Mental Health Update

No one knows right now if Jennifer is mentally ill; the kind of psychotic break I know people with bipolar disorder can suffer when in the throes of a florid manic episode might apply here. Or perhaps she's just childish and selfish, completely unaware of the shitstorm she set off. As more than one Duluth resident said on the local news here in the Atlanta area; "She could have called someone, even one of the bridesmaids..."

I really think my baby is just fine. While this whole situation has raised my (already admittedly high) anxiety level to an intrusive point, the anxiety stems from my somewhat-wretched ability to stand the fuck up for myself and a tendency to shy away from confrontation.

Oh, and you know what else it said about this medicine? Get this: "effective for patients who have failed to respond to antidepressants or mood stabilizers."

The more I asked myself how to change our ways and learn to manage life, the more I began to open up and discuss these issues with others. The more I talked, the more other people opened up to me and I realized I am not alone. I am appalled at how many people work their fingers to the bone and are still just scraping by. It is terrible the amount of latch key children in society today, yet, what is a parent to do? Even when there are two parents at home and working, you still can’t get ahead, I can’t imagine trying to manage this while being single.

Not for parenting. Manic dperessives often relate their mood swings to the swinging of a pendulum, back and forth. But really, bipolar disorder is less a pendulum (although I guess it is when you aren't in treatment of some sort) and more like a teeter totter. At least in my experience. On the one side you have events that contribute to depression and related emotional downs. On the other, you have events that contribute to mania and related upswings. A lot of our time is spent trying to balance the beam. Some people use medication, some people try to moderate lifestyle, some of it is natural but ultimately the goal is to get the beam into equilibrium and alternately keep from flying off or crashing to the ground.

I am also keenly aware that there is a high probability that my son will suffer from depression in his life. High because of my own bipolar disorder. I think back to my time in high school and I resolve to be more of a parent than my own parents were, to be involved, and to not let my son suffer in silence. But I think about the day I went looking for my father's gun and I know the real reason I will never keep a gun in the house.

Doctors are easily persuaded to prescribe antidepressants — often unnecessarily — when patients mention having seen them in television advertisements, researchers reported Tuesday.

In an unusual experiment in which actresses posed as patients, doctors were five times more likely to write them prescriptions after the patients inquired about a specific antidepressant, Paxil. The actresses pretended to have a mild form of depression, a condition that does not require antidepressants.

"Prions enter brain cells and there convert the normal cell protein PrPC to the prion form of the protein, called PrPSC. When normal cell proteins transform into prions, amino acids that are folded tightly into alpha helical structures relax into looser beta sheets. More and more PrPC molecules transform into PrPSC molecules, until eventually prions completely clog the infected brain cells. The cells misfire, work poorly, or don't work at all. In mad cow disease, for example, with their brain cells running amuck, the mad cows wobble and stagger and appear fearful--their "madness" is craziness, not anger. Sheep and goats with the disease scrapie, which is like mad cow disease, become so uncomfortable and itchy that they frantically rub up against anything they can, finally scraping off--hence, the name of the disease--most of their wool and hair (2)."

I'm sure some of you (guys, probably) are thinking, "Thanks a lot, Title IX," but steroids are being viewed not only as a solution to quickly improve athletic performance; some girls are using them "to get the toned, sculpted look of models and movie stars." What happened to a simple eating disorder, you ask? Apparently, in many cases, the steriod-abusing females "are the same girls who have eating disorders." This makes some sense, in an unstable sort of way, as on the surface taking shots or pills appears less self-abusive than inducing vomiting...

Everyone knows entrepreneurs are a little crazy, and a new book claims it's both genetic and very American. In The Hypomanic Edge : The Link Between (A Little) Craziness and (A Lot of) Success in America, author John D. Gartner claims that the personality traits that define entrepreneurial overachievers, like exceptional energy reserves, gut-instinct decision making, and an affinity for taking risks, are symptoms of hypomania, a psychiatric cousin of bipolar disorder. Gartner suggests the U.S. leads in churning out entrepreneurs because this is a...

