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Bipolar? Heath Ledger's ( death) behavior showed extreme energy( mania) and
2008-03-14 17:50:00
Details surrounding Heath Ledger's life and death are being discusses by his ex-girlfriends. From what I can glean, Heath Ledger may have suffered from bipolar disorder. His girl friend said that Ledger "had bouts with insomnia" for as long as she knew him, and that he "just had too much energy." Michelle Williams said:that Ledger's mind was "always turning," and he'd often "jump out of bed" due to his "uncontrollable energy." "Heath Didn't Know Limits." Williams continued by saying "the interesting thing about Heath, which maybe people have only really fully discovered in his death, is how vulnerable he was." She says despite his rugged looks and physical appearance, "there was always that underlying sensitivity. That's who he was."It is now clear to me that Heath Ledger was self-medicating with benzodiazepines, pain killers and sleeping pills. This was the wrong medicine. He needed to be...
More About: Energy , Behavior , Extreme , Death , Bipolar

Celebrity rehab with Dr. Drew: the cast reunion show. Some success stories,
2008-03-14 15:29:00
VH1 partnered with Dr. Drew for the reality series “Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew.” The project, consisted of eight one-hour episodes. I know  It’s hard to escape all the news about the all-too-public displays by celebrities under the influence and their subsequent stints in rehab. What actually happens on the inside? But this was a a television first. The highly respected Dr. Drew, a practicing MD and professor at KECK USC School of Medicine, will give viewers an unflinching look at exactly how the rehab process works and what it feels like for participants. Dr. Drew hopes too use his celebrity patients to humanize the process and show viewers that treatment is a viable way to break the cycle of addiction. “The road to sobriety is not easy and rehabilitation and the recovery process are not to be taken lightly.” said Dr. Drew Pinsky. “My goal is to lift the veil and help my patients, as well as viewers, understand that if not taken seriously, addiction is a ...
More About: Stories , Show , Success

The number one states with major depression, marijuana use, drug use, subs
2008-03-13 23:44:00
CHICAGO (March 6) - Vermont leads the United States in marijuana use, while Utah has the highest number of people reporting mental health problems, U.S. government researchers said today, based on a new state-by-state report: Major Depressive Episode in Past YearLowest: Hawaii - 5 percent | Highest: Nevada - 9.4 percent AlcoholAbuse/Dependence in Past YearLowest: Kentucky - 6.3 percent | Highest: Montana - 10.8 percen Underage Binge Drinking in Past MonthLowest: Georgia - 15.2 percent | Highest: North Dakota - 28.5 percent Illicit Drug Use in Past MonthLowest: North Dakota - 5.7 percent | Highest: Rhode Island - 11.2 percent Illicit Drug Abuse/Dependence in Past YearLowest: Iowa - 2.1 percent | Highest: District of Columbia - 4.3 percent Pain Reliever Use for Nonmedical Purposes in Past YearLowest: Hawaii, New Jersey, South Dakota - 3.9 percentHighest: Oklahoma - 6.7 percent They said substance abuse and mental health issues vary widely by state, but all struggle wi...
More About: Depression , Marijuana

Antidepressant effectiveness: can it be predicted within a few days of use
2008-03-13 17:02:00
In all areas of medicine, doctors want to be able to predict the effectivness of a therapy  early on in the treatment process. This is epecially true with depression and antidepressants. We have all been through the merry-go-round of antidepressant trial and error. Wouldn't it be nice to eliminate that multi-month process? Well it may be possible:Changes in the location of a single protein in the brain could be used to tell whether a person with depression is responding to an antidepressant within days of taking the drug, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have discovered that a single protein in the brain changes its location within a cell membrane when an antidepressant is working, and this change could be identified with a simple blood test. Wow, wouldn't that be terrific. The entire trial and error process is a total drag. The possibility there, is if we look at blood from a patient on day zero and day four or five...
More About: Days , Antidepressant

