Friday, July 25, 2008

Beyond Blue: The Last Lecture: 5 Evergreen Lessons

Therese Borchard writes in Beyond Blue:

It seems like the closer one is to death, the more genuine one becomes. The more courageous one is to speak your truth, and nothing but the truth.

This was certainly the case with Randy Pausch, diagnosed with incurable pancreatic cancer in September of 2006, who died today at his home in Virginia.

A few months back, a friend sent me the video of his last lecture at Carnegie Mellon and I viewed it with the other millions of people in cyberspace. But unlike all the other lists of "10 things you need to know to be happy" I get in my inbox, his lessons stuck. I keep coming back to them, especially when I'm with my kids, pulling out my hair and begging the universe to send me a silent moment. THEN I will be happy.

This professor didn't care about silent moments. Or a promotion to the dean of the college. Or a Porsche in the driveway. He saw beauty in the moment, even as he was dying. He celebrated his life to the end.

This man was all about joy. Finding it. Savoring it. Sharing it. Believing in it.

I guess that's why he so impressed me. As a person struggling with chronic depression and anxiety, I have trouble getting to the joy. I stop short of the curtain, afraid to pull it up and realize that it's been right in front of me.

Even though it has been at least four months since I saw his video, I remember very well these lessons:

1.Tell the truth.
Doing so will simplify your life. Harder in the short run, yes, but honesty leads to intimacy and life is about connection to one another, the shared experiences we have with friends and family. Now I'm not sure if the professor meant that when your wife asks you if you look fat in a pair of jeans, that you need to say yes, but I do agree with him that you absolutely have to spit out the real story when you want to tuck it into the pockets of those unflattering jeans. Because by doing so will grace your marriage, your friendships, all your relationships in the end.


2. Say sorry when you're wrong.
Of course when you speak the truth, you divulge some less than perfect moments for which you need to apologize. And then move on. What a different world we would have if everyone who made a mistake said sorry and asked for forgiveness. No scapegoats. No excuses. Just a simple "Sorry. I did the wrong thing."

3. Dream and dream big.
A large part of Pausch's lecture was about pursuing your childhood dreams, and how these dreams need to be specific. For him, that was: playing in the NFL, authoring an article in the encyclopedia, winning stuffed animals, meeting Captain Kirk, being a Disney imagineer. And some of them came true. I couldn't help but think of my own dad when he spoke about how important dreams are ... even the seemingly shallow and unattainable ones. My dad wanted to be on a first-name basis with Frank Sinatra. Guess who sent a floral bouquets to his funeral? Frank and Barbara Sinatra.

4. Have fun and play more.
What a divine sense of humor this man had. His playful spirit was so charming throughout the lecture--the audience breaking into hysteria and laughter--that you almost forgot he was dying. Of all my tools to combat stress-especially the stress of dealing with manic depression--humor is by far the most fun. And just like mastering the craft of writing, I'm finding that the longer I practice laughing at life (especially at its frustrations) the better I become at it, and the more situations and conversations and complications I can place into that category named "silly."

5. Live today fully.
This one Pausch nearly perfected. And it's by far the most difficult for me. Because it means relinquishing some control over the future and letting things happen as they are meant to happen. It means believing in the miracle of the loaves and fishes--that there will be enough, even though it certainly doesn't look that way. This lesson requires fretting less and trusting more. And it means recognizing the joy that is before you--tuning into it like today is the last day of your life.

God bless you, Randy. Thank you for your beautiful spirit, and your evergreen lessons.

Beyond Blue: Larry Parker and Rain

Therese Borchard writes in Beyond Blue:  "The other day I invited you to write your own "This I Believe" essay like the ones read over NPR. Beyond Blue reader Larry Parker/Doxieman122 (who is a candidate for the Member of the Month) blew me away with his. I hope you submitted it to NPR, by the way, Larry! You can find others by checking out the "This I Believe" discussion thread at Group Beyond Blue at Beliefnet's Community. Thanks for such a great read!"


Dear Father in heaven, I'm not a praying man, but if you're up there and you can hear me [as he cries] show me the way... show me the way. - George Bailey, "It's a Wonderful Life"

There is a reason, I think, that rain is used as a metaphor for our tears and sadness. It's a Biblical metaphor on numerous occasions - "the rain falls on the just and the unjust." A hint of sadness helps us remember the sweetness in life, just as rain helps grow the crops; but a flood of rain drowns the crops as in Iowa right now.

I've never experienced a scene in a movie with more desperation than Jimmy Stewart sitting at Martini's bar after learning that Uncle Billy has lost the BaileyBuilding and Loan's money and he will be arrested for embezzlement. But I've experienced that level of desperation routinely - every few months - for more than a dozen years - thanks to my bipolar disorder.

