Susan Vaught - Western State Hospital Internship Program

December 12 2015

Friday Factoids Catch-Up: The Holiday Blues

The happiest time of year can actually be quite miserable. For a select few, the months of November and December can be overwhelming, stressful, exhausting, depressing and filled with dread. The thoughts of finding the ideal gift, planning the most wonderful meal, going into debt, seeing family and all the travel are almost unbearable. All around they see bubbly people, hear upbeat music and are enthralled with cheerful advertisements of perfection (perfect family, meal, gifts) and they begin to feel even more down in the dumps, lonely, inadequate and pressured to live up to unrealistic expectations. They have the holiday blues.

While “holiday blues” is not a clinical diagnosis, Major Depressive Disorder is. It can often be mislabeled and/or underestimated this time of year. Depression symptoms and severity are different for each individual, so not everyone will be affected the same–but it can be debilitating for some. Here are some of the symptoms to remain aware of as clinicians, and as people who may experience these issues as well:

•           Feeling sad, down and/or blue nearly every day
•           Being abnormally irritable and/or grouchy
•           Finding it difficult to enjoy things once liked or loved
•           Changes in sleep pattern – either not enough or too much, trouble falling
asleep, trouble staying asleep, trouble getting up
•           Change in appetite – either lose weight or gain weight
•           Feeling worthless
•           Feeling guilty
•           Problems concentrating or focusing
•           Decreased energy
•           Low, sad or irritable mood
•           Thinking about or wishing to fall asleep and never wake up
•           Having actual thoughts of self-harm or suicide.

If you or someone you know is experiencing a combination or all of the above symptoms, then you should schedule an appointment with a mental health professional as soon as possible. If you are having thoughts of ending your life, then please tell someone immediately, call 911 or contact The National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255). While depression can negatively affect many to most aspects of life, it is treatable. Treatment options can range from therapy, medication or a combination of the two. 350,000,000 people suffer from depression worldwide and 50% will not seek help (Holes, 2015). They continue to suffer needlessly. Help is waiting and all it takes to begin is the first call.

References
Holiday Anxiety and Depression: Click for Survival Tips. (n.d.). Retrieved December 16, 2015, from http://www.medicinenet.com/holiday_depression_and_stress/article.htm

Holmes, L. (2015, January 20). 11 Statistics That Will Change The Way You Think About Depression. Retrieved December 16, 2015, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/20/depression-statistics_n_6480412.html

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. (n.d.). Retrieved December 16, 2015, from http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/

Crystal K. Bray
WKPIC Doctoral Intern

December 12 2015

Friday Factoids: Sydenham’s Chorea

The link between mental illness and viral/bacterial/parasitic infections is proving to be greater than we ever imagined. Many neurological disorders are now known to be caused by infections in addition to already known genetic and other factors. Sydenham’s chorea (SD) is a neurological disorder that is produced by the bacterium that causes rheumatic fever. It is an acute symptom of rheumatic fever and in some cases the only sign that a patient is ill. SD mostly occurs in children ages 5 to 15. However, it can arise in pregnant women. It is a gender selective disorder that presents in prepubescent females more often than males.

SD is characterized by uncoordinated movements, muscular weakness, stumbling, falling, slurring of speech, difficulties with writing, trouble concentrating and emotional instability which can include loss of emotional control, periods of inappropriate laughing or crying and obsessive compulsive disorder. There is usually a history of the patient having a sore throat for several weeks before the onset of SD. Onset is usually rapid, however, it can be insidious meaning that symptoms can gradually develop. In these cases of slow onset, the symptoms can be present for up to five weeks before they become troublesome enough to seek medical attention. However, in some children, symptoms might not arise for 6 month after the infection and/or fever has been treated and cleared.

Blood testing is currently used to identify specific proteins associated with the disorder. They can also be used to detect markers that indicate an erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ERS) of rheumatic fever which is another good indication of SD. ERS is a test that indirectly checks the level of inflammation in one’s body.

Treatment is fairly basic. Those who only have a mild case will be prescribed several days of bed rest. Those with more severe cases will need a medical professional to prescribe antibiotics to kill the bacterium that caused rheumatic fever. SD symptoms usually lessen and clear in several months. However, for those with severe cases, future antibiotics are usually prescribed as well. There is currently a debate as to if those who had SD should be treated with antibiotics until age 18 or for the duration of their life to prevent the return of symptoms. Additionally, in some cases, psychopharmacological drugs are prescribed with the antibiotics to help control the severity of involuntary movements, emotional outbursts and OCD behaviors. These too, however, usually clear in several months for most cases.

