First Published Tuesday, 5 May 2009

Canadian Mental Health Association
http://www.cmha.ca/bins/index.asp

Women’s mental health hit hard by recession

But many show resilience and resourcefulness in coping with stress

Dan Page & Hillarie Turner

More than two-thirds of American women interviewed for a survey released by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) say that the nation’s sagging economy has negatively affected their lives or the lives of their loved ones. The findings also indicate women may be neglecting their own needs while focusing on other concerns.

This two-pronged telephone survey examines the impact of the economic crisis on the mental well-being of women both nationally and in Clinton County, Ohio, where survey respondents report significantly higher levels of hardship amid deep job cuts by air freight giant DHL, which has devastated the local economy.

Women in the survey report sharp increases in stress, anxiety, frustration and other negative mental health indicators since the recession took hold last fall, with job loss pushing these increases even higher. And while more than three-quarters of these women report engaging in one or more positive coping strategies, most tend to prioritize family and other financial responsibilities ahead of their own needs – a tendency that can backfire despite the best of intentions.

“Women will take care of their families before making sure they have what they need to stay healthy. If at all possible, they should avoid spending cuts on activities and resources that can help maintain their own health,” said APA President Nada L. Stotland, MD, M.P.H. “For instance, keep up the gym membership, even if it means you can’t give your kids the latest electronics. Take time to exercise and eat right. The bottom line is that taking care of your mental health is necessary to your ability to care for your family.“

In this national telephone survey, women rank the ability to provide food, clothing and education for their families, relationships with family and friends, and personal finances such as mortgages and retirement savings, as more important than their own mental and physical health.

“Losing a job or taking a wage cut creates an ongoing source of anxiety for families. Women are particularly affected because they are often juggling the stress of their workplace demands with those of running a household and keeping their families healthy,” Dr Stotland said. “While this survey focused on women, the answers we found can be indicative of the health and well-being of the entire family. The challenge for each of us is to find effective ways to cope with the stress caused by the economic crisis. Reaching out to a support network can help.“

The APA conducted the survey as part of its “Healthy Minds. Healthy Lives.” campaign, which is designed to improve understanding of mental illnesses, psychiatry and successful treatment options, as well as to reduce the stigma sometimes associated with seeking mental health care.

While women across the country are greatly affected by these difficult times, the APA wanted to look at how the economic crisis was impacting communities more acutely affected by the stress and anxiety from job loss and wage cuts. Results from a telephone survey conducted in Clinton County, Ohio – where DHL’s cutbacks have eliminated more than 5,000 jobs in recent months, and the unemployment rate among the county’s roughly 43,000 residents to an estimated 10.5 percent in February – show that women in this hardhit community encounter greater levels of stress that seen in women nationally.

More than half of women in Clinton County say they are worried that they or a family member will lose a job in the near future compared with 40 percent nationally. And nearly two-thirds of women in Clinton County say the economy has had “a negative impact” on their mental health, versus just over half of women polled nationwide. Moreover, when compared with women nationally, the women of Clinton County are much more likely to be experiencing greater levels of stress (45% vs. 33%), frustration (38% vs. 27%), anxiety (34% vs. 24%), irritability (35% vs. 23%) and insomnia or oversleeping (29% vs. 20%). These feelings are natural, considering the reality of life in Clinton County: 30 percent of women in this hard-hit region say that wage cuts have affected their family, compared to 21 percent nationally. In addition, the incidence of job loss in the family is 9 percentage points higher in Clinton County than the national average.

“Even if people are working, it’s emotionally draining to live with a constant fear of losing a job,” said Ohio Psychiatric Physicians Association President, Joseph Locala, MD “To help get through these uncertain times, it’s important to find positive ways to cope – whether it’s spending time with friends and family, engaging in hobbies, exercising, or talking with a clergy member or mental health professional.“

While women in communities across the country are facing the stresses brought on by the economic crisis, this survey demonstrates that women tend to be resilient and resourceful. More importantly, 76 percent of women polled nationally say they are participating in more positive activities than they were six months ago – including spending time with family or friends, praying or attending religious services, exercising, watching television, reading, or listening to music.

This survey also found that the majority of women view getting mental health care as a positive action. Eighty-five percent see the benefit in receiving support from a mental health professional for emotional or mental health concerns, and view it as a sign of strength. In addition, 80 percent of women are confident they could find mental health resources should they or family members require the services.

APA: tips for coping with stress of the economy ()

Father’s mental health impacts on children, study finds

Children whose fathers suffer from mental illnesses are much more likely to grow up to develop anxiety, depression and even addictions to drink and drugs, a new study warns.

