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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: mental health

mental health stories: 67 news summaries

21 - 40 of 67 Stories | << Prev 1 2 3 4 Next >>

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 Sorry, Brother, 
 Sisters Are Good for You 

Researchers say female siblings encourage communication while brothers clam up

Apr 3, 09 7:24 AM CDT
(Newser) - It's not quite "girls rule, boys drool," but it's close. A new study says growing up with a sister turns people into happier and better-balanced adults. University of Ulster researchers studied hundreds of families and found that female siblings encouraged healthy communication and family cohesion, while brothers tended... More »

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families • mental health • family • psychology • siblings • brother • sister

Site Reaches Out to Those Worried Sick About Money

Addresses economy-related health issues

Mar 31, 09 9:33 AM CDT
(Newser) - A federal agency has launched an online rescue kit for people whose mental and physical health is being wrecked by economic worries, reports Reuters. The "Getting Through Tough Economic Times" website aims to help people spot the warning signs of emotional distress in themselves and others and point them... More »

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mental health • recession • Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration • suicide prevention • financial crisis • recession depression

 Fritzl Gets Counseling 
 for 'Ordeal of Trial' 

How about us?

Mar 17, 09 1:38 PM CDT
(Newser) - Austria’s most infamous incestuous rapist has access to counseling at the prison where he is housed "to help him through the ordeal of the trial," a prison official said. But the official stressed that Josef Fritzl's care was not out of the ordinary. “There is no... More »

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prison • mental health • Austria • murder trial • incest • Josef Fritzl • Elisabeth Fritzl

Long Work Hours Weaken Mental Skills

Putting in 55 or more hours per week hurts memory, reasoning

Feb 25, 09 4:38 PM CST
(Newser) - Working long hours may weaken mental skills, the BBC reports. Researchers administered a series of reasoning and memory tests to 2,214 British civil servants and found that those working more than 55 hours a week did significantly worse than those who worked around 40. The effect was cumulative, meaning... More »

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dementia • depression • work • mental health • stress • employment • cognitive science • employee

GLOSSIES

 Biggest 
 Stories 
 You Didn't 
 Hear in '08 

Catching up on the stuff blotted out by the election and financial crisis

Dec 17, 08 7:40 PM CST
(Newser) - Election coverage and reports on the financial crisis ate up much of the media's attention in '08—while some major news stories went under-reported. Time runs down the biggest:
  1. A Pentagon gaffe accidentally sent nuclear warhead fuses to Taiwan in 2006; the mix-up was noted this year—by the
... More »

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Pentagon • FDA • mental health • Sri Lanka • list • civil war • nuclear arsenal • Congo • genetically modified meat • Best of 2008

(Newser) - In the wake of shootings at Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois University, a new study says nearly 20% of young adults suffer from personality disorders, the AP reports. Obsessive compulsive disorder topped the list, but the problems include anti-social feelings and paranoia, which can lead to violence. Fewer than a... More »

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mental health • neurological disorder • obsessive compulsive disorder

Electric Therapy Can Relieve Depression

New treatment using currents can help
when meds don't

Oct 21, 08 12:11 PM CDT
(Newser) - People with major depression that doesn't respond to medication may get relief from a therapy that uses magnetic pulses to stimulate the cortex, the Wall Street Journal reports. In a clinical trial, transcranial magnetic stimulation worked in about a quarter of patients—about twice the success rate of patients on... More »

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depression • psychiatry • mental health • psychiatric disorders • psychotherapy

 Multitasking 
 Can Melt 
 Your Brain 

Scientists warn of dangers of doing too much at once

Oct 11, 08 8:17 AM CDT
(Newser) - Multitasking isn’t as productive as you may think—in fact, our brains just can’t handle it. Scientists say working on many tasks at once slows all of them down, NPR reports. “No matter how good you have become at multitasking, you’re still going to suffer hits... More »

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mental health • brain • multitask

 Autism-Reversing 
 Drugs Show Promise 

MIT scientists stumbled onto workaround for misfiring brain system

Sep 24, 08 12:50 PM CDT
(Newser) - MIT scientists have discovered one of the mechanisms of Fragile X Syndrome, one cause of autism, and are developing drugs to treat it, NPR reports. The disorder, triggered by a genetic mutation, interferes with the normal links between brain cells, making those networks something like a car without a brakes.... More »

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medical breakthrough • mental health • autism • MIT • brain • neurons • scientific research • Fragile X Syndrome

Hallucinogenic Plant's High May Knock Medical Use Down

States try to crack down on promising herb

Sep 9, 08 7:47 AM CDT
(Newser) - A hallucinogenic herb pharmacologists believe holds great promise for pain relief and mental health treatment is facing tough restrictions thanks to thrill-seekers, the New York Times reports. Users of the highly potent psychedelic Salvia divinorum—dubbed "Magic Mint" by users—have been posting videos of their trips on YouTube,... More »

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drugs • mental health • DEA • substance abuse • hallucinogenic • hallucinogens

