Mental Health

[unable to retrieve full-text content] Relapse in clinically stable adult patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder: evidence-based criteria ...    The Lancet

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[unable to retrieve full-text content] Lessons From Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Bipolar I Disorder    Health Central

What Is a Schizophrenic Episode? Schizophrenia is a chronic brain disorder. It is a mental illness characterized by psychosis, which is when people have trouble distinguishing between what is real and what is imagined. Symptoms of psychosis can include hallucinations, delusions, paranoia, and incoherence, says Deepak D'Souza, MD, a psychiatry professor at Yale School of Medicine. A schizophrenic episode, also known as a psychotic episode or acute schizophrenia, describes a time when the person's symptoms are particularly active, says D'Souza. Depending on the severity of the schizophrenic episode, the person may lose touch with reality, and the world can seem like a confusing jumble of sights, sounds, and information. A schizophrenic episode can last days or weeks—in rare cases, even months, says D'Souza. Some people may experience only one or two schizophrenic episodes in their lifetime, whereas for others, the episodes may come and go...

Mary Alvord, Ph.D., a psychologist in Maryland who teaches mental health professionals about telehealth, Jay Shore, Ph.D., a psychiatrist and director of telemedicine at the Helen and Arthur E. Johnson Depression Center at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus and Henderson offer these pros and cons for online therapy. Pros Circumvents mental health stigma. "For people whom stigma is a concern, especially if they live in a tight-knit community, parking their car outside a counseling center or therapy office can really violate their privacy," says Henderson. "But online therapy is really discreet and can protect people's privacy and confidentiality in ways that in-person [therapy] simply cannot." Convenience and safety. If you're unable to travel safely during bad weather or can't take time out of your workday to travel to and from a mental health professional's office, a virtual visit can be a good substitute. Sense of intimacy...

Hi, I'm Dr. Craig Sawchuk, a clinical psychologist at Mayo Clinic. And I'm here to talk with you about depression. Whether you're looking for answers for yourself, a friend, or loved one, understanding the basics of depression can help you take the next step. What is depression? Depression is a mood disorder that causes feelings of sadness that won't go away. Unfortunately, there's a lot of stigma around depression. Depression isn't a weakness or a character flaw. It's not about being in a bad mood, and people who experience depression can't just snap out of it. Depression is a common, serious, and treatable condition. If you're experiencing depression, you're not alone. It honestly affects people of all ages and races and biological sexes, income levels and educational backgrounds. Approximately one in six people will experience a major depressive episode at some point in their lifetime, while up to 16 million adults each year suffer from c...

A new hypothesis linking schizophrenia to pellagra could improve understanding and treatment of psychosis in poorer countries. A new hypothesis may hold the key to solving four medical mysteries associated with the chronic brain disorder. Four unsolved mysteries around schizophrenia have long plagued the medical community, but a new hypothesis identifying a common link between them and an almost forgotten epidemic of a disease called pellagra could have profound implications for our understanding of psychosis in poorer nations. The new hypothesis has implications for how a subgroup of people with active psychosis could be potentially screened, treated, and cured. The idea behind the hypothesis occurred to Esme Fuller-Thomson, professor at the University of Toronto's Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work (FIFSW) after learning about recent research conducted in South India. This study newly identified a link between schizophrenia and a variant of the gene NAPRT1, which lowers the ...

A video of two men at a soccer game demonstrates how appearances can be deceiving. In conjunction with World Mental Health Day on October 10, the British soccer club Norwich City shared on YouTube a video of two men at a number of soccer games to highlight a common problem in today's society. In just three minutes, we're invited into the lives of the soccer fans as they enjoy the various matches over the club's season. It's a typical scenario where the men meet up once a week, united in their love for the game: The usual chitchat and banter is exchanged. Yet, without giving the purpose of the video away, the snapshot into the well-being of these men demonstrates a real danger with mental health, particularly concerning men. (It's therefore really worth taking the time to watch the video in its entirety and to share with others.) [embedded content] [embedded content] Males and mental health In fact, statistics published by the government's National Library of Me...

Once you understand that depression isn't something your loved one can easily manage without help, it may be more possible for you to offer support and care. Here are some ways you can help: Express your concern. Acknowledge the person's pain without implying that you know how they feel. Listen if they want to talk, but don't try to draw the person out and don't ask intrusive questions. Being withdrawn is often part of the illness. Don't take it personally. Ask how you can help. Your loved one may not have specific suggestions of things that you can do, but they will know that you're willing to be supportive. Offer hope. Remind the individual that depression is treatable, and that they will likely get better. If your loved one is undergoing treatment, gently remind them that it takes time for treatment to work. Give positive reinforcement. Depressed people often feel worthless, and they dwell on their faults and shortcomings. Remind your loved on...

Self-medicating and increased pleasure-seeking or risk-taking behaviors in bipolar disorder could contribute to habitual gambling. Bipolar disorder is a mental health condition featuring extreme changes in mood and energy. These "highs" and "lows" occur episodically and can involve depressive periods as well as times of elevated mood and agitation, known as mania or hypomania. Several variations of bipolar disorder exist, including bipolar I disorder, bipolar II disorder, and cyclothymia. They're defined by the type, frequency, and severity of mood episodes someone experiences. If you live with bipolar disorder, you may be more likely to live with co-occurring conditions related to pleasure-seeking behaviors. These might include substance use disorder or gambling disorder. Is there a connection between gambling and bipolar disorder? According to a systematic review from 2018, gambling is the most common behavioral addiction that co-occurs with bipolar disorder....

