To help seniors learn how to use the internet, and to communicate with family and friends via Facebook, Skype, and text messaging, a national home care company in the United States has developed a "Silver Surfers" program in which they teach seniors how to use modern technology to stay connected with family and friends. As one Silver Surfer states, "Skyping and Facebooking with my son and his family are now a normal part of my life. It helps me feel like I'm still an important part of their lives even though I'm miles and miles away." You can learn more about the Silver Surfers program here.
As many as 20% of seniors living in the community and 40% of seniors living in care facilities experience depression. One of the many contributing factors is the social isolation that often accompanies aging. A recent study conducted at Michigan State University found that internet use among seniors can reduce the incidence of depression in this population by up to 30%. "It all has to do with older persons being able to communicate, to stay in contact with their social networks, and just not feel lonely."
To help seniors learn how to use the internet, and to communicate with family and friends via Facebook, Skype, and text messaging, a national home care company in the United States has developed a "Silver Surfers" program in which they teach seniors how to use modern technology to stay connected with family and friends. As one Silver Surfer states, "Skyping and Facebooking with my son and his family are now a normal part of my life. It helps me feel like I'm still an important part of their lives even though I'm miles and miles away." You can learn more about the Silver Surfers program here.
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Many of us grew up with books and movies like Winnie the Pooh, and of course our Disney favourites such as Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King along with countless others. While cute or comedic stories at the time, researchers have gone back to their childhoods and reviewed many of these films and their animated characters to determine if there are underlying references to mental illness, and if so, how those characters are portrayed and what impact that may have on children and their attitudes towards mental health. Take a few minutes today and check out the two articles below, the first on the psychosocial problems and pathologies in the Hundred Acre Woods, and the second on the prevalence of mental illness references in Disney movies. Develop your own opinion as to whether these films further perpetuate the stigma and stereotypes surrounding mental health conditions. "Pathology in the Hundred Acre Wood: A neurodevelopmental perspective on A.A. Milne" by Sarah E. Shea, Kevin Gordon, Ann Hawkins, Janet Kawchuk, Donna Smith (CMAJ) "Mental Illness in Disney Animated Films" by Andrea Lawson & Gregory Fouts (Canadian Journal of Psychiatry) On the surface China appears to be doing slightly better than other parts of the world when it comes to the youth mental health, as their rate of mental illness among children is 15% compared to 20% in other nations. However, further research and investigations have shown that China still needs to continue to improve their psychiatric preventions and interventions as certain mental health conditions such as anxiety disorders are on the rise. While the article "China struggles with mental health problems of 'left-behind' children" explores varying opinions as to why certain mental health conditions are increasing, one in particular has stood out to researchers and mental health professionals alike ... the "left behind" children. As the article explains, often parents have to move to find work, and many end up leaving their children at home when they do. "Almost 50% of these "left-behind" children suffer depression and anxiety, compared with 30% of their urban peers ... they are also more likely to suffer from mood swings and stress ... "Left-behind children usually have inferiority complexes, lower self-esteem and lower confidence. Many appear to lack security and are too afraid or feel too much anxiety to interact with other people"" Put your knowledge and skills to the test with the case of a 48 year old female who presents to hospital with a 3-day history of vomiting and lack of bowel movements. The patient has a history of pica particularly when pregnant, however the urge to eat pencils and paper products like cardboard have become uncontrollable since she's had gastric bypass surgery 2 years ago. The patient's past psychiatric history is positive for anxiety, depression, personality disorder symptoms, and she reports that after eating pencils/paper she feels "intense relaxation". Can you determine the cause of this patient's pica symptoms or come up with a treatment plan? What mental health conditions can pica sometimes be associated with? "A Taste for the Unusual" by Christopher Rodgman and Daniel Winstead (Current Psychiatry) In this must read three part series (links below), The Boston Globe provides an in-depth look at mental illness as readers meet Michael Bourne, a 33 year old man with a long history of mental health issues, as well as his loving mother Peggy Bourne who throughout the years still tirelessly continues to be his support and caregiver. In this powerful series, one gets a unique and important perspective, as you hear about a family desperately trying to navigate the mental health system and trying to accomplish the challenging task of getting their loved one proper treatment and keeping them safe and in recovery for more than a few weeks or months at a time ... it's a story that is all too common. "Mike was 33 years old. He’d been in and out of institutions for half his life, since he first got sick when he was 17. His diagnosis had changed over the years — it was #schizophrenia, then #bipolar disorder, then #schizoaffective disorder — and his medications were in constant flux. Things stayed good for a while, then went bad again. Now Mike’s medications seemed to be working, and he was saying that he wanted to stay on them — a view he didn’t always take. But there had been so many days like this, so many hopeful new beginnings. Often, when bringing him home from a hospital stay, Peggy saw again the man she knew: funny and charming, intelligent and sweet. And then she watched that man disappear, receding from her as though into the depths of a lake. He was replaced by someone else, whose thoughts she did not understand. Mike suffered at times from #delusions. His mother never feared him, but some of the neighbors did, interpreting his loudness and profanity as threatening. Peggy had lived for years with the constant worry. She had lived with the complaints from neighbors and the calls from the police in the middle of the night; she had coped with Mike giving all his money to strangers or throwing all their food away, believing it was poisoned. She had watched his friends grow up and get jobs and get married, while he remained trapped in place. Yet she still believed that one day, the right treatment would free them. Mike would stay well, and she would have her son back."
