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Maybe this:
What: A Night With the Writers of Philadelphia Weekly (Cassidy Hartmann, Dan McQuade, Steve Volk and Liz Spikol)
When: Thurs., Nov. 30. 6pm.
Where: Kelly Writer's House, 3805 Locust Walk, on Penn's campus
If you need more info, get in touch. For the bios of the people reading, click here.
Philip Dawdy, of Furious Seasons, has been blogging about atypical antipsychotics like Seroquel for about a year now. He's also written about it for his former employer, Seattle Weekly. This is his response to my discussion with HS:
the other guy to take a look at on seroquel is calabrese. he's on the same papers often and has been a public mouthpiece for az. i think HS is giving docs too much credit for being disinterested, and he needs to keep in mind the huge side effect problems around atypicals that have come out in the CATIE study.
Dawdy will be following up on all of this soon. Meanwhile, see the below to get a sense of his perspective:
Note About Clinical Studies or Bipolar is a Hot Field
Several points:1.Dr. Yatham is no doubt a consultant/promotional speaker for multiple drug companies-not just AZ. (In waht way was he "compelled" to admit his AZ links- he didn't fess up willingly? These guys dip into as many wells as they can. The larger question is whether federally funded or academically appointed physicians should be barred from any association with drug companies during their tenure/appointment.
2.The ultimate recommendations regarding medication is always based on non-biased double blind research. If the concern is that such findings are manipulated and dishonest then the number of "rotten apples" involved is huge. The number of safeguards in such research is impressive. Money is obviously a big draw but in theory science is science.
3. The overriding issue seems to be whether drug companies' concern for profit trumps their desire to produce effective products. I submit that the efficacy and safety of current psychotropics versus those of 50 years ago answers that. When one ignores the economics (new meds are much much more expensive) current antidepressants and antipsychotics are clearly better.
To answer HS' concerns: Yes, I know many doctors receive funding from many different sources and wouldn't be able to do key research without said funding. This doesn't lessen, to me, the conflict of interest in certain cases. Yatham's primary affiliations seem to be with AZ; therefore his endorsement of AZ's medication appears to be tainted by self-interest. I am aware that's holding someone to a pretty high standard, but why not? At medical conferences the list of disclosures (where I found info about Yatham; he was forthright) is always lengthy, but there are a few doctors who don't accept pharma money at all. Would I pay more attention to their assessment of a drug? As a layperson, yes.
Also, Yatham would be dismissed as a promotional speaker for AZ (very different from receiving funding) if he said negative things about its meds. Given that the vast majority of promotional speakers receive money in exchange for their services, it would be in Yatham's best interest to quell his doubts and amplify his praise.
Does this mean Yatham's career is suspect? Of course not. Sounds to me like he's done lots of very good work. But I don't believe such relationships can be easily untangled. As an editor and journalist who has to be hypervigilant about conflict of interest, such ties are exceedingly uncomfortable. I know clinicians are held to different standards than reporters, but I'm not persuaded they should be.
I was a promotional speaker for AZ for a while, so I got a sense of how they operate. I never took any money from them, but I stopped doing speaking gigs for them as soon as I realized I'd have to write about Seroquel's deficiencies. It's almost impossible to maintain a positive relationship with a company when you're criticizing them. Lunches last a lot longer when everyone's happy.
And now, ladies and gents, introducing a new feature here on TTWS: Big Pharma and Bipolar, aka BP Squared. The focus, for the moment, will be on the continuing expansion of Seroquel's indications for bipolar disorder. I think if we pay careful attention, we'll be able to see the evolution of Seroquel from relatively unknown medication for psychosis to household-name treatment for bipolar disorder. Though I take Seroquel, I do so for psychosis, not for bipolar depression or mania.
Now, the latest from DGNews.com, says Canadians are also getting in on the act:
Updated Canadian Network for Mood and Anxiety Treatments (CANMAT) guidelines have been issued for the management and treatment of patients suffering from bipolar disorder. The guidelines consider Seroquel™ (quetiapine fumarate) as a first-line single medication for bipolar depression and a second-line option for the management of bipolar II depression1. Seroquel is currently licensed for 'the treatment of depressive episodes associated with bipolar disorder', in the United States only.
Emphasis mine.
"We felt that the data from BOLDER I and BOLDER II were so strong that it merited inclusion of Seroquel as a first-line option for bipolar depression in these guidelines " said Dr. Lakshmi N Yatham, MD, primary author of the CANMAT Guidelines and Professor of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
And just who is Dr. Yatham? A doctor who last year was compelled to disclose the following: He receives funding from AstraZeneca (makers of Seroquel), has acted as consultant for them, is on the promotional speakers bureau of AZ as well as the CME speakers bureau of AZ. I think those facts speak for themselves.
