Question:
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 [...]
Archive for November, 2009
23 Nov
Childhood Schizophrenia: How Early Can It Be Diagnosed?
22 Nov
Canadian woman loses benefits over Facebook photo
By Associated Press – Sun Nov 22, 2009 – Quebec – A Canadian woman on long-term sick leave for depression says she lost her benefits because her insurance agent found photos of her on Facebook in which she appeared to be having fun.
N. Blanchard has been on leave from her job at IBM in Bromont, [...]
22 Nov
Brown Bagging It (part 1)
Mental Illness and Work
When discussing mental illness and work, “work” can mean a number of things.
It can mean the workplace, as in where we go to do our jobs. It can also mean the act of working, what we do at our jobs, as a volunteer in the community, or what we like to do [...]
21 Nov
Brown Bagging It (part 2) – The Long Awaited Interview
Part 2 – The Interview
In Part 1, I discussed Mental Illness and Work and Mental Illness in the Workplace. Also, discussed was my experience reentering the workplace (in 2005) after many, many years of illness – mental illness.
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So I had my polished resume in hand and now I was prepared for the next step. This [...]
20 Nov
Brown Bagging It (part 3) – Getting the Job & Landing on My Ass
In Part 1 & 2 – I spoke about Mental Illness in the Workplace, seeking employment, the job hunt and the job interview. Now comes the really difficult part…..THE JOB.
I was so excited by this new venture; I could hardly sleep at night waiting for the first day. That ‘first day of school’ feeling. Luckily, the [...]
20 Nov
Brown Bagging It (part 4) – Keeping the Job – Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches
In Part 1, 2, 3 – I spoke about Mental Illness in the Workplace, Seeking Employment, the Job Hunt, The Interview, Looking for a Job, now part 4.
I was sort of in a quandary and very nervous; do I seek further employment or take some time off. It was November of 2005, and pdoc and my [...]
20 Nov
Bipolar Disorder: Depression Symptoms
The dramatic mood swings of bipolar disorder do not follow a set pattern. Depression does not always follow mania. A person may experience the same mood state several times — for weeks, months, even years at a time before experiencing a change in mood. Also, the severity of mood phases can differ from person to person.
The [...]
19 Nov
The Psychotherapy Mess
I thought I would re-post this since that I am seeing a different therapist after all of these years. Therapy NOW is not dealing with the horrid sexual abuse issues, however, we have discussed what occurred in the ’90’s. My therapist now always leaves me with something to think about or work on. This is much [...]
19 Nov
DISSOCIATIVE DISORDERS
Dissociative disorders are so-called because they are marked by a dissociation from or interruption of a person’s fundamental aspects of waking consciousness (such as one’s personal identity, one’s personal history, etc.). Dissociative disorders come in many forms, the most famous of which is dissociative identity disorder (formerly known as multiple personality disorder). All of the [...]
19 Nov
Narcissistic Personality Disorder
Narcissistic personality disorder is a serious emotional disturbance characterized by a grandiose, or extremely exaggerated, sense of self-importance. Individuals with this disorder lack empathy for other people but need constant admiration from them.
Narcissistic personality disorder is one of several types of personality disorders, all of which reflect an inability in the affected person to accept [...]
17 Nov
Failed anti-depressant drug could be ‘women’s Viagra’
WASHINGTON (AFP) – November 17, 2009 – A drug that failed to fight the blues could be the female answer to the little blue pill Viagra, the lead North American investigator analysing tests of the drug said Tuesday.
Women who took the drug flibanserin when it was being tested as an anti-depressant said it didn’t help [...]
17 Nov
Depression as Deadly as Smoking?
Depression as Deadly as Smoking, Study Finds
ScienceDaily (Nov. 17, 2009) — A study by researchers at the University of Bergen, Norway, and the Institute of Psychiatry (IoP) at King’s College London has found that depression is as much of a risk factor for mortality as smoking.
Utilising a unique link between a survey of over 60,000 [...]
16 Nov
Miscarriage Brings Silent Anguish
MayoClinic.com
By Mary Murry, R.N., C.N.M.