Yet of course, in "It's a Wonderful Life," George's suicidalness isn't the end; it's the beginning. George, of course, let go his own solipsism, on the verge of jumping off a bridge, when he saw a drowning man he felt a primal urge to save - who turned out to be his otherworldly savior.

Realizing such things can happen, I believe, is how you survive the unsurvivable. And that's something I've come to believe as well about life as well as near-death.

I guess I could be pretty pissed off about what happened to me... but it's hard to stay mad, when there's so much beauty in the world. Sometimes I feel like I'm seeing it all at once, and it's too much, my heart fills up like a balloon that's about to burst... And then I remember to relax, and stop trying to hold on to it, and then it flows through me like rain and I can't feel anything but gratitude for every single moment of my stupid little life... You have no idea what I'm talking about, I'm sure. But don't worry... you will someday. - Lester Burnham, "American Beauty."

In the story, of course, Lester (played by Kevin Spacey) says this when his heart had literally burst - he had just been murdered by his neighbor, Colonel Frank Fitts, played by Chris Cooper.

The famous closing monologue of "American Beauty," to me, wonderfully illustrates the frontier between the rain of depression and the dream of hope. The question is, how do you realize that before death?

Read the rest of the article ...

Thursday, July 24, 2008

ABC News: 'They're Like Us,' Elephant Researchers Say

From Kenya to Tennessee, Elephants With PTSD Symptoms Are Finding Some Peace

By KIMBERLY LAUNIER




There is something startling about an elephant's eyes.

Their fiery amber color seems to blaze against the surrounding skin's burlap creases. An ancient face, lined with history, but it is the eyes that convey the generational knowledge of the species. They offer a glimpse into what researchers now say is a surprising level of consciousness. It is one of many reasons why the place elephants hold in our imaginations is both epic, and wondrous.


Watch the story Friday on "20/20" at 10 p.m. ET


"There are things about elephants that seem so similar to us. Their family life, their emotional life, the fact that they grieve. They stand out from other animals," said Gay Bradshaw, director of a research institute called The Kerulos Center .


'They're Like Us'


Field scientists have studied the special bonds of elephant herds for decades. Family members mourn their dead, even gently caressing the jawbones of their ancestors during grieving rituals.

Filmmakers have also documented moments of pachyderm heroism, as when a herd of adult females rescued a baby elephant that had fallen into a mud hole, remarkably forming their own team of first responders.

And in a poignant demonstration of similarity to humans, an elephant named Happy at New York's Bronx Zoo recently joined the ranks of self-aware species that includes humans, apes and dolphins. Happy showed scientists something profound when she passed the test for self-recognition: An understanding that the elephant in the mirror was her.

"I think the real shock right now, in terms of the mirror self-recognition tests and their intelligence and their emotions is, they're like us. It's not that they're way up there. It's that they're on level footing with us," said Bradshaw.

But even as science holds a mirror to our similarities, in recent years researchers have observed a violent change in elephant-human relations after decades of peaceful coexistence.

"Humans are regarded as the enemy. You must never, ever be cruel to an elephant because they have an amazing memory. They will remember that for life. And they bear grudges," said Daphne Sheldrick, a renowned wild elephant expert and director of The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.

'An Elephant Can Be Traumatized'


Creatures who seem to share the best of what makes us human are now revealing they are also capable of the worst.

One of the most terrifying cases took place in a circus tent in 1994, when Tyke, an African elephant, mauled her groomer and trainer.

It was a modern-day version of King Kong eerily come to life, when Tyke escaped into the streets of downtown Honolulu, seeking refuge from the gathering armies of law enforcement, until she was eventually gunned down. It took 87 bullets.

"The Tyke footage is particularly disturbing when you look through the eyes of the science, because you understand the behavior that Tyke displays is someone who is incredibly stressed, someone who is so traumatized and so upset. It's very un-elephant like behavior," said Bradshaw.

Elephants have ample reason to fear humans. In the last century their population has been decimated, from an estimated 10 million in the early 1900s to half a million now.

They are slaughtered for the ivory and sport hunting trades, or captured for zoos and circuses. Generations of orphaned herds have become broken, so unlike themselves -- now aggressive and depressed. Bradshaw and her fellow researchers have made a diagnosis that was once thought to be uniquely human: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

"To diagnose an elephant with PTSD is novel, but that's because we have denied elephants the capacity of having a mind, having emotions. All the neuroscience says, yes, it's there, and the behavior confirms it," Bradshaw said.

