Relationships, Research, and Resources
Welcome to the June 5, 2007 edition of carnival of depression, bipolar disorder, and mental health journeys.
In the depression category, Angela presents an important topic for women who are pregnant or have just delivered. For more information about this subject, please read my comprehensive review of the book, A Deeper Shade of Blue.
Jeff gives an honest and reflective look at the question, “am I depressed, and is this the kind that requires medication?” I find some of us migrate toward extremes – either denying there is any problem and refusing to seek help – or immediately labeling ourselves with multiple illnesses and begging for pills. We can save ourselves a lot of grief (not to mention risks of side effects) by spending some time asking ourselves some tough questions.
Speaking of extremes, Christian presented a fresh Austrian view on depression, which describes an Austrian diagnostic tool that has interesting implications on the symptoms of depression and perhaps shed some light on potential new cognitive behavioral approaches (my speculation). This is indeed an interesting study and I hope that a larger study is planned to follow up on this one. On the other hand, a sample size of 60 people into 2 groups of 30 in this study is considered a very small sample size, especially in the neuropsych field.
James shares a link to MoodGym, a free online resource that he has personally used even though he suffers from the melancholic type of depression less conductive to cognitive behaviorial therapy (CBT). This is an excellent resource and I highly recommend it, thanks James for sharing it with us.
In the category of mental health, GrrlScientist writes about college students experiencing emotional crises that may contribute to suicide among college students. Grrlscientist’s posts often generate copious comments to her articles, and these comments are often informative and span pages beyond the original article. I was severely depressed when I was in college but I didn’t know it. Also my alma mater Cornell had a “fall break” and rumor has it that this was the time when historically there were lots of student suicides.
In the recovery category, The Junky’s Wife reflected on her habits of mind. This doesn’t really fit into my traditional mental health theme but for some reason this personal story struck me as resonating with the feelings of many caregivers in relationships with those who have mental illnesses that manifest in ways not unlike a drug addicts.
Alvaro posted a study on potential pharmacologic effects of Yoga as it relates to stress management; now there’s an alternative therapy with an excellent side effect profile when compared with medication therapy given the appropriate patient type (i.e. not acutely and severely depressed patients who require immediate medical help).
I found Virginia’s Lessons from Panic both gripping and brutally honest.
In the relationships category, one of my fav psych blogger TherapyDoc writes about Reparations and how some patients in the midst of a manic episode can do things they regret. This post is both about salvaging relationships and an illustration of how no ill you commit is beyond sincere contrition.
Thanks to all of you who submitted for this edition. As always, I may not be able to include everyone’s entries, but personally visit and read each submission. I do favor personal stories and posts that are not already submitted to every other carnival out there (since duplicate entries can waste readers’ time). Please submit your article to the next edition here.
Until next time,
Photos that make this post pretty: Blue Shells by Carol Kramberger, Breakthrough by Stefanie L., and Hatch by Esteban Lussich