Bipolar? Governor Eliot Spitzer resigns in a colossal downfall from the hig
2008-03-12 18:26:00
Finally, Governor Eliot Spitzer announced  that he is resigning, completing a spectacular fall from power for a politician whose once-promising career imploded amid allegations that he paid thousands of dollars for high-end prostitutes. Spitzer built his career by relentlessly persecuting organized crime, money laundering, prostitution rings and his enemies. He never showed any mercy for his targets.  Yet, he thought he was invincible by engaging in illegal, risky and inappropriate sexual activity. This is classic bipolar behavior. What are the symptoms of  bipolar disorder?:Increased energy Little fatigue An increase in activities Inflated self-esteem Impaired Judgment Lack of insight Inappropriate humor Inappropriate behaviors Impulsive behaviors Financial extravagance Grandiose thinking Increased  Sexuality Including  inappropriate or sexual behaviorAnd then the bipolar behavior ultimately causes a downfall of colossal proportion. There...
More About: Eliot Spitzer , Bipolar

Maui wowee. Mary Ann ( Dawn Wells) of Gilligan's Island caught with marijau
2008-03-12 14:09:00
Reruns of the 1960's television series Gilligan's Island are shown all over the world. I remember watching the show, which starred Dawn Wells as Mary Ann from Kansas famous for making her coconut cream pies. Well now Dawn Wells is 69 years old and apparently prefers marijuana and liquor over home cooking:Police stopped Dawn Wells, who played Mary Ann on 'Gilligan's Island,' on Oct. 18, 2007 and allegedly found marijuana in her car. After possession charges were dropped, she later pleaded guilty to reckless driving and is currently serving six months probation.She was sentenced last week to five days in jail, fined $410.50 and placed on probation after pleading guilty to one count of reckless driving. Substance abuse knows no age barriers. Somebody please call The Professor for a drug intervention. I always thought they each had a crush on each other. COMMENT: Seriously, marijuana isa highly addictive drug and can cause serious chaos in life. It is also a depressant.
More About: Maui , Caught

Tips for reading Opray Winfrey's book club-"A New Earth: Awakening to Your
2008-03-12 02:59:00
People with severe depression have a very difficult time concentrating reading, watching TV or even following a conversation.   Are you having a difficult time reading A New Earth ?  Don't be too  hard on yourself. Oprah's webcast with author Eckhart Tolle offered  five suggestions that will help you ease into your reading experience: Be patient and easy on yourself as you read. Have two markers on hand while you read. Highlight favorite sentences with one color and lines that confuse you with another. Don't worry about skipping portions—flag them and come back to them later. As you read deeper into the book, some of the passages that may have confused you earlier will be clarified. You may be surprised to discover how quickly you will be able to understand terms and concepts. Use the practices in the Awakening Exercises part of the website as you read. The author, Eckhart Tolle, says A New Earth is about you. "It will change your state of con...
More About: Reading , Tips , Book , Club

Class #2. Oprah Winfrey webcast, "A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Pu
2008-03-11 17:29:00
Last night Oprah Winfrey web cast her second class based on Oprah's Book Club A New Earth : Awakening to Your Life's Purpose. It is a pretty heady topic and not easy to grasp. However I am very interested in the class about the body and physical pain. Depression hurts not only mentally, but physically. Hopefully readers will be enlightened to methods to mitigate that mind/body relationship.The second class was titled Listen for the Voice in Your Head. Here are the Cliff notes: A few times day, listen quietly for the voice in your head, the stream of continuous self-talk. Then ponder the following questions. Just be with the questions. Don't necessarily try to answer them.She encouraged the class to pay attention to the gap between our thoughts—when one thought subsides and before another arises. In this way, we draw consciousness away from mind activity and create a gap of no-mind in which we are highly alert and aware but not thinking. When these gaps occur, we dis identify ...
More About: Class , Webcast