Updated Bipolar Disorder Guidelines include Seroquel as a first line therapy for Bipolar Depression on strength of BOLDER I and II data
This is the second time I've named Margaret Trudeau "Hero of the Day." She keeps speaking out, and we should be thankful for that. From Newsdurhamregion.com:
On Wednesday, the former wife of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau was the keynote speaker at an open house hosted by Whitby Mental Health Centre (WMHC), where she discussed her battle with depression, the death of her 23-year-old son, Michel, and her quest for physical and spiritual treatment that has led her now to lead a balanced, happy life."I'm astonished that I'm here," Ms. Trudeau, 58, said. "Six years ago I was in a psychiatric hospital in Ottawa, very close to death, because I had been slowly starving myself. I was overwhelmed by the death of my husband, and previously to that of my child, Michel, and I couldn't stand on my own feet. I couldn't take of myself. I could hardly breathe."
The Great Escape
What do you do when you can't be here? Read.
by Liz Spikol
Sometimes when I'm bored and alone in my apartment, I do odd half-yoga poses while I read out loud to myself in an English accent. It's not an accent that would convince any natives, but it's a persuasive mix of Emma Thompson and the BBC Newshour.
Tonight I watched a truly underwhelming version of Pride and Prejudice with Keira Knightley, and it made me want to talk in that accent again. I think it's because when I see a period piece like that—especially one based on a book I love—I wish I could live inside it, no matter the tiresome carriage rides, the lack of modern plumbing and the inconvenient matter of consumption and fever.
I'd willingly surrender my messy romances and intergender warfare to the disenfranchisement of the chauvinist Victorian era, if only I could get some rest. Even now as I type on my clickety-click white Mac keyboard, I imagine each letter sounds like a horse's hoof hitting the cold stone street, and I need only step outside to be pulled into that gray and misty London of whalebone corsets and awkward meetings under umbrellas.
I've lately thought my desire to thrust myself into another world—to escape the stupid song of my cell phone, the goofy ding of my email alert, the bleat of the oven timer and the techno crunch of the gym music—may be an incipient sign of depression.
But I can't say the desire to escape my reality is a new impulse. It started mundanely in the late '70s, with Judy Blume's Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing. I'll never forget being curled up on the sofa, willing to live without food and without air so long as I didn't have to put that book down. “Ah,” I thought. “So this is what life is all about. Reading.”
Was my childhood so terrible that I had to get out? No. But there was something about the tide of narrative that was entirely engulfing and joyous. It worked with movies as well as books. I'm never happier than when I'm in a movie theater, and I feel lonely as soon as the lights come up. My crinkled napkin and popcorn dregs seem like remnants of a dirty truth: I wasn't in the movie after all.
Movies are precious escapes, rare glimpses of other selves. For the everyday—say, walking to the bus stop—I read a book. On the trolley into work, I read. When I get home, in between chores, I read. When I can't read, I watch TV—a bleak impersonation of true escape.
What seems intolerable to me is the real world, though I know it's not that bad. I have food and shelter and central heat and a washer/dryer. I have a few pets and domestic company. Why should I feel so oppressed by what's here, by what's real?
Last weekend I went to John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum for a walk. I was pleased by the crunch of the gravel beneath my feet.
A dark green snake wriggled through the weeds, and a band of mallard ducks, shimmering in the sun, did mating dances and dove into the murky water. Here, manifest, was the natural world—mixed, a bit unhappily, with the belching pollution of the 21st century—and I was hardly able to enjoy it. If I had a book to read, I thought, I'd like the walk better.
Lately I've taken up photography, which helps. At the refuge I took photos of the trees reflected in the water, and of the strange concrete building there. I had no book, but I created my own narrative and found the story suitably engaging. When I got home, I loaded the photos onto the computer and told myself: “See? I was there.”
My hobby is insistent in its narrative: Single images make me feel unfinished, so I have a street-photo series, a graffiti series, a roadkill series … Each series is a story to tell.
It seems pathetic to me that I've never cultivated the ability to sit and stare out into the distance. Maybe I need to know there's an end to things—that I don't have to worry about bearing the weight of being here for longer than it takes to finish one book and pick up another.
What does it mean to live this way? Why can't I be like the guy who moved to Alaska and lived alone for 40 years in a little log cabin? I saw his movie on WHYY, and I thought, where are his bookshelves? Oh my God—how boring: to be alone with yourself.
Maybe it's not boredom I'm really worried about. When I'm alone, I'm prone to gloomy thoughts, to flashbacks to times when I was sick. I worry I'll hear voices, so I stomp them out with a British accent and an absorbing novel.
When I'm alone I think about my grandmother. I remember her dying, her wailing, “No more”—not about pain, but about presence. She wanted so badly to be absent.
I know how she felt.
This is from my colleague, Steve Volk. If you're in town, we'd love to see you.
A few years back Rolling Stone music editor, book author and New York Times contributor Anthony DeCurtis started teaching a course on writing about the arts at the University of Pennsylvania. He's been quite pleased to see former students landing full-time employment at PW, as well as a whole lot of them turning up as interns and freelance writers. In an effort to thank us for that and publicize the relationship in some small way, he asked us to give a reading this Thursday, at 6 p.m. So the lineup is: staff writer Cassidy Hartmann, blogger D-Mac, Liz Spikol and myself. Anthony has asked me to play host, which means reading my own work as well as introducing everyone else. The event is free.What: A Night With the Writers of Philadelphia Weekly
When: Thurs., Nov. 30. 6pm.
