Why Would Depression Be Linked to a Doubling of Risk of Stroke?
"Depression can double risk of stroke," reported many news outlets, covering a study by Harvard School of Public Health researchers in the Journal of the American Heart Association
Researchers Gain Insight into Stimulant Effects on Brain
Researchers believe that they have gained a clearer understanding of how cocaine, amphetamines and related psychostimulant drugs "disrupt the normal functioning of the dopamine transporter in the brain."
Does Substance Abuse Lead to Homelessness or Vice Versa?
-There seem to be no "causal" relationships between homelessness and substance abuse, argue three Australian researchers.
When Thoughts and Actions Seem to Be Perilously Fused
-In Schizophrenia Bulletin, an anonymous writer describes becoming convinced that his thoughts and actions were dangerously fused together.
“Fuzzy Thinking” Common to Bipolar and Depression? Or to Psychotropics?
Women diagnosed with bipolar or depression did not perform as well on tests measuring the ability to "sustain attention and respond quickly."
People Often “Hear Voices” While Reading
Many people "hear voices" of different kinds while reading -- what does this mean for research into auditory-verbal hallucinations?
Environmental Neurotoxins and Autism
-A discussion of some of the links that have been found between neurotoxins polluting the environment and higher risks of developing autistic symptoms.
A Review of Issues Surrounding Marijuana and Madness
-What does the balance of evidence say about the relationship between cannabis use and increased risk of psychotic reactions?
Most Preschoolers with ADHD Stay on Meds for Years
About 65% of preschool children who were diagnosed with ADHD and given stimulant drugs were still taking those drugs six years later.
“Does Artificial Food Coloring Contribute to ADHD in Children?”
-Scientific American reviews scientific understanding surrounding the apparent influences of common food colorings on hyperactivity in children.
“Breaking the Silence: How I Conquered Selective Mutism”
-Danica Cotov discusses her many and varied efforts to deal with selective mutism throughout her childhood and teen years.
Critics Attack Headline-making Marijuana-Psychosis Study
-James Coyne and others criticize a UK study for deliberately trying to be politically manipulative.
Negative Studies about Antidepressants (Still) Less Likely to Be Published
-Pharmaceutical companies and psychiatric researchers still "aren't telling you the whole truth" about treating anxiety.
Veterans’ Mental “Wounds” Treated Differently in Courts
-An Australian legal researcher discusses the different ways in which courts have handled cases involving war veterans.
Relaxation Techniques for Depression and Anxiety in the Elderly
-Time magazine looks at the effects of a number of relaxation techniques on depression and anxiety in elderly people.
Personality Disorders Largely Being Treated Inappropriately by Psychiatrists
Psychiatrists are giving drugs to most people with emotionally unstable personality disorders outside of the best-practice clinical guidelines, and an accompanying editorial stated that the reason is because "therapy takes time."
The Ethical Challenges of Early Intervention in Psychosis
-Columbia University psychiatrist Paul Applebaum reviews the challenges of intervening early in psychosis before symptoms emerge, and of doing so in an ethically responsible manner.
Lieberman’s Intellectual Cowardice in His Critique of Szasz, or: What to Do About Page...
Why did I read Jeffrey A. Lieberman’s new book, “Shrinks: The Untold Story of Psychiatry”? Frankly, I have been befuddled by my profession. I am a psychiatrist — Board Certified, as they say, these past 37 years – for a long time. So finally, I thought, if I read this book, the pieces of the story would fall into place, right? Indeed, I was astonished!
How Can We Build a Better Evidence Base for Treating Psychosis with Therapy?
-A commentary suggests that the evidence to support the use of cognitive behavioral therapy for psychosis is tenuous, in part because CBT itself is so variable.
Mindfulness As (In)Effective as Antidepressants at Preventing Relapses?
Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy worked as well -- and as poorly -- as antidepressants for preventing relapses in depressed people. Though the mindfulness participants may have been in acute withdrawal.
Study Shows Depression to Blame for Violent Crime — Not Exactly…
-Psychologist Laurence Palfreyman critically reviews a recent study that made global headlines, purporting to have found that depression made people three times as likely to commit violent crimes.
Kudos to Art Levine for Exposing Government Complicity in Illegal Psychiatric Drugging of Children
In a well-researched, comprehensive article in today's Huffington Post Art Levine has brought to the attention of the mainstream media the government's complicity in the illegal psychiatric drugging of poor children, especially foster children, through Medicaid.  The article, Feds Pay for Drug Fraud: 92 Percent of Foster Care, Poor Kids Prescribed Antipsychotics Get Them for Unaccepted Uses is the only mainstream article I know about that has really pressed the federal government over its refusal to enforce Medicaid's coverage restrictions to "medically accepted indications."
“Learning to Be with Ourselves”
-Elisabeth Svanholmer explores the meaning and nature of "hearing, seeing and sensing things that others don’t."
Brain Drugs and Corporate Climbers
-There's rising use of "cognitive enhancement" and energy-increasing psychiatric drugs among stressed workers and ambitious executives.
Consumption of Psychiatric Drugs in UK Continues to Climb
-The Council for Evidence-based Psychiatry reports that antidepressant use in the UK has increased 7.5% since 2013, and over 500% since 1992.
