Mental Health News

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Hey, it looks like there may be a better way out there to take down major depression!  The newest treatment for clinical depression may be a rave drug known as ketamine.  In addition it appears to help people for a range of issues from addiction to Post Truamatic Stress Disorder and some kinds of chronic pain.  It’s starting to be thought of as the nest big thing for those suffering from symptoms of depression and these other conditions. 

How Come?
This drug has commonly been used for anesthesia, until one psychiatrist, John Krystal set up a mini study on seven of his patients by giving them Ketamine for their clinical depression symptoms.  The results were great.  Most of his patients disliked the high feeling that the drug gave them, but once it wore off the depression that they lived with was gone. Other researchers have been able to duplicate the results in their own trials and it seems to work. 

Ketamine has even been called a ‘reset button’ for the brain in a dysfunctional rut.  It acts in only a few hours to relieve a patient’s clinical depression symptoms and seems to work for most of those who take the drug to relieve their symptoms.  Keep an eye out on the market because I have a feeling that drug companies are going to try and take advantage of this one.

Side Note:
As many as 850,000 people kill themselves around the world as a result of their clinical depression each year.  There are thought to be around 13 percent of Americans who suffer from major depression each year and it can take someone suffering from long term clinical depression months to find the one drug or combination of drugs that will work to set their brains in balance again.

Remember that weird kid in elementary school who seemed to be a few crayons short of a 64 color set of Crayola crayons-you know some mental health and behavioral issues that caused problems in school, at home and amongst his peers.  Well, many times we’ve seen that kid grow up as we moved through school with him or her and saw for ourselves what researchers are only now ‘confirming’ with studies.  Early mental health problems and behavior problems lead to rejection and friendlessness amongst their peers.  Duh.

Researchers apparently studied previous reports that followed the mental health problems of children around the ages of 6 and 7 and later compared them to reports of the same kids at 12 and 13 with problems of depression, loneliness and delinquency.  The researchers gathered information on 551 children and their teachers, mothers and peers to come to this eureka conclusion.  Most of the problems that qualified as mental health and behavioral problems were anxiety and fear of change, playing by oneself, hyperactivity, and physical aggression.

It’s nice that the researchers have found the studies back up this fact of life but it’s not an amazing discovery.  Unfortunately children with strange behavior in early childhood tend to be rejected by their peers as they grow older.  One could almost compare this to pack behavior or survival instinct.  They also found that kids with mental health problems such as anxiety tended to have fewer friends, though their chances of being rejected by their peers weren’t any less than other children.  Meaning, kids who are anxious are usually shy in new situations and around new people so they aren’t likely to be the life of the party and make a lot of friends.  However, that doesn’t mean others see anything wrong with them in particular.

It was found in recently released results from a study performed by the University of Colorado that it’s possible with effort for people to make themselves forget about troubling or traumatic images.  This has some implications for the mental health recovery of victims of violent crimes and traumatic experiences. 

However, it seems that the events the test subjects were asked to forget about were on the same par with many of the same experiences that can cause anxiety depression and post traumatic stress syndrome.  During the test volunteers were given two images simultaneously, one was traumatic; usually an image of a car wreck or wounded soldiers and the other was the picture of a person.  The researchers repeatedly showed the volunteers two corresponding pictures so that the volunteers would associate the image of the person with the traumatic event.  Later on in the study, volunteers were only shown the image of the person in the hopes that the association created by researchers would cause the volunteer to remember the traumatic image in a kind of mild clinical Post traumatic stress response. 

The researchers were able to achieve the association with several volunteers and from there they started trying to undo the association!  Researchers showed the volunteers a picture of a person with the corresponding association and then simply told them to forget about the traumatic image it brought up.  It appears to have worked and after awhile the volunteers had trouble placing the person’s image with its corresponding traumatic event.  So mental health recovery for victims suffering from traumatic memories could be as easy as telling them to forget?

Though, it seems that a lot of the results could just be from a natural tendency to forget the related image after a while.  Plus the traumatic image isn’t the same as experiencing a traumatic event.

In current mental health issues, the army is trying to revamp their medical community to make them a friendlier and more understanding army for those suffering from mental conditions and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.  Readers who haven’t realized it previously will be shocked and dismayed to learn that the war has been very hard on American troops and up to 38% of soldiers and 31% of marines report some mental health issues after returning home from Iraq.  The stress is even worse on members of the National Guard as up to 49% of them report similar problems with PTSD and problems dealing with depression. 

This problem is expected to grow even worse with the growing number of deployments and extended time in Iraq for those already deployed!  It seems that the stresses of ill using ones troops have finally caught up with the Army and National Guard. 

This is a worse problem than it seems for the military to deal with since there is still a stigma in the armed forces against complaining about mental health issues and even admitting a need to ‘decompress’ after particularly stressful periods.  To combat this problem in the armed forces the military is working to institute what they call, better mental health assessments, stronger privacy protections and a ‘buddy system’ for those in the field.  If your partner gets that funny glazed over look in his eyes and doesn’t bounce back from threatening situations anymore, it may be time to suggest he head back to base for some quiet time and a counseling session. 

The military is also planning to loosen restrictions on security clearances by no longer asking about previous treatments for mental health issues in those who apply for a secret clearance.  I don’t know if that’s the best idea, but it’s good the army is taking the mental health status of their members into account now.