Bradshaw and her colleagues published these startling findings in the journal Nature.

"How an elephant can be traumatized is seeing, for example, their mother killed with a gun. It's a huge shock," Bradshaw said. "Being taken away from their family, taken away from the herd and put into captivity."

For many elephant orphans, surviving capture is only the beginning of their journey out of Africa, and into a new heart of darkness.

"The trauma stays with the elephant when they're in captivity. They adapt to the life. That's a survival mechanism. Just like human prisoners. Some people can survive, some people cannot," Bradshaw said.


Orphaned Elephants Find Refuge


Sheldrick said she has seen how the elephants change. "When you look at a miserable captive in a zoo, you're not seeing an elephant. You're seeing a tragedy," Sheldrick said.

A tragedy for what elephants have experienced, such as dominance training sessions in some facilities, and what they have not: the space to roam without boundaries.

"One hundred miles is a little stroll to an elephant. You can never give an elephant enough space in a zoo. It's like putting a human being in a matchbox for life," Sheldrick said.

For the last 30 years Sheldrick has been rescuing baby elephants orphaned and traumatized by the bloodshed of poachers.

"When they come in, newly orphaned, they have nightmares at night. They wake up screaming," said Sheldrick, who has become a surrogate mother at The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Nairobi, Kenya, her orphanage for elephants. "The elephants have been the greatest challenge that I've had to face. Because at any age an elephant duplicates a human. When you take on an elephant, it's actually a lifetime's job."

Sheldrick and her devoted team nurture the babies back to physical health by feeding them milk every three hours, and back to emotional health by teaching them how to play and bond with new friends.

The keepers even sleep with the orphans at night, becoming a surrogate human family so that one day the elephants will be strong in spirit, and ready to join wild herds again.

"They have to be psychologically sound, because the wild elephants don't want a problem," said Sheldrick.

But there are some babies Sheldrick can't save. Elsewhere in the world, nursing elephants are separated from their mothers, their spirits broken in secret training camps so they can be taught to give tourists rides.

For decades, animals in the entertainment industry have been made to perform behaviors never seen in the wild, and the weight of captivity is bearing down on even the mightiest of animals.

"They're essentially very gentle animals. So for an elephant to become aggressive and kill a human, you have to understand how badly he's been treated by humans to be able to pluck up the courage to do that," Sheldrick said.


Healing in Tennessee


But something revolutionary is happening in the flatlands of Tennessee. Deep roars can be heard through trees that shield neighbors from an unlikely sight, one that is hidden from the main roads. A kind of asylum exists for previously dangerous or deprived elephants in captivity, now living the rest of their lives here in the semi-wild. Driving past the perimeter fences, an awareness that huge animals are nearby and unseen evokes comparisons to Jurassic Park, but with a therapeutic mission. The Elephant Sanctuary, a private nonprofit organization in Hohenwald, Tenn., spans 2,700 acres of forests and spring-fed ponds.

This is a last refuge for elephants broken by humans, and they are here to heal. But doing so requires the elephants' ultimate act of trust in humans.

On a recent visit, ABC News correspondent Elizabeth Vargas was chaperoned inside the gates to discover an intimate world.

"She has her ears out so she's checking it out. And since she's the matriarch it's her job to make sure that everything is safe. It's a sign of trust and intimacy," said Carol Buckley as she approached an elephant named Shirley.

Buckley and Scott Blais, co-founders of The Elephant Sanctuary, establish trust with the animals, guided in part by the new theory that if humans and elephants can both suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, maybe we can also share the hope for recovery.

"What we have learned, and what we have seen, without a doubt, they are experiencing some level of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder," said Blais.

Creating a safe environment is vital to the progress made at the sanctuary, where 17 former circus and zoo elephants walk without chains or threat of abuse.

Applying techniques used to treat humans suffering from PTSD, Buckley and Blais research how these elephants have been stressed in the past, their responses, and tailor the sanctuary's programs to help each one.

Elephants once dangerous and isolated in captivity discover how to play again with new friends.

"They operate on a much deeper plane than we do, and you can't help but be fascinated with that," said Blais.

It's a sentiment Buckley shares.

"I think that's what happens with people who are around elephants. There's some profound connection that is made that is deeper than we have ever experienced before," she said.





NPR: The Sights and Sounds of Schizophrenia

Aug. 29, 2002 -- The textbook description of schizophrenia is a listing of symptoms: delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech and behavior. But what does schizophrenia really feel like? NPR's Joanne Silberner reports on a virtual reality experience that simulates common symptoms of the mental illness.


