The calendar of mental illness

I’ve seen this before, but stumbled upon it again today while reading The Civic Platform:

Funny, I don’t have any friends born in April, May, or June.  My anorexic friends were born in October and December.  The one true alcoholic I know was born in February.

So much for that theory.  Although — it would be interesting to put my own mental-health “calendar” together…

A diagnosis for everyone.

I am trying [hardly] to not be annoyed with this article.  It fits right in with my other recent posts… the new purging disorder classification, an existential subtype of depression…. And now?  IAD – Internet Addiction Disorder.

According to Junk Food Science and an article American Journal of Psychiatry by Dr. Jerald J. Block, M.D:

…excessive internet and computer usage should be labeled a mental disease, as it has all of the components of a compulsive-impulsive disorder:

1) excessive use, often associated with a loss of sense of time or a neglect of basic drives,

2) withdrawal, including feelings of anger, tension, and/or depression when the computer is inaccessible,

3) tolerance, including the need for better computer equipment, more software, or more hours of use, and

4) negative repercussions, including arguments, lying, poor achievement, social isolation, and fatigue

Okay… now how exactly is this different from TV addiction?  Video games?  Teenage dating?  Cell phones and texting?

I have a new disorder, which I would love to propose for inclusion in the DSM – had I any idea how to go about doing that.  Anyway, I am extremely concerned about:

Diagnosis Addition – characterized by the following:

1.    Needing to psycho-analyze and diagnosis everything with something (and therefore resulting in a loss of productivity in anything actually worthwhile)
2.    The false belief that everyone has at least a couple diagnosable disorders (better known as diagnostic paranoia).
3.    Unhealthy addiction to the DSM
4.    Anxiety caused by anyone who does not suffer from some kind of disorder
5.    Pride in the personal accumulation of disorders

Hello, my name is Grey, and I am a recovering internet, sudoku, ipod, chocolate, splenda, diet coke, music, warm-weather, dog walking addict.

How revolutionary is the stress gene?

While I was really excited upon seeing this study, it left me with more questions than answers.

The finding that traumatic events can actually alter a stress-related gene is definitely a new idea.  However, it has been believed for years that these significant events cause some neurological change.  Previously, researchers have found:

1. In a study by Martin Teicher at McLean Hospital, boys who were neglected also had a smaller corpus collosum.  The same was true for girls who were sexually abused.  Teicher explains that “We believe that a smaller corpus collosum leads to less integration of the two halves of the brain, and that this can result in dramatic shifts in mood and personality.”

2. Patients with a history of sexual or verbal abuse show less blood flow in the cerebellar vermis — a part of the brain that helps with the maintenance of emotional balance.  According to Teicher, the vermis is strongly influenced by the environment as opposed to genetic factors.

3. Stress hormones released by abuse affect the brain’s ability to receive and send signals.  In this way, the brain is “rewired” to overrespond to stress — increasing fear, anxiety, and the fight-or-flight reaction.

These are just a few examples.  So, discovering that there is a stress gene definitely supports the argument that mental health has a biological component, but it leaves us with the same questions.

1. How do people with the PTSD-prone variation of the stress gene who don’t encounter a traumatic event react to other stress?  Do they still overrespond?
2. Why are symptoms not manifested until years after the event?
3. Is the stress gene only impressionable during childhood?
4. Do medication and therapy re-regulate the gene?  Or just treat the symptoms?

… personally, I am waiting for the therapy gene – the gene that determines who will / will not respond to therapy 🙂

What is the purpose of Existential Depression?

I stumbled across this article today. Being the skeptic that I am, I was doubtful by the second line:

“One such possible cause [of depression] is existential in nature, that is, a person ends up questioning his or her life, death or meaning of life, and by doing so, lapses into depression.”

Two thoughts about this:
• I wouldn’t classify existentialism as a subtype of depression
• I have a hard time believing that existential issues CAUSE depression.

First, I think that existentialism is a common feature of general depression. People think, “What’s the point of living? I have no purpose in life,” and other “existentialist” thoughts when depressed. Not that existentialism and depression are synonymous, but I definitely agree that some type of existentialism is PART of the depression diagnosis. Not it’s own subtype.

Second, I would definitely not declare existentialism a CAUSE of depression. It’s like saying that perfectionism or strict religious views are CAUSES. Okay, maybe the type of person who are driven to find their meaning or purpose in life is the same type of person who is prone to depression… but I would consider that a biological predisposition. I would also argue that one’s own questioning of his/her life is not significant enough of an event to trigger depression. I would think that it was another factor in life that would contribute to one’s existential thinking and depression.

celebrity rehab: who stays sober

Personally, I could ramble on about Celebrity Rehab for pages… and if I didn’t have a 9-to-5 job, I definitely would.

This is a little late, but let me give my season finale predictions:

Brigitte – I was back-and-forth on whether she would choose Sober Living or not.  She always seemed to be the most serious about treatment… very “it doesn’t matter whether or not you THINK you need treatment, because your doctors are saying that you do and they are the professionals.”  I was also concerned that if she was too confident in her progress and commitment to sobriety, that she wouldn’t go. She had gotten a lot out of the experience, and might feel like she had really had her revelation and that’s what she needed.

Seth – Seth was coming up with so many BS excuses not to go.  Stuff like “I just don’t know if I’m ready to handle all of that.”  So, Seth… you don’t know if you’re ready to handy recovery, but you insist that you’re dedicated on staying sober, so… you’re going to try quasi-recovery?  Uh, doesn’t work like that.  Seth has also been-there-done-that with a Sober Living program, so I was also worried that he’d pull the “I’ve done it before and it just doesn’t work for me” excuse.

Ricco – I was so sure that Ricco was going.  Which is funny, because I thought he did nothing but act out of his disease for the duration of the show.

Jaimee – I was pretty sure that Jessica wasn’t going.  I think that a 3-month commitment was to overwhelming, and that she doesn’t really know what she’s up against with her disease.

Mary – Mary is very nice, but everyone was right in saying that she was easily influenced.  If the other girls said “we are DEFINITELY going and we are EXCITED and we will make the next 3 months fun,” then she would have been all for it.  I thought that she would go, though, after seeing the mess she was in the video.

Jessica – Uh, knowing that Jessica had already been arrested since the end of the show, I was pretty sure she did NOT choose Sober Living.

Joanie – I had this whole theory on WHY Joanie would choose to go… because she had sought treatment when she wasn’t even sure she was an addict.  She sought treatment because she felt the impact of life feeling unmanageable.  She used pills and alcohol and everything else to try and cope, and it didn’t work!  For the others, the drugs/alcohol were serving a real purpose.  They were working as coping tools.  She just needed SOME kind of serious professional help.  And I thought that she would continue on to Sober Living because she still needed help.

Alas, not all of my predictions came through.

This morning I stumbled upon a fantastic entry in VH1’s blog (something I’ve never read before): Our Dream Celebrity Rehab Cast, Season 2. I was especially amused by “Angelina Jolie & orphans” and “Kiera Knightly & period pieces.”

This inspired me to come up with my own “Celebrity Rehab Dream Cast”:
1. Patrick Dempsey & his hair – I think it was in People Magazine,
2. Tyra Banks & over-dramatization
3. Heidi Klum & trying to be Tyra
4. Ben Folds & incessant swear words
5. David Duchovney & anything paranormal