Lifeline Anxiety Disorder Newsletter |
News and views for people - and families of people - who suffer from the panic brought about by fears, anxieties and phobias. |
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October 29th - The genetic marker, Serotonin Transporter Promoter Polymorphism (5HTPP), has been demonstrated by Research funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC) in the UK, to have the capacity to predict when a child suffering from anxiety disorder will benefit from cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT). There are two forms of the 5HTTP gene - a short form and a long form. The short form has been shown in previous studies to predict which individuals are likely to be prone to depression when under stress and, more recently, it has been proposed that the short form influences how individuals respond to their environment. DNA was collected by researchers at the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College London from 359 children diagnosed with anxiety disorder. The children found to have a shorter version of the 5HTPP genetic marker were 20 per cent more likely to respond to CBT and to be free of their anxiety six months after the end of thetreatment. Having a short form of the gene can contribute to a child feeling more negative when things are stressful but on the other side of the equation, they are more responsive to the positive messages taught in CBT. A list of warning signs to help parents distinguish between normal childhood behaviour and real signs of mental health disorders has been published in the journal Pediatrics. To develop the list, mental health studies involving more than 6,000 children were reviewed and symptoms itemized to identify the majority of kids with specific mental health disorders. It is deliberately conservative in order not to create unnecessry alarm in parents. The warnings signs are as follows:
These signs are mental health disorder profiles, not specific diagnoses and,for accurate diagnoses, parents should see their primary health care provider. October 23rd - Jonathan Berent has just released a free e-book entitled CONVERSATION ANXIETY: Help for Those Who May Know “What to Say After You Say Hello” But Are Afraid to Say It. The 91-page book is available at www.socialanxiety.com, along with other valuable resources for anxiety sufferers and family members. Jonathan Berent is the co-author with Amy Lemley of Work Makes Me Nervous: Overcome Workplace Anxiety and Build the Confidence to Succeed (Wiley, 2010) and Beyond Shyness: How to Conquer Social Anxieties (Simon & Schuster, 1993). He pioneered psychotherapy for social anxiety, public speaking anxiety and performance anxiety and has been counselling sufferers directly and indirectly since 1978, working with thousands of individuals of all ages as individuals, families and in group therapy. October 23rd - A poll conducted on behalf of Canadian Psychological Association shows that Canadians, especially those in lower and middle income levels, face significant barriers when it comes to the cost of psychological services in Canada
Tabulated by income bracket, the data demonstrates costs are even more likely to represent a significant or very significant barrier for those in lower income brackets:
Support for the coverage of psychological services by public health plans proved very high with eighty-five per cent of Canadians saying that ensuring psychological services are covered by public health plans is either "very important" or "important". Despite suicide being the second leading cause of death among youth in Canada and more than 3000 Canadians dying each year from suicide, less than five per cent of research dollars are expended on its prevention. A Conservative private member's bill has been tabled for a suicide prevention framework to:
The Federal Liberals have tabled a motion for Government to fund a Suicide Prevention Strategy. They have posted a petition at petition.liberal.ca/suicide-prevention for members of the public to support the motion. The play and research study That's Just Crazy Talk, performed by actress, playwright and mental health educator, Victoria Maxwell, will be back in Toronto for an encore performance on November 12th at the Michael Young Theatre. The play explores the light and dark sides of living with bipolar disorder, anxiety and psychosis. After the performance, members of the audience can participate in a question and answer period with Ms. Maxwell. Tickets are free however you must register to attend - contact Neda Abedi via email at (416) 603-5800 ext. 2870 or register at www.rsvp.icontext.com. October 19th - An examination of shyness and social phobia rates among more than 10,000 teens aged 13 to 18 taking part in a national survey in the U.S., demonstrates that social phobia is not simply shyness that has been inappropriately medicalized as so many detractors claim. Researchers from the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health found that about half of the teens said they were shy, 12 percent of these self-reported shy teens and about 5 percent of those who said they weren't shy had met the criteria for social phobia during their lifetime. These findings indicate that shyness and social phobia are not necessarily related. The teens with social phobia proved more likely than other teens to also have another psychiatric disorder in their lifetime, for instance depression or drug use. They also had higher levels of impairment in relating to family, and to peers at school or work, but were not more likely than shy teens to be receiving professional treatment. While teens with social phobia were no more likely than shy teens to be taking prescription psychiatric medication, the rates of prescribed drugs were low for both shy teens and those with social phobia, paroxetine being taken by only 2.3 percent of teens with social phobia and 0.9 percent of shy teens. A National Institures of Mental Health news release on the study says, "...social phobia affects a minority of youth and only a fraction of those who consider themselves to be shy. In addition, despite the greater disability that youth with social phobia experience and the greater likelihood that they will have another disorder, they are not more likely to be getting treatment compared to their peers, questioning the notion that these youth are being unnecessarily medicated." Dr. Alan Manevitz, a clinical psychiatrist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, responded to news of the study with, "Social phobia can be limited to only one type of situation -- such as a fear of speaking in formal or informal situations, or eating or drinking in front of others -- or, in its most severe form, may be so broad that a person experiences symptoms almost anytime they are around other people. People with social phobia have a persistent, intense and chronic fear of being watched and judged by others and being embarrassed or humiliated by their own actions. The importance of identifying and treating those adolescents with social anxiety disorder is important as they have higher levels of impairment in multiple domains, including school/work ability, social life and family relationships." The study, which is widely reported this week, was published online October 17th ahead of being published in the journal Pediatrics. I, for one, am glad to see it so widely reported. While easier to explain than thirty years ago when it first impacted on the life of my life, I still have difficulty making people understand that the social phobia of members of my family is a 'real' disorder. October 16th - There is little research into the rituals of people with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and no very effective treatment. 