Read the rest of the report:
 
Listen to the story:

Boston Herald.com: ‘Sopranos’ star tackles issue of mental illnes

By Tenley Woodman

Photo by Ted Fitzgerald

Paging Dr. Melfi.
Former “Sopranos” bad guy Joe Pantoliano wants to whack the stigma from mental illness.
The actor was at McLean Hospital in Belmont last week interviewing doctors and patients for a documentary about clinical depression in America and the roadblocks to recovery.

Pantoliano, who was diagnosed with depression three years ago, founded the nonprofit organization No Kidding, Me Too! to help counter the negative image surrounding mental health issues. The documentary is part of that effort.

“Why is it I’m discriminated against when I take the anti-depressants, but not when I take the Lipitor? The culture is OK with me taking an erectile dysfunction remedy, but not with the (anti-depressants),” said Pantoliano between shooting scenes.

According to the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression, 18.8 million adult Americans suffer from depression.

Despite his recent diagnosis, Pantoliano said he had been dealing with depression for years before he sought help.

“I remember having my first nervous breakdown when I was 21 years old,” said the 56-year-old father of three. “I was on my knees, which was called for in the play. I got so frustrated that during the scene I started banging my head against the floor and I scratched my face and I broke skin and drew blood.”

“I had a panic attack, something I used to see my mother do all the time,” he said.

While at McLean, Pantoliano underwent a brain scan to compare a healthy brain with one of a depressed person.

The work being done in the neurology department at McLean Hospital is just one part of the story Pantoliano wants to tell in the documentary.

“If my insurance company were willing to pay for my treatment of $1,200 month, $14,000 a year for my mental health, it’s like putting a pacemaker in my heart. My research is telling me that if there is a bad guy in any of this it is the insurance companies,” said the New Jersey native.

Pantoliano said that despite his celebrity and numerous film credits, even he cannot afford the coverage he needs.

For more information go to nokiddingmetoo.org.

Mirror.co.uk: Brain clue to mental illness

The brains of men and women are wired differently and could explain why they suffer different mental illnesses, say scientists.


They measured 45 areas and found the frontal lobe, for decisions and problem-solving, was bigger in women.

Men were bigger in areas used for space perception, social and sexual behaviour.

Women are more likely to suffer depression from a lack of serotonin, while boys are more likely to have autism due to a hormone in the brain, New Scientist mag said.

London Times Online: Mental illness in the limelight at Bonkersfest

Celebrity confessions, candid blogs and even a festival are pushing mental illness into the limelight

For the most part, Liz Spikol’s videos on YouTube come across as light-hearted and quirky. In one, she pinches her chin to demonstrate her weight gain; in another, she muses on what it meant for her relationship when she lost her libido. Yet Spikol, 40, executive editor and columnist of Philadelphia Weekly, is talking about what it’s like to live with bipolar disorder, a condition she has suffered from since her twenties.



Spikol is part of a growing movement of people who suffer from serious mental illness and are willing to talk honestly and publicly about their condition. She is articulate and successful, and this is part of the point. In books, lectures and blogs, Americans, particularly women, are gathering to fight the stigma of “the mad woman in the attic” and show they can live successful lives.


Now, this confessional trend is gathering momentum in Britain.


In London, a group of people who self-consciously refer to themselves as “mad” are getting together for a day-long festival on Saturday, aptly named Bonkersfest. It bills itself as a celebration of madness, creativity, individuality and eccentricity, “bonkers celebrations for everyone — bonkers or not”.

So Dolly Sen, 37, an artist and writer, will spend the day trying to screw a light bulb into the sky because “the world is dark enough as it is”. There will also be a moving padded cell, a de-normalisation programme, and performance art by Bobby Baker featuring seven adults dressed as frozen peas.


Does it sound a bit crazy? Well, that’s the point. “There’s a history of many artists and writers being diagnosed with mental illness,” says Baker. “People who were unusual and different used to be more celebrated and accommodated, but now there’s a tremendous amount of fear. I feel people like me have a sensitivity and creativity that is very valuable, as well as an enormous sense of humour about the whole thing.”


Bonkersfest was set up by the arts organisation Creative Routes, whose stated aim is to celebrate the creativity of mad people and campaign against discrimination. Certainly, many actors and comedians with mental health issues have talked about their problems. Ruby Wax, who has suffered from depression, will perform a monologue on mental health issues at the Edinburgh Festival in August. Stephen Fry has written about his experience of bipolar, and Hugh Laurie and Emma Thompson have admitted battling mental demons.


Yet for an ordinary person, without the protective glamour of celebrity, it can be much harder to talk about mental illness. “You feel ashamed,” says Sen. “It feels like something that should be hidden. Since I’ve been involved with Bonkersfest, my confidence has gone through the roof. It’s so empowering to be with people who understand you because they’ve been exactly where you’ve been, and you know they won’t judge you.”