References

Frey, R., Polsdorfer, J., “Sydenham’s chorea.” A Dictionary of Nursing. 2008, & “Sydenham’s chorea.” The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2015. (2005). Sydenham’s Chorea. Retrieved December 3, 2015, from http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Sydenhams_Chorea.aspx

NINDS Sydenham Chorea Information Page. (n.d.). Retrieved December 3, 2015, from http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/sydenham/sydenham.htm

Washington, H. (2015, November 3). Catching Madness. Retrieved November 29, 2015, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/201511/catching-madness?collection=1081138

Crystal K. Bray
WKPIC Doctoral Intern

December 12 2015

Individual Autonomy and Peer Support

This is a note from a personal perspective:

I have studied the Peer Support Training Manual from front to back. I know the evidence-based practices involved. It is something that I must practice daily so to override my instinctual reactions to people and issues. I am a mother-er. Even before I had kids, I was the mother-er to my friends. You don’t have to be a mother to be like this. You don’t even have to be female. You are just the type of person who wants to fix things and people.

I have always been the one there to listen to problems. The issue is that I want to put a bandage on everything and make it better. I want to fix things. I’m afraid if my son played football, I’d be the parent running on the field every time he was tackled saying, “Oh! Are you okay??” and embarrass him. Thankfully, he doesn’t play football.

Peer Support isn’t counseling and I’m not allowed to give a lot of advice. The premise is to be an affective listener; it is to ask open-ended, honest questions. Peer Support has to allow the individual the autonomy of choosing his or her own path. Even if I am not sure that they are ready to work, if they say they want to work, I am to point them in directions where they can get more information, or just be their advocate.

If you are like me, you want to surround the person in bubble wrap and protect them from the world. People, however, deserve the chance to live a “self-directed life.” Parents, family, and mental health workers mean well when trying to protect the person from the world, but every human has a right to try to reach his or her own full potential…and to try to reach their dreams.

As a Peer Specialist, it has been tough not being able to just say, “Well, you can do this or that, and it would solve your problem!” It has been tough not getting out my package of band aids to “fix” things. It is hard not being able to “mother” or “parent” the patients, because I do care about them a great deal. Every person deserves the ability to succeed or fail. Everyone deserves a shot at flying from the nest. It is a skill that I’ve had to learn.

Rebecca Coursey, KPS
Peer Support Specialist

December 12 2015

Friday Factoid: Toxoplasma Gindii

An interesting tidbit of information that recently caught this writer’s attention is the possibility that we are susceptible to psychiatric disorders stemming from parasites. That is not to say that all or even the majority of those diagnosed contracted a parasite but according to several studies it is a probability that a few may have. Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) is one of the more studied parasites that has already been linked to intellectual deficiencies, prenatal brain damage, retinal damage, abnormal head size, deafness, cerebral palsy and seizures. However, many doctors, scientist and researchers believe that it can also cause schizophrenia.

T. gondii is a one-celled, protozoan parasite that infects most warm-blooded animals including humans. All members of the cat family are currently the only known definitive host and they can shed the “eggs” for up to two weeks. Birds and mice can be secondary carriers of the parasite, however. Many humans who carry the parasite suffer no symptoms or ill effect due the body’s immune system keeping the parasite at bay. However, for a select few, the parasite can lead to toxoplasmosis. (Toxoplasma infection, 2013, January 10).

Several studies, including one by Dr. E. Fuller Torrey, have shown that mothers who became infected with T. gondii and essentially toxoplasmosis while they were pregnant had children with higher rates of schizophrenia in adulthood versus children of uninfected mothers. However, the most notable find discovered by Dr. Torrey was a correlation between those who were diagnosed with schizophrenia and were infected with T. gondii as children or teens. Essentially, what he identified was a link between increased incidences of schizophrenia in locations that had parks or community play areas that also had sandboxes. His explaination was that on average, 4-24 cats had been shown to use the sandboxes as a litterbox, the T. gondii eggs were shed in the feces and the children’s hands were infected while playing. (Washington, H., 2015, November 31).