More…
© Copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited 2009

First Published Tuesday, 5 May 2009

First Published Tuesday, 5 May 2009

By Elvira G. Aletta, Ph.D.
May 5, 2009

With everything that’s going on these days from recession worries to epidemic scares, it’s not surprising a lot of people are reporting sleep problems. Sleep is essential to our health generally, our sanity in particular. Interrogators know, if you want to break someone down, deprive them of sleep. I didn’t appreciate how important sleep was until I became sleep deprived myself about six years ago. The anxiety that fed my insomnia that fed my anxiety was driving me crazy and drove me, literally, to my doctor’s office. Surely something was very wrong with my thyroid or maybe I had a brain tumor.

After a complete workup that took two days and many little tubes of blood I met with my medical specialist, an endrocrinologist. With unforgettable kindness he asked what was going on in my life. As I ticked off about five pretty high stress events, I could see where he was going with this, and I didn’t like it. He said, “Well, that would do it for me!” So the good news was my brain and thyroid were fine, the not so good news…it was all in my head.

No, it couldn’t be! I was a psychologist for God’s sake! Wouldn’t I know if stress was making me sick? Turns out, if you are overwhelmed, even if you are a qualified mental health professional, you are often the last to know. A humbling lesson; it was the old frog in the pot syndrome.

ANYWAY… For a couple of weeks I took a sleep medication to get my sleep back on track. Then I got a crash course on sleep hygiene, learned how to breathe to calm down my anxiety and took a serious look at what I could change in my life to allow a better balance. These are lessons I learn over and over again and now pass on to my clients. For really serious sleep troubles I use cognitive behavioral therapy, the best non-medication treatment for insomnia. It does wonders.

Here are a few quick tips to improve the quality of your sleep:

– Only use your bed for sleep, sex and reading really easy stuff; no TV!
– Create a soothing bedroom that engages all five senses.
– After the sun sets keep lights low, mimicking a camp fire.
– Have a before-bedtime ritual, such as washing up, putting on pajamas, stretching, prayers, light reading, lights out.
– Go to bed and get up at the same time (within half an hour) every day.
– Exercise but not within four hours of bedtime.
– Remember to breathe!

Recommended Reading… A Good Night’s Sleep, by a couple of smart guys at Harvard Medical School.

Source:   http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2009/05/05/sleep-and-your-sanity/

First Published Tuesday, 5 May 2009

Seeing one person be rude to another can stunt a person’s creativity, impair their mental performance and make them less likely to be civil themselves. Christine Porath and Amir Erez, who made this finding, say it has profound implications for the workplace, where rudeness has been described by some as a modern epidemic.

Across three studies, Porath and Erez recruited undergrad students to take part in what they were led to believe was an investigation into personality and task performance. Porath and Erez contrived situations in their lab so that the student participants witnessed either a researcher be rude to a student for turning up late, or one student be rude to another student for taking so long over a consent form.

Witnessing an act of rudeness, whether committed by a researcher or student, led the participants to solve fewer anagrams, come up with fewer uses for a brick (and to come up with more aggressive uses!), made them less likely to offer to participate in another study, and lowered their mood.

A third study showed that the harmful effects of witnessing rudeness were greater when students were enrolled in a collaborative group task, compared with when they were enrolled in a competitive group task where they had something to gain from the rudeness victim’s ordeal. Although the harmful effects were lower in the competitive scenario, they were still present.

Porath and Erez said this is the first study to their knowledge that has investigated the direct effects of merely witnessing rudeness as opposed to being the target of rudeness. Future research is needed to explore the mechanisms by which witnessing rudeness leads to the harmful outcomes reported here.

“The conclusion that rudeness may not be contained within the instigator-target dyad and that it affects performance is theoretically and practically significant because it implies that the organisational functioning and climate could be affected by isolated rude incidents,” the researchers said.

Porath, C., & Erez, A. (2009). Overlooked but not untouched: How rudeness reduces onlookers’ performance on routine and creative tasks Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 109 (1), 29-44 DOI: 10.1016/j.obhdp.2009.01.003

First Published Tuesday, 5 May 2009

First Published Tuesday, 5 May 2009

*In Majority of Cases, Parents Had Not Consented, Schools Did Not Provide
Comprehensive Positive Behavioral Intervention Plans*

*May 5, 2009*

The Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, Inc. (COPAA) today released a
report asking Congress to stop the use of restraints, seclusion, and
aversives upon children with disabilities in school.  The report
entitled, Unsafe in the Schoolhouse: Abuse of Children with Disabilities, details 143
incidents of the use of abusive interventions against children with
disabilities in school.  The report also includes suggested legislative
remedies.

The Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA) is a national
nonprofit organization of parents, advocates, and attorneys who work to
protect the civil rights of children with disabilities and ensure that they
receive appropriate educational services.  We have over 1200 members in 47
states and the District of Columbia.  Our members see the successes and
failures of special education through thousands of eyes, every day of every
year.

No child should be subject to abuse in the guise of education.  Every
child’s dignity and human rights must be respected.  Abusive interventions
are neither educational nor effective.  They are dangerous and unjust.
Congress should act swiftly to adopt national legislation to protect
children with disabilities.  Thirty miles and a state border should not
determine whether a child receives comprehensive protection or little
protection.

In March-April 2009, we conducted a survey that identified 143 cases in
which children were subjected to aversive interventions.  We received
reports of children subject to prone restraints; injured by larger adults
who restrained them; tied, taped and trapped in chairs and equipment; forced
into locked seclusion rooms; made to endure pain, humiliation and deprived
of basic necessities, and subjected to a variety of other abusive
techniques.  The most recent report involved events revealed only in the
last month:  a father learned that his 8 year old son was restrained 60
times over a 9-10 month period.

Of the survey respondents, 71% had not consented to the use of aversive
interventions; 16% had, but many believed the interventions would only be
used in limited circumstances where there was an imminent threat of injury.
Moreover, 71% reported that the children in involved did not have a
research-based positive behavioral intervention plans; 10% did (but the
parents often said that the plan was not followed).  84% of children
restrained were under 14 years of age, with 53% aged 6-10.

The use of abusive interventions primarily occurred in segregated
disability-only classrooms or in private seclusion rooms, away from the eyes
of witnesses, with only 26% of the respondents reporting incidents in the
regular classroom.  Almost every disability category was represented:
Autism/Asperger’s Syndrome (cited by 68% of the survey respondents),
ADD/ADHD (27%); Developmental Delay, Emotional Disturbance, Intellectual
Disability and Speech/Language Impairment (14%-20% of respondents); Specific
Learning Disabilities (11%), and others.  Many parents also indicated that
their children had Down Syndrome, epilepsy, Tourette Syndrome and other
specific conditions.

Among the incidents of abuse reported to COPAA are these:

·        A 9 year old boy with autism in Tennessee was restrained face-down
in his school’s isolation room for four hours.  One adult was across his
torso and another across his legs, even though he weighed only 52 pounds.
His mother was denied access to him, as she heard him scream and cry.  He
received bruises and marks all over his body from the restraints.  He was
released to his mother only after she presented a due process hearing notice
under the IDEA.

·        The teacher of a 15 year old Californian with Down Syndrome
reported to his parents that he had been confined inside a closet with an
aide as in-school suspension.  The teacher was concerned about the
confinement and believed it to be wrong.  Although the child had a
behavioral intervention plan, the school district did not follow it.  He was
in the closet all day.  He was only allowed out to go to the bathroom,
causing extreme humiliation as he walked in front of his classmates.

·        An 11 year old South Carolinian girl was being restrained with
beanbags on the floor, and the school attempted to use a straightjacket
restraint on her.  As a result of advocacy by her attorneys, the restraints
were terminated.  Her curriculum was changed to be more age appropriate
because her behaviors appeared to result from being bored with curriculum.
A new crisis plan was put into place to avoid restraint: if the student
became aggressive toward staff, the staff would break away from the student
and briefly leave the classroom. Using this plan, the child quickly calmed
down and went to her desk area.  Previously, the school district had
requested that the parent take the child home early on regular basis;
parents report this has not happened for the last 2 months.  With the new
behavioral plan, the child has made substantial progress in school.

The report includes a summary of all 143 incidents.

COPAA applauds the school teachers, personnel, administrators, and education
leaders who join us in rejecting the use of restraints, seclusion, and
aversives and in providing Positive Behavioral Supports (PBS).  At the same
time, we stress the importance of adopting effective laws to keep children
safe.  These include mandatory PBS, statutory prohibitions on the use of
restraints, seclusion, and aversives, and strong enforcement mechanisms to
hold school district accountable for violations.

