Waking Up is Hard to Do
Finally I’m moving in the right direction, rescuing myself from the pernicious grip of psychotropic drugs. It’s been exceptionally challenging, dealing with the adverse physiological reactions my body’s been going through. Waking up may be the toughest thing to do. Ultimately, the way I see it, it’s the only thing to do.
Cognitive Enhancement With Yoga
From Psychiatric Times: A recent study suggests that Kundalini yoga may be at least as effective as memory training in improving cognitive resilience in older adults with...
Chinese Psychiatric Patient Wins Long Battle for Freedom
From South China Morning Post: A middle-aged Chinese man diagnosed with mild schizophrenia has won a four-year, high-profile legal battle to be released from a...
Social Prescribing May Improve Self-Esteem and Mental Well-Being
Systematic review suggests social prescribing benefits individuals with mental and physical health issues, but more program evaluations are needed.
There’s Little Evidence Abuse-Deterrent Opioids Work
From STAT: In recent years, the pharmaceutical industry has proposed using abuse-deterrent opioids - those that make it more difficult to crush, snort, or inject...
Students Sue Oxford University for Mental Health Discrimination
From Express: Catherine Dance, a 24-year-old law graduate, is suing Oxford University's Jesus College for refusing to grant accommodations for her mental health disability and forcing...
Patients With Schizophrenia Show Better Work Functioning Off Antipsychotics
20-year follow-up study finds that after four years, patients not prescribed antipsychotics have significantly better work functioning.
“Virtual Autism” May Explain Explosive Rise in ASD Diagnoses
New clinical case studies have found that many young children who spend too much screen time—on TV’s, video games, tablets and computers—have symptoms labeled as “autism.” When parents take away the screens for a few months the child’s symptoms disappear.
‘Ego-Dissolving’ Psychedelic Drugs Could Improve Mental Health
From Medical Xpress: Researchers have proposed that psychedelic drugs such as LSD and magic mushrooms may help some people with anxiety, depression, and addiction by dissolving...
Bipolar Disorder: Childhood Trauma Modulates Impact
From Psychiatry Advisor: Childhood trauma modulates the effects of bipolar disorder on the amygdala and hippocampus; it is associated with increased volumes of gray matter.
"'Childhood maltreatment has...
Researchers Find Inadequate Reporting of the Dangers of Ketamine Treatment for Depression
Researchers report that dangerous side effects are not being adequately reported in the trials of ketamine for depression.
New Collaborative and Feedback-Informed Family Therapy Approach
Attempts to bridge the gap between research and practice result in a family therapy approach which employs clients as co-researchers.
Creative Approach to Mental Health Underfunded
From Stuff: Ōtautahi Creative Spaces, a center that offers art therapy workshops, was recently set up in response to the earthquakes in Christchurch, New Zealand, where...
Prenatal Exposure to Psychotropic Medication Linked to Long Term Cognitive Impairment
School aged children exposed prenatally to psychotropic medication show poorer outcomes in cognitive ability.
The Moving Basis of Mental Health Diagnosis
In this opinion piece for The Chronicle Herald, Dr. A.J. discusses the subjective nature of psychiatric diagnosis and the DSM. Citing research by Paula Kaplan,...
Targets are Damaging Students’ Mental Health
In this piece for The Guardian, a schoolteacher explains how unrealistic expectations of students' academic performance as well as a strong emphasis on test scores have harmed students'...
Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation?
From The Atlantic: The pattern of constant smartphone and social media use among post-Millennials may be leading to a public mental health crisis. Research shows that...
Study Suggests Mania More Common in Psychosis When Antidepressants Used
A prospective cohort study of those labeled high risk for psychosis finds a higher prevalence of antidepressant use among those who develop manic symptoms.
PhD Students at Higher Risk of Developing a Psychiatric Disorder
From Business Insider: According to a new study, PhD students are almost twice as likely to develop symptoms of poor mental health as the highly educated...
What If We Are All Wrong About Mental Illness?
From Thoughtful Living: The biomedical model of psychiatry, along with the DSM, is deeply flawed and can often be misleading. To improve, mental health services...
The Politics of Mental Health
In this piece for Revolutionary Socialism in the 21st Century, Hazel Croft argues for a more radical approach to mental health, exploring the impact of neoliberal...
Depression is Now the World’s Most Widespread Illness
From Fortune: The global rate of depression has risen more than 18 percent since 2005. In 2015, the World Health Organization estimated that 322 million people...
Part II: Michelle Starts Prozac and Sees the Devil
By 2011, anyone who read the scientific literature would have known that children cannot tolerate SSRIs and should not be given them. Neither Conrad nor Michelle seemed to have been warned about the common adverse effects (such as nightmares and compulsive suicidality) of the SSRI antidepressants they were on.
Many are Depressed Because They’re Expected not to be
From The Conversation: New studies suggest that Western cultural values - specifically the high value we place on happiness - may be the reason that...
A Glimpse Inside US Mental Health Detention Centre
From The Sun: New York photographer Lili Holzer-Glier was recently allowed inside the Cook County Department of Corrections in Chicago, where 35 percent of inmates...
