Mental Health: December 2007 Archives
This is a wonderful account of Asperger's disorder from the patient's perspective. The author describes his childhood full of confusion and social awkwardness.
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/08/20/070820fa_fact_page
I recently watched a good movie that represented the mental health profession well. The movie is "Neverwas" and it has some great actors. It takes place in an inpatient psychiatric institution that is run with professionalism, compassion and ethics (unlike the way psychology is represented in many movies). The main characters (including the young psychiatrist) struggle nobly with various kinds of psychological traumas and disorders. In the end, compassion, creativity and grace win out over cold, technical, textbook treatment. I highly recommend it, though it is not a good movie for kids or for anyone who is frightened by the realities of mental illness.
Pre-Natal Alcohol Exposure Shapes Sensory Preference, Upping The Odds Of Later Alcohol Use And Abuse
Young people whose mothers drank when pregnant may be more likely to abuse alcohol because, in the womb, their developing senses came to prefer its taste and smell. Researchers with the State University of New York Developmental Ethanol Research Center have found that because the developing nervous system adapts to whatever mothers eat and drink, young rats exposed to alcohol (ethanol) in the womb drank significantly more alcohol than non-exposed rats.
Excessive Tantrums In Preschoolers May Indicate Serious Mental Health Problems
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071213194723.htm
Certain types of tantrums in preschoolers may be a sign of serious emotional or behavioral problems. Although temper tantrums are common and normal in young children, the researchers found that long, frequent, violent and/or self-destructive tantrums may indicate the presence of psychiatric illness.
