Clipmarks | dmegivern's 'mental.illness' clips

Jr Miss Pageant Valued More than Proper Care

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 19:05:10 GMT

clipped by: dmegivern
clipper's remarks: I almost never hear "pro-life" people balk at the horrific lives lived by the mentally ill in our country. If only we could put them back in the womb.

Clip Source: psychcentral.com

Creative Funding Solutions for Mental Health Care

Clip Source: psychcentral.com

Historically, mental-health funding has been a low political priority. In Wyatt v. Stickney, the country’s first major civil-rights battle about mental illness, attorneys sued Alabama and introduced horrific evidence that showed how patients in state asylums in the 1970s were being abused, neglected, and, in some cases, tortured. Yet, when a disgusted Alabama judge ordered the state legislature to overhaul its shameful system by pumping in millions of new tax dollars for improvements, legislators balked. They cried poor. There was no money, they insisted, until an enterprising attorney released state financial records that revealed Alabama was spending more each year to host the Alabama Junior Miss Pageant and swine shows at county fairs than it spent caring for people with mental illnesses.

Read the full article: Finding Funding

Tags: mentally ill, neglect, abuse

Psychiatric Emergency Rooms are Appalling

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 18:54:17 GMT

clipped by: dmegivern
clipper's remarks: My dissertation research uncovered dozens of stories of abusive and incompetent psychiatric emergency rooms. I hope at least these woman's death will draw attention to an invisible and longstanding American problem.

Clip Source: psychcentral.com

Kings County Hospital Lets Woman with Mental Illness Die

Clip Source: psychcentral.com

The below hospital surveillance video shows a dying woman while people around her, including a hospital security guard, did nothing to help. Apparently hospitals aren’t good places for people with mental illness to be (click here to read the full entry and view the video):

After a full hour, another patient alerted hospital staff of the woman dead on the floor. But it gets better:

Why their psych ward is even allowed to remain open is beyond me. And while 6 staffers have been fired, including 2 security guards who saw the woman and did nothing, it still leaves a bitter taste in anyone’s mouth who watches this tape. The loss of a job just doesn’t seem sufficient punishment for the death of a person with mental illness — in a hospital.

Read the full story: Hospital video shows no one helped dying woman

State Suicide Rates are Linked to MH Services

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 18:08:23 GMT

clipped by: dmegivern

Clip Source: www.mentalhealthamerica.net

Lost productive time among U.S. workers due to depression is estimated to be in excess of $31 billion per year. Depression frequently co-occurs with a variety of medical illnesses such as heart disease, cancer, and chronic pain and is associated with poorer health status and prognosis. It is also the principal cause of the 30,000 suicides in the U.S. each year. In 2004, suicide was the 11^th leading cause of death in the United States, third among individuals 15-24.

Download the full report (PDF)

The four measures were: (1) the percentage of the adult population experiencing at least one major depressive episode in the past year, (2) the percentage of the adolescent population (ages 12 to 17) experiencing at least one major depressive episode in the past year, (3) the percentage of the adult population experiencing serious psychological distress, and (4) the average number of days in the past 30 days in which the population reported that their mental health was not good.

Tags: suicide, mental illness, depression, states

10 Common Myths about Mental Illness

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 16:26:24 GMT

clipped by: dmegivern
clipper's remarks: 8. Children can’t have serious mental disorders.

9. Doctor/patient confidentiality is absolute and always protected.

10. Mental illness is no longer stigmatized in society.

Clip Source: psychcentral.com

Top 10 Myths of Mental Illness

by John M. Grohol, Psy.D.
June 13, 2008

Clip Source: psychcentral.com

1. Mental illness is just like a medical disease.

Many mental health experts believe in the “bio-psycho-social” model of mental disorders. That is, there are multiple, connected components of most people’s mental illness that include three distinct, yet connected, spheres: (1) the biological and our genetics; (2) the psychological and our personalities; and (3) the social and our environment. All three seem to play an important role in most people’s development of a mental disorder.

2. Medications are the only treatment you need to treat a mental illness.

3. If a medication or psychotherapy doesn’t work, that means your situation is hopeless.

4. Therapists don’t care about you – they only pretend to care because you pay them.

5. If it isn’t serious, it can’t hurt you.

Clip Source: psychcentral.com

6. Psychology and psychiatry aren’t “real sciences.” They’re supported only by fuzzy research and contradictory findings.

7. Mental illness is a myth,

Costs of Mental Illness More than Personal

Mon, 12 May 2008 23:44:46 GMT

clipped by: dmegivern
clipper's remarks: Costs to society from serious mental illness. Mental illness was the cause of poverty for our family so it was a high price personally, but there are societal costs as well.

