Considering suicide: Don't let despair obscure other options
MayoClinic, April 15, 2004
Depression and hopelessness can cloud your thinking, and you may consider taking your own life. Learn about healthy coping strategies to get through a crisis.
When life doesn't seem worth living anymore or your problems seem insurmountable, you may think that the only way to find relief is through suicide.
You might not believe it, but you do have other options, options to stay alive and feel better about your life. Maybe you think you've already tried them all and now you've had enough. Or maybe you think your family and friends would be better off without you.
It's OK to feel bad, but try to separate your emotions from your actions for the moment. Realize that depression, other mental disorders or long-lasting despair can distort your perceptions and impair your ability to make sound decisions. Suicidal feelings are the result of treatable illnesses. So, try to act as if there are other options, even if you may not see them right now.
No, it probably won't be easy. You may not feel better overnight. Eventually, though, the sense of hopelessness can lift. You can find support, appropriate treatment and reasons for living.
When you need immediate help
If you're considering suicide right now and have the means available, contact someone for help. The best choice is to call 911 or your local emergency services number.
If you simply don't want to do that, for whatever reason, you have other choices for reaching out to someone:
-Contact a family member or friend.
-Contact a doctor, mental health professional or other health care professional.
-Contact a minister, spiritual leader or someone in your faith community.
-Go to your local hospital emergency room.
-Call a crisis center or hot line.
Crisis centers or suicide hotlines are often listed in the front of your phone book or on the Internet. They offer trained counselors, usually volunteers, who can help you through an immediate crisis. Some crisis centers with an Internet presence offer e-mail contact, but remember that responses may not be as prompt as with telephone support.
Talking to someone about your feelings, connecting with them, can help relieve the burden of despair and isolation, even temporarily. It may help you shift perspective and more clearly see your other options.
Daily coping strategies
You may struggle with suicidal feelings frequently, perhaps many times a day. Develop a strategy to cope with those feelings in a healthy way. Consider asking a doctor, family member or friend to help create a strategy tailored to your specific situation.
It may mean doing things you don't feel like doing, such as talking to friends when you'd rather hole up in your bedroom all day with the curtains drawn, or going to the hospital for a mental health evaluation. But stick to your strategy, especially when you're in the grips of despair and hopelessness.
As part of your strategy, consider these measures:
-Keep a list of contact names and numbers readily available, including doctors, therapists and crisis centers.
-If your suicide plans include taking an overdose, give your medications to someone who can safeguard them for you and help you take them appropriately.
-Rid your home of knives, guns, razors or other weapons you may consider using for self-destructive purposes.
-Schedule daily activities for yourself that have brought you even small pleasure in the past, such as taking a walk, listening to music, watching a funny movie, knitting or visiting a museum. If they no longer bring you at least a modicum of joy, however, try something different, particularly if these familiar activities induce painful reminders.
-Get together with others, even if you don't feel like it, to prevent isolation.
Avoid drug and alcohol use. Rather than numb painful feelings, alcohol and drugs can increase the likelihood of harming yourself by making you more impulsive, more open to giving in to self-destructive or despairing thoughts.
-Write about your thoughts and feelings. Remember to also write about the things in your life that you value and appreciate, no matter how small they may seem to you.
Some organizations recommend creating a "plan for life" or similar plan of action that you can refer to when you are considering suicide or are in a crisis. This is a checklist of activities or actions you promise yourself to take in order to keep yourself alive or stay on course with treatment. For instance, it may stipulate that you contact certain people when you begin considering suicide. It may also include commitments to take medication appropriately, attend treatment sessions or appointments, and to remind yourself that your life is valuable even if you don't feel it is.
Also, consider creating a list of specific activities to try when you're feeling suicidal or just feeling bad. The key is to engage in self-soothing for a range of negative feelings, not just when you reach the point of suicidal thoughts. Make sure they're activities that would normally offer enjoyment and that can help comfort you, not cause additional stress. Then, do each item on your list until you feel like you can go on living. It can include such things as:
-Practicing deep-breathing exercises
-Playing an instrument
-Taking a hot bath
-Eating your favorite food
-Writing in a journal
-Going for a walk
-Contacting family, friends or other trusted confidantes
Even if the immediate crisis passes, consult a doctor or mental health professional, or seek help through an emergency room if your area isn't served by mental health professionals. They can help make sure you're getting appropriate treatment. Medication and psychotherapy, either individual or group, are often effective treatments for depression, anxiety, substance abuse and other mental disorders, and they can help you feel better about yourself and your life. Although you may not want to consider psychiatric hospitalization, it can help protect you and give medication and psychotherapy a chance to work more effectively.
Seeing beyond the despair
The despair and hopelessness you feel as you consider suicide may be the side effects of illnesses that can be treated. These emotions can be so overpowering that they cloud your judgment and lead you to believe that taking your own life is the best, or only, option.
But even people with long-standing suicidal thoughts can learn to manage them and to develop a more satisfying life through effective coping strategies. Take an active role in saving your own life, just as you would help someone else. Enlisting others for support can help you see that you have other options and give you hope about the future. Suicide isn't a solution, it's an ending.
Sunday, July 30, 2006
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Housing and Mental Illness
Link: Housing and Mental Illness
It is estimated that 1/3 of the homeless population suffers from some form of mental illness.
This number increases to 75% for homeless single women.
Homelessness is not considered a major cause of mental illness but does increase its' duration and severity.
Two thirds of the homeless will have a lifetime experience with mental illness, three times higher than the general population.
75% of homeless people with mental illness will also have a substance abuse problem.
Correctional facilities are increasingly becoming ‘home’ to people with serious mental illness who are more likely to be detected and arrested and incarcerated for non-violent and nuisance offences. There is widespread agreement that people with mental disorders are increasingly and often unintentionally, caught in the justice system.
It is estimated that 1/3 of the homeless population suffers from some form of mental illness.
This number increases to 75% for homeless single women.
Homelessness is not considered a major cause of mental illness but does increase its' duration and severity.
Two thirds of the homeless will have a lifetime experience with mental illness, three times higher than the general population.
75% of homeless people with mental illness will also have a substance abuse problem.
Correctional facilities are increasingly becoming ‘home’ to people with serious mental illness who are more likely to be detected and arrested and incarcerated for non-violent and nuisance offences. There is widespread agreement that people with mental disorders are increasingly and often unintentionally, caught in the justice system.
Thursday, July 13, 2006
What Causes Depression?
Link to: What Causes Depression?
We still do not know for sure what causes depression. However, research suggests there may be more than one cause and most likely, it is a combination of factors, which leaves some individuals more vulnerable to developing a depressive disorder. The "kindling theory" suggests that the more factors that combine together the more at risk an individual is to developing a major depressive illness.
Some known factors, which contribute to depression, include:
We still do not know for sure what causes depression. However, research suggests there may be more than one cause and most likely, it is a combination of factors, which leaves some individuals more vulnerable to developing a depressive disorder. The "kindling theory" suggests that the more factors that combine together the more at risk an individual is to developing a major depressive illness.
Some known factors, which contribute to depression, include:
Genetic factors- depression does runs in families.
Medical research demonstrates that people with depression have a chemical imbalance of neurotransmitters, the important chemical messengers in the brain.
A history of childhood physical and emotional abuse, trauma, or parental loss is associated with higher rates of depression.
Women are twice as likely to develop depression, which can be associated menstruation, childbirth, and menopause suggesting hormones may play a role.
There are times in life when family and work pressures are higher and during which time people are more likely to get depressed.
Depression can follow significant losses such as the death of a loved one, an unexpected job loss, or retirement.
Depression is also strongly associated with medical illness and chronic disability.
Temperament and personality also plays a role. Those who are more pessimistic and negative in their interpretation of life events, less resilient to change, perfectionist and lack a supportive social network are at greater risk of developing depression.
Some prescription and non-prescription drugs are also known to cause depression by interfering with important brain neurotransmitters.
Depression is also found to be more common in those with low income, are unemployed, unmarried or divorced.
Alcohol is a known central nervous system depressant and prolonged use is associated with a greater incidence of depression.
http://www.cpa-apc.org/Publications/Clinical_Guidelines/depression/clinicalGuidelinesDepression.asp
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Facts About Mental Illness In The Workplace
Link to: Facts About Mental Illness In The Workplace
o Percentage of Canadian employers who consider the continuous rise in employees’ mental health claims to be a top concern: 56%
o Percentage of short term disability claims related to mental illness in Canada: 75%
o Percentage of long term disability claims related to mental illness in Canada: 79%
o Percentage increase in long term disability costs: 27%
o Percentage of employers who track disability claims costs as a percentage of payroll: 28%
o Percentage of employers who have plans to address mental health and mental illness in the workplace: 31%
o Fastest growing category of disability costs to Canadian employers: Depression
o Annual losses to the Canadian economy due to mental illness in the workplace: $33 billion
o Amount employer will save, per employee per year, for those who get treatment: from $5000 - $10,000 in average wage replacement, sick leave and prescription drug costs.