Almost 25 percent of all pregnancies are lost to miscarriage, for many reasons. I’m not going to go through them here. What I want to talk about is what happens to those 25 out of 100 women who lose their baby.
When we discover that we are pregnant, we don’t think [...]
15 Nov
Chocolate Soothes the Stressed-Out Soul
THURSDAY, Nov. 12 (HealthDay News) — Feeling stressed? A dose of dark chocolate could cheer you right up by lowering your stress hormone levels, a new study suggests.
Swiss researchers, who report their findings in the online issue of the Journal of Proteome Research, tracked volunteers who said they were highly stressed.
”The study provides strong evidence [...]
14 Nov
UNDERSTANDING MENTAL ILLNESS
This may be of assistance as you journey through my blog…
DEPRESSION
Problems and misfortunes are a part of life. Everyone experiences unhappiness, and many people may become depressed temporarily when things don’t go as they would like. Experiences of failure commonly result in temporary feelings of worthlessness and self-blame, while personal losses cause feelings of sadness, [...]
14 Nov
Fears and Facts About Antidepressants
Along with counseling, antidepressants are a common part of treatment for depression. And they are usually effective. Six out of 10 people treated with antidepressants feel better with the first one they try. If the first antidepressant medication doesn’t help, the second or third often will. Most people eventually find one that works for them. [...]
13 Nov
Stroke Puts Stress on Spousal Relationship
Patient/caregiver roles often take the place of a partnership, researchers say
TUESDAY, Nov. 10 (HealthDay News) — Although many wedding vows include the phrase “in sickness and in health,” a stroke can put that promise to the test by causing major relationship problems for married couples, according to British researchers.
The University of Ulster study included 16 [...]
13 Nov
Smoking tied to suicide risk in bipolar disorder
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – November 11, 2009 – People with bipolar disorder who smoke appear to have a heightened risk of suicidal behavior — possibly because they are generally prone to impulsive acts, a new study suggests.
Bipolar disorder, also known as manic depression, is marked by dramatic swings in mood — ranging from episodes [...]
12 Nov
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, I [...]
12 Nov
Radical Medicine, Radical Treatment
Treatment for mental illness took a turn in the mid 1940’s with ECT (electroconvulsive therapy) and insulin shock therapy and the use of frontal lobotomy. In modern times, insulin shock therapy and lobotomies are viewed as being almost as barbaric as the Bedlam “treatments”. The effect of a lobotomy on an overly excitable patient often [...]
11 Nov
Emotions Increase Or Decrease Pain, Say Researchers
ScienceDaily (Nov. 11, 2009) — Getting a flu shot this fall? Canadians scientists have found that focusing on a pretty image could alleviate the sting of that vaccine. According to a new Université de Montréal study, published in the latest edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), negative and positive emotions [...]
11 Nov
Women, Depression & Stroke
Women More Likely Than Men To Suffer Depression After Stroke
ScienceDaily (Nov. 11, 2009) — Depression occurs in as many as one-third of patients after a stroke, and women are at somewhat higher risk, according to a large new review of studies. Post-stroke depression is associated with greater disability, reduced quality of life and an increased [...]
10 Nov
Depressed and Pregnant? Flu Shot May Be Needed
MONDAY, Nov. 9 (HealthDay News) — Pregnant women who are depressed may suffer severe symptoms if they catch seasonal flu, a new study suggests.
Ohio State University researchers assessed depressive symptoms and took blood samples from 22 pregnant women before they received a seasonal flu shot. Those with significant symptoms of depression had a stronger inflammatory [...]
10 Nov
INFANT DEATH: Grief and the Path To Loving Rememberance
Infant death causes heart-wrenching grief. A Mayo Clinic psychologist offers parents insight and hope.
There is a wonderful article in the MayoClinic.com site written by Shawna Ehlers, Ph.d, a psychologist dealing with infant death grief.
Just click on the following: Mayo Clinic
9 Nov
CAN YOU TELL?
I’m just re-posting this in case readers have come across this before. It’s probably one of my favorite articles as it just describes my bp disorder and always brings me back down to earth again when I think I’m an oddity when I expect too much from myself.
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Mental illness is surrounded by a glut of [...]
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