Bipolar disorder? New York Governer Eliot Spitzer, fierce prosecutor of org
2008-03-11 15:28:00
Princeton undergraduate, Harvard Law School graduate, perfect score on New York State Law Boards, former New York State Attorney General,  fierce prosecutor of organized crime and prostitution rings, current Governor of New York State Eloit Spitzer linked to a prostitution ring and organized crime. This is classic bipolar disorder behavior."People often behave recklessly during a bipolar episode­—gambling away savings, engaging in inappropriate sexual activity, or making foolish business investments, for example. They may also become angry, irritable, and aggressive, picking fights, lashing out when others don’t go along with their plans, and blaming anyone who criticizes their behavior."This is a bombshell for the general public, probably not a bombshell for people familiar with the inappropriate behavior associated with bipolar. I doubt this was the first time Spitzer had engaged in this activity. Governor Spitzer has been married for twenty years and has three...
More About: Eliot , Eliot Spitzer , Bipolar

It never hurts to state the obvious; depression and anxiety tied to unhealt
2008-03-11 02:59:00
This study is not news to me, but it is helpful information for everyone to understand and it never hurts to state the obvious. Depression and anxiety are associated with obesity and poor health behaviors like smoking, drinking, and inactivity, new research indicates."Depression and anxiety are serious mental health conditions and without treatment may assume a chronic course," Dr. Tara W. Strine who led the study told Reuters Health. "Given this, it is important to take depression and anxiety seriously and to seek medical care when needed." Strine, from the division of adult and community health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta and colleagues analyzed data from 217,379 U.S. adults who took part in the 2006 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System -- a large telephone survey that monitors the prevalence of key health behaviors.Of those surveyed, 8.7 percent reported current depression, 15.7 percent had a history of depression, and 11.3 percent had a h...
More About: State , Anxiety , Obvious

Bipolar disorder? New York Governer Eliot Spitzer, fierce prosecutor of org
2008-03-10 20:16:00
Princeton undergraduate, Harvard Law School graduate, perfect score on New York State Law Boards, former New York State Attorney General,  fierce prosecutor of organized crime and prostitution rings, current Governor of New York State Eloit Spitzer linked to a prostitution ring and organized crime. This is classic bipolar disorder behavior."People often behave recklessly during a bipolar episode­—gambling away savings, engaging in inappropriate sexual activity, or making foolish business investments, for example. They may also become angry, irritable, and aggressive, picking fights, lashing out when others don’t go along with their plans, and blaming anyone who criticizes their behavior."This is a bombshell for the general public, probably not a bombshell for people familiar with the inappropriate behavior associated with bipolar. I doubt this was the first time Spitzer had engaged in this activity. Governor Spitzer has been married for twenty years and has three...
More About: Eliot , Eliot Spitzer , Bipolar

From Austin Texas: Depression affects many in the work place, vagus nerve s
2008-03-10 01:34:00
www.news8austin.comDepression affects many in the workplaceUpdated: 3/6/2008 1:13:09 PMBy: Channel 8 News- Austin , Texas Something Old Some describe it as a black curtain blocking out all the light in your life. Others describe it as a physical weight that rests on your shoulders, draining your mental and physical energy. The symptoms are vast, but the truth is 16 percent of Americans will experience depression at some point in their lives. For many, it's a constant battle -- recurrence is very common for patients who have experienced at least one episode of depression. Depression is more than just a negative state of mind. There are physical changes that occur in the brain that disrupt that natural balance of chemicals called neurotransmitters. Something New Vagus Nerve Stimulation (VNS) is one of the newest potential treatment options for depression. It was originally designed and approved by the FDA to treat epilepsy. However, researchers are exploring the poss...
More About: Work , Place

