Tag Archives: Health

Men’s Health – Bipolar Disorder or Manic Depressive Disorder  

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Article by Curt Sterling







Bipolar disorder is a mood disorder that affects an estimated 3.3 million people in the United States alone. While Bipolar disorder affects women more often than men, it is an emotional disorder that also affects many men. Understanding this disorder is helpful if you know someone who has symptoms of the condition or if you, yourself, have symptoms. Bipolar disorder is a mood disorder characterized by extreme highs and lows in mood, and sometimes irrational delusional behaviors.

Symptoms

Symptoms of bipolar disorder include extreme changes in mood and behaviors. The manic phase of the illness includes behaviors like racing thoughts and speech. While in the manic phase a person with bipolar disorder may feel full of energy and not feel as if they need sleep or rest. They may feel unusually creative and have exaggerated feelings of optimism and grandiosity, but have difficulty concentrating or completing thoughts or ideas. They may be unusually physically active or overly exercise. While in the manic phase, they may also be uncommonly irritable and aggressive and may exercise poor judgement and behave in recklessly without consideration to the consequence of their behaviors.

In contrast to the manic phase of the illness, the depressive phase is a picture in dramatic opposites. The person with bipolar disorder who is in the depressive phase may be extremely sad and irritable. They may sleep excessively or find they cannot sleep because of overwhelming thoughts or worries. It is also not unusual for people in the depressive phase to feel suicidal.

Cycles between mania and depression may occur over short periods of time (rapid cycling) or over long periods of time. For some people there is no break between cycles and they never experience a period of relatively normal mood. Other people have periods of time where they have normal mood and may even experience long periods of time between cycles.

Alcohol & Drug Use

People with untreated bipolar disorder symptoms can have problems with alcohol or drugs because they are self medicating. They may feel (or think they feel) better when they are high or drunk because it creates feelings similar to being in the manic phase. Unfortunately, many people with bipolar disorder enjoy the manic phase of their illness because they feel more creative and “alive.” This makes maintaining treatment difficult.

Bipolar disorder is a complex and difficult illness to treat. The symptoms of this illness are dramatic and swing from mania to depression. Bipolar disorder is an illness that affects approximately 3.3 million people in the United States and can be a devastating illness.



About the Author

Curt Sterling is a health expert specializing in pharmaceutical research, men’s health and other health topics, such as href=”http://www.xlpharmacy.com/”>online pharmacy and buy viagra

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Co-Occurring Disorders – Addiction and Mental Health Treatment Issues

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The reason that the multiple disorders are to be established separately and then diagnosed together as co-occurring disorders is because the best possibility of recovery from both is when they are treated together at the same time.

 

There is an obvious a relationship between the mental disorder and the substance abuse disorder in co-occurring disorders and a common question whether one could possibly be causing the other. While this may seem like an important question, it is much more important to keep in mind that whether or not one caused the other, they are both there and one can cause the other’s symptoms to increase in number and intensity, so if one is treated while leaving the other unchecked treatment and recovery from both will be near impossible.

 

A large part of recovery from addiction, and maybe even more so with co-occurring disorders, is hope. It is important to remember that even though successful treatment and recovery of multiple disorders often takes more effort, time, and patience than just one disorder on the part of both the individual affected and the treatment provider it can and has been done. Another vital aspect of recovery and maintaining hope is to not be discouraged if a relapse occurs. Although a relapse may not be a desired part of recovery, it can happen, and most people can bounce back from them quickly, with some effort, and move on with their recovery.

 

Having a healthy support network is also essential to people recovering from not just addiction but co-occurring disorders. A support network can be anything from sober group of friends or family, or a self-help group such as Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous. Finding a support network for someone with a co-occurring disorder can be more challenging depending on the mental disorder of the individual, but there are many resources that can and should be utilized to search for one. The Links page of this site has some of the available resources listed.

 

When working with individuals that may possibly have co-occurring disorders, or considering the possibility of that you, yourself, may have co-occurring disorders, it is important to make sure that an accurate and thorough assessment is performed. Some of the aspects of an individual’s life that should be taken into consideration are: family history, sensitivity to alcohol or drugs (meaning the relationship between alcohol or drug use and mental health), symptoms that appear when sober, and treatment history.

