Charlie Sheen, Brittany Spears, are we seeing any similarities?

With the entertainment world sitting in a front row seat, watching Charlie Sheen’s self-destruction, isn’t anyone reminded of something similar happening to Brittany Spears not all that long ago?

At first, Sheen’s behaviour looked like typical spoiled brat behaviour – just as Spears’ behaviour did. But as Sheen is spinning further and further out of control, it’s like watching Spears all over again.

While we don’t have an official diagnosis on Spears and nobody has diagnosed Sheen, it seems pretty obvious to the average person that there is much more going on than just bad behaviour.

According to the National Institute of Health, one in four American adults have a mental disorder. The Canadian Mental Health Association says that 20% of Canadians will experience a mental health issue at some point in their lives.

While some mental illnesses are depression and anxiety (which can be life threatening), they include other types, such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder, among many others.

Mental illness is not anything to laugh about. If it turns out that Sheen is just being a jerk, then well, that’s what he is. But it doesn’t seem that way and rather than laughing at him and giving him all this attention, maybe we should walk away and hope that he gets the help it looks like he needs.

Alternative therapies

For some people, conventional Western medicine just doesn't cut it for their problems. Either it doesn't work, it doesn't work well enough, or they feel that there has to be something better out there.

I believe that we can use both conventional therapies and alternative therapies together to get the best of both worlds. I have used acupuncture and love it. I've undergone chiropractics and don't love it. I'm willing to try other forms of alternative therapies too. But - I'm lucky. Our insurance covers at least part of it, which makes it fairly affordable. But what of those who can't afford it? Must they do without?

In Canada, the province of British Columbia is addressing the issue: BC acupuncture coverage begins April 1.


I think that's great news. At least it gives more people the option. And, if acupuncture does help what ails them, it could lessen the drain on the conventional medical system. I look at it as a "if we don't try, we'll never know" program.

News for Today:
New study shows children benefit from drinking chocolate/flavored milk
Combining Internet with Office Visits Cut Heart Attack Risks
Journal SLEEP: Insomnia may perpetuate depression in some elderly patients
Ear Aches Complicate Most Colds in Young Children
Journal SLEEP: Short, long sleep duration is associated with future weight gain in adults
Study indicates diabetes medication may help slow plaque build-up in coronary arteries

It's Tuesday and the news pickings are good

Tuesday is generally a big news days on the health news wires; it’s the day that many journals are published and the more eye-catching news stories are picked up. That gives me an interesting problem because on Tuesdays, I usually have a great variety of topics to write about.

I’ll often read one release and think “aha! That’s what I’ll write about today,” only to find a more attention-grabbing piece a few moments later. Take today’s news, for instance. Sleep is a very interesting topic. It’s a cause for much debate in families when it comes to children, especially teens. As someone who has always had difficulty sleeping, I know how important sleep is and horrid it is to feel as if you’ve never had enough.

But, then I read about the story about children and iron-deficiency. That’s a story of note too. So much of what our children are exposed to – or not exposed to – early in life will affect them well into adulthood. That topic included the stories about parents’ attitude towards asthma medications and flu shots. So, I figured, that’s what I would tackle.

Of course, just as I was about finished my newswire search, I came across the story about depression in women with migraine and I thought, oh boy, that’s a big one too – and one that hits very close to home because I fit into that category. I ended up emailing that story to a few people who I knew would find it worth reading.

What I find particularly captivating about the story with the migraine study is that it, once again, draws attention to how experiences as a child can truly and deeply affect the body years later. Of course, this brings into question the treatments that we use and their effectiveness. If the physical problems we have are caused by childhood traumas, can they be reversed without the physical interventions we end up having to use or is there a more effective way to ease the pain and discomfort if we can understand how it originates?

I know that many people who don’t understand the legacy of abuse do say that those of us who have suffered have to get over it, that we can’t blame our lot in life with what happened to us as a child. I understand and even agree with some of that thinking. I do believe that we are what we make ourselves despite of what happened in the past. I generally don’t blame the bad things that happen to me now on what happened to me as a child. I know it’s for me to make my life what it is, despite what happened in the past. However, if such abuse does have the lasting physical effect on our bodies that scientists are starting to find, then it may not be so easy to just leave it behind, to put it past us.

