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December 21, 2007
College president notes rapid rise of mental illness on campus
In a column appearing in USA Today (12/20, 13A), Marvin Krislov, M.A., J.D., president of Oberlin College in Ohio, writes that the "number of college students suffering from mental illness is rapidly rising."
The "peak years for the onset of both depression and bipolar disorder" are between the ages of 15 and 24, and "the rate of students reporting...being diagnosed with depression" has increased from "10 percent in spring 2000 to 16 percent in spring 2005." According to a study released this summer by the University of Michigan School of Public Health, nearly "10 percent of students surveyed...reported receiving psychological therapy, and the same percentage regularly took some type of psychotropic drug."
Krislov urges institutes of higher education to "launch a public awareness campaign...that would examine the privacy issues involved with improving communication among students, parents, and campus officials." Noting that "[h]igher education can exacerbate a student's mental health issues," Krislov urges "parents of students with mental health concerns" to ensure "continuity of care" before the students arrive on campus. Finally, he advises parents to "tell the institution about their child's mental health issues."
Related Link:
- "Mental illness on campus: A quiet danger no longer," Martin Krislov, USA Today, December 20, 2007.
Posted by admin at 06:11 PM
December 20, 2007
Bereavement may increase risk of death, researchers say
HealthDay (12/8, Gardner) reported that mourning the loss of a loved one can greatly increase the risk of death "from suicide as well as other causes," particularly in the "first 30 days following the loss," according to a study published in the Dec. 8 issue of The Lancet.
Margaret Stroebe, Ph.D., of Utrecht University in the Netherlands, and colleagues, reviewed "available literature on grief and bereavement, focusing on papers published after 1997." Their analysis found that widowers have "a higher risk of dying after a loss than widows." Suicide risk increases "66-fold...in the first week of bereavement for widowers, and 9.6-fold for widows." The bereaved could also suffer from "depression, anxiety, insomnia, and social dysfunction." Indeed, in "extreme cases, losing a loved one can result in clinical depression, or even post-traumatic stress disorder."
According to WebMD (12/8, Hitti), a "higher death rate among the bereaved is 'attributable in large part to a so-called broken heart,'" the researchers wrote. The newly bereaved also face a higher risk for alcohol- and heart disease-related deaths. Furthermore, "Nonfatal illnesses also rise during bereavement, the review shows." And, while bereavement is "a harrowing experience for most people, one that causes considerable upset and disruption of everyday life," the researchers observed that "grief is normal." Nevertheless, professional counseling may be called for in cases of complicated grief, that is, "an unusually long and/or intense grieving period." Still, "many people may get through bereavement without" counseling. The support of family and friends "makes a difference," the study noted.
For some widowers, the BBC (12/8) reported, "the increased death risk will probably be linked with...the loss of their sole confidante, who would have overseen her husband's health status, the researchers told The Lancet." For widows, "intense loneliness and the psychological distress caused by the loss could play a large part" in an increased risk for death. For bereaved persons of both genders, the "risk appears to be highest in the early weeks following bereavement, and decreased with time." In addition, a "Danish study from 2003 showed fathers and mothers have a raised suicide risk after the death of a child, a risk which is higher the younger the child, and is particularly high in the first 30 days post-bereavement."
Related Links:
- ABSTRACT "Health outcomes of bereavement," The Lancet, December 8, 2007.
- "Bereavement Raises Health Risks," WebMD, December 8, 2007.
- "Proof broken hearts can be fatal," BBC News - Health, December 7, 2007.
Posted by admin at 12:14 PM
December 18, 2007
William Styron's Depressions
William Styron was a celebrated novelist who wrote such classics as The Confessions of Nat Turner and Sophie's Choice. He enjoyed success while still young, and had an active social life with the best minds and artists of the 20th century. He had great energy and vitality, tending to be feisty and to give reign to a mercurial temper. He drank a lot. He died last year after he spent the last 20 years of his life struggling with recurrent depressions. During this time he dedicated himself to helping people to overcome stigma and get treatment for their depressions. He did this by publicly discussing his own illness and recovery, and describing his experience in a book, Darkness Visible: A Memoir of Madness.