 

Please note: not all substance abuse or mental health facilities are capable of treating co-occurring disorders and it is essential to locate one that does if successful treatment and recovery is to be obtained. For a list of substance abuse facilities that address co-occurring disorders please visit SAMHSA’s Treatment Facility Locator or call their 24-hour helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (1-800-662-4357).

 

A co-occurring disorder, also referred to as dual diagnosis, is when a person has a mental disorder, such as anxiety or depression along with a substance or alcohol abuse disorder. As if receiving or providing treatment for an addiction wasn’t enough to worry about, the very high prevalence of mental disorders among people with substance abuse problems makes treatment even more difficult.

 

In fact, according to the American Medical Association about 29 percent of people diagnosed with mental illnesses are also affected by either an alcohol or drug addiction as well and about 37 percent of people addicted to alcohol and 53 percent of people addicted to drugs have at least one major mental illness.

A New Approval of Uk?s National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (nice)

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On the 26th March, Sanofi-Aventis, the third largest pharmaceutical manufacturer in the world, announced that the UK’s National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), had approved Acomplia for use in the National Health Service (NHS). NICE is a non-governmental organisation. It plays the role of a gatekeeper and, if it approves a medication, its use in the NHS is subsidised out of public funds. Up to now, Acomplia has had approval granted by the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) for use on private prescription only. So patients have had to pay the full retail price for Acomplia. This decision by NICE means that patients who have a BMI of 30 or more, or a BMI of 27 with associated risk factors, can now get treatment without having to pay for Acomplia (the change of diet and the introduction of physical exercise have no additional cost implications). This is a small step forward for Sanofi-Aventis which has a good product but has found it difficult to promote its use.

Because of the reluctance of regulatory authorities to add a “weight loss” medication to the list of approved medications, the sales of Acomplia have been only modest (around 0m last year). Relatively this is a good performance because European patients have been buying this product out of their own pockets. Nevertheless, it is disappointing that such a good product as Acomplia cannot be more widely accepted. For example, the German regulatory authority has refused to reimburse patients out of public funds because it views Acomplia as a lifestyle product.

This starkly contrasts with the public policy stance of the British government which has made the fight against obesity in the young one of its top medical priorities. This is a particularly positive move towards preventative medicine by a country that believes it is facing an “obesity crisis”. The more overweight you get, the greater the risks of heart disease or diabetes. Both of these represent long-term and expensive conditions to treat in a public health system. It is therefore good value for money to get as many as possible to use Acomplia and reduce their weight while young.

In the United states, the Food and Drug Administration has been reluctant to give any recognition to Acomplia after a link was made to one or two very rare cases in which individuals who happened to be taking Acomplia attempted suicide. So far, there is no clinical evidence to support a general link between Acomplia and suicide. More clinical trials are underway and Sanofi-Aventis expects to have new evidence to submit to the FDA in 2009. But this experience with Acomplia has become increasingly common. Many new and effective medications have been approved for the European market but have not received FDA approval. Several European manufacturers have indicated that they may ignore the US market in future even though it is the largest in the world. They all complain that the FDA’s demands for more and more clinical data prior to approval has become unreasonable.

It is not clear why the FDA has grown more demanding. It may be that the process has become more political in the US after the approval of Vioxx became the focus of litigation and hearings on Capitol Hill. There are also funding problems as the agency struggles to consider more applications for approval with a reducing budget. As it is, US television and print media are full of advertisements for medications. This is the land of the hard sell. Europe does not permit national advertising campaigns for prescription medications. In one sense, this makes Acomplia’s market penetration in Europe all the more impressive. Positive word-of-mouth has been selling the product. Thus, if you live in the UK, you can enjoy the benefits of Acomplia to reduce your weight on the NHS. Elsewhere, you can pay for this product confident that, in conjunction with a low calorie diet and physical exercise, it will significantly reduce your weight.

