psychiatric disorders

Smoke Pot When You're Young and Your IQ May Suffer

'It makes them feel better momentarily,' but issues like depression don't improve

(Newser) - Over the years, Dr. Elizabeth Osuch, a researcher in Canada studying mood and anxiety disorders and the impact of marijuana, has seen "many youth" smoke pot "heavily." And despite previous research suggesting those who start at a young age are at a higher risk of psychiatric issues... More »

WHO May Stop Classifying Transgender ID as Mental Disorder

New guidebook will likely make big update

(Newser) - For years, being transgender has been considered a mental disorder that's listed in the World Health Organization's "International Classification of Diseases" guidebook under "gender identity disorders." But now the WHO is considering declassifying transgender identity as such in the guide's new edition, the first... More »

People With Psych Disorders Marry Each Other

Researchers analyze health data of more than 700K people in Sweden

(Newser) - When looking for love, people with psychiatric disorders tend to look toward their own, one new study suggests. Researchers from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden report in JAMA Psychiatry that they combed the health histories of 707,263 people admitted to hospitals in Sweden between 1973 and 2009 and who... More »

Woman Says Disorder Caused Her to Make Herself Blind

Jewel Shuping says she had someone put drain cleaner in her eyes

(Newser) - Jewel Shuping has been preoccupied with blindness since she was a young girl. She says she used to roam the halls at night at age 3 or 4, the idea of being blind felt "comfortable" when she was 6, and she spent hours staring at the sun when her... More »

1 in 13 Kids on Behavioral Meds

Most parents think the drugs are making a difference, study says

(Newser) - A new survey provides a look at just how many kids in the US are taking medication for behavioral problems such as ADHD—figure about 1 in every 13, reports HealthDay News . The survey of 17,000 parents by the National Center for Health Statistics found that 7.5% of... More »

Without Mental Illness, More People on Antidepressants

Study finds non-psychiatrists are increasingly prescribing antidepressants

(Newser) - Last year in the US, antidepressants were the second-most widely prescribed drug—and they are increasingly being used by patients who haven't been diagnosed with a psychiatric condition. A new study finds that in 2007, non-psychiatrists prescribed nearly 75% of antidepressants in the US, up from 60% 10 years... More »

Report Blames Army for Ivins' Anthrax Attacks

They should have realized Bruce Ivins was a time bomb, investigators conclude

(Newser) - The anthrax attacks that so spooked the country in 2001 “could have been anticipated—and prevented” had the Army paid enough attention to alleged perpetrator Bruce Ivins, a panel of behavioral analysts has concluded. In a new report obtained by the LA Times , analysts found that Ivins had an... More »

Shrinks Single Out Next PTSD: Bitterness

Over-the-top reactions to being thwarted may signal mental illness

(Newser) - Some psychiatrists believe embitterment is so common and so destructive that it should be classed as a mental illness, the Los Angeles Times reports. Sufferers are described as people who have worked hard at something like a job or relationship, only to be transformed into angry, pessimistic, brooding individuals consumed... More »

At Least 10% of Autistic Kids Recover: Study

(Newser) - At least one in 10 children burdened by autism eventually recover, but no one knows why, according to a new study. Psychology professor Deborah Fein presented the results at a conference in Chicago this week, saying parents ought to know, even though recovery is "not a realistic expectation for... More »

Disabled Bite Back Over Animal Guides

Some suspect animal owners of abusing of special privileges

(Newser) - Miniature horses trek through supermarkets and monkeys queue up at restaurant buffets these days—all to guide the blind, the disabled, and the anxiety-ridden, Rebecca Skloot writes in the New York Times Magazine. But the increasing prevalence of wild and farm service animals among the civilized is reigniting the debate... More »

Electric Therapy Can Relieve Depression

New treatment using currents can help when meds don't

(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 »

Emails Reveal Anthrax Scientist's Delusions

'Split personality' Ivins was being 'eaten alive inside'

(Newser) - Dozens of emails released by the FBI reveal that scientist Bruce Ivins was losing his grip on reality long before the deadly 2001 anthrax attacks, the New York Times reports. The Army scientist and anthrax suspect, who committed suicide last month, wrote to a colleague in 2000 that he... More »

Shopaholics Trying to Buy Self-Esteem

They love fawning clerks and attention, study says

(Newser) - Shopaholics crave the self-esteem boost they get from interaction with retail staff far more than the actual goods they buy, new research shows. Psychiatrists believe the findings will lead to a new course of therapy, rather than the usual treatment of prescribing antidepressants, Deutsche Welle reports. The disorder affects up... More »

Adopted Kids More Likely to Have Social Problems

But overall numbers still small, study finds

(Newser) - Adopted children are twice as likely as biological offspring to develop mental-health disorders in adolescence, but rates are low overall, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. International adoptees in a group of more than 1,200 Minnesota residents had lower overall rates of the conditions than American-born children, but they were... More »

Surgery for Depression? Yup.

Deep brain stimulation, used for years to fight Parkinson's, is spreading out

(Newser) - A type of brain surgery previously used to treat symptoms of Parkinson’s disease may be effective in countering the debilitating effects of deep depression, CNN reports. A new study shows that deep brain stimulation, a process in which electrodes are inserted into problem areas in the brain and hooked... More »

Don't Expect a 20th Nervous Breakdown

Term goes the way of smelling salts as experts seek accuracy

(Newser) - “Nervous breakdown” has long been a catchall for psychological conditions as varied as depression and schizophrenia. But as psychiatric patients emerge from stigmatized isolation—and as the DSM fattens—scientists are chucking the antiquated term in favor of a more descriptive and accurate taxonomy. “I haven’t heard... More »

Parents See Kids' Disorders in Themselves

A child's illness can explain family quirks, reveal long-held secrets

(Newser) - Parents whose kids have psychiatric disorders will often seek, and find, signs of the same illness in themselves, the New York Times reports. Some ailments do run in the family—depression and bipolar disorder, for example—but parents at times dig up symptoms to show solidarity with kids and lessen... More »