Source: Mental Health Works, Mental health facts. Available at:
http://www.mentalhealthworks.ca/facts/index.asp
o Percentage of people with serious mental illness who are unemployed: 70 – 90%
o Percentage of people with serious mental illness who want to work: 80%
Source: World Health Organization (2000). Mental health and work:
Impact, issues and good practices. Available at: www.who.int/mental_health/media/en/712.pdf
o Percentage of Canadian employers who consider the continuous rise in employees’ mental health claims to be a top concern: 56%
o Percentage of short term disability claims related to mental illness in Canada: 75%
o Percentage of long term disability claims related to mental illness in Canada: 79%
o Percentage increase in long term disability costs: 27%
o Percentage of employers who track disability claims costs as a percentage of payroll: 28%
o Percentage of employers who have plans to address mental health and mental illness in the workplace: 31%
Source: Mental health claims on the rise in Canada: Watson Wyatt’s
Staying @ Work Survey (Sept 2005). Available at: www.watsonwyatt.com/canada
Staying @ Work Survey (Sept 2005). Available at: www.watsonwyatt.com/canada
o Fastest growing category of disability costs to Canadian employers: Depression
o Annual losses to the Canadian economy due to mental illness in the workplace: $33 billion
o Amount employer will save, per employee per year, for those who get treatment: from $5000 - $10,000 in average wage replacement, sick leave and prescription drug costs.
Source: Mental Health Works, Mental health facts. Available at:
http://www.mentalhealthworks.ca/facts/index.asp
o Percentage of people with serious mental illness who are unemployed: 70 – 90%
o Percentage of people with serious mental illness who want to work: 80%
Source: World Health Organization (2000). Mental health and work:
Impact, issues and good practices. Available at: www.who.int/mental_health/media/en/712.pdf
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Stigma has serious health and social consequences
Link: Stigma has serious health and social consequences
· Mental illness and addiction is common (one in five Canadians) however because of stigma and the fear of discrimination only one third seek treatment. [ii]
· People deny painful symptoms and are reluctant to seek help at an early, more treatable phase of their condition, resulting in delays in beneficial treatment making treatment more complicated, less effective resulting in greater disability.
· The drop-out rate for psychiatric treatment is estimated to be one half because people do not want to be seen attending psychiatric treatment - leading to relapse and greater disability. [iii]
· People with mental illness and addictions often hold the same negative attitudes of society at large and blame themselves for their illness and the resulting social and economic losses.
· The major way people cope with the effects of self-stigma and shame is by withholding information from family, friends, employers and treatment providers, leading to feelings of emptiness, alienation and rejection which can further trigger depression and substance abuse and relapse. [iv]
· Consumers expect to be rejected by the community. This perception interferes with their sense of belonging and is more acutely felt by those with less social support and greater social skills deficit. [v]
· Stigma, discrimination and the resultant social withdrawal has been found to have a greater impact on the quality of life than the actual symptoms of illness. The loss of friendships and socio-economic status affects people long after their symptoms are treated.
· The elderly experience the double stigma of being old and mentally ill. Although they have high levels of illness they are also the least likely to seek medical treatment because of feelings of embarrassment and shame. They also have the lowest rates of detection of a mental illness because the belief that depression and anxiety are a normal part of the aging process[vi].[vii]
· Family members are also harmed by stigma and are blamed for causing or contributing to the illness with the result that they will also withdraw from social engagement, become isolated and experience higher levels of depression, anxiety and substance abuse.[viii]
· Community attitudes and discriminatory behaviours can negatively influence the degree and speed of recovery.
· Mental Health professionals are also stigmatized holding a diminished status in the eyes of other medical professions making recruitment challenging.[ix], [x]
· Many mental health professionals share negative attitudes towards people with mental illness and addictions and hold a reduced belief in their capacity to work, cope with stress, achieve advanced education or make a contribution to their community. These diminished views contribute to propagating self-stigma.
· The diminished attitude towards consumers is applied to self-help and peer-support programs. Identified as an element of ‘best practice’ this modality is ignored by clinicians, consistently under-funded by governments, and an under researched area of practice.
· People with mental disabilities suffer “double disadvantage”, having to cope not only with the disability itself, but with the added burdens of compromised health and inaccessible, inadequate health-related services. People with mental illness and addictions are less likely to be treated for medical conditions and research identified that they are more vulnerable to poverty and not treated equitably across health care systems.[xi], [xii]
· Institutions, governments and policy makers also contribute to stigma by systematically under-funding mental health and addictions services proportional to their degree of prevalence, morbidity and mortality.
· Discrimination towards people with mental illness and addictions is widespread resulting in diminished employment opportunities and educational opportunities including unemployment, lack of career advancement, hostility in the workplace resulting in increased self-stigma and increased disability. Although most people with mental illness and addictions are willing and able to work the rate of unemployment is estimated to be between 80% and 90%.[xiii]
· Discrimination is also experienced through a loss of human rights including forced treatment, finding or keeping housing, the right to parent, access to loans, immigration, denial of insurance coverage, and over representation in the criminal justice system.
· Stigma contributes to persistent under-funding of research and treatment services. Despite extremely high burden of illness, research funding has lagged behind other diseases such as cancer and heart disease when considering morbidity and mortality. This is particularly true in research about addictions and co-occurring disorders. [xiv]
· Canada’s Aboriginal, Inuit and First Nations Communities suffer a disproportionate burden of the stigma and discrimination of mental illness, mental health and addictions that exists.
· Stigma and discrimination occurs in many different guises throughout Canada, in our urban centres, our rural communities, our ethnic communities, among others and thus, regional consultations are a necessity.
· Mental illness and addiction is common (one in five Canadians) however because of stigma and the fear of discrimination only one third seek treatment. [ii]
· People deny painful symptoms and are reluctant to seek help at an early, more treatable phase of their condition, resulting in delays in beneficial treatment making treatment more complicated, less effective resulting in greater disability.
· The drop-out rate for psychiatric treatment is estimated to be one half because people do not want to be seen attending psychiatric treatment - leading to relapse and greater disability. [iii]
· People with mental illness and addictions often hold the same negative attitudes of society at large and blame themselves for their illness and the resulting social and economic losses.
· The major way people cope with the effects of self-stigma and shame is by withholding information from family, friends, employers and treatment providers, leading to feelings of emptiness, alienation and rejection which can further trigger depression and substance abuse and relapse. [iv]
· Consumers expect to be rejected by the community. This perception interferes with their sense of belonging and is more acutely felt by those with less social support and greater social skills deficit. [v]
· Stigma, discrimination and the resultant social withdrawal has been found to have a greater impact on the quality of life than the actual symptoms of illness. The loss of friendships and socio-economic status affects people long after their symptoms are treated.
· The elderly experience the double stigma of being old and mentally ill. Although they have high levels of illness they are also the least likely to seek medical treatment because of feelings of embarrassment and shame. They also have the lowest rates of detection of a mental illness because the belief that depression and anxiety are a normal part of the aging process[vi].[vii]
· Family members are also harmed by stigma and are blamed for causing or contributing to the illness with the result that they will also withdraw from social engagement, become isolated and experience higher levels of depression, anxiety and substance abuse.[viii]
· Community attitudes and discriminatory behaviours can negatively influence the degree and speed of recovery.
· Mental Health professionals are also stigmatized holding a diminished status in the eyes of other medical professions making recruitment challenging.[ix], [x]
· Many mental health professionals share negative attitudes towards people with mental illness and addictions and hold a reduced belief in their capacity to work, cope with stress, achieve advanced education or make a contribution to their community. These diminished views contribute to propagating self-stigma.
· The diminished attitude towards consumers is applied to self-help and peer-support programs. Identified as an element of ‘best practice’ this modality is ignored by clinicians, consistently under-funded by governments, and an under researched area of practice.
· People with mental disabilities suffer “double disadvantage”, having to cope not only with the disability itself, but with the added burdens of compromised health and inaccessible, inadequate health-related services. People with mental illness and addictions are less likely to be treated for medical conditions and research identified that they are more vulnerable to poverty and not treated equitably across health care systems.[xi], [xii]
· Institutions, governments and policy makers also contribute to stigma by systematically under-funding mental health and addictions services proportional to their degree of prevalence, morbidity and mortality.