Mental health parity: The House approves Bill on mental health parity. This
2008-03-07 01:40:00
Today I finally read some good news about reimbursement for patients with mental health issues such as depression, bipolar disorder, substance abuse and anxiety. After more than a decade of struggle, the House on Wednesday passed a bill requiring most group health plans to provide more generous coverage for treatment of mental illnesses, comparable to what they provide for physical illnesses. The Senate has passed a similar bill requiring equivalence, or parity, in coverage of mental and physical ailments. Federal law now allows insurers to discriminate, and most do so, by setting higher co-payments or stricter limits on mental health benefits. “Illness of the brain must be treated just like illness anywhere else in the body,” said Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of California. Supporters of the House bill, including consumer groups and the American Psychiatric Association, said it would be a boon to many of the 35 million Americans who experience disabling symptoms of ...
More About: Health , Mental , Mental Health , Bill

Class one of Oprah Winfrey's webcast- "A New Earth: Awakening to your Lif
2008-03-06 03:24:00
I had trouble getting the streaming web cast of Oprah Winfrey's first class A New Earth : Awakening to your Life's Purpose. Essentially it began to explore how to wake up and be present in each moment. This week, Oprah encourages the class to use the workbook to help us unravel our true identity from our ego's attachments. OK, I guess? These are tough exercises if you are suffering from major depression. It requires lots of concentration, which is very difficult when you are in utter despair. Next week's class:Class II-  Ego: The Current State of HumanityWow. That sounds really heavy. I'm not ready to take on the world. But the book distills this seemingly impossible task to something highly relevant and personal. Start listening to that “voice in our heads” as often as we can. Pay attention to any repetitive thought patterns, particularly negative ones about yourself, your life or other people. Write down any such repetitive thought patterns that you detect Does the...
More About: Webcast

Oprah Winfrey's webcast- "A New Earth: Awakening to your Life's Purpose." A
2008-03-03 23:16:00
I'm very skeptical  of self-help concepts  for people with moderate to severe depression. Who doesn't want to spend $24.95 for a book  and get their depression cured without " exercise, diet or pills?" Those type of selfy-helpy books fly off the shelves of retail book stores nationwide. But in my opinion it is not an effective way to treat a biological illness. However I have to admit that I am intrigued my Oprah Winfrey's new weekly webcast A New Earth : Awakening to Your Life's Purpose based on the book by Eckhart Tolle. I actually signed up for the ten week course which starts tonight:Winfrey calls the book "a wake-up call for the entire planet, one reader at a time. It helps us to distance ourselves from our egos, which, of course, we all have, and to open ourselves to a higher self, which he calls consciousness. It helps us to stop creating our own suffering and obsessing over the past and what the future might be, and to put ourselves in the no...
More About: Webcast

What time does the average American go to sleep and wake up? How many hours
2008-03-03 12:36:00
NEW YORK — Hey you! Dozing at your desk! Wake up, go home and get more sleep! That could be the message from a survey released today by the National Sleep Foundation. The survey of 1,000 people found participants average six hours and 40 minutes of sleep a night on weeknights, even though they estimated they’d need roughly another 40 minutes of sleep to be at their best. Roughly one-third of those surveyed said they had fallen asleep or become very sleepy at work in the past month.Just how big a deal that is depends, of course, on your job. Last week, the chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission acknowledged it should have done more to investigate a tip that security guards routinely took naps while on the job at a Pennsylvania nuclear plant.It wasn’t until a videotape of guards sleeping in a “ready room” at the Peach Bottom plant in south-central Pennsylvania surfaced several months after it got the tip that the NRC announced in September a special investigation.W...
More About: Time , American , Wake up

An entire family killed in a shocking apparent murder suicide in Los Angele
2008-02-25 05:59:00
In probably another example of  unmet mental health medical attention,  a 14-year-old boy was the lone survivor of an apparent murder-suicide that left five family members, including three children, dead across the street from the Richard Nixon Library.A neighbor dialed 911 late Saturday to report shots fired. Two minutes later, the teen told police that his father had shot him and his brother at their condo complex in Yorba Linda, a bedroom community about 40 miles southeast of Los Angeles.Police found five people, including three children, dead of gunshot wounds. The teen's mother was discovered on the doorstep, said Lt. Jack Conklin of the Brea Police Department, which was investigating.Inside the home, police found the bodies of two girls in a bedroom; they had apparently been asleep in their beds. The body of a boy was discovered in another bedroom, along with the body of a man with a shotgun beneath him. Authorities are still figuring out a motive but believe the fa...
More About: Murder , Family , Entire , Suicide , Killed

