Dr. Jeff's and Dr. Tanya's Blog

Does a Brain Hemorrhage in Your Loved One Put You At Risk for Developing PTSD?

Mental health professionals have long been concerned about the impact of serious medical illness on loved ones. An article published online in Modern Medicine on December 8, 2008 examines this issue. A study was recently published in the December 2008 issue of the Journal of Neurosurgery. The researchers studied 86 pairs of patients and their significant others. The results were sobering. “…a total of 26 percent of the significant others met the diagnostic criteria for PTSD…this proportion represented approximately a threefold increased incidence compared to the 8 percent expected within the general population. The median symptom severity among significant others was moderate, although 77.3 percent experienced severe functional impairment. Inadequate coping strategies were determined to be the highest predictor of PTSD in the significant others.” The results of this study strongly suggest that significant others of patients with a brain hemorrhage are at risk for the development of PTSD.

The Bottom Line:  The results of this study strongly suggest that significant others of patients with a brain hemorrhage are at risk for the development of PTSD.

Reference: Article

Additional Resources:

• For related articles on the Web, click on: “Sphere: Related Content” located at the bottom of this blog post.
• For related books or blog posts with related content in Dr. Jeff’s and Dr. Tanya’s Blog, go to “Psychiatric Disorders: General” or type in the keywords into “Google Search” located in the sidebar.
• For related articles from Psychology Today, click on the “Psychology Today” banner in the side bar and type in the keywords into the Psychology Today “Search”.
• For more books with related content, click any hyperlinked keyword in the blog or type in the keywords into “Amazon Search” on the Amazon banner located in the side bar.

Resource and Support Groups for PTSD

1. Sidran Institute
2. Trauma Information Pages:
3. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Resource Center
   
4. Gateway to PTSD Information
5. Gift from Within
6. NIMH Post Traumatic Stress Disorder  
7. PTSD Chat Support Group
8. PTSD Support Groups
9. Daily Strength

Two Great Books on PTSD

1. The PTSD Workbook: Simple, Effective Techniques for Overcoming Traumatic Stress Symptoms (Paperback) by Mary Beth
2. Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for PTSD: A Case Formulation Approach (Guides to Individualized Evidence-Based Treatment) (Hardcover)by Claudia Zayfert (Author), Carolyn Black Becker (Author)

Sources: See also blogposts in Psychiatric Disorders: General and Psychiatric Disorders: PTSD

Dr. Jeffrey Speller

Dr. Tanya Korkosz

Psychopharmacology Associates of New England

www.psychopharmassociates.com

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How big of a problem is self--harm disorders among adolescents?

Mental health professionals have long been concerned about the rise in self-harm disorders in adolescents. An article published online in Modern Medicine on December 8, 2008 examines this issue. A study was recently presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America. The researchers studied 10 adolescent girls with a history of self-embedding injuries. The results were sobering. “…19 episodes of self-embedding injury were documented. Among nine of these girls, 52 foreign bodies were removed. Foreign objects included metal needles, metal staples, metal paperclips, glass, wood, plastic, graphite, crayon, and stone.” The results of this study support the conclusion that self-embedding injuries in adolescent girls is a significant problem.  

The Bottom Line:  The results of this study support the conclusion that self-embedding injuries in adolescent girls is a significant problem.  

Reference: Article

Additional Resources:

• For related articles on the Web, click on: “Sphere: Related Content” located at the bottom of this blog post.
• For related books or blog posts with related content in Dr. Jeff’s and Dr. Tanya’s Blog, go to “Psychiatric Disorders: General” or type in the keywords into “Google Search” located in the sidebar.
• For related articles from Psychology Today, click on the “Psychology Today” banner in the side bar and type in the keywords into the Psychology Today “Search”.
• For more books with related content, click any hyperlinked keyword in the blog or type in the keywords into “Amazon Search” on the Amazon banner located in the side bar.