To help support his theory, Torrey looks to history. He points out that up until about the year 1808 schizophrenia was relatively rare. However, he notes that in 1808 the prevalence of schizophrenia increased dramatically. At the same time, he also brings notice to the fact that cat ownership became progressively more popular in the United States and other areas around the world. He believes this shared surge of occurrence is much more than coincidence and that indicated that additional research should be conducted. Whether you agree or not with his insight to the increase and one probably cause to schizophrenia, one has to note it should be further explored. (Toxoplasma infection, 2013, January 10; Washington, H., 2015, November 31).

Work Cited

Parasites – Toxoplasmosis (Toxoplasma infection). (2013, January 10). Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/toxoplasmosis/

Washington, H. (2015, November 3). Catching Madness. Retrieved November 29, 2015, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/201511/catching-madness?collection=1081138

Crystal Bray
WKPIC Doctoral Intern

December 12 2015

Friday Factoids: Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections

Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections, or PANDAS for short, was a relatively new term that this writer was not very familiar with more than three weeks ago. For those of you like this writer who were unaware that a neuropsychiatric disorder shared its name with a black and white bear, let me share some information. According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), PANDAS is a “syndrome” which means it includes a number of disorders and issues that share an origin. This list includes tic disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder, anxiety disorders and some mood/behavior issues (PANDAS, 2015).

The shared origin of the disorders and issues listed above, in regards to PANDAS, results in the child having contracted a streptococcal infection (strep throat/scarlet fever). Strep is an extremely old bacterium that survives very well due to its ability to hide from its host’s immune system. It brilliantly has a biological cloaking system called molecular mimicry. Essentially, it places molecules on the outer portion of its cell wall that make it indistinguishable from molecules found within the host child’s brain, heart, joint and skin tissues. This allows it to avoid discovery and rapidly multiply unimpeded for some time. When the intruders are finally recognized, they are attacked by antibodies created by the immune system. However, due to the molecular mimicry, the antibodies attack not only the strep molecules but host’s tissue molecules that were mimicked. Therefore, some anti-bodies target the host’s brain tissue specifically. The result of the attack on the brain tissue is what is said to be causing the symptoms of PANDAS (Streptococcus. 2015).

The symptoms of PANDAS are vast and can vary from child to child. The symptoms can include: rapid onset or worsening of symptoms already present, a tic disorder and/or OCD, ADHD symptoms (hyperactivity, inattention, fidgety), physical hyperactivity (or unusual, jerky movements that are not in the child’s control), separation anxiety, mood changes (irritability, emotional lability, sadness), sleep disturbance, gross/fine motor changes (such as changes in handwriting or drawing abilities), anorexia or refusal to eat, night-time bed wetting and/or day-time urinary frequency and joint pains. The age if onset is usually anywhere from three years to the beginning of puberty. The child also must have had a positive strep culture or previous history of scarlet fever. It is important to note that the symptoms can go through an episodic course meaning they can cycle in their presence and severity with each new contraction of a streptococcal infection (PANDAS, 2015).

Currently, there is not a lab test used in the diagnosing of PANDAS but, as mentioned above, the child must have had a positive strep culture or previous history of scarlet fever and some combination of the majority symptoms. PANDAS is a clinical diagnosis and must meet a set of specific criteria for the diagnosis to be given. If you believe your child may suffer from the syndrome, then contact your health care provider to discuss your child’s symptoms. Treatment usually consists of one round of antibiotics to eliminate the streptococcal bacterium. Symptoms will then begin to decrease over the course of several days to weeks.

Crystal K. Bray,
WKPIC Doctoral Intern

Works Cited
PANDAS: Fact Sheet about Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections. (n.d.). Retrieved November 29, 2015, from http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/pandas/index.shtml

Streptococcus. (2015). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/science/Streptococcus

Washington, H. (2015, November 3). Catching Madness. Retrieved November 29, 2015, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/201511/catching-madness?collection=1081138

Crystal K. Bray,
WKPIC Doctoral Intern

Previous page 1 … 28 29 30 31 32 … 63 Next page

Innovative Psychology Internship Program in Western Kentucky. See what we are all about!

Teaching Excellence

Author Archives: Susan Vaught

Friday Factoids Catch-Up: The Holiday Blues

Friday Factoids: Sydenham’s Chorea

Individual Autonomy and Peer Support

Friday Factoid: Toxoplasma Gindii

Friday Factoids: Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections

Phone: 270-889-2741

Phone: 270-889-2811