Away from the Sun

The dark times come and the dark times go. I try to stay upbeat. But you know there's not much looking good out there - and sometimes it's so dark inside, I don't know if I can keep breathing. So I'm on the treadmill (physical activity is supposed to help. Right.) And this song comes on the old ipod, and I realize I'm not the only one who feels alone in the dark... Away from the Sun by 3 Doors Down.

It's down to this
I've got to make this life make sense
Can anyone tell what I've done
I miss the life
I miss the colours of the world
Can anyone tell where I am

'Cause now again I've found myself
So far down, away from the sun
That shines into the darkest place
I'm so far down, away from the sun again
Away from the sun again

I'm over this
I'm tired of living in the dark
Can anyone see me down here
The feeling's gone
There's nothing left to lift me up
Back into the world I know

And now again I've found myself
So far down, away from the sun
That shines into the darkest place
I'm so far down, away from the sun
That shines to light the way for me
To find my way back into the arms
That care about the ones like me
I'm so far down, away from the sun again

It's down to this
I've got to make this life make sense
And now I can't tell what I've done

And now again I've found myself
So far down, away from the sun
That shines to light the way for me

'Cause now again I've found myself
So far down, away from the sun
That shines into the darkest place
I'm so far down, away from the sun
That shines to light the way for me
To find my way back into the arms
That care about the ones like me
I'm so far down, away from the sun again

Oh no...
Yeah...
I'm gone

So a song connects me back to the world. For now. How about you?

Misreading of Faces May be Risk Marker

"Youngsters with pediatric bipolar disorder and healthy peers who have first-degree relatives with bipolar disorder share the same difficulty labeling facial emotions, NIMH researchers have discovered. Reporting in the February 2008 online edition of the American Journal of Psychiatry, the scientists suggest that the facial emotion recognition impairment might be part of an inherited predisposition to the illness.

Two related imaging studies traced face emotion labeling deficits in youngsters with pediatric bipolar disorder to weak connections and differences in activity of a brain circuit responsible for interpreting the meaning of social and emotional stimuli. Evidence suggested that the differences were stable traits, unrelated to effects of medications or mood states.

“Since we know more about the circuitry of basic processes like facial emotion processing than we do about the circuitry of complex psychiatric symptoms like mania and depression, it serves as a kind of Rosetta Stone for unearthing new clues,” explained Ellen Leibenluft, M.D., chief of the intramural NIMH Section on Bipolar Spectrum Disorders, Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program, which is conducting the studies.

Understanding such specific vulnerabilities in emotional processing may someday lead to improved treatment, diagnosis, and ultimately prevention of bipolar disorder in children, say the researchers."

Read the rest of the article here.

Let's Go To The Movies

I have given some thought to how the mentally ill are portrayed in films. Mostly it's awful - another way in which our National Stigma Institute continues to pump out vitriol to support discrimination against a biological disease. "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" comes immediately to mind. Or "Psycho."

But a few films stand out in my mind as sympathetic. A few actually manage to shed a little light into the corners - educating as well as entertaining. So I thought I'd like to share some of my favorites:

A Beautiful Mind - Probably the most powerful look at the functioning life of a paranoid schizophrenic that you'll find. Furthermore it addresses the issues of what constitutes recovery. Russell Crowe was brilliant...

Reign Over Me - This look at Post Traumatic Stress is genuine and sympathetic and Adam Sandler and Don Cheadle are wonderful.

Mr. Jones - Richard Gere stars in a very real portrayal of Bipolar Disorder. Points off for romantic involvement with his doctor, but still really good.

As Good As It Gets - Jack Nicholson (who usually just plays himself) portrays a rather crusty case of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder in this delightful film. It's all about acceptance, folks.

Off the Map - This one is a little out there, but it shows an intimate portrait of clinical depression even if the characters are... shall we say... different. Starring Sam Elliot and Joan Allen as a couple living a minimalist lifestyle with a precocious daughter and a confused IRS agent in the mix. I found this film realistic in it's interpretation of depression and its impact both on the sufferer and those around him. It's a little bit of a fairy tale, but I enjoyed it.

I'll try to think of more.

Famous Faces of Mental Illness

"For many years, Margaret Trudeau thought her up and down moods were just part of her life. After all, her story resembled a movie script. She won the heart of Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau while vacationing as a teenager with her family in Tahiti, and at the age of 22, became the youngest First Lady in Canadian history.

She was one of the world's most glamorous and scrutinized women in the '70s, an A List celebrity as capable of attracting headlines as Princess Diana.

"I thought my life was just taking me high and low," she says. "I had been given so many rich opportunities in my life."

