Category Archives: general blog

Early Warning Signs of Mental Illness

Major mental illnesses such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder rarely appear “out of the blue.” Most often family, friends, teachers or individuals themselves begin to recognize small changes or a feeling that “something is not quite right” about their thinking, feelings or behavior before one of these illnesses appears in its full-blown form.

One half of all mental illness begins by age 14 and 75% begins by age 24.

Learning about developing symptoms, or early warning signs, and taking action can help. Early intervention can help reduce the severity of an illness. It may even be possible to delay or prevent a major mental illness altogether.

Self-Care and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Although the 2010 Veterans Administration/Department of Defense Clinical Practice Guidelines of Management of PTSD does not recommend any self-help or mindfulness-based approaches as first-line treatments for PTSD, these techniques are known to assist and address the patient’s engagement in psychiatric care, hyper-arousal symptoms and co-morbid conditions such as sleep difficulties and chronic pain (Khusid, 2013).

 

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Clonidine, Guanfacine, and ADHD

 α2 Agents:  Clonidine and Guanfacine are structurally different compounds.  Guanfacine or Tenex has relatively specific affinity for the α2Areceptor while Clonidine or Catapres has relatively nonspecific affinities for α2A, α2B and α2Creceptors as well as α1 adrenoceptors and non-adrenergic sites

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Parents Guide To ADHD

The increasing use of stimulants in the United States to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has aroused parental concern and compelled both medical professionals and the media to question the safety and efficacy of this type of treatment (Ford et al, 2003).

The American Psychiatric Association and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry have developed; ADHD Parents Medication Guide. You can find other medication guides by visiting ParentsMedGuide.org

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Sibling Aggression

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Sibling aggression is common but often dismissed as benign. We examine whether being a victim of various forms of sibling aggression is associated with children’s and adolescents’ mental health distress. We also contrast the consequences of sibling versus peer aggression for children’s and adolescents’ mental health.

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