TresSugar

Do Tell: Do You Know Anyone With Mental Illness?

TresSugar — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 07:00:00 -0700

Earlier this week actress Glenn Close spoke up about her sister's bipolar disorder and her family's struggle to understand it. Glenn and her sister Jessie have started a public service campaign hoping to create awareness and acceptance of people with mental illness.

One in four adults deal with a diagnosable mental disorder in the US, and about one in 17 lives with a serious mental illness. Do you know anyone living with a mental illness?

Say What? Glenn Close Speaks Up About Sister's Mental Illness

TresSugar — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 14:00:00 -0700

"We didn't know that it wasn't Jess just being wild, there was something going on there. . . We come from the tradition that you hardly ever went to a psychiatrist - it just wasn't done. You certainly don't talk about depression, or alcoholism, or any mental illness. It's just not done, and I think a lot of people still feel that."

- Glenn Close went on Good Morning America today to discuss her family's struggle to understand her sister Jessie's mental illness. Jessie was diagnosed with bipolar disorder when she was 47-years-old. The actress and her sister have filmed a public service announcement with hopes of challenging the stigma attached to mental illness.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Examined on A&E's Obsessed

TresSugar — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 09:48:12 -0700

Trina is afraid she’ll murder someone. Nidia has a phobia about her bowel movements. Rick can’t stop compulsively exercising, adding up the numbers on license plates, or turning clockwise at regular intervals. He wants to stay healthy forever and ward off old age.

Like 3.3 million other Americans, they have obsessive compulsive disorder. A&E’s series Obsessed follows them as they work with cognitive behavioral therapists who try to get them to examine the thinking behind their obsessions so that they can replace those beliefs - and the compulsive acts performed on their behalf - with healthier ones. To find out more about OCD and to watch a clip from Obsessed, read more

Obsessive-compulsive disorder is one of those psychological disorders with an (almost) self-explanatory name. A person with OCD suffers from extreme anxiety based on a phobia about something - germs, a messy room, worry they’ll harm someone. The sufferer, as a result, feels compelled to do something time-consuming and often physically punishing to ward off the fear.

In the case of Nidia in the video here, she had such a fear of her bowel movements that she would shower up to three hours after going to the bathroom, using enemas and toothbrushes with such force that she had to have two blood transfusions from cleaning herself too vigorously. By the end of her CBT treatment, she began to see improvement. Rick, however, did not, making a statement that lends some insight into the disorder: “I have mixed feelings about giving up my compulsions because then I’ll be forced to analyze my compulsions and that person may suck."

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Daddy Issues: Depressed Fathers Affect Kids Too

TresSugar — Thu, 07 May 2009 13:00:00 -0700

Blame the mother? Not so fast. Turns out, depression in dads can be just as bad for kids as having a mother with mental health issues. According to experts from the University of Oxford, doctors have been focusing far too much on the mothers' problems. Kids, especially boys raised by alcoholic or depressed dads, are far more influenced by troubled fathers than previously thought. But until recently, no one was paying much attention:

The Oxford team said it was not surprising much of researchers' emphasis had focused on mothers as, in most societies, it is mothers who provide the majority of childcare - particularly when children are very young. But they said the role of men had been "underemphasised" . . . In addition, the peak age for men to be affected by psychiatric disorders is the same as the peak age for becoming a father - between 18 and 35.

As a result, young kids can develop behavioral problems, while teens are at a higher risk of depression and other mental-health issues. Do you think daughters are more affected by their mothers' mental health, while boys are more impacted by dads?

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All in Your Head...and Internet: Culture and Psychology Collide

CitizenSugar — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 06:00:56 -0800

Paranoid delusions are nothing if not timely. In World War II, psychotics often thought their neighbors were Nazis. They became spies during the cold war and terrorists after 9-11. But as the cultural landscape changes, so does the delusional scenery. Today culture and technology intersect with mental illness like major events did before.

While it may seem like this only affects a select group, psychiatrists say delusions and hallucinations of the mentally ill reflect what the world, or at least its more neurotic inhabitants, worry about. What's being escalated into all-out delusions today?

Internet Delusion
The Internet could make anyone paranoid, but it's a minefield for some. People become convinced the Internet is monitoring or controlling their lives. An Austrian woman even believed she was a walking webcam.
Truman Show Delusion
Named after the movie The Truman Show, where Jim Carrey's character learns his life is a soap opera that's being broadcast 24-7, people believe they are stars of reality shows. While patients differ in experiences, they all believe they've been chosen without consent and producers are controlling their lives.
Climate Change Delusion
While I've heard of eco-anxiety, climate change delusion is a whole new level. Australian psychiatrists reported the first case this Summer when a patient refused to drink water, fearing its consumption could lead to the death of millions.

These all lead to a chicken-and-egg question: Are these just modern examples of age-old paranoia? Or is there something about the pervasive coverage - both method and subject - that's pushing people over the line, farther and faster than ever?

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Study Finds Long-Term 9-11 Stress in Lower Manhattan

CitizenSugar — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 10:00:35 -0700

Coming up on the seventh anniversary of September 11, the New York City health department wanted to know how those affected are coping today. They released findings from the first study to assess 9-11's long-term effect on mental health today.

The results illuminate the day's lingering impact and the staggering difference between those living near the World Trade Center compared with the rest of Manhattan.

One in eight Lower Manhattan residents reported symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) - 12.6 percent - three to four years after the attacks. Considering within six months only 1 percent of Manhattan as a whole reported PTSD symptoms, this is a significant finding. To see what else they found, read more.

PTSD, it turns out, is not gender, color, or class blind. Women instead of men; African Americans and Hispanics instead of whites; and those earning less than $25,000 per year were all more likely to report symptoms. At 38 percent, residents who suffered injuries were most likely to be affected, and at 17 percent those caught in the dust that rushed through the streets were the second most.

