Just when I think I’m going to have a normal week (i.e. one not bogged down with getting caught up with work and chores, but one actually spent working and “choring” at a regular pace!), a gigantic tree about 20 feet from my house decides to give up on life and take a few power and telephone lines down with it.

Fortunately, no one (and no homes) were hurt, but most of my street went without power and/or telephones for two days – which not only blows for people who, you know, want to keep the food in their refrigerators cold, but also really blows for people who work from home.

And I once again found myself scrambling to meet a deadline last night.

In any event, all’s well with the world (and electricity!) again, and here’s your Saturday dose of sanity!

This week at Mental Health Notes, Karen Lynch contributed tips on how to manage emotional distress (and gave me a much needed break!), and then I told you about a few mental health blogs I’m reading, asked you if you’re happy with your psychiatrist’s services, reminded you about the chance to have your donations to Mental Health America matched, posted my review of Surviving Ben’s Suicide, rolled out another edition of What Do You Really Want?, and shared five brain cancer resources. Oh, and I also announced the winner of Dr. David Clarke’s They Can’t Find Anything Wrong!, spread some doggy humor, and publicly announced my extreme jealousy of Nikki Katz.

Regarding mental health advocacy, along with the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, and the Suicide Prevention Action Network USA, Mental Health America published their statement on the JAMA study that shows a continued high rate of suicide among youths after the “Black Box” warnings, the DBSA’s Power of Peers National Conference is right around the corner, and there’s still plenty of time to participate in NAMI’s Grading the States survey.

In the world of mental health news, it’s a big day for women. Researchers believe dialectical behavior therapy may help women who suffer from both an eating disorder and borderline personality disorder, a large study suggests women who experience extreme stress right before or during pregnancy have a higher risk of giving birth to underweight babies, researchers have reported young women who’ve experienced extreme stress have a higher risk for developing breast cancer, and another study suggests that babies born to depressed mothers have “more chaotic sleep patterns early in life.”

Here at b5media’s Health & Wellness Channel, Karen Lynch of Pink Ribbon review hosted a live blogging event during Friday night’s Stand Up To Cancer event, and also featured each one of us Health & Wellness Channel bloggers, and a few others, who participated in helping to spread the word about cancer awareness. Check it out!

• Susan Watiker is Standing Up 2 Cancer
• Alicia Sparks is Standing Up 2 Cancer
• Kristen King is Standing Up 2 Cancer
• Michelle Smith is Standing Up 2 Cancer
• Ruth Schaffer is Standing Up 2 Cancer
• Scott Wharton is Standing Up 2 Cancer
• Kendra James, RN is Standing Up 2 Cancer
• Angela White is Standing Up 2 Cancer
• Marijke Durning, RN is Standing Up 2 Cancer

Enjoy your weekends!

Image: SXC and Andrew Faulkner

Post from: Blisstree

Saturday Sanity: If A Tree Falls 20 Feet From Your House…

Just a reminder that you have until midnight tonight to enter the contest for a copy of Dr. David Clarke’s They Can’t Find Anything Wrong!: 7 Keys to Understanding, Treating, and Healing Stress Illness.

You can read my interview with Dr. Clarke to learn more about the book, and then head on over to Contest: Win A Copy Of Dr. David Clarke’s They Can’t Find Anything Wrong! to enter for your chance to win!

Good luck!

Image: SXC and Ronaldo Taveira

Post from: Blisstree

Contest Reminder! Enter To Win They Can’t Find Anything Wrong!

What do a wake, a funeral, a dog who seems to have developed irritable bowel syndrome, a depleted bank account, and a would-be fistfight in a Wal-Mart parking lot all have in common?

Why, they all worked together to make up my week, of course.

(Don’t worry, I wasn’t involved in the scuffle. I just happened to be strolling up the aisle when Wal-Mart’s parking lot almost turned into a boxing ring.)

Fortunately for today’s Sunday Sanity (yes, Sunday – I was running errands yesterday and our servers were undergoing maintenance last night, so, no posting for me!), the world of mental health news and events has been just as eventful (though not quite as depressing) as my week.

This week at Mental Health Notes, I offered you resources for learning more about brain stem strokes, told you about NAMI’s call for survey participants and the DBSA’s plethora of mental health podcasts, and updated you on my boyfriend’s Wentworth Miller’s (and his fans’) success with a donation to UNICEF. It was also a big week for books, as I finally posted my review of Bruce Goldstein’s Puppy Chow Is Better Than Prozac and started a contest for a copy of Dr. David Clarke’s They Can’t Find Anything Wrong!

