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Fighting the Darkness: My Secret Battle with Depression
Will I survive a family vacation?
We’ve got the car packed and in about 20 minutes we’ll be leaving on a family ski vacation. Although vacations are always fun, they are certainly challenging, especially with two small kids and a dog!We’ll be on the road for about 5 hours, which in itself is a challenge. I’ve...
I realized it's been a long time since I last posted, but I'm still here :-)As I have mentioned before, the holidays are always a difficult time for me, but this year it wasn't as bad as other years.For starters I did all my shopping on-line, and that really helped....
I'm struggling again and I'm not sure why. Perhaps it's just this time of year, I'm always down around Christmas time, or perhaps it's for another reason all together.I wish I knew why these lows come from out of nowhere. I wish I knew why I'm questioning everything and why...
I've just been reading a post on major depression. And although I haven't had time to really read all of it (my persistant children want breakfast), a lot of what the author has written resonates with me and my experience.This paragraph really hit home:Your subconscious is constantly haunted by the...
Sometimes when I'm driving, I think about driving my car off the road, or turning left in front of a bus, and ending it all without having it look like a suicide. Is that normal or more of a depressed thing?I'm thinking it's a depressed thing that isn't good...When I...
On Sunday, I ran the Royal Victoria Half Marathon in 2 hours, 15 minutes and 23 seconds!To be perfectly honest, I think I hated almost every minute of the race. I pushed myself to run as fast as I could as long as I could and wanted to die before...
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Dr. Deb
Sleep Disorders Are No Laughing Matter...But You Can Laugh At This.
March 7 thru the 13th is Sleep Awareness Week. Good sleep is important for physical health. As for emotional health, studies suggest that mental health difficulties are often accompanied by sleep disturbances.Don't let sleeping too little or sleeping too much interfere with your well-being. Contact your healthcare professional.Though sleep disorders...
An Emotion Detector For Babies
Baby monitors of the future could translate infant cries, so that parents will know for certain whether their child is sleepy, hungry, needing a change or in pain. Japanese researchers have published a paper detailing their design for a statistical computer program that can analyze a baby's crying in the...
The Importance of Proper Media Coverage of Suicide
The way media reports suicide can do one of two things. They can unwittingly create a contagious trend or can educate and help others receive treatment. Research has shown that how suicide is reported makes all the difference. Below is an excerpt from the Suicide Prevention Resource Center. What to Avoid • Avoid...
March 1st is Self-Injury Awareness Day
Self-injury (SI) – is any deliberate, non suicidal behavior that inflicts physical harm on one's body to relieve emotional distress.Self-injury does not involve a conscious intent to commit suicide, though many believe that people who harm themselves are suicidal.People who SI are often trying to:* Distract emotional pain* End feelings...
This was fun. Interesting how we "see" things. If you take the quiz, let me know what you get!Your Observation Skills Get A B-Your senses are pretty sharp (okay, most of the time)And it takes something big to distract you!How Observant Are You?...
February is Eating Disorder Awareness Month
Canada, The United Kingdom and The United States use the month of February to bring awareness to Eating Disorders.Generally, eating disorders involve self-critical, negative thoughts and feelings about body weight and food, and eating habits that disrupts normal body function, and daily life activities.What causes eating disorders is not entirely...
Bipolar Disorder News
Most sellers think they know at least a ballpark figure for their house, but most are way off....
Most sellers think they know at least a ballpark figure for their house, but most are way off....
Most sellers think they know at least a ballpark figure for their house, but most are way off....
On the front lines of the mental health system, treating the patient takes top priority....
Are You At Risk For Heart Disease?
Are you at risk for heart disease? Use this calculator to find out. Links We Like Symptoms of bipolar disorder may vary from person to person....
Schizophrenia Versus Bipolar Disorder - What's the Difference?
What Are the Differences Between Bipolar Disorder and Schizophrenia and How Can Those Afflicted Get Help? What are the differences between Bipolar Disorder and Schizophrenia? In Dr....
