Mental illness and stigma

I love it when famous people "come out" and tell of their struggles with mental illness.  It makes it easier for all of us to talk about.

Hemingway and mental illness

How Psychology can help Ferguson Heal

As I've mentioned in a previous post, racism is incidious and exceedingly psychological. The president of the American Psychological Association has these words to say, about how we can combat racism.

http://www.stltoday.com/news/opinion/columns/how-psychology-can-help-ferguson-heal/article_f6d6e76e-92c7-59a8-b7da-6321c3be882f.html#.VAmjsvjeemg.facebook

More about vacations...

The summer is winding down.  Most, if not all of the European population has returned from vacation.

I ran across another article, the other day, highlighting an important difference between European and American vacation-time.  I want to share it here, because it fits with my experience of things.

My first summer in Denmark was magical.  The weather was amazing (we still talk about it) and I learned how to press that "off" button for two whole weeks in a row.  However, another important part of the magic was that everything in Copenhagen seemed to slow down for about a month.  I took my dog to the vet, for example.  The vet was working alone, with no assistant and no receptionist.  Everyone was on vacation.  Banks were slow.  Some retail shops shut down.  

I wrote emails to colleagues that weren't returned.  After some attempts to work, after I returned from vacation, I simply gave up.  No one else was working, so why should I? I couldn't really accomplish anything, anyway.  And such is life in Europe during the month of July.

Read this article about the effects of synchronized vacations on their perceived benefits.

Until next time...

http://m.theweek.com/article/index/266998/why-we-should-all-vacation-at-the-exact-same-time

The APA's Statement about the Shooting of Michael Brown

It's important to realize that prejudice these days, is often not even a conscious process.  While blacks, and other minorities enjoy equality in a number of areas, worldwide, what lingers, are semi-conscious judgments about worth,and presumed innocence or guilt. The APA released this statement about combating stereotypes.  

http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2014/08/michael-brown.aspx

Definition of perversion

Some of you know that I teach Psychology of Human Sexuality to American University students.  I was preparing for my class, which begins next week, when I came across this interesting video about paraphilias. Beware-- the people in this video are very heady and academic, but they have interesting points about our definitions around sexuality, and the medicalization of sexuality in the late 19th century.  Have a look and see what you think.  How do we establish, in our society, what exactly "Normal" is?
Academic Paraphilia Discussion

On being alone...

The results of this study were no less than stunning!  Would you really rather get a shock than be alone?  Please let me know your thoughts about this.

Research suggests that people would rather get shocked than be alone with their thoughts

Happiness is just a click away

I obtained this list the other day.  My interests in both technology and psychology make the field of "positive technology" a good fit.

Happiness apps

When in Denmark... a treatise about time off from work

It is hard not to notice, as an ex-pat, the sheer number of Danish holidays that occur this time of year.  Some of my clients notice that I do not really observe them;  They seem too indulgent somehow, so I go into the office anyway.     Recently I have had a couple of client report having some inner conflict about the number of vacation days that they get, or the fact that their doctor has advised them to take some time off.  Being American, I can relate.  Having worked over 40 hours per week, for my entire post-graduate life, I can easily understand the conflict about so many holidays.  I remember last summer, thinking that there was no way I could possibly survive the down time of a two week (in a row!) vacation. 

I have given it some thought, however.  After all, I DID survive, and even thrived on vacation.  It was one of the most relaxing times I have had in years.  It led me to do a little research on the effect of time-off on mental health.  There are many articles out there, if you care to take a gander.

One article I read published in the Journal of Happiness Studies by researchers Jessica de Bloom et al. (2013) showed a very clear positive association between well-being and vacation length.  They found that well-being actually peaked on the eighth day of vacation—an argument for vacations that last over a week.  Most of the good effects were short-lived, for subjects, though some of them lingered into their work lives.

My conclusion:  When in Denmark, do as the Danes do.  After all, it IS the happiest country in the world, so they must be doing something right.  If your doctor tells you to take time off, follow her advice.  Take a long vacation.  You’ve earned it.

Cybertherapy for New Zealand's Youth

Cybertherapy Program Launched in NZ

I have a few great passions:  Relationships, Family, Psychology, the American Southwest, and Technology. 

Cybertherapy is the intersection of technology and Psychology and it’s been getting a lot of my attention lately. I just finished teaching a college course called “Virtual Selves” about this very topic. Today, I am posting about a program in New Zealand, that was recently launched, that uses cybertherapy to target troubled teens.  Its proponents claim that they are meeting youth ‘where they are at’—online, and in cyberspace.

One of the leading Journals
 in the Cybertherapy Field

Cybertherapy, sometimes referred to as ‘e-therapy’ is a close cousin to ‘telepsychology’ or, the “provision of psychotherapy services over the phone”.  The most central difference is that cybertherapy utilizes other forms of technology to reach a larger audience.  Important advantages include that cybertherapy has the ability to access individuals who previously could not be reached (for example, folks in rural areas), individuals who have problems with their mobility, and folks with transportation problems.  Another advantage is that research has shown that people tend to open up more, when talking to a professional online.  This is sometimes referred to as the “disinhibition effect”, and it’s the same phenomenon that occurs when individuals give you “TMI” on their Facebook post.

Have a look at this article.  I’d be willing to bet that, in ten years, a good many practitioners are offering some variety of online services.  I think it’s incredible that they have this program in New Zealand, and hope that the US and Denmark begin to offer more of such services.

Feel free to post a comment if you have concerns about this new trend.

One Psychologist's Take on the Danes and Medication

I’ve never seen an official document outlining the Danes’ policy towards medication, but as an ex-pat, with experiences in both the US and Denmark (both provider and consumer), I imagine it to read something like this:  “We Danes believe that less medication is better”.  It’s probably a little more polished than that, but nevertheless, there is a lore, among ex-pats, that obtaining antibiotics is difficult, for example.  Many-a-sinus infection have we suffered through, at the mercy of the conservative Danish health system.  Similarly, there is some lore that obtaining certain psychiatric medications is difficult.  I have heard one or two doctors brag about the Danes’ supposed resilience against various illnesses, seeming to ascribe the resilience to their restraint with antibiotics.  Perhaps this is empirically true.  I have not seen the data.

Concerta, a medication commonly used for
ADHD in the US, is not available in Denmark

Though I don’t necessarily agree with the amount of prescribing I have witnesses in the US, I think we should be clear and informed about the dangers of UNDER-prescribing, by psychiatrists.  One doesn’t hear of this so much in the media, as one hears about overprescribing.  A child who has been diagnosed with ADHD, for example, runs the risk of what we call secondary symptoms as a result of not having enough medication.

Secondary symptoms can be thought of as symptoms that are a result of having a primary condition.   In the medical world, for example, long term problems with obesity can lead to secondary diabetes.  When failure to treat an underlying condition results in the development of other symptoms, we say that those conditions are secondary.

Kids who interrupt, have problems with impulsivity, attention and the like, are more subject to being bullied by their peers.  Children with ADHD or ADD, more likely than their peers to be called “stupid” and “lazy” by their teachers and parents.  Constant messages such as these, of course lead to poorer self-esteem, and other negative outcomes.   Yet negative stereotypes in the media about medication have led to some parents feelings guilty for choosing to allow their child to take prescription medications.

No one, not even your doctor, has the perfect answer for you or your child.  Carefully consider all options, and all potential consequences whether you decide to medicate, or not.  Let’s not be too quick to throw the “medication baby out with the bathwater.”