In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychological terms. This week’s term is psychomotor retardation (PMR). Psychomotor retardation, one of the less common but more outwardly observable symptoms of depression, involves a slowing of movement and thoughts. It’s been described as far back as Ancient Greek times. PMR is one […]
What Is… Psychomotor Retardation Read More »
In many countries, direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription drugs is either prohibited or tightly restricted. The United States is a notable exception, along with New Zealand. What harms is this likely to cause? For tv ads, the standard pattern is to talk about the illness, talk about the amazing benefits of the drug, and then provide
Direct-to-Consumer Advertising of Psychiatric Prescription Drugs Read More »
I recently watched the documentary Letters From Generation Rx, which looked at instances of people experiencing significant side effects while on psychiatric medication, including people who took the lives of either themselves or others while on psychiatric meds. One man featured in the film was a Canadian Member of Parliament (MP) whose teenage daughter had
Letters from Generation Rx—Weighing Medication Risks & Benefits Read More »
One of the many things I’ve learned about through blogging is Christine Miserandino‘s spoon theory. In a 2003 essay, she described using the metaphor to explain to a friend what it felt like to have a chronic invisible illness (in her case, lupus). She and her friend were in a restaurant, and spoons were easily
Applying Spoon Theory to Living with Mental Illness Read More »
I first heard of the documentary Out of Mind, Out of Sight when I saw it recommended on the Bipolar, Uninvited blog. It sounded interesting, so I wanted to check it out. NCRMD It’s shot at an inpatient unit in a forensic psychiatry facility in Brockville, Canada. All of the patients had committed a criminal
Out of Mind, Out of Sight: A Forensic Psychiatry Close-Up Read More »
Fluctuating motivation in mental illness means that sometimes, things are happening, while other times, the wheels just fall right off. Motivation follows activation? A basic element of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for depression is behavioural activation. The idea is that motivation follows activation, meaning if you force yourself to do stuff, you’ll start to feel
Fluctuating Motivation in Depression Read More »
In my local health care system in Canada, the term behavioral health isn’t used, but I’ve seen it used a fair bit in the context of other mental health systems. As far as I can tell, it’s mostly an American term. Since it’s relatively new to me, I tend to consider it from a more
“Behavioral Health”: A Reflection of Structural Stigma? Read More »
Being listed on the Scientology website is never a good sign, and after seeing the documentary Letters from Generation Rx, I can see why it’s listed there. There were a lot of things that concerned me about the film, which you can read about in this post on weighing medication risks and benefits, but what
Why Do People Think Vitamins Can Cure Mental Illness? Read More »
I was inspired to write this post after reading the book The Stigma Effect by psychologist Patrick Corrigan. The book looks at what research has to say about what works and what doesn’t to fight stigma. Corrigan is a prolific stigma researcher, and I first encountered his work when I was doing my master’s thesis.
The Stigma Effect: How to Fight Mental Illness Stigma Effectively Read More »
My Brother’s Journey: From Genius To Simpleton by Marie Abanga is a moving tribute to her younger brother Gabriel, whose life was taken away far too soon by mental illness. It includes not only Marie’s words, but also the words of others who knew and loved her brother. In the book she shares what a kind person
Book Review: My Brother’s Journey Read More »
