Category: Mental Health

On This Day … 12 October

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Events

  • 1773 – America’s first insane asylum opens.

People (Births)

  • 1925 – Denis Lazure, Canadian psychiatrist and politician (d. 2008).
  • 1929 – Robert Coles, American psychologist, author, and academic.

People (Deaths)

  • 1948 – Susan Sutherland Isaacs, English psychologist and psychoanalyst (b. 1885).

Eastern State Hospital (Virginia)

Eastern State Hospital is a psychiatric hospital in Williamsburg, Virginia. Built in 1773, it was the first public facility in the present-day United States constructed solely for the care and treatment of the mentally ill. The original building had burned but was reconstructed in 1985.

Denis Lazure

Denis Lazure (12 October 1925 to 23 February 2008) was a Canadian psychiatrist and politician. Lazure was a Member of the National Assembly of Quebec (MNA) from 1976 to 1984 and from 1989 to 1996. He is the father of actress Gabrielle Lazure.

Robert Coles

Robert Coles (born 12 October 1929) is an American author, child psychiatrist, and professor emeritus at Harvard University.

Knowing that he was to be called into the US Armed Forces under the ‘doctors’ draft’, Coles joined the Air Force in 1958 and was assigned the rank of captain. His field of specialisation was psychiatry, his intention eventually to sub-specialise in child psychiatry. He served as chief of neuropsychiatric services at Keesler Air Force base in Biloxi, Mississippi.

Susan Isaacs

Susan Sutherland Isaacs, CBE (née Fairhurst; 24 May 1885 to 12 October 1948; also known as Ursula Wise) was a Lancashire-born educational psychologist and psychoanalyst.

She published studies on the intellectual and social development of children and promoted the nursery school movement. For Isaacs, the best way for children to learn was by developing their independence. She believed that the most effective way to achieve this was through play, and that the role of adults and early educators was to guide children’s play.

On This Day … 10 October

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People (Deaths)

  • 1979 – Christopher Evans, English psychologist, computer scientist, and author (b. 1931).

Christopher Evans

Born on 23 May 1931 in Aberdyfi, Christopher Evans spent his childhood in Wales and was educated at Christ College, Brecon on (1941-1949).

He spent two years in the RAF (1950-1952), and worked as a science journalist and writer until 1957, when he began a B.A. course in Psychology at University College, London, graduating with honours in 1960.

After a summer fellowship at Duke University in the United States, where he first met his American wife, Nancy Fullmer, he took up a Research Assistant post in the Physics Laboratory, University of Reading, working on eye movements under Professor R. W. Ditchburn.

Upon receiving his PhD (the title of his thesis was “Pattern Perception and the Stabilised Retinal Image”), he went to the Division of Computer Science, National Physical Laboratory, Teddington, in 1964, where he remained until his death from cancer on 10 October 1979.

He had two children, Christopher Samuel Evans and Victoria Evans-Theiler.

He also edited two anthologies of psychological science fiction/horror stories, Mind at Bay and Mind in Chains, a collection of science writings, Cybernetics: Key Papers, a reference book Psychology: A Dictionary of Mind, Brain and Behaviour, and was a contributing editor to the science magazine Omni.

National Day Without Stigma 2020

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Introduction

The National Day Without Stigma is a day dedicated to eliminating the discrimination and shame that surrounds mental illness.

Created by Active Minds, a student mental health advocacy organisation, their mission is to eliminate the stigma surrounding mental health disorders. The put on events which seek to reduce stigmas associated with seeking help with mental health. Their statistics, from 2017, include:

  • 48% of college students feel overwhelmed by all they have to do
  • 51% of college students experienced overwhelming anxiety within the past year
  • But only 2% of college students said they would seek help from a mental help professional in time of need.

Similar Campaigns in Early Ocotber

Links

National Depression Screening Day 2020

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Introduction

Whether for heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes or depression, health screenings provide a quick and easy way to spot the first signs of serious illness and can reach people who might not otherwise seek professional medical advice.

Major depression is one of the most common mental illnesses, affecting 6.7% (more than 16 million) of American adults each year.

Like screenings for other illnesses, depression screenings should be a routine part of healthcare.

Why Screen for Depression?

