Improve Sleep And Lower Anxiety
Caffeine in regular coffee can create havoc on your sleep, causing symptoms of insomnia. Switching to decaf can help reduce insomnia and improve your overall energy in the morning.
Can decaf coffee cause anxiety? No. Rather helps lower anxiety, especially with people suffering from anxiety disorders as decaf coffee contains very little caffeine.
High Blood Pressure And High Cholesterol
Letrozole can cause high blood pressure in some people. Your GP will be able to monitor and treat this if necessary.
It may also cause the level of cholesterol in the blood to rise, although this doesnt usually need treatment. If you have a history of high cholesterol you may want to discuss this with your specialist or GP.
You May Like: Do Ritz Crackers Have Fiber
How Do You Know If You Have High Cholesterol
Conditions
How do you know if you have high cholesterol? Since high cholesterol has no symptoms, the only way to tell is through a blood test looking at your lipid levels. If you think your cholesterol levels are higher than they should be, dont wait to contact your doctor.
The buildup of plaque caused by high cholesterol can put you at risk for much more serious diseases like cardiovascular disease, peripheral arterial disease, coronary artery disease , or stroke. As frightening as that can sound, dont panic. With the help of your doctor, you can improve your cholesterol levels through medication and/or lifestyle changes.
In this article, we will teach you how to tell if you have high cholesterol, walk you through common risk factors, and advise you on when to seek emergency treatment.
Read Also: How To Lower Cholesterol With Food
The Idea That Antidepressants Are Affecting Neuroticism Directly Is Intriguing
The big surprise was that, though the antidepressants did make the participants feel less depressed, the reduction in neuroticism was much more powerful and their influence on neuroticism was independent of their impact on depression. The patients on antidepressants also started to score more highly for extroversion.
Its important to note that it was a relatively small study, and no one has tried to repeat the results yet, so they may not be totally reliable. But the idea that antidepressants are affecting neuroticism directly is intriguing. One idea is that the trait is linked to level of serotonin in the brain, which is altered by the SSRIs.
While becoming less neurotic might sound like an appealing side-effect, its not necessarily all good news. Thats because this aspect of our personalities is something of a double-edged sword yes, its been associated with all kinds of unpleasant outcomes, such as an earlier death, but its also thought that anxious over-thinking might be helpful. For example, neurotic individuals tend to be more risk-averse, and in certain situations worrying can improve a persons performance.
Cholesterol-lowering drugs save tens of thousands of lives every year, so people should seek medical advice before stopping taking them
Practical Steps To Reduce Cholesterol And Improve Depressed Mood: Guidelines For Patients Several Modifications In Diet And Lifestyle Can Be Made To Reduce Cholesterol And Improve Depressed Mood: Exercise More Exercise Is Known To Increase Hdl While Lowering Ldl Levels Stop Smoking The Primary Effect Of Smoking Is Lowering Hdl Avoid Trans Fats Trans Fats Raise Ldl And Lower Hdl Follow A Mediterranean Diet Monounsaturated Fats Increase Hdl And Lower Ldl Fruit Vegetable And Nut Consumption Favorably Affect Lipids And Health Eat Foods Containing Omega
Hypotheses advanced
Several hypotheses have been advanced to explain the relationship between cholesterol, mood disorders, and violence, according to Lake.
Some researchers have suggested that dysregulation of normal serotonin activity may help explain a possible relationship between low cholesterol levels and violent death. For example, Steegmans and colleagues10 found that plasma serotonin concentrations are lower in untreated men with persistently low serum cholesterol concentrations than in a reference group. This finding is consistent with the hypothesis that dysregulation of serotonin activity may explain the observed relationship between low cholesterol concentrations and behavioral changes and violent death, Lake said.
Sarchiapone and colleagues,11 among others, have hypothesized that low cholesterol levels indirectly lead to reduced brain serotonin because of the requirement of adequate cholesterol in nerve cell membranes to maintain the functional integrity of serotonin receptors, Lake added.
Golomb and associates12 also have extensively researched the issues of low cholesterol levels, serotonin, and violence. We hypothesized, tested, and found support for a means by which lower cholesterol may, through links to insulin sensitivity and there-by to serotonin, be associated with increased accidents and suicides, she said.
What are the practical implications? Lake offers this advice:
Recommended Reading: How To Bring Your Good Cholesterol Up
Searching For A Solution
Kash believes the same thing would happen in humans. SSRIs can cause anxiety in people, he says, and mice and humans tend to have very similar pathways in these brain regions.
The hope is that well be able to identify a drug that inhibits this circuit and that people could take for just the first few weeks of SSRI use to get over that hump.
Thomas L. Kash
The authors hope that this discovery will lead to the development of drugs to counter the negative effects of SSRIs.
The next step will be to test drugs, preferably ones that are already approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration , to see if they can change the anxiety circuit and block the negative side effects of the SSRIs.
A CRF-blocker might work. Pharmaceutical companies have been looking at CRF blockers for the treatment of depression, anxiety, and addiction for some time, but without success so far. Kash does not expect a solution from this quarter just yet.
