead with the science. The app shows you Science Cards, mini-articles that explain exactly why its exercises — from mindfulness meditation to gratitude journaling — are effective at changing your brain to reduce anxiety.
Many of them link out to articles and books written by scientists, including the app inventor’s twin sister, Stanford psychologist Kelly McGonigal. Kelly was the first person Jane McGonigal called when she decided to create her recovery game in 2009, and she later incorporated the research of many other experts.

If you think this is hokey, don’t forget that the game is just a motivating technique to do things that science suggests work.

And a University of Pennsylvania study suggests this isn’t hokey. In their randomized, controlled trial, researchers found the app significantly reduced depressive symptoms, as well.

I should also note that the app isn’t just about mental health — you can also choose quests to help you tackle chronic pain or concussive symptoms in a gaming format.

There seems to be some evidence it helps for that, too.

For example, a 2015 study presented at the American College of Rehabilitation Meeting found that every single patient using SuperBetter had reduced concussive symptoms and depression, while only half in the control group did.

Pretty cool. Now excuse me while I go watch Netflix so I can Power-Up. I’m kidding. I watch Amazon Prime.

[Photo: iMedicalApps]

September 26, 2019

STUDY: Sertraline helps anxiety, doesn’t do much for depression

written by Christian Heinze

For years, you might have taken Sertraline (brand name: Zoloft) for your depression. After all, it’s an SSRI and one of the most oft-prescribed antidepressants.

But a brand new study suggests Sertraline works on patients’ anxiety, not their depression.

The study is groundbreaking because it is the largest placebo-controlled trial of any antidepressant that was not funded by a pharmaceutical company.

Researchers at University College London gave over 300 patients Sertraline and roughly the same number, a placebo.

Then they followed both groups for 12 weeks.

The Setraline patients had a 21% improvement in anxiety symptoms (e.g. worry, nervous, irritation) compared to those taking the placebo and that effect went up over time.

Meanwhile, there was “little evidence” the drug reduced depressive symptoms (e.g. poor concentration, lack of enjoyment, low mood).

In fact, at 6 weeks, Sertraline patients didn’t show any statistically significant improvement in depression, at all. That went up, slightly, over time, but researchers think it might have more to do with the drug working on anxiety, thereby alleviating some depression.

However, that’s not to say the drug doesn’t work.

The Sertraline patients were twice as likely to say they felt better as those taking the placebo.

So clearly, Sertraline works well for a lot of people. It’s just that it doesn’t quite work the way scientists thought.

From The BBC:

Prof Glyn Lewis, also part of the study, said he was surprised by the results of the trial.
“They [antidepressants] work, just in a different way than we had expected,” he said.
“We definitely need better treatments for depression, and more research, but they are effective drugs.”

September 23, 2019

Mental Health links

written by Christian Heinze

a. Denmark is battling depression with Kulturvitaminer, or “culture vitamins.”

b. Study: Some antidepressants reduce the risk of stroke by 12%. But another meta study shows long-term antidepressant use is linked to higher rate of stroke and heart disease.

c. Antidepressants and other psychiatric drugs can alter your gut bacteria — could be for the better or the worse.

d. “Depression, Alzheimer’s may be similar process in aging brains.”

e. Buttigieg rolls out a mental health care plan that, among other things, penalizes insurance companies who don’t offer mental health coverage. Meanwhile, Trump orders “a lot” of ketamine for vets battling depression.

f. How to support a loved one with body dysmorphia.

g. Another exercise for depression study.

“I will not abandon you as orphans — I will come to you…. since I live, you will also live.” Jesus, in John 14.

September 10, 2019

“Slowly, Rob came back to us”

written by Christian Heinze

So Brianna Randle writes in the Washington Post about her husband Rob’s year-long battle with severe postpartum depression.

Just three days after his son was born, she found her husband on the floor, whispering, “Just tell Tyler… tell him it wasn’t my fault.”

He was suicidal, and for the first time in his life started experiencing panic attacks, severe depression and anxiety.

Over the next year he tried 24 different prescription drugs, he tried therapy, hypnosis. Nothing worked.

Until one day, the cloud started to lift, for no apparent reason.

It’s a riveting read, and yet a common tale — one that unfortunately very few tell.

Postpartum mood disorders affect 25% of men, according to Randle. 25%!

Yet say “postpartum” and “father” in the same sentence and you’ll get laughed out of the summer, backyard party.

After all, women have the hormonal shifts. They’ve got the legit reasons. They’ve got a monopoly on all the partum problems, right?

Well, guess what, guys have significant hormonal shifts too.

Studies show new dads get a bump in estrogen, oxytocin, prolactin and glucocorticoids, and also experience a decrease in testosterone.

But if someone is mocking a dad for being depressed during this time, he’s probably not going to mic-drop them by saying, “Well, dudes, my hormones are changing.”

So he just stays quiet, except not really.

A guy’s anxiety comes out different ways.

As the Wall Street Journal recently noted, anxious men tend to grow irritable, they get all sorts of pains from tense muscles, they can’t sleep, they’re more likely to start abusing drugs.

So that’s what 25% of new dads become, and yet, in public, we’ll probably just continue to complain, chuckling, that there aren’t more diaper changing stations in men’s restrooms to show just how truly chill and how truly much we’ve got this.

[Painting: First Steps, Jean-Francois Millet, 1858]

September 9, 2019

Study: PTSD symptoms linked to increased risk of ovarian cancer

written by Christian Heinze

A new study in Cancer Research shows that women who experienced six or more symptoms of PTSD had a 200% greater likelihood of developing ovarian cancer, compared with women who didn’t experience PTSD symptoms.

