Carnival Mental Illness - Edition #2

Carnival Mental Illness – Edition #2 – November 30, 2007

I welcome everyone to the second edition of Carnival Mental Illness.
The first edition was a raving success, so I am excited to continue on with new submissions each time. 
At times we sit in wonderment; how can we share our experiences, both good and bad with [...]

Brain Pattern Associated With Genetic Risk of OCD

ScienceDaily (Nov. 26, 2007) — Cambridge researchers have discovered that individuals with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and their close family members have distinctive patterns in their brain structure. This is the first time that scientists have associated an anatomical trait with familial risk for the disorder.
These new findings, recently reported in the journal Brain, could [...]

Is This As Good As Life Gets?

  I used to ask myself, practically every day during my illness; is this it?  What if I never get better?  Does it get any better?
Sounds pessimistic, but my history of recurring hospital admissions and medications that were ineffective, coupled with suicide attempts and unrelenting depression, didn’t illustrate a positive picture.  At separate hospital admissions, [...]

Trauma Earlier In Life May Affect Response To Stress Years Later

ScienceDaily (Nov. 21, 2007) — Researchers have known for years that psychological trauma that results in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or depression can change how a person responds to stress. Now, Cornell researchers report that rapes, sudden deaths of loved ones, life-threatening accidents and other such traumas may result in long-term changes even if the [...]

Unemployment and Poverty Remain Dramatically High Among Workers With Disabilities

ScienceDaily (Nov. 21, 2007) — There is a dramatic employment and poverty gap between working-age people with disabilities and those without disabilities, according to a new Cornell report.
The Third Annual Disability Status Report, the only report of its kind in the nation, reveals that almost 38 percent of people with disabilities are employed, compared with [...]

2 Year Gold Pin

   I received my 2 year anniversary pin at work last week, and for some reason things appear different somehow with me and my job.  I can’t believe I made it this far.
My two years working in a call centre Customer Service department has been a topsy turvy struggle, especially after returning to the workforce [...]

Low B12 Tied To Faster Mental Decline With Age

November 26, 2007 - NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Low levels of vitamin B12 could speed mental decline in older people, a new study suggests.
Among a group of men and women aged 65 and older, those whose levels of two B12 activity markers indicated higher blood levels of the vitamin had a slower drop-off in [...]

Deliberate Self-Harm Can Signal Suicide Risk

Wednesday, November 21, 2007 - NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The characteristics of young patients who commit acts of deliberate self-harm vary widely, but the risk of suicide is
very high in this population, UK investigators report.
“Deliberate self-harm and suicide are both major problems in young people,” Drs. Keith Hawton and Louise Harriss, of the University [...]

PTSD - Will I Always Be A Victim?

I’ve wanted to write this article for some time now, however, hesitated always, but now I’m feeling strong and the time is right. 
In previous posts, I described my disastrous therapies which pretty much ruined my life; throwing me into a depressive nightmare.  A five-year therapy run ended in 1999, however, I still continued in [...]

Obese Teens May Be At Risk Of Depression Later

By Amy Norton
Thursday, November 22, 2007 - NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Obese teenage girls may be more likely than their thinner peers to develop depression or anxiety disorders as adults, a study suggests.
Researchers found that among nearly 800 children and teenagers followed for 20 years, girls who were obese as teens had [...]

Inflammation Can’t Explain Depression’s Link to Heart Disease

THURSDAY, Nov. 15 (HealthDay News) — Depression is known to hike the risk of cardiovascular disease, but don’t put all the blame on any concurrent rise in inflammation.
So concludes a study led by Dr. Viola Vaccarino, a professor of medicine at Emory University, in Atlanta.
That means that it’s back to the drawing board in terms [...]

Brain Imaging Shows How Men and Women Cope Differently Under Stress

ScienceDaily (Nov. 19, 2007) — According to a study that appears in the current issue of SCAN (Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience), researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine discuss how men and women differ in their neural responses to psychological stress.
“We found that different parts of the brain activate with different spatial [...]

Brain Differences Detected in Migraine Sufferers

By Will Dunham
  November 19, 2007 - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - People who get migraines
have structural differences in their brains notably in the cortex area that processes pain and other sensory information from the body, scientists said on Monday.
The researchers, whose findings were published in the journal Neurology, said it is unclear whether these brain differences [...]

Do Life Events Trigger Mental Disorders?

