Wow, what a week it has been, my friends. The weather here has been sunny and in the upper 60s/lower 70s (which Chopper loved), I found a ridiculously inexpensive and surprisingly potent scented oil while wandering aimlessly around Wal-Mart (mmm, Christmasy cinnamon), and I finally found the name of the song on one of the new Blackberry commercials (it’s “Live the Proof” by Jim Boggia, if anyone’s interested. It’s great. Seriously.).

And, of course, we Americans elected our leader for the next four years. Something I (but not Chopper) found even more exciting than the rest of it.

So, what else went down this week?

This week at Mental Health Notes, in addition to questions about physician-assisted suicide and a review of Lumosity, quite a few famous names were the topic of discussion, including William Shatner, Brooke Smith, Maurice Benard, and Barack Obama.

Regarding mental health advocacy, educational opportunities abound. It may be too late to attend the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance’s 3rd Annual Rebecca’s Dream Gala, but the DBSA is currently accepting registrations for both the Peer Specialist Training 5-Day Course and the next Peer Specialist Continuing Education (CE) Webinar, “Trauma-Informed Care: What the Peer Specialist Needs to Know.” Too, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is promoting the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) free teleconference training, “Children’s Mental Health Problems and the Need for Social Inclusion.”

In the world of mental health news, 92% of the 1,137 people who took a ComPsych Corp survey claim economic woes contribute to their sleeplessness, depressed African-American heart patients are less likely than depressed Caucasian heart patients to be on antidepressants, and young ADHD patients are more likely to become addicted to nicotine. But, there’s some good news, too: Kidney transplants may improve mental performance (keep in mind this is good news for patients with kidney disease and related cognitive impairment – so, not something any ol’ body should go rounding up friends and scheduling a kidney domino theory over.

Here at b5media’s Health & Wellness Channel, my fellow bloggers are chatting it up about lots of interesting stuff:

• Mark gives a list of important A.A. history dates for November at A Dozen Steps.
• Mary Emma at Alzheimer’s Notes has a guest post from Dee regarding easy finger foods for Alzheimer’s patients.
• Kristina talks about two studies regarding autism genetics at Autism Vox.
• Cherie rounds up a list of giveaways at Diabetes Notes.
• Grace tells us about how seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is linked to a mutation at Genetics & Health.
• Scott talks about bullies (and his method for handling them, ha) at Health and Men.

That’s all for this week’s Saturday Sanity!

Post from: Blisstree

Saturday Sanity: What A Busy Week!

So, let me rephrase: I love Denny Crane.

Given my love for Denny Crane, and my sadness over this being the final season of Boston Legal, it was no surprise William Shatner’s name in this week’s TV Guide caught my eye. (Actually, given the blah factor of this week’s Brothers & Sisters, it was no surprise I was sitting on the couch perusing this week’s episode of TV Guide. But, I digress.) Anyway, I saw Shatner’s name in an article about a YouTube video Shatner made (what?! William Shatner has a YouTube account?! Tres cool) discussing George Takei’s failure to invite Shatner to his wedding.

Blah blah blah.

What held my attention to the article was TV Guide’s statement that, during the YouTube video, Shatner diagnosed Takei with psychosis.

Now we’re cookin’ with hot grease! William Shatner, who is clearly not a doctor, is diagnosing a former castmate with a mental disorder?

Well, not really. I jumped on YouTube and watched the video. What Shatner actually says is, “[...] there’s a psychosis there.” 37 seconds into a video that’s over four minutes long, that’s the one and only mention of psychosis.

Hmm.

Was Shatner diagnosing Takei with psychosis? I don’t think so. I think he was merely suggesting that whatever grudges Takei was holding against him suggested he had false ideas about the reality of their relationship. That Takei had perhaps saw or heard things – perceived things – that Shatner may not (or may, who knows? I’ve never been a Trekkie) have done.

So, after watching the video, it seems to me that TV Guide’s comment might have just been an attempt to fan the flames of this apparently ongoing cat fight. You be the judge:

And, if you want some legit information about psychosis, check out:

• WebMD’s definitions of psychosis.
• PsychCentral’s Schizophrenia and Psychosis
• Dr. Christopher Pelic’s podcast Psychosis: What is Psychosis?

Post from: Blisstree

Did William Shatner Diagnose George Takei With Psychosis?