· Discrimination towards people with mental illness and addictions is widespread resulting in diminished employment opportunities and educational opportunities including unemployment, lack of career advancement, hostility in the workplace resulting in increased self-stigma and increased disability. Although most people with mental illness and addictions are willing and able to work the rate of unemployment is estimated to be between 80% and 90%.[xiii]
· Discrimination is also experienced through a loss of human rights including forced treatment, finding or keeping housing, the right to parent, access to loans, immigration, denial of insurance coverage, and over representation in the criminal justice system.
· Stigma contributes to persistent under-funding of research and treatment services. Despite extremely high burden of illness, research funding has lagged behind other diseases such as cancer and heart disease when considering morbidity and mortality. This is particularly true in research about addictions and co-occurring disorders. [xiv]
· Canada’s Aboriginal, Inuit and First Nations Communities suffer a disproportionate burden of the stigma and discrimination of mental illness, mental health and addictions that exists.
· Stigma and discrimination occurs in many different guises throughout Canada, in our urban centres, our rural communities, our ethnic communities, among others and thus, regional consultations are a necessity.
Friday, June 30, 2006
Befriending: The Hug Drug
The Hug Drug
by Natasha Raymond, Psychology Today
It just may be that no drug is more effective than a good, meaningful chat. A British study has demonstrated the healing power of friendship.
A group of chronically depressed women living in London were randomly assigned to receive a volunteer "befriender" or were placed on a waiting list for one. The befrienders were instructed to be confidants to the depressed women, meeting them regularly for chats over coffee or outings.
Tirril Harris, of Guy's, King's and St. Thomas' schools of medicine in London reports that among the women who saw their volunteer friends regularly throughout the year, 72 percent experienced a remission in depression compared with just 45 percent in the control group. That's about the same success rate as antidepressants or cognitive therapy, says Harris.
The women who benefitted most from the friendship prescription typically experienced some kind of "fresh start": they reconnected or made amends with a person who was estranged from them, or left an unpleasant job for another that seemed more promising.
In one case, Janet, a depressed woman who took part in the study, had been working overtime for no extra pay. Her befriender pointed out that this was unfair and suggested she ask for compensation. Janet approached her boss, who was "amenable and apologetic," Harris recalls. "These types of experiences—an acknowledgment of respect—made the formerly depressed women feel differently about themselves and about the world."
Publication: Psychology Today Magazine
Publication Date: Nov/Dec 1999
by Natasha Raymond, Psychology Today
It just may be that no drug is more effective than a good, meaningful chat. A British study has demonstrated the healing power of friendship.
A group of chronically depressed women living in London were randomly assigned to receive a volunteer "befriender" or were placed on a waiting list for one. The befrienders were instructed to be confidants to the depressed women, meeting them regularly for chats over coffee or outings.
Tirril Harris, of Guy's, King's and St. Thomas' schools of medicine in London reports that among the women who saw their volunteer friends regularly throughout the year, 72 percent experienced a remission in depression compared with just 45 percent in the control group. That's about the same success rate as antidepressants or cognitive therapy, says Harris.
The women who benefitted most from the friendship prescription typically experienced some kind of "fresh start": they reconnected or made amends with a person who was estranged from them, or left an unpleasant job for another that seemed more promising.
In one case, Janet, a depressed woman who took part in the study, had been working overtime for no extra pay. Her befriender pointed out that this was unfair and suggested she ask for compensation. Janet approached her boss, who was "amenable and apologetic," Harris recalls. "These types of experiences—an acknowledgment of respect—made the formerly depressed women feel differently about themselves and about the world."
Publication: Psychology Today Magazine
Publication Date: Nov/Dec 1999
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Some Mental Health Facts
From the World Health Organization (WHO)...
450 million people worldwide are affected by mental, neurological or behavioural problems at any time.
About 873,000 people die by suicide every year.
Mental illnesses are common to all countries and cause immense suffering. People with these disorders are often subjected to social isolation, poor quality of life and increased mortality. These disorders are the cause of staggering economic and social costs.
One in four patients visiting a health service has at least one mental, neurological or behavioural disorder but most of these disorders are neither diagnosed nor treated.
Mental illnesses affect and are affected by chronic conditions such as cancer, heart and cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and HIV/AIDS. Untreated, they bring about unhealthy behaviour, non-compliance with prescribed medical regimens, diminished immune functioning, and poor prognosis.
Cost-effective treatments exist for most disorders and, if correctly applied, could enable most of those affected to become functioning members of society.
Barriers to effective treatment of mental illness include lack of recognition of the seriousness of mental illness and lack of understanding about the benefits of services. Policy makers, insurance companies, health and labour policies, and the public at large – all discriminate between physical and mental problems.
Most middle and low-income countries devote less than 1% of their health expenditure to mental health. Consequently mental health policies, legislation, community care facilities, and treatments for people with mental illness are not given the priority they deserve.
Monday, June 26, 2006
Please Don’t Add to the Stigma Felt by the Mentally Ill
I just came across this article. Even though it's "old" it's still good.
Thursday, 18 May 2006
Journalists should not just look for doom and gloom when choosing case studies, says Liz Nightingale of charity Rethink
Do you spend hours hunting for case studies? If you write about almost any aspect of modern life, you probably need someone to give your story human interest. Finding that person with the amazing story to tell helps make a good article great. At the severe mental illness charity, Rethink, we get at least one such request each week. They range from the bizarre — are your mood swings affected by the weather? — to the predictable: a women's magazine needs an attractive young woman with depression.
Rethink's media volunteer scheme has more than 200 members who have all offered to speak to the media about their experience of having a mental illness or caring for someone who does.
Recently, we asked media volunteers their views on media coverage of severe mental illness. Nearly 65 per cent agreed that it has had a negative effect on their quality of life.
As one person with a mental illness, who wanted to remain anonymous, put it, media coverage is "on the whole only given when someone dies by the hand of a mentally ill person. It ignores how the majority lead useful lives".
Many people said they were wary of mentioning their experience of mental illness to new acquaintances and neighbours.
Campaigner Georgie Wakefield, whose son Christian has schizophrenia, says: "When my son moved into his flat, 100 residents started a protest." The media may not have started the protest, but 40 per cent of the general public associate mental illness with violence and say their belief is based on the media.
Yet violence is not a symptom of mental illness, and the proportion of homicides committed by people with a psychiatric diagnosis has fallen steadily over the past 40 years. People with mental illness are six times more likely than the general public to be murdered and have the highest levels of unemployment among any disabled group.
A recent study for the Government anti-stigma campaign Shift found that coverage of common mental health problems such as obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) was much the same as other health problems. David Beckham's recent admission that he has OCD is a good example of this. Yet coverage of people with severe mental illness was seen in terms of "problem people" who were a threat to society, not "people with a problem".
Those that Rethink comes into contact with tell us time and again that media misrepresentation of mental illness is incredibly distressing and adds to the stigma that can be worse than the illness itself.
In the media volunteers' survey, 62 per cent said that the stigma that surrounds severe mental illness is mainly caused by the media. Wakefield says: "The stigma that we've experienced was the very reason that we took part in the BBC2 documentary My Family: Loving Christian. Viewers got to know Christian as an intelligent, kind young man who happened to have schizophrenia and was working hard to make something of his life."
Changing public attitudes is a huge task, but all the research evidence suggests that people like ‘you and me' talking about their experiences breaks down a fearful ‘them and us' mentality.
That is why Rethink invests so much time in supporting people to engage with the public through the media.
Media volunteers agree: two out of five people in our survey said that if they could change one thing about the way the media report mental health matters, they would increase the number of interviews with service users and carers.
Despite the numbers of media volunteers, it can still be very difficult to find people who want to be interviewed and whose experiences match the angle needed. This is particularly true for young people, a group which can be reluctant to speak out, and yet which journalists are usually most keen to interview. People can find it daunting to have a journalist ask them about their experience of severe mental illness, because it involves recalling painful and difficult memories. Media suspicion means media volunteers often long for the kind of copy approval normally only given to A-list celebrities.
Journalists surveyed for Shift identified this frustrating lack of people to interview as one of the reasons why coverage is imbalanced. Not surprisingly, a report by the charity Mental Health Media found that 62 per cent of journalists were most likely to contact a psychiatrist when considering a story on mental health.