Regarding mental health advocacy, Mental Health America released “Get Connected” on Campus to offer college students stay connected and manage stress, and gives us information about the Democratic and Republican platforms on mental health and substance abuse issues, while the National Alliance on Mental Illness offers tips on how to manage hot weather while taking medication.

In the world of mental health news, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have discovered (with mice) the need to create new brain cells for exercise or antidepressants to be effective in reducing depression, a study published in a recent online issue of Neurology shows that older people’s mental skills begin to decline before death even without the presence of dementia, and researchers from the University of Michigan Depression Center and their nationwide colleagues have found gender differences regarding the effectiveness of antidepressants. Cherry Hospital of Goldsboro, North Carolina will soon be under investigation after the recent death of a patient who was left unattended in a chair for 22 hours and died choking on his medication, Dr. Raj Sherman of Canada is taking on mental health stigma, and in Australia a man who loses one of his cabins and “lost an income” to the arson of a mentally ill homeless man feels the Mental Health Court’s decision to detain the man at a mental health facility is a “cop out.”

Here at b5media’s Health & Wellness Channel, Kristina at Autism Vox talks about the shocking case of a video on YouTube of an autistic boy getting beaten up, Kendra at A Hearty Life muses on the mental strength a marathon runner must have, and Liz at Alzheimer’s Notes shares a video about a family dealing with Alzheimer’s Disease. The gals at Healthbolt are holding a giveaway for the Food Matters Documentary DVD, Scott at Health and Men talks about how badly America’s healthcare needs help, and Grace at Kids Health Notes gives a few tips on how to help your kids get back to school stress free. Karen at Pink Ribbon Review is up for the Best Health Blog for the Blogger’s Choice Awards, Angelique at Breaking the Mirror celebrates her 23rd “ana-versary,” and, sadly, Marijke at Help My Hurt explores a different kind of hurt when she said goodbye to her beloved greyhound Dee.

That’s all for this week, folks! There are some pretty interesting news bits in there – some I will probably address further later this week – but in the meantime feel free to discuss them in the comments!

Image: SXC

Post from: Blisstree

Sunday Sanity: Front Row Seats At The New Wal-Mart Boxing Ring

Last week, I published an interview with Dr. David Clarke regarding his professional experiences with stress illness and his book on the subject, They Can’t Find Anything Wrong!: 7 Keys to Understanding, Treating, and Healing Stress Illness.

This week, Dr. Clarke, Sentient Publications, and I are offering you the chance to win your own copy of They Can’t Find Anything Wrong!

To enter the contest, you must:

• Be at least 18 years old and live in the continental United States
• Leave a comment on this blog post giving an example of one side effect of stress you’ve experienced. The side effect can be mental or physical. Note that comments like “awesome contest!” or “I want to win!” will be disqualified if they don’t also include one side effect of stress you’ve experienced. (Too, you can enter the contest as many times as you like, but each entry must contain a different side effect of stress you’ve experienced.)
• Make sure you enter a valid email address in the comment box labeled “Mail.” You can enter the contest anonymously (i.e. leave a screen name or otherwise fake name in the “Name” section), but you must put a valid email address in the “Mail” space (it doesn’t show up for the public to see); otherwise, I can’t contact you if you’re the winner!
• Do it all before midnight (Eastern Time) Thursday, September 4, 2008!

I will select the winner using the List Randomizer tool at Random.org, and announce the winner on the morning of Friday, September 5, 2008.

Good luck!

Image: Dr. David Clarke/Sentient Publications

Post from: Blisstree

Contest: Win A Copy Of Dr. David Clarke’s They Can’t Find Anything Wrong!

I don’t know who originally talked about “the calm before a storm,” but in my 26 years of existence, I’ve found it to be all too true.

Aside from the depressing news about the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince release date, last week was a pretty good week.

This week, after spending numerous days in the hospital with a loved one who’s suffered a brain stem stroke (I’ll talk more about that tomorrow), Warner Brothers’ big surprise with Harry Potter looks peachy by comparison.

Still, I have prepared a pretty decent Saturday Sanity, all things considered.

Enjoy!

This week at Mental Health Notes, I shared two very interesting interviews: One with Dr. David Clarke, author of They Can’t Find Anything Wrong!, and another with Dee, a Cymbalta withdrawal survivor. I also shared with you one writer’s tips on how to de-stress, told you about Blog Action Day 2008, pointed out that lead is harmful to our health (in light of a recent “China’s at it again”-type hoax), and participated in this month’s Health & Wellness Channel theme day with Sunshine Can Help Your Brain Grow Big And Strong.