On the other hand, this type of information may give us another tool to heal because one part of surviving is not allowing the perpetrators to win – ever. And, if the effects of childhood abuse follows us into adulthood, they *are* winning. So, maybe the next time I have a migraine or start into a cycle of depression, I can use this information to fight it. He’s not going to win. He never has won and he’s not going to win now. I am stronger. *I* will win this fight.

News for Today:
Heart surgeries more dangerous for women, study indicates
Sleep vital for students, experts say
Overweight toddlers and those not in day care at risk for iron deficiency
Practice-based intervention has sustained benefits for children and families
Annual flu shot cuts need for doctors' visits, hospitalization among children
Parents' perceptions can hamper kids' asthma care, study finds
Involving parents in therapy doubles success rates for bulimia treatment
Depression in women with migraine linked to childhood abuse

Caregiver depression

There’s an article in today’s Montreal Gazette about caregivers and depression. It’s not new or breaking news, but it is something that needs to be brought to the forefront because of the many caregivers who are suffering silently from depression, anxiety, helplessness, and isolation.

Many people find themselves in the position of caring for an ailing family member or members. In our North American society, we usually aren’t prepared for this role and the job can be brought upon us so gradually that we don’t notice we’re doing it until it’s too late, or it’s thrust upon us so suddenly that we don’t know what has hit us.

As the population ages, more people are finding themselves in the position of caregiver. In many families, it’s one sibling who takes over the bulk of the work either because of geography or by design. Initially, the care is usually done without many issues, but as the person who needs care becomes more dependant, sicker, and/or more demanding, the caregiver can find him or herself working harder, working longer, and becoming more isolated.

It’s easy to see caregiver burn out and depression in the hospital setting. Many times, they just can’t handle the care any more and bring their loved one to the emergency room, hoping and praying for some sort of salvation. Unfortunately, the way our system is set up, rarely is that salvation available. We have a serious shortage of quality chronic care beds. We also have a serious shortage of people available to go and help out in the home or to provide respite care.

Often, the caregivers don’t know they are burning out until they do. They become ill themselves or they become overwhelmed with what is expected of them on a daily basis.

If you know someone who is a caregiver, even if you can’t lend a hand with the care, you can lend an ear, an arm, a shoulder. Be there, offer to help in ways that you can. If the caregiver doesn’t know of resources, maybe you can do the searching and provide the information. Caregivers don’t just need the help now, they need the help over the long-term, and even once their sick family member has gone.

And if you are the caregiver, take time for yourself. There is no point in being selfless and devoting yourself full-time to caring for someone else if you are going to end up sick yourself. You can only do a good job if you are healthy yourself – emotionally as well as physically.

News for today:
Chlamydia common among young women and men
Interventions During Hospital Stays Can Help Motivate Smokers to Quit
Intensive training of young tennis players causes spinal damage
Very young babies vulnerable to sudden death while seated
Low hospital staff levels increase infection rates

Suicide, not a disease, so no walkathons, ribbons, or research race

There was more news about suicide yesterday in the papers. This time it’s about whether some antidepressants really do raise or lower the risk of suicide. I don’t know – I’m not an expert in that department. I think suicide is way more complicated than if a drug helps or prevents it. What I do know is that suicide hurts like hell. My baby brother took his life in February 2005. He was 35 years old.

Quebec has one of the highest young male suicide rates in the country. Young men are one of the highest risk groups for suicide. In a youth suicide report published by the Canadian Task Force on Preventative Health Care, it says: “Suicide has accounted for about 2% of annual deaths in Canada since the late 1970s. Eighty percent of all suicides in 1991 involved men. The male:female ratio for suicide risk was 3.8 to 1. In both males and females, the greatest increase between 1960 and 1991 occurred in the 15- to 19-year age group, with a four-and-a-half-fold increase for males, and a three-fold increase for females.”

Statistics aren’t that much better in the United States. Published in Explaining the Rise in Youth Suicide, by David M. Cutler, Edward L. Glaeser, and Karen E. Norberg, March 2001, are these findings: “Suicide rates among youths aged 15-24 have tripled in the past half-century, even as rates for adults and the elderly have declined. For every youth suicide completion, there are nearly 400 suicide attempts.”