Resource and Support Groups for PTSD

1. Sidran Institute
2. Trauma Information Pages:
3. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Resource Center
   
4. Gateway to PTSD Information
5. Gift from Within
6. NIMH Post Traumatic Stress Disorder  
7. PTSD Chat Support Group
8. PTSD Support Groups
9. Daily Strength

Two Great Books on PTSD

1. The PTSD Workbook: Simple, Effective Techniques for Overcoming Traumatic Stress Symptoms (Paperback) by Mary Beth
2. Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for PTSD: A Case Formulation Approach (Guides to Individualized Evidence-Based Treatment) (Hardcover)by Claudia Zayfert (Author), Carolyn Black Becker (Author)

Sources: See also blogposts in Psychiatric Disorders: General and Psychiatric Disorders: PTSD

Dr. Jeffrey Speller

Dr. Tanya Korkosz

Psychopharmacology Associates of New England

www.psychopharmassociates.com

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Can Mental Health Problems Cause Asthma?

Mental health professionals have long debated about the relationship between mental health problems and asthma. An article published online in Modern Medicine on December 5, 2008 examines this issue.  A study recently published in the December 2008 issue of Chest. The researchers analyzed data from the 2006 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey. And the results? “…participants reporting poor mental health showed an increased risk of having asthma…was a dose-response relationship, as increases in the number of days of poor mental health correlated with increased risk of asthma. Participants reporting three weeks or greater of poor mental health had a greater risk of asthma (relative risk ratio, 2.75).” The results of this study strongly suggest that poor mental health is a risk factor for the development of asthma.

The Bottom Line:  The results of this study strongly suggest that poor mental health is a risk factor for the development of asthma.

Reference: Article

Additional Resources:

• For related articles on the Web, click on: “Sphere: Related Content” located at the bottom of this blog post.
• For related books or blog posts with related content in Dr. Jeff’s and Dr. Tanya’s Blog, go to “Psychiatric Disorders: General” or type in the keywords into “Google Search” located in the sidebar.
• For related articles from Psychology Today, click on the “Psychology Today” banner in the side bar and type in the keywords into the Psychology Today “Search”.
• For more books with related content, click any hyperlinked keyword in the blog or type in the keywords into “Amazon Search” on the Amazon banner located in the side bar.

Sources: See also blogposts in Psychiatric Disorders: General

Dr. Jeffrey Speller

Dr. Tanya Korkosz

Psychopharmacology Associates of New England

www.psychopharmassociates.com

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Are Depression and Abdominal Obesity Related?

Mental health professionals have long debated about the relationship between depression and obesity. An article published online in Modern Medicine on December 4, 2008 examines this issue.  The article reports on a study that was recently published in the December 2008 issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry. The researchers studied 2,088 individuals aged 70 to 79. The results were interesting. “Depression at baseline was associated with increases in visceral fat and sagittal diameter, after adjusting for a variety of factors…Sagittal diameter is thought to be a better indicator of visceral fat than waist circumference in older people, the authors note. Depression was not linked to an increase in overall obesity, indicating that depressive symptoms are specifically linked to visceral fat gain.” The results of this study strongly suggest that depression and visceral fat in the elderly are related.

The Bottom Line:  The results of this study strongly suggest that depression and visceral fat in the elderly are related.

Additional Resources:

• For related articles on the Web, click on: “Sphere: Related Content” located at the bottom of this blog post.
• For related books or blog posts with related content in Dr. Jeff’s and Dr. Tanya’s Blog, go to “Psychiatric Disorders: General” or type in the keywords into “Google Search” located in the sidebar.
• For related articles from Psychology Today, click on the “Psychology Today” banner in the side bar and type in the keywords into the Psychology Today “Search”.
• For more books with related content, click any hyperlinked keyword in the blog or type in the keywords into “Amazon Search” on the Amazon banner located in the side bar.

Dr. Jeffrey Speller

Dr. Tanya Korkosz

Psychopharmacology Associates of New England

www.psychopharmassociates.com

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Does Depression and Anxiety Decrease Bone Health in Adolescent Girls?

