Patti's Blog - Advocate for Elders, People with Disabilities and Their Families

Study: Google Searches Reveal Mental Health Patterns

Excerpt from: The Atlantic (click for full article)

 

PROBLEM: Google overhyped the flu this year, which seemed to be a blow to the company's claim that it can track disease in real-time. Not to mention, the CDC was doing a fine job monitoring the virus's spread without the help of Google's search-based analysis. Traditional epidemiological surveillance techniques are less reliable, though, when it comes to mental illness, which remains complex and stigmatized enough that there's reason to believe people may be more comfortable consulting the Internet than their doctors.

RESULTS: In the U.S., inquiries about mental health dropped by 14 percent from winter to summer. The seasonal differences, for major mental illnesses, were as follows:

• Eating disorders: 37% 
• Schizophrenia: 37%
• Bipolar: 16%
• ADHD: 28%
• OCD: 18%
• Suicide: 24%
• Anxiety: 7%

Similar drops were seen in the Australian dataset. In fact, peaks and troughs in search volume between the two countries closely reflected one another -- while Americans enjoyed the decline in mental illness that appeared to come with lengthening days and warmer weather, the Australian winter signaled a rise in the very same:

Suicide Prevention Tools for Primary Care Providers

Excerpt from: SAMHSA.gov (click for full article)

 

Date/Time: Thursday, March 28, 2013, 1:00 – 2:30 pm EDT
Webinar Presenters: Peggy West, PhD, MSW, Senior Advisor, Suicide Prevention Resource Center; Mimi McFaul, PsyD, Director, WICHE Mental Health Program; Virna Little, PsyD, LCSW-R, SAP, Vice President for Psychosocial Services/Community Affairs, The Institute for Family Health
Target Audience: HRSA funded safety-net providers

Objectives: 

1. Information on suicide prevention trainings and resources available for primary care and clinical staff 
2.  Recommendations for how to implement at least one office protocol and how to access local resources for people at risk of suicide
3. Outcome data on how Community Health Centers trained in suicide prevention improved their knowledge, skills, and competency
4. Lessons from how one Community Health Center implemented suicide prevention protocols in their agency
   Up to 45% of individuals who die by suicide have visited their primary care physician within a month of their death; additional research suggests that up to 67% of those who attempt suicide receive medical attention as a result of their attempt. Given these statistics, primary care practices have enormous potential to prevent suicides and connect people to needed specialty care.

Equine Therapy: Can Working With Horses Reduce Suicide Risk?

Excerpt from: Psych Central (click for full article)

 

In 2008, at the East Mountain Youth Lodge, Dr. JoAnn Jarolmen, a social worker, conducted a pilot study on equine therapy for troubled youth. She studied 13 teenagers who took part in a program called HorseTime, founded by Kathy Krupa, an Equine Growth and Learning association certified instructor, and found that, after working with the horses, the teenagers were less angry and aggressive, improved their relationships with their parents and peers and had fewer suicidal tendencies.

And perhaps not surprisingly, the public is quite supportive of the idea of using horses to prevent suicide. Veteran Rescue Equine Therapy Ranch recently used Stay Classy, a crowd supported fundraising site to fund their equine therapy program, quickly reaching their target goal of $500,000.

A 2005 study conducted by a Masters student at Denver seminary for the degree of Counseling Psychotherapy also had similar findings, as at-risk adolescents, age 12-18 who participated in an equine-assisted therapy program demonstrated better psychosocial functioning compared to those who did not. While improved psychosocial functioning will not guarantee reduced suicide risk, it can certainly be considered to be associated with it.

 

Virginia Passes Digital Assets Law

Excerpt from: The Digital Beyond (click for full article)

 

Adding to the list of states that have passed laws pertaining to digital estates, the Virginia Legislature passed HB 1752 today affording parents of deceased minors access to their social media accounts.

While this law is only limited to minors, it represents a growing trend amongst consumers to take more control of their data. HB 1752 is a testament to the work of Ricky Rash, who took up the issue after his son Eric took his own life without any explanation. Rash hopes that Eric’s Facebook account will hold the some answers for him.

Rash told NBC 29, ”When you’re searching for answers and you’re hurting and you’re grieving, you need access, and you need some level of comfort that you’ve done everything you can to honor your loved one’s life.”

HB 1752 now goes to the governor’s desk for signature.

Princeton Attorney Anne Studholme to Testify on Behalf of Disability Groups in New Jersey Assembly Hearing on Assisted Suicide

Excerpt from: Not Dead Yet (click for full article)

 

On February 7, 2013, Princeton attorney Anne Studholme will testify on behalf of two national disability rights groups in a hearing held by the [New Jersey Assembly Health and Senior Services Committee on a proposed bill to legalize assisted suicide. Studholme will be representing Not Dead Yet and ADAPT, which oppose the legislation.