Up until now, researchers haven’t been able to pinpoint too many risk factors for ovarian cancer, but it could be that PTSD is a significant one.

So why the link?

Well, you might have guessed it — probably stress.

Previous research in animals has shown that “stress and stress hormones can accelerate ovarian tumor growth, and that chronic stress can result in larger and more invasive tumors.“

So what does this mean? Well, treating PTSD could help lower your risk of ovarian cancer, which is yet another reason why we need to take mental health so seriously. It is your physical health.

The ASCO Post:

“Ovarian cancer has relatively few known risk factors—PTSD and other forms of distress, like depression, may represent a novel direction in ovarian cancer prevention research,” said study coauthor Shelley Tworoger, PhD, Associate Center Director of Population Science at Moffitt Cancer Center.
“If confirmed in other populations, this could be one factor that doctors could consider when determining if a woman is at high risk of ovarian cancer in the future.”

The mainstays of PTSD therapy are medication, exposure therapy, and/or the latest EMDR.

Talk to your doctor.

Painting is Coffee Cup (1981) by Yayoi Kusama, who battled severe trauma her entire life.

She used repetitive polka dots to represent her lifelong hallucinations, and has said that “by continuously producing the forms of things that terrify me, I am able to suppress my fear…. I’m able to revel in my illness in the dazzling light of day.”

In 1977, she voluntarily checked in a mental health facility and lives there, to this day.

September 6, 2019

Don’t believe the hype (yet) about genetic tests for antidepressants

written by Christian Heinze

LiveScience throws a compelling dose of cold water on one of the hottest trends in the mental health biz — genetic testing for antidepressants.

In case you’re not familiar, some companies claim that they can analyze your genes and tell you which antidepressants are more likely to work for your particular body.

The great news is that, if successful, it takes the burdensome guesswork out of figuring out which antidepressant will help you. After all, most patients don’t respond to the first antidepressant they’re prescribed (it took me a long time and lots of side effects).

Theoretically, there’s some merit. Scientists recently found 44 specific gene variants that contribute to raising the risk for depression. The dream is that researchers can then pump out new drug therapies to work on those specific variants.

That’s happened with cardiovascular disease, so why not depression?

Well, depression is such an incredibly complex beast, and there could be hundreds, or thousands, more gene variants researchers haven’t discovered. In other words, those 44 variants could be just the tip of the iceberg.

And there’s no clinically-compelling evidence that these gene tests actually match you up with an appropriate antidepressant.

The genetic test stans will tell you about some clinical studies, but as Live Science notes, most of those studies were small, all were industry-funded, and they suffered from poor study design.

Further, the genetic testing companies might try to sell you on the idea that these tests are “FDA-approved,” but that just indicates they’re safe. It doesn’t say anything about whether they’re effective.

So what’s the upshot?

Getting your genes tested won’t hurt you, but there’s no real evidence it’ll help. And the tests usually aren’t covered by insurance and will cost you hundreds or thousands of dollars. Which is pretty depressing in and of itself.

[Photo: Linkin Park… a couple decades ago, they were obviously the rock band equivalent of genetic tests for antidepressants].

August 27, 2019

Hemingway on dread

written by Christian Heinze

From The Old Man and the Sea:

“The punishment of the hook is nothing. The punishment of hunger, and that he is against something that he does not comprehend, is everything.”

Charles Spurgeon puts it this way:

“There is a kind of mental darkness, in which you are disturbed, perplexed, worried, troubled – not, perhaps, about anything tangible.”

And a doctor might put it this way: generalized anxiety disorder.

August 26, 2019

Hard to believe, but true

written by Christian Heinze

Brennan Manning, in The Ragamuffin Gospel, for the self-loathing Christian among us (which goes hand-in-hand with nearly every mental health condition).

“Would you like to know this moment how Jesus feels about you? Bernard Bush says this is the way you will know: If you love yourself intensely and freely, then your feelings about yourself correspond perfectly to the sentiments of Jesus.”

!!!!!

August 12, 2019

If you’re single and anxious, here’s who to marry (and other mental health links)

written by Christian Heinze

a. Bustle has a great list of things anxious folks should look for in a spouse. Outside of marrying Lexapro, here are the 9 things.

b. TOP 10 evidence-based supplements for anxiety.

c. Study: Depression is the #1 predictor of substance abuse in pregnancy. Not income, not education. Depression.

d. Study: Women living near fracking activity are more likely to develop depression and anxiety during their pregnancy.

e. Study: Lower cardiorespiratory fitness linked to greater risk for anxiety and depression.

f. Cortisol in the hair might help diagnose teen depression. And speaking of which, up to 18% of preteens, tragically, have suicidal thoughts.

g. Good overview of the major mental disorders.

“Depression of spirit is no index of declining grace.” — Charles Spurgeon (quoted in Eswine’s Spurgeon’s Sorrows).

Finally…

The incomparable Neil Hannon.

August 9, 2019

A Devil’s Den prayer

written by Christian Heinze

Devil’s Den was one of the most notorious spots of carnage during the Battle of Gettysburg.

It was also where a Confederate soldier’s body, bearing this prayer, was found.

I asked God for strength, that I might achieve.

I was made weak, that I might learn humbly to obey.

I asked for health, that I might do greater things.

I was given infirmity, that I might do better things.

I asked for riches, that I might be happy.

I was given poverty, that I might be wise.

I asked for power that I might have the praise of men.

I was given weakness, that I might feel the need of God.

I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life.

I was given life, that I might enjoy all things.

I got nothing that I asked for but got everything I had hoped for.

Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.

I am, among all people, most richly blessed.

August 7, 2019

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