Jan
22
 
Before my birthday last year, someone tried to console me by advising me to ignore the whole thing because, after a certain age, birthdays bring nothing but misery. I was surprised by the comment for two primary reasons. First, I never said that I felt stressed by another birthday. Second, I enjoy my birthdays. So all of you know, I will be 68 years old this coming October 2010. Does growing older cause unhappiness? Let’s discuss that question.
Theory:
According to Erik Erikson, we go through eight stages of psychosocial development. Each stage is gradually built upon previous stages and affects the stages that are next in line. Therefore, the previous stage of development has a profound impact on each of the next stages. At each level we experience from birth to old age, we face a challenge or crisis. Resolution of each crisis is critical to our over all well being as human beings. In all, Erikson is describing the gradual development of each individual person’s ego or personality. This development carries with it an increasing amount of individuality and strength to meet the challenges of life.
Here are Erikson’s Eight Stages of Psychosocial Development:
1. Trust vs. Mistrust.
2. Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt.
3. Initiative vs. Guilt
4. Industry vs. Inferiority
5. Identity vs. Role Confusion (Adolescence)
6. Intimacy vs. Isolation
7. Generativity vs. Stagnation
8. Integrity vs. Despair (Old Age)
Read More …Â http://www.mentalhelp.net/poc/view_doc.php?type=doc&id=37707&cn=12
 
Article Date: 10 Jun 2010 – 2:00 PDT
From studying Australian twins, new research says that genetic factors appear to influence the development of gambling disorders in both men and women.
These were the findings of Dr Wendy S. Slutske, a professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences at the University of Missouri-Columbia, and colleagues, which they wrote up in a paper published in the June issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Read in Full:Â http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/191408.php
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Article Date: 10 Jun 2010 – 2:00 PDT
From studying Australian twins, new research says that genetic factors appear to influence the development of gambling disorders in both men and women.
These were the findings of Dr Wendy S. Slutske, a professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences at the University of Missouri-Columbia, and colleagues, which they wrote up in a paper published in the June issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Read in Full:Â http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/191408.php
 
Thursday, 10 June 2010
In a brazen act of arm-chair diagnosis, Eric Bui and colleagues at Toulouse University Hospital in France have written a short academic article arguing that the Star Wars character Darth Vader probably meets the diagnostic criteria for borderline personality disorder (BPD). The authors point to Anakin Skywalker’s (as he was originally known) life history, including fatherly absence, early maternal separation and infantile illusions of omnipotence. They go on to claim that Skywalker meets six of the formal nine DSM (diagnostic and statistical manual) criteria for BPD:
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Thursday, 10 June 2010
In a brazen act of arm-chair diagnosis, Eric Bui and colleagues at Toulouse University Hospital in France have written a short academic article arguing that the Star Wars character Darth Vader probably meets the diagnostic criteria for borderline personality disorder (BPD). The authors point to Anakin Skywalker’s (as he was originally known) life history, including fatherly absence, early maternal separation and infantile illusions of omnipotence. They go on to claim that Skywalker meets six of the formal nine DSM (diagnostic and statistical manual) criteria for BPD:
Jan
22
 
If I had to name the most common complaint I hear among people with depression, it is that they are lonely. Just a little while back, I replied on a thread within Group Beyond Blue to a woman who started a thread called “Who Do I Turn To?†She wants so badly to connect with another woman — as the anchors in her life, her mother and friends, have either passed on or moved.
So many of us are lonely. It is at the core of so many disorders and illnesses. Not just the imaginary ones made up in our psyches (or so many think), but heart disease and immunity functions and nervous system disorders. Many of our health issues in this country stem from loneliness.
Read in Full:Â http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2010/06/10/how-do-you-heal-loneliness/
Jan
22
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If I had to name the most common complaint I hear among people with depression, it is that they are lonely. Just a little while back, I replied on a thread within Group Beyond Blue to a woman who started a thread called “Who Do I Turn To?†She wants so badly to connect with another woman — as the anchors in her life, her mother and friends, have either passed on or moved.
So many of us are lonely. It is at the core of so many disorders and illnesses. Not just the imaginary ones made up in our psyches (or so many think), but heart disease and immunity functions and nervous system disorders. Many of our health issues in this country stem from loneliness.
Read in Full:Â http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2010/06/10/how-do-you-heal-loneliness/
 