Where: Kelly Writer's House, 3805 Locust Walk, on Penn's campus
If you need more info, get in touch. Here are the bios of the people reading:
Cassidy Hartmann graduated from Penn in 2005 and has been working at the Philadelphia Weekly for a year and a half. She began as a staff writer, but is now also PW's film editor. For her weekly column "Out of Towner," she interviews real and quasi-celebrities of her choosing.
Daniel McQuade is a 2004 Penn graduate. While majoring in English, Daniel spent nearly 50 hours a week at the offices of the Daily Pennsylvanian, eventually serving as the paper's Sports Editor and later the managing editor of 34th Street Magazine. Daniel, now a staff writer at Philadelphia Weekly, writes the award-winning blog "Philadelphia Will Do" for the paper. He is also a member of the Society for American Baseball Research.
Liz Spikol, a Philadelphia native, is the senior editor of Philadelphia Weekly. She writes the column "The Trouble With Spikol" as well as the (cleverly named) blog "The Trouble With Spikol," which focuses on mental healthcare issues. As a writer she contributes to the news, music and arts sections on a regular basis. As an editor, she corrects her mistakes.
Steve Volk is perhaps the one person left at the Philadelphia Weekly who did not graduate from the University of Pennsylvania (though he is planning to pick up a UPenn sweatshirt when he gets around to it). [Hey! I didn't either!] He writes mostly about drugs, crime and the courts, but he sometimes veers into the ether, including a recent cover story about a local demon hunter. He has also been published in Rolling Stone, Men's Journal and Vibe magazines.
Thanks to Sara G. for this tip. It's the HideAway Cozy, which is kind of Temple Grandin, but maybe for the rest of us. I think it would work really well for a sit-in, where you're forced to make savvy political conversation for hours at a time. Even an activist needs escape.
When I get depressed, I sometimes do odd things to either A) make myself cry, or B) cheer myself up. This week I wrote a spiritual called "Rosemarie" then sang it into the camera and made a video of it. I posted it on YouTube, where people will no doubt critique it in a way that's sure to either A) make me cry, or B) cheer me up.
I present it to you with a little added context: My pet, whose name is actually Rosemary, is a tiny cute marsupial who likes to play in my closet. Sometimes she gets on the highest shelf, where I can't get her down. She gets very devoted, suddenly, to my sweaters. So I sing her a little song—a hymn, if you will—to induce her to come down and go into her pretty little homecage. This never works, but I keep trying. In fact, it seems to drive her further into the sleeve of a turtleneck. Everyone's a critic, you know?
I know I'm late; I've been in meetings this morning, and am shortly off to another one. This morning I stood at the trolley stop for a long time and then got shuffled around by SEPTA so it took an extra long time to get to work. As I was waiting I was making small talk with two women, and I referred to someone as looking "like a stripper." I was immediately embarrassed. Isn't that sort of retrograde, to refer to someone that way? I imagined that these two women—probably cool feminists—were offended by that characterization. I wanted to say, "Some of my best friends are strippers!" But I didn't think that would go over well. Maybe one day I can have a conversation that isn't marred by insistent thoughts like, "Was that a dumb thing to say? Am I an idiot?"
This photo is from a series called Imitation of Life, in which I take pictures of dead things or stuffed things in a way that makes them look alive. Jeez, how brilliant. This is a striped bass, which was very dead during this picture, I assure you, and very delicious once eaten. The photo has nothing to do with anything. My apologies.
You might dislike the politics of Wal-Mart, but I feel honor-bound to tell you the store's pharmacies will be selling some generic antidepressants at $4 for a month's supply. Check it out:
From the New York Daily News (check that headline):
Foot doctor fraud afoot, state saysALBANY - A Hempstead health care provider whose foot doctors were accused of prescribing drugs for schizophrenia and other conditions unrelated to feet has been barred from the state's Medicaid system after overbilling by $1.3 million, state Controller Alan Hevesi said yesterday.
The controller's audit found four podiatrists working for the company Signature Health Center had violated state law by prescribing 164 drugs used to treat acid reflux, high cholesterol, depression, erectile dysfunction, schizophrenia, sleep disorders and other ailments.
Anita O'Day, my favorite jazz singer, died a few days ago, and I didn't even know about it. Nate Wiley, Robert Altman, Bebe Moore Campbell, now Anita O'Day ... so many of my favorite people are gone.
Cradle me where Southern skies can watch me with a million eyes,
Oh sing me to sleep,
Lullaby of the leaves
Cover me with heaven’s blue and let me dream a dream or two,
Oh sing me to sleep,
Lullaby of the leaves.
Anyone out there live in Norfolk, Va.? I got a TTWS reader who wants information about support groups for childhood victims of abuse in that area. Suggestions?
Writer Bebe Moore Campbell died yesterday at the age of 56 from brain cancer complications. I can't believe it; she's always been such a hero to me. She was a novelist with keen insight into the human condition, but she was also a tireless crusader for people with mental illness. She wrote adult and children's book to fight stigma and prejudice, and she did public appearances to reinforce her message. She also co-founded a NAMI chapter, and spoke out literally every chance she got about the plight of the mentally ill.
