Discontinuation syndrome and antidepressants
Discontinuation and change are part of life. We all start and stop various activities. Jobs change, relationships change. So, too, may medical treatments, such as antidepressants that help many people navigate depression and anxiety. Planning changes in advance tends to make things easier and smoother. You may start a medication for treatment and discover that it’s not helping your particular medical issue. Or perhaps you’re having side effects. Or maybe your condition has improved, and you no longer need the drug. If so, working with your doctor to change or stop taking an antidepressant slowly may help you avoid unc...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - April 4, 2019 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Christopher Bullock, MD Tags: Anxiety and Depression Mental Health Source Type: blogs
8 Reasons Why Your Depression May Not Be Getting Better
You’ve been to four psychiatrists and tried over a dozen medication combinations. You still wake up with that dreadful knot in your stomach and wonder if you will ever feel better.
Some people enjoy a straight path to remission. They get diagnosed. They get a prescription. They feel better. Others’ road to recovery isn’t so linear. It’s full of winding bends and dead-ends. Sometimes it’s entirely blocked. By what? Here are a few impediments to treatment to consider if your symptoms aren’t improving.
1. The Wrong Care
Take it from the Goldilocks of mental health. I worked with six physicians and tried 23 medicat...
Source: World of Psychology - March 11, 2019 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Therese J. Borchard Tags: Bipolar Depression General Medications Self-Help Treatment depression episode Insomnia Mood Disorder National Network of Depression Centers Sleep support Trauma Treatment Resistant Depression Source Type: blogs
What Do I Do When My Antidepressant Stops Working?
This study examined 103 patients with bipolar 1 disorder who, despite taking a mood stabilizer, experienced frequent relapses. During a 12-month period, the group receiving cognitive therapy had significantly fewer bipolar episodes and reported less mood symptoms on the monthly mood questionnaires. They also had less fluctuation in manic symptoms.
It’s normal to panic in the days and weeks your symptoms return; however, as you can see, there are many options to pursue. If the first approach doesn’t work, try another. Persevere until you achieve full remission and feel like yourself again. It will happen. Trust me on th...
Source: World of Psychology - March 1, 2019 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Therese J. Borchard Tags: Antidepressant Bipolar Depression General Medications Manic Episode Mood Disorder Mood Stabilizer Relapse Source Type: blogs
Now John Bargh ’s Famous Hot-Coffee Study Has Failed To Replicate
By Jesse Singal
If you Google “holding a warm cup of coffee can” you’ll get a handful of results all telling the same story based on social priming research (essentially the study of how subtle cues affect human thoughts and behavior). “Whether a person is holding a warm cup of coffee can influence his or her views of other people, and a person who has experienced rejection may begin to feel cold,” notes a New York Times blog post, while a Psychology Today article explains that research shows that “holding a warm cup of coffee can make you feel socially closer to those around you.”
These kind of findings are...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - January 2, 2019 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: BPS Research Digest Tags: Replications Social Source Type: blogs
Relationship OCD
You got the cool water, when the fever runs high. — Paul Simon
About 25 years ago, I suffered from acute Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. It took the form of going back and checking. Really ugly stuff, I’m not going to describe it here. Until I had a very wise therapist who really understood — that, combined with Prozac, and the day came where I felt the tormented tickle of “you better turn around and look,” yet I walked on.
Moving forward is particularly difficult for me because I often still dip into obsessive-compulsion disorder. Now it is not the way it was back then, it is more of an idling...
Source: Susan's Blog - December 19, 2018 Category: Child Development Authors: Susan Senator Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
Motherhood OCD
About 25 years ago, I suffered from acute Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. It took the form of going back and checking. Really ugly stuff, I’m not going to describe it here. Until I had a very wise therapist who really understood — that, combined with Prozac, and the day came where I felt the tormented tickle of “you better turn around and look,” yet I walked on.
Moving forward is particularly difficult for me because I often still dip into obsessive-compulsive disorder. Now it is not the way it was back then, it is more of an idling, stalling engine. It stays put, rather than whipping me backwards. I...
Source: Susan's Blog - December 19, 2018 Category: Child Development Authors: Susan Senator Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
OCD and Multiple Sclerosis
Obsessive-compulsive disorder is a complicated illness, and the cause, or causes, remain unknown. Research has shown that OCD is seen more frequently than usual in those with various physical disorders, such as muscular dystrophy. An October 2018 study published in Frontiers in Immunology highlights a connection between OCD and another disease — multiple sclerosis.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a debilitating autoimmune disorder, where the body’s immune system goes haywire and attacks healthy cells. It affects over two million people worldwide and has no known cure. Patients with multiple sclerosis and other autoimmun...
Source: World of Psychology - December 15, 2018 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Janet Singer Tags: Health-related OCD Research Compulsions Multiple Sclerosis Obsessions Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Source Type: blogs
Repeatedly watching a video of themselves touching a filthy bedpan reduced people ’s OCD symptoms
Another version of this new video-based smartphone intervention involved participants watching their own earlier hand washing
By Emma Young
Almost half of people with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) have extreme fears about touching something they feel is “contaminated”. This can mean that after touching a doorknob, say, they then feel compelled to scrub their hands, in some cases even until they bleed.