Bipolar Risk Rises With Father's Age

Kids with dads over 30 have greater chance of developing disorder

Sep 2, 08 3:26 PM CDT
(Newser) - Children born to fathers older than 30 have an 11% higher chance of developing bipolar disorder than kids with younger dads, and the risk increases with the father’s age, new research reveals. The rate climbs to 37% of offspring of fathers aged 55, Reuters reports, compared to the overall... More »

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mental health • autism • schizophrenia • mental illness • Sweden • bipolar disorder • birth defect

 C-E-R-T-A-I-N Scrabble Winners

ZQFMGB not included

Aug 30, 08 10:01 AM CDT
(Newser) - Sure, Bart Simpson could fake it at Scrabble—but for those of us playing against a wit sharper than Homer's, here are some gems Mental Floss magazine dug up that actually mean something:
  • Cwm: A valley created by glacial shifts.
  • Adz: An axe-like woodworking tool.
  • Xu: The
... More »

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intelligence • mental health • Scrabble • board games • words • intelligence tests

 Yoga Blunts Menopause: Study 


Aug 23, 08 8:37 AM CDT
(Newser) - Menopausal women who do yoga experience fewer hot flashes and have greater mental acuity than their non-practicing counterparts, suggests a new study conducted by a yoga university in India. The research compared results from a control group against women who did yoga or stretches five days a week for 2... More »

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India • mental health • menopause • stress • yoga • scientific study

Calif. Therapists Rake in Millions Under Sex Offender Law 

Billed $24M for 2007 Jessica's Law services

Aug 10, 08 12:17 PM CDT
(Newser) - Psychologists and psychiatrists are cashing in on a California law requiring mental health screening for sex offenders, the LA Times reports. Last year, private contractors billed the state for millions of dollars in prisoner evaluations, with one psychologist bringing home $1.5 million. State officials defend the expense as... More »

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California • law • mental health • sex offenders • psychiatrist • psychologist

Drugs Shrinking Psychiatrists' Talk Time: Study

Cost-conscious managed care also seen behind decline

Aug 5, 08 8:15 PM CDT
(Newser) - Psychiatry is increasingly focused on prescribing drugs and less on psychotherapy, a study published in the Archives of General Psychology finds. A reluctance by insurance firms to pay for therapy is one factor, HealthDay reports, along with the wide variety of drugs now available to treat various conditions. More »

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psychiatry • antidepressant • mental health • psychology • pharmaceutical industry • medication • psychotherapy

VA Doctor Discouraged Post-Traumatic Diagnoses

Email urged staffers
to save disability costs

May 16, 08 9:55 AM CDT
(Newser) - A team leader at a veterans' medical center in Texas sent staffers an email urging them to avoid diagnosing post-traumatic stress disorder, the Washington Post reports. "Given that we are having more and more compensation-seeking veterans, I'd like to suggest that you refrain from giving a diagnosis of PTSD... More »

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veterans • mental health • veterans' benefits • veterans' health care • Department of Veterans Affairs • PTSD • James B. Peake • Iraq veterans • Afghanistan veterans

Gitmo Drives Detainees Crazy: Lawyers

As trials draw near, prisoners' mental health at issue

Apr 26, 08 10:48 AM CDT
(Newser) - Osama bin Laden's driver can't help his lawyers prepare his defense because he's been driven mad by years of isolation at Guantanamo Bay, his lawyers say. The conditions "boil his mind" and prevent a fair trial, they say, an argument that will become increasingly common as lawyers begin preparing... More »

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War on Terror • mental health • Guantanamo Bay • Guantanamo prisoners • terror suspects • terror trial

Tiny Shocks
Win by a Nose

Sense of smell shows electric response; technique could help PTSD patients

Mar 28, 08 4:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - Electric shocks can sharpen the sense of smell, a finding that suggests new ways of altering sensory perception, the Chicago Tribune reports. MRIs showed subjects’ brains actually changing after researchers administered tiny shocks, which improved their ability to distinguish between similar smells. Because many psychological conditions relate to the senses,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
mental health • brain • MRI • therapy • sense of smell • PTSD • electrical shocks • health research • phobias

Schizophrenia Gene Find Surprises Scientists

Glitches vary from person to person

Mar 28, 08 6:08 AM CDT
(Newser) - Scientists have tracked down the genetic roots of schizophrenia, but in a surprising twist researchers found that the genetic errors to blame often vary from person to person, reports the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. The discovery suggests that multiple glitches in the genetic code are behind schizophrenia, with the exact combination unique... More »

MORE ABOUT:
mental health • autism • schizophrenia • mental illness • genetic mutation • genes • genetic research

Gene Linked
to Stress Disorder

Could explain why some soldiers are
more susceptible

Mar 19, 08 11:16 AM CDT
(Newser) - A gene that may influence an individual's susceptibility to post-traumatic stress disorder has been identified by psychologists at Emory University, Time reports. A study of low-income African-American adults in the Atlanta area, 80% of whom had experienced trauma, found that certain versions of a gene were linked to higher PTSD... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Atlanta • genetics • mental health • genetic screening • Emory University • PTSD

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