Talking to Time magazine's Andrea Sachs last year, Campbell compared mental illness to slavery: "Bottom line: you can't get out of either one of them alone. You absolutely need help. In the same way that slavery had absolute control over human beings, mental illness has absolute control over human beings, and in fact, turns many people into completely different people."
She got involved in mental health issues because she had a relative with bipolar disorder. She saw first-hand the kind of struggles people go through when the system is inadequate. She could have walked away from that struggle, and continue on her path of trying to conquer racism. But she took it on, with bravery and grace.
She was a great woman and a great crusader for human rights. She truly made a difference. She'll be missed.
A teenager from Greenwich, Conn., participated in three robberies in the last two years. One of them was committed with seven other teens; they used a BB gun to hold up a delivery driver. Walter Jones was diagnosed with bipolar disorder after the arrest, which always makes me suspicious. But his attorney says he's a changed person now that he's on meds.
Teen faces reduced sentence for robbery, other crimes
A Moveable Feast: The story of a pizza guy [Philadelphia Weekly]
Thanks to Amara for sending me this story about Malachi Ritscher (pictured), a 52-year-old activist who self-immolated on Nov. 3. He meant his suicide to stand as a political gesture, but there seems to be a question of whether his motivation for ending his life was partly due to depression. The Associated Press' Ashley M. Heher writes, "Mental health experts say virtually no suicides occur without some kind of a diagnosable mental illness. But Ritscher's family disagrees about whether he had severe mental problems." Whatever the cause, Ritscher clearly lived a life filled with passion and dedication to his beliefs.
He was also an active presence in Chicago's music scene, due in part to his website. Check out Peter Margasak's blog (linked below) to read a debate currently going on in the comments section about whether mental illness was the cause of Ritscher's suicide.
Activist's fiery death prompts questions [AP]
Malachi Ritscher's apparent suicide [Peter Margasak c/o Chicago Reader]
The NYT has a video up of Philadelphia. It's so stupid. The footage was obviously taken at least a year ago, when it last snowed. And surprise, surprise, there's a reference to cheesesteaks. Ugh. Go here and scroll halfway down to see it.
Here's an eloquent reply to the recent New York Times article about children taking multiple psychiatric drugs. July writes:
The Times article is particularly distressing. as their previous pieces have shown, there are situations where mental health diagnosis and psychiatric drugs can be appropriate for children (though particularly adolescents). i don't know what i'd do if my child punched hole through the walls and ripped doors of the hinges. something's wrong and if it's his brain chemistry, i'd want him to take any drugs that would fix that. at the same time, i'd be terrified that i'd might be damaging his body and mind in other ways.on the other hand, you have a three year old who has tantrums and insists on "eating the meat, cheese and bread in her sandwiches separately." with her antipsychotics, she can now sit sweetly for hours. i don't have words to express my horror. the drugs are already shown to produce children who are "short and underweight." we don't know what other harm they do to developing minds and bodies. particularly with a three year old!
children don't prescribe psychiatric drugs or choose to take them. adults decide for them. we are responsible for all of their effects. these drugs permanently alter their bodies in a way we don't understand. if dispensed at all, it should only be as a last resort - not used for temporary behavioral control or as a babysitter.
I completely agree.
[Photo copyright Liz Spikol]
In the past few years it's become increasingly acceptable to say you're taking a "mental health day" in order to get out of work. Though it's obvious that not every one of these people has a mental illness, I think there's nothing wrong with taking a day to decompress if that's what you need to stay sane in the pressurized chamber of the working world.
A new study from CareerBuilder.com seems to imply the trend is increasing. From the AP:
Senior career adviser Jennifer Sullivan says many people are using sick days as "mental health days" to catch-up on sleep or simply relax.According to Sullivan, many employers are honoring that. But she warns that using sick days as vacation days can get you in trouble, especially if a colleague spots you.
And for those who told the teacher, "My dog ate my homework," it turns out there are grown-up versions. Employers have heard plenty of unusual excuses for not coming to work, including one guy claiming his mother-in-law poisoned him. Or the fellow who said he broke his leg snowboarding off the roof while drunk.
[Photo copyright Liz Spikol]
Children on drugs. Read it and weep.
From Monstersand Critics.com:
Noel Gallagher believes Robbie Williams will commit suicide one day - and has offered to give him a loaded gun to use. The outspoken Oasis guitarist, who has been feuding with the 'Angles' singer for years, insists it is just a matter of time before his rival takes his own life because he is a "grossly unhappy person".In an interview with Oasis fans conducted by Britain's The Sun newspaper, Noel was asked who he would aim at if he had a gun with one bullet in - Phil Collins, who he has repeated mocked, or Robbie. The rocker said: "I don't give a f**k about Phil Collins. I wouldn't shoot him. I do think he's a bit of a k**b though. As for Robbie, I'd put the bullet in the gun as he's eventually going to do it himself anyway as he is a grossly unhappy person."
Noel's comment is sure to reignite his bitter war of words with Robbie, 32. Noel and his brother Liam have been feuding with him since 2000, after Noel labelled him "the fat dancer from Take That".
Robbie famously responded by branding the 39-year-old rocker a "mean-spirited dwarf" and challenging Liam - who is engaged to Robbie's ex-girlfriend Nicole Appleton - to a prize fight at that year's BRIT Awards.
