Creating Optimism

I have noticed a few interesting tidbits in the press recently, for example your mood affects your symptoms, low voiced men are deemed to be less faithful, as are high pitched females, all you need is love is true and miscarriages can lead to years of depression.

Your mood affects your symptoms

It’s been known for some time that  up to 80% of all people who visit a physician are suffering from what is called a ‘functional illness,’ that is one that does not have a biological cause but rather is what is known as a somatisation of a mood disorder such as depression or anxiety. The trouble is that most physicians don’t have the time, or the expertise, to accurately assess whether a patient is suffering from one of these disorders.

Now researchers at the University of Iowa have discovered that anxiety and depression cause people to report their symptoms differently. Anxious people tend to report more current symptoms whereas people suffering from depression tend to emphasize symptoms that they’ve experienced in the recent past.

Understanding how factors such as mood influence symptom reporting is important because physicians make diagnosis and treatment decisions based on the symptoms patients report, how intense they are, and how frequently they occurred, said study author, psychology professor Jerry Suls.

The fidelity pitch

A study done at McMaster University as found that we judge a potential mate’s likelihood of being faithful to us by the timber of his or her voice. Low voiced men are deemed to be less faithful, as are high pitched females.

"The reason voice pitch influences perceptions of cheating is likely due to the relationship between pitch, hormones and infidelity," explains David Feinberg, an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour and advisor on the study. "Men with higher testosterone levels have lower pitched voices, and women with higher estrogen levels have higher pitched voices. High levels of these hormones are associated with adulterous behaviour and our findings indicate individuals are somewhat aware of the link and may use this in their search for a romantic partner."

All you need is love!

It’s official, the Beatles were right. A study conducted by researchers at the University of New Hampshire has revealed that people who feel secure in their relationships put less value on their possessions. In fact those who felt insecure in their close relationships tend to put a monetary value their possessions up to five times higher than those who feel secure—and need more of them.

"People value possessions, in part, because they afford a sense of protection, insurance, and comfort," Lemay says. "But what we found was that if people already have a feeling of being loved and accepted by others, which also can provide a sense of protection, insurance, and comfort, those possessions decrease in value."

The researchers theorize that the study results could be used to help people with hoarding disorders.

"These findings seem particularly relevant to understanding why people may hang onto goods that are no longer useful. They also may be relevant to understanding why family members often fight over items from estates that they feel are rightfully theirs and to which they are already attached. Inherited items may be especially valued because the associated death threatens a person's sense of personal security," Lemay says.

Miscarriages can lead to years of depression

My own clinical experience has always been that is a miscarriage can be one of the most traumatic events in a woman’s and can be the cause of on-going mood problems. Now a study reported in the British Journal of Psychiatry has confirmed this assumption.

The researchers have found that depression and anxiety resulting from a miscarriage can continue for years afterwards—even after the birth of a healthy child.

"Our study clearly shows that the birth of a healthy baby does not resolve the mental health problems that many women experience after a miscarriage or stillbirth," said Emma Robertson Blackmore, Ph.D., assistant professor of Psychiatry at the University of Rochester Medical Centre and the lead researcher. "This finding is important because, when assessing if a women is at risk of antenatal or postnatal depression, previous pregnancy loss is usually not taken into account in the same way as other risk factors such as a family history of depression, stressful life events or a lack of social support."

"We know that maternal depression can have adverse impacts on children and families," Robertson Blackmore said. "If we offer targeted support during pregnancy to women who have previously lost a baby, we may be able to improve health outcomes for both the women and their children."

Pregnancy loss by miscarriage or stillbirth affects more than an estimated one million women in the United States annually. Between 50 and 80 percent of women who experience pregnancy loss become pregnant again.