Consequently, Dr. Stuart C. Yudofsky of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas estimated that another 15 to 30 percent of people have a close relationship with someone -- perhaps a co-worker, partner or family member -- who has antisocial personality disorder, borderline personality disorder, or some other personality disorder.

People with the histrionic type of personality disorder, a common condition, are impulsive and quickly form intense but shallow relationships. People with borderline personality disorder are typically unstable, exhibit wild mood swings, and have self-destructive behavior. Other personality disorders include narcissistic, paranoid, schizotypal, and addictive types.

...a warning reflecting the increased risk of side-effects such as suicide attempt, suicidal thoughts and hostility (predominantly aggression, oppositional behaviour and anger) in children and adolescents treated with antidepressants should be included in the product information of citalopram, escitalopram, fluoxetine, fluvoxamine, mianserine, milnacipran, mirtazapine, paroxetine, reboxetine, sertraline and venlafaxine containing medicinal products to warn physicians, patients and parents regarding this signal.

All antidepressants have the potential to cause weight gain and yet most people seem unaware that weight gain is one of the most common side effects associated with Zoloft, Paxil, Prozac, Wellbutrin, Zyprexa and many other behavioral drugs until it is too late. Ironically, this common side effect causes an increase in depression as it can seriously impact self-esteem.

It is generally accepted these days that new nerve cells are continually being formed in the adult brain. One suggestion is that these new neurons could be important for memory and learning. The number of new cells formed is governed by a number of factors such as stress, depression, physical activity and antidepressants.

In the major depression visits, in 80 of 149 visits (54 percent) antidepressants were prescribed. Rates of antidepressant prescribing were 53 percent in the brand-specific group, 76 percent in the general request group, and 31 percent in the group making no request. Paroxetine (Paxil) was prescribed in 3 percent of cases, except for the 27 percent of cases where Paxil was requested by name.

The second isolated amino acid in aspartame’s chemical structure is phenylalanine, fifty per cent of aspartame’s 3-D structure. Too much phenylalanine causes seizures, elevated blood plasma, is dangerous for pregnancy (causing retardation), PMS caused by phenylalanine’s blockage of serotonin, insomnia, severe mood swings, and even schizophrenia.

Early this month in Billings, Mont., a federal judge, Richard Cebull, blocked the Bush administration's plans to resume imports of Canadian cattle and beef. Those imports ended in late May 2003 after mad cow disease was discovered in a Canadian cow. Since then, Canada has discovered three more cases of the disease. The United States Department of Agriculture argues that there is a "very low" or "minimal" risk in reopening the border to live cattle under 30 months of age and to certain cuts of beef. But that argument is based on a hope and a wish.

The study itself looks pretty solid to me. It's the secondary spin that's insidious. Third parties are trying to give the public a false sense of security about the obesity crisis. Being overweight is good for you, the flacks insist. Well, not exactly... (Being overweight is probably healthier than yo-yo dieting, eating disorders, or extreme bariatric surgery, but this study doesn't bear on those important issues.)

The physical and emotional strains of the whole process are can contribute to depression, eating disorders, and general ill health.

“If you have been treated for mood, anxiety, or other psychological disorders, including panic attacks, bipolar disorder, clinical depression, eating disorders, substance abuse, etc. be prepared for a regression with many symptoms resurfacing after about a month in your host country…. This regression is due to the extra stress of living and working abroad.”

One child with a learning disability and/or an attention deficit disorder can keep a classroom in constant uproar if nothing is done to counteract his trouble with attention, organization, time, and social acceptance. In these areas, the youngster does not have the ability to control and change his own behavior. Teachers have to deal with these problems by adjusting his environment. Careful classroom management can prevent the LD/ADD student from becoming a strongly disruptive influence.