The trio have been trading barbed comments ever since, with Noel most recently suggesting the 'Rudebox' singer is a sad and lonely recluse. He said: "I'm one of the rare breed of rock 'n' rollers who actually does my own shopping. I don't mind rubbing shoulders with the mere mortals in the street. It doesn't freak me out going to buy a pint of milk. Not like Robbie Williams - I don't lock myself way from society and then claim that people don't understand me."
What a dumbkof. You know why he can shop in public? No one even recognizes him anymore. Ha!
Apparently, the blog world shuts down the Friday after Thanksgiving, which means that—though I'm at work—I don't really have to blog. But I'm so neurotic that I can't not blog, which is somewhat pathetic. However, today I'll be pithy and basically unavailable, so I'll seem as cool as the other bloggers.
So a day after the day of giving thanks, here's a heartwarming story about a depressed man whose therapy dog, Melody, was stolen and missing for weeks. She was finally found, and is now back with her owner, who says he hasn't been depressed since he first got her many years ago.
Companion dog found, ending hunt across western U.S.
[Photo copyright Liz Spikol]
"Second-generation anti-psychotics are not the great breakthrough they were once thought to be." --Professor Shôn Lewis, as quoted by the BBC.
I don't have a turkey handy, so a duck carved out of soap will have to do. (Don't ask why I have that handy. This office is a minefield.)
Hope you have a great holiday. I'm considering spending much of my time tomorrow watching TV and eating junk food. Good thing I don't get more days off.
From the Palm Beach Post, this quote from Marie Osmond:
"I was truly the first celebrity to come out with (having postpartum depression publicly), leading to people like Brooke Shields," she says. "I will never regret writing that book [Behind the Smile, about PPD]. Part of loving people is being honest enough to help. A lot of women have suffered in silence. I bet I still receive 100 emails on a daily basis from people about this. I met a woman at a doll signing whose daughter took her own life because of (PPD). She asked 'Why couldn't you have written that book five years sooner?' Now there's a lot of awareness."
Okay, let the record stand corrected. Marie, then Brooke. Either way, I think it's depressing to be into dolls. I don't know why, but I just have a sense it's a sad hobby.
There are some readers of this blog—Kent, Gena, Joe, HS, July, Annette, Massalle Wallah and others I'm not thinking of this second—who are so faithful, I feel like I know them/you. Another faithful reader, Sachin Karol, has mastered the fine art of sending in items that I want to post. It takes a certain kind of genius. (Thanks to Amara on that score as well.) Today he sent me an article about psychiatrist Thomas Szasz. It's incredibly long and incredilby fascinating. I'm going into a meeting right now, but I suggest you take a look at it when you have, um, 45 minutes to spare.
There's been a rise in reported cases of schizophrenia in Malaysia. From the New Straits Times:
Ten new cases were registered at health centres and public hospitals last year for every six cases in 2003 and 2004, said Hospital Kuala Lumpur’s mental health chief.Some 2,500 schizophrenia sufferers registered last year at 78 centres around the country, said senior consultant Datuk Dr Abdul Aziz Abdullah.
That is roughly 60 to 70 per cent more than the 1,505 registered in 2004 and 1,400 in 2003.
Sharp rise in cases of schizophrenia worries health authorities
Today has been crazy! Final thing: The NYT has an article about trying to keep sex offenders off the streets by sticking them in psych hospitals. Now, this might seem irrelevant, but by abusing the state of New York's mental hygiene laws, it calls those laws into question. Long story short, it does matter. Read on ...
Sometimes inspirational tales are just that—inspirational. This kid Brett Collins, a senior at St. Mary's College in California [pictured], has had so much to deal with. First his mother died of breast cancer. Then his young sister got the illness. Meanwhile, his father, who suffers from mental illness, struggled with his own symptoms—and then took his own life. But Collins soldiers on, a star athlete who muddles through without parents. Collins told the Contra Costa Times: "I don't ever think, 'What am I going to do now?' It's more, 'Where's my home base?' You lose that crutch. Now, I've got to deal with it. I don't necessarily have a home base yet. I have to make my own."
Because people tend to (stupidly) connect goth culture with depression, suicidality and cutting, I thought it might be appropriate for me to offer this cool photo of goth kids in Mexico City, taken by my colleague Kate Kilpatrick. They don't look sad to me.
For más fotos, visita a Queso Fresco.
Sorry to harp on this, but here's another press release touting Seroquel for use in bipolar depression. I guess what's bothering me is that I can see its efficacy in bipolar psychosis (which is what I use it for), but depression without psychotic symptoms? I don't see how that would work. But Lordy, the pharma marketers sure are pushing hard.
New Hope for Manic-Depression Sufferers Comes from Unlikely Source
Nate Wiley passed away.
Robert Altman also.
Two incredibly talented men, each tuned into the human experience in very singular ways. It's a sad day.
I think psychiatrists must be dorkier than residents.
This piece by a woman with schizophrenia is—hands down—the best description of the illness I've ever read. I share some of King's symptoms when I'm psychotic, so I know where she's coming from. But if you're not schizophrenic, it's hard to understand the illness and the way that a person can be completely whole and completely broken at the same time.