The mental health care of our kids is just as important as that of adults, maybe even more so since a mental ailment left untreated in childhood can lead to serious problems as an adult.  A recent Danish study has shown that one particular problem, thought common to childhood may actually be more harmful than once thought.  The study found that kids who experienced the iron thumb of a bully in school were more likely to need increased amounts of medication for everything from headaches to tummy aches.  This is presumably from all the duress caused by being bullied for a long period of time.

I can remember when I was but a child of 10 and met with my first real bully.  It was a short, brief experience, but was also extremely distressing.  He wanted to meet me at the flag pole before school to beat me up I wanted to stay home from school sick that day.  Unfortunently my mom didn’t feel the same when I told her about the bully and sent me to school anyway.  Not good for my mental health and I can remember the anxiety, fear and stomach upset that plagued me for the rest of the evening and the next early morning.  However, the bully problem seemed to have solved itself overnight as I never saw hide nor hair of the child again, saving my own hide from a thrashing. 

For those kids who aren’t so lucky and must endure the unwanted attentions of bullies on a daily basis the effects can build up into long standing nervous disorders and physical ailments.  So as a result the kids need more and more medications.   

As far as children’s mental health is concerned, what we should be worried about is not the fact that kids need more medications, but the underlying cause of bullying and its chronic damage to mental health and physical well-being.

Canadian and Korean researchers report in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine that behaviors of 22 children who were prenatally exposed to a selective serotonin uptake inhibitor (SSRI), one of a relatively new class of antidepressant drugs including Prozac and Zoloft, were not noticably different than those of 14 unexposed children.  This is great news for those women in their child bearing age that have been trying to choose between taking care of their own mental health or risking the future health of a child due to exposure in utero.  The children, do however, pick up on the stress level of the mother and adjust behaviors accordingly.  Hopefully this study will not only ease fears of becoming pregnancy for want-to-be mothers, but will encourage them to relax more after the child is born. 

The FDA has proposed a new label warning on antidepressants in an attempt to make people aware that the drugs that are prescribed to help them, may actually be killing them.  According to the U.S. Government on Wednesday, studies have confirmed that antidepressants increase the risk of suicidal behavior for people up to age 24, the government said Wednesday. Besides the warning labels, however, the government and FDA have noted that antidepressant users of all ages should be closely monitored.The biggest impact on users seems to be in the younger age groups.  However, any age user can be affected by drugs negatively.  Doctors need to step up and watch their patients more closely.  In addition, patients need to be more aware of the risks and make more informed decisions when taking medications.  Clearly, there needs to be more discussion between both camps. 

Bottom line here, however, buyer beware; there simply isn’t a magic bullet to cure depression — yet.

Would you be surprised to know that Princess Diana had been a teen cutter and had self mutilated herself even after marrying Prince Charles?  It’s true, she was.  In much the same way some teens turn to anorexia for control of their lives, cutters turn to mutilation as as way to “feel” or relieve themselves.  The physical pain acts as a momentary replacement for the pain in their heart and once the episode is over, most times the teen cutter will return to a more normal behavior.  That is, until the next episode when the behaviors start all over again.  

The average cutter is a white female in her late twenties.  More than likely she has been cutting since somewhere around the age of 14 or 15.  Estimates put the number of teen cutters at 1 in every 250 girls.  While there are male cutters, the female population out numbers them by a large margin.  Male cutters, however, do tend do a lot more damage with each episode. 

You won’t be able to tell a cutter just from looking at them when they are in their element.  They are smart, creative and often quite popular.  

Princess Diana explained the phenomenon by saying, “You have so much pain inside yourself that you try and hurt yourself on the outside because you want help.”   Compassion and  understanding are the best tools to dealing with a cutter, and above all the cutter must recognize that they are not really alone.  Getting psychological help is also a must.  So many things can trigger episodes of cutting and they generally tend to get worse with each episode.  Standing by and waiting to see what happens is definitely not recommended.   If you know someone who needs help, encourage them to call 1-800-DONTCUT.  The cycle can be stopped.

I was just reading about a guy who’s climbing the 7 Summits (the highest peak on each continent) to raise awareness of mental illness, in memory of his father, who committed suicide. I hate hearing about one more tragic death, but am glad to hear about the inspiring journey Joe Lawson is making.

Past research has almost always shown that twice as many white persons will attempt suicide than African American.  New findings show that this is no longer the case.  The study showed that “The first nationally representative study to look at attempted suicide among blacks found that about 70,000 of them try to kill themselves each year and 4 percent, or roughly 1.4 million, attempt suicide at least once in their lives.  That lifetime rate is similar to that of whites but higher than the 2.8 percent found among blacks in previous surveys.” 

The study went on to note a very big difference between white and African American suicide issues.  “While depression is strongly tied to suicidal behavior in whites, anxiety disorders were more common than depression in blacks who attempted suicide in the study. That is an important racial difference that could alert doctors to black patients who might be contemplating suicide.” 

Regardless of the trigger, education and awareness remain very important factors to prevention.  If you know someone who may be contemplating suicide, or who you are worried about in this way, do not try to take matters into your own hands.  Get professional help and advice.