My experience with Wellbutrin was freaking awful. The doctor prescribed it to me to help me quit smoking and it turned me into an absolute jerk. I had fights with my wife (and we NEVER fight) and had several anxiety attacks, like you mentioned.

Oh ya! Wellbutrin is definately the worst anti-depressant I have tried! I was like a psycho person on that stuff. Honestly, I think almost all of the anti-depressants out there suck. They help at first, but then (in my experience) just make you worse in the long run. The best medicine I think it to just try to learn how to control your subconscious. Of course this is much easier said than done. Clonazepam is a good one for just straight anxiety though.

Usually I come online and look up random issues, and today I decided to look up eating disorders. I’ve thought ‘there has got to be more out there than just anorexia and bulimia … something strange and I’m going to find it.” So that is what I did. Now before you people go yelling at me, no, I’m not making fun of those with eating disorders. Here is what I found :

PICA: Pica is an eating disorder typically defined as the persistent eating of non-nutritive substances for a period of at least one month. Individuals with pica have been reported to ingest a wide variety of non-food substances, such as: clay, dirt, sand, stones, pebbles, hair, feces, lead, laundry starch, vinyl gloves, plastic, pencil erasers, ice, fingernails, paper, paint chips, coal, chalk, wood, plaster, light bulbs, needles, string, and burnt matches.

Researcher Dr. Sarah Russell has written a book called A lifelong journey: Staying well with manic depression and bipolar disorder, which gives a positive take on mental illness thanks to her own experiences and those of the many people she has interviewed.

It could be said that this book began in 1979 when Sarah was diagnosed with manic depression (“The word bipolar disorder wasn’t around when I was diagnosed,” she says.).

The combination of individual psychotherapy and medications is known to help. Antidepressants especially SSRIs have been tried with some success. Other medications have been helpful to address the associated symptoms. Anxiety and agitation can be treated with benzodiazepines. The latter should be restricted to short-term use because of their addiction potential. Insomnia can be treated by a small dose of Trazodone.

A new emergence of depression in a patient with a history of schizophrenia might be a harbinger of the emergence of a new episode psychosis, generally within a week or two. An appropriate treatment response for a new episode of depression in such a patient, therefore, is increased surveillance (especially with regard to psychotic or disinhibited behaviour), ensuring adherence with antipsychotic medication regimens, interventions to reduce stress, and the bolstering of nonspecific psychosocial supports (Siris, 2005).

This is a case involving an armed bank robbery, albeit with an unloaded semiautomatic gun. Defendant Gorsuch has a history of being admitted to mental hospitals with a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia.

Choosing between the available SSRIs for management of obsessive compulsive disorder is difficult, as their effects are very similar. In the absence of comparator data, the selection of the drug depends upon personal preference. Occasionally the possibility of a drug interaction influences the choice. Sertraline and citalopram are relatively weak inhibitors of the hepatic cytochrome P450 enzymes which metabolize many psychotropic and other medications, and may be preferred if drug interactions are likely to be a problem. Fluoxetine and paroxetine...

Shock therapy, a controversial practice conjuring frightening images of behavior control, still has a place in schizophrenia treatment, a newly updated research review shows.

Although the data confirmed that antipsychotic drugs are still the first choice for schizophrenia treatment, they also showed that electroconvulsive, or shock, therapy clearly works, and combining both treatments can accelerate benefits to some patients, the review finds.

“ The most significant finding is that ECT combined with antipsychotics is more effective than antipsychotics alone in producing rapid clinical improvement in people with schizophrenia,” Tharyan said. Rapid improvement of symptoms is potentially lifesaving, for instance, when a person with schizophrenia is suicidal.

The American Psychiatric Association supports use of ECT only to treat severe, disabling mental disorders. However, the National Institute for Clinical Excellence in the United Kingdom does not recommend general use of ECT for schizophrenia, although it may be indicated for catatonia.