I really admire King for speaking out, for sharing her story and her symptoms. It's so hard to reveal yourself like that. Please, if you've ever wondered what it feels like to be psychotic, click below.
A Mind Taut With Pain [Times UK]
The former Eagles player killed himself with a bullet to the head.
Did Lindsay—gasp!—try to kill herself? Witness the three little lines on her wrist. OMG. IMHO, I totally think she is depressed!
Read it and weep:
Maybe you're at work, and you're kind of bored, so you're watching the clock. Or maybe you're home, waiting for a TV show to come on. Or maybe you're seeing your doctor, and you're counting the minutes till the appointment. As the time passes, think about this: Every hour and a half, someone over 65 commits suicide.
It's 1:33 in my world. By the time I leave work for the day there will be two people—fathers or brothers or bosses or friends, or all of those things—who aren't here anymore. Two people who had favorite books, who went to the zoo sometimes, who had peculiar cravings and dislikes. Two people who were loved by someone, who started out as children, wobbling across the floor and falling into the arms of a relative as they learned to walk. Two people who suffered mentally, who couldn't see the beauty in a cloud shaped like a rabbit, or enjoy a sunny walk in the park. Two people who didn't know each other, but were sharing a pain that simply got the better of them.
Who are these two people? I sit here and know they'll die, yet I can do nothing to stop them. They'll die today, by 5 p.m., taking with them the few things that made them truly unique.
They have memories that stretch back. They remember the tumultuous days of the 1960s, the saddest days of Vietnam. They remember when JFK and MLK died. They remember when punk got going, when cigarettes weren't so bad, when you could pay for a movie with a quarter. They remember the first computer, the coinage of the term "snail mail," the years when women couldn't get abortions, the way suburban neighborhoods looked before Starbucks was born. They're taking history with them and we'll never have access to their stories again.
I want to hear what they have to say. I want to learn from them. Did they have love affairs that bottomed out? What life lessons do they have to offer? We'll never know. They'll be dead by the time it gets dark. Someone will find their dead bodies and be traumatized. Someone will plan their funerals and cry at the burial. Those people too are living in ignorance right now—a purer state than they'll know in a few hours. If we could tell them, warn them somehow...
These two men are American originals. We all are. And I dare anyone to tell me it doesn't matter that before the evening news comes on tonight, they'll be gone.
Suicides most common by older men
[Image by macwagen]
This is a press release from Decision Resources, which bills itself as "one of the world's leading research and advisory firms for pharmaceutical and healthcare issues."
Generic competition will end the robust growth of the schizophrenia drug market. Atypical antipsychotic sales will decrease from $5.4 billion in 2005 to $4.8 billion in 2015. All five currently on-patent agents -- Janssen's Risperdal and Risperdal Consta (risperidone), Eli Lilly's Zyprexa (olanzapine), AstraZeneca's Seroquel (quetiapine), Pfizer's Geodon/Zeldox (ziprasidone), and Bristol-Myers Squibb/Otsuka's Abilify (aripiprazole) -- will lose patent protection in the United States by 2015. Risperidone is the first to face generic competition, in 2008 in the United States, 2007 in Europe, and 2006 in Japan. "Generic competition's effect on the Risperdal brand will be most profound in the U.S. market -- we forecast that 80% of patients will be on a generic form of the molecule in 2010, and the price of the generic will be 10% of the brand that year," said Nitasha Manchanda, Ph.D., analyst at Decision Resources. "Risperdal Consta, the depot form of the drug, remains on patent until 2013; however, its use will be too low to preserve franchise sales. In 2015, approximately 70% of drug-treated patients will be treated with a generic antipsychotic." The new Pharmacor report entitled Schizophrenia also reveals that AstraZeneca/Targacept's ispronicline is likely to be the first available agent to treat the cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia. Sales of the emerging therapies that target cognitive symptoms in the disease will result in a $1 billion increase in market size between 2010 and 2015. Decision Resources forecasts that these drugs will be used as adjuncts to antipsychotic therapy in more than half of patients.
Joe sends in this odd and very disturbing brief from Mental Disability Rights International's (MDRI) report, "BEHIND CLOSED DOORS: Human Rights Abuses in the Psychiatric Facilities, Orphanages and Rehabilitation Centers of Turkey"
"We use ECT for people with major depression. Patients with major depression feel that they need to be punished. If we use anesthesia the ECT won’t be as effective because they won’t feel punished." – Chief of ECT Center, Bakirköy• The use of ECT as punishment - The director of the ECT center at Bakirköy Psychiatric Hospital, one of the largest institutions in the world, told MDRI investigators that they do not use anesthesia because “patients with major depression feel that they need to be punished.” Patients cannot refuse this treatment and they are frequently lied to and told they are getting an x-ray. Terrorized people are commonly dragged into the ECT room in straitjackets and are forcibly held down by staff during the procedure. ECT without the use of anesthesia and muscle relaxants violates all internationally accepted medical standards. Other psychiatrists observed that, because there are no standards on the use of ECT in Turkey, ECT is abused and used as punishment.