Handbook of Clinical Rating Scales and Assessment in Psychiatry and Mental Health (Current Clinical Psychiatry)

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Psychiatric clinicians should use rating scales and questionnaires often, for they not only facilitate targeted diagnoses and treatment; they also facilitate links to empirical literature and systematize the entire process of management. Clinically oriented and highly practical, the Handbook of Clinical Rating Scales and Assessment in Psychiatry and Mental Health is an ideal tool for the busy psychiatrist, clinical psychologist, family physician, or social worker. In this ground-breaking text, leading researchers provide reviews of the most commonly used outcome and screening measures for the major psychiatric diagnoses and treatment scenarios. The full range of psychiatric disorders are covered in brief but thorough chapters, each of which provides a concise review of measurement issues related to the relevant condition, along with recommendations on which dimensions to measure – and when. The Handbook also includes ready-to-photocopy versions of the most popular, valid, and reliable scales and checklists, along with scoring keys and links to websites containing on-line versions. Moreover, the Handbook describes well known, structured, diagnostic interviews and the specialized training requirements for each. It also includes details of popular psychological tests (such as neuropsychological, personality, and projective tests), along with practical guidelines on when to request psychological testing, how to discuss the case with the assessment consultant and how to integrate information from the final testing report into treatment.

Focused and immensely useful, the Handbook of Clinical Rating Scales and Assessment in Psychiatry and Mental Health is an invaluable resource for all clinicians who care for patients with psychiatric disorders.

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Volkswagen Ad didn’t escape probing eyes of Mental Health Groups  

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Article by Natalie Anderson





Another automaker was targeted by the suicide prevention groups for having ads that suggest suicide. Europe’s largest automaker and maker of renowned Volkswagen performance parts, Volkswagen AG didn’t escape the probing eyes of the suicide prevention groups. Five mental health groups have recently demanded that Volkswagen scrap its new TV spot that shows a depressed guy on a ledge who decides not to jump off the building after he hears that Volkswagen is offering three vehicles under ,000.

According to Keith Price, VW spokesman, the company has no plan whatsoever of scrapping the ad since “We see no reason to stop at this point. We are willing to continue the discussion. But controversy is not something VW has shied away from its marketing.”

The complaints came pouring in after General Motors has agreed to modify the ending of their Super Bowl ad that features a depressed robot that jumps off the bridge. Masterfoods USA similarly scrapped their Snicker’s ad because gay activist groups complained that the reaction of the men on the commercial is homophobic.

The Volkswagen’s commercial “Jumper” was first aired last Monday at NBC’s Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. The ad was created by Crispin Porter + Bogusky and is also shown at YouTube. Before the ad was aired, Suicide Prevention Action Network USA has sent a letter to VW requesting for its stoppage. Another letter was sent to VW last Wednesday asking for the stoppage of the ad but this time it was from four mental health groups: The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, American Psychiatric Association, mental Health America and National Alliance on mental Illness.

Madison Avenue is feeling the increasing pressure from activists who are keen in checking commercial contents. And that’s not all; it seems also that interest groups actually have the power to apply pressure even on some of the world’s largest companies.

Barry Glassner, professor of sociology at the University of Southern California said, “There’s little that marketers or politicians can do if power advocacy groups coalesce against them. In some cases, they’re crucial corrective that society needs. In other cases, they go overboard.” But in this case, Glassner is in support of the advocacy groups.

Jerry Reed, executive director of Suicide Prevention Action Network USA also said, “There’s nothing entertaining about the public health tragedy of suicide.” This was seconded by Robert Gebbia, executive director of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention saying, “You shouldn’t use mental illnesses as a way to sell cars.”

But according to VW spokesman Price, the automaker didn’t mean to harm anyone with its commercial and further stated “it was not designed or conceived to offend anyone” unfortunately due to forces we cannot control the whole ad thing came out offensive to some people. This was answered by crisis consultant Jonathan Bernstein saying that Volkswagen should dump the ad completely, “VW should have learned a lesson from GM. It’s not worth running an ad that’s socially controversial.”


About the Author

Growing up with three brothers, Natalie Anderson became exposed early to the world of automobiles. This 29-year-old account manager now dreams of having her very own top-of-the-line vintage car.