An alternative to better CRF blockers, he suggests, could be to target the proteins expressed by the BNST neurons. He hopes to identify a receptor that existing drugs can already target.
One of these drugs could prevent people who are starting on SSRIs from having to go through the fear and anxiety stage.
Apart from offering hope to people who are experiencing depression, the discovery also deepens human understanding of the brain networks that underlie fear and anxiety behavior in mammals.
Also Check: What Is A Phobia Of Spoons Called
How To Handle Side Effects
Donât stop taking your cholesterol drugs even if they donât make you feel great. Instead, talk to your doctor. There are a few ways they might be able to help you feel better:
Take a brief break. If you have muscle pain, your doctor may tell you to stop taking your drug for a short time and then start it again within a month. The time off can show if your medicine is causing the pain or if itâs due to another problem.
Check your other meds. If you take cholesterol drugs and other medicines, you might be more likely to have side effects. Tell your doctor about everything you take, including prescription drugs, over-the-counter meds, and supplements.
Get a lower dosage. Your doctor may try to reduce how much of your medicine you take. You might also be able to take a pill every other day instead of daily.
Switch treatments. If your side effects are too hard to handle, you might be able to try a different statin such pravastatin and rosuvastatin , which are less likely to cause muscle aches.The cholesterol drug ezetimibe may allow you to take a lower statin dose and thereby help relieve your muscle pain, for example.
Consider OTC treatments. Statins may lower levels of a substance in your muscles called coenzyme Q10, and that can cause pain. You may try taking CoQ10 supplements to get relief. Another option, L-carnitine, might help, too. But always talk to your doctor before you start taking any medicine, even ones you buy without a prescription.
Show Sources
Read Also: How To Lower Cholesterol In A Week
Can Cholesterol Cause Anxiety
The relationship between cholesterol and anxiety is complex as with many of the functions of the body. Cholesterol is a type of fat that is found in your blood. Natural cholesterol made by your body is created by the liver. However, cholesterol is also found in many foods that are commonly eaten including meat, fish, eggs, butter, cheese, and milk. Having good cholesterol levels is achievable, but its a balance because you need some, but not too much. Cholesterol is needed to help your brain, skin, and other organs perform their function effectively. However, too much cholesterol can clog the walls of your blood vessels and can cause problems such as a heart attack or stroke.
Can Depression Be Detected With A Blood Test
When youre ill, your doctor may run a battery of tests to help figure out whats causing you to feel unwell. In the case of common infections, a simple blood test can make the diagnosis and guide your doctor in prescribing the right treatment.
When you have symptoms of mental illness, however, diagnosis and treatment can be a far more complex process. Promising research is being done, but we dont yet have a simple blood test that can diagnose depression.
You May Like: Does Tuna Help Lower Cholesterol
You May Like: How To Reduce Non Hdl Cholesterol
How Stress Affects Your Heart Health
Everyone has stress from time to time, whether from work, financial trouble, family problems, or facing a big life change, like moving.
When youâre feeling strained, your body releases adrenaline and cortisol, hormones that rev up your heart, sharpen your brain, and help you deal with problems. A little stress may even be good for you by helping you focus on a challenge in your life and work harder to overcome it.
Constant stress is another story. If itâs nonstop and lasts for a long time, your stress hormones remain at high levels and put a dangerous strain on your heart and other parts of your body. High levels of cortisol from chronic or long-term stress can cause high blood cholesterol, along with other heart disease risks.
Over time, excess LDL, or âbad,â cholesterol can build up in your arteries, causing them to become clogged and hard. Stress also triggers inflammation that lowers your HDL, or âgood,â cholesterol, which helps clear out extra LDL.
In general, healthy adults should have:
- Total cholesterol: below 200 mg/dL
- LDL cholesterol: less than 100 mg/dL, or below 70 mg/dL for people with heart disease or diabetes
- HDL cholesterol: 40 mg/dL or higher for men, 50 mg/dL or higher for women
- Triglycerides: less than 150 mg/dL
Drugs That Affect Hormones
These drugs include hormonal forms of birth control as well as estrogen replacement therapy for menopausal symptoms. Variations in hormone levels in women are often associated with depression symptoms, although it is not completely understood how this interaction occurs. Research suggests that progestin-only birth control is unlikely to cause symptoms of depression.
Also Check: How To Get Motivated To Exercise When Depressed
Recommended Reading: Medication For High Triglycerides And Cholesterol
Anxiety: Symptoms Types Causes Prevention And Treatmen
Anxiety is an emotion characterized by an unpleasant state of inner turmoil, often accompanied by nervous behavior such as pacing back and forth, somatic complaints, and rumination. It includes subjectively unpleasant feelings of dread over anticipated events. Anxiety is a feeling of uneasiness and worry, usually generalized and unfocused as an overreaction to a. Anxiety disorders include panic attacks, post-traumatic stress disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. They are among the most common mental illnesses, affecting roughly 40 million American adults. A person has an anxiety disorder if she or he has persistent worry for more days than not, for at least several months For others, the cause may be less obvious, rooted deeply in emotional distress, anxiety or a history of sexual abuse. These psychological causes of pelvic pain are no less real than physical causes, but they may be harder to diagnose and treat. Furthermore, pelvic floor dysfunction pain, no matter its cause, can lead to emotional distress and. Can Anxiety Cause Stuttering? A Look at Speech and Mental Health November 30, 2018 Contributed by Zawn Villines. Stuttering is a complex speech issue that affects about 1% of adults. People. Social anxiety disorder is the second most common anxiety disorder.It affects approximately 12.1% of U.S. adults at some point.. When you live with social anxiety disorder, you may have persistent.
