Mental Health
Global Health Leaders Urging New UN Session to Address Mental Illness and Related Disorders
Experts are requesting a global gathering to discuss the ways mental illness and related substance abuse problems are emerging as a worldwide, multi-dimensional problem affecting thousands of communities. A special meeting of the United Nations (UN), or a UN General Assembly Session, is under discussion to address global preventative measures toward mental illness-related issues and explore more accessible treatments.
Understanding Borderline Personality Disorder
If someone you know or love is diagnosed with borderline personality disorder or BPD, you probably have a lot of unanswered questions going through your mind. How could this happen, you might ask yourself? What’s to become of your friend or loved one? Will they ever have a chance at a normal life? Is there anything that can be done to treat this individual? More importantly, perhaps, is what can you do, if anything, to help?
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Can Suicide Scales Predict a Future Suicide Attempt?
Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States. It is the only cause of death among the top 20 listed that has experienced a rise in ranking. Suicide rates for those 40-65 years old are undergoing the sharpest increase. Furthermore, 60 percent of completed suicides are successful on the first attempt. Is there any way to see the danger in order to intervene in time?
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Mental Health Awareness Increases as Getting Help Decreases
Is America more comfortable with vulnerability? A soon-to-be-released study says that more Americans than ever are reporting feeling depressed and anxious along with a host of other emotional health issues. If we are ready to acknowledge our mental health struggles, then why aren’t health care professionals seeing more Americans in their offices?
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About 50% of Americans Will Have a Mental Health Problem in Their Lifetime
Ileana Arias, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, says that the levels of mental illness in the United States are "unacceptably high" and that nearly 25% of adults in America reported having some sort of mental illness in the past year. Additionally, the CDC estimated the costs associated with mental illness in the year 2002 to be nearly $300 billion.
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Bipolar Disorder and Self-Injury
Bipolar I, also known as manic depressive disorder, is a mental illness. In order to be diagnosed with bipolar, a person must experience a manic episode. Mania is characterized by abnormally high or "up" feelings accompanied by abnormal behavior. The person with bipolar disorder will often cycle between episodes of mania and depression, hence the name manic depression. Sometimes the ‘down’ episodes are characterized by feelings so low that the person may seek to cause self-injury.
Bipolar disorder afflicts approximately 2.5 million people, most of whom are still quite young (in their teens and 20s) when they experience the onset of symptoms. Only rarely is someone diagnosed with bipolar disorder in later adulthood (after 50). For the person living with the disorder, episodes of mania and depression may be separated by long periods when they feel steady and "normal."
In a manic stage, or period of abnormally elevated mood, an individual might exhibit the following behaviors:
What Causes Borderline Personality Disorder?
There is an estimated two percent of the population that is living with borderline personality disorder. This disorder is thought to be caused by a variety of things, including genetic makeup, neurotransmitters, neurobiology and traumatic events that have occurred in a person’s lifetime. Borderline personality disorder is more common than bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, disorders which are often given more attention.
Borderline personality disorder is characterized by the instability of moods, relationships, self-image and behavior. Borderline personality disorder is very severe and can lead to suicidal thoughts and behavior, substance abuse, trouble keeping relationships, and a variety of serious side effects.
Genetically speaking, scientists have many reasons to believe that genes are a prime source of the disorder. A recent study done on a set of twins, found that if one twin had the disorder, there was a two in three chance the other twin would also develop borderline personality disorder. Borderline personality disorder can be inherited by parents, or other relatives who may suffer, that are emotionally prone to change and very harsh and aggressive. Scientists also have reason to believe it can be a developed trait.
Low levels of serotonin, a neurotransmitter, can also be linked to the cause of borderline personality disorder. If the human body is running low on serotonin, a person can become severely depressed and angry, with tendencies to show aggression and act out. Two other neurotransmitters, dopamine and noradrenalin, can also have the same effect as serotonin, when the body is running low.
Neurobiology can also be a cause of borderline personality disorder. MRI scanners have been used multiple times for a detailed image of the brain, and other parts of the body. In patients with borderline personality disorder, there were three parts of the brain that stood out during one MRI scan; the amygdala, hippocampus and orbitofrontal cortex. The amygdala regulates emotions, while the hippocampus helps regulate behavior and the orbitofrontal cortex helps plan and make decisions. Each of the three area’s regulations are all things borderline personality disorder patients have a hard time dealing with.
Other factors that can cause borderline personality disorder are environmental. Most patients have been victims of emotional, physical or sexual abuse, have been exposed to fear as a child, been neglected by their parents and families, or have grown up with another relative that has suffered a serious mental health condition. The family and environment a child grows up in, has a serious effect on whether or not they will suffer from this disorder. If an adult has bad memories of their childhood, or unresolved anger and fears, these thinking patterns can lead to borderline personality disorder.
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Actress Catherine Zeta-Jones Gives Hope by Discussing Bipolar Disorder
Academy award-winning actress, wife, mother – and person with bipolar disorder. The honesty and openness with which Catherine Zeta-Jones has discussed her recent diagnosis of bipolar disorder is helping reduce negative stereotypes about the disease, which is believed to affect up to three percent of people in the U.S.
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High Rates of Substance Abuse Among Veterans with Mental Health Disorders
Previous studies have found high rates of substance abuse among U.S. veterans, and a new study finds the same among U.S. veterans with mental health disorders. The study, led by Dr. Ismene Petrakis of the Yale University School of Medicine, could be helpful in understanding the needs of veterans of different eras, and in targeting treatment programs.
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Chronic Stress is Detrimental to Health
Stress is not just a state of mind. It can manifest itself in many physical ways as well. After all, it is stress that propels the body into the ‘fight or flight’ response. Stress can trigger migraine headaches and cause ulcers, increase heart rate, and elevate blood pressure. If the body is left in a heightened state of stress, the immune system can become weak leaving the person susceptible to infection and serious illness.
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