Rethink offers positive solutions to this apparent impasse through providing prompt briefings and comments whenever possible, and through its media volunteer scheme. To help boost people's confidence in the interview process, Rethink has produced You and Media, a new interview guide. Written by experienced interviewees, it gives media volunteers a step-by-step guide to the interview process. It helps people focus on their key points so they can approach an interview feeling confident and prepared.
Rethink is not asking for idealistic political correctness. We want writers to base stories on hard facts and use mental health reporting guidelines. For example, campaigners who want better access to the breast cancer drug Herceptin are not described as ‘cancerous'.
Let's not misuse ‘schizophrenic' as an adjective for being in two minds.
Severe mental illness must earn its column inches like any other issue, but it need not be a depressing story of doom and gloom. News and features about conditions such as schizophrenia and bi-polar disorder (manic depression)
offer ample drama and human interest. Media volunteers have often triumphed over considerable adversity and occasionally tragedy, and are willing to take a public stand to inspire others.
Thursday, 18 May 2006
Journalists should not just look for doom and gloom when choosing case studies, says Liz Nightingale of charity Rethink
Do you spend hours hunting for case studies? If you write about almost any aspect of modern life, you probably need someone to give your story human interest. Finding that person with the amazing story to tell helps make a good article great. At the severe mental illness charity, Rethink, we get at least one such request each week. They range from the bizarre — are your mood swings affected by the weather? — to the predictable: a women's magazine needs an attractive young woman with depression.
Rethink's media volunteer scheme has more than 200 members who have all offered to speak to the media about their experience of having a mental illness or caring for someone who does.
Recently, we asked media volunteers their views on media coverage of severe mental illness. Nearly 65 per cent agreed that it has had a negative effect on their quality of life.
As one person with a mental illness, who wanted to remain anonymous, put it, media coverage is "on the whole only given when someone dies by the hand of a mentally ill person. It ignores how the majority lead useful lives".
Many people said they were wary of mentioning their experience of mental illness to new acquaintances and neighbours.
Campaigner Georgie Wakefield, whose son Christian has schizophrenia, says: "When my son moved into his flat, 100 residents started a protest." The media may not have started the protest, but 40 per cent of the general public associate mental illness with violence and say their belief is based on the media.
Yet violence is not a symptom of mental illness, and the proportion of homicides committed by people with a psychiatric diagnosis has fallen steadily over the past 40 years. People with mental illness are six times more likely than the general public to be murdered and have the highest levels of unemployment among any disabled group.
A recent study for the Government anti-stigma campaign Shift found that coverage of common mental health problems such as obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) was much the same as other health problems. David Beckham's recent admission that he has OCD is a good example of this. Yet coverage of people with severe mental illness was seen in terms of "problem people" who were a threat to society, not "people with a problem".
Those that Rethink comes into contact with tell us time and again that media misrepresentation of mental illness is incredibly distressing and adds to the stigma that can be worse than the illness itself.
In the media volunteers' survey, 62 per cent said that the stigma that surrounds severe mental illness is mainly caused by the media. Wakefield says: "The stigma that we've experienced was the very reason that we took part in the BBC2 documentary My Family: Loving Christian. Viewers got to know Christian as an intelligent, kind young man who happened to have schizophrenia and was working hard to make something of his life."
Changing public attitudes is a huge task, but all the research evidence suggests that people like ‘you and me' talking about their experiences breaks down a fearful ‘them and us' mentality.
That is why Rethink invests so much time in supporting people to engage with the public through the media.
Media volunteers agree: two out of five people in our survey said that if they could change one thing about the way the media report mental health matters, they would increase the number of interviews with service users and carers.
Despite the numbers of media volunteers, it can still be very difficult to find people who want to be interviewed and whose experiences match the angle needed. This is particularly true for young people, a group which can be reluctant to speak out, and yet which journalists are usually most keen to interview. People can find it daunting to have a journalist ask them about their experience of severe mental illness, because it involves recalling painful and difficult memories. Media suspicion means media volunteers often long for the kind of copy approval normally only given to A-list celebrities.
Journalists surveyed for Shift identified this frustrating lack of people to interview as one of the reasons why coverage is imbalanced. Not surprisingly, a report by the charity Mental Health Media found that 62 per cent of journalists were most likely to contact a psychiatrist when considering a story on mental health.
Rethink offers positive solutions to this apparent impasse through providing prompt briefings and comments whenever possible, and through its media volunteer scheme. To help boost people's confidence in the interview process, Rethink has produced You and Media, a new interview guide. Written by experienced interviewees, it gives media volunteers a step-by-step guide to the interview process. It helps people focus on their key points so they can approach an interview feeling confident and prepared.
Rethink is not asking for idealistic political correctness. We want writers to base stories on hard facts and use mental health reporting guidelines. For example, campaigners who want better access to the breast cancer drug Herceptin are not described as ‘cancerous'.
Let's not misuse ‘schizophrenic' as an adjective for being in two minds.
Severe mental illness must earn its column inches like any other issue, but it need not be a depressing story of doom and gloom. News and features about conditions such as schizophrenia and bi-polar disorder (manic depression)
offer ample drama and human interest. Media volunteers have often triumphed over considerable adversity and occasionally tragedy, and are willing to take a public stand to inspire others.
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
National Mental Health Week (in Canada) - May 1-7, 2006
This is a bit late...
National Mental Health Week (in Canada) - May 1-7, 2006
This week is National Mental Health Week in Canada. Many Canadians are affected personally by mental illness - including many who support family members, friends and co-workers - which is why the Government of Canada continues to work with the provinces and territories to improve prevention and treatment of mental illness.
One in five Canadians will directly experience a mental illness at some point in their lifetime. For far too long, the stigma of mental illness has made the victim hide their suffering while society failed to adequately address and meet their needs. The perception of mental illness is improving but more work needs to be done to educate people about the illness. It can happen to absolutely anyone and, like other illnesses, many people can successfully recover with proper treatment.
For those who suffer with mental illness it's important they know what avenue they can take to receive treatment. Whether it is speaking with your doctor, counsellor, psychologist, psychiatrist or attending a support group, help is available.
Today there are effective medications that doctors can prescribe along with other treatments to deal with mental illness. Reaching out to family, friends or colleagues for support and assistance can be quite helpful.
The Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) is building on last year's Mental Health Week theme, practicing mind and body fitness, to promote nation-wide awareness and education. Improving individual mental health is a step in the right direction toward reducing the number of mental illnesses that affect Canadians each year.
Mental health is a vital part of overall wellness. As Minister of Health, I encourage you to join the CMHA in marking this important week.
Tony Clement
Minister of Health
For more information about mental health, please visit It's Your Health - Mental Illness.
National Mental Health Week (in Canada) - May 1-7, 2006
This week is National Mental Health Week in Canada. Many Canadians are affected personally by mental illness - including many who support family members, friends and co-workers - which is why the Government of Canada continues to work with the provinces and territories to improve prevention and treatment of mental illness.
One in five Canadians will directly experience a mental illness at some point in their lifetime. For far too long, the stigma of mental illness has made the victim hide their suffering while society failed to adequately address and meet their needs. The perception of mental illness is improving but more work needs to be done to educate people about the illness. It can happen to absolutely anyone and, like other illnesses, many people can successfully recover with proper treatment.
For those who suffer with mental illness it's important they know what avenue they can take to receive treatment. Whether it is speaking with your doctor, counsellor, psychologist, psychiatrist or attending a support group, help is available.
Today there are effective medications that doctors can prescribe along with other treatments to deal with mental illness. Reaching out to family, friends or colleagues for support and assistance can be quite helpful.
The Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) is building on last year's Mental Health Week theme, practicing mind and body fitness, to promote nation-wide awareness and education. Improving individual mental health is a step in the right direction toward reducing the number of mental illnesses that affect Canadians each year.
Mental health is a vital part of overall wellness. As Minister of Health, I encourage you to join the CMHA in marking this important week.
Tony Clement
Minister of Health
For more information about mental health, please visit It's Your Health - Mental Illness.
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Facts about Mental Illness
astonishing facts about mental illness
From Royal Ottawa Health Care Group
According to the World Health Organization, Mental Illness is the leading cause of disability in Canada, the US and Western Europe 8 of the 10 leading causes of disability are mental illnesses According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information - Hospital Mental Health Database, 2003 the average length of stay for a patient in an Ontario Mental Health Hospital is 99 days The annual direct and indirect cost to the Canadian economy of mental illness is $14 Billion
From Royal Ottawa Health Care Group
Sunday, February 19, 2006
Pretending you have jet lag to help overcome insomnia
Pretending you have jet lag to help overcome insomnia
Originally posted on Friday, August 26, 2005
CHANGE YOUR SLEEP PATTERN TIPS: I read a number of articles and chose to include the suggestions I kept coming across.
