Mental Health https://mentalhealth.mvm.ed.ac.uk CMVM Psychiatry at work Tue, 31 May 2016 07:51:26 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.2.38 Why is mental illness so controversial? Part 2 – Media coverage https://mentalhealth.mvm.ed.ac.uk/2016/05/why-is-mental-illness-so-controversial-part-2-media-coverage/ https://mentalhealth.mvm.ed.ac.uk/2016/05/why-is-mental-illness-so-controversial-part-2-media-coverage/#comments Tue, 31 May 2016 07:45:45 +0000 http://mentalhealth.mvm.ed.ac.uk/?p=96 Media coverage of mental illness is biased and melodramatic. There are far fewer articles in the press about mental than physical illness, and they are much more likely to be negative.[1,2] Things are just as bad on social media like You Tube, but may be slightly better on Twitter.[3,4]  Whilst … Continue reading →

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]]> https://mentalhealth.mvm.ed.ac.uk/2016/05/why-is-mental-illness-so-controversial-part-2-media-coverage/feed/ 0 Why is mental illness so controversial? Part 1 – Recent examples https://mentalhealth.mvm.ed.ac.uk/2015/11/why-is-mental-illness-so-controversial-part-1-recent-examples/ https://mentalhealth.mvm.ed.ac.uk/2015/11/why-is-mental-illness-so-controversial-part-1-recent-examples/#comments Mon, 30 Nov 2015 18:17:06 +0000 http://mentalhealth.mvm.ed.ac.uk/?p=92 Media coverage of medicine is usually positive, often about advances in understanding or therapeutic breakthroughs. In contrast, psychiatry reportage tends to be negative. Some of this can be attributed to the stigmatisation of people with mental illness, but much of the criticism is aimed at psychiatrists and indeed the whole … Continue reading →

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]]> https://mentalhealth.mvm.ed.ac.uk/2015/11/why-is-mental-illness-so-controversial-part-1-recent-examples/feed/ 0 What causes stigma and what can we do about it? https://mentalhealth.mvm.ed.ac.uk/2015/08/what-causes-stigma-and-what-can-we-do-about-it/ https://mentalhealth.mvm.ed.ac.uk/2015/08/what-causes-stigma-and-what-can-we-do-about-it/#comments Tue, 04 Aug 2015 15:13:59 +0000 http://mentalhealth.mvm.ed.ac.uk/?p=79 If we had a clear idea about the causes of people stigmatising mental illness then it would probably help us to do something about it, and perhaps reduce prejudice and discrimination. Unfortunately, it is not that simple.

The many causes of stigma

Notions that people with mental illness are sometimes … Continue reading →

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]]> https://mentalhealth.mvm.ed.ac.uk/2015/08/what-causes-stigma-and-what-can-we-do-about-it/feed/ 0 Deadly stigma? Does the stigma of mental illness kill people? https://mentalhealth.mvm.ed.ac.uk/2015/07/deadly-stigma-does-the-stigma-of-mental-illness-kill-people/ https://mentalhealth.mvm.ed.ac.uk/2015/07/deadly-stigma-does-the-stigma-of-mental-illness-kill-people/#comments Fri, 10 Jul 2015 16:11:15 +0000 http://mentalhealth.mvm.ed.ac.uk/?p=76 People with a mental illness die on average about 10-15 years earlier than people without one. The evidence is probably strongest, as it often is, for schizophrenia – because that condition tends to get the most research funding. Ten years ago, Hennekens and colleagues showed that people with schizophrenia had … Continue reading →

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]]> https://mentalhealth.mvm.ed.ac.uk/2015/07/deadly-stigma-does-the-stigma-of-mental-illness-kill-people/feed/ 0 Clinical trials for mental illness – to see if treatments work https://mentalhealth.mvm.ed.ac.uk/2015/05/clinical-trials-for-mental-illness-to-see-if-treatments-work/ https://mentalhealth.mvm.ed.ac.uk/2015/05/clinical-trials-for-mental-illness-to-see-if-treatments-work/#comments Wed, 20 May 2015 18:17:44 +0000 http://mentalhealth.mvm.ed.ac.uk/?p=70 How do we know that any treatment for mental illness works?