Clip Source: www.time.com

Tallying Mental Illness' Costs

Serious mental illnesses (SMIs), which afflict about 6% of American adults, cost society $193.2 billion in lost earnings per year, according to findings published in this month's American Journal of Psychiatry. Surveying data from nearly 5,000 participants, researchers determined that people suffering from a SMI — defined as a range of mood and anxiety disorders, including suicidal tendencies, that significantly impaired a person's ability to function for at least 30 days over the past year — earned at least 40% less than people in good mental health.

Kessler and his colleagues determined that a person suffering from SMI had earned $23,000 on average in the previous year. Those respondents without SMI averaged nearly $40,000. The researchers attributed 75% of that difference to the person's mental illness. The other 25% was attributed to a greater likelihood that a mentally ill person would not have worked at all, thus earning nothing

Attempts to Profit off Mentally Ill Fail in NC

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 16:21:43 GMT

clipped by: dmegivern
clipper's remarks: I've said it before and I will say it again and again, you cannot make a profit off of people with serious mental illness.

Clip Source: www.charlotte.com

Director exits as critics hit N.C. mental health system's poor service, runaway costs

A recent overhaul of the system, which cares for 350,000 people, left seriously mentally ill people without community care. In the last two years, the state has spent too much on a basic mental health service provided by private companies; meanwhile, reviews determined that thousands getting the service didn't need it. And in the last year, investigators found problems at all four of the state's mental hospitals.

But in the early years of Moseley's tenure, the system of private providers failed to develop in communities. Meanwhile, local mental health offices complied with a mandate to stop treating patients. People seeking short-term care overwhelmed state hospitals.

When the community treatment network started to bloom in early 2006, private companies rushed to provide a basic but costly service called community support. Costs exploded while people who needed more intensive treatment could not find it.

Military Stigma of Mental Illness Problematic

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 18:29:14 GMT

clipped by: dmegivern

Clip Source: psychcentral.com

Mental Health Stigma Continues in Military

Clip Source: psychcentral.com

A new research study finds the stigma accompanying mental health disorders persists in the military. In a study of over 8,400 Canadian troops, mental disorders ranging from depression to alcoholism were unreported because of a variety of barriers. “Our findings show more than half of the military members with a mental disorder do not use any of the mental health services available to them,” says lead author Deniz Fikretoglu, an expert in posttraumatic stress disorder, at McGill University.

“Foremost among barriers is a failure to acknowledge any need for services and mistrust of military administrative health and social services,” he said, adding that further impediments identified were the belief that a condition is temporary or the inability to identify a problem as a mental illness.

Contract WITH the Poor

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 17:46:19 GMT

clipped by: dmegivern
clipper's remarks: Interesting idea. If you could actually see a partnership develop where, for example,
Supported Employment was offered to people with serious mental illness, it would help everyone. For more on SE, google and check out Massachusett's SEE programs.

Clip Source: icwales.icnetwork.co.uk

Brown seeking ‘contract’ with the worst-off families

GORDON BROWN will travel to Wales this afternoon to set out the “moral imperative” behind his bid to lift thousands of families out of poverty.

The Prime Minister wants new contracts between the State and the worst-off families, where both sides “play by the rules” to ensure more move from benefit to work.

The State will also fulfil its duty to provide the best services for children in the poorest families, he said.

Bolstering child care so more mothers can go back to work is also part of the Government’s plans, with ministers travelling to Scandinavia to see if their model of heavy State investment in children’s services can be replicated here.

Figures released this week suggest a modest rise in the numbers from poorer backgrounds applying for degree courses, but the National Union of Students and opposition politicians say the data is misleading.

Mental Illness May Develop in the Womb

Wed, 06 Feb 2008 17:05:13 GMT

clipped by: dmegivern

Clip Source: psychcentral.com

Early Term Stress May Up Risk of Offspring Psychosis

Clip Source: psychcentral.com

A research study finds that children of women who undergo an extremely stressful event–such as the death of a close relative–during the first trimester of pregnancy, appear more likely to develop schizophrenia. According to the authors, prior studies have found “severe life events during pregnancy are consistently associated with an elevated risk of low birth weight and prematurity.” However, the new finding runs counter to existing opinion that a mother’s psychological state does not influence her unborn baby’s mental health risk.

Schizophrenia, a disabling condition associated with abnormal brain structure and function, is increasingly believed to begin in early brain development. Environmental factors, including those occurring during pregnancy, and susceptibility genes may interact to influence risk.

risk

67 percent greater among the offspring of women who were exposed to the death of a relative during the first trimester.

Head Trauma Sometimes Behind Mental Illness

Thu, 31 Jan 2008 20:23:04 GMT

clipped by: dmegivern

Clip Source: psychcentral.com

Your Mental Illness May Be Caused by Head Trauma

Clip Source: psychcentral.com

Undiagnosed head trauma may be the underlying cause of many of the learning disabilities and other mental illnesses that are characterized by thinking problems (what professionals often refer to as “cognitive deficits”). So says a new study that the Wall Street Journal reported on today.

