Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder: Penetrating the isolation of mental illness

by Susan Budig


Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder

Reaching those who need help requires dispelling old prejudices

Like a lot of kids, Ramon gave his folks trouble. And like any earnest parent, Lanice Palmer-Cole tried various methods to rein him in. She thought she knew her son well, although he was “different.” Palmer-Cole says, “He was a deep, deep thinker.” She felt hopeful that her son would grow up to be a productive member of society.

But then a significant thing happened to this Detroit family and “Ramon lost his mind,” Palmer-Cole tells us in a confessional voice, speaking for the first time in public as she narrates the story of her mentally ill son.

Last Thursday evening, December 4, while most people were hunkered down in their homes, a couple dozen concerned citizens braved the bitter cold to gather at United Church of God and Christ in St. Paul. They came to hear the stories of those grappling with mental illness and to network with one another as webs were woven in an effort to catch those individuals, especially those within communities of color, who too often fall through the cracks.

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Financial Post: Margaret Trudeau to write about struggle with mental illness

Paul Gessell, The Ottawa Citizen Published: Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Mike Carroccetto, The Ottawa Citizen

OTTAWA - Margaret Trudeau is writing a memoir, to be published in the fall of 2010, detailing her many years struggling with bipolar depression.

News of the forthcoming book was announced Wednesday by Ms. Trudeau's Toronto-based publisher, HarperCollins Canada.

"The memoir, intended to guide and inspire others suffering from mental illness, will also describe in some detail how the Canadian medical system helped her and where it fell short," according to a statement from HarperCollins.

Iris Tupholme, vice president, publisher and editor-in-chief of HarperCollins, says the former wife of the late Pierre Trudeau will be offering "a very honest, very candid account" of her battle with a mental illness that affected her and those close to her.

"This is a brave and compassionate book - one that will remain an important part of the Canadian consciousness for years to come," Ms. Tupholme says. Ms. Trudeau, while the prime minister's wife in the 1970s, publicly acknowledged that she had sought psychiatric treatment for "severe emotional stress," but not until 2006 did she publicly describe herself as suffering from bipolar disorder. She has since lent her name and profile to educating the public about mental illness. Her efforts have been recognized. She won the 2008 Lectureship Award from the College of Family Physicians of Canada. She sits on the University of British Columbia's Mental Health Institute Executive Advisory Board and will receive the 2009 Humanitarian Award from the Society of Biological Psychiatry in May 2009.

Ms. Trudeau, 60, has written two other autobiographical books, both of a kiss-and-tell nature. Beyond Reason and Consequences dealt with her rocky marriage to Mr. Trudeau, the initial years after their 1977 separation and various romantic adventures after leaving 24 Sussex. The Trudeaus had three sons, Justin (currently a Montreal MP), Alexandre (a Montreal film-maker) and Michel (who was killed in an avalanche in British Columbia in 1998).

After divorcing Pierre in 1984, Margaret married Ottawa businessman Fried Kemper. They had two children, Kyle and Alicia. That marriage also faltered. Ms. Trudeau now lives in Montreal.

While still in Ottawa, Ms. Trudeau volunteered with various charitable organizations and frequently appeared in gossip columns.

In an interview in 2007, she said she wanted to help others who "feel so helpless they consider suicide because they don't think there's any way they're going to get off the (bipolar) roller-coaster."

There are, in fact, ways to get off that roller-coaster, she said.

"You can get off if there is good treatment and medical science has come a long way in the last 10 or 15 years to create drugs and therapies that really help you to achieve balance."

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FOXNews: Japan Princess' Mental Depression Improving, After 5-Year Absence From Public Eye

TOKYO —
Japan's reclusive and troubled Crown Princess Masako said Tuesday that her health is improving and she is feeling more able to take part in social activities.

Her father-in-law, Emperor Akihito, is also suffering from stress and inflammation of the stomach, the Imperial Household Agency said Tuesday. Akihito, who turns 75 later this month, had surgery for prostate cancer in 2003.

Masako, who married Crown Prince Naruhito in 1993, has skipped much of her duties in the last five years, mostly because of stress-related symptoms and mental depression.

"My performance still is not at its best, but I'm beginning to feel I'm now able to do more things, little by little," she said in a statement for her 45th birthday on Tuesday.

Royal doctors said Masako has made "steady progress" over the last two years, and is starting to resume public appearances, including welcoming Spanish King Juan Carlos and his wife, Queen Sofia, last month — her first participation in an official event in five years.

But they warned she remains unstable and needs rest.

"The biggest reason for her condition is that she has unpredictable ups and downs in her physical and mental condition," the doctors said in a statement Tuesday.

Though she was reportedly feeling better mentally, the Imperial Household Agency said Masako canceled meetings Tuesday with the Emperor and the Empress, as well as palace officials, because of a fever and sore throat associated with a cold.