Assembly bill 3328, entitled the “[New Jersey Death With Dignity Act,” was introduced by Assemblymen John Burzichelli and Timothy Eustace on September 27, 2012 and is patterned after laws passed by ballot referenda in Oregon and Washington states.

Studholme’s testimony will emphasize the disability groups’ charge that assisted suicide legislation discriminates against old, ill and disabled people. According to her testimony:
“Central to the civil rights of people with disabilities is the idea that a disabling condition does not inherently diminish one’s life; rather, surrounding barriers and prejudices do so. In contrast, assisted suicide gives official sanction to the idea that life with a disabling condition is not worth living. It sets up a double standard for how state licensed professionals respond to someone who says they want to die, mandating suicide prevention for one group, authorizing suicide assistance for the other.”

Junior Seau's Family Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against NFL

Excerpt from: NPR (click for full article)

 

The family of former NFL linebacker Junior Seau has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the NFL, the Associated Press is reporting.

According to the wire service, Seau's family accuses the NFL of "acts or omissions" that "hid the dangers of repetitive blows to the head."

As we've reported, Seau committed suicide last May and a postmortem study of his brain by the National Institutes of Health found that he suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a disease associated with receptive injuries to the head.

The AP reports that the family also included the helmet manufacturer Riddell Inc. in the suit, claiming it was "negligent in their design, testing, assembly, manufacture, marketing, and engineering of the helmets."

Grief Over New Depression Diagnosis

Excerpt from: New York Times (click for full article)

 

First, the new volume revises some of the criteria for major depressive disorder. The D.S.M. IV (among other changes, the new manual swaps Roman numerals for Arabic ones) set out a list of symptoms that over a two-week period would trigger a diagnosis of major depression: either feelings of sadness or emptiness, or a loss of interest or pleasure in most daily activities, plus sleep disturbances, weight loss, fatigue, distraction or other problems, to the extent that they impair someone’s functioning.

Traditionally, depression has been underdiagnosed in older adults. When people’s health suffers and they lose friends and loved ones, the sentiment went, why wouldn’t they be depressed? A few decades back, Dr. Kupfer said, “what was striking to me was the lack of anyone getting a depression diagnosis, because that was ‘normal aging.’” We don’t find depression in old age normal any longer.

But critics of the D.S.M. 5 now argue that depression may become overdiagnosed, because this version removes the so-called “bereavement exclusion.” That was a paragraph that cautioned against diagnosing depression in someone for at least two months after loss of a loved one, unless that patient had severe symptoms like suicidal thoughts.

Painkiller Paradox: Feds Struggle To Control Drugs That Help And Harm

Excerpt from: NPR (click for full article)

 

Israel, who lives in Buffalo, N.Y., is now on a mission to prevent more people from dying from their addiction to prescription painkillers. And he's far from alone.

These drugs have been a godsend for millions of people in pain. But they are narcotics, which means they can make people high. As a result, they are abused by millions of people. And many patients who take them for pain become dependent.

"What we're seeing, increasingly, over the last few years has been widespread abuse, and the abuse just keeps increasing," says Joseph Rannazzisi of the Drug Enforcement Administration. "It's a huge problem. And I think we're at epidemic proportions right now."

Overdoses have been rising rapidly, now killing more than 15,000 Americans every year.

"It's not a white or black or Hispanic issue. It's not a male or female issue. It's everyone," Rannazzisi says. "We see kids as young as 12 years old, elderly patients."

U.S. Military's Suicide Rate Surpassed Combat Deaths In 2012

Excerpt from: NPR (click for full article)

 

The number of suicide deaths in the U.S. military surged to a record 349 last year — more than the 295 Americans who died fighting in Afghanistan in 2012. The numbers were first reported by the AP; NPR has confirmed them.

The new figures show that the number of military suicides rose from 2011, when 301 such deaths were reported. And people who work with veterans say the numbers could grow worse, as returning soldiers adjust to civilian life. The AP says the numbers are considered to be "tentative," pending review.

On All Things Considered, NPR's Pentagon correspondent Tom Bowman tells co-host Audie Cornish that the figures represent "active duty and reserve ... the largest portion were the active duty Army; 182 took their own lives in 2012."

Junior Seau Diagnosed With Disease Caused by Hits to Head: Exclusive

Excerpt from: ABC News (click for full article)

 

A team of independent researchers who did not know they were studying Seau's brain all concluded he suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative disease typically caused by multiple hits to the head.

"What was found in Junior Seau's brain was cellular changes consistent with CTE," said Dr. Russell Lonser, chairman of the Department of Neurological Surgery at Ohio State University, who led the study of Seau's brain while he was at NIH.

Patients with CTE, which can only be diagnosed after death, display symptoms "such as impulsivity, forgetfulness, depression, [and] sometimes suicidal ideation," Lonser said.

"I think it's a gamble," Gina Seau said. "Just be extremely aware of what could potentially happen to your life."