Initial Studies And Evidence
One of the first studies on adverse events to hint at a link between statin drug use and mood problems was a Dutch study in 1993. Overall, they concluded that statin type medications look to be fairly safe. However, they also mention that due to reported mental health side effects, and limited long-term data, risk-benefit analysis is difficult to evaluate .
Since then, other research started emerging of potential depression and cognitive side effects from statin drugs. One early study showed a doubling of the risk for missing work due to depression with statin use . Another couple of case studies showed anxiety and insomnia related to statins . They even discontinued the medication and restarted with the same outcome, increasing the likelihood that the medication was causing the problems.
A review article in 2007 tried to clarify evidence for mental and emotional side effects, but the evidence was quite mixed . Early statin trials showed increased death from suicide and violent causes . Later studies sponsored by the drug industry, seemed to refute these claims .
In addition, other case studies have potentially shown memory loss associated with specific statin medications . On the flip side, some data indicates improvement in cognitive function for certain populations with statins . Based on the data in total, its still worth being vigilant for potential statin induced memory problems.
Recommended Reading: Phobia Def
Read Also: Does High Cholesterol Make You Feel Bad
Elevated Plus Maze Test
The elevated plus maze is a widely used anxiety-like behavioral assay for rodents. The maze was composed of two open arms and two closed arms of the same size with 30-cm high walls. The whole maze was 50 cm high form the floor. The apparatus was illuminated indirectly by two lamps and light intensity was approximately 50 lx in the open arms. The tests were conducted between the 9:0011:00 a.m. The rats were placed individually in the center zone of the maze, facing an open arm, and allowed 5 minutes of free exploration. All rats were tested just once. After each test the arena was cleaned with 70% ethanol. Time spent and distance travelled in the open and closed arms were videotaped and video recordings were analyzed by ANYmaze softmaze. An entry was scored when all four paws were in an arm of the maze. The percentage of the time spent and distance travelled in the open arms and closed arms of the maze were calculated. Locomotor activity was indexed by the total distance travelled and total number of arms entries in the entire maze during the test period.
Cholesterol And Mood: Whats The Link
It has long been observed that total cholesterol levels are consistently lower in more severely depressed and more aggressive patients. Because of these findings, it has been suggested that total cholesterol might be a clinically useful biological marker for detecting the risk of suicide and that it may be of prognostic value in managing severely depressed patients.
A national campaign to lower serum cholesterol levels began in the mid-80s when accumulating evidence showed convincingly that cholesterol lowering reduces the risk of heart attacks and cardiovascular disease. Since then, there have been increasing concerns about the effects of cholesterol-lowering interventions on overall mortality. Although recent research findings have helped to clarify these relationships, there are still many unanswered questions.
Lovastatin and simvastatin are the most lipophilic agents these are followed by atorvastatin, fluvastatin, and rosuvastatin, and finally pravastatin. The reported incidence of serious adverse effects in general is higher for the more lipophilic statins and simvastatin than the other statins. Of note, the lipophilic agents cross the blood-brain barrier more readily, and are more frequently associated with reports of impaired cognitive functioning and insomnia.
Several common-sense changes in diet and lifestyle can significantly reduce total cholesterol and help our depressed patients achieve a healthier balance between good and bad cholesterol:
You May Like: Can Vegans Have High Cholesterol
Lessen The Intensity Of Your Reaction To Stress
A study conducted by University of College London researches found that âindividuals with larger initial stress responses had substantially greater rises in cholesterol than those with small stress responses.â In fact, those in the top third of stress responders were three times more likely to have high cholesterol. Based on this study, researchers concluded, âIt appears that a person’s reaction to stress is one mechanism through which higher lipid levels may develop.â
Clearly, decreasing your reaction to stress will increase your health. Because stress is a key factor affecting your health on multiple levels, it is essential to find ways to manage stress in the best way possible. This will help reduce your risk of high cholesterol, which leads to greater risk of heart disease.
Common Causes Of Mood Swings And How To Improve Them
Humans are moody beings. We can be happy, sad, joyful, irritable, calm, agitated, energized, tiredâthe list goes on. Being moody and having mood swings is part of being human and is primarily driven by how we feel physically and what we are absorbing from our environment. But what about when mood swings become more frequent, or when we are always irritable?
Our mood is a significant determinant of our quality of life and overall health and wellbeing. When moodiness begins to impact our daily life, it can signal that something is amiss in our bodies and minds. It is essential to learn about what triggers your moodiness and how you can make changes to avoid those triggers. Ahead, six of the most common causes of mood swings and strategies on how to improve them to better your quality of life.
Also Check: What Is The Best Way To Lower Cholesterol