According to an article by Stewart Tendler that appeared in the London Times, UK, in November 2004, suicides made up 13% of the inquest deaths in England and Wales in 2003. Compared with 744 women who committed suicide, 2,511 men did. Although the numbers in the UK seem to have stabilized, it is still the younger men, between 15 and 24 years, who have the highest suicide rate.

Excuse me? Did I read that correctly? Eighty percent of the suicides in Canada in 1991 involved men?? Suicide rates have tripled in the US among older teens and there were 1,767 more men in the UK who committed suicide than women? Between 1960 and 1991, there was a 4.5-fold increase for males and a 3-fold increase for females in Canada? Where is the outcry? Where is the demand for something to be done about this? Oh, right, I forgot, we don’t talk about suicide. It makes people uncomfortable. Talking about suicide means that we have to talk about mental illness, depression, pain, and despair. Not exactly cocktail chatter.

I’ve read, although I can’t pull the sources right now, that the rate among young men may actually be higher because of accidents that are really disguised suicides without actual intent, meaning that some of the young men who crash their cars or do dumb stunts that result in death may actually be playing with suicidal behaviour. I can’t back that up, but I do recall reading it. I wonder if there is some merit to that though.

Action has to be taken to help those young people who feel that there is no other outlet, no other way to solve their problems than to end their lives. I’m not a psychologist or a social worker. I don’t have the answers to any of the questions of how to stop this, but if people were dying at these rates of a disease, or some sort of fatal accident, I’m sure that people would be taking action. The only way action is going to happen is if we start to talk about the people who we lose through suicide. We need to bring it out to the forefront of people’s thoughts. We need to do something because our young people, our young men, are so desperate that they see no other way out.

Do I sound angry? I am. I’m angry, upset, saddened, and frustrated. JP was 35 years old. He had a rough life and was never able to get the help he really needed. He hung himself on a Friday night in February. He was alone.

I would do anything to get my brother back. The help I gave him wasn’t enough. The help his friends gave him wasn’t enough. His two young sons weren’t enough. We all tried in our own way, stumbling through the mental health minefield. The help I did give wasn’t enough, he couldn’t take it. I don’t know why, but it didn’t work. I miss him and my mind often goes to where he must have been before he died. My heart still cries for him and probably always will.

We have to stop this. We have to.

Today's News:
Suicide Findings Question Link to Antidepressants
Western diet linked to breast cancer in Asian women
Aging: Some Antidepressants Tied to Bone Loss, Findings Show
Chronic insomnia linked to depression, anxiety
A Healthy Diet Promotes Healthy Lungs

Sensory overload

While most of us expect to be subjected to loud noise if we’re in the middle of the city, we don’t usually expect it when you live in a quiet suburb. Noise can be both soothing and frustrating, depending on the type of noise and when it’s present.

What I didn’t realize was how strongly noise could affect the psyche too. Although the area where I live is generally very quiet, save for the usual traffic of families coming and going, some yard work, children playing, and barking dogs, it’s been getting progressively noisier over the past few weeks. One neighbour began a project involving getting an in-ground pool and major landscaping. That was about three weeks ago and resulted in back hoes and trucks coming and going in our small crescent plus the accompanying work noises. Then, this past week, another neighbour had to have insulation removed from their house. This involved operating two rather large gas generators and there being a large metal container into which to suck the insulation. The racket was unbelievable and just yards away from my office window.

As if that wasn’t enough, a neighbour a block or so away is getting rid of something (I think an in-ground pool) and we can hear the jackhammers all day. Three or so blocks away, the city is doing major road work that calls for dynamite blasts throughout the day, plus the assorted trucks coming and going with the associated beeping every time they go in reverse. Then, if you add the every day neighbourhood sounds of people mowing their lawns, trimming their hedges, and a family whose dogs bark all day long – the noise was deafening.

On Thursday, I started to feel really down. I couldn’t figure out why because things are going very well. I have enough work to keep me busy, my family is healthy and doing well, the weather, although a bit grey, hasn’t been too bad, and there really wasn’t anything to complain about. So, why did I start having this pit in my stomach and why was the world starting to look so sad all of a sudden?

On Friday, it hit me: it was the noise. The noise was beyond what I could bear. I thought it was going to drive me nuts. As soon as I realized that this was causing my bad feelings, I felt better. I still felt that depression hanging in, but having identified the likely cause really helped me feel like I’d gained a bit of control.