1 - Drink lots of water.
2 - Forget your old sleep pattern - those days are over (well, at least while you're on your trip) and work with local times only.
3 - Take sleeping pills before bed to help you a) get to sleep and b) stay asleep throughout the night. Lots of articles mentioned taking melatonin - interesting hormone. You can get it from health food stores, but not in Canada because it's banned here. Also, if the thought of taking sleeping pills doesn't jive with you, you might want to consider making an exception just for jet lag (real or imagined) because it really will help you get to sleep and stay asleep if you've had trouble doing so in the past.
4 - Wake up and stay up. Some articles said short naps were ok, but that would never work for me. Keep yourself busy, surf the net, play video games, go for a walk - whatever it takes. This day might seem really loooong. That's OK, it'll be over soon and tomorrow won't be as bad.
5 - Use caffeine if you wish, but don't over do it, drink lots of water and don't use it near bedtime. If you have too much you may find that you feel exhausted, but no matter how hard you try, you can't sleep - extremely frustrating.
6 - And this one is just from me - eat breads and pastas to help settle your stomach if you're not feeling good.
And Further Suggestions for Fake Jet Lag:
I asked myself what I would do if I were catching a plane to England (which I used to do once a year when my dad was working out there). The flights would always leave in the evening and arrive in their morning. I could never sleep on the plane, so I would end up staying awake for a day, night and day. Then, I would make sure I go to bed at a reasonable local time (that means 10 or 11pm for me) and get up at 8 or 9am (again, reasonable for me) and stay awake the entire day, doing the same thing all over again.
Originally posted on Friday, August 26, 2005
CHANGE YOUR SLEEP PATTERN TIPS: I read a number of articles and chose to include the suggestions I kept coming across.
1 - Drink lots of water.
2 - Forget your old sleep pattern - those days are over (well, at least while you're on your trip) and work with local times only.
3 - Take sleeping pills before bed to help you a) get to sleep and b) stay asleep throughout the night. Lots of articles mentioned taking melatonin - interesting hormone. You can get it from health food stores, but not in Canada because it's banned here. Also, if the thought of taking sleeping pills doesn't jive with you, you might want to consider making an exception just for jet lag (real or imagined) because it really will help you get to sleep and stay asleep if you've had trouble doing so in the past.
4 - Wake up and stay up. Some articles said short naps were ok, but that would never work for me. Keep yourself busy, surf the net, play video games, go for a walk - whatever it takes. This day might seem really loooong. That's OK, it'll be over soon and tomorrow won't be as bad.
5 - Use caffeine if you wish, but don't over do it, drink lots of water and don't use it near bedtime. If you have too much you may find that you feel exhausted, but no matter how hard you try, you can't sleep - extremely frustrating.
6 - And this one is just from me - eat breads and pastas to help settle your stomach if you're not feeling good.
And Further Suggestions for Fake Jet Lag:
I asked myself what I would do if I were catching a plane to England (which I used to do once a year when my dad was working out there). The flights would always leave in the evening and arrive in their morning. I could never sleep on the plane, so I would end up staying awake for a day, night and day. Then, I would make sure I go to bed at a reasonable local time (that means 10 or 11pm for me) and get up at 8 or 9am (again, reasonable for me) and stay awake the entire day, doing the same thing all over again.
Friday, February 03, 2006
What's it like to be Schizophrenic?
I do not have schizophrenia, but I have lived with someone who has had psychosis. Regardless, I thought this article was great for general awareness.
Coping With Schizophrenia Requires Effort...
The following is an adaptation by the Menninger Letter of “Twelve Aspects of Coping for Persons with Schizophrenia” by Frederick J. Frese, Ph.D. (Innovations and Research, Vol 2., No. 3, 1993, pp. 39-46.)
I am a person with schizophrenia. I am not currently psychotic, but I have been in the state of psychosis often enough to be somewhat familiar with the trips there and back.
A few years ago I decided to talk openly about my experiences with schizophrenia. My initial talks on the theory and politics of caring for the mentally ill were well received.
But I soon learned that most nonprofessional audiences prefer to learn how families can cope with the condition. I now focus on 12 aspects of coping with schizophrenia: denial, knowledge , medication, delusional thinking, social deficits, replaying, expressed emotion, stress, music and hobbies, stigma, revealing, and networking.
Denial and acceptance
I can’t tell you how difficult it is to accept a diagnosis of schizophrenia. Humans are governed by logic and reason: the unreasonable is unacceptable. But this disorder disrupts brain chemistry and fools you into believing that your thoughts are rational when other people can usually tell that they’re not.
Psychosis is a “catch-22.” If you understand that you are insane, then you’re thinking properly and are therefore not insane. You can be psychotic only if you believe you are not. It is generally best not to confront denial outright, but rather to chip away at it. Acceptance of the diagnosis can help motivate us to learn more about the disorder.
With people who deny that they have the disorder, it is helpful to point out to them that they are being treated by others as though they have a mental illness. Once they concede this point, they may be more willing to seek medical treatment.
Knowledge of the disorder
Schizophrenia is now widely accepted as a brain-based imbalance in the biochemistry of the neurotransmitting systems. On a practical level, it disturbs thought and belief systems and affects confidence in what is truthful. It can even evoke mystical experiences that seem very real, but which mus be viewed as a symptom of an illness that requires treatment.
Medication
People who are physically disabled can be helped by artificial supports such as seeing eye dogs, hearing aids, or crutches. Schizophrenia requires the chemical “crutch” of neuroleptic medication. Without it, I would not be able to function as I do today. True, some medications have serious side effects, but new drugs are constantly being developed, and many of them are more effective with fewer side effects.
Delusional Thinking
Our psychological systems were designed to protect us from reasonable amounts of stress. Stress affects everyone, but different individuals react in different ways, and sustained stress affects various physiological functions and thought patterns.
When normal brain functioning is disrupted, our brains revert to responding from our emotional center rather than from our center for rational thought processing. It is important for us to recognize that stress can overload our rational capacities and make us react in an overly defensive, vigilant, or delusional way.
Social deficits
People with schizophrenia tend not to look at the person they’re conversing with. There is a good reason for this avoidance of eye contact. We’re more easily distracted, and the other person’s facial expressions can make it difficult to focus on what we are trying to say. Because we’re slower to process information our recognition of what the other person says is often delayed.
These tendencies throw off the rhythm of conversation because they disconcert other people. We also have trouble knowing when and how to end a conversation. But, if we can get other people to understand these social deficits, then we can work together to overcome them.
Replaying/rehearsing
In psychiatric hospitals patients often appear to be talking to people who aren’t really there. Sometimes these patients are responding to voices, but not always.
Those of us with schizophrenia are quite sensitive to having our feelings hurt. We may seek to protect ourselves by replaying past painful experiences and then rehearsing responses (often out loud) that might be useful in the future.
But we need to recognize this tendency and understand that it may upset other people. Since my own inclination to talk out loud annoys my wife, I try to confine myself to doing so only in the shower of while mowing the yard.
Expressed emotion (EE)
The EE concept focuses on the relationship between family and other environmental characteristics and the likelihood of relapse by persons recently released from hospital treatment. Researchers have found that patients who go back to live with family members who frequently express emotional over-involvement or negative emotions (resentment, hostility) are much more likely to relapse than those who live with families who are les emotionally expressive.
Those of us with schizophrenia need to avoid persons, place, and activities where we are likely to encounter high expressed emotion. We also need to learn how to let others know something about the nature of our disability and what triggers a relapse.
Stress and excitement.
Stressful and stimulating situations tend to cause relapses. My own breakdowns often occur while I am attending conferences or shortly thereafter. Even visits to s shopping mall can be too stressful. I find it helpful to limit my exposure to, or withdraw slightly from, such situations. Adjusting medication dosage might also be made in consultation with one’s doctor.
Music and hobbies
Because the ability of persons with schizophrenia to sustain rational processes is damaged, activities that do not tax logical abilities are often helpful. Music, art, and poetic forms can all be used as a way to communicate.
These aesthetic expressions can release pressures and be most and be most therapeutic. Such activity has been called “woodshedding,” from the jazz musician’s custom of experimenting in isolation until the sounds form patterns that others can appreciate. Woodshedding in any expressive art can build bridges back to the world of normality.
