Positive Activities, Emotions May Help Ease Depression

A new study suggests that positive activity interventions (PAIs) may help to treat depression for people who do not respond or have access to adequate medical therapy. Researchers say PAIs offer a safe, low-cost, and self-administered approach to managing depression in individuals with depressive disorders.

Kristin Layous, Joseph Chancellor, and Sonja Lyubomirsky, PhD, University of California, Riverside, and Lihong Wang, MD, PhD, and P. Murali Doraiswamy, MBBS, Duke University (Durham, NC), reviewed the medical literature covering the effectiveness of PAIs in treating depression.

PAIs, such as counting one's blessings, practicing optimism, performing acts of kindness, and using one's unique strengths, "teach patients ways to increase their positive cognitions, emotions, and behaviours without professional help," say the researchers.

The study was published in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

Source-ANI