The researchers found that once such “hidden” brain injuries have been properly identified, they can often be readily treated by therapy that helps people with such cognitive deficits. The therapy can include many cognitive behavioral types of interventions, including “attention exercises, reading articles to explain the main idea, interpreting charts and graphs, taking classes on how to take apart a problem and reduce it to smaller steps, writing mock “advice columns” on how to handle life issues,” according to the WSJ article.

Selfish Capitalism and Mental Illness

Thu, 03 Jan 2008 09:15:10 GMT

clipped by: abailart

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

By far the most significant consequence of "selfish capitalism" (Thatch/Blatcherism) has been a startling increase in the incidence of mental illness in both children and adults since the 1970s. As I report in my book, The Selfish Capitalist - Origins of Affluenza, World Health Organisation and nationally representative studies in the United States, Britain and Australia, reveal that it almost doubled between the early 80s and the turn of the century. These increases are very unlikely to be due to greater preparedness to acknowledge distress - the psychobabbling therapy culture was already established.

An average 23% of Americans, Britons, Australians, New Zealanders and Canadians suffered in the last 12 months, but only 11.5% of Germans, Italians, French, Belgians, Spaniards and Dutch. The message could not be clearer. Selfish Capitalism, much more than genes, is extremely bad for your mental health. But why is it so toxic?

Tags: mental illness, culture, economics, human values, capitalism

New Anti-Stigma Organization

Mon, 31 Dec 2007 17:02:25 GMT

clipped by: dmegivern
clipper's remarks: This organization is just getting started, but I am excited about it.

Clip Source: www.nokiddingmetoo.org

BREAKING NEWS:
Watch No Kidding, Me Too founder Joe Pantoliano's in-depth interview on NBC News with Brian Williams. Click HERE to link to the NBC News video.

No Kidding, Me Too! is a nonprofit organization comprised of entertainment industry members united in an effort to educate Americans about the epidemic related to mental illness in all forms. Through this enlightenment we will teach those suffering from it, and their loved ones who are victims of it, to talk about it openly. The goal is to tear this stigma out of the closet and de-isolate it so that these people will be surprised to find millions of others like themselves and say, "No Kidding, Me Too!"

The organization is currently in the application process to obtain our federally-approved 501(c)(3) status as a nonprofit public charity.

Tags: stigma, mental_illness

Pet Therapy for People with Mental Illness

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 18:30:48 GMT

clipped by: dmegivern

Clip Source: www.edmontonsun.com

Man's best friend can communicate just as well as – and perhaps better – than people.

Deb Proc tells the story of introducing her golden retriever to an older woman at Alberta Hospital Edmonton who not only has mental-health issues but is blind and deaf, too.

Proc was just one of a dozen dog-owners sharing their stories today and marking the 10th anniversary of Edmonton’s Chimo Project, which uses animals to help treat mental conditions.

But founder Dennis Anderson says the reason today's Chimo Project party was so public is because the program is also appealing for more sustainable funding and more four-legged volunteers. “We need to make this an ongoing process to assist therapy,” he said.

Tags: mental.illness, pets, therapy

Potential Schizophrenia Detector

Mon, 03 Dec 2007 16:00:05 GMT

clipped by: dmegivern

Clip Source: technology.newscientist.com

Invention: Schizophrenia spotter

Diagnosing psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia and depression is a difficult business – as many as 70% of people who experience a psychosis for the first time are misdiagnosed. So the need for an accurate and objective way of spotting these illnesses is much needed.

John Pettrigrew, professor of physiology at the University of Queensland in Australia, has found a way that this might be done.

His idea is based on a phenomenon that occurs when a viewer is presented with a different visual stimulus for each eye. When this happens, the brain switches from perceiving one image to the other, but patients suffering from conditions such as schizophrenia switch much more rapidly.

Pettigrew has created a device that incorporates the test above, and says it worked well on a limited number of volunteers.

Tags: schizophrenia, mental.illness, diagnosis

Seasonal Pattern in Bipolar Disorder May Help Treatment

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 04:01:48 GMT

clipped by: dmegivern

Clip Source: www.medicalnewstoday.com

Approximately one fifth of people with bipolar disorder, mostly those with bipolar II, find their symptoms wax and wane with the seasons. Benito Mussolini was a prime example. In her biography of the Italian dictator Margarita Sarfati wrote: "He was quiet for months on end. But then came the troubled season (spring) when the sap rose and he was overcome by a swarm of powerful and dark instincts." Psychiatrist Dr Athanasios Koukopoulos, of Centro Lucio Bini, in Rome, Italy who has been studying Mussolini says: "This seasonal bipolar pattern with spring-summer highs which led him to believe in easy victories, and winter depressions masked by stomach pains is clearly documented from 1938 on." (1)

Tags: mental.illness, bipolar