Parent’s view on genetic link to autism: ‘I don’t want it to be eradicated’
Charlotte Moore, who has two sons with autism, reflects on newly discovered genetic links to autism
The Guardian, Thursday 10 June 2010
As the mother of two sons with autism and a third son without it, do I welcome this news? Yes, if it helps kill the idea that autism is somebody’s “fault”. Autism isn’t caused by neglectful parenting; not only that, but parents passing on autistic genes is less significant than had been thought. Although some of these gene variations are inherited, others are found only in children. This helps explain why in some cases autism “runs in the family“, but in others it comes out of nowhere. If you have an autistic child, strip away those shreds of guilt. Your child is what he or she is. End of story.
The findings will enable some families to get more precise genetic counselling, and that’s good. When I debated whether to have Jake, my third child, doctors could only give me vague advice. I’m delighted I took the risk, but it’s better to make such decisions armed with as much information as possible.
Read in Full:Â http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/jun/10/autism-parents-view-genetics
 
Dozens of genetic mutations linked to autism in children discovered
A new test for autism in children has come a step closer after the world’s largest study into the disability discovered a number of genetic links to the condition.
By Richard Alleyne, Science Correspondent
Published: 8:00PM BST 09 Jun 2010
Dozens of rogue genes have been found in more than 1,000 autistic children, researchers found.
They said the findings come closer to helping identify the root cause of the disability that affects more than half a million people in Britain – and could hasten the development of the first ever genetic test for the condition.
 The research, conducted by around 60 teams of experts from 12 countries including the UK and Republic of Ireland, identified clusters of genetic mutations or changes that were almost 20 per cent more common in autistic children than in unaffected individuals.
Read in Full:Â http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/7814775/Dozens-of-genetic-mutations-linked-to-autism-in-children-discovered.html
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Parent’s view on genetic link to autism: ‘I don’t want it to be eradicated’
Charlotte Moore, who has two sons with autism, reflects on newly discovered genetic links to autism
The Guardian, Thursday 10 June 2010
As the mother of two sons with autism and a third son without it, do I welcome this news? Yes, if it helps kill the idea that autism is somebody’s “fault”. Autism isn’t caused by neglectful parenting; not only that, but parents passing on autistic genes is less significant than had been thought. Although some of these gene variations are inherited, others are found only in children. This helps explain why in some cases autism “runs in the family“, but in others it comes out of nowhere. If you have an autistic child, strip away those shreds of guilt. Your child is what he or she is. End of story.
The findings will enable some families to get more precise genetic counselling, and that’s good. When I debated whether to have Jake, my third child, doctors could only give me vague advice. I’m delighted I took the risk, but it’s better to make such decisions armed with as much information as possible.
Read in Full:Â http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/jun/10/autism-parents-view-genetics
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Dozens of genetic mutations linked to autism in children discovered
A new test for autism in children has come a step closer after the world’s largest study into the disability discovered a number of genetic links to the condition.
By Richard Alleyne, Science Correspondent
Published: 8:00PM BST 09 Jun 2010
Dozens of rogue genes have been found in more than 1,000 autistic children, researchers found.
They said the findings come closer to helping identify the root cause of the disability that affects more than half a million people in Britain – and could hasten the development of the first ever genetic test for the condition.
 The research, conducted by around 60 teams of experts from 12 countries including the UK and Republic of Ireland, identified clusters of genetic mutations or changes that were almost 20 per cent more common in autistic children than in unaffected individuals.
Read in Full:Â http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/7814775/Dozens-of-genetic-mutations-linked-to-autism-in-children-discovered.html
Jan
22
 
Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on June 9, 2010
When it comes to pain, the two competing schools of thought are that it’s either “all in your head†or “all in your body.†A new study led by University of Oxford researchers indicates that, instead, pain is an amalgam of the two.
Depression and pain often co-occur, but the underlying mechanistic reasons for this have largely been unknown. To examine the interaction between depression and pain, Dr. Chantal Berna and colleagues used brain imaging to see how healthy volunteers responded to pain while feeling low.
Their findings revealed that inducing depressed mood disrupted a portion of the participants’ neurocircuitry that regulates emotion, causing an enhanced perception of pain. In other words, as explained by Dr. Berna, “when the healthy people were made sad by negative thoughts and depressing music, we found that their brains processed pain more emotionally, which led to them finding the pain more unpleasant.â€
Read in Full:Â http://psychcentral.com/news/2010/06/09/pain-depression-linked/14411.html