FYI…
You can pick up the form below at MVA or cut out and use the one below. Just right click and click on copy image. Then paste it to MS-Word or another word processing document.
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… And what’s going on with you this week?
When it comes to mental illness, every week someone is the F2F class has a relative in crisis. Tell us what is going on, what has happened, what is the situation now. You don’t have to use real names. You can sign in with a name you make up and just the first name or first name and initial of last name. You don’t even have to use a real email address; use something like henry@f2f.com.
What is important is that our stories get out of us… Just Leave a Reply by clicking on the word Comment or send details to namieditor@yahoo.com.
Remember: YOU CAN’T KNOW WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW!
So, what’s going on?
- How do you feel about having support groups for people with mental health issues?
- We have groups such as Peer-to-Peer and Connections. But what about weekly or monthly social groups for those with mental health issues?
A NAMI Program that Works!
IN OUR OWN VOICE
FYI…
Bipolar Diagnoses Up 40 Times From Decade Ago
The Huffington Post Laura Hibbard Posted: 06/21/11 12:19 PM ET
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that bipolar disorder has been a frequent subject of media attention lately. For example, just this spring, Catherine Zeta Jones checked herself into a mental health clinic for treatment of bipolar disorder. How could it not be on our minds, when it has become such a large part of the American family’s everyday life?
A recent study shows that the number of American children diagnosed with bipolar disorder increased 40 times in the last 10 years, the Star Tribune reported. In one state alone, spending on antipsychotic drugs to treat the condition, such as Abilify, has increased 17 times since 2000.
Dr. Carrie Borchardt, a child psychiatrist with Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota, said that in the last decade these medications have become the problem instead of the solution.
“A substantial number of those kids, if you take them off the problem medication, those symptoms go away,” she told the Star Tribune. “And then they don’t have bipolar, they just had a medication-induced problem.”
Drawing on his almost 50 years as a child psychiatrist, Stuart L. Kaplan told Newsweek why he thinks medication for child bipolar disorder points back to an even bigger problem: The ability to diagnose children with the disorder in the first place.
“It’s nearly impossible to distinguish between children alleged to have bipolar disorder and those with straightforward anger-control issues. … Most of these symptoms can easily be matched to less-trendy conditions like attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD). My view is that a diagnosis of bipolar disorder in a child is almost always a case of severe ADHD combined with severe ODD, both fairly common in elementary-school children.”
The diagnosing, however, might be changing soon. Psychiatrists such as Kaplan and Borchardt are beginning to worry that thousands of children may have been falsely categorized as having the disorder because of “overzealous doctors” and “aggressive marketing by drug companies,” as Borchardt told the Star Tribune. The upcoming edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders — the manual that psychiatrists use to diagnose patients — will be rewritten with a new disorder that will replace bipolar for many cases.
The new disorder, named Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder, would apply to pre-adolescent children who are have frequent outbursts in different settings and locations. However, some still doubt the effectiveness of creating a new label for the behavior because it will still be considered a disorder of biological origins, which — like bipolar disorder — will require medication for treatment, according to the Star Tribune.
Another thing that continues to puzzle doctors is that two-thirds of child bipolar cases involve boys, but only half of adult cases involve grown-up-men.
Dr. Ellen Leibenluft of the National Institute of Mental Health shared with the Star Tribune how she thinks the stigma of the disorder has changed throughout her life.
“People often ask, ‘Where were these kids when we were younger?'” she told the Star Tribune. “I can think back, and there were definitely kids who were struggling. People viewed them as problem kids, not kids with problems.”
[NOTE: Be sure to check out Huffington Post for more articles about mental health issues.]
MYTHS ABOUT RECOVERY
On Tuesday, July 12, 2011 Dr. Fisher will be in Ellicott City.
On Our Own of Maryland Presents:
Building Relationships and Community: Pathways to Reducing Risk
with Daniel B. Fisher, Ph.D., M.D.
Executive Director of the National Empowerment Center
and a Commissioner with the President’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health
Part One: “Recovery Values, Relationship-Building and Risk Reduction”
One of the challenges in the process of creating recovery cultures is addressing the issue of risk, both operationally and personally. Dr. Fisher will discuss the key connections between recovery values, relationship-building, and risk reduction. This will include an in-depth look at relationships within service settings and also the community, as the system continues toward the goal of building healthy communities for all.
Part Two: “Practical Applications: Recovery Dialogues”
Recovery Dialogues are a transformational and practical tool to use in the process of shifting cultures. In this session, you’ll learn what they are, how to create them, and will have an opportunity to experience them firsthand.
Part Three: “Step Into Our Living Room: A Conversation with Dr. Dan Fisher”
Join us for a question and answer session about various facets of Dr. Fisher’s work and interests. Audience members will have an opportunity to submit questions upon arrival for possible inclusion in the session.
NOTE: Event check-in is from 12:30-1:00 p.m. The session starts promptly at 1:00 p.m. The event cost is $35. Location:
family2family4md.wordpress.com 
Comments on: "What’s going on…" (1)
First time on the blog. Love the choice of music. Enya is the best! Looking forward to getting support and keeping in touch with F2F members. Thanks to our leaders who have taken the time to bring all of us so far forward in this illness.