SAD affects more women than men. Between 60 and 90% of the people diagnosed with SAD are women.

A diagnosis may be made if you’ve experienced symptoms during the fall and winter, but recovered with seasonal changes for at least two years in a row. Some people even experience SAD during the summer months instead of the fall and winter (reverse SAD).

SAD may be treated with light therapy or cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). Other treatments include the use of antidepressants and other forms of counseling.

The University of Vermont recently reported findings from a SAD study that compared the use of light therapy, CBT, or a combination of the two treatments. Researchers found that one year after treatment, participants treated with CBT had a 7% recurrence rate of SAD compared to a 36.7% recurrence rate for light therapy treatment. Participants in the combination group had a 5.5% rate of recurrence. Those treated with CBT had less severe depression than those treated with light therapy or a combo of CBT and light therapy.

Researchers contribute the lower success rate of light therapy with the commitment that it requires of patients and the resulting low compliance rate. To comply with therapy, participants had sit in front of a light box for 30 minutes each day.

If you suffer from SAD, what treatments have worked for you?

(Image via flickr/Evil Erin)

Post from: Blisstree

Which SAD Treatment Works Best

The results revealed a significant improvement in insomnia severity, daytime fatigue and sleep quality. The lead researcher, Norah Vincent, PhD, is a psychologist at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg. She said, “The cognitive therapy section was designed to help individuals to develop realistic expectations about sleep and the impact of sleep on next-day functioning while teaching a variety of strategies for coping with an overactive mind and worries.”

Specific study results:
• 81% of treated participants reported at least mild improvement in their sleep
• 35% rated themselves as much or very much improved
• 30% of those who completed the program gained an extra hour of sleep
• Many participants who received treatment developed healthier attitudes about sleep and were less likely to have an overactive mind at bedtime

The CBT program included audiovisual clips, downloadable mp3 files for relaxation training and PDF files for psychoeducation and cognitive therapy. The researchers indicated that CBT has been used to successfully treat insomnia sufferers ages 18 through 80. They believe that CBT may even be useful for teens.

(Image via stock.xchng)

Post from: Blisstree

Chronic Insomnia Treated Online

And by “one thing” I mean prescribing medication.

Aside from the cost of mental health care, one of the biggest patient complaints I’ve heard since beginning Mental Health Notes and becoming involved with NAMI is the way in which appointments with psychiatrists seem to go these days.

It’s become the norm for a patient to take a half or whole day off work to sit in a waiting room for an hour or more only to see a psychiatrist for a few minutes in order to discuss whether or not a particular medication is working, grab a new or adjusted prescription, and leave in time for another patient to take the seat before the butt warmth has had time to cool.

When did psychiatrists decide it was okay to cut their services in half? Why are psychiatrists now merely tending to “medication management” (i.e. doling out drugs and monitoring their success) and leaving the “dirty work” to psychologists, social workers, and other non-doctor mental health professionals?

Read on.

From the Reuters article Move over Freud: Psychiatrists embrace pill power:

The shift to briefer visits for medication management, reported in the Archives of General Psychiatry, appears to be linked to better psychiatric drugs and pressure from managed care companies, which offer richer financial incentives for brief office visits.

“Psychiatrists get more for three, 15-minute medication management visits than for one 45 minute psychotherapy visit,” said Dr. Ramin Mojtabai of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and formerly of Beth Israel Medical Center in New York, where he did the research.

Up for a nice greedy round of money-grubbing, anyone?

Dr. Mojtabai also states that treatment from psychologists and social workers is most likely “short-term cognitive behavioral therapy” rather than the “analysis psychiatrists have traditionally offered.”

Of course, not everyone has dollar signs in their eyes.

While Dr. Mojtabai admits seeing a psychiatrist strictly for medication management and a psychologist or social worker for actual therapy “might not be as efficient” (as what? having a psychiatrist who actually knows more about you than what dosage of Zoloft you’re currently taking? and didn’t he just say the treatment from psychologists and social workers was different from what we can get from the analysis of a psychiatrist?), Dr. Eric Plakun, leader of an American Psychiatric Association committee on psychotherapy, notes that a shift in focus from psychotherapy to the biology of mental illness accounts for some of our psychiatrists’ current unwillingness to do more than drag out the prescription pad.

Plakun said in a telephone interview it is not clear if patients are getting therapy from other providers, or not at all.

“Either way, I’m worried about our patients,” he said. “Patients need the best help we can give them.”

For Plakun, that means offering a range of services, including psychotherapy, and not just medication. “If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail,” he said.

Yes, everything does indeed start to look like a nail. If the only skills today’s psychiatrists are coming out of school with (or are willing to use) are the skills to properly medicate someone, does that mean more people than actually necessary are being medicated?

