Misconceptions about mental health can have devastating effects on individuals, families and communities. National Alliance of Mental Illness’ Wendy Brennan talks with Dr. Jon LaPook about the importance of education and treatment.
Depressed people ate about 60 percent more chocolate compared with others, and major depression more than doubled consumption, reported researchers in the usually-more-reliable Archives of Internal Medicine. Now researchers want to further delve into the issue.
“Whether there is a causal connection, and if so in which direction, is a matter for future prospective study,” the authors wrote.
We wonder if Hershey’s would provide samples for the treatment arm of such studies, and if so, how people can sign up?
*This blog post was originally published at ACP Internist*
So I’m listening to the radio [yesterday] when I hear a story about a woman who was called “fat” by a 24-year-old man at a party. What does she do?
The Omaha World Herald is reporting that she bit off more than she could chew by literally biting off his ear.
Police at a Lincoln, Nebraska hospital responded to a call in the emergency room at 3:25AM on April 28th when the unnamed, one-eared man claimed 21-year-old Anna Godfrey bit off his ear for calling her “fat” at a party. The ear chunk is missing in action. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The Happy Hospitalist*
According to a doctoral thesis to be presented by Jan Bergström at the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) via the Internet is just as effective in treating panic disorder as traditional group-based CBT. It’s also apparently efficacious for the treatment of mild and moderate depression.
Access to conventional CBT is limited in Sweden, so an Internet-based CBT was developed in which the patient undergoes an Internet-based self-help program and has contact with a therapist by email. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Medgadget*
This post begins with an ending. On February 27th, 2010, my beloved husband died in his sleep. His life ended and, in a way, mine did, too. Widowhood is a lonely word with a dark meaning, but life goes on. A new life begins when your old one ends.
Sorry I’ve been away so long. I missed my blog but I just didn’t know where to begin. I feel like I’ve just moved onto a new planet called Widowhood. Everything is different here. I’m walking on a landscape where everything is out of place. I’m filling out unfamiliar legal forms almost everyday, and I have to carry David’s death certificate in my handbag everywhere I go. Daily tasks are overwhelming. Cooking? What’s that? David cooked all of our meals at home so now I’m eating out. I feel insecure and that’s just not me. I don’t like living on this planet. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Nurse Ratched's Place*
It’s no secret that doctors are disappointed with the way that the U.S. healthcare system is evolving. Most feel helpless about improving their work conditions or solving technical problems in patient care. Fortunately one young medical student was undeterred by the mountain of disappointment carried by his senior clinician mentors…
I am proud to be a part of the American Resident Project an initiative that promotes the writing of medical students residents and new physicians as they explore ideas for transforming American health care delivery. I recently had the opportunity to interview three of the writing fellows about how to…
Book Review: Is Empathy Learned By Faking It Till It’s Real?
I m often asked to do book reviews on my blog and I rarely agree to them. This is because it takes me a long time to read a book and then if I don t enjoy it I figure the author would rather me remain silent than publish my…
The Spirit Of The Place: Samuel Shem’s New Book May Depress You
When I was in medical school I read Samuel Shem s House Of God as a right of passage. At the time I found it to be a cynical yet eerily accurate portrayal of the underbelly of academic medicine. I gained comfort from its gallows humor and it made me…
Eat To Save Your Life: Another Half-True Diet Book
I am hesitant to review diet books because they are so often a tangled mess of fact and fiction. Teasing out their truth from falsehood is about as exhausting as delousing a long-haired elementary school student. However after being approached by the authors’ PR agency with the promise of a…