Sen has certainly been in some dark places. When she started hearing voices at the age of 14, her life “stopped in its tracks”. Before that, she remembers doing well academically and playing football for her school, but once she became ill, she was taken out of class and offered no further education. For the next 15 years, she was on different kinds of medication and in and out of hospital in what she describes as a “horrible kind of life”. Eventually, the right medication was found, and three years ago, she was offered cognitive-behavioural therapy tailored to psychosis. “It has changed my life,” she says. “I still hear voices and get twinges of paranoia, but I am able to stall those thoughts.” Now she is studying film at university and feels in control of her life.


Baker refuses to say what her diagnosis is and prefers to call herself “bonkers”. “The trouble with labels is that people are very judgmental about those who are different,” she explains. She remembers when she decided to start talking more openly about her problems. “I had a show at the Barbican and thought I was established enough for it to be fine, but I heard a woman say she couldn’t get any of her friends to come because they didn’t want to see ‘some weird madwoman on stage’. I was shocked.”


For Spikol, the experience of talking and writing about her illness has been immensely powerful. “I got lucky with my editor,” she says. “Some people tell their employer about their problems and they get fired. I was asked to write a column. I was nervous about revealing what had happened to me, but the response has been so supportive, it has shown me it is worth writing about.”


Spikol’s symptoms started when she was 18. Initially, she suffered mainly from hallucinations. She was convinced there were cockroaches living in her mattress at university, so she slept on the floor. She managed to graduate, with a lot of support, but by the time she started her doctorate, she was too ill to continue. Eventually, she was given electroconvulsive therapy.


In one of Spikol’s more serious YouTube videos, you get a sense of what that must have been like. She holds up an adult nappy to demonstrate what she had to wear. Patients are also given mouth guards to stop them biting off their tongues. The treatment didn’t help, and it left her so profoundly disconnected from herself that she couldn’t even remember how to wash her hair.


Finally she was given medication that worked, and over the past 10 years, she has felt relatively stable and is in a committed relationship. “My previous relationships were unstable,” she says. “It’s hard for anybody to deal with somebody who is emotionally inconsistent. I went out with damaged people; it was like we found each other in the storm. For the past four years, I’ve been in a healthy, normal relationship. I met my boyfriend through friends, and because of my column, he already knew about my condition.”


She is less preoccupied with the labelling issue than many of the performers at Bonkersfest, and is happy to talk about bipolar disorder. She would rather focus on recovery, survival and being well. “I know some people feel that being mad is a gift to be proud of, but if somebody approached me and said, ‘I have a cure for bipolar disorder,’ I would take it right away. I don’t think the condition is an achievement, I think the way I live with it is an achievement.”


Ultimately, whatever the differences of the people within this movement, what they are all trying to do is reduce stigma, improve care and establish a more open conversation about mental illness — even if it means calling yourself bonkers and dressing up as a frozen pea.


Bonkersfest: bonkersfest.com





The Ottawa Citizen: Mental illness a crisis with no end in sight

Donna Jacobs

The Ottawa Citizen


A Canadian authority on mental health in the workplace tells people it's time to put down their BlackBerries -- and their cellphones, too. And leave them down for a few days.

"Turn your back on the e-mail system for a particular part of the day," Bill Wilkerson advises.

"Leave it to tomorrow. Next time you want to e-mail somebody, think twice. Consider going to their office."

BlackBerries, he says, are ruining business protocols by being "an incredibly cryptic and sometimes insulting short form of communicating."

They bypass human contact with its crucial body language, they isolate people and, he says simply, "isolation predicts depression."

People are increasingly isolated, he says, even in crowded rooms, in big buildings full of people.

Under the bombardment of random requests, he says, "risk aversion has turned into responsibility aversion."

He says that nearly one in four Canadians will have a period of mental illness at some point -- well above the global average -- a medical condition dominated by depression.

Mental illness is a national crisis, he says: a disabling or killing disease with rates rising exponentially and no containment strategy in sight.

Mr. Wilkerson is at home with crises.

He has served as business manager for the NHL and CFL and for the Toronto Blue Jays, executive assistant to the minister of energy, mines and resources; adviser to the Ontario minister of industry and trade; chief of staff to former Toronto mayor Art Eggleton and as former president/CEO of Liberty Health insurance.

He now serves as special adviser on neuroeconomics for the Institute of Mental Health at McGill University and works with policing agencies, Canadian Forces and Veterans Affairs on mental health matters.