Stigma/discrimination
Traditionally, persons judged “insane” were summarily dismissed as unimportant by the general population. When we started returning to society, we were often unwelcome. The media have mostly portrayed mentally ill persons as monsters. Although such conditions as cancer and heart disease can be openly discussed, the topic of schizophrenia elicits emotional reactions of fear or derisive humor.
Those of us who find ourselves unwelcome in what I sometimes call “the chronically normal community” must work together to change our image. We can promote greater understanding and acceptance by being open about the nature of mental illness.
Revealing/covering
Recovered mentally ill persons often contact me about whether to reveal their condition to others, especially employers. I usually encourage them to show their boss an article about me or another recovered person as a way to gauge that person’s receptivity—and then to be guided by the reaction they elicit.
As a practical matter, however, many people should probably not be too open about their past. You can usually account for time spent in the hospital or spells of unemployment in creative ways that involve no real falsehood—such as by indicating you were doing freelance work, consulting, or writing.
Networking
When I was released from the hospital, I had trouble connecting with other former patients. But that’s changing because organizations such as the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) have established a national network with groups in all large cities and many smaller ones nationwide. It has been my experience that recovering persons benefit greatly from associating with others with similar disabilities. To locate a NAMI affiliate in your area, call their national office at 1-800-950-6264.
___________________________________________
Frederick Frese, Ph.D. is coordinator of Recovery Services for Summit County, Ohio. He has a website: fredfrese.com and can be reached online at fresef@admboard.org.Article source is from Dr Frese's website here:http://fredfrese.com/?q=node/view/2
Coping With Schizophrenia Requires Effort...
The following is an adaptation by the Menninger Letter of “Twelve Aspects of Coping for Persons with Schizophrenia” by Frederick J. Frese, Ph.D. (Innovations and Research, Vol 2., No. 3, 1993, pp. 39-46.)
I am a person with schizophrenia. I am not currently psychotic, but I have been in the state of psychosis often enough to be somewhat familiar with the trips there and back.
A few years ago I decided to talk openly about my experiences with schizophrenia. My initial talks on the theory and politics of caring for the mentally ill were well received.
But I soon learned that most nonprofessional audiences prefer to learn how families can cope with the condition. I now focus on 12 aspects of coping with schizophrenia: denial, knowledge , medication, delusional thinking, social deficits, replaying, expressed emotion, stress, music and hobbies, stigma, revealing, and networking.
Denial and acceptance
I can’t tell you how difficult it is to accept a diagnosis of schizophrenia. Humans are governed by logic and reason: the unreasonable is unacceptable. But this disorder disrupts brain chemistry and fools you into believing that your thoughts are rational when other people can usually tell that they’re not.
Psychosis is a “catch-22.” If you understand that you are insane, then you’re thinking properly and are therefore not insane. You can be psychotic only if you believe you are not. It is generally best not to confront denial outright, but rather to chip away at it. Acceptance of the diagnosis can help motivate us to learn more about the disorder.
With people who deny that they have the disorder, it is helpful to point out to them that they are being treated by others as though they have a mental illness. Once they concede this point, they may be more willing to seek medical treatment.
Knowledge of the disorder
Schizophrenia is now widely accepted as a brain-based imbalance in the biochemistry of the neurotransmitting systems. On a practical level, it disturbs thought and belief systems and affects confidence in what is truthful. It can even evoke mystical experiences that seem very real, but which mus be viewed as a symptom of an illness that requires treatment.
Medication
People who are physically disabled can be helped by artificial supports such as seeing eye dogs, hearing aids, or crutches. Schizophrenia requires the chemical “crutch” of neuroleptic medication. Without it, I would not be able to function as I do today. True, some medications have serious side effects, but new drugs are constantly being developed, and many of them are more effective with fewer side effects.
Delusional Thinking
Our psychological systems were designed to protect us from reasonable amounts of stress. Stress affects everyone, but different individuals react in different ways, and sustained stress affects various physiological functions and thought patterns.
When normal brain functioning is disrupted, our brains revert to responding from our emotional center rather than from our center for rational thought processing. It is important for us to recognize that stress can overload our rational capacities and make us react in an overly defensive, vigilant, or delusional way.
Social deficits
People with schizophrenia tend not to look at the person they’re conversing with. There is a good reason for this avoidance of eye contact. We’re more easily distracted, and the other person’s facial expressions can make it difficult to focus on what we are trying to say. Because we’re slower to process information our recognition of what the other person says is often delayed.
These tendencies throw off the rhythm of conversation because they disconcert other people. We also have trouble knowing when and how to end a conversation. But, if we can get other people to understand these social deficits, then we can work together to overcome them.
Replaying/rehearsing
In psychiatric hospitals patients often appear to be talking to people who aren’t really there. Sometimes these patients are responding to voices, but not always.
Those of us with schizophrenia are quite sensitive to having our feelings hurt. We may seek to protect ourselves by replaying past painful experiences and then rehearsing responses (often out loud) that might be useful in the future.
But we need to recognize this tendency and understand that it may upset other people. Since my own inclination to talk out loud annoys my wife, I try to confine myself to doing so only in the shower of while mowing the yard.
Expressed emotion (EE)
The EE concept focuses on the relationship between family and other environmental characteristics and the likelihood of relapse by persons recently released from hospital treatment. Researchers have found that patients who go back to live with family members who frequently express emotional over-involvement or negative emotions (resentment, hostility) are much more likely to relapse than those who live with families who are les emotionally expressive.
Those of us with schizophrenia need to avoid persons, place, and activities where we are likely to encounter high expressed emotion. We also need to learn how to let others know something about the nature of our disability and what triggers a relapse.
Stress and excitement.
Stressful and stimulating situations tend to cause relapses. My own breakdowns often occur while I am attending conferences or shortly thereafter. Even visits to s shopping mall can be too stressful. I find it helpful to limit my exposure to, or withdraw slightly from, such situations. Adjusting medication dosage might also be made in consultation with one’s doctor.
Music and hobbies
Because the ability of persons with schizophrenia to sustain rational processes is damaged, activities that do not tax logical abilities are often helpful. Music, art, and poetic forms can all be used as a way to communicate.
These aesthetic expressions can release pressures and be most and be most therapeutic. Such activity has been called “woodshedding,” from the jazz musician’s custom of experimenting in isolation until the sounds form patterns that others can appreciate. Woodshedding in any expressive art can build bridges back to the world of normality.
Stigma/discrimination
Traditionally, persons judged “insane” were summarily dismissed as unimportant by the general population. When we started returning to society, we were often unwelcome. The media have mostly portrayed mentally ill persons as monsters. Although such conditions as cancer and heart disease can be openly discussed, the topic of schizophrenia elicits emotional reactions of fear or derisive humor.
Those of us who find ourselves unwelcome in what I sometimes call “the chronically normal community” must work together to change our image. We can promote greater understanding and acceptance by being open about the nature of mental illness.
Revealing/covering
Recovered mentally ill persons often contact me about whether to reveal their condition to others, especially employers. I usually encourage them to show their boss an article about me or another recovered person as a way to gauge that person’s receptivity—and then to be guided by the reaction they elicit.
As a practical matter, however, many people should probably not be too open about their past. You can usually account for time spent in the hospital or spells of unemployment in creative ways that involve no real falsehood—such as by indicating you were doing freelance work, consulting, or writing.
Networking
When I was released from the hospital, I had trouble connecting with other former patients. But that’s changing because organizations such as the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) have established a national network with groups in all large cities and many smaller ones nationwide. It has been my experience that recovering persons benefit greatly from associating with others with similar disabilities. To locate a NAMI affiliate in your area, call their national office at 1-800-950-6264.
___________________________________________
Frederick Frese, Ph.D. is coordinator of Recovery Services for Summit County, Ohio. He has a website: fredfrese.com and can be reached online at fresef@admboard.org.Article source is from Dr Frese's website here:http://fredfrese.com/?q=node/view/2
Monday, January 09, 2006
Take Suicide Off the Table
One of my blogging friends wrote this and I thought it was excellent. I thought you might too.
Take Suicide Off the Table
byDavid Michael
When life is dark and dreary,
and pain is deep within your soul;
thoughts of death and destruction emerge
and depression takes its toll.
Solutions may be hard to find,
and optimism seems too cavalier;
find a space between your thoughts
before spiraling down in fear.
Take suicide off the table;
it's not an option for your pain.
Open your mind to possibilities
there is so much to gain.
Suicide is not painless,
those who are left behind will say,
Suicide is severely painful,
and it never goes away;
it never goes away.
Take Suicide Off the Table
byDavid Michael
When life is dark and dreary,
and pain is deep within your soul;
thoughts of death and destruction emerge
and depression takes its toll.
