Diabetes and Your Mental Health -HealthyPlace Newsletter

Here's what's happening on the HealthyPlace site this week:

• Depression and Weight Gain
• Parenting Kids During Summertime Can Be Stressful
• Share Your Mental Health Experiences
• "Diabetes and Your Mental Health" On HealthyPlace TV
• From HealthyPlace Mental Health Blogs

Depression and Weight Gain

Do people who are overweight face an increased risk of becoming depressed, or are depressed people at higher risk of becoming overweight? It's a question that researchers have been grappling with for decades.

"We found that in a sample of young adults during a 15-year period, those who started out reporting high levels of depression gained weight at a faster rate than others in the study, but starting out overweight did not lead to changes in depression," said UAB Assistant Professor of Sociology Belinda Needham, Ph.D.. The study appears in the June issue of the American Journal of Public Health.

Dr. Needham says the study is important because if you are interested in controlling obesity, and ultimately eliminating the risk of obesity-related diseases, then it makes sense to treat people's depression. "It's another reason to take depression seriously and not to think about it just in terms of mental health, but to also think about the physical consequences of mental health problems."

Do you have any insight into the relationship between depression and obesity? Call our "Share Your Mental Health Experiences" line at 1-888-883-8045.

Depression Information

• How To Recognize Depression Symptoms
• Online Depression Test
• Serious Consequences of Untreated Depression
• Gold Standard for Treating Depression
• All Depression Articles on HealthyPlace

Parenting Kids During Summertime Can Be Stressful

My kids, ages 6 and 9, started camp on Monday. Boy, was I relieved! Last week, they were hanging out, which translates into "doing nothing." I thought it would be good to give them some down time between school and camp, but you know what they say about too much of a good thing.

In reading through some of the parenting articles on the HealthyPlace site, I discovered I may have given them too much unstructured time. Here are some articles that may be helpful to our "parent" readers if you find yourself in a similar situation.

• Summer Survival Skills for Parents
• Siblings Fighting: A Summer of Conflict
• How to Enjoy Great Family Vacations
• Preparing Your Child for Overnight Summer Camp

Share Your Mental Health Experiences

Share your thoughts on "stigma of mental illness" or any mental health subject, or respond to other people's audio posts, by calling our toll-free number (1-888-883-8045).

You can listen to what other people are saying by clicking on the gray title bars inside the widgets located on the "Sharing Your Mental Health Experiences" homepage, the HealthyPlace homepage, and the HealthyPlace Support Network homepage.

If you have any questions, write us at: info AT healthyplace.com

"Diabetes and Your Mental Health" On HealthyPlace TV

He's 1HappyDiabetic, but Bill Woods wasn't always that way. He'll be discussing the depression, anxiety and other problems that accompany this long-term illness on this week's HealthyPlace Mental Health TV Show.

Watch the interview live and ask your personal questions, Wednesday, June 16 at 4p Central, 5p ET or catch it on-demand on the HealthyPlace Mental Health TV Show website.

• The Relationship Between Diabetes and Mental Health (tv show blog, audio post, guest info)

Still to Come in June on the HealthyPlace Mental Health TV Show

• PTSD: Dealing with Trauma in Your Life
• Mental Health and the Importance of Nutrition

If you would like to be a guest on the show or share your personal story in writing or via video, please write us at: producer AT healthyplace.com

Click here for a list of previous HealthyPlace Mental Health TV Shows.

From HealthyPlace Mental Health Blogs

Your comments and observations are welcomed.

• I'm Damaged. I'm Bipolar. Love Me. Save Me. (Breaking Bipolar Blog)
• 4 Quick and Dirty ADHD-Friendly Ways to Get on Top of Email (ADDaboy! adult ADHD blog)
• Failure to Gain Weight May Indicate Anorexia (Eating Disorder Recovery: The Power of Parents blog)
• Delayed Anxiety Reaction: Sinking After the Storm (Nitty Gritty of Anxiety blog)
• Are Bipolars Crazy? I Am.
• How to Say 'No', Worry Free?
• 3 Tips to Better ADHD Shopping

Feel free to share your thoughts and comments at the bottom of any blog post. And visit the mental health blogs homepage for the latest posts.

back to: HealthyPlace.com Mental-Health Newsletter Index