Genetics of Suicide, World Mental Health, Self-Harm, and Anger
Welcome to the October 30, 2007 edition of carnival of depression, bipolar disorder, and mental health journeys.
GrrlScientist looks at a well-covered media topic from a fresh angle: Is There A Genetic Link between SSRIs and Suicidal Ideation? She writes, “A new study provides preliminary data suggesting that a gene variant is linked to suicidal ideation triggered by SSRI treatment in a small subgroup of people taking citalopram (celexa).” The study to observe changes in proteins that affect glutamate signaling. Although this study is preliminary and only limited to one antidepressant within the SSRI class, it suggests at least a couple of things to me: 1) the possibility of using a genetic test to help identify those patients at great risk for developing suicide ideation on SSRI type of antidepressants, thereby helping physicians better manage and monitor for those risks, and 2) the role of glutamate signaling in mental illness, including depression and bipolar disorder. I’ve read years ago about the effects of lithium and valproate (BP drugs) on glutamate signaling.
Isabella’s World Mental Health Day: A Cultural Round-Up was an interesting “mental health tour” around the world, looking specifically at certain cultural groups as well as suicide trends. This was particularly timely, as I had received an email asking for mental health resources relating to Asians, for which there is a lack of information and (in my opinion) support and awareness. In many cultures, depression is still depicted as a character flaw and something to be ashamed about. This fosters continual denial and prevents people from seeking treatment for otherwise manageable diseases.
Megan Bayliss’s A conversation about self-harm was a very smart way to present a set of frequently asked questions about self-harm. It was presented as a conversation that helps us understand how someone who self harms processes this coping mechanism. For example: Question: As you said, you have a cut to show people how you feel - yet you keep your self-harming behaviour a secret? Answer: To you it doesn’t make sense but to me it makes perfect sense. The cut is a visual display of my pain. I don’t have to share it if I don’t want to but to me it represents everything that is under the skin. And if I really have to show someone how I feel inside I can just show them my cuts.
Marcella Chester covers some recent events surrounding anger and how law enforcement make judgment calls that sometimes may have deadly consequences. One of my friends formed a company specifically to pair law enforcement personnel together with professional actors to help law enforcement better manage situations of mental health crisis.
Thank you to all those who submitted articles to this edition of my mental health carnival. Congratulations to those whose entries made it into this carnival! Please note that even if your entries were not selected (my selection criteria have become stricter, and I limit each edition to include only 3-4 entries), I personally visit and read each and every one of your submissions. To submit your best articles for consideration in a future carnival, please use this link.
Until Next Time!
Work Place Depression Common in Healthcare Workers
The Office of Applied Studies (OAS) in the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published a study looking at the rate of work place depression from years 2004-2006 in workers ages 18-64. They found that each year, about 7% of full time workers experienced major depression, and the highest rates of depression occurred in those working in the personal care and service industry (10.8%). Healthcare practitioners and technicians came in at 3rd place with a depression rate of 9.6%.
Female workers reported a higher incidence of depression than male workers; this was a trend across the board regardless of occupation type. I found interesting that female workers in management reported 3 times as much depression (9.5%) versus male workers in management (3.3%). Other mental health surveys already suggest a higher rate of depression in females compared with males, and the OAS data does not suggest that there are factors in the workplace specific to females that could have caused a higher incidence of depression in females. However, one may speculate that certain disparities in the workplace may be a factor contributing to depression in female workers.
Depression in the work place is real, and cannot be ignored. Given our love affair with work, it is important to recognize signs of depression early and receive appropriate treatment.
Fear of Success and How Kids Become Bullies
Therapydoc writes about the fear of success. This was an eerie description how I used to feel:
…if your parents put you down, then you don’t think you’ve got what it takes to be someone. Having a gift at something doesn’t change your mind. Knowing you have certain strengths means nothing… If you’ve been abused then you might develop the fear that if you try to do something fabulous you’ll be PROVEN the idiot you think you are. You’re sure you’ll fail and everyone will KNOW you’re a loser as opposed to just guessing. From Therapydoc’s Tough Neighborhood- Fear of …
Therapydoc then describes what happens to some of the kids who live in an environment of constant put-downs that may be either emotional or physical (usually accompanied by violence). They become bullies and turn on the most vulnerable kids. These vulnerable kids are who the bullies are when the bullies are at home, being bullied by their parents.
These vulnerable kids learn not to draw attention to themselves, and when they become adults, they come to fear success, because it draws attention them. They self-sabotage to keep being invisible.
My question is, What’s a parent to do?
Parents whose children are vulnerable to bullies may want to do something to make the bullying stop, yet by acting, they draw additional attention to their children and adds fuel to the fire in the bullying cycle. But if they do not act, who knows how far some bullies will go, and what parents in their right mind would stand by and do nothing when their children are being tortured on a daily basis?
Do they talk to the bully child’s parents? That may be one approach, but I suspect that the bully child’s parents may often be the very reason why their kid has become a bully. These parents may very well be big bullies themselves, torturing their kid with emotional or physical abuse on a frequent basis.
I don’t know what the answer is, but I’d like to find out what you think may be solutions.