"The locus of mental illness is an intensified assault on the brain -- from five-second TV advertisements, from immediacy of information, from expectation of instantaneous results on the job, in investments, in lifestyle changes, in fast-track learning," he says. "We have turned the world upside down."

Are we frying our brains? "Absolutely. We are putting our resilience on the line and once we do that, there is no fall-back position. Frustration and rumination -- seething -- are the two major social effects of chronic job stress. They are a prelude to depression."

During the course of his work, Mr. Wilkerson has been instrumental in convincing Canada's CEOs (and, most recently, Prime Minister Stephen Harper) to tackle the growing incidence of mental illness that costs Canadians more than $50 billion a year.

Public servants are asking for sick time and disability time, or struggling on the job, in steeply rising numbers, he says.

These days, he is meeting with federal deputy ministers and RCMP Commissioner William Elliott to set strategy for the Mental Health Commission of Canada.

"The real question for the federal workplace," Mr. Wilkerson says, "is this: 'Is it difficult or hopeless in your mind to get routine things done routinely?'

"If everything is tough, then your workplace is too crowded with too much stuff.

"You've got to understand the migratory sequence between stress, burnout and depression. Chronic stress makes everything urgent and everything a priority. Burnout is the graduation to another level where nothing is a priority and frankly you've begun to tune out. That can lead to a brain response which produces symptoms of depression.

"Depression is the emptying out of our sense of control, our sense of place. It undermines our immune systems. It excretes hormones in hugely excessive volumes and it attacks our cardiovascular health."

What is the solution in the workplace?

"The solution is the cornerstone of good old-fashioned management, which is based on human decency, clear thinking, open communications. The other cornerstone is clarity of purpose and function. When those two things go missing, bad practices replace them."

This year is the 10th anniversary of the Global Business and Economic Roundtable on Addiction and Mental Health, a non-profit think-tank he co-founded with former finance minister Michael Wilson, now Canada's ambassador to the U.S. and Roundtable chairman.

Mr. Wilkerson and Mr. Wilson have lost family to mental illness. Mr. Wilson's 29-year-old son, Cameron, took his life in 1995. Mr. Wilkerson's father, James Earl Wilkerson, was hospitalized several times with paranoia.

Mr. Wilkerson once put his loss starkly in one of hundreds of speeches he's given around the world.

"Depression killed two members of my family," he said. "One with a blood clot, the other, a gun.

"In 2004, my older brother, Bob, died alone at home. Official cause of death: heart failure. More to the point, he was killed by his depressed mood. Having recently lost his wife to cancer, he abandoned his blood thinners and anti-depressant medication.

"In 1979, my ex-wife used a small revolver her brother gave her for protection against the night to put a bullet in her brain -- while she was stirring a pot of spaghetti sauce, her specialty. Separated, not divorced, we were still close.

"Depression and other forms of mental illness are not invisible, impossible to diagnose or -- as some popular mythology would have it -- imaginary.

"Imagination didn't kill my brother or my wife. With a blood clot and a gun, depression did that."

Last week, in this interview, Mr. Wilkerson set out Canada's two most compelling mental illness demographics.

The most vulnerable are children, he said, who are susceptible because their brains are still forming. They're especially vulnerable to those stronger than they are. They're soaking up impressions, pressures and, sadly, the effects of being neglected, abused, treated inhumanely.

The average age for anxiety onset in Canadian children is 12, for depression it's 21 and for substance abuse it's 18, he says.

The second demographic is people in their 20s, 30s and 40s -- "men and women in their absolute prime working and earning and living years.

"You've got teachers who are at a higher-than-national-average rate of depression and stress-related absence. And you have parents who are taking stress-related absence from work in record numbers.

"The kids get it at both ends of their day."

How the country responds is, he says, "a challenge to the integrity of Canadian values, the Canadian health care system and our sense of right and wrong. It's that fundamental."

He says that friendship, family support and basic human love are just as important as medical treatment to a mentally ill person's survival and recovery.

His advice to those distressed? "Don't suffer alone. Reach out."

And his advice to the spouse, relative, co-worker: "Reach back."

The Korea Times: More Office Workers Suffer Mental Illness

By Bae Ji-sook

Staff Reporter

With the business world becoming ever more complex and competitive, more people are suffering from various mental illnesses due to work-related stress, government data showed Wednesday. While women tended to suffer more human relation-related problems at work, men were seen to be more vulnerable to the stress of work itself.
The number of those diagnosed with depression or other mental illnesses has steadily risen. It jumped to 354,221 in 2007 up from 163,213 in 2000, according to the National Health Insurance Corp.

