John Hopkins released some new statistics recently, indicating there has been an increase of about 2 million adults who suffer from mental illness since 1997. These statistics were based on self-reports in 2007, and the specific cause is not indicated. The study was published in the American Journal of Public Health. When you read about statistics like this, do you question them? I don’t doubt at all there is an increase in self-reporting of mental illness, but I question if there is an actual increase versus more awareness. While the report did not indicate a reason for the increase, the … Continue reading →

According to a new study, women in the US who marry during their teen years (before age 18) make up about 9% of married women, and that 9% had a 41% increase in psychiatric problems over women married later. The most common disorders were anxiety, depression, and bipolar disorder. This was a first of a kind study on mental health and adolescent brides in the US. Other issues it addressed were that young brides also tend to come from rural areas, have lower levels of education and income, and are more likely to be smokers. Although the occurrence of marrying … Continue reading →

ADHD is not something I tend to focus on, primarily because it can be controversial with no “winning” side. I have seen kids with severe ADHD and the struggle the parents have in getting them the right help appears overwhelming. It seems there are so many “things” working against them, not the least of which is public opinion. I hear people say things like “Don’t all kids have some kind of ADHD?” My favorite is when people blame ADHD on a lack of spanking. So why does ADHD have a bad rap? Why do so many think it isn’t real, … Continue reading →

Researchers in Australia were concerned that the estimates of homeless people who also had mental health issues were much higher than the actual numbers, and went on a quest to get more accurate figures. The reason they were concerned was because resources for the homeless may be inadequate if there are more issues than mental health driving homelessness. The study they conducted is interesting and important. Mental health issues are thought to impact about half of all homeless in America. The number in Australia was thought to be even higher. However, what the researchers found was that more people developed … Continue reading →

With the recent events in Japan, between the earthquake and then the devastation on the tsunami, and now the risk of a nuclear meltdown, it will be interesting to see the impact of these events on the mental health of the Japanese nation. Right now, I imagine most are running on survival mode, adrenaline levels are high, panic is setting in, reality is finding enough food and water to survive. The impact on mental health will be more long term, setting in once the initial chaos is over. It will probably be years before the whole impact on mental health … Continue reading →

I’m always interested in the thoughts of great thinkers as they give us invaluable insights that we may think about ourselves and put our own slant on it. That is not to say that we cannot think of great thoughts ourselves, but why not use the resources of others as you move along your own personable path of life. So, as I do, I have found yet another valuable saying, this time by Frank A. Clark. He stated: “A baby is born with a need to be loved – and it never outgrows it.” What a great concept. Obvious, but … Continue reading →

Everyone seems to be so busy these days. But being too busy means that you miss out on a lot of things – things that actually enrich your life and improve both physical and mental health. Volunteering is one such activity. Unfortunately many people are too busy watching TV, playing computer games, overeating in coffee shops, and tweeting pointless comments about the minutiae of their lives to do anything that is actually productive in a genuinely meaningful way. . But volunteering actually brings more benefits to the volunteer than the person who needs help. The latter will hopefully get the … Continue reading →

Ever wondered why, after the initial infatuation part of a relationship between a man and a woman, the effect of a woman’s tears on men declines? It’s enough to make you go pick up the phone to call a female friend and that is exactly what most women do. It’s long been known that tears contain stress hormones that are released when a person – male or female –cries. Humans are designed to cry. This is why crying is to be encouraged. Despite what we might be taught by our parents and by our culture, tears are psychologically healthy for … Continue reading →

This is a question that has plagued psychiatrists and psychologists for many years but it has been finally addressed by Nobel Laureate Dr.Eric Kandel. A neurobiologist whose training in psychiatry lead him to an interest in the efficacy of psychotherapy, Kandel decided to trade his couch for a lab coat to see if psychotherapy actually works. With a string of scientific papers and a plethora of fields of interest – behaviorist psychology, cognitive psychology, neuroscience and molecular biology – Kandel is no scientific lightweight. Yet he was disappointed that psychoanalysis was not more scientific, i.e. the effects of going to … Continue reading →