Anxiety / Stress News From Medical News Today
Development Of New Scale To Measure Anxiety Outcomes
A new questionnaire and outcomes measurement scale developed by the department of psychiatry at Rhode Island Hospital has proven to be a reliable and valid measure of anxiety. The scale can easily be incorporated into routine clinical practice when treating psychiatric disorders. The study appears online ahead of print in...
Novel Program Translates Behavioral And Social Science Research Into Treatments To Reduce Obesity
Under a $7.1 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, Rush University Medical Center is developing a novel program, called WISHFIT, to help pre-menopausal women reduce visceral fat through a sustained increase in physical activity and reduction in stress......
Improving Care For Low-Birth-Weight Infants
Researchers at UC Irvine and the Charles Drew University of Medicine & Science (CDU) will monitor the day-to-day health of low-birth-weight babies and their parents as part of a comprehensive initiative designed to combat chronic illnesses associated with low-weight births......
Don't Let Stress Grind You Down
People who are stressed by daily problems or trouble at work seem to be more likely to grind their teeth at night. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access journal Head & Face Medicine studied the causes of 'sleep bruxism', gnashing teeth during the night, finding that it was especially...
Five Tips To Help A Stressed-Out President Or Anyone Else Quit Smoking
President Barack Obama's recent physical examination revealed that he is in generally good health and that he is still trying to quit smoking. His doctor's advice: keep up his "smoking cessation efforts"; in other words, he should keep trying to kick the habit......
When Abdominal Pain In Children Has No Apparent Cause: What Is Behind?
A systematic review that is published in the current issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics by Schulte and associates (University of Bremen, Germany) analyzes what is the psychosomatic component of abdominal pain with no apparent cause in children......
World of Psychology
What Works for You in Bipolar?
Bipolar disorder is a serious mental health condition, and while not as common as depression or anxiety disorders, it remains one of the most challenging to treat. That’s largely because it’s characterized by its wide mood swings. When a lot of people first hear about bipolar disorder, it doesn’t sound...
In a nearly 6,000-word essay, Louis Menand asks the question of the hour in the March 1 edition of The New Yorker. Menard lays out in excruciating detail the questions revolving around psychiatry these days, including the recent research into drug trials that suggests that some of the science psychiatry...
Five Things a Loved One Should Know About Bipolar Disorder
Today I have the pleasure of interviewing Bruce Cohen, M.D., Ph.D, who is Director of the Harvard University McLean Psychiatric Hospital and Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He is also the coauthor, with Chelsea Lowe, of the recently released book Living with Someone Who’s Living With Bipolar...
Maintain Your Memory as You Age
You can’t stop it — the natural aging process that ages not only our bodies, but our brains, too. Normal aging doesn’t significantly impact our thinking, however. Most people do not suffer from significant memory problems, deficits in problem-solving, or issues with thinking through activities that require analysis and reasoning. Still,...
Researchers ‘Discover’ Kids Don’t Like Homework
Our friends over at the Association for Psychological Science made sure that a new study about video games would get out (because, you know, it’s about video games and kids, and that always seems to get people’s attention), so we took a look and published a news story earlier today...
Therapists, Social Networking and Blogging, Oh My!
Therapists are turning out in droves to the online landscape, making our marks with blogging, article writing, social networking and other creative efforts. In Psychotherapists Unmasked on the Internet last October, I examined how this landscape had changed with the increasing prevalence of therapist websites with photos (ethically taboo...
NIMH | Recent Updates
ECG Screening for Heart Conditions in ADHD Children is Borderline Cost Effective
Obtaining an electrocardiogram (ECG) to screen for heart conditions in children prior to prescribing stimulant medication to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may save some lives but it is borderline cost-effective, according to an NIH study published online ahead of print March 8, 2010, in Circulation: ...
