Feeling down? Get UP!…
Exercise is best ‘additive’ to depression meds: Good for bodies AND brains!
Common. Viable. Pervasive. Dangerous. Depression has long been reported as affecting older people who live alone. It’s now proven that depression also affect young people who live alone. And: ”Emotional depression left untreated becomes clinical depression … and that can cause Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia.” – Neelum T. Aggarwal, M.D., of Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center at Betty’s Symposia, 2008
Depression is almost always a factor in Betty’s Love Families’ lives – for the Mom or Dad who has been diagnosed (properly or otherwise) AND for their spouses, families, friends, and caregivers. Of course it is.
Dad’s feels unable to care for his beloved wife. Mom’s friends are passing. Uncle Tom can’t drive anymore. Aunt Mary fell, broke a hip, and is bound to a bed in a nursing home. Families and caregivers work two jobs to make ends meet; they’re not sleeping well/enough and probably not nourishing; they’re having a hard time finding their own Joy.
Perhaps, worst of all: After 110 years of Alzheimer’s studies and billions spent in research, there is, still: no understanding of the root cause(s) of Alzheimer’s disease; no definitive diagnosis (other than autopsy); no sustainable treatment; no cure. So, of course families who get a diagnosis (proper or otherwise) of Alzheimer’s think two things: There’s nothing we can do. Life is over. Of course you do. And/But: WHAT IF you are wrong?
Betty’s Three Things™ re Depression:
3. We CAN beat depression! A recent four-year study from UT Southwestern Medical Center shows that, if medication (usually a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor or “SSRI”) is not effective, moderate exercise is as effective as a second medication (the usual next step). Thirty percent of the study participants (whose average depression lasted seven years) reached full remission; another 20 percent displayed “significant improvement” from moderate exercise. Read more about the study. The net/net: Exercise is good for your brain AND your body!
Betty’s ADvice™ Get busy in Betty’s Love! Join us for free and low-cost programs and activities for families, friends, and caregivers – like Betty’s Dancing-with-Love!™
2. Antidepressants are effective in reducing the emotional symptoms of depression AND in BOOSTING COGNITION!
Betty’s ADvice™ Join us for Family Matters™ and we’ll tell you what your family needs to know to get a proper Diagnosis, to recognized depression, and more … why you need to know it … and ‘how to’ treat depression … -with-Love.
1. Emotional Depression is both an oft-unnoticed symptom of dementia AND, if left untreated, it can become a Clinical Depression which can cause or exacerbate Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, or anything that causes what Betty’s Love calls Thinking Not Working.™ Talking about feelings helps. Read one young woman’s optimistic take on depression. Visit the National Institute of Mental Health. And, please: Join us for Embrace Support Group Meetings for families and caregivers – they’re embracing, empowering, and free – and you CAN join us from wherever in the world you live.
Betty’s ADvice™ Remember these Betty’s Three Things:™
1. Everything you’re doing-with-Love is sufficient – i.e., just doing your best is exactly what is needed, one day/hour/breath at a time.
2. You are not alone any more.
3. You are Loved.
Now: Get Busy in Betty’s Love!
Join us for all the FREE and low-cost programs ONLY Betty’s Love is providing families. They’re practical, proven, and positive. AND, in Betty’s Love, there’s always a Betty Gavin Signature Hug just waiting for you!
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Little Girl Lost by Betty’s Love Practitioner and Parkinson’s Warrior Ann Devine Williams is marvel-ously displayed in Betty’s Love Heartquarters. It is used with permission. Ann thrives despite living with Parkinson’s for more than 27 years. She beats her tremors with a newly found passion for painting – and in painting inspires Betty’s Love Families and the world: When Ann paints, she shakes not. Read more about Ann. Tweet @TeamFox and help Betty’s Love bring Ann to Michael J. Fox’s attention!
Little Girl Lost is used with permission. For more of Ann’s Art and more practical, proven Betty’s Tips o’the Day™ for Caregiving-with-Love™ – wherever in the world you live - pre-order your copy of Betty’s Little Books of Love – CAN-JOY! Journal© … coming soon as an eBook!