60 per cent of people with OCD are also diagnosed with depression. Bianca Bucarelli, a PhD candidate at the University of Waterloo, is looking for more volunteers to participate in her research project to identify thoughts and actions that could predict an increase or decrease in stress in OCD sufferers as they perform their rituals. The lab is outiffited to look like a kitchen with a stove and othe kitchen furnishings including a double stainless steel sink. Bucarelli interviews the volunteers and has them to perform a task such as boiling water on the stove. As they perform their task, the volunteers wear a bicycle helmet outfitted with cameras that record where he or she is looking. There are other cameras hidden from view that record the movements of the volunteers. After completing their tasks, the participants are asked what factors during the session increased their anxiety and which eased them. Preliminary observations demonstrate that the rituals of the volunteers - the checking and rechecking to make sure the stove is off, for instance, actually make them ever less certain. Anyone diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder who is interested in participating in the study is asked to contact Bucarelli at 519-888-4567 ext. 38809 or visit the website anxietystudies.uwaterloo.ca Estimates are that 20 percent of returning U.S. troops will suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or major depression and these numbers are expected to grow as more troops come home from Iraq and Afghanistan. Researchers in Palo Alto are probing the brains of patients who lie in an MRI for several hours viewing a series of photographs - some harmless, some highly disturbing, and responding to instructions from technicians. The study is a joint effort between Stanford University and the Palo Alto Veterans Affairs and involves taking images of the brains of participants every two seconds throughout the task and analyzing that data afterwards to look at blood flow changes mapping the neural pathways involved in regulating emotion. After establishing a baseline, the patients undergo months of standard psychotherapy and the research team continues to map and remap their brain activity, learning to understand how the brain is repairing itself and learning to regulate damaging emotions. The information could allow doctors to formulate more precise recovery programs, and for veterans, perhaps deliver the promise of more effective treatments for PTSD. One possible therapy developed as part of the study involves the use ofmagnetic stimulation to activate the same neural pathways that are activated by standard psychotherapy, with the objective of duplicating or possibly accelerating the results. October 6th - The Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health (CAMIMH) hosted the Champions of Mental Health Awards at a gala event held at the Westin Hotel in Ottawa yesterday. The theme of the 2011 event is sharing and collaboration. Champions have spoken openly about their own experiences, advocated for much-needed research and supported programs encouraging diagnosis, treatment and care for those affected by mental illness across Canada. This year's champions are
October 5th - The Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) has published Evergreen: A Child and Youth Mental Health Framework for Canada. Evergreen reviews the problems that impact on the child and youth mental health system including services that fail to address the "whole-person", lack of access to needed services, too little research, stigma facing the youth affected and their families and funding disparities across the country. The values developed after extensive consultationare:
Strategic directions were also developed in collaboration with a comprehensive list of stakeholders and the Evergreen Advisory Committee. Child and youth mental health policy documents from around the world were sourced for input. Directions are categorized into promotion, prevention, intervention and ongoing care, research and evaluation. The Framework recommends that any mental health policy, plan, program or service include some, or all, of these strategic directions in their development. To read the entire publication, go to www.kec.mentalhealthcommission.ca. October 2nd - Mental Illness Awareness Week begins today. With nearly one in five Canadians affected by mental illness, the theme of Mental Illness Awareness Week continues to be Face Mental Illness - designed to change the persistent stigma that prevents millions from getting the help they need. Sharing their stories and bringing mental health out of the shadows this year are: Harmony Brown, a public speaker, mental health advocate and non-profit housing employee from Toronto, Ontario; Jeremy Bennett, an author, professional speaker and television personality from St. John’s, Newfoundland; Roberta Price, a mother, grandmother and member of the Coast Salish Peoples in Richmond, British Columbia; Shana Calixte a leader of a community organization, and a loving partner and parent from Sudbury, Ontario, who is completing her PhD in Women’s Studies at York University; and Steeve Hurdle, a support worker at a homeless shelter in Sherbrooke, Québec. By sharing their stories, the courageous "faces" of our campaign are helping bring mental illness out from the shadows. Their experiences are proof that through proper diagnosis, treatment and awareness, people with mental illnesses can live productive and fulfilling lives. Researchers at the University of California San Francisco have discovered that post-traumatic stress (PTSD) can lead to a dangerous increase in the immune response in women, triggering inflammation and leading to such conditions as cardiovascular disease and arthritis. Blood was taken from 67 people, 34 of whom had PTSD and 33 serving as a control group. There was no evidence of increased immune activation among the men in the test but the PTSD women showed significant evidence of immune activation compared to the women without the disorder. People with PTSD are know to have higher rates of cardiovascular disease and arthritis, which are associated with chronic inflammation but previous studies have not looked at men and women separately. This is the first evidence that men and women respond differently. While it is not yet known why, the results warn us that PTSD could increase the risk for disorders like arthritis cardiovascular disease, cancer and other diseases of ageing. |