In 2001, Trudeau ended years of denial and checked herself into an Ottawa hospital where she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Five years later, when she felt her recovery was as complete as it needed to be, Trudeau announced at a hospital fund-raiser she had been struggling with bipolar for years, and had been misdiagnosed for decades.

Consider this the latest chapter of Trudeau's remarkable life: She's an eloquent and compelling advocate for people with a mental illness, in particular those living with bipolar. Instead of running from reality, she flies across North America to discuss that reality with eager audiences. Now she uses her celebrity (celebrity she says once used to be "infamy") to bring attention to world-wide causes.

"Bipolar is an exaggeration of your emotions, so when you do get knocked down by life -- which you will because everyone will be knocked down at some point -- it's very hard to bounce back. Some people can live with sorrow for awhile and get on with their lives. I didn't have that ability. I got very knocked down and it was very hard for me. What learned is that it's awfully hard to do it on your own.

"And that's my message: to reach out and get help."

Read the entire article by Charles Anzalone here.

Blood Tests for Brain Disorders?

According to an article for MSNBC by Steve Mitchell, we could be on the brink of genetic blood testing for mental illness.

"A blood test could be used to diagnose and assess the severity of certain mental illnesses, such as bipolar disorder, according to a new study. But some experts think this raises ethical concerns about prying into a person's mental status.

Lab tests that can accurately detect mental illnesses have long been considered the “Holy Grail” of psychiatry. Currently, bipolar disorder and other conditions such as depression are diagnosed based on the patient's description of their symptoms and the physician's judgment, sometimes making it difficult to get an accurate diagnosis or determine the severity of a patient's condition. But now researchers have shown that 10 genes that can be detected in the blood could provide a better way to assess a patient.

“Patients aren’t sure how ill they really are, and neither is the clinician — sometimes dismissing their symptoms, sometimes overestimating them,” said Dr. Alexander Niculescu, III, a psychiatrist at the Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis, who led the research published Tuesday by the journal Molecular Psychiatry. “Having an objective test for disease state, disease severity, and especially to measure response to treatment, would be a big step forward.”

Read the rest of the article here.

Midlife suicide surge baffles experts

"A new five-year analysis of the nation's death rates recently released by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that the suicide rate among 45- to 54-year-olds increased nearly 20 percent from 1999 to 2004, the latest year studied, far outpacing changes in nearly every other age group. (All figures are adjusted for population.)

For women 45 to 54, the rate leapt 31 percent. "That is certainly a break from trends of the past," said Ann Haas, research director of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

By contrast, the suicide rate for 15- to 19-year-olds increased less than 2 percent during that five-year period -- and decreased among people 65 and older.

The question is why. What happened in 1999 that caused the suicide rate to suddenly rise primarily for those in midlife?

The lack of concrete research has given rise to all kinds of theories, including a sudden drop in the use of hormone-replacement therapy by menopausal women after health warnings in 2002, higher rates of depression among baby boomers or a simple statistical fluke.

At the moment, the prime suspect is the skyrocketing use -- and abuse -- of prescription drugs. During the same five-year period included in the study, there was a staggering increase in the total number of drug overdoses, both intentional and accidental, such as the one that killed the 28-year-old actor Heath Ledger. Illicit drugs also increase risky behaviors, CDC officials point out, noting that users' rates of suicide can be 15 to 25 times as great as the general population."

Read the whole article by Patricia Cohen of the New York Times here.

PTSD (another infamous set of initials)

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is one of those things we hear a lot about in wartime. It is most often associated with soldiers returning from war - scarred by horrible memories that seem to return and return, the infamous "flashbacks" so prevalent in the movies. But in truth, PTSD affects some 8 million Americans and is actually more prevalent in women. And "flashbacks" aren't always in the equation.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is a type of anxiety disorder that is triggered by a traumatic event (duh.) What constitutes a trauma varies wildly from person to person and yes, it may be something as awful as witnessing the horrors of combat, or something as commonplace as a traffic accident. Rape, a mugging, physical or mental abuse can cause PTSD as well as natural disasters. After any of these events a person would normally be overwhelmed by strong emotions - fear, anger, guilt and such - but gradually the coping mechanisms of the brain start to take the edge off and the person would start to feel better. In PTSD, the process somehow gets off track, and those strong emotions can surface suddenly with all the intensity of those of the original event. (Think wormhole for feelings. Yuck.)

The symptoms of PTSD can be an annoyance or they can sideline your life. But it can be treated. There are medications to reduce the anxiety and therapies designed to help defuse the memories through gradual exposure or reduce your reaction to them through cognitive thought processing. Most folks with PTSD will improve dramatically with treatment. Good news here what with Iraq, Hurricane Katrina and 9-11. We've had enough trauma, Thank You.

Good movie on the subject: Reign Over Me with Adam Sandler.