Mental Health Update

Yes, you can be bored to death

Being bored might make life seem longer but it can actually shorten it in the long run. Researchers at University College London have been monitoring over 7,000 civil servants over 25 years as part of a long-term study of lifestyle and health. The civil...

Published Tue, Feb 09 2010 4:29 AM by Mental Health Update

Obsessive thoughts in adolescence - why it's not just people with OCD

In both children and adults obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is characterised by the presence of recurrent obsessions or compulsions that are time consuming (over an hour a day) or cause mental distress or impairment. Common obsessions include fear...

Published Wed, Mar 03 2010 6:25 AM by Mental Health Update

Military veterans still not getting PTSD care

Many military veterans in the U.S. are still not getting the treatment they need for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Dr Karen Seal from the San Franciscon Veteran Affairs Medical Centre lead a team studying this issue. They found that between 2002...

Published Thu, Feb 18 2010 7:33 AM by Mental Health Update

Dozy drinkers less likely to be drunkards

People who feel sleepy after a few drinks might be less likely to develop an alcohol problem. A gene called ADH1B*3 is associated with a lower risk of alcoholism and is found almost exclusively in people with African ancestry. Researchers from the University...

Published Wed, May 05 2010 2:55 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Alcohol Problems, Genetics

The happy bird catches the earworm

Most people have had the experience, at one time or another, of getting a piece of music stuck in their head. 'Ear worms,' as they are known, are a relatively under-researched phenomenon but Andrea McNally-Gagnon from the University of Montreal...

Published Thu, May 27 2010 2:51 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Earworms

Why smoking makes you more stressed not less

People who smoke often say that it helps them to deal with stress but new research by scientists from Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry suggests that, if anything, it makes the problem worse. The scientists studied 469 people who were...

Published Thu, Jun 17 2010 1:34 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Stress, Smoking

Not-so-early babies and special needs

Babies born just a week prematurely could be at a slightly greater risk of autism and learning disabilities. Researchers from Glasgow University analysed the birth history of more than 400,000 school children and found that those born between 37 and 39...

Published Wed, Jun 09 2010 2:29 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Child Development

Borderline personality disorder, self-harm and suicide

People with borderline personality disorder (BPD) are said to be 'stable in their instability.' They have a terror of being alone with great efforts being made to avoid real or imagined abandonment. People's moods are extremely unstable and...

Published Fri, Jun 11 2010 2:38 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Suicide, Borderline Personality Disorder, Self-Harm

Home, nursery and school all need help to boost poor kids

Children do best when they are stimulated at home, school and nursery, suggesting that all three areas need to be targeted to improve the results of children from deprived backgrounds. Researchers in the U.S. followed 1,300 children from birth to Year...

Published Tue, Jun 01 2010 1:49 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Child Development

Long road back to normality for borderline sufferers

Building a good social life and holding down a job can be tough for people with borderline personality disorder (BPD) even when their symptoms have disappeared. Mary Zanarini from McLean Hospital in Massachusetts followed 290 people with BPD over a decade...

Published Fri, Apr 23 2010 4:11 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Borderline Personality Disorder

Antibody treatment shows promise for Alzheimer's

As people's Alzheimer's disease progresses their brain shrinks and the fluid-filled ventricles at the centre of the brain increase in volume. Researchers at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center have been using a naturally...

Published Wed, Apr 14 2010 2:28 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Alzheimer's Disease

Exercise, schizophrenia and growing your hippocampus

Neural plasticity is the brain's ability to change and adapt over time. People with schizophrenia show changes in their brains and it could be the case that they have less neural plasticity than other people. People with schizophrenia also have smaller...

Published Tue, Feb 23 2010 7:48 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Schizophrenia, Neuroscience, Exercise and Mental Health

Borderline personality disorder and sleep problems in prison

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is characterized by impulsiveness, unstable moods, relationship difficulties and low self-esteem. People with BPD are more likely to take drugs, behave antisocially and self-harm and are at much greater risk of getting...

Published Mon, Feb 15 2010 6:28 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Sleep Disorders, Borderline Personality Disorder

PTSD and shame

The main emotion associated with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is fear but researchers are now starting to look at the way in which other emotions can play a part in maintaining the condition. One such emotion is shame caused when, rather than...

Published Tue, Feb 16 2010 6:35 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: PTSD

Figures show scale of alcohol abuse in U.K.

The number of alcohol-related deaths in the U.K. rose to 9,031 in 2008, up from 8,724 the year before although the amount being drunk has fallen slightly. Middle-class professionals drink more (13.8 units per week) than those on lower incomes (10.6 units...

Published Thu, Jan 28 2010 6:39 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Alcohol Problems

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