A wonderful success story about the effectiveness of vagus nerve stimulatio
2008-02-24 01:09:00
This one is from Billings, Montana-February 22, 2008 Bal Slevira suffered from what is known as treatment-resistant depression, or clinical depression that does not improve with standard therapies. An implanted device that stimulates Slevira's nervous system - and vibrates her vocal cords, making her voice sound raspy - finally lifted her out of a depression that had dogged her for nine years. "I'm still not 100 percent," she said. "But I can do what needs to be done now."  No fewer than 23 medications had failed to relieve Slevira's severe depressive symptoms."I always describe it as a black cloud over my head," she said. Weeks sometimes passed without Slevira, 34, getting out of bed. Her husband became the primary caregiver for the couple's three children as well as the financial provider for the family. "I'd go to (the kids') school for something, and they'd have no clue who I was," Slevira said.At times, medications helped h...
More About: Story , Success , Success Story , Wonderful

Only 44 U.S. patients were implanted with the VNS Therapy(TM) for depressio
2008-02-21 23:50:00
Yesterday, Cyberonics( the manufacturer of the vagus nerve stimulator) released its earnings for the past quarter, outlined a review of the business and strategic priorities for 2008. After reviewing the slide presentation, I was shocked to see that only 44 patients were implanted with the VNS Therapy System(TM) during the past quarter.  This was very sad. However, Cyberonics President and CEO announced the following:"After consulting with clinical and reimbursement experts, we have developed a plan for our depression indication. We have also engaged an investment bank to find a financial partner to assist in execution of the plan, which includes the possible transfer of the depression indication to a separate entity in which we expect to maintain at least a minority interest."In my opinion, this should have been done two years ago. The Company had reduced the number of personnel  dedicated to depression from 480 people to under 20 people. With a stronger joint ...
More About: Patients

Learn about participating in a new clinical study of Deep Brain Stimulatio
2008-02-20 23:20:00
Within the next few weeks medical device manufacturer St. Jude Medical will begin  enrolling study subjects in a controlled, multi-site, blinded, clinical study of deep brain stimulation for major depressive disorder. Ironically, it is  eight years ago when I began the enrollment process for the clinical study of vagus nerve stimulation for treatment-resistant-depression. I found out about that study completely by accident. All of the information you need to know about participating in this investigational study can be found at BroadenStudy .com   including the toll free number 866-787-4332Deep brain stimulation has been used safely and successfully in over 40,000 patients  for other disorders, including Parkinson's Disease. It is not FDA approved for depression. St. Jude Medical is a major medical device company, with over $3.5 billion in annual sales, a pioneer in neurostimulation devices with significant financial and intellectual resources . Advanced Neurom...
More About: Brain , Learn

Midlife suicides unexpectly soar acording to The Centers for Disease Contro
2008-02-20 06:05:00
Experts says suicide is depression left untreated. Today The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed that theory with the release of a study of deaths in America:"Health officials find it surprising, and baffling: The suicide rate among 45-to-54-year-olds increased a lot from 1999 to 2004, far outpacing changes in nearly every other age group, according to a study of the nation's death rates released by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For women 45 to 54, the rate leaped 31 percent. For men, it increased nearly 20 percent."That is certainly a break from trends of the past," said Ann Haas, the research director of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. By contrast, the suicide rate for 15-to-19-year-olds increased less than 2 percent in that five-year period — and decreased among people 65 and older.The question is why. What happened in 1999 that caused the suicide rate to suddenly rise primarily for those in midlife? For health experts...
More About: Midlife , Soar

