All types of antidepressants can cause some side effects. The most common problems are sleepiness, dry mouth, constipation, nausea and sexual problems. Some people react badly to antidepressants; in others side effects can be quite mild. Different drugs have different risks: SSRIs, or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, such as fluoxetine (Prozac) may cause you to feel sick or more anxious during the first couple of weeks. Some types of SSRI can cause indigestion, but this can usually be avoided by taking them with food. They may interfere with sexual function, and there have been reports of episodes of aggression, although these are rare. Side effects of SSRIs tend to become less obvious after the first few weeks, while the body adapts to the drug. The ...

In early December, my employer kicked me off of their group health insurance plan. While it was a terrible plan with high co-pays and many uncovered services, it was better than no health plan at all. I live in Massachusetts, which I believe is the only state where it is illegal to not have health insurance. When I lost my health insurance, it was not an option to go without. As my salary is low and insurance premiums are high, I had to figure out what to do. 12/8/09 Today is the day a representative from my company’s new health insurance provider is coming onsite to enroll us. I knew that I was technically no longer eligible to be on the company’s group plan ...

How do you express your support to someone who is reeling from a traumatic experience? There are things you can do for the other person as well as for yourself. 1. If your loved one has been threatened with physical harm or death, you can experience that as a trauma. Hearing about or seeing what your loved one survived can be very distressing to you. Take care of yourself or you will not be able to help the survivor. Get support for yourself from others, not the survivor. It is important for you to keep in touch with other friends, family members, or supportive people. 2. Get as much information as you can about ...

Editor's note: All statistics cited in the review are taken from the book itself. Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a mystery to many of us, even clinicians. Still, BPD is more common than schizophrenia and twice as common as anorexia nervosa. Compared to the general public, a person with BPD is 400 times more at risk for suicide. BPD is a serious condition that is often misunderstood, misdiagnosed and overlooked. Families of individuals with BPD may be at their wit’s end, trying to figure out how to live with someone whose emotions resemble a rollercoaster. This is where The Essential Family Guide to Borderline Personality Disorder: New Tools and Techniques to Stop Walking on Eggshells comes in. It’s written by Randi Kreger, co-author of the bestselling ...

One of my good teachers used to say that children need attention like a plant needs sun and water. They need the adults around them to notice them, to encourage them, and to interact with them in order to feel good about themselves and to feel comfortable in the social world. If they can’t get those needs met in positive ways, they switch to the less-than-attractive behaviors that force the grownups to pay attention. When plants don’t get enough water or kids don’t get enough attention, they aren’t picky. I’ve been known to dump cold coffee on my parched African violets when in a hurry. “Better than nothing,” I say to myself. Fortunately, they don’t seem to mind. Kids too will settle for hurried ...

Women with greater working demands tend to have a higher risk of small babies and preterm birth, according to recent findings. A team from University College Dublin, Ireland, examined figures on 676 women who were working at the time of their first prenatal visit, and delivered a single baby. The women gave information on their health, income, lifestyle and employment, and this was linked to their medical records during pregnancy and the infant's records. Potential risk factors at work were defined as high physical work demands, being on a temporary contract, working shifts, and working long hours (40 hours or more per week). Results showed "significant and strong associations" between these high physical work demands and low birthweight (less than 2,500g/5.5 lbs). There was a significant link between ...

Disclaimer: The characters from these vignettes are fictitious. They were derived from a composite of people and events for the purpose of representing real-life situations and psychological dilemmas which occur in families. Daniel’s Perspective Daniel was 16 and appeared to be doing fine. Though popular at school and well-liked, he easily felt rejected, recently feeling alienated from friends. Though no one was concerned about his performance at school, he felt increasing pressure to do well, and worried about disappointing or burdening people. Stressed and secretly overwhelmed, he stayed up all night trying to keep up with his advanced classes - and could not concentrate. Daniel came into therapy following a suicide attempt by overdose. In the initial sessions Daniel talked mostly about how relieved he ...

The student who asked to see me looks exhausted. I’m used to sleepy students. It’s an occupational hazard of teaching the 8:30 a.m. class. But I’ve been worried about this young man for several weeks. He seems to be fighting especially hard to keep his head from hitting the desk during every class. Ironically, we’ve been covering sleep disorders in our psychology seminar and he sent me an urgent request for an appointment. Now at my office in the late afternoon, he doesn’t look much better. “Were you serious that people sometimes feel so paralyzed when they wake up that they can’t move?” he asks. “Is it really true that people can hear voices just because they are sleep-deprived? How about seeing ghosts and spirits?” ...