Solutions may be hard to find,
and optimism seems too cavalier;
find a space between your thoughts
before spiraling down in fear.
Take suicide off the table;
it's not an option for your pain.
Open your mind to possibilities
there is so much to gain.
Suicide is not painless,
those who are left behind will say,
Suicide is severely painful,
and it never goes away;
it never goes away.
Friday, January 06, 2006
Antidepressants Work and Don't Boost Suicide Risk
Antidepressants Work and Don't Boost Suicide Risk
Sun Jan 1, 2005
by Steven Reinberg, HealthDay
SUNDAY, Jan. 1 (HealthDay News) -- Contrary to what has been feared, the antidepressants known as serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are initially effective in as many as one-third of depressed patients and don't appear to increase the risk of suicide, two new studies claim.
The reports, both of which were funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, appear in the January issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry.
The suicide findings seem to challenge a 2004 advisory by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that warned that suicidal behavior may increase after treatment with SSRIs. However, the study did find that suicide attempts were higher among teens than adults, a finding borne out by other research.
The first report is based on early data from the Sequenced Treatment Alternatives to Relieve Depression (STAR*D) trial, the largest study of its kind. This research looked at the benefits of antidepressants in "real world" settings.
About a third of the patients achieved remission," said lead researcher Dr. Madhukar Trivedi, director of the Mood Disorders Research Program and Clinic at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, in Dallas. "An additional 10 to 15 percent achieved a response."
The object of the study was to provide physicians with guidelines for treating depression, Trivedi said. "The goal is to have patients provided with an adequate dose of medication for an adequate time," he explained. "Treatment would be tailored for each individual patient to get the most benefit from treatment."
For the study, researchers looked at the results of prescribing the SSRI Celexa to 2,876 patients with major depression. These patients also had other physical and psychological problems. The researchers found that about a third of the patients had their depression cured during the first 12 weeks of treatment.
In addition, another 10 percent to 15 percent of the patients showed a response to the medication, or reduction of at least half their symptoms. For patients who did not improve, later phases of the trial will use other medications or combinations of medications to see what might help those who did not benefit from the drug used in the first phase of the trial.
"These antidepressants in routine clinical care produce outcomes comparable with what is seen in research settings," Trivedi said. "These treatments do work in routine clinical care. There also has to be careful monitoring of side effects. In addition, you have to monitor dose and duration of the treatment, based on the patient's progression."
One expert thinks this study will eventually provide guideposts for treating depression that physicians can follow.
"This study, when it is all finally published, will give us a very good idea of how to treat treatment-resistant depression, and what the next step is after the SSRI fails," said Dr. David L. Dunner, director of the University of Washington's Center for Anxiety and Depression.
In the second study, researchers found the risk of suicide attempts and of successful suicides actually dropped in the weeks following the start of SSRI therapy.
"The risk of a serious suicide attempt in people who start taking antidepressant medication is, fortunately, quite low -- less than one in 1,000," said lead author Dr. Greg Simon, a researcher at the Group Health Cooperative, in Seattle. "The risk actually goes down after people start antidepressant medication."
The study also found no increase in suicide risk with the newer antidepressants, such as SSRIs, Simon added. "If anything, our data suggests that with the newer antidepressants there is less risk than with the older antidepressants," he said.
For the study, Simons's team collected data on 65,103 patients who had prescriptions for antidepressants between 1992 and 2003.
The researchers found the number of suicide attempts dropped by 60 percent in adults in the first month after starting treatment. The suicide rate continued to drop in the succeeding five months.
Among all the patients, there were 31 suicides in the six months after starting antidepressant therapy. That rate did not change from one month after starting treatment or in subsequent months.
However, teens had more suicide attempts than adults. Simon's group found that in the first six months of antidepressant treatment, the suicide rate was 314 attempts per 100,000 in teens, vs. 78 attempts per 100,000 in adults. For teens and adults, the rate was highest in the month before treatment and dropped by about 60 percent after treatment began, the researchers found.
In its 2004 warning, the FDA said people taking antidepressants should be closely monitored because of the risk of suicide.
"People should be closely monitored, but not because these drugs are especially risky," Simon said. "The real problem in the treatment of depression is that people start medicine and the medicine has side effects or the medicine doesn't work right away, and they get discouraged and they drop out."
Dunner agreed that close monitoring is essential when prescribing patients antidepressants. "Monitoring depression is very important," he said. "Often people come in for treatment when they are starting to get worse."
Monitoring is needed more for side effects from the drugs than to watch for suicidal behavior, Dunner said. "Suicide is a pretty rare event," he said. "It is more important to monitor for side effects and adherence to the medication."
Sun Jan 1, 2005
by Steven Reinberg, HealthDay
SUNDAY, Jan. 1 (HealthDay News) -- Contrary to what has been feared, the antidepressants known as serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are initially effective in as many as one-third of depressed patients and don't appear to increase the risk of suicide, two new studies claim.
The reports, both of which were funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, appear in the January issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry.
The suicide findings seem to challenge a 2004 advisory by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that warned that suicidal behavior may increase after treatment with SSRIs. However, the study did find that suicide attempts were higher among teens than adults, a finding borne out by other research.
The first report is based on early data from the Sequenced Treatment Alternatives to Relieve Depression (STAR*D) trial, the largest study of its kind. This research looked at the benefits of antidepressants in "real world" settings.
About a third of the patients achieved remission," said lead researcher Dr. Madhukar Trivedi, director of the Mood Disorders Research Program and Clinic at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, in Dallas. "An additional 10 to 15 percent achieved a response."
The object of the study was to provide physicians with guidelines for treating depression, Trivedi said. "The goal is to have patients provided with an adequate dose of medication for an adequate time," he explained. "Treatment would be tailored for each individual patient to get the most benefit from treatment."
For the study, researchers looked at the results of prescribing the SSRI Celexa to 2,876 patients with major depression. These patients also had other physical and psychological problems. The researchers found that about a third of the patients had their depression cured during the first 12 weeks of treatment.
In addition, another 10 percent to 15 percent of the patients showed a response to the medication, or reduction of at least half their symptoms. For patients who did not improve, later phases of the trial will use other medications or combinations of medications to see what might help those who did not benefit from the drug used in the first phase of the trial.
"These antidepressants in routine clinical care produce outcomes comparable with what is seen in research settings," Trivedi said. "These treatments do work in routine clinical care. There also has to be careful monitoring of side effects. In addition, you have to monitor dose and duration of the treatment, based on the patient's progression."
One expert thinks this study will eventually provide guideposts for treating depression that physicians can follow.
"This study, when it is all finally published, will give us a very good idea of how to treat treatment-resistant depression, and what the next step is after the SSRI fails," said Dr. David L. Dunner, director of the University of Washington's Center for Anxiety and Depression.
In the second study, researchers found the risk of suicide attempts and of successful suicides actually dropped in the weeks following the start of SSRI therapy.
"The risk of a serious suicide attempt in people who start taking antidepressant medication is, fortunately, quite low -- less than one in 1,000," said lead author Dr. Greg Simon, a researcher at the Group Health Cooperative, in Seattle. "The risk actually goes down after people start antidepressant medication."
The study also found no increase in suicide risk with the newer antidepressants, such as SSRIs, Simon added. "If anything, our data suggests that with the newer antidepressants there is less risk than with the older antidepressants," he said.
For the study, Simons's team collected data on 65,103 patients who had prescriptions for antidepressants between 1992 and 2003.
The researchers found the number of suicide attempts dropped by 60 percent in adults in the first month after starting treatment. The suicide rate continued to drop in the succeeding five months.
Among all the patients, there were 31 suicides in the six months after starting antidepressant therapy. That rate did not change from one month after starting treatment or in subsequent months.
However, teens had more suicide attempts than adults. Simon's group found that in the first six months of antidepressant treatment, the suicide rate was 314 attempts per 100,000 in teens, vs. 78 attempts per 100,000 in adults. For teens and adults, the rate was highest in the month before treatment and dropped by about 60 percent after treatment began, the researchers found.
In its 2004 warning, the FDA said people taking antidepressants should be closely monitored because of the risk of suicide.
"People should be closely monitored, but not because these drugs are especially risky," Simon said. "The real problem in the treatment of depression is that people start medicine and the medicine has side effects or the medicine doesn't work right away, and they get discouraged and they drop out."
Dunner agreed that close monitoring is essential when prescribing patients antidepressants. "Monitoring depression is very important," he said. "Often people come in for treatment when they are starting to get worse."