Congress should act immediately to ban prone and mechanical restraints, all
restraints that interfere with breathing, locked seclusion rooms, and the
application of painful aversives.  In addition, physical restraint may only
be permitted when there is an imminent threat of serious injury to self or
others.  School districts and their personnel must be held accountable for
any violations of the law, and parents must have all legal remedies to
pursue justice.  All children must receive comprehensive positive behavioral
intervention plans, and schools must provide training on PBS, the harms of
aversive interventions, and the applicable legal requirements.  Schools must
also monitor and report the number of aversive interventions.  The public
policy recommendations are discussed in greater detail in the full report.

The full report, including the 143 incidents of abusive interventions in
school and COPAA’s legislative recommendations, is available on COPAA’s
website, http://www.copaa.org/news/unsafe.html.

We salute all organizations, parents, advocates, and professionals who have
long worked to combat the use of aversive interventions.  In particular, we
wish to recognize the members of The Alliance to Prevent Restraint, Aversive
Interventions and Seclusion  (APRAIS), to which COPAA belongs.  We thank
every person who reported an incident of abuse to COPAA and we thank
everyone who publicized the survey; it is your work that made this
possible.  Special thanks to COPAA members Doug Loeffler, Diane Willcutts,
Becca Devine, and Kathleen Loyer for helping summarize the 143 incident
reports, Marcie Lipsitt for proofreading, and to Bob Berlow, Leslie Seid
Margolis, Judith Gran, and Denise Marshall for their analytical assistance
in reviewing drafts of the report.

–Jessica Butler

Government Relations Co-Chair (Congressional Affairs)

Council of Parent Attorneys & Advocates, Inc. (COPAA)

(410)372-0208

govrelations@copaa.org

—
Ari Ne’eman
President
The Autistic Self Advocacy Network
1660 L Street, NW, Suite 700
Washington, DC  20036
http://www.autisticadvocacy.org
732.763.5530

————————————————————–
Take a look at our innovative new Public Service Announcement produced with
the Dan Marino Foundation at http://www.nomyths.org

If you like what we do, help support the Autistic Self Advocacy Network by
making a donation at:
https://www.change.org/donation/create?charity_id=211198

First Published Wednesday, 6 May 2009

Picturehouse Cinemas held a series of autism-friendly screenings at their sites around the country between January and March 2009. These proved so popular with families that more screenings have now been organised.

These screenings, arranged in partnership with The National Autistic Society (NAS), are designed for people on the autism spectrum, their families, friends and carers. During the film, low lights are left on inside the auditorium and the volume of the soundtrack is reduced. Cinemagoers are free to move around, make a noise or take a break during the film if they need to – these are activities not usually encouraged at regular screenings.

The cinema is often not a place that is easily accessible for families affected by autism. These screenings aim to make families feel welcome, comfortable and relaxed in an environment that can otherwise seem traumatic, enjoying a film with other families who experience similar issues.

Mark Allenby, from Picturehouse Cinemas, said:

“Autism-friendly screenings have proved to be a huge success, with regular events attracting diverse audiences to our venues. I am delighted to now be able to extend a warm welcome to members of communities up and down the country who might otherwise feel excluded from the cinema experience.”

Download the PDF document below for the latest screening schedule. We are still awaiting details from a few cinemas so please check back if your nearest autism-friendly screening is yet to be confirmed. Alternatively, email kevin.croasdale@nas.org.uk who will be able to give you up-to-date information on the screenings.

Related resources

Relevant documents for downloading

• Picturehouse Cinemas autism-friendly screenings, May 2009 (PDF)
  Download this PDF file for details of autism-friendly screenings at Picturehouse Cinemas in May 2009.

Download Acrobat Reader®

Source:  http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=2122&a=18616

First Published Wednesday, 6 May 2009

Five people with Autism Spectrum Conditions will meet with Care Services Minister Phil Hope to respond in person to a consultation on Autism which launches today.

The meeting will appear online on the National Autistic Society website, You Tube and the new Department of Health consultation webpage. The issues raised will be formally submitted as the first responses to the consultation, which asks for opinions on what should be in the Government’s National Autism Strategy to be published later this year.

The consultation will run for 20 weeks and seeks views from people with autism, their families, their carers and those involved in delivering services, to make sure that the final strategy makes a real difference on the ground.

People responding to the consultation will be asked for their views on five key themes. They are:

• *Health
• *Social Inclusion
• *Choice and Control
• *Awareness raising and training for staff
• *Access to training and employment

As well as writing and e-mailing their views, people can respond to the consultation by:

• *filling in a questionnaire that can be completed online or on paper and by individuals or groups;
• *taking part in a locally organised stakeholder discussion event – a consultation pack can be downloaded from the Department of Health website;
• *taking part in a regional discussion event; or
• *logging on to the discussion forum at http://www.dh.gov.uk/en//en/Consultations/Liveconsultations/DH_098587

Ministers have already committed to issuing statutory guidance to ensure the final strategy has teeth and is put into practice at a local level.

