Recovery Michigan

A study presented Oct. 24 at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) National Conference & Exhibition in Washington, DC, surveyed 440 students in high school and middle school in Cumberland County, North Carolina. Mirroring national trends, an average of 29 percent of the respondents reported being bullied in the past. Among 11- to 14-year-olds, 54 percent reported being bullied, compared with 46 percent of those 15 to 18 years old.

Researchers identified 28 barriers to mental health services in the study, 11 of which were specific to respondents who experienced prior bullying. Chief among these was a lack of adequate screening and counseling by medical providers, said Amira El Sherif, MD, FAAP, a private practitioner with Kidzcare Pediatrics in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Other obstacles included school system barriers such as inaction by educators and poor enforcement of investigation procedures, and inadequate school follow-up and communication with parents.

Overall, improving communication between medical providers, school officials and parents would allow for a team approach to bullying, which would improve mental health screening and access to services, she said.

How can you tell if someone is depressed? The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) - the 'bible' of psychiatry - diagnoses depression when patients tick off a certain number of symptoms on the DSM checklist. A large-scale quantitative study coordinated at KU Leuven, Belgium, now shows that some symptoms play a much bigger role than others in driving depression, and that the symptoms listed in DSM may not be the most useful ones.

To diagnose depression, psychiatrists typically tally up the number of depression symptoms that patients report in questionnaires. It does not matter which of the symptoms these patients have, as long as they have a certain number of them.

A new study challenges that approach. "We need to stop thinking of depression as a disease that causes a number of interchangeable symptoms", says lead author Dr Eiko Fried from the KU Leuven Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences. "Depression is a complex, extremely heterogeneous system of interacting symptoms. And some of these symptoms may be far more important than others".

In the study, the two main DSM symptoms - sad mood and decreased interest or pleasure - ranked among the top 5 in terms of centrality. But the researchers also found that DSM symptoms such as hypersomnia, agitation, and weight change are not more central than other common depression symptoms such as pessimism andanxiety.

'Microglia' cells in the brain, acting as the first and main form of active immune defense of central nervous system, may be a key to causing depression. Latest theory opens door to development of a new generation of anti-depressant medications.

Major depression, which afflicts one in six people at some point in their life, is the leading global cause of disability - surpassing cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, cancer and HIV/AIDS combined.

In a groundbreaking theoretical review paper published in the peer-reviewed journal, Trends in Neurosciences, researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem suggest that "progress in the understanding of the biology of depression has been slow," requiring expanding beyond the "abnormalities in the functioning of neurons." The contribution of other brain cells -- often neglected by researchers -- may be more relevant in causing depression, according to psychobiology Prof. Raz Yirmiya, director of the Hebrew University's Laboratory for PsychoNeuroImmunology, and senior author of the journal's paper, titled "Depression as a microglial disease."

Recent research at the Hebrew University's laboratory and elsewhere finds that some forms of depression may result from malfunctioning brain cells, termed "microglia." "However," Prof. Yirmiya cautions, "this does not mean that all sub-types of depression or other psychiatric diseases are originated by abnormalities in these cells."

In some ways, bullying research has affirmed what we already know. Bullying is the result of an unequal power dynamic—the strong attacking the weak. It can happen in different ways: through physical violence, verbal abuse (in person or online), or the management of relationships (spreading rumors, humiliation, and exclusion). It is usually prolonged (most bullies are repeat offenders) and widespread (a bully targets multiple victims). Longitudinal work shows that bullies and victims can switch places: there is an entire category of bully-victims—people who are victims in one set of circumstances and perpetrators in another. Finally, emerging research demonstrates that bullying follows us throughout life. Workplace and professional bullying is just as common as childhood bullying; often, it’s just less obvious. (At work—one hopes—people don’t steal your bicycle or give you a wedgie.)

“As far as antipsychotics, antianxiety drugs and antidepressants, the FDA and international drug regulatory agencies cite side effects including, but not limited to, psychosis, mania, suicidal ideation, heart attack, stroke, diabetes, and even sudden death.” [Source]

But here’s a secret: for me, much of healing is in the tiny choices I make to simply live. To keep on keeping on, even when that notion is overwhelmingly terrifying. A good book. Making art that means something. A cup of coffee with cream and sugar. My ridiculously adorable cats. My family and my goofball friends.

And, for instance, personal style.

I understand that this may sound silly to some. But to those I say this: whatever works, right?

To pick out an outfit is a small promise to myself to live through the day. Those thrift store flannels, men’s sweaters, combat boots, feminine dresses, the eyebrow piercing and the unicorn hair colors — these are my shield against the days that are hard. The days that I have to convince myself that it is worth getting out of bed. Days that are often more regular than I would like, because the journey to mental health is not a brief one.

I have battled mental illness (specifically, major depression and social anxiety) my whole life. I'm also a lover of fashion: or, rather, personal style as a form of self expression.

A new study in mice reveals that increased body weight and high blood sugar as a result of consuming a high-fat diet may cause anxiety and depressive symptoms and measurable changes in the brain.

Also, the beneficial effects of an antidepressant were blunted in mice fed a high-fat diet. "When treatingdepression, in general there is no predictor of treatment resistance," said Dr. Bruno Guiard, senior author of theBritish Journal of Pharmacology study. "So if we consider metabolic disorders as a putative treatment resistance predictor, this should encourage psychiatrists to put in place a personalized treatment with antidepressant drugs that do not further destabilize metabolism."

On the other hand, taking mice off a high-fat diet completely reversed the animals' metabolic impairments and lessened their anxious symptoms. "This finding reinforcing the idea that the normalization of metabolic parameters may give a better chance of achieving remission, particularly in depressed patients with type 2 diabetes," said Dr. Guiard.

Now, results of a landmark government-funded study call that approach into question. The findings, from by far the most rigorous trial to date conducted in the United States, concluded that schizophrenia patients who received smaller doses of antipsychotic medication and a bigger emphasis on one-on-one talk therapy and family support made greater strides in recovery over the first two years of treatment than patients who got the usual drug-focused care.

Emotional abuse may be as harmful as physical abuse and neglect. This finding led by a team of researchers at McGill University complements previous imaging research showing that emotional and physical pain both activate the same parts of the brain.

Emotional abuse, which includes behaviors such as ridicule, intimidation, rejection, and humiliation, is much more common than physical abuse and neglect. Worldwide prevalence estimates suggest that approximately one third of children experience emotional abuse. However, "although people assume physical abuse is more harmful than other types of abuse, we found that they are associated with similar consequences", says David Vachon, a McGill professor in the Department of Psychology and the study's first author. "These consequences are wide-ranging and include everything from anxiety and depression to rule-breaking and aggression." The discovery may pave the way for more effective means of addressing how different forms of child abuse should be recognized and treated.

To be required to accommodate a disability, an employer must first be put on notice of the disability.  Unless the employer reasonably believes, based on objective facts, that the employee cannot perform essential job functions because of a medical condition, or that the employee has a medical condition that could threaten the health and safety of the employee or others, the employer should not inquire as to a possible mental disability.  Employers may ask if the applicant/employee can perform the essential functions of the job.  Each situation is very fact-specific, and, except in an emergency, competent and experienced legal counsel should be consulted before questioning an employee about a possible undisclosed condition.

Once it is clear that an accommodation is appropriate, the employer should work with the employee and his/her medical provider to determine whether an accommodation that addresses the limitations caused by the disability but allows the employee to perform the essential functions of his or her job exists.