Excerpted from MDRI's March 30, 2006 Press Release
Washington, DC –Mental Disability Rights International (MDRI)announced this week that the use of electroconvulsive or “shock” treatment (ECT) without the use of anesthesia and muscle relaxants (known as unmodified ECT) has been abolished at Bakirköy. The facility, located in Istanbul, has more than 2900 beds and is Turkey’s largest psychiatric hospital. MDRI staff in Turkey were informed about these developments from leading Turkish psychiatrists and staff at Bakirköy.
Also includes, "Yet, to our knowledge, there remains no legal ban on unmodified ECT in Turkey. We call on the government to adopt an enforceable law to prevent such abuse."
Well, that's about it for this week. Sorry I haven't bored you with more personal musings. There was so much going on. And even now, I'm feeling frustrated that I couldn't write about the problem with Australia's sports stars. It's actually kind of fascinating.
Brief personal anecdote that should hold you till Monday: I left the gym last night wearing my workout gear: shorts, tank top, sneakers, ponytail. I didn't change because it was really warm out—in the 70s—and it was raining and dark. So I put a jacket on, grabbed my umbrella and walked to the trolley station. On the way, a 400-pound man wearing a chef's hat, of all things, yelled out to me, "Summer's over! Put some clothes on!" The way he said it really stung me, and it caused everyone around me to turn to look at my pasty white legs.
I was fuming. He said it so self-righteously, as though wearing a chef's hat and a white jacket were perfectly normal for a winter storm. In my head, I thought, "Hey, asshole: As soon as you lose 200 pounds and get the toque off your head, I'll change outta my shorts." Then I thought, "Was that mean? Is that wrong? I don't blame him for being a chef, or struggling with his weight. I'm on his side." But you know what? He wasn't on mine! So I just wanna say it: Fie on you, heavy chef man! Fie! (Make me some chocolate pudding, and we can make up.)
I hope everyone has a good weekend. Please to enjoy this lovely photo of me, accompanied by my faithful jade plant.
No, silly, not the neurons in his brain. Writer Solomon (he penned The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression) advocates in the NYT for facilities like the one below:
The University of Michigan, host to the country’s first national depression center, which opened its doors last month, has been a pioneer in this regard. More than 135 experts on depression and bipolar disorder will collaborate there, about half of them psychiatrists. The center has a large clinical treatment program and a genetic database that will house samples from tens of thousands of depressed and bipolar patients. It is sponsoring social and biological research and pressing for policy initiatives related to mental illness.
Such centers would be based on the model of interdisciplinary cancer centers like Sloan Kettering and M.D. Anderson.
Recruiting Announcement:
Executive Director
Overview. The tax-exempt public interest law firm, Law Project for Psychiatric Rights
Overall Objectives for the Position. Up until now, most of PsychRights' work has been accomplished by attorney Jim Gottstein [pictured], its President and CEO, who has done so on a pro bono (volunteer) basis.[1] PsychRights has grown to the point that Mr. Gottstein can no longer handle both legal and administrative responsibilities. The Executive Director will assume much of the organizing and administrative functions under the direction and supervision of Mr. Gottstein.
The organizing functions consist primarily of (1) working with individuals and groups across the country to mount strategic litigation in their communities, (2) grass roots support and grass roots fundraising, and (3) collaborating with national organizations having complementary missions. With respect to (1), a "State Coordinator" system, currently numbering approximately ten, has been established.[2] With respect to (3), PsychRights has established strong relationships with three important organizations, MindFreedom, the International Center for the Study of Psychiatry and Psychology (ICSPP), and the National Association for Rights Protection and Advocacy (NARPA).
Continuation of the position is dependent upon sufficient funds being raised, whether through fundraising activities or additional court ordered attorney's fees. The position can be performed from any location, but a broadband Internet connection is necessary.
Specific Job Duties.
Coordinate and assist with local efforts around the country
Keep track of and help recruit potential attorneys and expert witnesses
Expand the number of State Coordinators and associated efforts
Coordinate acquisition and posting of relevant scientific research
Marketing (increase awareness of PsychRights and its Mission).
Coordinate volunteers.
Work with national organization partners, such as MindFreedom, ICSPP and NARPA.
Establish and maintain relationships with other organizations who have similar or compatible missions.
Participate in Public information efforts.
Prepare and disseminate other communications, such as to coordinators, volunteers, partners, supporters and allies.
Establish and coordinate efforts to recruit attorneys and expert witnesses for participation in the strategic litigation effort, including preparation of written materials.
Fundraising, including grantwriting.[3]
Help develop/refine PsychRights' budget.
Monitor expenses and arrange for the preparation of regular financial statements.
Respond to requests for information.
Fulfill own clerical needs.
Maintain appropriate records/documentation of all correspondence & materials produced and forward to main office, as appropriate.
Requirements.
Knowledge of forced psychiatry and the psychiatric rights movement.
Personal agreement/alignment with PsychRights' Mission.
Ability to fulfill job responsibilities.
Strong organizational skills.
Self-starter.
Organized.
Fundraising and grantwriting ability.
Strong communication skills, both written and verbal.
Reasonable computer skills, including Microsoft Word and Excel.
Pluses.
