Posts Tagged ‘psychological problems’

CBS Health News: Will New Psych “Bible” Make Everyone Crazy?

Thursday, July 29th, 2010

CBS News
By David W. Freeman
July 29, 2010

Is anyone normal anymore?

An updated edition of the medical reference doctors use to diagnose mental illnesses could include a range of brand-new disorders, including some that describe thought patterns and behaviors that have long been considered mere quirks or examples of eccentric behavior.

Like what?

Are you angry at something or do you have “temper dysregulation disorder?”

Feeling upset or do you have “mild anxiety depression?”

And then there’s “psychosis risk syndrome,” a diagnosis that could apply to people who seem merely to be at increased risk for full-blown psychosis,.

The new edition of the book – the “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual,” or “DSM” – is considered the bible of mental illness. It contains specific criteria for diagnosing mental illness and is used around the world.

The new edition of the DSM isn’t due out till 2013. But medical experts met on Tuesday to discuss changes being considered to the text, Reuters reports.

Will the revised DSM help people get treatment for psychological problems that now go undiagnosed and treated? Or will it understate the impact of mental illness by suggesting that the term applies to a much wider swath of the population?

Some doctors worry that with so many new disorders, few people will be classified as mentally healthy.

Read entire article here:  http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-20012048-10391704.html

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42 percent of all kids in foster care are taking three or more mood-altering drugs

Monday, June 7th, 2010

NewsTimes.com
By Eileen FitzGerald
June 7, 2010

Here’s just one statistic that Danbury school psychologist Charles Manos worries about: 42 percent of all kids in foster care are taking three or more mood-altering drugs.

“All kids in foster care have some story of trauma, like abuse or neglect, so we need to ask the question `How are we dealing with trauma?’” Manos asked.

Overall, children are receiving more prescriptions than ever before to treat medical, emotional and psychological problems, according to a May report from Medco Health Solutions.

More than one in four children with health insurance in the U.S., and nearly 30 percent of all children from 10 to 19, take at least one prescription to treat a chronic condition. The most substantial increases over the past nine years have been in antipsychotic, diabetes and asthma drugs, according to the Medco report.

In some cases, students take medications at home. In many cases, school nurses dispense it.

For instance, Danbury schools health coordinator Sue Levasseur said 80 middle school students receive asthma medication each day at school and another 14 to 15 children receive a psychotropic drug at school.

Part of the school system’s job is to educate parents, said Manos, who has worked in local schools for more than 30 years and also has a private practice.

“I think we have become a society that says it’s OK to medicate the symptoms of kids. Medication is easier. I think as a society we are quick to change behavior rather than understand it,” Manos said.

Behavior medications can be destructive if used improperly, he said.

“Say there is abuse or trauma, and we don’t do an adequate analysis. Then we silence the symptoms through the medications,” Manos said.

“The fact is that medication does not treat a disorder, it treats the symptoms of the manifestation, and people don’t understand that. I think there is a myth that medication treats the disorder.”

Read entire article:  http://www.newstimes.com/news/article/Growing-numbers-of-children-on-medication-514614.php

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Why Antidepressants Don’t Work for Treating Depression, by Dr. Mark Hyman

Friday, May 14th, 2010

HealthierTalk.com
By Mark Hyman, M.D.
May 13, 2010

Here’s some depressing recent medical news: Antidepressants don’t work. What’s even more depressing is that the pharmaceutical industry and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have deliberately deceived us into believing that they DO work. As a physician, this is frightening to me. Depression is among the most common problems seen in primary-care medicine and soon will be the second leading cause of disability in this country.

The study I’m talking about was published in The New England Journal of Medicine. It found that drug companies selectively publish studies on antidepressants. They have published nearly all the studies that show benefit — but almost none of the studies that show these drugs are ineffective. (1)

That warps our view of antidepressants, leading us to think that they do work. And it has fueled the tremendous growth in the use of psychiatric medications, which are now the second leading class of drugs sold, after cholesterol-lowering drugs.

The problem is even worse than it sounds, because the positive studies hardly showed benefit in the first place. For example, 40 percent of people taking a placebo (sugar pill) got better, while only 60 percent taking the actual drug had improvement in their symptoms. Looking at it another way, 80 percent of people get better with just a placebo.

That leaves us with a big problem — millions of depressed people with no effective treatments being offered by most conventional practitioners. However, there are treatments available. Functional medicine provides a unique and effective way to treat depression and other psychological problems. Today I will review 7 steps you can take to work through your depression without drugs. But before we get to that, let’s take a closer look at depression.

What’s in a Name?

“Depression” is simply a label we give to people who have a depressed mood most of the time, have lost interest or pleasure in most activities, are fatigued, can’t sleep, have no interest in sex, feel hopeless and helpless, can’t think clearly, or can’t make decisions.

But that label tells us NOTHING about the cause of those symptoms.

Read entire article:  http://www.healthiertalk.com/why-antidepressants-don-t-work-treating-depression-1769

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The Huffington Post, “Here’s some depressing recent medical news: Antidepressants don’t work.”

Monday, April 26th, 2010

The Huffington Post
By Mark Hyman, MD
April 24, 2010

Here’s some depressing recent medical news: Antidepressants don’t work. What’s even more depressing is that the pharmaceutical industry and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have deliberately deceived us into believing that they DO work. As a physician, this is frightening to me. Depression is among the most common problems seen in primary-care medicine and soon will be the second leading cause of disability in this country.

The study I’m talking about was published in The New England Journal of Medicine. It found that drug companies selectively publish studies on antidepressants. They have published nearly all the studies that show benefit — but almost none of the studies that show these drugs are ineffective. (1)

That warps our view of antidepressants, leading us to think that they do work. And it has fueled the tremendous growth in the use of psychiatric medications, which are now the second leading class of drugs sold, after cholesterol-lowering drugs.

The problem is even worse than it sounds, because the positive studies hardly showed benefit in the first place. For example, 40 percent of people taking a placebo (sugar pill) got better, while only 60 percent taking the actual drug had improvement in their symptoms. Looking at it another way, 80 percent of people get better with just a placebo.

That leaves us with a big problem — millions of depressed people with no effective treatments being offered by most conventional practitioners. However, there are treatments available. Functional medicine provides a unique and effective way to treat depression and other psychological problems. Today I will review seven steps you can take to work through your depression without drugs. But before we get to that, let’s take a closer look at depression.

Read entire article:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mark-hyman/depression-medication-why_b_550098.html?ref=email_share

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