Competition among peers ㅡ thriving for promotion or having to achieve various work-related targets ㅡ drove office workers to severe stress. Researchers classed this as ``Acute Stress.''

``The key reason to mental disease is stress. Workers should always try to effectively control their workload
and tell themselves not to rush,'' Psychiatrist Kang Hee-chan said.

The number of male office workers suffering mental illness doubled to 212,883 in 2007 from 114,579 in 2000, with the number of females increasing threefold to 141,338.

It was mostly the workload or the work itself giving stress to males. They said they couldn't bear the stress of having to stay late at work or not being able to go home; or dealing with large amounts of hard work. They mostly had ``insecurity'' issues.

Men in their 30-50s were the most common sufferers. About 3.7 percent of those in their 40s and 50s had such symptoms.

On the other hand, women couldn't stand the stress of conflict and tension caused by relations in the office.

``I had this boss always picking on me and teasing me. Whenever she came near me, I started getting nervous. I had indigestion problems and had to take some therapy,'' 31-year-old office worker Yang said. ``I had to take medication for that. I couldn't quit the job, though.'' Yang said she has been taking medicine for the past two months.

Another worker at a perfume manufacturer said she has been in therapy for over a year. ``I am rather a quiet person. But office life was all about being vibrant and having to laugh all day with people. It took me a year to assure myself that I could be friends with my teammates,'' she confessed.

bjs@koreatimes.co.kr

Science Friday: Treating Depression

Depression's not just in your head. The condition is characterized by periods of weeks at a time of a persistent sad, anxious, or "empty" mood, feelings of hopelessness, pessimism, guilt, worthlessness, and helplessness. Depressed people may find that they no longer get pleasure from or are interested in hobbies and activities that they once enjoyed. Over 20 million people in the United States are said to suffer from depression. In this segment, we'll talk about what the condition is and what can be done about it. Conventional therapies for depression involve medications and talk therapy, often used in combination. But is that approach the only way out of depression?

In his new book, "Unstuck," psychiatrist James Gordon says depression is not a disease, and that most people don't need drugs to feel better. In this segment, Ira talks with Gordon, and "Listening to Prozac" author psychiatrist Peter Kramer, about depression and its treatment, and when drugs might be needed.

To listen to the story, or get more information on guests and related links, click here ...

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

The Last Psychiatrist: He's Not Yelling At You Because He's Angry

From The Last Psychiatrist:


I.

What happened is this: the junior lawyer messed up. Two years ago, he was supposed to do X, but instead did Y, because back then that's what he thought he was supposed to do.

In retrospect, it was poor judgment, but that's the way it went down.

Two years later all hell breaks loose, as they say, and Tom gets a call at his house at 8pm from one of the partners who is having a seizure. "Do you remember blah blah blah? You did X? How could you do X? Do you realize what you've done?"

Thing is, in those intervening two years about a thousand other similar X/Y scenarios have passed through his desk, he neither remembers blah blah blah, nor even at what point in his career he stopped doing X and started doing Y. Do you remember saying "aminal" instead of "animal?" same thing.

The next day he's pulled in before a bunch of junior partners and a bunch of senior partners and his junior partner lays into him: poor judgment, disastrous results, "this was a major client of the general counsel!" consequences, retributions, "this kind of thing will follow you around for the rest of your life!" and "I can't even protect myself, let alone you!" and on and on.

And its an old and primitive reaction to this kind of thing, he withdraws, he apologizes, he admits the mistake, he is guilty and ashamed but also powerless, what can he do? He starts to fantasize about getting out of here, about AAPL going to 300, about writing the novel, about hitting the guy in the throat with the head of the other guy, but ultimately he comes back to his own embarrassment. He wonders, can I get reported to the bar for this? I didn't think so, but maybe? he slinks back to his desk, beaten.

It's true: he ruined Christmas.

II.

But let's take a closer look.

They are yelling at him because they want him to eat it, to take it, all of it, leaving no room for doubt that it wasn't all his fault. Not in reality, but psychologically. He takes all the blame, but more importantly, when he does, he accepts it. That's the move. The partner is yelling because he wants the guy to accept all the responsibility; and as he does, the partner will start to believe it himself. You're to blame means I'm not to blame.

Here's how you handle a madman in a tirade: you point to the sand-- and the line you put there. You interrupt him, stop him dead in his tracks, and say this: I absolutely messed this up, I accept it. But let me be clear about something: I wasn't being lazy or sloppy-- I did what I thought was the correct thing, it was just wrong. Ok, I accept that. But the next part is this: if this is so important, why did no one notice it for two years? My work is supposed to be monitored, right? Ultimately, the junior partner is responsible for my work, right? Did it not occur to anyone that this very important client of the general counsel's-- no one thought to ask, hey, where's blah blah blah? What happened with blah blah blah? Who was working on it? Did they do X or Y? No one checked up on this very important matter?

