PSYCHIATRY.US | Info on Psychiatry, Mental Health & Mental Illness

Benjamin Rush was the first American physician to believe that mental illness was a disease of the mind and not a possession of demons. He earned the title of "Father of American Psychiatry" by his avid pursuit of studies of the mind. It has been only during the last 2-3 decades, however, that Rush's work on mental illness got

a genuine boost with psychiatric research making great strides in the precise diagnosis & successful treatment of psychiatric disorders. Where once mentally ill were warehoused in public institutions, today most people suffering from mental disorders can be treated effectively. This recent explosion in neuroscience advances has made psychiatry one of the most exciting specialties in medicine. Yet this increasing knowledge only just begins to explain the complexity and variety in human behavior and mental disorders. This website aims to facilitate transmission of psychiatric information among physicians treating mental illness and practicing psychiatry in the United States, and to enhance public understanding about the field of psychiatry and its patients. It contains general info about psychiatry and its sub-specialties, an outline of psychiatric disorders per DSM-IV, articles on select topics, links to other Internet-based mental health resources, some humor & related links, important mental health news, and a catch-all category appropriately titled Content, NOS (Not Otherwise Specified). Last but not the least, we plan to foster an active and vibrant online community via our Discussion Forums section. This Website is managed and monitored by a dedicated group of mental health professionals in association with Tariq M. Ghafoor, M.D., a psychiatrist with dual-fellowship and triple Board Certification. This website is a "work in progress" with much room for expansion and improvement. Any contribution via feedback, suggestions, and relevant content for publication consideration will be appreciated, and can be forwarded to webmaster@Psychiatry.us

Left-Handedness...Good or Bad?

Earlier this year, Barack Obama was sworn in as president of the United States. It was an exciting and historical event not only for Democrats, Blacks and those who longed for a leadership change, but also for left-handed Americans. Why, because only one in ten Americans is left-handed, and Obama is one of them.

The fact is that four of the past six presidents—Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and Bill Clinton—were also left-handed, showing that despite the age-old prejudice lefties may have something going right for them in their brains. Some research also points out to the beneficial mental aspects of being a lefty or ambidextrous. Fro instance, researchers in Pakistan studied the effect of handedness on the student’s intelligence level and found that left-handed students were significantly more intelligent than right-handed subjects. Results were published in the January 2007 Journal of the Indian Academy of Applied Psychology. The, at Johns Hopkins researchers discovered that in a national sample of 5,000 men and women, left-handed college-educated men earned 15 percent more than right-handed college-educated men did even after accounting for other differences.

Psychiatric research, however, indicates that there may be another side to being a lefty or ambidextrous; i.e. making these individuals more vulnerable to certain mental disorders than right-handed folks. For example, in 70s and 80s some research noted what appeared to be an unusually high percentage of left-handed or ambidextrous individuals among those with autism, dyslexia, stuttering, or neuro-developmental disorders. In recent years, the diagnosis of Developmental Coordination Disorder has been linked with left-handedness. In the February 2008 Journal of Child Neurology, two Israeli researchers reported that out of 98 children with DCD, 31 percent were left-handed, and 13 percent were ambidextrous. Later that year in October Canadian Journal of Psychiatry published a study noting that out of 19 children with DCD, 37 percent were left-handed. A relatively higher percentage of schizophrenic patients also appear to be left-handed. Tyrone Cannon, Ph.D., and his colleagues at UCLA have found that 32% of the individuals with schizophrenia were left-handed, compared with only 12 percent of their siblings and only 9 percent of the controls. These results were published in the November 2003 American Journal of Psychiatry.

Linkage between Personality Traits & Longevity.

For sure our genetic makeup plays a role in determining how long we would live, bit it would seem that our personality traits can do the same. One example: those who are highly conscientious are likely to have longer lives than those who are not. Personality traits determine one's thoughts, feelings, and behavior and a new study indicates can also determine how long one would live.

The research was conducted by Hajime Iwasa, Ph.D., of the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology in Japan. Results of the study were published in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.

Further evidence that exercise can prevent depression

Although exercise is helpful in preventing depression in both sexes, men seem to be at an advantage when it comes to vigorous workouts...So, if you would like to stay from the blues: Sweat out...!!

Depression Linked to Increase in Harmful Type of Body Fat

Although studies have found that depressed people are at risk of becoming obese, they may be at particular risk of gaining extra weight around their midsection.

It's not just donuts that can put a "donut" around your middle. Depression, or the physiological changes that result from depression, may be able to do so as well.

This is the message from a study conducted by Dutch and American researchers published in the December 2008 Archives of General Psychiatry.

Researchers 'Astonished' by Anorexia Death Rates

Anorexia nervosa is a very dangerous illness, not just over the short term but over the long term as well. Patients with this disorder need continuing, diligent follow-up care.

Anorexia nervosa, as psychiatrists know only too well, is a dangerous illness with a high rate of premature death.

$Researchers \'Astonished\' by Anorexia Death Rates$

Leaving Las Vegas May Reduce Odds of Suicide

Maybe it's the water.

Or maybe it's more complicated than that, but the odds that residents of Las Vegas and visitors to the city will commit suicide appear to be higher than those for people who live or visit elsewhere. Moreover, residents of Las Vegas reduce their risk of dying by suicide when they leave town.

ADHD more severe for women than for men

Women with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) appear to suffer from more severe symptoms and emotional impairment than their male peers, although investigators report that both genders respond well to treatment.

Depressive symptoms often exacerbated just before menses

Premenstrual exacerbation of depressive symptoms appears to affect the majority of premenopausal women with major depressive disorder, say researchers who found such exacerbation increases the duration of the depressive episode.