The State of Mindfulness Science: 10 Key Research Findings to Encourage and Guide your Meditation Practice in 2018
___ During the past two decades, more and more scientists have studied mindfulness—a Buddhist-inspired collection of practices aimed at helping us to cultivate moment-to-moment awareness of ourselves and our environment. Their early findings triggered an enormous amount of enthusiasm for meditation. Sometimes, however, journalists and even scientists (who should know better) have overstated the physical and mental health benefits, which has fed growing skepticism about mindfulness. Indeed, the science behind mindfulness meditation has often suffered from poor research designs and small effect sizes, as 15 psychologists a...
Source: SharpBrains - January 3, 2018 Category: Neuroscience Authors: Greater Good Magazine Tags: Cognitive Neuroscience Education & Lifelong Learning Health & Wellness attention bias meditation Mental-Health mindfulness mindfulness science physical-health relationships Resiliency Stress Source Type: blogs

5 things parents and teachers need to know about ADHD
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is a childhood disorder that affects as many as one out of 10 children in the United States. Even though it’s fairly common, many misconceptions still persist. So here are five important things you should know if you are a parent or a teacher of a child with ADHD. 1. The hallmark symptoms of ADHD are inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. Most kids are inattentive, impulsive, and hyperactive at times. But for a diagnosis of ADHD, these symptoms must interfere significantly in multiple places, such as at school and at home. This is a childhood disorder, meaning the symptoms m...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - October 27, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Ellen Braaten, PhD Tags: Behavioral Health Brain and cognitive health Children's Health Mental Health Parenting Source Type: blogs

Top 25 Psychiatric Medications for 2016
Most people understand that the role of psychiatric medications is to help alleviate the symptoms associated with different types of mental disorders, such as depression, bipolar disorder, ADHD, schizophrenia, anxiety, and more. Psychiatric medications are an important part of a comprehensive treatment plan for effectively treating people who have a mental health concern or mental illness. It’s good to know what drugs are being most-often prescribed for mental disorders in the U.S. These are the top 25 psychiatric medications by number of U.S. prescriptions dispensed in 2016, according to QuintilesIMS, a global infor...
Source: World of Psychology - October 12, 2017 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: John M. Grohol, Psy.D. Tags: General Medications Psychiatry Treatment medications for mental illness Psychiatric Drugs Psychiatric Medications psychiatric meds top psychiatric medications Source Type: blogs

Topsy-Turvy Brand Name Drug Pricing?
On August 7, 2017, The New York Times with ProPublica (an independent, non-profit investigative new agency) reported that some drug companies have struck deals with insurers to require that prescriptions be dispensed for the more expensive brand name drug rather than the less expensive generic alternative! Has the world turned upside down? What has happened? Perhaps one could respond: Follow the money. Pharmaceutical companies have apparently cut a deal with health insurance companies and pharmacy benefits managers for some drug products so that middle men pay prices that are very competitive, at least as competitive as th...
Source: blog.bioethics.net - August 10, 2017 Category: Medical Ethics Authors: Bioethics Today Tags: Health Care Drug Drug Pricing Pharmacy Ethics syndicated Source Type: blogs

Today is the greatest day i've ever known.
Last night was my first night not taking Trazadone, but not by choice. My psych wrote my prescription wrong and I did not realize it so I ran out early. At first I panicked when I realized I was going to run out, although I noticed right away I was way short. Today is only the first morning without it and the first day on Adderall without having it for about a week, so it is hard to say how I will feel without it. I do not think I slept much if at all last night.I am really, really behind on my Amazon orders and not sure if they are going to drop me, but the past is the past and all I can do is go forwa...
Source: bipolar.and.me - August 1, 2017 Category: Psychiatry Source Type: blogs

Today is the greatest day i've ever known.
Last night was my first night not taking Trazadone, but not by choice. My psych wrote my prescription wrong and I did not realize it so I ran out early. At first I panicked when I realized I was going to run out, although I noticed right away I was way short. Today is only the first morning without it and the first day on Adderall without having it for about a week, so it is hard to say how I will feel without it. I do not think I slept much if at all last night.I am really, really behind on my Amazon orders and not sure if they are going to drop me, but the past is the past and all I can do is go forwa...
Source: bipolar.and.me - August 1, 2017 Category: Psychiatry Source Type: blogs

I Chose Not to Medicate My ADHD — Here ’s Why
A white room. The day I was diagnosed, they brought me into a (not kidding) white room with a metal table. There was a machine at the head of the table. The machine kind of reminded me of a shrunken MRI scanner, but I didn’t have much of a chance to study it.   I laid down, and they put wires all over my head and my chest. The wires were gooey (“How am I going to get that out of my hair?”). Mom had kept me awake for most of the night, so when they told me to go to sleep, and I was out like a light. I was eight years old. Mom had resisted getting me tested, despite my teachers pushing for it. I was easily distracted,...
Source: World of Psychology - June 13, 2017 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Jordan Storz Tags: ADHD and ADD Alternative and Nutritional Supplements Children and Teens Medications Personal Students Success & Achievement Academic Achievement Attention Deficit Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Mood Swings Motivation Scho Source Type: blogs