Regarding mental health advocacy, the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA) has posted their latest newsletter online, and Mental Health America wants to know if you’ve saved a life today.

In the world of mental health news, researchers report that an increasing number of veterans home from Iraq and Afghanistan are turning to alcohol, Heather Yakin of the Times-Herald Record shares a heartbreaking story of conditions of New York’s Hudson Valley area adult homes, and the Los Angeles Times reports on suicidal thoughts among college students. Studies appearing in the Journal of Clinical Oncology report cancer is a risk factor for suicide, a study of close to 3,600 Americans suggests that early childhood trauma plays a role in people starting to drink at young ages, and researchers have reported on two genes that could play a role in a person’s risk for bipolar disorder in the journal Nature Genetics.

Here at b5media’s Health & Wellness Channel, we bloggers were busy with August’s theme day, “Summer Fun.” You can view a round up of all entries to learn how to be your healthiest this summer!

Image: SXC

Post from: Blisstree

Saturday Sanity: Recognizing The Calm Before The Storm

Today’s Mental Health Notes post is a treat indeed, as I was able to interview Dr. David Clarke, author of They Can’t Find Anything Wrong!: 7 Keys to Understanding, Treating, and Healing Stress Illness.

Dr. Clarke defines “stress illness” as an illness that is caused by various kinds of life stresses, both past and present.

Read on as Dr. Clarke explains how we can spot, diagnosis, and treat stress illness; provides suggestions on how to deal with doctors who may not appropriately handle stress illness; and offers eight little words that can change the way you look at your health.

Mental Health Notes: In a brief nutshell, They Can’t Find Anything Wrong! is a book about stress illness. Can you tell us exactly what stress illness is, and what prompted you to tackle this subject?

Dr. David Clarke: As the name implies, stress illness is illness caused by any of several types of past or present life stresses. The physical symptoms are just as real and can be just as severe as those caused by any other disease.

My interest in this condition began 25 years ago when I encountered patients whose diagnostic tests were all normal. I didn’t know these patients had stress illness because medical training pays little attention to this condition, even though over half of all medical patients fall into this category. Fortunately, I learned how to solve these medical mysteries from a psychiatrist who was also trained in diagnostic medicine. She taught me that by asking the right questions I could find the cause of the symptoms and then treat them successfully.

MHN: Did you write the book with a particular audience in mind, or can everyone benefit?

DC: The book will benefit three groups of people: medical patients whose illness is not explained by diagnostic tests, their doctors and anyone who is struggling with stress in their life whether they are physically ill or not.

The heart of the book is four dozen stories about people who overcame a variety of life stresses. They achieved this even though initially they often did not fully comprehend what they were coping with. The stories enable readers to gain insight into their own lives, which is the essential first step toward positive change.

MHN: If a person has a stress illness, are there any clues they can detect on their own? Do these clues have anything to do with the “five types of hidden stress” you cover in your book?

DC: The five types of stress are prolonged effects of stress from childhood, stress in your life at the moment and three mental health conditions: depression, anxiety disorders and post-traumatic stress. The presence of any of these may be largely or completely hidden. The most important clue that a hidden stress may be responsible for an illness is that diagnostic tests fail to reveal a cause for the physical symptoms. Some other clues that you might have a hidden stress are that you:

1. Would never want an innocent child to grow up experiencing what you did as a child.
2. Always seem to find yourself in relationships where you are treated disrespectfully.
3. Have lost interest or pleasure in activity you previously enjoyed.
4. Care for everyone else in your world but rarely take time for yourself.
5. Have a low general energy level.
6. Feel depressed, down or sad much of the time.
7. Are unable to control or stop feeling anxious, worried, on edge or nervous.
8. Are bothered by unwanted memories from a traumatic, terrifying or horrifying personal experience.
9. If you had a list of everything in your life that causes stress, tension, worry, anger or fear you would feel sorry if a friend was coping with the same list.
10. Have an addiction or an eating disorder.
11. Cut, burn or otherwise deliberately injure yourself.

MHN: What are the most common physical health problems that stress can cause? Have you stumbled upon any “uncommon” physical health problems caused by stress?

DC: Symptoms can occur anywhere from head to toe and include pain, dizziness, muscle or joint stiffness, difficulty breathing, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, fatigue, sleeping problems and many others. The symptoms in stress illness are just as real and can be just as severe as the symptoms of any other disease. Some of my patients have been hospitalized and a few have even had surgery that, of course, did not help. Though many stress illness patients have just one symptom, the more symptoms a patient has the more likely it is that stress illness is responsible.

