by Leigh Ann Otte

This week, we’re featuring one of my favorite articles: “Are You Normal? The Difference Between Quirks and Mental Illness.” In it, you get to play psychiatrist. Four fictional people tell their brief stories, and you decide whether they need help. Then, a real psychiatrist gives you his opinion.

It’s an eye-opening article that answers interesting questions like, if you hear voices, do you have schitzophrenia? If your friends think you’re obsessively neat, might you have OCD? And what do panic attacks really feel like?

After you read the article, tell us what your score was! Did you guess right?

Leigh Ann Otte is the managing editor of MyFamilyDoctorMag.com and a freelance writer, editor and blogger.

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by James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.

No one should have to bury their child.  A universal truth that will never be cliche.  There is nothing worse than the death of your son or daughter.  It haunts you forever.

I know from second-hand experience after my parents had to do just that when my sister died in an auto accident in her twenties.  The Travoltas know first-hand.  You can only try to cope.  But how?  What common lessons can be learned from such an unthinkable tragedy?

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by  James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.

I need psychiatric help.  Not the usual kind (well, maybe), but someone in the psychiatric field to help me understand what this new report in the Archives of General Psychiatry is really telling us.  I know the headlines, that almost half of adults 18 to 24 have a psychiatric disorder.  Alcohol was higher in college students.  Nicotine and drug addiction was higher in non-college students, along with bipolar disorder.

How were these disorders diagnosed?  What was the criteria for diagnosis?  What are we to do about it?
Is this just another “scare of the day”?  Are smoking and drinking now “psychiatric disorders”?

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by James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.

It is difficult to imagine the sacrifice and horrors our heroes, past and present, have faced, but we must never forget.  They have protected and taken care of us.  It’s inconceivable that we would not do the same for them.

After they come home, the physical and mental scars do not go away.  In fact, they affect the family they come home to, also.

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by James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.

If you are not stressed in these economic times, you should be, or so it seems if you listen to the media long enough these days.  The holidays are coming up also, and here’s the thing: There is good stress and bad stress but your body treats it the same.  It adds up quickly.  Ever heard of the Holmes-Rahe Live Inventory Scale (PDF download)?

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by James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.

According to the National Institutes of Health the actual diagnosis of bipolar disorder in teens and children has increased by 40 times over the last 10 years. During this same time period, in adults, the diagnosis has doubled. The study was published in the September 2007 issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry.

Now the big question is whether the increase of bipolar disorder in children and teens is from overdiagnosing the disorder, underdiagnosing it in the past, or a combination of the two. (more…)

by James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.

Patients need to be informed. That’s what my blog and magazine are all about. But sometimes, how you think about that information can physically affect you.

The placebo effect, or placebo response, has been known for years. A placebo is a treatment that has no active ingredients–no logical reason to have any effect, a sugar pill. The placebo effect is when this inactive treatment provides active results. For instance, placebo has helped alleviate pain, lower blood pressure; the list could go on. That’s why the best medical studies compare the active treatment to placebo (placebo-controlled).

It can happen to anyone, and I see it frequently. If someone thinks a treatment will cause an effect, it can. There are loads of studies, some showing actually physiological changes in the body–the power of positive thinking, mind over matter.

But what happens when the opposite effect occurs?

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by James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.

Judy Rodman is a successful professional singer, teacher and writer.  Her blog series on stage fright is insightful, in-depth and well-written.  If you want or need to learn how to cope with stage fright, or just tips to alleviate your fear of getting up in public, see her posts at http://www.judyrodman.com/blog.htm.

by James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.

Some studies have actually shown an increase in the incidence of heart attacks (MI’s) during the Christmas holidays. Others have shown that the risk of death from these MI’s is higher also (possibly due to shorter medial staffing during the holidays). So the obvious reaction should be to try your best to decrease your risk of an MI.

The Vanderbilt physicians offer valuable advice toward this end. However, I think they left out a key factor, which is stress. There are so many things going on with the gift giving, parties, traveling, family reunions, etc. Good stress can affect you as much as bad, and it is additive. So plan ahead a little to limit it. (more…)