Gene’s Impact on Forgetting a Fear-Based Memory Same in Humans and Mice
Both humans and mice carrying a variant of a gene that plays a role in memory were slow to learn to forget a fear-based memory. The parallels in gene effects observed in mice and humans in this work means that investigation using the mouse model can provide insights into...
Bruce Cuthbert Named Head of NIMH’s Division of Adult Translational Research and Treatment Development...
Diabetes and Depression Associated with Higher Risk for Major Complications
People with type 2 diabetes and coexisting major depression are more likely to experience life-threatening diabetes-related complications, according to a recent NIMH-funded study published in the February 2010 issue of Diabetes Care....
The NIMH Annual International Research Conference on the Role of Families in Preventing and Adapting to HIV/AIDS is a three-day conference addressing the importance of family in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Family is defined as a network of mutual commitment. Academic researchers and service providers come together to...
Children Carry Emotional Burden of AIDS Epidemic in China
Having a parent with HIV/AIDS or losing one or both parents to the illness leads to poorer mental health among children in China, according to a recent study funded in part by NIMH. Published in the November–December 2009 issue of the Journal of Pediatric Psychology, the study also emphasizes the...
Anxiety and OCD Exposed
It’s tax time. Our accountant called to ask for another piece of paper. The regular drawer in which I stow stuff to do with mortgages is stuffed with large folders from various mortgage and title companies that we have dealt with over the last decade. Couldn’t find the paper—took out...
Personality Disorders Disappearing?
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV (DSM IV), a book that defines and describes the symptoms of emotional problems, has been in the revision process for years. Health professionals (and insurance companies) routinely use the manual to guide diagnosis and treatment. Recently, considerable attention has been given...
Anxiety is normal and only considered a disorder when it significantly interferes with day-to-day living. A critical element of treating most anxiety disorders is exposure. Basically, exposure involves facing what you fear. Depending on your specific fear, this exposure can either be real or in the imagination. For example, someone...
“Popularizing May Not be All that Popular,” but We Like Writing For Dummies Anyway!
A few years ago, I read an article by Scott Lilienfeld, Ph.D. called “When Worlds Collide” in the American Psychologist. Quite fascinating actually, but that’s not the point of this blog. In a section of his article, Dr. Lilienfeld noted that most academic departments of psychology as well as many other...
A few years ago, Chuck and I were asked to write Seasonal Affective Disorder For Dummies. SAD is thought to be a biologically caused type of depression related to the lack of sunlight in the winter. We had a great time researching and writing the material—including a trip to Alaska...
A recent, small study published in Behavior Research and Therapy by G. Haeffel (and passed along to us by Kenneth Pope, Ph.D.) questions the general use and even the effectiveness of self-help books as “traditionally operationalized and sold in stores.” The author states, “This also raises concerns about the benefits...
Finding Optimism
Hey, is depression meant to be sexy these days? I've been browsing around stock image sites, searching on the word "depressed". Here's what I came up with....
Loving someone with bipolar disorder is exhausting and exhilarating at the same time. There may not be a middle of the road...mood swings require that it’s all or nothing....
Your Mood Swings Are Giving Me Whiplash
His mood swings I'd chalked up to being a second-born...it wasn’t until around age 10 that we first heard the word bipolar....
The next day, I received a note which said, ‘Dear Mr. Bishop, I would very much like your help. I’m aware that the new DSM is coming out and I do not wish to be in it.’...
Beyond Blue: Surviving Mental Illness
In "Beyond Blue" Therese Borchard has sewn helpful and factual information seamlessly through the book, without being narrow or preaching. Her chatty, humorous, self-deprecating writing style makes this heavy topic easier to read and, in my own words, more digestible....
I’ve decided to be well for a whole year. Am I crazy?
Am I crazy? Do you think someone can "resolve" to be well? If 2009 is my benchmark then my chances look slim....
MedWire Medical News Combined Feed
PSA fall after antibiotics does not indicate absence of prostate cancer
Patients with type IV prostatitis and high prostate-specific antigen levels are equally likely to show a decrease in the marker whether they receive antibiotics or placebo, researchers report....