Financial accounting or bookkeeping knowledge.
Budgeting skills.
Knowledge of FrontPage or otherwise able to update PsychRights' website.
Ability to create and query databases in Access.
Very rich, generous and supportive relatives.
Salary. Initial salary depends on experience. Long term, the salary depends on the success of fundraising efforts (as well as attorney fee awards).
If interested, please send your resume/qualifications, with five references and their contact information, to jim@psychrights.org. The application period will remain open until at least December 1, 2006, but will remain open until the position is filled.
[1] A fairly detailed explication of PsychRights' overall approach is contained in How the Legal System Can Help Create a Recovery Culture in Mental Health Systems, presented at Alternatives 2005: Leading the Transformation to Recovery, Phoenix, Arizona, October 28, 2005, which can be found at http://psychrights.org/Education/Alternatives05/RoleofLitigation.pdf
[2] PsychRights is working closely with MindFreedom on this.
[3] Ultimately, the ability to continue the position will depend on the ability to raise enough money. In addition, PsychRights desires to be able to hire additional personnel, including a staff attorney, with its budget goal being $250,000 annually.
It makes me very sad that the Coalition Against Institutionalized Child Abuse even has to exist. But exist it does, and it tracks deaths in facilities—like psychiatric hospitals—that result from the use of restraints. (Note: Not surprisingly, I am completely opposed to the use of restraints.) Some of these deaths are caused by being physically restrained by a staff member; looking at this website, I wonder how often such staff members are held legally accountable. It seems like they're given every benefit of the doubt.
These photos are of Angie Arndt, who died this year one day after being restrained at the Northwest Counseling and Guidance Clinic in Wisc. Cause of restraint? The 7-year-old was "gargling milk." Jesus.
Thanks, Susan, for letting me know about this.
This is a video of a woman stimulating and socializing a four-day-old puppy that was rejected by its mother. She's not torturing it, don't worry. It looks like a little polar bear, doesn't it?
How can I get that job? I'm sitting at work, staring at my wilting jade plant, when somewhere out in the world there's a puppy who needs me!
Two Colorado Springs parents are suing the University of Colorado at Boulder. They say the school's health center misdiagnosed their son, Ben Stattman, and erroneously gave him Ritalin when he didn't have ADHD. It's hard to second-guess a treatment protocol, but student health centers are notoriously understaffed, and in this case it sounds like there's reason to be skeptical. From an article about the case in the Colorado Springs Gazette:
[Ben] told health officials he was taking Ritalin he obtained illegally, and the center’s staff wrote him a prescription and diagnosed him with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, Beltz said.Despite a psychiatric episode in December of that year that landed him in a Boulder hospital for three days, the health center did not change the diagnosis and continued giving him prescriptions for Ritalin and Strattera as recently as two weeks before his death, Beltz said.
Parents sue CU over death of son
[Image of UC Boulder campus by Clayton Esterson]
And the most depressing subhed:
"CONTROVERSIAL electric shock treatment is making a comeback in NSW hospitals with new figures showing the use has doubled in the last 10 years - including on schoolchildren."
There have been a few cases like this internationally, but not as many in the U.S. New York's Victor Han (pictured), 35, has been charged with "reckless endangerment and promoting a suicide attempt" because when he got out of the van his wife was driving, he supposedly knew she was suicidal. She drove the van off a cliff just minutes after he got out. His two young children were in the back; they survived with minor injuries. His wife died.
There are certain things we know about this case: where it happened, when, what kind of car she was driving, what the children were wearing, etc. But can we really know what was in Han's mind when he climbed out of the car? And can we be sure he knew what his wife was thinking? The preliminary court date is set for Dec. 14. Han says he's innocent. It'll be interesting to see how it all shakes out.
'I'm innocent,' says dad accused in wife's suicide
Pastor Says Man Discounted Wife's Talk of Suicide Before Cliff Plunge
This is the first in a series about psych-med side effects. What side effect should I do next?
Thanks to z0tl for hepping me to Nervous Neuron, a neurobiology student who made three videos explaining some things about mental illness. Here's the first one. She's a little odd, but then, who isn't?
Thanks to Sara S. for sending this in:
This is a strange item:
Judge rules that child rape suspect is faking mental illnessTACOMA, Wash. A judge in Tacoma decided that a child rape suspect who jiggles his head and acts mentally ill is faking. Pierce County Superior Court Ronald Culpepper decided that 51-year-old Dean Eric Bagley of Yelm is competent for trial. The judge says Bagley understands the court process and was "malingering."
He's accused of raping three children, all under the age of 12, when he baby-sat them between 1998 and 2001. Prosecutors say they have videotapes of the crimes. The judge set a trial for December 13th. If convicted, Bagley faces more than 20 years in prison.
Bagley was previously convicted of murder for stabbing a 16-year-old girl in 1985 when he was stationed in Germany with the military. He was released after serving eight years.
(Tacoma News Tribune)
Putting the "malingering" aside, this guy murdered a teenager and only served 8 years? Now, after raping (and apparently videotaping) three kids, he's going to serve 20 years? I'm all for rehabilitation, but maybe this is someone who's better off incarcerated, like, forever.
