My Fight Against Antidepressants, Part III: Breaking Free
I had managed to get off the drugs again, this time with practically no withdrawal reactions other than some disturbances to my sleep which eventually settled down. I truly feel that I have been given a second chance because I am aware of how many people struggle terribly with these drugs just as I did.
Researchers Suggest Traumatic Experiences May Cause Psychotic Symptoms
A new study in JAMA Psychiatry investigates the relationship between trauma and psychotic experiences.
Research Progresses on Mindfulness Based Interventions for Adolescents
A new meta-analysis analyzes randomized control trials of Mindfulness-Based Interventions for adolescents.
Researchers Warn of “Brain Atrophy” in Children Prescribed Antipsychotics
Researchers discuss the evidence that antipsychotic medications may cause brain atrophy in children, whose brains are still developing.
Invisible Trauma: The Children Left Behind When Parents Are Hospitalized
It would take decades before I recognized the trauma caused by repeatedly being separated from my mom when she was hospitalized. I grieved almost exactly the way children did who had lost a parent to death. Yet it was grief without closure because my mom was not dead, just... gone.
The Real Attention Deficit Disorder
The fact that we shame people for acting like they need attention (and for actually needing attention) is self-defeating and maddening, not to mention absurd. Living in a society that punishes people for having fundamental needs like attention is probably one of the reasons people have developed behaviors “just” to “get attention.”
Exploring the Role of Community Engagement in School Psychology
New research emphasizes the impact of school connectedness and community engagement interventions on students' mental health.
Study Explores Connections Between Diet and ‘Serious Mental Illnesses’
Study finds that individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and depression have diets that are more inflammatory and higher in calories.
Outcomes of Childhood Bullying on Young Adults’ Wellbeing
A qualitative study explores young adults’ childhood bullying experiences.
The Psychological Effects of the Zero-Tolerance Immigration Policy
Journal releases a compilation of articles detailing how zero-tolerance policy may impact mental health.
New Study Explores Approaches to Discontinuing Antidepressants
Psychiatrist and psychologist outline pharmacological and psychotherapeutic strategies for discontinuing antidepressants.
Linking Screen Time, Smartphones, and Stress Among Young Adults
New review ties increased screen time to increasing anxiety and depression among young adults throughout the United States.
Sociologists Interrogate Neurobiological Explanations in Criminology
A discourse analysis conducted by sociologists finds problematic assumptions and practices in the field of neurocriminology.
Who Are They to Say I Wasn’t Buddha?
I still believe I was Anne Frank in my past life, and nothing is wrong with such a belief. I am no longer Buddha, though, because they crashed my spiritual awakening when it was happening. But I go on. I deserve to be happy. I have a family to think of, I want to contribute to society on some level. I want to live. They won’t crash me. Or so I hope.
Childhood Emotional Abuse Associated with Internal Eating Disorder Voice
Many individuals diagnosed with eating disorders describe and internal ‘voice,’ which may be linked to experiences of childhood trauma and dissociation.
How Stigma and Social Factors Drive the Negative Health Outcomes Associated with Autism
A new study explores the interplay between social stress and quality of life for individuals self-identified with high-functioning autism.
New Study Finds That Lavender Extract Eases Anxiety
A new study in Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience has found that the smell of lavender extract has an anxiolytic effect.
Correcting Misconceptions of Trauma-informed Care with Survivor Perspectives
Trauma-informed approaches have the potential to promote recovery but must involve survivors and service-users to prevent the experience of retraumatization within psychiatric and mental health services.
MIA Update: Our Parent Resources Initiative and More
Regular MIA readers may have noticed that we recently added a content box on the front page titled “Parent Resources.” This initiative has been a long time coming, and it is one that we hope will help us reach—and serve—a new group of readers. Many parents writing to us are desperately looking for a way out of the conventional system.
Are Depression Guidelines Missing the Evidence for Exercise?
A recent review suggests that depression guidelines do not incorporate evidence for exercise within a stepped-care approach and may be over-reliant on pharmacological treatments.
Current Immigration Policies Create Mental Health Vulnerabilities for Families
Researchers investigate the impact of immigration policies on the mental health of arriving Mexican and Central American immigrants.
About 1 in 100 Children Treated with Ritalin Experience a Serious Adverse Event
A recent Cochrane review has found that serious adverse events occur for about 1% of children and adolescents treated with Ritalin.
New Report Points to Gaps in the Evidence for Pediatric Bipolar Disorder
A new report on pediatric bipolar critically examines the current evidence base and calls for more research before the diagnosis is used.
Gradual Tapering is Most Successful for Withdrawal from Antipsychotics
Mixed-Methods study explores the experiences of antipsychotic discontinuation among service users.
Do Family Interventions for Psychosis Translate in China?
Researchers explore how family interventions for psychosis might be adapted to China’s emerging integrated mental health care landscape.