His daughter, Alexandra Styron, has written a vivid portrayal of his triumphs and torments in an article in the December 10, 2007 issue of The New Yorker magazine. What emerges is that despite recovering from several severe depressions with hospital treatment, each episode was more devastating and at the end of his life there was no stopping his slide downhill, the symptoms of his depression setting the stage for his fatal illnesses. Ms. Styron does not state this, but his drinking probably made his prognosis worse and treatment less effective.
Ms. Styron's article calls to our attention the fact that despite major advances in the pharmacologic and psychotherapeutic treatment of depression, it is still very important to find more effective treatments and to support further research into this terrible scourge.
Related Links:
- ABSTRACT for "Reading My Father," Alexndra Styron, The New Yorker, December 10, 2007, p. 50
- William Styron Wikipedia entry
- "William Styron, Novelist, Dies at 81," New Yorker, November 2, 2006.
Posted by admin at 02:28 PM
December 15, 2007
Research indicates nearly one in five lawyers may suffer from depression, problem drinking
The Wall Street Journal (12/13, D1, Shellenbarger) reports on the front page of its Personal Journal section that approximately "19 percent of lawyers suffer depression at any given time, compared with 6.7 percent of the population as a whole," according to Connie Beck, Ph.D., of the University of Arizona. Moreover, "one in five lawyers is a problem drinker."
Research indicates that nearly "19 percent of associate attorneys quit law firms every year," overloaded by "[e]scalating billable-hours quotas," and stressed by the "ceaseless deadlines and adversarial nature" of their work. Currently, some "bar associations are expanding programs to aid lawyers with depression and burnout."
In addition, some law firms "are acknowledging that the profession's overemphasis on face time harms quality of life." Even the American Bar Association "has criticized the billable-hours system...as 'corrosive.'" Furthermore, "some legal educators are beginning to see poor career choices as a root cause of work-life distress." For example, 30 percent "of 1,500 Oregon attorneys surveyed by the Oregon Attorney Assistance Program said" that if they were "allowed to start" their careers over, they would "choose a different field.
Related Link:
- "Even Lawyers Get the Blues:
Opening Up About Depression," Sue Shellenbarger, Wall Street Journal, December 13, 2007.
Posted by admin at 07:03 AM
Physician says proposed Medicare cuts imperil healthcare access for millions of beneficiaries
In the Wall Street Journal's (12/11) Doctor's Office column, Benjamin Brewer, M.D., writes that "[a]ccess to primary care for millions of people enrolled in Medicare is in peril" due to the proposed cuts to Medicare physician payments. If there is no "reprieve soon, Medicare will reduce payments to doctors by an average of 10.1 percent starting Jan. 1."
In 2006, "a planned reduction of five percent was averted by Congress at the last minute, and payments stayed about flat." Dr. Brewer states that there may still be time for Congress to avert the proposed cuts. Still, "the constant threat of decreases, and the absence of increases, in recent years are leading doctors to re-think their commitment to caring for Medicare patients." In addition, the problem "is becoming acute for primary care doctors, who are faring worse than those in other specialties."
Related Link:
- "The Doctor's Office: Planned Medicare Cuts Weigh on Primary Care December 11, 2007," Dr. Benjamin Brewer, Wall Street Journal, December 11, 2007.
Posted by admin at 06:49 AM
December 05, 2007
Psychoanalysts Look at Films at the Baltimore Museum of Art
Baltimore/Washington Center for Psychoanalysis Presents a Film/Discussion Series:
Close-ups: Psychoanalysts Look at Films
At the Baltimore Museum of Art
April 11, 18, 25, and May 2
7:30 p.m.
In this series, psychoanalysts explore movies to bring out psychological themes. The discussions are directed at mental health professionals and anyone who is interested in human motivation and emotions. For further information phone 410-792-8060 or 301-570-3635.
