SHARON AND OZZY OSBOURNE HAVE A SUICIDE PACT

It was reported that, Ozzy Osbourne has agreed to a suicide pact with wife, Sharon - because she doesn’t want to go through the pain her father Don Arden did when he suffered from Alzheimers.
The America’s Got Talent judge, 54, claims she and rocker Ozzy, 59, made the mutual decision earlier this year after music [...]

Health Depends on Mental Health

Untreated Mental Disorders Up Risk of Disease, Injury, and Death
By Daniel J. DeNoon
WebMD Medical News
Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD
Sept. 4, 2007 — Untreated mental disorders vastly increase the world’s burden of disease, injury, and early death.
 
The finding comes from Martin Prince, MD, director of the Center for Public Mental Health at King’s College London, [...]

Pediatric Lithium Evaluated for Bipolarity

Source:  http://www.sciencedaily.com
CHICAGO, July 18 (UPI) — U.S. medical scientists are evaluating the use of lithium in the treatment of bipolar disorder in children and adolescents.
The national Collaborative Lithium Trials are designed to provide the first comprehensive analysis of lithium for the pediatric treatment of bipolar disorder.
“Lithium is the prototype mood stabilizer for treating adult bipolar [...]

Antidepressant Helps Dementia Symptoms

Source:  http://www.sciencedaily.com
TORONTO, Sept. 10 (UPI) — Researchers in Canada found an antidepressant preformed as well as an often prescribed anti-psychotic for dementia patients — but with fewer side effects.
The study, published in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, compared the efficacy and safety of the antidepressant citalopram and the anti-psychotic risperidone in alleviating agitation and [...]

Early Life Factors Raise Risks for Adult Mental Woes

   MONDAY, Feb. 5, 2007, (HealthDay News) — A combination of low birth weight and childhood abuse boosts risks for depression, social dysfunction and other psychological problems in adolescence and adulthood, new research suggests.
A team from Mount Sinai School of Medicine, in New York City, analyzed data from the Johns Hopkins Collaborative Perinatal Study. That [...]

FEELING OVERWHELMED

I stated in past posts my quest to return to normalcy (if there is one); jumping into the corporate world after 9 years in a state of illness called depression.
The bumpy ride is getting bumpier and bumpier.
I am in customer service; stats were meeting targets every month and I was becoming contented in the job [...]

ARE YOU EVEN TRYING TO GET BETTER?

Dusting off some old journals, back from my days in hospital, I came across one stay where I “interviewed” informally some fellow patients, their experiences of living with mental illness.  Although there were many more stories; I only chose these three:
These are examples of mental illness stigma and what society perceives.
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*Denise in her early ‘20’s, [...]

PTSD-Child Abuse Memories, PTSD and me…

Music is: Hello by Evanescence
Video Created by:  M.R.Teel    http://www.myspace.com/bleaux42
I discovered this video by accident while searching for a documentary on PTSD.  I was astounded at what I found. 
Two fantastic videos were created by ‘M.R.Teel’ and I had to select which one to show first.  Both brought me to tears; they were that moving.  I [...]

Study: It’s Easy To Buy Drugs Online

Source:  http://www.sciencedaily.com
TORONTO, Sept. 18 (UPI) — It is easy to purchase prescription drugs and controlled substances through spam messages via the Internet, two Canadian researchers found.
In fact, one-third of all spam messages advertise health products such as drugs and natural health products, said study authors Peter Gernburd and Alejandro Jadad at the Centre for [...]

BIPOLAR: Does It Come From Polar Bears???

Bipolar I defines patients with the classic form of this disease: Recurring episodes of mania and depression.
Bipolar II defines those who never experience severe mania but instead the manic episodes are milder, and alternate with depression.
They deemed me Bipolar II in 1999 (disregard previous posts - I stated the incorrect year).  The diagnosis of [...]

Mental Illnesses Affect Spouses, Family & Friends

Did you know an estimated 22.1 percent of Americans ages 18 and older – about one in five adults – suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder?Depressive disorder affects approximately 18.8 million American adults, or 9.5 per cent; major depression, 9.9 million adults, and bipolar disorder (manic-depression) about 2.3 million adults.
******
For a decade, I literally “lived” [...]

Prenatal Antidepressants Linked to Preterm Births

      Thursday, August 16, 2007 - NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Antidepressant drug use during pregnancy, but not depression itself, is associated with an increased risk of preterm birth and lower fetal age at delivery, according to results of a study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry.
“Depressive symptoms are not uncommon during pregnancy, and…symptoms [...]