At University, sharing a flat with this great guy with a manic depression problem. He'd get amazingly excited over things like RISC co-processors (I once saw him bore a girl at a disco enthusing over 486 micro co-processors) and Finnish heavy metal bands - but on the flipside, you'd go into the kitchen the Sunday morning after the night before and find his blood on the bread knife, since he'd been cutting himself. He got off the alcohol, got on the lithium and AFAIK is living a great life in Chicago. Lucky swine.

Studies show links between supressed anger and alcoholism, eating disorders and depression (the last two of which are suffered by women at much higher rates). I find that when I'm not depressed, I'm pissed off more often. I also find that being pissed off kinda feels good. So if I am frequently threatening to punch people in the face, don't worry. It's when I stop doing that that you should be concerned.

When psychological and emotional disturbances can be traced to faulty brain chemistry and corrected with a pill, the idea that sitting and talking can treat a problem such as clinical depression might seem outdated.

I’m working on a playlist for my party next Friday. Things are going okay with it, a lot of obstacles in my way of having the party, but it’ll go on! I started taking Depakote for bipolar disorder, and it might be working. Might because it could be a placebo, I don’t know. I’m in a clinical research study. I get my blood tested every week, and they just upped my dosage today to 1500mg! I got $5 Burger King coupons, a $10 Target gift card, a shirt, and more medicine.

Since 1998, Jayne and Abdelfatah "Ed" Elebiari owned a condominium at the Auburn Woods I complex. Seven years before their condo purchase, Ed was in a serious car accident and suffered brain damage that required three surgeries. He is hydrocephalic, has a seizure disorder, severe headaches, and suffers from depression.

His psychiatrist also diagnosed him as having bipolar disorder and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder. Ed's doctor considers him to be permanently disabled and incapable of working.

Ed's wife Jayne also suffered from depression. Her condition was diagnosed as "major depression, recurrent" with depression episodes lasting from nine months to a year.

I also began to experiment with meditation to help with my anxiety issues, initially trying to do TM for 5 minutes a day then just sitting listening to Pink Floyd. After dropping out of grad school and in another depression, I read the book Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle and this book opened that crack of liberation and awareness a little bit more. I was looking for reviews of that book and found one at What Is Enlightenment? magazine and decided to also read an article written by Ken Wilber. Again, I felt lit up inside and started reading more...

A lot of eating disorders seemingly start with the implementation of a ritual into the eating pattern of a sufferer. They may start eating things in a certain order, or having only a certain number of items on a plate. This is, of course, simply an example of control over what they are eating. Many sufferers state that their ED started through attempting to exert some degree of control.

According to researchers at Columbia University in New York, in their report, Lyme disease: a neuropsychiatric illness, they state that “A broad range of psychiatric reactions have been associated with Lyme disease including paranoia, dementia, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, panic attacks, major depression, anorexia nervosa, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Depressive states among patients with late Lyme disease are fairly common,...

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and collaborating institutions found altered nerve cell function in olfactory receptor neurons – those that transmit smell – in patients with bipolar disorder. Because these cells share many characteristics with nerve cells in the brain, making these smell cells useful models for studying the neural effects of brain disorders that affect thoughts and emotions. See Olfactory receptor cells may provide clues to psychiatric...

I have a slight phobia (and by slight phobia, I mean occasionally paralyzing fear) of drowning and heights. So, get me in an inflatable raft over deep and clear (and by clear, I mean able to see how high I am from the bottom of the lake) and my heart jumps with anxiety at having my lungs flooded with water while I plunge (if slowly) to my death. But with a swimming noodle and a life vest blown up like Sponge Bob Squarepants balloon at my nephew’s birthday party, I felt comfortable enough to gaze down from the great height of the ocean’s...

Two interesting takes on depressive tendencies and the creative process: the first from Peter D. Kramer, author of 'Listening to Prozac', whose essay 'There's Nothing Deep About Depression' in today's New York Times makes the case that people who think art and depression go hand in hand are dead wrong.