  • Clinical depression is a serious medical illness.
  • Clinical depression can lead to suicide.
  • Sometimes people with depression mistakenly believe that the symptoms of depression are a “normal part of life.”
  • Clinical depression affects men and women of all ages, races and socioeconomic groups.
  • Only about a third (35.3%) of those suffering from severe depression seek treatment from a mental health professional.
  • Depression can co-occur and complicate other medical conditions.
  • Screenings are often the first step in getting help.

Who Should Get Screened?

People suffering from depression often experience some of these key symptoms:

  1. A persistent sad, anxious or ’empty’ mood.
  2. Sleeping too little, early morning awakening, or sleeping too much.
  3. Reduced appetite and weight loss, or increased appetite and weight gain.
  4. Loss of interest or pleasure in activities once enjoyed.
  5. Restlessness or irritability.
  6. Difficulty concentrating, remembering or making decisions.
  7. Fatigue or loss of energy.
  8. Thoughts of death or suicide.

Screenings are not a Professional Diagnosis

Screenings point out the presence or absence of depressive symptoms and provide a referral for further evaluation if needed.

You should see a medical professional or a qualified mental health professional if you experience five or more of the above symptoms for longer than two weeks or if the symptoms are severe enough to interfere with your daily routine.

Similar Campaigns in Early Ocotber

Links

Mental Illness Awareness Week 2020

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Introduction

Mental Illness Awareness Week (MIAW) was established in 1990 in recognition of efforts by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) to educate and increase awareness about mental illness.

It takes place every year during the first full week of October.

During this week, mental health advocates and organisations across the US join to sponsor events to promote community outreach and public education concerning mental illnesses such as major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia.

Examples of activities held during the week include art/music events, educational sessions provided by healthcare professionals and individuals with lived experience and/or familial lived experience, advertising campaigns, health fairs, prayer services, movie nights, candlelight vigils, and benefit runs.

An estimated 26.2% of Americans ages 18 and older – about one in four adults – are believed to be diagnosable with a mental illness in any given year. The numbers may be larger because stigma reduces reporting.

Not only are these adults affected by one mental illness; 45% of these adults meet criteria for two or more disorders. These range from fairly common mood disorders to the much more serious anxiety and schizophrenia disorders. Among these, anxiety disorders were the most common, as some 40 million American adultages 18 and older experience some form of anxiety disorder.

Despite the large number of Americans affected by such disorders, stigma surrounding mental illness is a major barrier that prevents people from seeking the mental health treatment that they need.

Programmes during Mental Illness Awareness Week are designed to create community awareness and discussion in an effort to put an end to stigma and advocate for treatment and recovery.

Similar Campaigns in Early Ocotber

Links

World Mental Health Day 2020

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Introduction

World Mental Health Day is an international day for global mental health education, awareness and advocacy against social stigma.

It was first celebrated in 1992 at the initiative of the World Federation for Mental Health, a global mental health organisation with members and contacts in more than 150 countries.

This day, each October, thousands of supporters come to celebrate this annual awareness program to bring attention to mental illness and its major effects on peoples’ lives worldwide.

In some countries this day is part of an awareness week, such as Mental Health Week in Australia.

Brief History

World Mental Health Day was celebrated for the first time on 10 October 1992 at the initiative of Deputy Secretary General Richard Hunter. Up until 1994, the day had no specific theme other than general promoting mental health advocacy and educating the public.

In 1994, World Mental Health Day was celebrated with a theme for the first time at the suggestion of then Secretary General Eugene Brody. The theme was ‘Improving the Quality of Mental Health Services throughout the World’.

World Mental Health Day is supported by the World Health Organisation (WHO) through raising awareness on mental health issues using its strong relationships with the Ministries of health and civil society organizations across the globe. WHO also supports with developing technical and communication material.

Historical Themes

  • 2020: Move for mental health: Increased investment in mental health.
  • 2019: Mental Health Promotion and Suicide Prevention.
  • 2018: Young people and mental health in a changing world.
  • 2017: Mental health in the workplace.
  • 2016: Psychological First Aid.
  • 2015: Dignity in Mental Health.
  • 2014: Living with Schizophrenia.
  • 2013: Mental health and older adults.
  • 2012: Depression: A Global Crisis.
  • 2011: The Great Push: Investing in Mental Health.
  • 2010: Mental Health and Chronic Physical Illnesses.
  • 2009: Mental Health in Primary Care: Enhancing Treatment and Promoting Mental Health.
  • 2008: Making Mental Health a Global Priority: Scaling up Services through Citizen Advocacy and Action.
  • 2007: Mental Health in A Changing World: The Impact of Culture and Diversity.
  • 2006: Building Awareness – Reducing Risk: Mental Illness & Suicide.
  • 2005: Mental and Physical Health Across the Life Span.
  • 2004: The Relationship Between Physical & Mental Health: co-occurring disorders.
  • 2003: Emotional and Behavioural Disorders of Children & Adolescents.
  • 2002: The Effects of Trauma and Violence on Children & Adolescents.
  • 2000-2001: Mental Health and Work.
  • 1999: Mental Health and Aging.
  • 1998: Mental Health and Human Rights.
  • 1997: Children and Mental Health.
  • 1996: Women and Mental Health.

