Interesting article on aging reveals that our interests may change and evolve as we age. Click here to see the full article.
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August 30, 2010
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August 25, 2010
Is Bitterness a Mental Disorder or a Justifiable Response to Circumstances?
There was a interesting article in the online addition of Psychology Today entitled, Bitterness: The Next Mental Disorder. In this article the author states, “In its discussion of post-traumatic embitterment disorder, the APA may have correctly gauged the mood of the country, but as usual it has ignored or shunted aside most of the explanatory context, to pathologize the individual in all of her or his frustrated grievance.”
German Psychiatrist, Michael Linden describes Post-Traumatic Embitterment Disorder as a complex combination of anger and helplessness. He also “estimates that between 1% and 2% of the population is embittered.”
What are your thoughts – should this be a new diagnosis, or is bitterness just a normal human experience?
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August 21, 2010
Manic: A Memoir by Terri Cheney
I just finished the book, Manic by Terri Cheney. It is an excellent memoir about what it is like living with a bipolar disorder. Although, as therapists, we have all been educated about this disorder, Ms. Cheney’s memoir truly brought it to life. She was able to beautifully capture the emotional pain and distorted thinking that goes along with the manic and depressive phases of this disorder. Ms. Cheney’s memoir also shows the unpredictability and complete helplessness a person with this diagnosis can experience. She was able to show the reader the stigma and shame so often associated with mental illnesses. I am sure her book will help reduce both.
I look forward to reading your thoughts about this book and what you have learned by working with individual’s diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
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August 16, 2010
College Students More Frequently Seeking Help for Serious Mental Illnesses
An interesting study was done comparing the use of college mental health services over the past ten years. It shows that more college students seek help for serious depression and other mental illnesses than ten years ago. Click here to read the full article in Science Daily.
I wonder if this is due to better medications making it possible for individuals with more serious mental health issues to succeed in college? Or, could there be less of a stigma about getting help? What are your thoughts?
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August 13, 2010
Interesting WSJ article about raising only children.
In this article Andrea Petersen discusses some of the ways parents of only children are attempting to help their children group up without being spoiled. She also talks about the pros and cons of being an only child. Over the past 16 years the number of “only child” families has increased from 11.4% to 18.3%. Click here to read the article, then let us know what your think.