Does Rosie O'Donnell's Inversion Therapy Help Depression?
Monday March 19, 2007
On a recent episode of The View, Rosie O'Donnell discussed how she had developed depression in response to the Columbine High School shootings. "I couldn't stop crying," she said. "I stayed in my room. The lights were off. I couldn't get out of bed--and that's when I started taking medication." Somewhat to the amazement of her co-hosts, she then demonstrated how she hangs upside down from a special swing for 15-30 minutes a day in a practice called "inversion therapy". She also made the claim that inversion therapy causes the release of serotonin in the brain, easing her depression.
Does inversion therapy help depression? It simply isn't known. According to Will Meek, a writer for PsychCentral, a search of all the professional literature from 1917-2007 didn't turn up even one study about inversion therapy and depression.
In my opinion, although Rosie did a great service to her viewers by educating them about depression, she should have done her homework and not made claims about inversion therapy that aren't backed up by research. She reaches a large audience and when she discusses a serious topic like depression she owes it to them to present good quality information rather than passing off her own subjective experiences as proof.
Comments
I think that Rosie was trying to show us that there are alternative ways to helping people with depression. Not once did she say it was proof. If it’s simply not known, then who knows maybe it does work.
There is information out there for us to either take and use of our choosing, it is up to us. If it works for Rose then it works. If it doesn’t work for you then don’t do it. Thank god we can still voice our option in this country.
I don’t think you have to hang upside down to release serotonin. Running around the block and/or dancing like mad to your favorite music in your living room would probably have the same effect. But these alternatives are less likely to attract attention because they don’t require something ‘technical’ or special equipment like a special swing. And if you went swinging rightside up in a park? That might work, too.
Thank you Nancy. I agree – it is a talk show host’s moral obligation to think about what she says before she speaks – as it is for all those whose words are heard by & taken so seriously by so many. I am glad this worked for Rosie. I am pleased she talks openly about her mental health issues as this will help destigmatize mental illness. I work in the mental health field and since that show have had a number of people dealign with Depression demanding to know why I “never told them” about inversion therapy . . .
I think Rosie is bi-polar and manipulative. I didn’t watch the View before she was on it and I won’t watch it now. She needs a lot more assistance than inversion therapy. I used to like her but think that now she is just plain mean and bossy and intolerant (what she accuses everyone else of being if they don’t agree with her). Get back on the meds, Rosie!
I agree with “Peafrog” that it seems like Rosie may indeed be Bi-Polar (often on the manic side) and is not taking her meds. If inversion therapy helped HER to relieve her depression fine, but it is not responsible to even suggest it to others without some discussion. I mean I can see where some very depressed souls, with unrealistic expectations, could be devastated that yet another therapy did not work for them. Nancy, you’re right too. It’s no different than if Rosie had stated hanging upside down can increase insulin in the body for diabetics.
Hard to form an opinion about this without knowing what specifically O’Donnell said. If she did indeed make a scientific claim for which there is no scientific evidence, she’s not just expressing her opinion or describing what works for her; she’s lying, which is a poor choice (at best) in a media figure.
A little medical info. left in the hands of non-medical individuals can indeed be dangerous! I too think Rosie has other issues (co-morbid disorders? – narcissism?; may be a bit histrionic?). What I find most disturbing is her claim that more altruisitic issues drove her to breakdown/depression – this is akin to someone saying on a job interview that their weakest point is that they “care too much/work too hard” etc. – very manipuative – not sure if anyone ever believes such claims; But maybe she is victim to self-deception? The first step in recovery, the saying goes is personal insight (in this area, she truly seems to be lacking). It would probably be too painful and/or too detrimental to her career for her to openly admit that the source of her depression was rejection (by those she loved and/or worked with, former “fans”, other celebrities, etc.). It is understandable that this is very painful to face. But it does her fans a disservice to make such absurd claims – anyone with only a very rudimentary understanding of neurology, knows that serotonin doesn’t go to your head, if you turn upside down (the brain/neurological system is not a sand timer) I think her children will one day be astonished/embarassed at their own mothers’ claims on the air – but right now they probably find it all very entertaining (as a clown act at a child’s birthday party – but that is an age appropriate reaction for them as small children, not for her or for us, as logical/thinking/responsible adults). Very sad.
I applaud your article. Rosie O’Donnell abused her role as a celebrity by dispensing non-evidenced based advice for clinical depression.
She did come out of the “closet” by revealing her depression to a national television audience. Hopefully it will inspire depression sufferers to seek treatment by trained mental health professionals.
I’m just glad she didn’t hurt herself by hanging upside down on national T.V.
http://www.MyDepressionSpace.com
I am an 86yr old man who has been hypothyroid for the past 35 years. I take 100 mcgs. of Synthroid each morning about 2-to 3 AM. as somewhat of a regular habit since I try to, at least, follow the so-called theory of not eating until at leat an hour has passed, so as to be certain that my med is absorbed.Do you belief that this habit is tolerable regarding my condition. Sometimes I believe that this habit is responsible for what I call a depression. what comment(s) do you have regarding my situation?
It’s really quite amusing the way that people take “celebrities” seriously. Celebrities testify in front of Congress, travel the world as “spokesmen,” and generally expostulate against a variety of “injustices.” Ms. O’Donnell does not appear to possess any qualifications for, really, anything. Least of all to make health care pronouncements. What “moral obligation” does she have to say or not say anything? None. She has no moral obligation other than to ratings. On TV she can say whatever she wishes. The only thing that matters, no matter how stupid her utterances are, is whether people still tune in. Once they stop, she’ll go off the air. She could well say that watermelons cure acne, and it wouldn’t matter. If one is so stupid as to take advice from “Rosie” on any subject, then they deserve the consequences they achieve. So, she can hang like a bat all day long.
I agree with gggiraffe. Moderate exercise is frequently recommended as a remedy for depression, anxiety, stress, etc. If someone is seriously depressed, they might need therapy or medication or both but I’ve heard that minor lifestyle changes like exercise can also help.
There is an enormous amount of literature dealing with the specific benefits of inversion in relation to depression, neurosis and phobias. None of this research which goes back 3,000 years is in any medical or psychology journals. However if you look in Yoga Therapy books you will find very specific information. Just because doctors and psychologists live in a limited world of their own making does not mean that there is not a whole world of health wisdom that has been handed down through teaching lineages for thousands of years which is more effective and with less side effects than many treatments offered by the modern western medicine of the last 150 years. Rosie is correct in stating that inversion will cure depression. It will take longer if the patient has been using anti-depressive medication as there needs to be time to detoxify the system. The treatment ( if carried out under the supervision of a qualified yoga therapist ) will detoxify the cells and organs, balance the hormone system, slow down brain activity, increase the amounts of endorphins in the blood stream, increase blood supply to the brain and increase the amount of oxygen in the blood. The combination is enough, over time, to allow patients to let go of negative patterns and have long enough experience of feeling happy to want to chose happiness instead of the role of victim. I do not know who Rosie is but she seems to have empowered herself enough to speak her truth and not care what opinions others have about her. Sounds healthy to me. Bless you all, Paul Terrell aka Batman. If you want more info on inversion visit, http://www.inversiontherapy.net
nice