Similar Campaigns in Early Ocotber

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On This Day … 09 October

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People (Births)

  • 1900 – Joseph Zubin, Lithuanian-American psychologist and academic (d. 1990).

Joseph Zubin

Joseph Zubin (09 October 1900 to 18 December 1990) was a Lithuanian born American educational psychologist and an authority on schizophrenia who is commemorated by the Joseph Zubin Awards.

Zubin was born 09 October 1900 in Raseiniai, Lithuania, but moved to the US in 1908 and grew up in Baltimore. His first degree was in chemistry at Johns Hopkins University in 1921, and he earned a PhD in educational psychology at Columbia University in 1932.

In 1946, he was elected as a Fellow of the American Statistical Association.

Zubin was President of both the American Psychopathological Association (195-1952) and the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (1971-1972) and received numerous awards for his work.

On This Day … 08 October

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People (Births)

  • 1888 – Ernst Kretschmer, German psychiatrist and author (d. 1964).

Ernst Kretschmer

Ernst Kretschmer (08 October 1888 to 08 February 1964) was a German psychiatrist who researched the human constitution and established a typology.

He attempted to correlate body build and physical constitution with personality characteristics and mental illness.

Is There an Association between Cardiovasular Disease & Executive Function in Those with Bipolar Disorder?

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Research Paper Title

Cumulative Cardiovascular Disease Risk and Triglycerides Differentially Relate to Subdomains of Executive Function in Bipolar Disorder; preliminary findings.

Background

Cardiovascular disease is disproportionally prevalent in bipolar disorder (BD) and has been linked to cognition in preliminary studies. The researchers evaluate the association between known risk factors for cardiovascular disease and executive function in BD patients compared to healthy controls.

Methods

In a sample of n=57 individuals (n=23 BD, n=34 controls) they assessed two subdomains of executive function; cognitive flexibility (using the Trail Making Test – Part B) and cognitive inhibition (using the Stroop Colour Word Interference Task). Cardiovascular risk was assessed by means of serum triglyceride levels, body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference, as well as dietary saturated fat intake and a sex-specific cumulative cardiovascular risk score calculated using the Framingham Heart Study method.

Results

Patients with BD had higher BMI and waist circumference, with more BD patients categorised as having central obesity than controls. In the BD group only, higher triglyceride levels were associated with worse cognitive flexibility, and elevated cumulative cardiovascular disease risk was associated with worse cognitive inhibition. No correlations between cardiovascular risk factors and executive function were evident in the control group.

The study was limited by the small sample size and should be considered hypothesis-generating.

Conclusions

The associations between triglyceride levels, cumulative cardiovascular disease risk and executive functioning evident in BD in this study preliminarily indicate the potential for mechanistic overlap of physical health and cognitive function in the disorder.

Reference

Van Rheenen, T.E., McIntyre, R.S., Balanza-Martinez, V., Berk, M. & Rossell, S.L. (2020) Cumulative Cardiovascular Disease Risk and Triglycerides Differentially Relate to Subdomains of Executive Function in Bipolar Disorder; preliminary findings. Journal of Affective Disorders. 278, pp.556-562. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2020.09.104. Online ahead of print.

What are the Hidden Downsides of Mindfulness?

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“Mindfulness and other types of meditation are usually seen as simple stress-relievers – but they can sometimes leave people worse off.” (Wilson, 2020, p.15).

Read this interesting article by Claire Wilson in the New Scientist about the dowsides of mindfulness.

Pages from New Scientist (2020-08-22) (US)_RedactedDownload

Reference

Wilson, C. (2020) The Hidden Downsides of Mindfulness. New Scientist. 22 August 2020, pp.15