concussions and PTSD

this week seems to be guest blogging week.  first hubby yesterday on the mindset of a poker player, and today i’m the guest blogger – over on GNIF brainblogger you can find me writing about some interesting new findings on the connection between concussions and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).  enjoy!

interview with laurie r. king: madness and mystery

i am very pleased to present you today with an interview with bestselling mystery author laurie r. king. as you may know, i am quite the mystery fan so i was delighted when i was approached with the idea of being a stop on laurie’s virtual book tour. IM: your book to play the fool… Continue reading interview with laurie r. king: madness and mystery

helping a friend with depression

there was an interesting post a few days ago on PsychCentral, predicting that january 21st – yesterday – would be the most depressing day of the year, according to cliff arnall. or maybe not. maybe it’s in october. whatever it is, the most interesting part of that article to me was that they also touched… Continue reading helping a friend with depression

mental illness and violence

most people have little reason to fear violence from people with mental illness, even in its most severe forms. historically, in the 1950s, mental illness carried great social stigma, especially linked with fear of unpredictable and violent behaviour. while there is greater public understanding of mental illness nowadays, paradoxically, the perception of people with psychosis… Continue reading mental illness and violence

robert dziekanski’s death: excessive force or excited delirium?

police officer mo cho used to hope paramedics arrived at some scenes before he did. those were the “M-1s,” the calls involving mentally ill people. “i had no idea what to do,” cho said. that’s the beginning of an article by deedee correll “training helps cops deal with mentally ill“. did the RCMP at vancouver… Continue reading robert dziekanski’s death: excessive force or excited delirium?

albert ellis: empirically, logically and self-helpingly

the other day i was listening to a little audio clip of an interview with albert ellis, the no-holds-barred founder of rational-emotive behavioural therapy (REBT, also known as RET and RBT). ellis was one of the grandfathers of cognitive therapy; he wasn’t too enamoured with the theories he said freud “made up” and jung’s “mystical… Continue reading albert ellis: empirically, logically and self-helpingly

carnival of eating disorders #10

welcome to this month’s carnival of eating disorders, a reader’s digest of blog posts about mental health issues related to problems such as anorexia, bulimia, orthorexia, binge eating disorder, food addiction, exercise anorexia, as well as body image. parents and anorexia let’s start with a very controversial issue: pro-anorexia mothers. ex-model, ex-anorexic “mamavision” refers to… Continue reading carnival of eating disorders #10

hungry, thirsty, confused – and dead

last sunday, a man was killed at the vancouver airport. robert dziekanski died after he was tasered by police at vancouver international airport. police say he was agitated, screaming, shaking and throwing things. he had been at the airport for 10 hours. i have no idea what exactly happened in this situation but it is… Continue reading hungry, thirsty, confused – and dead

8 points on emergency preparedness for winter depression

the days are getting shorter. it’s raining. cold creeps in. for some people, yet another bout of winter depression, or SAD (seasonal affective disorder) is just around the corner. chronic and recurring conditions – and for many people, depression falls under those categories – are manageable. we can learn from them: each time they happen,… Continue reading 8 points on emergency preparedness for winter depression