“This year, I’m going to start exercising.” “This year, I'm going to lose all my extra weight.” “This year, I'm going to take better care of myself.” For many people, exercise and nutrition are common “new year’s resolution” topics. As a personal trainer, this is something I see every January. Full of good intentions, people flood into the gym to get started on new, healthier lifestyles. I give these people all the credit in the world; developing a healthy lifestyle positively influences almost every aspect of your life. It is something important to work toward. Some of these “resolutioners” are successful and form new habits. However, many people lose sight of their good intentions and fall back into old, unhealthy patterns. ...

UK scientists have tackled the common belief that caffeine causes or exacerbates tinnitus, or ringing in the ears. They found that cutting out coffee, tea, cola and chocolate may make the symptoms worse. For many years, it has been widely believed that caffeine aggravates tinnitus, with many doctors advising their patients to avoid its consumption. But as there is a lack of experimental evidence to support this theory, researchers from Bristol University, UK took a closer look. Dr. Lindsay St. Claire and colleagues carried out a detailed analysis of the effects of caffeine withdrawal and abstinence on tinnitus symptoms, which can include rushing, roaring, banging, and whistling sounds. The team recruited 66 volunteers with tinnitus, who usually consumed at least 150mg of caffeine per day from tea or ...

It’s safe to say that no mental disorder is more shrouded in mystery, misunderstanding and fear than schizophrenia. “The modern-day equivalent of leprosy” is how renowned research psychiatrist E. Fuller Torrey, M.D., refers to schizophrenia in his excellent book, Surviving Schizophrenia: A Manual for Families, Patients, and Providers. While 85 percent of Americans recognize that schizophrenia is a disorder, only 24 percent are actually familiar with it. And according to a 2008 survey by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), 64 percent can’t recognize its symptoms or think the symptoms include a “split” or multiple personalities. (They don’t.) Aside from ignorance, images of the aggressive, sadistic “schizophrenic” are plentiful in the media. Such stereotypes only further the stigma and quash any ...

“Your daughter has schizophrenia,” I told the woman. “Oh, my God, anything but that,” she replied. “Why couldn’t she have leukemia or some other disease instead?” “But if she had leukemia she might die,” I pointed out. “Schizophrenia is a much more treatable disease.” The woman looked sadly at me, then down at the floor. She spoke softly. “I would still prefer that my daughter had leukemia.” “This book is a product of a thousand such conversations,” writes research psychiatrist and schizophrenia specialist E. Fuller Torrey, M.D., in Surviving Schizophrenia: A Manual for Families, Patients And Providers. Getting a diagnosis of schizophrenia can be devastating. Families and patients alike think there’s no hope. What follows may be shock, shame and confusion. But schizophrenia isn’t a death sentence ...

It's almost the new year, a time to stop and reflect and make promises to ourselves to improve on something. I've been mulling it over for days. Big items like hitting the gym more often and losing that 10 (ok, 25) pounds seem doomed to failure. What, I've been asking myself, is a realistic self-improvement program that I can stick to and feel good about? Then someone gave me a wave. You know the kind: I let someone turn in traffic ahead of me, and he gave that little "thank you" wave that people do. He got to turn. And I got the "aha" moment I was looking for. It comes down to taking an extra 5 seconds to be thoughtful, kind, or ...

Lunching with a group of friends, all of us 50 and up, the conversation turned to holiday giving. (Of course. It’s that time of year.) “I wish my kids would listen to me,” said Rita. “I know they want to give me and their dad something special. But we know they are hurting financially. We know they love us. We don’t need them to give us things to show it.” Grace agreed. “My son moved back in with us this year because the only job he could find after college doesn’t pay enough for him to be independent yet. He’s having trouble meeting his car payments. The last thing we want him to do is spend money buying things that we don’t really need.” ...

It was back in the '50s. One day my friend's mother just disappeared. That Sunday as they gathered in the church parking lot, the other mothers whispered. My friend stood next to me and cried. Finally, one of the more outspoken moms broke away from the mom-huddle and put her arms around the girl. "Don't worry," she said. "Your mom has a sickness in her mind and is in the hospital. She’ll be back in a few months good as new. But don't talk about it. People don’t talk about mental sickness." As absurd as that tableau may seem today, it comforted my friend. At least she knew her mom would come back. She did; drugged up and passive, but there. She seemed to sleepwalk ...