Child Abuse and Neglect: Another Casualty of War
We’ve been hearing about soldiers suffering from mental health conditions (depression, PTSD) as a result of war deployment. This week’s Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) published an article on the incidence of child abuse and neglect in families with enlisted soldiers who were deployed for combat.
Almost two thousand families of enlisted soldiers with at least 1 combat deployment between 2001-2004 were studied. Researchers found that the rate of neglecting children by soldier parents were higher during times of deployment (and therefore associated parental stress) than during times of non-deployment while the raet of physical child abuse was lower. On the other hand, the rate of mistreating children by female civilian spouses was four times as great (neglect) and twice as great (physical abuse) when their husbands were deployed. Read more
Grief, Daffodils, and Self-Esteem
One of the reasons why I enjoy TherapyDoc’s writings is because she tells stories that bring issues like depression and therapy at a human level. In Can You Cry Too Many Tears?, TherapyDoc begins by describing a tradition that is steeped in tears and the process of grieving in the Jewish culture. She then considers the delicate balance between crying as a natural and normal process, and crying continuously as a sign that someone needs help. Along the theme of grieving, Laura Young shares with permission an article titled “Grief Sucks” by Patrick Weiland, whose sister was murdered last August. Read more
Smoking Pot Increases Risk of Developing Schizphrenia
British psychiatrist Stanley Zammit and his colleagues published a study in The Lancet that suggests a link between marijuana (”pot”) use and increased risk of developing psychotic illnesses like schizophrenia by up to 41%. While the marijuana debate has often focused on “medical uses”, this report suggests that new dangers of smoking pot or marijuana. The study was conducted at the University of Bristol and funded by the Department of Health. Read more