Does Adderall make you underachieve?
It’s rare for medical students nowadays to go through training without knowing someone who uses prescription stimulants to study. The ever-popular Adderall and Concerta seem to be omnipresent on college campuses and medical schools, while prescriptions for these medications are suspiciously less common. In environments where success and self-worth is often based on academic achievement, the temptation to succumb to using these pills is high. The temptation is even higher as these drugs have become widely available. While students previously borrowed prescription pills from friends and tried to trick their doctors by read...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - March 5, 2017 Category: Journals (General) Authors: < a href="http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/jack-turban" rel="tag" > Jack Turban < /a > Tags: Education Medical school Source Type: blogs

The fuzzy line between medication use and abuse
Opioid painkillers, such as Vicodin (hydrocodone) and OxyContin (oxycodone), are crucial medical tools that are addictive and widely abused. Tranquilizers and sleeping pills of the benzodiazepine class, like Xanax (alprazolam), Ativan (lorazepam) and Klonopin (clonazepam), are safe and effective in limited, short-term use, but are often taken too freely, leading to drug tolerance and withdrawal risks. Stimulants such as Ritalin (methylphenidate) and Adderall (amphetamine) ease the burden of ADHD but are also widely used as college study aids as well as recreationally. All of these medications are available only by prescrip...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - November 16, 2016 Category: Journals (General) Authors: < a href="http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/steven-reidbord" rel="tag" > Steven Reidbord, MD < /a > Tags: Meds Patients Source Type: blogs

I Am Processing It...
I feel much better today, but I did take two Adderall, and for some reason that really affects my mood. I still have 14 overdue wreaths, but I started with 28 when my ecommerce site delisted my items. It was a totally positive thing, even though I had already closed my shop.My therapist/psychiatrist fit me in for a therapy appointment last week, I think Friday? It was a much tougher appointment than I have had in a very long time - many years at least. I wish I understood myself better, why some things are harder to talk about or even think about. Why?I was basically freaking out over my anxiety, i...
Source: bipolar.and.me - November 7, 2016 Category: Psychiatry Tags: anxiety bipolar disorder election anxiety medication suicide Source Type: blogs

The Dangers of Rising Adderall Abuse among Teens
Call it a case of unintended consequences. Twenty years ago, the prescription medication Adderall debuted as a treatment for narcolepsy and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). A stimulant, with amphetamine as its active ingredient, Adderall helped sufferers of narcolepsy stay awake, but it also increased mental focus and endurance for those diagnosed with ADHD. Because of its effectiveness and relatively mild side effects, Adderall quickly became a common treatment for ADHD. But as its popularity increased, use of Adderall also began spreading beyond the people it was intended for. Today, students without ADH...
Source: World of Psychology - September 25, 2016 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Elizabeth Blackwell Tags: Addiction ADHD and ADD Children and Teens College Habits Medications Psychology Recovery Stimulants Students Success & Achievement Adderall Amphetamine attention Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder cognitive enhancement Source Type: blogs

The Incoherence of Schedule I
Drug policy watchers learned earlier this month that the latest substance to earn Schedule I status isthe obscure plant ​called kratom. So what ’s Schedule I? By the letter of the law,Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act contains “drugs, substances, or chemicals” that meet the following criteria:The drug or other substance has a high potential for abuse. The drug or other substance has no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States. There is a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug or other substance under medical supervision.In this post, I ’m not going to consider the penalties ...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - September 13, 2016 Category: American Health Authors: Jason Kuznicki Source Type: blogs

Working On Myself, Try Number Two Million and Three
So...I over reacted to our marriage counselor. I was way more irritated that I should have been. Was I irritable to the point of being hypomanic? I am trying to answer that myself. I cannot exactly explain the situation to HER, and I do not want to tell my psychiatrist either. The last thing I want is some medication that will bring me DOWN to depression level when I am not depressed.#1 - There were a few days where I took an extra Adderall because I was freaked out about how much I had to do. #2 - When I increased the Trazadone, the out of this world heartburn caused major anxiety that nothin...
Source: bipolar.and.me - August 21, 2016 Category: Psychiatry Source Type: blogs

I Thought I Could - But Couldn't
I woke up this morning determined to go with my husband to our marriage counseling appointment. I have been ranting and raving about her since our appointment a week ago. After that appointment, I thought I would get over it and just forget it, but I have not. My frustration and irritation - or is it flat out anger? has only worsened day by day.I had made a plan. Before the appointment, no Adderall, no coffee, and klonipin. Zone out the best I could (the medication wouldn ' t do that, but I have had many occasions in the past to get plenty of practice) unless asked a direct question, whic...
Source: bipolar.and.me - August 13, 2016 Category: Psychiatry Source Type: blogs

Emotional
I have been ****SO**** overly emotional lately.  I am not sure if it is justified and normal or if I really am being dramatic and am feeling everything so much more extreme than I should.It is not unusual for me to wake up in the middle of the night, and many times I stay up.  The night before last, I woke up around 1 or 1:30.  I turned on the television, and I have no idea why, but no matter what station we have left the tv on when we turn it off, when we turn it on it is always on CNN.  It is the weirdest thing.When I turned on the television that night/morning, it was in the middle of the Dallas poli...
Source: bipolar.and.me - July 9, 2016 Category: Psychiatry Source Type: blogs