Estrogen Use Before 65 Linked to Reduced Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease

   
Source: American Academy of Neurology
May 03, 2007 - (Science Daily) — Women who use hormone therapy before the age of 65 could cut their risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease or dementia.  The study found women who used any form of estrogen hormone therapy before the age of 65 were nearly 50 percent less likely to [...]

PTSD - Ducks In A Row

The Trust Contention
Dictionary: trust [trast]noun
charge or care; responsibility
Example: The child was placed in my trust. 
Lining My Ducks Up in a Row
In a prior PTSD post, I described my childhood sexual abuse from ages six through eight.  The trust issue still remains, and at times I’m on the alert in certain situations.  For when I built [...]

Suicide Attempts by Teens Linked With Assault

 
Monday, June 4, 2007 - NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - High school girls who have recently experienced dating violence and boys who have a history of being sexually assaulted are at increased risk of attempting suicide, a new study of New York City public school students shows.
 
The researchers also found that dating violence — being [...]

DEPRESSION: This Is Costing A Lot

 

The Impact and Cost of Mental Illness: The Case of Depression
The personal and societal costs of depression are significant. They include higher rates of death, serious complications for chronic disease patients, significantly higher health care costs for employers, added family caregiver burden and associated substance abuse problems.
Higher Rates of Death
v  Studies show that depression is [...]

Men Put Their Health on the Back Burner

 TUESDAY, July 3, 2007 - (HealthDay News) — Men report skipping health screenings and avoiding doctor’s visits in a new survey by the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP).
The survey examined the health behaviors of 2,282 adults across the nation, including 1,111 men.
The surveyors found that more than half of the men had not seen [...]

Come Visit The Health Fair

Check out the: Online College Mental Health Fair

DEPRESSION: The Lonely Dance

     Envision feeling lonely when you are actually with people; with friends, celebrating a birthday party at someone’s house.  You experience emptiness.  The room is filled with chatter and laughter, yet you are seated; numb.
Depression is lonely.  Curled up in a ball - lonely.
This actually happened to me.  I was pretty much forced to attend [...]

Antidepressant ‘Withdrawal’: Is There Such A Thing?

           What are the symptoms of antidepressant withdrawal? Do withdrawal symptoms mean you were addicted to the drug?
Mayo Clinic psychiatrist Daniel Hall-Flavin, M.D., answers
Antidepressant withdrawal refers to signs and symptoms caused by the abrupt discontinuation of an antidepressant medication after taking it for an extended period — usually longer than six weeks. Doctors may also [...]

Bipolar Disorder in Children: How Early Can It Be Diagnosed?

   Can a child be diagnosed with bipolar disorder? Most of what I’ve read says bipolar disorder develops in adults.
Mayo Clinic psychiatrist Daniel Hall-Flavin, M.D., answers:
Although bipolar disorder usually affects adults, there is substantial evidence that it also can occur in children. Making a diagnosis of bipolar disorder in children may be more difficult because [...]

Depression: Life Altering

     I ultimately realized that depression was altering my life when I met some girls from work for dinner.  Sounds bizarre.
Supervisor of three women in accounting, I enjoyed my position and found it a challenge.
Crushing depression found me with two brief hospital admissions in 1994, and an on and off medical leave from work.  The [...]

BITS AND PIECES

 
Never good at poetry; would write a line and then spend an hour attempting to find another line to rhyme with the first line.  I always loved to write though; first beginning, I suppose with my journals as a teen.  Can’t spell worth a darn, and have my handy, dandy dictionary at my side along [...]

MIGRAINE…Indescribable

Did you know 25% of women and 8% of men suffer from migraine at some time in their lives? There is an association between migraine, depression and bipolar disorder.
~~~~~~~~
I am a statistic.
Lying in bed in a fetal position, my hands grasp a throbbing head. The frozen ice pack from two hours ago has become warm.
The [...]

BIPOLAR - Hey, Is this a lifelong illness?

       Bipolar Disorder: Forms of Bipolar Disorder
There are several types of bipolar disorder; all involve episodes of depression and mania to a degree.
Bipolar disorder is a lifelong illness
Episodes of mania and depression eventually can occur again, if you don’t get treatment. A small percentage of people will continue to have symptoms, even after getting treatment.
Bipolar [...]