SUPERBAD
Friday, April 11
Director: Greg Mottola
Discussant: William Wimmer, M.D.
This bittersweet comedy revolves around Evan and Seth, two inseparable buddies who must soon say goodbye as they leave for different colleges. Both are excited by the prospect of "getting with" a girl but are frightened of the unknown. Their friendship is a safe haven but complicated by homoerotic conflicts and Seth's resentment and rivalry with Evan's other relationships. This is a film with many laughs, but at the same time it is a sensitive depiction of typical male adolescent emotional conflicts and their potential resolutions.
THE SECRET LIFE OF WORDS
Friday April 18
Director: Isabel Coixet
Discussant: George Gallahorn, M.D.
Josef (Tim Robbins)and Hanna (Sarah Polley) have been traumatized recently and in the past. Josef, a worker on an oil rig, is burned and temporarily blinded by a fire. Hanna, who is partially deaf, comes to the rig to nurse him until he can safely be moved to shore. We see from their initial interactions how they keep themselves separated from others by a variety of defenses. Unconsciously, in some small and not so small ways, they repeat their traumas. As an empathic bond slowly develops between them, they are able to speak about their traumas and help one another to heal. Though Spanish, the language of the film is English.
TAKE MY EYES
Friday, April 25
Director: Iciar Bollain
Discussant: Barbara Young, M.D.
How is it that two people who love each other dearly - who loan each other their bodies piece by piece in passionate love-making - can arrive at an unbearably painful parting of the ways? The answer to this mystery is gradually revealed as we watch Pilar fighting to save her body and soul from Antonio's violent outbursts, and Antonio's attempts to gain control of himself. We glimpse enough of their backgrounds to grasp the reasons for their sadomasochistic reltionship. Pilar succeeds in escaping her martyrdom after she accuses her mother of being a martyr. The best efforts of a group therapist can no more contain Antonia's jealous rage than a silken net can contain an injured bull. His terror at being abandoned brings about the very thing he most fears.
15 PARK AVENUE
Friday, May 2
Director: Aparna Sen
Discussant: Joseph Bierman, M.D.
Set in modern Calcutta and Bhutan, this Indian film explores the minds and feelings of an Indian family: a young schizophrenic woman who has the delusion that she has a home on Park Avenue with a husband and five children; her unmarried older half sister who is a professor of physics; her parents; and her former fiance. The film is a sympathetic and realistic portrayal of the reactions of the family and former fiance to the mentally ill woman, including guilt, loyalty, anger, and self sacrifice. The involvement of an older experienced psychiatrist is depicted.
Related Links:
- Superbad trailer
- The Secret Life of Words trailer
- Take My Eyes trailer
- 15 Park Avenue trailer
Posted by admin at 04:48 PM
U.S. Army outlines criminal case against reservist recovering from suicide attempt
On its front page, the Washington Post (12/2, A1, Priest, Hull) reported that despite the U.S. Army's "highly publicized effort to improve treatment of Iraq veterans and change a culture that stigmatizes mental illness," the military still often relies "on the judgment of combat-hardened commanders whose understanding of mental illness is vague or misinformed."
Last week in a preliminary hearing, Army prosecutors outlined a "criminal case" against 1st Lt. Elizabeth Whiteside, a psychiatric outpatient at Walter Reed, charging the Army reservist with "attempting suicide and endangering the life of another soldier while serving in Iraq." Although "[m]ilitary psychiatrists at Walter Reed who examined Whiteside after she recovered" from a "self-inflicted gunshot wound diagnosed her with a severe mental disorder, possibly triggered by the stresses of a war zone," her "superiors considered her mental illness 'an excuse' for criminal conduct, according to documents" obtained by the newspaper.
Should she be tried and convicted, Whiteside "faces the possibility of life in prison." Under current "military law, soldiers who attempt suicide can be prosecuted under the theory that it affects the order and discipline of a unit, and brings discredit to the armed forces."
Related link:
- "A Soldier's Officer," Priest, Dana and Anne HullWashington Post, December 2, 2007.
Posted by admin at 04:37 PM