Discontining antidepressants can be dangerous to yourself and others as dem
2008-02-19 23:40:00
Psychiatric experts have renewed their warnings about the dangers of denial of a mental illness and  suddenly discontinuing antidepressants. This topic was revisited with the recent shootings at Northern llinois University. Explanation, Motives Sought for Recent College ShootingsSteven Kazmierczak, who shot and killed five students at Northern Illinois University last week, apparently resisted the idea of having a mental illness. "He never wanted to identify with being mentally ill," his mother said. "That was part of the problem." His parents had placed him in a residential treatment center after he graduated from high school because he had become "unruly" at home and had resisted taking his medications. He had stopped taking his medications two weeks before the shootings.
More About: Antidepressants , Dangerous

Heath Ledger's cause of death released by the City of New York Chief Examin
2008-02-10 05:50:00
Yesterday, The New York City Chief Examiner issued its report titled:CAUSE of DEATH HEATH LEDGERMr. Ledger died as a result of acute intoxification by the combined effects of oxycodone, hydrocodone, valium, temazepam, alprazolam and doxylamine. All of these drugs are considered controlles substances or narcotics. Each drug would have required a prescription from an M.D. No further details were released, such as prescriptions written by multiple doctors or a single doctor. Oxycodone and hydrocodone are pain relievers. Valium, temazepam and alprazolam are antianxiety drugs known as benzodiapines. Doxylamine is a sleeping aid for insomnia better known as benedryl. Whatever the true cause of death, accidental overdose or suicide, I hope that Mr. Ledger is at peace.
More About: Released , Death

F.D.A. Expands Suicide Warning on Drugs and Antidepressants
2008-02-06 02:48:00
The Food and Drug Administration ordered drug makers yesterday to add warnings to antidepressant medications, saying the drugs increase the risk of suicidal thinking or behavior in some young adults. The drug labels, which have included similar warnings for adolescents and children since 2005, will now apply to people younger than 25. The expanded warnings, which will appear in a black box displayed prominently on the prescribing information, are the strongest caution that regulators can impose.The drug agency also recommended that the labels remind doctors to balance this risk against the “clinical need” for treatment and to mention that the drugs, which include well-known products like Paxil and Zoloft, are associated with no increased suicide risk in patients older than 25 and appear to reduce the risk in those older than 64. About 11 percent of adults younger than 44, or 12 million Americans, received at least one prescription for an antidepressant last year, say estim...
More About: Drugs , Suicide , Warning , Antidepressants

FDA probes the anti-smoking drug Chantix for suicide and behavior concerns
2008-02-04 02:02:00
Last November, The Food and Drug Administration announced an official safety review of the popular stop-smoking drug Chantix, citing psychiatric and behavioral concerns. Friday it formally announced  that the connection between Pfizer's anti-smoking drug Chantix and serious psychiatric problems including suicide is "increasingly likely."The Food and Drug Administration said it has received reports of 37 suicides and more than 400 of suicidal behavior in connection with the drug. The announcement comes two weeks after Pfizer added stronger warnings to the drug. In doing so, the company stressed that a link between Chantix and the psychiatric problems has not been established, but couldn't be ruled out. Hmmm.... What do I think?: Where there's smoke there is fire. Pfizer had better get its act together and resolve this life threatening issue.
More About: Behavior , Smoking , Suicide , Anti

The Oprah Winfrey Show Discusses Factors Contributing to Depression in Men
2008-02-02 02:56:00
I watched a recent episode of the Oprah Winfrey Show which featured the topic of factors contributing to depression in men and women. According to psychiatrist Dr. Gail Saltz, author of Anatomy of a Secret Life: Are the People in Your Life Hiding Something You Should Know, major depression and dysthymia affect twice as many women as men. This two-to-one ratio exists regardless of racial and ethnic background or economic status. Although it's the same condition, it's important to note that the signs of depression in women and men can be very different: Women and Depression A variety of factors that are unique to women's lives are suspected to play a role in developing depression. Research is focused on understanding these factors, including: Reproductive Hormonal Genetic or other biological factors Abuse and oppression Interpersonal factors Certain psychological and personality characteristics Still, the specific causes of depression in women remain unclear, and...
More About: The Oprah Winfrey Show , Oprah Winfrey Show

