Mental Health

Norwegian researchers have followed patients in Norway's patient register for six years. The goal was to see whether people who have had psychosis triggered by various drugs have an increased risk of developing a serious mental illness later on. The results are striking. People who have experienced a drug-induced psychosis have a significant risk of subsequently being diagnosed with schizophrenia, according to a recent Norwegian study. Individuals who had a serious mental health diagnosis beforehand were excluded from the study, which was published in the American Journal of Psychiatry. Found the same in Norway Drug-induced psychosis is believed to be caused by a person's drug use. It passes quickly as long as the patient does not take any more drugs. But a significant proportion of these people later develop more long-term psychotic disorders, according to some international studies. "We wanted to investigate whether we found the same relationship in the Nor...

Creativa Images_AdobeStock CASE VIGNETTE "Ms Hat" is a 21-year-old Caucasian female who was newly diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD), single episode, severe, without psychotic features. She also has significant symptoms of anxiety. She does not smoke, drink alcohol, or use illicit drugs. She meets criteria for obesity, with a current body mass index (BMI) of 32. At her initial outpatient clinic visit, her blood pressure is elevated at 137/90. Routine laboratory studies, including thyroid function tests (TSH and free T4) and a lipid panel are all within normal limits. She had a good clinical response to the combination of a selective-serotonin reuptake inhibitor and cognitive behavioral therapy. Overweight and obesity are associated with the severity of MDD and antidepressant treatment outcomes. 1 The mechanisms underlying these associations are complex and multifactorial, and may include stress, dysfunctional eating behaviors, and neuroendocrine abnormalities. 1 ...

Carl Jung made many contributions to the field of psychology — but many don't realize that his thoughts on psychosis came from his own experiences. Pioneering psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Carl Jung — and founder of analytical psychology — is well-known for his insights on human behavior, personality, and unconscious thought. Jung's own symptoms of psychosis inspired him to delve deeper into the unconscious mind, though his experience was not schizophrenia as we know it today. Carl Jung's impact on the field of psychology isn't fully defined — but it's certainly far reaching. This Swiss psychologist and psychiatrist lived from 1875 to 1961. His legacy involves the interplay of spirituality with the human psyche. He founded analytical psychology — also known as Jungian psychology — which focuses on symbolism in the human experience. His theories rest on the concepts of archetypes, the collective unconscious, and extraverted and introverted personalities. Jung viewed...

[unable to retrieve full-text content] Why National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month is important    The Times Weekly

Bipolar disorders present a high rate of misdiagnosis issues (e.g., Rakofsky et al., 2015; Shen et al., 2018; McIntyre et al., 2022). This has a lot to do with poor differential diagnosis practice and a misconception, even amongst some clinicians, that, as noted in the post "Coming to Terms," any pervasive moodiness is synonymous with "bipolar." It is commonly misdiagnosed as unipolar major depression (e.g., Nasrallah, 2015; Stiles et al., 2018; McIntyre et al., 2022) or over-diagnosed (e.g., Ghouse et al., 2013; Morgan & Zimmerman, 2014; Cogen et al., 2021; Doyen, 2021) when personality, trauma, or other items encourage the rollercoasters of moodiness. Source: Geralt/Pixabay Within bipolar disorder diagnoses, it is not uncommon to witness the specifier, "with rapid cycling," a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual ( DSM ) and International Classification of Disease (ICD)-sanctioned distinction. There is also...

Source: Cottonbro/Pexels Schizophrenia—incoherent activity, paranoia, talking gibberish to people who aren't there, perhaps some catatonia, right? Partially. Schizophrenia review As of 2013 and the DSM-5, schizophrenia is no longer subtyped, as sufferers often have cross-subtype symptomatology. Those familiar will know, for instance, it's not unusual to encounter someone having marked hallucinations or delusions of what was termed the paranoid type, with a grossly disorganized speech of the historical hebephrenic type, for example. While many exhibit such mixed profiles, patients can still trend heavily toward particular symptom clusters. Therefore, it's not unusual to still see references to subtyping by researchers and practitioners (e.g., Trifu et al., 2017; Krzystanek et al., 2019; Jaine & Mitra, 2022). Some may, for example, be much more obviously disorganized than hallucinating or delusional, or vice versa. Nowad...

Specialty Adblock test (Why?)

Mental health is more important than ever. It's closely connected to physical health and touches every aspect of life. "If you don't have good mental health, there is no health," explains Dr. Nicole Aho, interventional psychiatrist with Atrium Health Behavioral Health. "It crosses all fields of medicine and is related to stress, poor sleep and lack of motivation. Mental health can impact every other health condition possible. For example, untreated mental health conditions can make diabetes, heart disease and dementia worse." Mental health conditions are having a significant impact on young people, especially adolescent girls. Since the start of COVID-19, young girls have experienced an increase in suicidal thinking and suicidal attempts. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 57% of teenage girls in the U.S. felt persistently sad or hopeless in 2021. Atrium Health Behavioral Heal...

F ive and a half months after Kristina Dulaney had her second daughter, she developed postpartum psychosis. One day, she spontaneously quit her job as a nurse — which she doesn't remember doing. Soon after, she began to quote scripture, grabbed her kids, and begged God to save them all. Then she passed out, and her husband called 911. Dulaney spent two nights in a behavioral health emergency room before being sent to a general inpatient unit that had both men and women in Greensboro, N.C. There, she had a round-the-clock sitter with her to keep her safe. She wasn't allowed off the floor at all. For two weeks, she didn't see her kids or go outside. "Honestly, I don't remember a lot of those two weeks," Dulaney says now. "I remember what my family has told me, but it was a very scary and traumatic time. I think that a general inpatient is not even close to what a new mom needs." Recovering after weeks of "battling for my mind and my life,...

Specialty Adblock test (Why?)

About 30% of people with depression don't get any help from at least the first two medications they try. That's what doctors call treatment-resistant depression. This condition can be very expensive. Research suggests that people with treatment-resistant depression spend close to $1,300 a year on out-of-pocket medical and drug costs. They may spend up to 134% more on health care costs than people with depression that responds to treatment. Here's a look at why that is and what you can do to improve the situation -- both for your mental health and your budget. The Cost of Treatment-Resistant Depression Treatment-resistant depression can come with a lot of costs -- not just additional medical costs, but other, indirect costs, too. They may include: Hospitalizations and ER visits. When you have treatment-resistant depression, you are almost 40% more likely to end up in the ER than someone with well-managed depression. You are 73% more likely to need a hospital stay. You may s...

'I feel better now than I did in my 20s': Today host Carson Daly reflects on his struggles with anxiety on his 50th birthday - revealing he has an entire mental health room in his home complete with a cold plunge pool Daly celebrated his milestone birthday on the Today show Thursday  The host said he feels mentally stronger than he did when he was in his 20s He suffered for years before being diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder By Erica Nardozzi For Dailymail.Com Published: 21:09 BST, 22 June 2023 | Updated: 21:15 BST, 22 June 2023 Carson Daly has reflected on his struggles with anxiety while celebrating his milestone 50th birthday, saying he now has an entire room in his house devoted to mental health. In an interview with Today.com, the host shared that he feels mentally stronger than ever as he enters the next decade of his life. He recalled being plag...