While the disparity may seem self-evident, researches love to hypothesize. The constant reminders in the area, disruptions to routines, and the large number of residents evacuated from homes are posited theories; however, the correlation has not been studied.

While results from a follow-up 2007 survey will be released later this year, the current study calls for further and more in-depth monitoring of PTSD victims. As a temporary solution, the city is urging people to take advantage of its free mental health services.

Considering those still living around Ground Zero have an almost constant visual reminder of the events of the day, is the city doing enough to help those affected? What do you think income has to do with mental symptoms? Will we ever know the true extent of the attack's damage?

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Seattle's Schizophrenic Shooter Had Valid Gun Permit

LibertySugar — Thu, 29 May 2008 06:00:19 -0700

A mentally ill man who shot three people at a music festival in the Pacific Northwest last week had obtained his weapon with a valid concealed weapon permit. A bullet from his Glock 19 handgun hit three victims last Saturday while Grainger was fighting another man. The bullet passed through a man's nose, another's wrist, finally ending up in a woman's leg.

22-year-old Clinton C. Grainger suffers from anxiety and schizophrenia and has been receiving treatment for a meth addiction since he was 18. Grainger's issues did show up as disqualifying conditions when he applied for a gun permit in January 2007. A mental illness diagnosis alone is not enough to restrict a citizen's right to bear arms under Washington state and US federal law.

To find out what federal law is regarding mental illness and gun permits, read more.

Federal law requires that an individual be involuntarily committed to a mental institution, found not guilty by insanity, or deemed by a judge as a "mental defective" and a danger to himself or others, before second amendment rights are restricted. Nevertheless, it appears that if background checks were more sophisticated, at least Grainger's narcotic addiction would have prevented him from obtaining the permit. Yet, as with the shooting tragedy at Virginia Tech, crucial disqualifying information located in different systems were not properly shared.

Are nominal and negligent background checks to blame for victims' injuries? Should we make it harder for those with a mental health diagnosis to obtain a gun? Considering that many Americans are treated for anxiety and depression, what mental illness should cause a citizen to lose the right to bear arms?

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New Orleans Locals Still Homeless After Katrina

LibertySugar — Wed, 28 May 2008 11:00:00 -0700

A unique homelessness situation confronts post-Katrina New Orleans. A recent survey conducted by advocacy groups shows that a majority of the homeless were residents of New Orleans before the hurricane, and lost their jobs and homes as a result.

Figures cited in today's New York Times include:

86 percent of homeless are from the New Orleans area.
60 percent cite Hurricane Katrina as the cause of their homelessness, while 30 percent said they received assistance from FEMA at one time.
80 percent have at least one physical disability, 58 percent have had some kind of addiction, 40 percent are mentally ill, and 19 percent deal with all three issues.
The number of homeless has doubled since Katrina, according to rough estimates.

For an more in depth look at the problem, read more.

One HIV-positive New Orleans native told the paper that he wasn't homeless until Hurricane Katrina. He receives $637 per month in disability income, not enough to pay rent. Despite a rise in need, there has been a decline in resources. Before Katrina, the city had 2,800 shelter beds, now it has 2,000. In addition, FEMA federal trailer parks that house many Hurricane Katrina victims are scheduled to close May 31.

In his new book, President Bush's former press secretary called Katrina "one of the worst disasters in our nation's history" and "one of the biggest disasters in Bush's presidency." Now more than three years later, the local community still faces the difficulty brought by lack of resources.

Do you consider New Orleans' homeless predicament a national or local problem? How can we get those more vulnerable in a crisis - such as the mentally ill, disabled, and drug addicted - back on their feet? Should Congress adopt legislation that would provide $76 million in rent subsidies and services to disabled homeless people in the city, as passed by the Senate last week?

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Transgender Americans: We're Not Mentally Ill

TresSugar — Wed, 20 May 2009 13:00:00 -0700

The American Psychiatric Association considered homosexuality a mental illness until 1974. Today it still considers transgender Americans mentally ill. According to the authoritative Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), transgendered people suffer from Gender Identity Disorder. Activists argue that the diagnosis reinforces false stereotypes about people who are not "gender normal" and in some cases is used to deny people civil rights.

During this year's APA conference in San Francisco, activists are working to make the classification a thing of the past. They say:

It is time for culturally competent psychiatric policies that recognize the legitimacy of cross-gender identity and yet distinguish gender dysphoria (which often requires a sex-reassignment surgery) as a serious condition, treatable with medical procedures.

Members of the ADA, some transgender themselves, are also arguing that identifying with or expressing a gender different from assigned birth sex is not, in itself, grounds for diagnosing a mental disorder.

Do you think it's time the APA stops considering people who don't identify with conventional gender mentally ill?

Source

Is This Craigslist Ad Real?

TresSugar — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 03:00:00 -0700

Moving to San Francisco? Well, do I have the place and 'mate for you. It doesn't have any space, but rent's only $680. Now I totally believe this apartment exists . . . but this is either a joke or the most terrifyingly unself-aware person out there. I am almost tempted to go check it out.

Hello, I am seeking a nice room mate to share my 2 bedroom home.

You won't have to pay utilities or do any chores so it's perfect for a young person or a student.

But I cannot have anybody touching or moving my stuff because it would set off a chain reaction of emotions and feelings towards you and towards my things. Hoarding is not a mental illness, it is something environmentally responsible because I don't like to throw anything away. But the San Francisco Department of public health said my living conditions were unsafe and came in and forcibly removed my things I have been collecting for over 40 years. It traumatized me and I have been rebuilding my collection ever since.

Read the rest of the ad and vote on its validity after the jump