New mental health manual is "dangerous" say experts

By Reuters

Millions of healthy people - including shy or defiant children, grieving relatives and people with fetishes - may be wrongly labeled mentally ill by a new international diagnostic manual, specialists said on Thursday.

In a damning analysis of an upcoming revision of the influential Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), psychologists, psychiatrists and other experts said new categories of mental illness identified in the book were at best "silly" and at worst "worrying and dangerous."

"Many people who are shy, bereaved, eccentric, or have unconventional romantic lives will suddenly find themselves labeled as mentally ill," said Peter Kinderman, head of Liverpool University's Institute of Psychology at a briefing in London about widespread concerns over the manual.

"It's not humane, it's not scientific, and it won't help decide what help a person needs."

The DSM is published by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and has symptoms and other criteria for diagnosing mental disorders. It is used internationally and seen as the diagnostic "bible" for mental health medicine.

No one from the APA was immediately available for comment.

More than 11,000 health professionals have already signed a petition (at http://dsm5-reform.com) calling for the development of the fifth edition of the manual to be halted and re-thought.

Some diagnoses - for conditions like "oppositional defiant disorder" and "apathy syndrome" - risk devaluing the seriousness of mental illness and medical zing behaviors most people would consider normal or just mildly eccentric, the experts said.

At the other end of the spectrum, the new DSM, due out next year, could give medical diagnoses for serial rapists and sex abusers - under labels like "paraphilic coercive disorder" - and may allow offenders to escape prison by providing what could be seen as an excuse for their behavior, they added.

RADICAL, RECKLESS, AND INHUMANE

Simon Wessely of the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London said a look back at history should make health experts ask themselves: "Do we need all these labels?"

He said the 1840 Census of the United States included just one category for mental disorder, but by 1917 the APA was already recognizing 59. That rose to 128 in 1959, to 227 in 1980, and again to around 350 disorders in the fastest revisions of DSM in 1994 and 2000.

Allen Frances of Duke University and chair of the committee that oversaw the previous DSM revision, said DSM-5 would "radically and recklessly expand the boundaries of psychiatry" and result in the "lexicalization of normality, individual difference, and criminality."

David Pilgrim of Britain's University of Central Lancashire said it was "hard to avoid the conclusion that DSM-5 will help the interests of the drug companies."

"Madness and misery exist but they come in many shapes and sizes," he said. "We risk treating the experience and conduct of people as if they are botanical specimens waiting to be identified and categorized in rigid boxes.

"That would itself be a form of collective madness for all those complicit in the continuing pseudo-scientific exercise."

Nick Craddock of Cardiff University's department of psychological medicine and neurology, who also spoke at the London briefing, cited depression as a key example of where DSM's broad categories were going wrong.

Whereas in previous editions, a person who had recently lost a loved one and was suffering low moods would be seen as experiencing a normal human reaction to bereavement, the new DSM criteria would ignore the death, look only at the symptoms, and class the person as having a depressive illness.

Other examples of diagnoses cited by experts as problematic included "gambling disorder," "internet addiction disorder" and "oppositional defiant disorder" - a condition in which a child "actively refuses to comply with majority's requests" and "performs deliberate actions to annoy others."

"That basically means children who say 'no' to their parents more than a certain number of times," Kinderman said. "On that criteria, many of us would have to say our children are mentally ill."

Tweet

Most Teens Who Self-Harm Are Not Evaluated for Mental Health in ER

By HealthDay 

Most children and teens who deliberately injure themselves are discharged from emergency rooms without an evaluation of their mental health, a new study shows.

The findings are worrisome since risk for suicide is greatest right after an episode of deliberate self-harm, according to researchers at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.

The researchers also found the majority of these kids do not receive any follow-up care with a mental health professional up to one month after their ER visit.

"Emergency department personnel can play a unique role in suicide prevention by assessing the mental health of patients after deliberate self-harm and providing potentially lifesaving referrals for outpatient mental health care," said lead study author Jeff Bridge, principal investigator at the hospital's Center for Innovation in Pediatric Practice, in a news release. "However, the coordination between emergency services for patients who deliberately harm themselves and linkage with outpatient mental health treatment is often inadequate."