Monitoring is needed more for side effects from the drugs than to watch for suicidal behavior, Dunner said. "Suicide is a pretty rare event," he said. "It is more important to monitor for side effects and adherence to the medication."
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
What to Do if Someone You Know is Suicidal
What To Do if Someone You Know is Suicidal
MayoClinic, April 16, 2004
Talking to someone about suicide won't plant the idea in their mind. Instead, your support and guidance may help someone find treatment — and renewed hope.
Hearing someone talk about suicide may make you uncomfortable. You may not be sure how to step in and help or even if you should take them seriously.
Not everyone who thinks or talks about suicide actually attempts it. But it's not true that people who talk about suicide won't really try it. That's why it is important to take them seriously, especially if they have depression or another mental disorder or are intoxicated or behaving impulsively.
Potential warning signs
You may notice possible indications that a friend or loved one is thinking about suicide. Here are some typical warning signals:
MayoClinic, April 16, 2004
Talking to someone about suicide won't plant the idea in their mind. Instead, your support and guidance may help someone find treatment — and renewed hope.
Hearing someone talk about suicide may make you uncomfortable. You may not be sure how to step in and help or even if you should take them seriously.
Not everyone who thinks or talks about suicide actually attempts it. But it's not true that people who talk about suicide won't really try it. That's why it is important to take them seriously, especially if they have depression or another mental disorder or are intoxicated or behaving impulsively.
Potential warning signs
You may notice possible indications that a friend or loved one is thinking about suicide. Here are some typical warning signals:
Talking about suicide, including such statements as "I'm going to kill myself," "I wish I was dead" or "I wish I hadn't been born."
Withdrawing from social contact and increased desire to be left alone
Wide mood swings, such as being emotionally high one day but deeply discouraged the next
Preoccupation with death and dying or violence
Changes in routine, including eating or sleeping patterns
Personality changes, such as becoming very outgoing after being shy
Risky or self-destructive behavior, such as drug use or unsafe driving
Giving away belongings or getting affairs in order
Saying goodbye to people as if they won't be seen again
Some people don't reveal any suicidal feelings or actions. And many who consider or attempt suicide do so when you think they should be feeling better — during what may seem like a recovery from depression, for instance. That's because they may finally be able to muster emotional energy to take action on their feelings.
Questions to ask
The best way to find out if someone is considering suicide is to directly ask. Asking them won't give them the idea or push them into doing something self-destructive. To the contrary, your willingness to ask can decrease the risk of suicide by giving them an opportunity to talk about their feelings.
You may have to overcome your own discomfort to discuss the issue. Here are some questions you can ask someone you're concerned about:
Are you thinking about dying?
Are you thinking about hurting yourself?
Are you thinking about suicide?
Have you thought about how you would do it?
Do you know when you would do it?
Do you have the means to do it?
Remember, you're not trying to take on the role of doctor or mental health professional or to conduct psychotherapy sessions. But these questions can help you assess what sort of danger your friend or loved one might pose to themselves.
Don't swear your discussions to secrecy. Not only is that an unwanted burden for you, but if you do make such a promise, you risk having to betray that trust if you need to enlist professional help. Don't worry about losing a friendship to mistrust when it's a life that could be lost.
Do be supportive and empathetic, not judgmental. Listen to their concerns. Reassure them that help is available and that with appropriate treatment they can feel better. Don't patronize them by simply telling them that "everything will be OK," that "things could be worse" or that they have "everything to live for."
If possible, assess their home for potentially dangerous items. You may have to remove items that could become weapons of self-destruction, such as guns or knives. But don't put yourself in harm's way, either.
Getting help
If the person is at imminent risk of suicide, call the police or emergency personnel, or take them to a hospital emergency room if possible. Some people who are a danger to themselves may need to get help against their will, such as involuntary hospitalization. If possible, find out if they are under the influence of alcohol or drugs or may have taken an overdose.
If the danger isn't imminent, offer to work together to find appropriate help, and then follow through. Someone who is suicidal or has severe depression may not have the energy or motivation to find help. You may be able to make phone calls to set up medical appointments or go along with them, or help sort through health insurance policies for benefits information.
Many types of help and support are available. If your loved one doesn't want to consult a doctor or mental health professional, suggest finding help from a support group, faith community or other trusted contact.
Offering new options
There's no way to predict for sure who will attempt suicide. And although you're not responsible for preventing someone from taking their own life, your intervention may help them see that other options are available.
Direct questioning, supportive listening and gentle but persistent guidance can help you bring hope and appropriate treatment to someone who believes suicide will offer the only relief.
Saturday, October 08, 2005
Mental Illness Awareness Week Oct 3 - 10
http://www.miaw-ssmm.ca/home.php
About Mental Illness Awareness Week
Mental Illness Awareness Week (MIAW) is an annual national public education campaign designed to help open the eyes of Canadians to the reality of mental illness. The week was established in 1992 by the Canadian Psychiatric Association, and is now coordinated by the Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health (CAMIMH) in cooperation with all its member organizations and many other supporters across Canada.
Campaign elements include: a grassroots public education initiative; a nationally-distributed poster and bookmark series; the 3rd Annual Champions of Mental Health Awards luncheon in Ottawa and an education initiative with federal Members of Parliament, both in their home ridings and on Parliament Hill.
Why Mental Illness Awareness Week?
For too long, Canadians with mental illnesses have been in the shadows. Too few Canadians know about the burden of mental illness on our society, and too few sufferers seek help when they need it. Mental Illness Awareness Week seeks to raise awareness of the level of mental illness in Canada; to reduce negative stigma about mental illness amongst the general population and health care professionals; and to promote the positive effects of best practice in prevention, diagnosis and medical treatment.
About Mental Illness in Canada
Mental illness affects more than six million—or one in five—Canadians. Of the 10 leading causes of disability worldwide, five are mental disorders. Close to 4,000 Canadians commit suicide each year and it is the most common cause of death for people aged 15 - 24. By 2020 it is estimated that depressive illnesses will become the leading cause of disease burden in developed countries like Canada.
Many Canadians do not recognize that they are ill while others don’t seek help because of misconceptions about these diseases. Taking the time to learn about mental illness could make all the difference to you or to someone you care about. It’s important to watch for warning signs of mental illness—and to seek medical advice as soon as possible if any become apparent.
Symptoms include:
Marked personality change
Inability to cope with problems and daily activities
Strange ideas or delusions
Excessive anxiety
Prolonged feelings of sadness
Marked changes in eating or sleeping patterns
Thinking or talking about suicide
Extreme highs and lows
Abuse of alcohol or drugs
Excessive anger, hostility
Violent behaviour
Irrational fears
About Mental Illness Awareness Week
Mental Illness Awareness Week (MIAW) is an annual national public education campaign designed to help open the eyes of Canadians to the reality of mental illness. The week was established in 1992 by the Canadian Psychiatric Association, and is now coordinated by the Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health (CAMIMH) in cooperation with all its member organizations and many other supporters across Canada.
Campaign elements include: a grassroots public education initiative; a nationally-distributed poster and bookmark series; the 3rd Annual Champions of Mental Health Awards luncheon in Ottawa and an education initiative with federal Members of Parliament, both in their home ridings and on Parliament Hill.
Why Mental Illness Awareness Week?
For too long, Canadians with mental illnesses have been in the shadows. Too few Canadians know about the burden of mental illness on our society, and too few sufferers seek help when they need it. Mental Illness Awareness Week seeks to raise awareness of the level of mental illness in Canada; to reduce negative stigma about mental illness amongst the general population and health care professionals; and to promote the positive effects of best practice in prevention, diagnosis and medical treatment.
About Mental Illness in Canada
Mental illness affects more than six million—or one in five—Canadians. Of the 10 leading causes of disability worldwide, five are mental disorders. Close to 4,000 Canadians commit suicide each year and it is the most common cause of death for people aged 15 - 24. By 2020 it is estimated that depressive illnesses will become the leading cause of disease burden in developed countries like Canada.
Many Canadians do not recognize that they are ill while others don’t seek help because of misconceptions about these diseases. Taking the time to learn about mental illness could make all the difference to you or to someone you care about. It’s important to watch for warning signs of mental illness—and to seek medical advice as soon as possible if any become apparent.
Symptoms include:
Marked personality change
Inability to cope with problems and daily activities
Strange ideas or delusions
Excessive anxiety
Prolonged feelings of sadness
Marked changes in eating or sleeping patterns
Thinking or talking about suicide
Extreme highs and lows
Abuse of alcohol or drugs
Excessive anger, hostility
Violent behaviour
Irrational fears
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