Violence-related stress may harm kids’ health
• Stress • Apr 20 05

The stress some young children suffer after being exposed to violence in their neighborhoods or homes may have repercussions for their physical health, according to a new study.

Researchers found that…


 

Feeling Good: the New Mood Therapy
• Mental health and Psychiatry news • Apr 18 05

When most people think of therapy, they come up with the old stereotypes of the psychiatrist’s couch and Freudian imagery. The psychoanalytic approach of Freud isn’t the only from of therapy…


 

Wrestling with Bipolar Disorder
• Bipolar Disorder • Apr 18 05

It’s one of the most missed diagnoses in psychiatry. Bipolar disorder, involving moods that swing between the highs of mania and the lows of depression, is typically confused with everything from…


 

Electroconvulsive therapy effective?
• Mental health and Psychiatry articles • Apr 18 05

A large-scale review of previous studies suggests electroconvulsive therapy is an effective short-term treatment for depression.

ECT has been around since the 1930s, but doctors still hold a wide range of opinions on its…


 

What is electroconvulsive therapy?
• Mental health and Psychiatry articles • Apr 18 05

If you have tried a number of treatments for depression without getting the results you need, your doctor may suggest electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), which involves a brief, mild electrical stimulation of the brain…


 

Effects of mental illness on the family
• Mental health and Psychiatry articles • Apr 18 05

Family life can be disrupted by the illness of a member. The stigma attached to mental illness often makes if difficult for the family and affected person to cope.

As…


 

Caring for someone who is depressed
• Mental health and Psychiatry articles • Apr 18 05

Tips for carers

Your family member or friend has been diagnosed with a mental illness. What can you do to help?
The Cape Support for Mental Health offers the following…


 

South Africa teens: High suicide risk
• Suicide • Apr 18 05

In South Africa, research has indicated that one in five teens thinks about harming themselves, with 7.8% of these youths actually attempted suicide before, while 57.7% of the sample had told…


 

Suicide risk factors in bipolar disorder identified
• Suicide • Apr 18 05

Adults with bipolar disorder are at a higher risk of committing suicide in their early 30’s, usually within 7-12 years of the onset of the mental illness, according to a…


 

Suicide threats not just passing phase
• Suicide • Apr 18 05

Suicidal tendencies in adolescents are often misinterpreted as a “passing phase” or common characteristics of adolescent development. Some parents dismiss suicide threats as manipulative tactics, born out of immaturity. Education about…


 

Coping with the loss of a loved one
• Suicide • Apr 18 05

There are no words to describe the feelings you experience when you learn about the suicide of a loved one. The initial reaction usually is one of total disbelief…


 

Danger signals of suicide
• Suicide • Apr 18 05

Many of us are concerned that we might not be able to recognise someone with suicidal tendencies. According to the Depression and Anxiety Group, the following are danger signals of suicide:

Previous suicide…


 

What you can’t expect from your therapist
• Mental health and Psychiatry articles • Apr 18 05

A therapist is there to offer a supportive, safe environment in which you can deal with your problems. But there are certain limits to what you can expect from your…


 

How to choose the right therapist
• Mental health and Psychiatry articles • Apr 18 05

You’re depressed and not coping. Your friends have suggested therapy and you’re finally considering it. But where should you start? How do you go about choosing the right therapist?

So many…


 

Different schools of psychotherapy
• Mental health and Psychiatry articles • Apr 18 05

Research has shown that the best form of treatment is a combination of psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy. There are several different types of psychotherapy, which may differ in the techniques used based on the…


 

What is a psychologist?
• Mental health and Psychiatry articles • Apr 18 05

A psychologist is someone who specialises in psychotherapy, the so-called “talking therapies”.

In order to become a psychologist, one needs to do an undergraduate course (usually a B.A.) with psychology as one of…


 

Can dysthymia lead to major depression?
• Mental health and Psychiatry articles • Apr 18 05

Although up to 50% of people with dysthymia start symptoms before the age of 25, many go years without treatment as they see their condition as part of life. The greatest…


 

What is the cause of dysthymia?
• Mental health and Psychiatry articles • Apr 18 05

Dysthymia, like depression, is thought to be caused by a combination of biochemical, genetic and environmental factors.


 

What are the symptoms of dysthymia?
• Mental health and Psychiatry articles • Apr 18 05

Have you felt sad, blue, down, low and not interested in your usual activities for most of the day, more days than not for at least the past two years (or…


 

Who gets dysthymia?
• Mental health and Psychiatry articles • Apr 18 05

It is thought to affect about 3% to 6% of the population. Dysthymia, like depression, can affect both genders and people of all ages, although it is more common among females, and onset in…


 

What is dysthymia?
• Mental health and Psychiatry articles • Apr 18 05

Dysthymia, can be described as a long-lasting, less severe experience of depression symptoms. Without treatment, studies have shown that the condition of people suffering from dysthymia tends to progressively deteriorate over time.

Even…


 

Depression and sex
• Mental health and Psychiatry articles • Apr 18 05

The symptoms of depression, like insomnia, a change in appetite, a feeling of worthlessness and anhedonia - a loss of interest in things that were normally enjoyed, including sex - can have an immense…


 

Depression and sleep
• Mental health and Psychiatry articles • Apr 18 05

Tired of tossing and turning at night, watching the hours tick by and panicking that you will have a rotten day because you haven’t slept at all? Don’t despair, a good night’s sleep might…


 

Depression: Self-help
• Mental health and Psychiatry articles • Apr 18 05

Self-help is not a treatment for a depressive illness on its own, but it can contribute towards accelerating recovery and it can help to maintain the benefits of treatment.


 

Depression and diet
• Mental health and Psychiatry articles • Apr 18 05

Step 1: Understanding the relationship between depression and diet
You feel down and depressed. Does diet play any role in your depression?

Studies have shown that brain chemicals (neurotransmitters) play a mediating role…


 
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