Young schizophrenic at her mind's mercy

To read the story, go to http://tinyurl.com/msvvgm
January Schofield has schizophrenia. Potent psychiatric drugs in doses that would stagger most adults seem to skip off her. She is among the rarest of the rare: a child seemingly born mentally ill.

Controlling Anger

The Nature of Anger

Anger is "an emotional state that varies in intensity from mild irritation to intense fury and rage," according to Charles Spielberger, PhD, a psychologist who specializes in the study of anger. Like other emotions, it is accompanied by physiological and biological changes; when you get angry, your heart rate and blood pressure go up, as do the levels of your energy hormones, adrenaline, and noradrenaline.

Anger can be caused by both external and internal events. You could be angry at a specific person (Such as a coworker or supervisor) or event (a traffic jam, a canceled flight), or your anger could be caused by worrying or brooding about your personal problems. Memories of traumatic or enraging events can also trigger angry feelings. Click anywhere in this sentence to continue reading...

Dr. Robert Scaer on trauma and Brain State Technologies

For Inspiration...

"One doesn't discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time".  ~Andre Gide

"He who has a why to live can bear almost any how".  ~Friedrich Nietzsche 

Chance is always powerful, let your hook always be cast; in the pool where you least expect it, there will be a fish.  ~Ovid
 

An Interesting Video from the '60s on Suicidal Behavior and Advice on Recognition and Intervention

SUICIDE - THE UNHEARD CRY. Department of Defense. Department of the Army. Office of the Chief Signal Officer presents an analysis of suicidal personalities and the behavior patterns based in a military setting emphasizing that assistance can be offered to prevent suicide attempts.



Producer: National Archives and Records Administration. Creative Commons license: CC0 1.0 Universal

Welcome to Our Psychological Screening Tests and Quizzes By Dr Greg Mulhauser

Our psychological quizzes are intended to be fun and educational, and they may help increase your awareness of particular experiences or of particular forms of psychological distress. They are not by themselves tools for diagnosing any type of health or mental health condition. All our quizzes are guaranteed to be scored by your own web browser: your answers are never transmitted to our server. As far as we're aware, this is the only mental health site on the internet that can make you that guarantee.

The range of psychological tests and quizzes we have available includes several for depression -- such as the CESD, the Goldberg, QIDS and more -- and several covering alcohol and drug use -- such as the CAGE, MAST, and DAST. Just check the submenu at the side of the page to see the full list of tests available.
Click anywhere in this sentence to get to the quiz site... 

Via:  Counseling Resource

Thoughts on the Link Between Mental Illness and Creativity: Case Study Being Vincent van Gogh By Christine Stapleton

I love van Gogh – not just his paintings and drawings. I love his letters - hundreds and hundreds of letters in which he shares the minutia of his life – from impotence to absinthe. Gossip, advice, critique, paints, colors, hues, canvas, food, weather, God and his mental illness(es). Because the letters are dated it is possible to match a painting to a letter and hear van Gogh describe how he felt when he painted it – his state of mind and health. It as if van Gogh is the docent at his own exhibit.

        Vincent van Gogh self portrait via public domain library    

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via:  Psyche Central

                   

Self-Medication, Traumatic Reenactment, and Somatic Expression in Bulimic and Self-Mutilating by Sharon Klayman Farber, Ph.D., B.C.D.

A psychoanalytic framework provided direction for research on the association between binge-purging (bulimic) and self-mutilating behaviors, comparing them for similarities and differences. The similarities in the multiple functions and psychosomatic processes served by these behaviors are presented, as well as the phenomenon of symptom substitution. Both behaviors tend to be practiced by those with severe personality and dissociative disorders and posttraumatic stress disorder. Both serve ego-compensatory needs in the absence of the adequate ability to regulate and modulate emotions, moods, and tensions. They may serve as compensatory attempts to differentiate self and object, define and differentiate body boundaries, master severe childhood trauma by means of psychophysiological addictive reenactments, and to express emotion.
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People who binge and purge and those who self-mutilate embody the theme of the 1995 conference, Mind, Memories, and Metaphors. Paradoxically, these apparently self-destructive behaviors have the capacity to alleviate psychic pain in some individuals, and serve other restorative, redemptive, cleansing and healing functions (Farber, 1995a). Lacking the ability to use metaphor or symbol to express emotion or unspeakable pain, their acts of self-harm may serve to narrate that which their minds cannot remember and their words cannot say. The author has come to know this from her years of clinical practice and from her research on the association between binge-purge behavior and self-mutilating behavior, a study which compares binge-purging behavior and self-mutilating behavior for similarities and differences (Farber, 1995a). The similarities in the multiple psychic functions and psychosomatic processes served by these behaviors will be presented, along with their implications for assessment, engagement, and countertransference.

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Via: BDP Sanctuary 

Beyond Blue: Self-Esteem File

This person shares with you a few letters in her self-esteem file. To read more and comment, please click on the top Beliefnet banner to go to Beliefnet.com or go directly to 'Beyond Blue' at http://blog.beliefnet.com/beyondblue/

Information on Major Depressive Disorder

 

Image part of the public domain library. Artist Vincent Van Gogh

Major depressive disorder (also known as recurrent depressive disorder, clinical depression, major depression, unipolar depression, or unipolar disorder) is a mental disorder characterized by an all-encompassing low mood accompanied by low self-esteem, and by loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities. The term "major depressive disorder" was selected by the American Psychiatric Association to designate this symptom cluster as a mood disorder in the 1980 version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III), and has become widely used since. The general term depression is often used to denote the disorder; but as it can also be used in reference to other types of psychological depression, it is disfavored over more precise terminology for the disorder in clinical and research use. Major depression is a disabling condition which adversely affects a person's family, work or school life, sleeping and eating habits, and general health. In the United States, around 3.4% of people with major depression commit suicide, and up to 60% of people who commit suicide had depression or another mood disorder.
The diagnosis of major depressive disorder is based on the patient's self-reported experiences, behavior reported by relatives or friends, and a mental status exam. There is no laboratory test for major depression, although physicians generally request tests for physical conditions that may cause similar symptoms. The most common time of onset is between the ages of 20 and 30 years, with a later peak between 30 and 40 years.
Typically, patients are treated with antidepressant medication and, in many cases, also receive psychotherapy or counseling. Hospitalization may be necessary in cases with associated self-neglect or a significant risk of harm to self or—as rarely is the case—to others. A minority are treated with electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), under a short-acting general anaesthetic. The course of the disorder varies widely, from one episode lasting weeks to a lifelong disorder with recurrent major depressive episodes. Depressed individuals have shorter life expectancies than those without depression, in part because of greater susceptibility to medical illnesses and suicide. It is unclear whether or not medications affect the risk of suicide. Current and former patients may be stigmatized.
The understanding of the nature and causes of depression has evolved over the centuries, though this understanding is incomplete and has left many aspects of depression as the subject of discussion and research. Proposed causes include psychological, psycho-social, hereditary, evolutionary and biological factors. Certain types of long-term drug use can both cause and worsen depressive symptoms. Psychological treatments are based on theories of personality, interpersonal communication, and learning. Most biological theories focus on the monoamine chemicals serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine, which are naturally present in the brain and assist communication between nerve cells.  Click anywhere in this sentence to continue reading...

Via: Wikipedia