The same as in the rest of Medicine – from the results of randomised controlled trials.

Uncontrolled trials

The simplest way to see if a treatment works is just to give it to some patients. An uncontrolled trial can … Continue reading →

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]]> https://mentalhealth.mvm.ed.ac.uk/2015/05/clinical-trials-for-mental-illness-to-see-if-treatments-work/feed/ 0 The stigma of mental illness https://mentalhealth.mvm.ed.ac.uk/2015/04/the-stigma-of-mental-illness/ https://mentalhealth.mvm.ed.ac.uk/2015/04/the-stigma-of-mental-illness/#comments Mon, 20 Apr 2015 08:55:23 +0000 http://mentalhealth.mvm.ed.ac.uk/?p=46 Mental illness and those who suffer from it and even those that treat it are stigmatised.

The ideas challenged in previous blogs – that mental illness does not exist [1], is trivial [2], that treatments don’t work [3], that people with mental illness are somehow to blame for their problems … Continue reading →

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]]> https://mentalhealth.mvm.ed.ac.uk/2015/04/the-stigma-of-mental-illness/feed/ 0 Mental illness is not deliberate https://mentalhealth.mvm.ed.ac.uk/2015/04/mental-illness-is-not-deliberate/ https://mentalhealth.mvm.ed.ac.uk/2015/04/mental-illness-is-not-deliberate/#comments Tue, 07 Apr 2015 15:24:52 +0000 http://mentalhealth.mvm.ed.ac.uk/?p=43 ‘Covering it up’ is a far bigger problem than ‘making it up’…

It is still all too common to see reports or hear suggestions that people with mental illness are not trying hard enough to help themselves, give up too easily etc. etc.

It should go without saying that mental … Continue reading →

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]]> https://mentalhealth.mvm.ed.ac.uk/2015/04/mental-illness-is-not-deliberate/feed/ 1 Mental illness and violence – more sinned against than sinners https://mentalhealth.mvm.ed.ac.uk/2015/03/mental-illness-and-violence-more-sinned-against-than-sinners/ https://mentalhealth.mvm.ed.ac.uk/2015/03/mental-illness-and-violence-more-sinned-against-than-sinners/#comments Mon, 30 Mar 2015 09:53:39 +0000 http://mentalhealth.mvm.ed.ac.uk/?p=26 The tragic deaths of all 150 people on board the Germanwings flight that the 27 year old co-pilot apparently flew into the Alps last Tuesday (17.03.2015) has brought the relationship between mental illness and violence to the fore again. The association has long exercised the public imagination, intermittently reinforced by … Continue reading →

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]]> https://mentalhealth.mvm.ed.ac.uk/2015/03/mental-illness-and-violence-more-sinned-against-than-sinners/feed/ 0 Mental illness is common, disabling, stigmatised and under-treated https://mentalhealth.mvm.ed.ac.uk/2015/03/mental-illness-is-common-disabling-stigmatised-and-under-treated/ https://mentalhealth.mvm.ed.ac.uk/2015/03/mental-illness-is-common-disabling-stigmatised-and-under-treated/#comments Mon, 16 Mar 2015 10:03:01 +0000 http://mentalhealth.mvm.ed.ac.uk/?p=20 Mental illness affects 37% of the adult population over a typical year in the European Union [1], and about 50% of the population over the average lifetime in the USA [2], although figures are slightly lower in less industrialised nations.[3] Recent, large, well-conducted studies suggest that Schizophrenia and Bipolar disorder … Continue reading →

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]]> https://mentalhealth.mvm.ed.ac.uk/2015/03/mental-illness-is-common-disabling-stigmatised-and-under-treated/feed/ 1 Mental illness exists https://mentalhealth.mvm.ed.ac.uk/2015/03/mental-illness-exists/ https://mentalhealth.mvm.ed.ac.uk/2015/03/mental-illness-exists/#comments Mon, 09 Mar 2015 10:34:05 +0000 http://mentalhealth.mvm.ed.ac.uk/?p=16 It may seem blindingly obvious that mental illness is real, but – amazingly – there are some people and web-sites that assert that mental illness is not real and does not exist. They don’t deserve any publicity, and they won’t be getting any here, but even reputable journalistic organs are … Continue reading →

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