Sometimes stress illness causes unusual symptoms. One of my patients had itching of patches of his skin in a different bodily location each day. For example, one day his hands would itch, the next day the itching was between the shoulder blades, the day after that his upper left chest would itch and so on. Another patient had pain on the left side of her body from the armpit to the upper thigh. Despite their unusual nature, the symptoms in both of these patients were relieved after one and eighteen months respectively.

MHN: Of the “7 Keys to Understanding, Treating, and Healing Stress Illness,” is there any one more important than the other? Is there one that you would encourage readers to remember, even if they didn’t understand anything else in the book?

DC: The 7 Keys work together like the segments of an arch to build a foundation for positive life changes. So it is difficult to single one out. But if I had to select one concept that may stand out a little, it is that the childhood environment for about half of my adult patients left them with an inaccurate, negative self-image. This can have a subtle but significant adverse impact on their lives that my patients usually do not fully recognize. The book will give readers insights in this area that can change how they live every day.

MHN: Do you think some doctors are unwilling to delve into stress-related illnesses? And if so, why? Are the steps to diagnosis too complicated, or are the doctors too narrow minded?

DC: Few doctors have had any formal training about stress illness. Consequently, many are frustrated by their inability to diagnose it or they conclude that the condition is not part of their job. This is unacceptable for an illness that is responsible for over half of all medical office visits. Fortunately, most health care professionals who read my book can learn to correctly diagnose and treat most patients with stress illness.

MHN: What advice would you offer someone who is clearly ill, but can’t find a doctor who’s willing to look beyond the lack of physical explanations?

DC: This is a tragically common situation. Many people experience relief of symptoms from reading my book and following its treatment advice. Those who remain ill should communicate the personal insights they acquire from the book to their health care provider and ask for additional advice. These patients may benefit from referral to a mental health professional, from prescription medication or from additional counseling by their primary clinician. They may also benefit from the information on the website www.stressillness.com.

MHN: Are people who suffer from undiagnosed stress illness more prone to self-medicate?

DC: When significant life stresses are hidden it is difficult or impossible to change them significantly. The resulting emotional pain may be severe with no obvious source of relief. Some people in this situation will find no better solution than to relieve the suffering with drugs, alcohol or tobacco. Some patients develop other addictions such as to work, exercise, shopping, food, gambling or sex and some develop eating disorders or engage in self-mutilation. A tragic few commit suicide.

MHN: In your experience, have you ever met a patient who suffered from a stress illness and had trouble getting his or her insurance carrier to cover the cost of care?

DC: No. Insurance carriers see little difference between a patient with, say, abdominal pain from an ulcer and a patient with abdominal pain from stress illness. Unfortunately, most health insurance companies have not yet recognized how much unnecessary diagnostic testing occurs when clinicians fail to diagnose stress illness correctly. I am optimistic that in the future they will all insist on a routine stress evaluation.

MHN: They Can’t Find Anything Wrong! has received rave reviews from people in various health professions and patients alike. If, in 20 years, no one can remember a thing from it, is there one bit of information you hope they will retain?

DC: Just eight words: Stress Causes Real Symptoms, Effective Treatment Is Available.

MHN: I think that definitely sums it up nicely. Thank you for your time, Dr. Clarke!

Dr. David Clarke received his B. A. in psychology from Williams College (Phi Beta Kappa), and his medical degree from the University of Connecticut in 1979. Since then he has successfully cared for thousands of patients with stress illness, often sent to him after other doctors were unable to help them. He has been a visiting professor at several international hospitals, including Oxford. He was also named a Top Doctor in the Portland Monthly magazine physician review in 2005 and 2006.

Dr. Clarke is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine and Senior Scholar at the Center for Ethics in Health care both at Oregon Health and Science University. He is also a Clinical Instructor at Pacific University and a member of the Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine. He is board-certified in Gastroenterology and Internal Medicine, and has practiced in Portland, Oregon since 1984. He was Ethics Director for his medical group from 2005 to 2008.

David Clarke has received numerous awards for excellence in patient care. He developed and presented a monthly seminar on stress illness for patients and local doctors have given their patients tens of thousands of copies of his brochure on this topic. He lives in Happy Valley, Oregon, which is near Portland.

Thanks to Dr. Clarke and Sentient Publications, Mental Health Notes will soon hold a contest to win a free copy of They Can’t Find Anything Wrong!: 7 Keys to Understanding, Treating, and Healing Stress Illness. In the meantime, you can learn more at www.stressillness.com, and even order a copy today from Amazon and Borders.

Images: Dr. David Clarke

Post from: Blisstree

Dr. David Clarke Speaks About Stress Illness And His Book, They Can’t Find Anything Wrong!