What about you? How would you describe your trips to the psychiatrist’s couch office? How happy are you with the various members of your mental illness management team?

Image: SXC

Post from: Blisstree

Is Your Psychiatrist Only Good For One Thing?

This post is part of Celebrity Health Week at the b5media Health & Wellness Channel. For more information about Celebrity Health Week posts here at Mental Health Notes, visit Introducing Celebrity Health Week: Celebrities And Mental Illness.

Now that we’ve nodded in the direction of celebrities who have bipolar disorder, let’s take a look at the illness itself so you can better understand what these famous folks are going through.

Keep in mind that this post is just an overview and by no means meant to act as a substitute for medical professional advice.

I gathered information about bipolar disorder from the same three major sources from which I gathered information for the Tell Me More About Depression: Signs, Symptoms, And Treatments post: The National Alliance on Mental Illness and their section on Bipolar Disorder; the National Institute of Mental Health and their booklet about Bipolar Disorder; and the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance and their section on Bipolar Disorder.

So, after reading this overview of bipolar disorder, I highly recommend checking out those Web sites for more detailed information.

Read on!

Quick Facts about Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder is a mental illness that causes extreme shifts in a person’s mood, energy, and ability to function. (It’s interesting that NAMI is currently referring to bipolar disorder as “medical illness” and NIMH is referring to bipolar disorder as “brain disorder” – bipolar disorder is both, of course, but I’ll stick to the good ol’ fashioned mental illness for now.)

According to the NIMH, there can be as many as 5.7 million American adults (or 2.6 percent of the population) age 18 and older in any given year who have bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder typically develops when a person is in their late teens or early 20s; however, the illness can develop at any age.

Signs and Symptoms of Bipolar Disorder

There are many signs and symptoms of bipolar disorder, but for simplicity purposes they can be broken up into two categories: symptoms of mania (the highs) and symptoms of depression (the lows).

When a person with bipolar disorder is experiencing mania, he or she may:

• Experience such euphoria that he or she actually feels high.
• Have little or no need for sleep, feel an increase in energy, and even an increase in productivity and creativity.
• Have racing thoughts, talk very fast, and be easily distracted.
• Exhibit an increased sexual drive.
• Have poor judgment; make bad decisions.
• Feel as if he or she is “on top of the world,” untouchable and unstoppable, and having special powers and abilities
• Engage in substance abuse.

According to the NIMH, “A manic episode is diagnosed if elevated mood occurs with three or more of the other symptoms most of the day, nearly every day, for 1 week or longer. If the mood is irritable, four additional symptoms must be present.”

When a person with bipolar disorder is experiencing depression, he or she may:

• Sleep and/or eat too much or too little.
• Feel extreme sadness, worthlessness, anxiety, hopelessness, guilt, helplessness, and pessimism.
• Experience a decrease in energy, desire, and interest in activities.
• Feel restless and/or irritable.
• Have trouble concentrating and making decisions.
• Experience physical pain.
• Suicidal thoughts or attempts.

According to the NIMH, “A depressive episode is diagnosed if five or more of these symptoms last most of the day, nearly every day, for a period of 2 weeks or longer.”

Different Types of Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder is not as cut and dry as the – ahem – media may lead you to believe. A person with bipolar disorder may have:

• Type 1 Bipolar Disorder, the most severe type of bipolar disorder when the mood swings are the most frequent and severe.
• Type 2 Bipolar Disorder, a less severe type of bipolar disorder that involves depression and hypomania more often than depression and mania.
• Cyclothymic Disorder, an even less severe type of bipolar disorder when the mood swings are quite mild.

Someone with bipolar disorder may experience:

• Hypomania, when the mania level is mild to moderate.
• Mixed states, when the mania and depression symptoms occur at the same time.
• Rapid cycling, when the episodes of mania and depression occur more frequently than the time frames given above.
• Psychosis, when the episodes of mania and depression are so severe they cause hallucinations and delusions.

See why it’s best to get a doctor’s advice? This stuff can get confusing!

Treatment Options for Bipolar Disorder

Treatment options for bipolar disorder almost always involve medications (such as lithium and anticonvulsants) and psychosocial treatments (such as psychotherapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, interpersonal and social rhythm therapy, and family therapy). A doctor may determine that electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) would be beneficial, and sometimes people with bipolar disorder opt for a more natural treatment option such as herbal and natural supplements.

Bipolar disorder is often present for a while before it’s diagnosed. If you think you suffer from bipolar disorder, contact your doctor. If you think someone you know suffers from bipolar disorder, point him or her in the direction of these resources and encourage him or her to contact a doctor. There is absolutely nothing shameful or embarrassing about dealing with mental illness, and there are effective treatment options available.

Post from: Blisstree

Tell Me More About Bipolar Disorder: Signs, Symptoms, And Treatments