Dead as in metaphorically, not dead as in Vincent van Gogh rotting in his suicidal grave.

In truth, anyone who thinks a tormented soul is the Romantic essential to creative genius has probably never been depressed nor created anything much. Because anyone who has ever been depressed knows how debilitating hopelessness is; and anyone who has ever created anything worth sharing knows that to create is to hope.

Two cows in northeast Japan's Miyagi Prefecture have been tentatively tested positive for mad cow disease earlier this month, Kyodo News reported Tuesday.

Still, 7 percent of athletes in general, and 25 percent of those from lean sports were identified as being at risk for eating disorders, based on their responses to questions about dieting, fear of weight gain and preoccupation with weight. The same was true of nearly 13 percent of nonathletes.

"In the past, there really was not a good way to definitively diagnose attention deficit disorder," Routh said.

Bipolar disorder, also known as manic depression, is a mood disorder that affects one in every 70 people. The cycle of mood shifts that distinguish the disease -- from manic highs to depressive lows -- differs with every sufferer. Without treatment, the condition worsens over time.

My body entombs me.

The body is the source of the drive for gratification. Its appetites never cease. It is insatiable and cannot sustain itself. It requires maintenance through sport and exercise. It requires fuel. Under consumerism the old hostility towards its appetites has been modified. Still the object of discipline, we impose the aesthetic sensibilities of culture upon it, extracting compliance with the aid of cosmetics and depilatories, personal hygiene products stock the shelves with their anxiety-suppressing fragrances, from mouthwash to panty liners, unsightly hair removers, shaving the armpits.

There are just some days when life really seems pointless to me. Be it low-grade depression or not, I suppose it’s just that I am like that. And I have been like this since I was 12. You know life always seems perfect before the first real traumatic incident hits. I was so afraid. Afraid when my great-grandmother passed away. Afraid when our family dog died. Suddenly life seemed so fragile and old age such a demon. I became so terrified of it because I did not want the same to happen to my grandparents, parents and my uncle. If it...

. . . A Tired Girl may suffer from migraines or depression or chronic fatigue syndrome (now called CFIDS) or fibromyalgia or bipolar disorder or the persistent, mixed-headache syndrome called chronic daily headache (CDH), which is Kamen's diagnosis. It's quite possible she has more than one of these conditions; scientists are now inclined to believe that these ailments (along with epilepsy and other seizure disorders) are related at the neurological level, and people who suffer from one are exceptionally likely to have the others.

Normally, you would expect that should a bipolar person go off of his medication, the bipolar symptoms would come up. Bipolar Disorder is an illness that you have to continue to treat, even when you are feeling well.

Subjects with lower benzodiazepine doses and no previous withdrawal attempts were more successful at benzodiazepine discontinuation. Cluster B personality/borderline personality disorder was associated with an inability to stop benzodiazepine use and with "dropping out" of treatment. Alcohol use-related disorders or other psychiatric diagnoses were not associated with outcome.

Further studies on predictors of successful benzodiazepine discontinuation in different populations are required. Patients manifesting cluster B personality/borderline personality disorder and benzodiazepine dependence may need concomitant treatment for their personality disorders to benefit from benzodiazepine discontinuation treatment.

- DON’T assume that you’ll be able to party the way you did in first and second year. Your marks begin to dictate the extent of your social life, not your friends.

- DO try to uphold some semblance of extracurricular activities. Getting bogged down in nothing but your schoolwork is the perfect recipe for anxiety and depression.

- DON’T skip classes. Unlike first and second year where you’re just an ID number in a 350-seat lecture, your Profs will know, even if they don’t appear to notice. I’ve had English Profs make cutting remarks to me in the halls and even penalize me on my papers for skipping their classes once too often. It doesn’t matter of you think they’re lousy and your time would be better spent researching on your own. Suck it up and GO TO CLASS.