Description: It is frankly quite alarming how many times the opportunity to have this sort of conversation arises these days. Someone goes on a shooting rampage and we and the media try and figure out why. As a psychologist, I am most concerned that it is too easy for people to say some version of… Read more »
Posts Categorized: mental illness
A Brain Reset Treatment for Depression?
Description: Perhaps you have heard about the use of ECT (electroconvulsive shock therapy) to treat “treatment resistant depression. It involved(s) the induction of a grand mal seizure (random firing of all neurons in the brain) through the application of electrical stimulation of the brain. Why does it work (when it does)? It seems to “rest”… Read more »
Seeking the Causes of Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder with Epigenesis
Description: What causes schizophrenia? If you said something like “a chemical imbalance in the brain” you are not alone and that fits with what else you likely know which is that there are a wide array of drugs available that are used as parts of efforts to address that “imbalance.” However, you know those drugs… Read more »
New Work: New Issues in Mental Health
Description: As the article linked below states at its outset, today (April 28) is World Day for Safety and Health at Work. It is certainly the case that we have seen a general push to de-stigmatize issues of mental health so that it can and will be talked about and addressed in all settings (family,… Read more »
Getting Into the Heads of Actors When They Are In Character
Description: If you watched Heath Ledger’s version of the Joker in The Dark Knight (Batman) film you saw an amazing piece of acting – of method acting. Ledger was a method actor meaning that he got into his character by essentially becoming the Joker and, it is said, stayed there on and off set throughout… Read more »
Want to Feel Better? Write Yourself a Park Prescription
Description: Life is not a walk in the park. Have you heard that saying? It is usually taken to suggest that life, at times at least, is not easy, but what if we put it slightly differently by saying that life should include regular walks in the park. What about THAT might be good for… Read more »
Student Mental Health: What is going on here?
Description: The article linked below is important and potentially interesting on three levels. First, if you are currently an undergraduate student somewhere then it is important because it may be directly relevant to you or to a friend close to you. Second, It is important because it shines light onto and asks important questions about… Read more »
Symtoms that are “In Your Head” can be Very Real
Description: What would you think if you went to the emergency at your local hospital with intense stomach pain and were told after examination that they could find nothing wrong with you and that maybe the pain was “just in your head”? Does that mean you are crazy (to use the technical term)? Well the… Read more »
The Efficacy and Ethics of Zapping Depression
Description: Ok here we go…. This sounds like science fiction BUT … what if we could implant electrodes into our brains into specific locations and then, when necessary, such as when were are clinically depressed, we could use the implanted electrodes to stimulate those areas of the brain and by doing so normalize the functioning… Read more »
Ancient Shamanistic Practices and ‘Modern’ Problem Solving: Being Human
Description: While not trying to be overly dramatic it is possible to say that the 2018 American midterm elections which are occurring in 2 days are the centerpiece in a social climate fraught with uncertainty. There are legions of reporters, supporters, pundits and even a few politicians telling us how we should think about this… Read more »
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