For the study in the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, researchers examined Medicaid data for adolescents aged 10 to 19 years. Only 39 percent of the patients discharged after trying to harm themselves received a mental health assessment in the emergency department.

Only about half of the children who had visited the ER for a mental health-related reason within the previous 60 days received a mental health evaluation during their visit to the ER for self-harm.

Up to 90 percent of young people who deliberately harm themselves meet criteria for at least one psychiatric disorder, particularly mood disorders, the researchers said.

The U.K.'s National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence recommends that people who show up in an emergency room for self-harm should receive a mental health evaluation before being released from the hospital.

"This study highlights the need for strategies to promote emergency department mental health assessments, strengthening the training of physicians in pediatric mental health and adolescent suicide prevention and timely transitions to outpatient mental health care," Bridge said.

Tweet

The 99'er Meme: Part 3

Sunday Stealing: The 99'er Meme: Part 3

51) Do you tend to hold grudges against people who have done you wrong?
I think if you listen to the words of this song, you'll get you're answer ...



52) What is your astrological sign?
Libra

53) Do you save money for anything? What?
I'm saving for my wedding dress right now

54) What's the last thing you purchased?
A Mountain Dew from the pop machine at my office

55) Have you ever had a relationship that you realized was lust not love? 
Ugh, yes

56) In a relationship?
I'm engaged

57) How many relationships have you had?
It's more than I can count on my fingers and toes. That's all I'll say about that

58) What do you want to tell us about your day?
I want to go back to sleep

59) Where were you yesterday?
Mostly work

60) Is there anything interesting within 10 feet of you?
There's a dust bunny hanging from the ceiling above my work desk. I'm rather mesmerized by it

61) Are you wearing socks right now?
Yes, they're white

62) What's your favorite animal?
Puppies... any kind is good

63) What is your secret weapon to get someone to like you?
Treating them like crap seems to work well for me. LOL

64) Where is your best friend?
I don't know who I'd consider my best friend right now

65) How did you end your last relationship end?
I dumped his ass two days before Valentine's Day a few years ago

66) What is your heritage?
I'm partly American Indian... but in the end, I'm just an Okie

67) What were you doing last night at 12 AM?
Working

68) What's new?
I'm wearing new pants and a new shirt. That's the newest thing with me

69) What is the key to seduction?
Like I said before, treating men like crap seems to work well for me.

70) What was the weirdest thing that happened to you this week??
That damned dust bunny.......

71) You are walking down the street on your way to work. There is a dog drowning in the canal on the side of the street. Your boss has told you if you are late one more time you get fired. What do you do?
Save the dog. Screw the job

72) You are at the doctor’s office and she has just informed you that you have approximately one month to live. a) Do you tell anyone/everyone you are going to die? b) What do you do with your remaining days? c) Would you be afraid?
I'd immediately quit my job and knock out things on my so-called "bucket list."  I'm not really scared of death any more

73) You can only have one of these things: trust or love.
Trust and love go hand-in-hand. I couldn't take one or the other

74) What's a song that always makes you happy when you hear it?
 Chris August's song "Candy Wrap." I can't embed the video, but you can click here to watch it. It's so funny that you can't not get happy when you watch it

75) Who has your cell phone number (other than family)?
Coworkers, a few friends, a ton of mystery shopping companies, and a bunch of people who still think my number belongs to a company called "Carpet Care"

Tweet

Favorite Valentine's Post Secret cards

Somehow it's the "themed" Post Secret weeks that seem to strike me the most. This week of course was mostly focused on love (or lack of love) ...

Tweet

Indian Reservation

Saturday 9: Indian Reservation

1. Do you enjoy going to a casino now and again?
Never been to one

2. What makes you happy most of the time? 
Puppies!

3. Are you jealous of someone right now? 
Nina Dobrev cause she gets to kiss Ian Somerhalder in real life and on "The Vampire Diaries" and gets to pose for hot photos with him like this ...