An Atkins-Like Diet May Cut Epileptic Seizures in those patients who do n
2008-02-02 02:45:00
Adults with epilepsy who have failed other treatments may be able to dramatically reduce their number of seizures by following a modified Atkins -like diet, Johns Hopkins researchers report. The high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet has already been shown to be valuable in controlling seizures in children, and now results from a small study suggest that the diet also works for adults:"There are a lot of adults with very bad seizures. There are a lot of adults who have failed medicines and are not candidates for other treatments," said lead researcher Dr. Eric H. Kossoff, an assistant professor of neurology and pediatrics at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.For the study, Kossoff's team gave the diet to 30 adults who had unsuccessfully tried at least two anti-convulsant drugs and had an average of 10 seizures a week. The eating plan restricts patients to 15 grams of carbohydrates a day. Most of the calories come from fats such as eggs, meats, oils and heavy cream. In addition, patients...
More About: Diet , Patients

The Ultimate Sacrifice: US Army war soldiers are increasingly attempting or
2008-02-01 03:44:00
Our national heroes are not getting the necessary mental health care and support to withstand the pressures of the war in Iraq. I find this indefensible. Multiple new efforts aimed at stemming suicides in the Army are falling short of their goal: The service anticipates another jump in the annual number of soldiers who killed themselves or tried to, including in the Iraq and Afghanistan war zones. As many as 121 soldiers committed suicide in 2007, an increase of some 20 percent over 2006, according to preliminary figures released on January 31st.The number who tried to commit suicide or injured themselves for some other reason jumped six-fold in the last several years - from 350 in 2002 to about 2,100 incidents last year. Officials said an unknown portion of that increase was likely due to use of a new electronic tracking system that is more thorough in capturing health data than the previous system.The Army offered up a weak excuse: ""We have been perturbed by the rise despite a...
More About: Soldiers , Sacrifice , Ultimate

Britney Spears has to follow all the same rules that anyone with an illness
2008-01-31 14:54:00
I am not an M.D,, so it I am not qualified to dispense  my advice specifically for Britney Spears . Maybe she has Bipolar depression, maybe not. But I do know that she has to follow the identical rules that th rest of us have to follow. Thankfully,last night, Britney's new psychiatrist went to her home and felt she was a danger to herself and others -- partly because of her reckless driving and partly because of her "downhill behavior." As a result, the shrink launched a plan (days in the making) to have Britney committed to UCLA Medical Center by calling the cops.Britney is just like any other mere mortal who has an illness. She needs: A full medical evaluation by appropriate physicians and mental health professionals An assessment A diagnosis and a TREATMENT PLAN Finally she must strictly follow the directives of the treatment plan designed by her medical team. That is how I did it. That is how everyone else in the world has to do it. No exceptions.
More About: Rules , Illness

What is the average age when depression can be at its worst?
2008-01-30 19:59:00
I thought this story was interesting because for me the answer to their question was just about the same as my answer. Thankfully, I was rescued from the spiral of depression at age 41 due vagus nerve stimulation therapy. According to a major worldwide study by Dartmouth College and the University of Warwick in Coventry England: "Middle age ( i.e. age 44) makes you miserable, so don't blame your job, your kids, your spouse, your income or lack of it, suggests an international study of 2 million people from 80 nations released today. Researchers  from Great Britain and the USA analyzed data spanning more than 35 years on measures such as depression, anxiety, mental well-being, happiness and life satisfaction."They found that men and women in their 40s were more likely to be depressed and weren't as happy as other ages. Middle age is such a low point for well-being that it's at the bottom of a U-shaped curve that indicates greater happiness among the young and old.&q...
More About: Depression , Average