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 [...]
Archive for the ‘mental illness’ Category
13 Nov
Smoking tied to suicide risk in bipolar disorder
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 [...]
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 [...]
8 Nov
Hunting For The Prozac Gene
ScienceDaily (Nov. 7, 2009) — Prozac works wonders for some depressed people, but not for others. In some cases, patients derive little benefit and at worst, it can lead to bizarre hallucinations and fits of rage. Researchers and doctors remain puzzled as to what causes the wide range of reaction to Prozac and similar antidepressants.
The [...]
5 Nov
Depression May Blur Memory of Aches and Pains
Expert suggests having people write down symptoms as they occur
TUESDAY, Nov. 3 (HealthDay News) — Depressed people tend to report more physical symptoms than they actually experience, a new study finds.
The study involved 109 women who completed questionnaires designed to assess their levels of neuroticism and depression. For the next three weeks, they kept daily [...]
5 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, [...]
5 Nov
SITTING IN JUDGMENT
Who am I to judge someone? Who are they to judge me?
Dictionary: Judgment: the ability to judge, makes a decision, or form an opinion objectively, authoritatively, and wisely, esp. in matters affecting action; good sense; discretion: a man of sound judgment.
Stigma: a mark of disgrace or infamy; a stain or reproach, as on one’s reputation; [...]
5 Nov
STIGMA: Definition
Source: YourDictionary.com
stigma (stig′mə)
noun pl. stigmas -·mas, stigmata stig·ma′ta (stig′mə tə; stig mät′ə, -mat′ə)
something that detracts from the character or reputation of a person, group, etc.; mark of disgrace or reproach
a mark, sign, etc. indicating that something is not considered normal or standard
Living with a mental illness is trying enough, yet we must also contend [...]
4 Nov
Deep Brain Stimulation Gives Hope For Very Severe Depression
ScienceDaily (Nov. 3, 2009) — Thanks to a new method, there is a reason for hope for patients with very severe depression. Physicians at the University Clinics of Bonn and Cologne have treated ten patients with deep brain stimulation. This involved implanting electrodes in the patients’ nucleus accumbens. This centre has a key role in [...]
1 Nov
What Exactly Is A ‘NERVOUS BREAKDOWN?"
What is a nervous breakdown? What causes people to have them?
Mayo Clinic psychiatrist Daniel Hall-Flavin, M.D., answers:
The term “nervous breakdown” is used by the public to characterize a wide range of mental illnesses. Nervous breakdown is not a medical term and doesn’t indicate a specific mental illness. Generally, the term describes a person who is [...]
31 Oct
KEEPING UP APPEARANCES
I was in a dilemma a few years back. My husband’s company was having their annual picnic and he felt obligated to go. I, of course resisted initially, and then thought I was being self-centered since I had backed out of several of his company functions previously. These functions were of course met with forever [...]
24 Oct
Increase In Long-term Antidepressant Drug Use, UK Study Reveals
ScienceDaily (Oct. 23, 2009) — A dramatic rise in antidepressant prescriptions issued by GPs has been caused by a year on year increase in the number of people taking antidepressant drugs on a long-term basis, according to researchers from the University of Southampton.
In a paper, published in the printed edition of British Medical Journal (BMJ), [...]
24 Oct
SWEET AUDREY
I met Audrey in 1998, as an inpatient during one of my countless hospital stays. Both of us were living and breathing pitch black depression. We grew very close, seated in the lounge daily, forever sipping diet Coke. Both of us were struggling though, both feeling as if we were being swallowed up by quicksand. Everyday [...]
18 Oct
Post-Traumatic Stress May Raise Death Risks
SATURDAY, Oct. 17 (HealthDay News) — Veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder face an increased risk for dying after surgery, even if the surgery is performed years after they have completed their service, according to a U.S. study.
Researchers analyzed data on 1,792 male veterans who had major non-cardiac, non-emergency surgeries between 1998 and 2008. Of that [...]