Conventional treatments, which often involve a combination of a prescription drug (typically an “SSRI”, such as Prozac) plus cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), help only about 60 per cent of people wit...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - November 19, 2018 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: BPS Research Digest Tags: Mental health Source Type: blogs
Acute Angle Closure: Mastering Tonometry
Identifying and managing disease often requires the delicate and skillful use of temperamental emergency department machinery. The ability to apply these may appropriately help determine a difficult diagnosis.Glaucoma, we all know, can cause blindness, and acute narrow angle glaucoma refers to the angles within the eye that are not as wide and open as normal. People with acute angle glaucoma have abnormal anatomy within the eye where the angle changes as the eye is dilated. This can cause blockages of fluid drainage from the anterior to posterior changes resulting in increased intraocular pressure. It ca lead to acute a...
Source: The Procedural Pause - November 9, 2018 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
Is Exposure & Response Prevention Therapy a Well-Guarded Secret?
OCD Awareness Week 2018 has come and gone and there were many successful, informative events to help all those whose lives have been touched by obsessive-compulsive disorder. There was also attention paid to OCD through the national media, though I’m not sure if the two shows I watched/listened to were broadcasted because of OCD Awareness Week.
While I think the productions both did a good job debunking the myths of OCD and illustrating what the disorder is all about (as much as you can without actually having OCD), I believe they were sorely lacking in one extremely important area — treatment.
The first show ...
Source: World of Psychology - October 23, 2018 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Janet Singer Tags: Books Minding the Media OCD Personal Psychology Psychotherapy Stigma Treatment Source Type: blogs
Feuding Family: A Different Type of Homecoming
Tumea’s, South Union, and Locust Tap.
If you are reading this article, you are likely scratching your head in puzzlement. But if you are a proud Des Moines native, you recognize these landmark institutions–and are likely salivating at your next meal.
Welcome home, Matt. Have a meal at one of your favorite restaurants (while doing your best to ignore the simmering family feud).
Home, as I have discovered, is a complex–even loaded–term. Over the past weekend, I returned home to Des Moines for a friend’s wedding. Reminiscing with longtime buddies, the wedding and the after-party were a blast. My buddi...
Source: World of Psychology - October 16, 2018 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Matthew Loeb Tags: Family Grief and Loss Memory and Perception Personal Death Of A Parent Estrangement Family Feuds Source Type: blogs
Can I Become Addicted To My Depression Medication?
What is depression medication?
Depression medication, also known as antidepressants, are prescription medications used to treat moderate to severe depression. When taken under the supervision of a medical professional and according to their prescribed dosage, depression medication can work well to help people manage their symptoms and lead happy, healthy lives.
Depression is more than just feeling sad, or needing to be cheered up. Often times, people can become frustrated that nothing is making them feel better, when in reality depression is a chemical imbalance that needs to be treated. Depression symptoms can include:
T...
Source: Cliffside Malibu - October 12, 2018 Category: Addiction Authors: Jaclyn Uloth Tags: Addiction Recovery Depression Depression Treatment antidepressants depression disorders depression medication dual diagnosis Source Type: blogs
We Seem To Have News Thick And Fast On Prescription Monitoring.
First we have:DORA the ignorer: Prescription-tracking system failing to monitor all high-risk addictive drugs Diazepam, quetiapine and fluoxetine contributed to ex-Navy submariner's death, says coronerAntony Scholefield2nd October 2018A coroner has stressed the need for real-time script-tracking software to cover addictive schedule 4 drugs such as diazepam and quetiapine, not just opioids.The Tasmanian coroner made the comments after investigating the 2014 death of 44-year-old ex-Navy submariner Michael Allan Steer, who died from a toxic combination of prescription medication.Toxicology analysis revealed the presence of di...
Source: Australian Health Information Technology - October 12, 2018 Category: Information Technology Authors: Dr David G More MB PhD Source Type: blogs
Trial, Meet Error: The Story of a Pharmacy Regular
“Why isn’t this medication working?” me in 2002.
“Why isn’t this medication working?” me in 2018.
When the university nurse first prodded me to consider medication, I hesitated before eventually relenting. My reasoning: While this little white pill may not be my salvation, it surely can’t hurt.
Or can it?
Over the past 16 years, my medication history is longer than a typical Catholic wedding. A is for Abilify, B is for Buspar, C is for Clonazepam…and, well, you get the idea.
Medication, I naively hoped, would be a cure-all — a foolproof remedy for intrusive, tormenting thoughts. And while m...
Source: World of Psychology - September 22, 2018 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Matthew Loeb Tags: Antidepressant Anxiety and Panic Depression Medications Personal Source Type: blogs
Addiction Abuse
Hardly a day goes by without a report in the press about some new addiction. There are warnings about addiction to coffee. Popular psychology publications talk of “extreme sports addiction. ” Some news reports even alert us to the perils of chocolate addiction. One gets the impression that life is awash in threats of addiction. People tend to equate the word “addiction” with “abuse.” Ironically, “addiction” is a subject of abuse.The American Society of Addiction Medicine defines addiction as a “chronic disease of brain reward, motivation, memory and related circuitry…characterized by the inabilit...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - September 13, 2018 Category: American Health Authors: Jeffrey A. Singer Source Type: blogs
