Tag: depression and poverty

Are DNA Changes the Link Between Poverty and Mental Illness?

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Researchers at Duke University who studiedĀ 183 adolescents forĀ three years found that increased depression associated with poverty may be mediated by epigeneticĀ changes in DNA. The...

On the Corner of Distress & Poverty: What Happens to Our...

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In the last few years, Mental Health First Aid has been backed by the President of the United States, the First Lady, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), and the National Council on Behavioral Health (among others). In fiscal year 2015 alone, the federal budget allotted 15 million toward the Councilā€™s MHFA mission of ā€˜one million trained.ā€™ Yet, this course ā€“ promoted with unprecedented fervor and designed to support the average citizen to identify a mental health ā€˜problemā€™ in their fellow persons and (strongly) encourage them to get ā€˜helpā€™ ā€“ has little to say about the importance and emotional impact of meeting basic human needs.

ā€œMore Patients in Scotland Given Antidepressantsā€

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The BBC reports that the number of people in Scotland taking antidepressants has increased by 5% in the past year with most of the patients being women and those in the poorest parts of the country. ā€œWe are now looking at the flabbergasting statistic of more than one in seven people in Scotland being prescribed antidepressants this year,ā€ Conservative health spokesman Jackson Carlaw said. ā€œWe urgently have to look at better alternatives than simply parking people on medication in the hope things don't get any worse, with no aspiration for complete recovery."