Mental health professionals have long debated about the relationship between mental health problems and bone health in adolescent girls. An article published online in Modern Medicine on December 4, 2008 examines this issue. The article reported on a study recently published in the December 2008 issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. The researchers studied 207 adolescent girls. The results were sobering. “Greater symptoms of depression were associated with lower total body bone mineral content (BMC). In white subjects, higher state anxiety was associated with lower total body BMC and hip BMC and bone mineral density (BMD)….Those who had ever smoked had similar age-adjusted BMC and BMD as never-smokers, but had more symptoms of anxiety and depression, the report indicates. The results of this study strongly suggest that mental health problems is associated with poor bone health in adolescent girls.

The Bottom Line:  The results of this study strongly suggest that mental health problems is associated with poor bone health in adolescent girls.

Reference: Article

Additional Resources:

• For related articles on the Web, click on: “Sphere: Related Content” located at the bottom of this blog post.
• For related books or blog posts with related content in Dr. Jeff’s and Dr. Tanya’s Blog, go to “Psychiatric Disorders: General” or type in the keywords into “Google Search” located in the sidebar.
• For related articles from Psychology Today, click on the “Psychology Today” banner in the side bar and type in the keywords into the Psychology Today “Search”.
• For more books with related content, click any hyperlinked keyword in the blog or type in the keywords into “Amazon Search” on the Amazon banner located in the side bar.

Ten Great Books on Depression

1. Anxiety & Depression Workbook For Dummies (For Dummies (Psychology & Self Help)) (Paperback) by Charles H., PhD Elliott (Author), Laura L., PhD Smith (Author), Aaron T., MD Beck (Author)
2. Depression for Dummies (Paperback) by Laura L., PhD Smith (Author), Charles H., PhD Elliott (Author)
3. Overcoming Depression One Step at a Time: The New Behavioral Activation Approach to Getting Your Life Back (New Harbinger Self-Help Workbook) (Paperback) by Michael E., Ph.D. Addis (Author), Christopher R. Martell (Author)
4. Overcoming Depression: A Step-by-Step Approach to Gaining Control Over Depression (Paperback) by Paul Gilbert(Author)
5. Overcoming Depression, 3rd edition by Demitri Papolos (Paperback - Jan 10, 1997)
6. Overcoming Depression (Victory Over the Darkness) by Neil T. Anderson and Joanne Anderson (Paperback - Jul 2004)
7. Woman's Guide to Overcoming Depression, A by Archibald Hart and Catherine Hart Weber (Mass Market Paperback - Nov 1, 2007)
8. Overcoming Anxiety and Depression: Practical Tools to Help You Deal with Negative Emotions by Bob Phillips (Paperback - Aug 15, 2007)
9. Overcoming Depression (Overcoming) by Paul Gilbert (Paperback - May 25, 2000)
10. Overcoming Anxiety, Panic, and Depression: New Ways to Regain your Confidence by James Gardner, Arthur H. Bell (Paperback - Feb 1, 2005)

Twelve Resource and Support Groups for Depression

1. Broken Smiles 
2. Journey Towards Freedom
3. Depression Forums
4. Depression Boards  
5. Depression Resources
6. Depression Understood  
7. Depressionsupport1  
8. Yahoo Depression Support Groups
9. The Depression Support Group
10. Depression and Bipolar Support
11. Alliance
12. Families for Depression Awareness

Sources: See blogposts in Psychiatric Disorders: General and Psychiatric Disorders: Depression

Dr. Jeffrey Speller

Dr. Tanya Korkosz

Psychopharmacology Associates of New England

www.psychopharmassociates.com

Email this • Sphere: Related Content • Technorati Links • View CC license • Subscribe to this feed • Save to del.icio.us • Share on Facebook • Stumble It! • Add to Mixx! • Discuss on Newsvine • Digg This! • outside.in: geotag this story