4. You're stranded on a desert island with one fictional character. Who is it? Why?
LOL ... I'd have to go with Ian's character of Damon from "The Vampire Diaries." If I have to explain why, then you obviously didn't look at how hot he is in that cover photo 

5. Have you ever been in the emergency room? If yes, for what (most recently)?
God, I've been to ERs way too many times. It's been a while though since the last time

6. Where is the last place you drove to just for fun? 
Um, a bookstore

7. If you were to make your living as a photographer, what would love to shoot?
 I used to want to be a Playboy photographer for a little while just to say I was a Playboy photographer

8. Tell us about a band you like that we might not have heard.
 Ok, so she's not a "band," but I recently discovered a new singer named Cady Groves. She's originally from a small town in Oklahoma, so I'd probably have loved her anyway, but she has an awesome debut song titled "This Little Girl." She says that every girl is capable of murder if you hurt her. It's a really catchy song and has some girl-power-type angst to it. 

9. Where was the last place you went shopping? Why?
I did a secret shopping assignment at a grocery store this afternoon

Tweet

Exercise may make a great antidepressant

By The Joplin Globe, Mo.

JOPLIN, Mo. -- Mark Stewart said he is an ex-jock. He used to keep a regular workout routine, until the reality of medical school set in.

Now a psychiatrist with the behavioral health division of Freeman Health Systems, Stewart is thrilled to see research done into how exercise can help cure moods.

"Some things are common-sensical, and one of those things is that exercise contributes to a heightening of moods," Stewart said. "What's happening is that more effort is being put in to research that. There are numerous articles about studies being done."

Among the stories, testimonials and other reports about exercise being a great antidepressant is Gina Midyett, a therapist in Tampa who also owns a Powerhouse Gym with her husband, Matt. Midyett worked with single mothers and taught them exercises and other things they could do at home with their kids.

The recommendations brought rave reviews, enough to convince her that fitness and nutrition are important parts of helping clients overcome depression, anxieties and addictions.

But Stewart said that exercise alone isn't enough to treat more advanced forms of depression.

Exercise's effect

Stewart said exercise has some obvious subjective results. It increases endorphins which, according to some, provides some resiliency against stress.

"What happens is when someone experiences something stressful, the body releases neurochemicals that change into neurotoxins," Stewart said. "It's thought that the antidepressant effect may be from the ability to allow the brain to engage in neurogenesis. That helps the brain recover more quickly from a stressful event."

Many Joplin residents can point to a singular stressful event that happened on May 22. The tornado that killed 161, injured hundreds and destroyed acres has sent many to seek counseling for depression.

Stewart said that situational depression or post-traumatic stress disorder caused by the tornado is different from the mild to moderate cases of depression that people normally support.

"I'm not saying to avoid exercise," Stewart said. "But if someone is having severe symptoms, then exercise shouldn't be the sole treatment."

Situational depression and PTSD aren't mutually exclusive, but have different symptoms. PTSD victims have a hypervigiliant attitude and may have nightmares or flashbacks, where situational depression leads to people having insomnia, difficulty concentrating and a subdued mood.

Treatment of those conditions may include therapy or medicine, Stewart said.

Though meant to help with lighter cases, Midyett said she has found that exercise helps patients wean themselves off of antidepressants.

"I'm not against medication," Midyett said. "I think that people need it, but I think that medication is a way to maybe get you to go and start implementing new coping strategies."

Concerning addiction, Midyett said that people reach for an addictive substance because they need to cope with an emotional pain.

"Instead of reaching for those bad habits and negative things, you go and work out," she said. "Now you feel better and all of these (natural brain) chemicals are working. Now the chances of you going to reach for that negative habit are much lower."

Exercise's benefits

Research is ongoing, but it is thought that exercise alleviates depression in a number of ways, according to the Mayo Clinic, possibly including:

• Releasing feel-good brain chemicals (neurotransmitters and endorphins)
• Reducing immune-system chemicals that can worsen depression
• Raising body temperature, which may be calming
• Building confidence by meeting goals and feeling better about one's appearance
• Distracting the mind from negative thoughts that feed anxiety and depression
• Finding new social outlets if you exercise at a gym or outdoors where you'll meet others
• Taking positive action to manage anxiety or depression

Don't think you have to do strenuous workouts or that you won't feel better until you can put in a certain amount of time exercising. Anything you do to get moving will likely improve your mood.

Tweet