Phil Hope said:

“People with Autistic Spectrum Conditions should have the same rights and freedom to enjoy life as everyone else.

“I want as many people as possible to respond to the consultation and let us know about their experiences, in their communities.

“The people I’ve met have strong opinions on what changes will make a difference to their day to day lives. With their responses to the consultation, and the views of people from across the country, we can make sure that the national strategy we’ll publish at the end of the year really delivers where it counts.”

Mark Lever, Chief Executive of The National Autistic Society and chair of the strategy’s External Reference Group, said:

“After months of campaigning, the Government have given adults with autism an unprecedented opportunity to have their say in a strategy which could make a real difference. It is important that as many people affected by autism as possible take part to help shape the final strategy and the action that is needed at a local and national level. Without the right support autism can have a profound and sometimes devastating effect, so I urge the Government to reaffirm their commitment to giving the strategy the legal force, which is absolutely necessary to deliver real change.”

Source: http://www.medilexicon.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=148508

First Published Wednesday, 6 May 2009

First Published Wednesday, 6 May 2009

Freedom from Fear free screenings: Anxiety | Depression

Depression can ‘make your brown eyes blue’

George Hunka

It’s more than just feeling bad. Clinical depression affects the way we process information in the brain, negatively affecting memory, attention span, and the brain’s ability to learn new things.

Now new research provides evidence that depression changes our visual perception as well.

A research team headed by Dr Uri Polat of the Goldschleger Eye Institute at Tel Aviv University compared the visual perception of healthy people to those hospitalized for depression. The clinically depressed, they assessed, lacked the ability to fill in parts of a picture when those parts were missing or faint.

“Vision is processed in the brain, and we already know that depression affects cognitive functioning,” says Dr Polat, whose team pioneered a study on visual perception in people with depression. The new results linking depression to eyesight could result in a breakthrough tool to accurately diagnose depression.

To investigate the effects of depression on visual perception, Dr Polat developed a computerized test that let him assess “the filling-in process” that a healthy mind undertakes when looking at objects. The researchers asked 27 control subjects and 32 patients hospitalized for major depression to look at identical images and report what they saw. The control subjects were able to successfully fill in and “see” missing parts, while the depressive ones were not.

“We see with our brain, not with our eyes. The eye is only the tool,” says Dr Polat, who is studying the brainwave activity of patients during the experiment. He found very unusual patterns emerging: the brain activity of depressed people looked different from that of the control group.

“We are now taking our results and looking at ways we can take the signals in the brain and turn them into an objective tool, both in diagnostics and for monitoring the course of treatment,” says Dr Polat.

With such a tool, visual perception tests might give psychiatrists a better way to diagnose depression. Currently there is no non-biased test to assess whether someone is clinically depressed. Because of the biases inherent in self-administered tests, diagnostic questionnaires can produce inaccurate results, denying patients medication or hospitalization.

Dr Polat’s work might also assist physicians in monitoring the effects of antidepressants such as fluoxetine (Prozac^®) within days. Currently, it can take up to six weeks after the start of treatment to know if the prescription is right for the patient.

Dr Polat and his Tel Aviv University team are now taking the next step and developing an EEG test that could be administered in any clinic or hospital in America to scan brain activity for the signature signs that depression creates.

“A standardized tool for depression could save the healthcare system millions of dollars in costs resulting from misdiagnosis, and would give depressed people peace of mind,” says Dr Polat. “Knowing the severity of one’s condition could help a depressed patient decide when to medicate, and then to know whether or not the medication is working. It could also help psychiatrists better understand depression in children, and in people who have multiple dysfunctions that prevent them from communicating their feelings to a psychiatrist.“

Zomet A, Amiaz R, Grunhaus L, Polat U. Major depression affects perceptual filling-in. Biol Psychiatry. 2008 Oct;64(8):667-71   [Abstract]

Evidence suggests poor sleep increases risk of depression

Tough times keeping us awake at night

By Sharon Kirkey, Canwest News Service

With reports that “economic insomnia” is robbing people of sleep, researchers are warning poor sleep can unhinge the mind and increase the risk for depression and other full-blown psychiatric conditions.

“When you are tired, when you’re worn out, then everything becomes more of a challenge for you,” says Dr Adam Moscovitch, medical director of the Canadian Sleep Institute in Toronto and Calgary.

More…
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