High temperature predicts good short-term outcome after thrombolysis
A high body temperature may indicate a favorable short-term prognosis in stroke patients treated with tissue plasminogen activator, say researchers....
Social anhedonia linked to interpersonal deficits in schizophrenia
Patients with schizophrenia and otherwise mentally healthy individuals with social anhedonia both show deficits in adopting the perspective of others, study results demonstrate....
PSA fall after antibiotics does not indicate absence of prostate cancer
Patients with type IV prostatitis and high prostate-specific antigen levels are equally likely to show a decrease in the marker whether they receive antibiotics or placebo, researchers report....
Sinusitis with nasal polyps linked to increased NO levels
The presence of nasal polyps in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis is associated with increased exhaled nitric oxide levels, study results show....
Psychiatric disorders vary in underlying serotonin pathology
Patients with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia display a diminished loudness dependence of the auditory evoked potential relative to mentally healthy controls, study results show....
ScienceDaily: Anxiety News
Rwandan Genocide Survivors Provide New Insights Into Resilience and PTSD
The 1994 genocide in Rwanda resulted in the mass killing of up to one million people over the course of about 100 days. There can be no doubt or surprise then that some of the survivors developed posttraumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, an anxiety disorder that can develop after witnessing...
Female elementary school teachers who are anxious about math pass on to female students the stereotype that boys, not girls, are good at math. Girls who endorse this belief then do worse at math, research shows. The research found that boys' math performance was not related to their teacher's math...
By measuring magnetic fields in brain, researchers identify post-traumatic stress disorder biomarker
Researchers have identified a biological marker in the brains of those exhibiting post-traumatic stress disorder. A group of 74 United States veterans were involved in the study, which for the first time objectively diagnoses PTSD using magnetoencephalography (MEG), a non-invasive measurement of magnetic fields in the brain. It's something conventional...
Mice and humans with same anxiety-related gene abnormality behave similarly
Studying animals in behavioral experiments has been a cornerstone of psychological research, but whether the observations are relevant for human behavior has been unclear. Researchers have now identified an alteration to the DNA of a gene that imparts similar anxiety-related behavior in both humans and mice, demonstrating that laboratory animals...
Why England's soccer team keeps losing on penalty shots
A new study may explain why the England soccer team keeps losing in penalty shootouts -- and could help the team address the problem in time for the World Cup 2010. New research shows for the first time the effect of anxiety on a footballer's eye movements while taking a...
Brain scans show distinctive patterns in people with generalized anxiety disorder
Scrambled connections between the part of the brain that processes fear and emotion and other brain regions could be the hallmark of a common anxiety disorder, according to a new study. The findings could help researchers identify biological differences between types of anxiety disorders as well as such disorders as...
Mental Health News From Medical News Today
American Psychiatric Association 2010 Annual Meeting Features Conversations With Terry Bradshaw
Mental illness can affect anyone, including celebrities and public leaders. The American Psychiatric Foundation's ninth annual Conversations event, will feature sportscaster and former NFL star Terry Bradshaw, who will talk candidly about his personal story of living with mental illness......
Mother's Flu During Pregnancy May Increase Baby's Risk Of Schizophrenia
Rhesus monkey babies born to mothers who had the flu while pregnant had smaller brains and showed other brain changes similar to those observed in human patients with schizophrenia, a study at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in collaboration with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has found......
Rhode Island Congressman Patrick Kennedy Recognized For Advocacy Work On Mental Health Issues
Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy (D-RI) was honored last night by the American Psychological Association for his advocacy work and legislative accomplishments on mental health issues. The APA presented Kennedy with the 2010 Outstanding Leadership Award, given annually to a member of Congress who has prominently championed the goals of professional...