[unable to retrieve full-text content] Bipolar electrochemistry for high-throughput corrosion screening    ScienceDirect.com

An estimated 2 million times each year, people with serious mental health conditions are jailed or imprisoned in the U.S. Women are disproportionately impacted at twice the rate as men. For this population, incarceration may exacerbate pre-existing symptoms, says Carolina Estevez, Psy.D., a clinical psychologist in Miami. "Frequently, individuals who are incarcerated receive inadequate medical care and mental health treatment," says Dr. Estevez. "This lack of access to proper care can result in conditions worsening over time." She adds that the stigma this population faces from staff and peers may lead to further psychological distress. In fact, 63% of incarcerated individuals who have mental health conditions do not receive treatment—and for non-white individuals, their diagnoses put them at greater risk for solitary confinement, injury and longer sentences. The trauma and stress associated with incarceration have a potential snowball effect, exacerbating exist...

Share on Pinterest A new study explores how ketamine could dial up 'background noise' in the brain, leading to psychosis. Image credit: GiorgioMagini/Getty Images Researchers investigated whether ketamine may induce changes in the brain that are similar to psychosis. They found that ketamine increases background noise, which may interfere with how the brain processes sensory signals. The researchers conducted their study on rats, meaning that further research is needed to see how the findings may apply to humans. Schizophrenia is characterized by changes in how a person perceives reality, including experiencing persistent delusions, hallucinations, and disorganized thinking. The condition affects around 24 million people globally. The exact cause of schizophrenia remains unknown. However, studies suggest that the condition may arise from environmental, psychological, and genetic factors. A drug known as ketamine induces a mental state similar to psychosis in healthy individual...

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has apologised unreservedly for failings in its handling of incidents preceding the killing of Michael and Marjorie Cawdery. It comes after a coroner found that the deaths of the retired couple, who were killed by a man with a severe mental health illness, were "entirely preventable". Mr and Mrs Cawdery, both 83, were stabbed to death at their home in Portadown, Co Armagh, on May 26th, 2017. Paranoid schizophrenic Thomas Scott McEntee, who is now aged in his mid-40s, pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility and was given a life sentence in June the following year. He suffers from paranoid schizophrenia. Delivering inquest findings at Banbridge courthouse in December, coroner Maria Dougan said that on the balance of probabilities the deaths could have been avoided if police and health care workers had dealt differently with McEntee in several interactions in the days leading up to the fatal inciden...

[unable to retrieve full-text content] A Personal Perspective: Why a mixed state is so challenging.    Psychology Today

Over the weekend two more promising young lives were snuffed out in what police speculate were accidental drug overdoses. In sleepy but growing Raleigh suburbs, young families are burying their children because drugs and fentanyl poisoning are quite literally claiming a generation of Americans. In this case, two young athletes died overnight on Saturday in what police say are accidental ingestions of lethal doses of fentanyl. There was a time when, for middle- and upper-income Americans, drug overdoses were "not in my neighborhood." It was happening elsewhere, in sketchy places and dark alleys. No longer. You don't have to go far to find families for whom the unimaginable has happened to their honor students, athletes, and social butterflies — yes, often privileged kids. Last week Operation Thunder on the Hill in Nash County, North Carolina, resulted in three arrests and seizure of 419 fentanyl pills, 68 grams of crack cocaine, and 490 grams of powder coca...

Iloperidone, a second-generation antipsychotic used to treat schizophrenia, appears to be safe and effective in the treatment of bipolar mania, new research suggested. Results of the phase 3 randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial show patients with bipolar mania who received iloperidone had significantly greater change from baseline to 4 weeks on the Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS) compared with placebo, an improvement detected as early as 14 days from the initial dose. The incidence of akathisia and extrapyramidal symptoms (EPS) was low in the treatment group, and the medication was well-tolerated. "This study provides evidence that iloperidone improves the symptoms of bipolar mania in adults and can be a useful treatment option for people with bipolar disorder," the investigators, led by Rosarelis Torres, PhD, of Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc., and colleagues wrote. The study was published online on January 15 in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry . Early Improvement ...

Guide to Choosing the Best Online Help for Depression What Types of Online Depression Help Are Offered? There are many types of therapy that can help treat depression. These options include: Individual therapy Couples therapy Support groups Family therapy Peer-to-peer support It's important to consider what type of therapy you are looking for as well as what other diagnoses or sociocultural factors influence you, such as being a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, being a person of color, living with disabilities, or other intersectional identities. Comparing Online Counseling for Depression There are a variety of factors to consider when choosing which online counseling is best. These include: Price: If paying out-of-pocket, can you afford the price of sessions? Are there subscriptions available rather than paying a la carte?  Insurance coverage: Does the company accept your insurance or provide you with superbills to submit to your in...

DENVER (AP) — Members of a mental health response team sent to help a man who was having a "psychotic breakdown" instead killed him by tackling him and leaving him handcuffed, according to a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday by the man's family. The lawsuit over the 2022 death of Kevin Dizmang in Colorado Springs was filed against the team's paramedic, Nick Fisher, and police officer Sean Reed. It identifies Fisher as the person seen taking Dizmang, 63, to the ground in body camera footage released last year by lawyers for Dizmang's family after his death was ruled a homicide and raised questions about how police handle encounters with people experiencing mental health crises. Other body camera footage taken at the hospital as staff tried to save Dizmang's life shows Fisher joking about how he relied on his high school football experience to bring Dizmang to the ground, according to the lawsuit. When someone compliments him on his "good form," someone r...