Speculation about Masako's health has become a staple of the Japanese media. Some tabloid magazines and newspapers have criticized her for lavish dinners and shopping outings while missing her official duties.

Although Masako has been seen on nationally televised news shows attending family events at her 7-year-old daughter Aiko's school, she has skipped formal events that are standard fare for Japanese royalty, such as greeting guests, attending charities and making overseas trips.

Public expectations for Masako, a former diplomat and Harvard graduate, were high from the moment she became engaged to Naruhito, with many hoping she would be a role model for the modern Japanese woman.

The couple's failure to have a son has put a great deal of pressure on the princess as only sons can inherit the country's Chrysanthemum Throne. Masako had a miscarriage before giving birth to Aiko.

Rigid and insular palace life is also believed to have contributed to her mental illness.

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Science Daily: Depression Treatment: Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy As Effective As Anti-depressant Medication, Study Suggests

ScienceDaily (2008-12-02) -- Research shows for the first time that a group-based psychological treatment, Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy, could be a viable alternative to prescription drugs for people suffering from long-term depression. In this study, MBCT proved as effective as maintenance anti-depressants in preventing a relapse and more effective in enhancing peoples' quality of life. The study also showed MBCT to be as cost-effective as prescription drugs in helping people with a history of depression stay well in the longer-term.

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Santa Barbara Independent: Tender Hearts, Tender Times

Goleta Church Helps the Grieving Through the Holidays
By Elena Gray-Blanc

Sunday, December 7, 2008

For most, the holiday season is one of cheer. For others, most notably those who have suffered a loss — be it the death of a loved one, a divorce, or other trauma — Christmas, Hanukkah, the New Year, and all the attending merriment can be insult added to injury, a constant and contrasting reminder of grief.

Reverend Erika Hewitt, minister at Live Oak Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Goleta, has set out to provide a comforting, open, and pressure-free environment for anyone in the community who might be grieving, and is holding a “Tender Hearts, Tender Times” service on Sunday, December 14.

“Sometimes,” Hewitt said in a recent phone conversation, “the merriness gets forced down our throats… That first Christmas [after a loss], people lose their bearings. They don’t know how it’s ‘supposed’ to be. [Live Oak] is creating space to acknowledge that.” And what makes Rev. Hewitt’s service so special is that it is just and only that — an acknowledgement of trouble and grief, without any pressure to share a story or emote. “I don’t ask questions,” she said. “And we’re not going to go around the circle and talk about it.”

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Science Daily: Depression Treatment: Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy As Effective As Anti-depressant Medication, Study Suggests

Depression Treatment: Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy As Effective As Anti-depressant Medication, Study Suggests

ScienceDaily (2008-11-30) -- Research shows for the first time that a group-based psychological treatment, Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy, could be a viable alternative to prescription drugs for people suffering from long-term depression. In this study, MBCT proved as effective as maintenance anti-depressants in preventing a relapse and more effective in enhancing peoples' quality of life. The study also showed MBCT to be as cost-effective as prescription drugs in helping people with a history of depression stay well in the longer-term. ... read full article

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Reuters UK: Sick leave for mental illness linked to early death

By Amy Norton

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People who need to take time off from work for a mental health problem may live shorter lives than those in better psychiatric health, a new study suggests.

Researchers found that among nearly 20,000 French workers they followed, those who'd taken at least 1 week's sick leave for a mental health disorder had a higher death rate over 14 years.

At the outset, 41 percent of the workers -- all public utility employees -- had taken at least 1 week's sick leave over the past 3 years. Those who'd taken time off specifically for depression or other mental health disorders were one quarter to one third more likely to die over the study period than workers with no mental-health absences.

"Basically the message is that workers with medically certified absences for mental diagnoses should be considered a population at a higher risk of fatal disease," lead researcher Dr. Jane E. Ferrie, of the University College London in the UK, told Reuters Health.

She stressed, however, that the findings point to a relatively higher death rate in this group as a whole -- and that does not mean that any one person with a mental health disorder has an unusually high risk of early death.

When studies observe large populations over time to look for patterns, the results cannot be used to "infer risk at the level of the individual," Ferrie explained.

The findings, published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, are based on 19,235 public utility employees (5271 female) who were part of long-range health study. The researchers used employment records to verify any medically certified work absences the employees had between 1990 and 1992. (French law requires workers to get a medical certificate from their doctors for each day of sick leave.)

Between 1993 and 2007, there were 902 deaths among the study participants. Those who'd taken 7 days or more off from work for a mental health disorder had a higher risk of death, even when their age and type of job were taken into account.

With the exception of extreme cases, mental health problems do not, in themselves, kill people, Ferrie pointed out. Instead, she explained, poor mental health is often connected to poor physical health.

On one hand, physical conditions may lead to depression or other mental health problems, Ferrie noted. On the other, psychiatric conditions may directly impair physical health, possibly by affecting the nervous and hormonal systems.

SOURCE: Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, November 25, 2008.

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