Mind Calls For Regulation Of Counsellors And Psychotherapists, UK
Mind today presents new evidence to illustrate the barriers people face when trying to make a complaint about counsellors and psychotherapists and urgently calls for independent statutory regulation to help protect clients from malpractice (1)......
Veterans Mental Health Service Extended Across Wales
A pilot project to support armed services personnel experiencing mental health problems as a result of their service will be extended across Wales, Health Minister Edwina Hart announced. The service, which has been trialled in the Cardiff and Vale and Cwm Taf Health Board areas, offered access to clinicians...
APA Modifies DSM Naming Convention To Reflect Publication Changes
Beginning with the upcoming fifth edition, new versions of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) will be identified with Arabic rather than Roman numerals, marking a change in how future updates will be created, according to the American Psychiatric Association......
Postpartum Progress
3 Short Videos Help Illuminate Postpartum Psychosis
Many thanks to postpartum psychosis survivor Heather for sending me links to these videos about postpartum psychosis on EmpowHer that she felt would be informative and helpful to Postpartum Progress readers: Why Are Moms With Postpartum Psychosis Hospitalized? - Dr. Nehama Dresner Why Is There Confusion Between Postpartum Depression &...
NPR on Screening for Postpartum Depression
Thanks to Kim Schworm Acosta for giving me the heads up on this interview on WBUR (NPR in Boston) with Dr. Jeanne Watson Driscoll about postpartum depression and the issue of legislating PPD screening. Listen in by following the link below and clicking on the listen button underneath the title!...
13% of Hong Kong Women Who Have Miscarriage Suffer Perinatal Mood or Anxiety Disorder
We already know that women who suffer a miscarriage are at a higher risk of developing postpartum depression. A study just published in the journal General Hospital Psychiatry bears this out. It found that 13% of the women in Hong Kong who have a miscarriage ended up suffering from postpartum...
Single Screening Tool Accurately Tests for Several Mood & Anxiety Disorders
A company called M-3 Information has developed a free, online checklist that research shows can accurately indicate whether a patient may have depression, anxiety, PTSD or bipolar disorder. The study will be published in the March/April 2010 issue of the Annals of Family Medicine. The developers of the M-3 state...
Study Finds Support Groups Significantly Reduce Postpartum Depression in India
Science Daily reported this week on a new study published March 7 in Lancet finding that women's support groups "have had a dramatic effect on reducing neonatal mortality rates" in India, while also significantly reducing postpartum depression. "The effects of the interventions were dramatic: by the second and third years...
Sorry it's been a bit of a slow week here on PP. I was traveling mid-week to do a speech to a chapter of the Georgia Nurses Association about perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. (Hi ladies, if any of you are reading this!) I had a great time, as I...
Latest entries from www.anxietyinsights.info
Depression may sap endurance of brain reward circuits
A new study at the University of Wisconsin-Madison suggests that depressed patients are unable to sustain activity in brain areas related to positive emotion....
FDA considers classification of ECT
With the increasing number of new brain stimulation techniques now available and on the horizon, does electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) still have a role?...
Abstract: Meta-analysis of the association between the monoamine oxidase-A gene and mood disorders
Psychiatr Genet. 2010 Feb;20(1):1-7 Meta-analysis of the association between the monoamine oxidase-A gene and mood disorders Fan M, Liu B, Jiang T, Jiang X, Zhao H, Zhang J. Objective: To evaluate the controversial, putative associations between the...
Abstract: Maternal inheritance in recurrent early-onset depression
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is believed to have a genetic factor in its pathogenesis. On the basis of studies in MDD showing brain energy depletion and maternal inheritance in some families,...
Feeling old and blue? Green tea may help
By Joene Hendry NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Elderly men and women who sip on several cups of green tea a day may be less likely to have the blues, hint findings of a study from Japan....
Not all drugs are the same after all
LET me start by saying I'm a fan of generic drugs. They save Americans billions of dollars each year and give us access to wonderful drugs at affordable prices....