Sure enough, in the late afternoon, the two generators were packed up and the insulation removal was finished. The road work was finished for the weekend (it’s a holiday weekend here in Quebec), and the landscaping work was now in quiet mode. The dogs had stopped barking and no-one was mowing a lawn within ear shot. It was quiet. Peacefully, wonderfully, quiet. And my sadness lifted. Almost magically, I felt ok again.

So, how am I going to deal with this next time? Ear plugs didn’t block out most of the noise. I have a hard time working while listening to music (too distracting), but maybe that’s what I’m going to have to try again. Fire up my MP3 player and try to use that as my buffer to the noisy world around me. Chances are though, this won’t happen again – at least not at the level that happened this past week.

Today's news:

HIV test gives results in just 60 seconds
Glucose may affect more pregnancies
Researchers identify main factors for worsening of glaucoma

Depression, more than feeling blue

With the constant media attention on antidepressants these days, could it be that the actual disorder is getting left behind? With the arguments going back and forth over whether antidepressants are needed or if people who are depressed just need to pull up their bootstraps, I think that those who do have true depression feel like they have to keep it to themselves once again.

Depression isn’t just a matter of feeling blue; it’s not feeling like things just aren’t going right. True depression goes much, much deeper than that. True depression makes someone feel totally worthless, as if there is no meaning in life. True depression can make someone want to hide from the world, hoping that this will keep the painful things away.

Unfortunately, hiding from the world doesn’t work. Since the cause of depression isn’t external, hiding can’t and won’t work. Depression is a chemical imbalance in the brain. If someone is sick, if they have an infection, they take antibiotics. If they have seizures, they take anticonvulsants. So, if someone has a chemical imbalance in their brain that causes depression, doesn’t it make sense to treat it with available medications?

It’s true that not all antidepressants work for all those who need them. Like all other medications, some will help some people while they won’t help others. And, for someone who is depressed, it can be hard to have to try different medications before finding the one that works for him or her. But it’s so important to do that. Medication doesn’t cure depression, but it sure makes life easier to live.

Some people only need to take antidepressants so that they can start feeling well enough to start seeking other kinds of help, such as seeing a psychologist or a counsellor. Often, once they’ve begun to deal with other aspects of their lives, they may be able to stop taking the antidepressant medications. However, not everyone can stop or should stop taking them. And there should be no shame in it.

Taking an antidepressant is not the equivalent of taking a Happy Pill – not even close. Most people won’t even feel the effects of their antidepressants right away because it can take weeks for the chemicals in the brain to right themselves. Slowly, but surely, things don’t seem quite so bad. The anxiety that may have beset them from time to time might not be as frequent. The feeling of impending doom may have stopped hanging over them, but it’s so gradual that it seems as if one day, they just realized that they’re feeling better.

After taking these medications for a while, many people want to try going off them. They want to see if they can make in on their own. While that might work for some people, others find that they need to continue taking them. Sometimes, this makes them feel like failures. They feel they should be able to manage without medication. They shouldn’t feel that way though because if they need medication, then they need it.

How do I know so much about how someone feels when they take these medications? Because I take Celexa. I’ve been taking it for almost two years now but I fought taking antidepressants for years. I tried them half-heartedly, forgot to take them more often than not and that was my proof that I didn’t need them or they didn’t work for me. With the help of a (very!) patient psychologist, I learned that I did need to take these medications. Within months of taking it, I stopped having my regular panic attacks. In fact, I can count on one hand how many panic attacks I’ve had in the past 18 months. These attacks were disabling me at one point, and now they’re as rare as can be. I still have moments of anxiety, but not to the point that I used to.

Celexa didn’t solve all my problems; there was a lot of work to get through. But I finally got it through my head that I need to take this medication. It’s not a choice to be made, it’s not a weakness or a failure. Now, I’m living my life as I should. I’m a better mother to my children, a better wife to my husband, and a better friend to my friends.

Depression is a disorder that needs to be taken seriously. If you suffer from depression, or you know someone who does, there is a way out of it. There really is a light at the end of the tunnel. I just wish I hadn’t waited so long to find it.


Today’s news:

Depression raises risk of death from many causes
Most asthma patients have uncontrolled disease
Clot-Busting Drug May Help Treat Frostbite