June 2007 Archives

In New Zealand the country’s Mental Health Commission has welcomed the report of the Confidential Forum for Former In-Patients of Psychiatric Hospitals.

The forum is a process to help former in-patients come to terms with their experiences.

Relax all you video game addicts, you are not mentally ill. At least not yet anyway. While the American Medical Association still has concerns about overuse of video games it has stopped short of declaring addiction a mental illness and called instead for more research.

Bread could be the latest weapon in the fight against depression. University of York researchers found a link between low levels of folate and depression and have recommended trials to see if supplements of folic acid, which could be added to bread, might alleviate depression.

Blog of the day number 1 is on the subject of “meaningful work” and the difficulties associated with finding employment when you have a mental health problem.

“I’ve been to a clubhouse, I’ve been to a job rehab firm, I’ve been to a charity, and the best they’ve had to offer was rewriting my resume and telling me to look for casual work in retail. As if I could keep to the schedule of a crappy minimum wage job any easier than I could in my former (much better!) career.”

Blog of the day number 2 looks at the effects of different treatments after anti-depressants have failed, referring to a major study on depression.

“Drugs work faster, psychotherapy works slower. Drugs have more side effects, while psychotherapy has few. Both were about equally as effective.”

Is addictive playing of video games a mental illness? The American Medical Association is giving the issue serious consideration at its conference this week, with some doctors suggesting addictive playing interferes with other aspects of day-to-day life.

Now Mad World has to admit that it goes through periods when it become quite obsessive about video games, playing for hours on end before realising it hasn’t eaten all day and is really hungry. These periods of game playing always end though, either when Mad World gets stuck at a certain level and becomes incredibly angry or when it has a moment of clarity and realises this isn’t a very useful way for an adult man to be spending his time. Mad World has definitely experienced video game addiction, although whether it is useful to classify that as a mental illness it’s not so sure. Facebook addiction, however, is an entirely different matter…

Love and marriage, love and marriage, they go together like a horse and carriage...

Not only would your mum approve of you getting married but apparently, if you're depressed marriage brings significant psychological benefit. The study from the Journal of Health and Social Behavior found depressed participants were happier after getting married, even if the quality of their marriage wasn't great.

Mental health in the military remains a much talked about topic at the moment.

Former military personnel are twice as likely to kill themselves, says a study from the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

Despite this, US soldiers returning from war are finding it more difficult to access mental health treatment because military insurance is cutting payments to therapists.

Slightly better news from the UK, where the Ministry of Defence will offer free mental health assessments to Falklands and Afghanistan veterans.

Hello there

The issue of mental health in the military just won't go away. US forces have developed detailed guidance on dispensing psychotropic drugs to combat troops in Iraq, says the Courant newspaper, with a recent survey finding one in eight soldiers are taking drugs for mental health, combat stress or sleep problems.

Now, Mad World considers itself pretty hip, but rock band The Fray has not yet entered its musical radar. This is a shame because the band will be honoured by Mental Health America for their efforts to prevent suicide through the song "How to Save a Life" and the website, www.howtosavealife.com. Apparently the song was inspired by a band member's experience working with "troubled teens".

Special mental health courts are being considered in the UK but Rutherford, Tennessee looks one step ahead and could have a court that mandates treatment rather than jail for mentally ill offenders by 2008.

Hello friends

A learned man once used to ask "War, huh, what is good for?"
Absolutely nothing, I would argue, particularly when it comes to mental health. The issue of veterans' mental health is rumbling on in the US with congressman from both political parties saying not enough money is being spent.
The Senate veterans committee want a 25% increase on last year's spending.

In the UK, the British Journal of Psychiatry puts the increased ill-health of reservists down to experiences on deployment and difficulties with homecoming.

And in Australia, 48 military personnel who had served in Iraq or Afghanistan have been discharged from the military because of service-related mental health problems.