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News Releases
Positively Beating the Blues
Anyone can feel blue. Sadness is a normal part of every day life. However, when sadness interferes with work, eating, sleeping, and normal life - it becomes depression. If you're living with a chronic disease like arthritis, you may experience depression. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 18% of people with arthritis are depressed.
Learning to better cope with the arthritis and its daily challenges will help you keep a positive outlook on life and avoid depression. Kathy Donovan Hanson, senior researcher at the Missouri Arthritis Rehabilitation Research and Training Center at the University of Missouri-Columbia, gives a few suggestions on how to improve your mood... and your life!
Have a positive and realistic perspective about life. "One of the most important things for people [with arthritis] to do is focus on things they can do as opposed to dwelling on things they cannot do as well as they used to," says Donovan Hanson.
AdaptÉ don't eliminate. Arthritis can often cause people to stop or limit favorite activities, but activities can be adapted instead of eliminated. For example, a gardener might choose to spend 15 minutes each day weeding flower and vegetable beds instead of an hour or two one day a week. They are still gardening; they've simply changed the way they garden to make it easier on their body.
Keep in touch. "Maintaining social contacts and enjoyable activities are very important in the prevention of depression," says Donovan Hanson. Call a few friends and head to lunch. You'll feel the benefits immediately.
Get physical. It is very important for people with arthritis to exercise to maintain physical function and reduce pain. "Exercise, while it is not a panacea for everything, has been shown to improve depression and memory," says Donovan Hanson. "It used to be that people were told to rest when they received a diagnosis of arthritis. Then it was discovered that pain levels increased when folks got too much rest because their muscles debilitated and their tendons and ligaments shrunk, causing increased stiffness." Exercising with a partner makes any activity more fun and provides a great social outlet as well.
Practicing these healthy daily habits can prevent depression. Train yourself to think positively. Just because you have arthritis doesn't mean you have to let it control your life! For more information on arthritis and depression, visit http://www.marrtc.org.
The Missouri Arthritis Research Rehabilitation and Training Center (MARRTC) was established in 1971 at the University of Missouri-Columbia Arthritis Center. MARRTC is funded by the U.S. Department of Education's National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (H133B031120) and is the only federally funded arthritis rehabilitation research and training center in the country.
As part of the MU Health Communication Research Center (HCRC), MARRTC's mission is to become a national leader in the areas of disability management and communication, improve the quality of life and promote independent living among people who have arthritis and arthritic conditions. MARRTC's core message is "Disability is everyone's issue."
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