BipolarConnect.com - Latest Bipolar News
New Survey May Help Diagnosis of Mood Disorders
A single-page questionnaire called the My Mood Monitor (M-3) may help primary care doctors diagnose mood disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, and bipolar disorder, researchers say....
Alcohol May Affect Memory of Trauma: Study
According to a new study, moderate drinking before a traumatic event increases the chances the sufferer will experience flashbacks....
Glenn Close Has Genome Mapped to Help Study of Mental Illness
Close says she has a history of both bipolar disorder and schizophrenia in her family, and she hopes that by allowing her genome to be mapped, it might shed light on the genetic underpinnings of these conditions....
Marie Osmond's Son Commits Suicide
Eighteen-year-old Michael Blosil reportedly left a suicide note in which he referred to a lifelong struggle with depression. ...
Art Therapy Boosts Mental Health Recovery: Experts
Art has long been used as a diagnostic tool for patients with mental illnesses, but now art therapy is used to help patients heal, as well....
Marijuana May Boost Psychosis Risk
Australian researchers have found that the long-term use of marijuana can lead to a higher risk of developing psychosis, hallucinations, and delusions....
Anxiety News
Combat Vet's PTSD Untreated; Blames Her Gender
According to recent VA statistics, PTSD and depression are the top disability claims among America's female veterans - many of whom served in Iraq and Afghanistan....
Report reviews autistic support
Concerns over the support available to children with autism and their families in Suffolk have been raised in a report to the county's health scrutiny panel....
The Gift of Fear/The Curse of Anxiety
Is it Fear or is it Anxiety? Published on March 11, 2010 Women who have been in pathological relationships come away from the relationships with problems associated with fear , worry, and anxiety ....
Indiana's love affair with drugs - Are they patients or criminals? Chronic Pain Rights
Author and science writer Michael Pollan observed the following about Americans' illegal-psychiatric drug hypocrisy: "Historians of the future will wonder how a people possessed of such a deep faith in the power of drugs also found themselves fighting a war against certain other drugs with not-dissimilar powers" We hate drugs....
Treatment of Anxiety Tuesday, March 09, 2010 Eileen Bailey Thank you for your question and welcome to AnxietyConnection.com. I am not a medical professional and would not be able to give medical advice....
Anxiety and panic attacks part one
Julie stood gazing at the stream flowing through the park just below the window of her counselor's office....
meg's Blogs
My own perspective on various current events in the world....
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Ottawa Social Services Employment Listing
Quality employment opportunities in Ottawa, resume writing tips, interview techniques, and much more....
"Man is the only animal for whom his own existence is a problem which he has to solve” - Erich Fromm...
msnbc.com: Mental health
Court rules again against vaccine-autism claims
Vaccines that contain a mercury-based preservative called thimerosal cannot cause autism on their own, a special U.S. court ruled on Friday, dealing one more blow to parents seeking to blame vaccines for their children's illness. Autism - Thiomersal - Vaccine - United States - Health...
Brain scans help researchers read minds
By scanning your brain, scientists can tell what memory you are recalling. Brain - Neuroimaging - Health - Conditions and Diseases - Neurological Disorders...
Animal suicide sheds light on human behavior
Whether it's a grieving dog, a depressed horse or even a whale mysteriously beaching itself, there is a long history of animals behaving suicidally, behavior that can help explain human suicide, says newly published research. Suicide - Death - Human behavior - Health - Mental Health...
Teen girls’ suicide pact stuns Pa. town
As the high-speed Acela train came thundering down the rails, a teenage girl screamed at her friends to get off the tracks. But Gina Gentile and Vanessa Dorwart did not move. Acela Express - Suicide - Suicide pact - Death - Magazines and E-zines...
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Autism diagnosis changes anger ‘Aspies’
In the autism world, people with Asperger's syndrome are sometimes seen as the elites, the ones who are socially awkward, yet academically gifted and who embrace their quirkiness. Asperger syndrome - Autism - Autism spectrum - Health - Mental health...