Substance abuse and addiction is often overlooked in seniors. What happens when these seniors are discharged from hospital following a medical admission and require physical rehabilitation? “Traditionally, people with these issues have been ‘undesirable admissions’ [to traditional rehabilitation programs]. They may have behaviours that the staff isn’t prepared to cope with. There may be family dynamics.” Jewish Lifecare, a nursing home in Bronx, New York is working toward overcoming this by providing an inpatient rehabilitation program for seniors requiring physical rehabilitation following discharge from hospital who are also addicted to alcohol or prescription drugs. To read more about this innovative program, check out the article "The Addict Down the Hall" by Paula Span (The New York Times). Alcohol is a common cause of hospital visits. Particularly in the ER, doctors and nurses often see and treat patients who are in alcohol withdrawal which can be life-threatening. To help healthcare professionals evaluate if a patient is experiencing the symptoms of alcohol withdrawal like headache or anxiety, most of which are subjective, one ER physician at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto has come up with a brilliant new app to more objectively and accurately evaluate tremors, another key symptom of alcohol withdrawal. "There are two dangers in misjudging the severity of tremors. First, an undertreated patient could suffer seizures if the tremors are underestimated. Second, doctors don’t want to overprescribe psychoactive medication to legitimate patients — benzodiazepines, usually Valium, are the primary treatment for alcohol withdrawal — or dole it out to people faking their symptoms in order to get high themselves or to sell the drugs on the street." While the app is currently still a pilot project, initial tests of the technology are quite positive and many believe it could be used in numerous settings, not just in the emergency department. Find out more by checking out the link below: "Toronto doctor’s iPhone app diagnoses alcohol withdrawal" by Kate Allen (Toronto Star) Today marks the 13th anniversary of 9/11, a day of tragedies that forever changed many lives and had an immense impact on thousands, particularly those who live and work in New York City as well as those who lost loved ones that terrible day. Since 9/11, many mental health researchers and professionals have been learning more about how such disasters or traumatic events can affect one's mental health. The article "The Changing Mental Health Aftermath of 9/11" , originally written in 2011 (a decade after 9/11), highlights some of what has been discovered including how "'the mental health toll of disasters and terrorism is not limited to post-traumatic stress disorder.' They can also trigger major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, complicated grief (recognized in the mental health world as being unusually strong and long-lasting), substance abuse and a host of other symptoms that might come and go over time." The article also recognizes how the anniversaries of these events can be a difficult and emotionally challenging time, in addition to exploring how the psychological "first aid" protocol for handling large-scale traumatic events has evolved over time. Definitely worth a read! For World Suicide Prevention Day a mother reflects on losing her son to suicide and highlights the importance of days like today and advocating for better suicide prevention and awareness, in the article "World Suicide Prevention Day 2014".
"Five years later WSPD is not just a tweet-able acronym but a day set aside to recognize a growing movement of people willing to be the change. Schools are advocating for mental health literacy in their curriculum. Celebrities are speaking out about their experiences. Mental health organizations, government agencies and corporations are combining their social currency and resources in support of mental health awareness. We hope the upside of this awareness is that people will seek support -- will feel less stigmatized to share their disease." |
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Supporting and enhancing students' and health professionals' knowledge and understanding of mental health and psychiatry
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