Do Life Events Trigger Mental Disorders?
ScienceDaily (Nov. 17, 2007) — A new epidemiological study performed in Italy addresses an old question in a recent issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics.
Although life events have been consistently reported as precipitating factors for most psychiatric disorders, there is no comprehensive investigation of the relationship between severe life events and [...]

Eating Disorders In Adolescents

ScienceDaily (Nov. 19, 2007) — Eating disorders in the U.S. among ethnic groups were thought to be rare, but recent studies have shown that many cultures are now exposed to the thin beauty ideal. As a result, experts expect to see an increase in eating disorder symptoms among ethnic groups. It is also suspected that [...]

Male & Female Adolescents Equally Victims of Physical Dating Violence, Study Shows

ScienceDaily (Nov. 12, 2007) — Physical dating violence (PDV) affects almost one in every 11 adolescents, according to research presented at the American Public Health Association’s 135th Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.
The study, which looked at data from the 2005 National Youth Risk Behavior Study, also found that contrary to common general perception, males and [...]

Alzheimer’s Patients Unresponsive to Antipsychotics

By Will Boggs, MD
Thursday, November 15, 2007 - NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Second-generation antipsychotic drugs are no better than placebo — from a cost-benefit viewpoint — for treating the psychosis and aggression that can develop in Alzheimer disease patients, according to a report in the Archives of General Psychiatry.
“These drugs do not generate enough [...]

Popping Nite Meds In The Morning

I stupidly took my nighttime dose of Seroquel and Zyprexa intended for that evening, with my other morning pills.  OOH! Not a wise thing; rather a scary thing.  I can testify to that. 
I have taken medications (psychiatric) meant for evening, in the morning on two occasions now; one I caught in time, called in [...]

Moms-to-be Often Anxious, Depressed: Study

By Megan Rauscher
November 08, 2007 - NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - It is not uncommon for expectant mothers to feel anxious and depressed, new research shows, and these feelings can have serious consequences for mom and baby.
“Mental health problems in the postpartum period have received much attention in the past decade,” Dr. Antoinette M. Lee [...]

Childhood Schizophrenia: How Early Can It Be Diagnosed?

My 12-year-old son exhibits all the symptoms of childhood schizophrenia, but his therapist and doctors won’t diagnose him because of his age. No one disputes that he meets the criteria for schizophrenia. At what age can he be diagnosed?
Mayo Clinic psychiatrist Daniel Hall-Flavin, M.D., answers:
Early childhood schizophrenia is rare. But schizophrenia can be diagnosed in [...]

47 Million Americans Lack Health Insurance: Report

Thursday, November 1, 2007 - NEW YORK (Reuters) - The number of Americans lacking health insurance rose by nearly 8.6 million to 47 million from 2000 to 2006, with children and workers from every income level losing coverage, a new report said on Thursday.
The increase was “driven primarily by the continued erosion in employer-provided health [...]

Exercise Eases Fibromyalgia Symptoms: Study

Biggest beneficiaries were women who also received training to manage the condition
MONDAY, Nov. 12 (HealthDay News) — Exercise may seem best at preventing illness rather than treating it, but a new study suggests that low-impact physical activity could make an immediate difference for people with one tough-to-treat condition: fibromyalgia.
Women with the little-understood chronic pain syndrome [...]

Fibromyalgia

 Introduction
You hurt all over, and you frequently feel exhausted. Even after numerous tests, your doctor can’t find anything specifically wrong with you. If this sounds familiar, you may have fibromyalgia.
Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition characterized by widespread pain in your muscles, ligaments and tendons, as well as fatigue and multiple tender points — places on [...]

Caffeine and Depression: Is there a Link?

What is the relationship between caffeine and depression? Does caffeine make depression worse?
Mayo Clinic psychiatrist Daniel Hall-Flavin, M.D., answers:
The exact relationship between caffeine and depression isn’t clear. There’s no evidence that caffeine — a mild stimulant — causes depression. However, some people are more sensitive to the effects of caffeine than are others. In such [...]

Mental Problems in Teens Difficult to Diagnose

Online Source:  http://www.sciencedaily.com
HOUSTON, Oct. 20 (UPI) — Pinpointing a diagnosis of psychiatric and behavioral problems in teens can be tricky, even for experts in mental health, a U.S. expert says.
Dr. Norma Clarke, medical director of the Adolescent Treatment Program at The Menninger Clinic in Houston, says the human brain is still developing during adolescence and [...]