Look, I'll do anything necessary to fix it, whatever you need me to do I'll do it. But I'm only taking responsibility for my mistake, not for the two intervening years that this important matter was not important enough for anyone to ever ask me a question about it.

How was I able to ruin Christmas?

III.

The guy doesn't want to say this, he thinks it will make things worse, because when his Dad yelled at him, anything he said would make it worse. So he just shut down, shut up.

He's worried that if he gets fired and tries to apply for a new job, when they call the old firm the junior partner will malign him to the new bosses. Wrong. He's going to malign you anyway, but if you've accepted all responsibility, and he has convinced himself that you bear all responsibility, then he'll actually rip you worse. Your only protection is to draw a line in the sand, my buck stops here. So when he tries to slam you to the prospective employer on the phone, he'll be consciously aware that he screwed up as well. "Tom sucks as an employee, but it turns out I suck as a manager. So, take that into consideration."

IV.

None of this applies if you're actually the boss.

When you are the superior, the boss, the father, whatever, then yelling insanely is never the right move. If your subordinate screwed up, then you screwed up. The buck is always yours no matter where it stops. "Ok, we screwed up, here's what we need to do to fix it, and to prevent it from happening again..."

V.

But there are a group of people who cultivate yelling as a strategy. It's not their nature to yell, they didn't do it before in their lives. They're not doing it despite their position in life, they're doing it because of their position in life. A position that was supposed to automatically define them, but turned out empty. "(I thought being a junior partner would mean something.)" Nope.

They are yelling to communicate something about their identity. They're sending you a message. Not how angry they are, but rather that they are very important. They yell about this not because this is a big deal, but because they are so important, so pivotal, such a huge player that there is so much on them that this is "yet another thing". No, it's true, I'm huge, I'm an attending in a major hospital for Christ's sake, if you knew how much I have to worry about-- look how I yell at the med student, the cashier, the telemarketer, I'm stressed out because I'm matter.

External validation of identity almost always means: an existence without meaning.

The Writer’s Almanac: “Someone I Cared For” by Cid Corman


Someone I cared for

Someone I cared for
put it to me: Who
do you think you are?

I went down the list
of all the manypossibilities
carefully — did it
twice — but couldn't find
a plausible one.

That was when I knew for the first time who
in fact I wasn't.

"Someone I cared for" by Cid Corman, from And The Word. © Coffee House Press, 1987.

Neurisprudence: Judges and Neuroscience

By Jyotpal Singh in Neurisprudence

Judges are now being educated about neuroscience. The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in conjunction with the National Conference of Lawyers and Scientists (NCLS) has recently begun holding seminars on Neuroscience and Law aimed at educating judges and increasing the linkages between the scientific and legal communities.

This is a very important step forward for both law and science because judges play such a critical role in the legal system. Judges make crucial decisions which affect not only the immediate case but also the later cases that will be bound by the decision under the principle of stare decisis. Informed, reasoned decisions can only be made about scientific topics in the courtroom when judges have good information and are well-educated regarding the issue. One of the dangers of mixing developing science and legal policy is that the scientific information can be distorted and abused. As neuroscience evidence and issues are brought into courtrooms more in the future, the need to have well-informed judges will grow to ensure that the new knowledge can be properly incorporated into the law while avoiding abuse or distortion of the science. This new development is a sign of change in the right direction.

For a summary of the fourth seminar in the series and other information, visit: http://www.abanet.org/scitech/emergingnews/judsci.html.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

The Writer's Almanac: "The Rider" by Naomi Shihab Nye

The Rider

A boy told me
if he roller-skated fast enough
his loneliness couldn't catch up to him,
the best reason I ever heard
for trying to be a champion.
What I wonder tonight
pedaling hard down King William Street
is if it translates to bicycles.
A victory! To leave your loneliness
panting behind you on some street corner
while you float free into a cloud of sudden azaleas,
pink petals that have never felt loneliness,
no matter how slowly they fell.


"The Rider" by Naomi Shihab Nye, from Fuel. © BOA Editions, 1998.

Friday, July 11, 2008

NYT: The Urge To End It All

By SCOTT ANDERSON


Is suicide the deadly result of a deep psychological condition — or a fleeting impulse brought on by opportunity?

Twitter Delicious Facebook Digg Stumbleupon Favorites More

 
Design by Free WordPress Themes | Bloggerized by Lasantha - Premium Blogger Themes | cna certification