16 Oct
Antidepressant; Suicidal Thoughts in Men
Popular Antidepressant Associated With A Dramatic Increase In Suicidal Thoughts Amongst Men, Study Finds
ScienceDaily (Oct. 15, 2009) — Nortriptyline has been found to cause a ten-fold increase in suicidal thoughts in men when compared to its competitor escitalopram. These findings are published in the open access journal BMC Medicine.
The research was carried out by Dr. [...]
15 Oct
Offer Of Hope For Treatment Resistant Depression
New Brain Stimulation Treatment May Offer Hope For Those With Treatment Resistant Depression
ScienceDaily (Oct. 14, 2009) — A new neurosurgical procedure may prove helpful for patients with treatment-resistant depression. Bilateral epidural prefrontal cortical stimulation (EpCS) was found generally safe and provided significant improvement of depressive symptoms in a small group of patients, according to lead [...]
11 Oct
Stressful childhood may mean earlier death
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – October 9, 2009 – Having a stressful childhood may slash decades off a person’s life, researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report.
Among people who reported experiencing at least six of eight different bad childhood experiences-from frequent verbal abuse to living with a mentally ill person-average age [...]
10 Oct
Recession Adds to Ranks of Americans With Depression
THURSDAY, Oct. 8 (HealthDay News) – Unemployed Americans are four times more likely than those with jobs to report symptoms of severe mental illness, such as major depression, according to a new national survey that reveals the mental health toll of the recession.
The poll of 1,002 adults aged 18 and older also found that people [...]
3 Oct
Fewer Than 50 Percent Of Men And Women With Depression Seek Treatment
ScienceDaily (Oct. 1, 2009) — Fewer than half of men and women in Ontario who may be suffering from depression see a doctor to treat their potentially debilitating condition, according to a new women’s health study by researchers at St. Michael’s Hospital and the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES). What’s more, many hospitalized for [...]
15 Aug
FDA Approves Saphris to Treat Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder
FDA, August 14, 2009
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Saphris tablets (asenapine) to treat adults with schizophrenia, a chronic, severe and disabling brain disorder, and to treat bipolar I disorder in adults, a serious psychiatric disorder that causes shifts in a person’s mood, energy, and ability to function.
“Mental illnesses like schizophrenia and bipolar [...]
9 Aug
U.S. Spending on Mental Health Care Soaring
Rate of increase now outstrips that for heart disease, cancer, data shows
WEDNESDAY, Aug. 5 (HealthDay News) — U.S. spending on mental illness is soaring at a faster pace than spending on any other health care category, new government data released Wednesday shows.
The cost of treating mental disorders rose sharply between 1996 and 2006, from $35 [...]
3 Aug
Mental Disorders Can Be Prevented In Young People
Mental, Emotional And Behavioral Disorders Can Be Prevented In Young People
ScienceDaily (July 30, 2009) — Around one in five young people in the U.S. have a current mental, emotional, or behavioral disorder. About half of all adults with mental disorders recalled that their disorders began by their mid-teens and three-quarters by their mid-20s. Early onset [...]
27 Jun
Is Cognitive Therapy In Schizophrenia of Value?
ScienceDaily (June 26, 2009) — Research co-led by an academic at the University of Hertfordshire, concludes that cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is of no value in schizophrenia and has limited effect on depression.
Professor Keith Laws, at the University’s School of Psychology, is one of the lead authors on a paper entitled: Cognitive behavioural therapy for [...]
19 Jun
SITTING IN JUDGMENT
Who am I to judge someone? Who are they to judge me?
Dictionary: Judgment: the ability to judge, makes a decision, or form an opinion objectively, authoritatively, and wisely, esp. in matters affecting action; good sense; discretion: a man of sound judgment.
Stigma: a mark of disgrace or infamy; a stain or reproach, as on one’s reputation; [...]
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