April 29, 2011
Eating Disorders
Why spring is the worst time to be born
Evening Herald (Thursday, 28 April 2010)
The first large-scale study of the link between anorexia and the season of birth has found that spring babies are significantly more likely to develop the eating disorder. The findings, published in The British Journal of Psychiatry, will refocus attention on the season of birth, which, research shows, influences a range of psychiatric and neurological features.
Mental Health
Unreal world
Irish Examiner (Friday, 29 April 2011)
In Treatment may be compelling TV, but it does not represent the reality of psychotherapy, Arlene Harris .
One in five teens are bullied online
Medical Independent (Thursday, 21 April 2010)
Almost one in five Irish teenagers are victims of cyber-bullying and almost half report that the experience has had a negative effect on their mental health, the first Irish study on the is- sue has revealed.
Mental Health Service
Inundated suicide charity appeals for larger premises
Irish Examiner (Friday, 29 April 2011)
A nationwide organisation which tries to prevent suicide has become so inundated with work in Cork that it is being forced to seek a larger premises. Console, founded in 2002, is appealing for landlords or developers with a vacant property to donate it rent free to the organisation.
Mental health services must be a priority
Evening Echo (Wednesday, 27 April 2011)
Mental health services must be a priority. It is essential that the Government implement long-promised reform of mental health services, argues Orla Barry, the Director of Mental Health Reform.
Mental Ill Health
Irish scientists find link between epilepsy and schizophrenia
Irish Examiner (Friday, 22 April 2011)
Irish experts have taken the first step towards a potential treatment for schizophrenia after uncovering a close link between the condition and epilepsy. Researchers from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) and Beaumont Hospital made the discovery after examining seizures caused by abnormal electrical impulses in the brain.
Suicide
Suicide rate increased by 24%, conference told
Irish Times (Friday, 29 April 2011)
There were 527 suicides in Ireland during 2009, a 24 per cent increase on 2008, according to data presented at a conference in Dublin yesterday. It was held to mark International Workers’ Memorial Day. The theme in Ireland this year was work-related suicide.
Pieta: Self-harm links to suicide go unrecognised
Irish Examiner (Wednesday, 27 April 2011)
Joan Freeman, founder and head of Pieta House, said self-harm is going unrecognised as a precursor to attempted suicide. She said of the 70% who had presented with suicidal ideation, one third had also engaged in self-harm.
Calls to suicide helpline show a disturbing jump
Galway City Tribune (Friday, 22 April 2011)
A suicide support group has claimed that official statistics for suicide in the country are well short of the reality and that the stress of our economic downturn has meant that the past few months have been the busiest since they were set up almost a decade ago. Paul Kelly, CEO and founder of Console, said that the current recession is taking its toll on people and that some people are on the verge of suicide. Console, which offers sup-port to people traumatised by suicide recently opened a helpline to people having suicidal thoughts.
HAPPY IRISH AT RISK OF SUICIDE
Irish Daily Star (Friday, 22 April 2011)
People who live in the places considered happiest — such as Ireland — are more likely to take their own lives, new research has discovered. A large scale international study found that the highest suicide rates were in the countries, such as our own, and US states where overall happiness was highest. Boffins blame the phenomenon on "relative comparisons”, which means miserable individuals feel even worse when others around them appear content with their lot in life.
Suicide Prevention
Coming together to combat suicide
Irish Examiner (Friday, 29 April 2011)
Those of us who work in suicide prevention have to fight the real and often well-intentioned walls of silence surrounding a suicide — walls of silence that only serve to add to the stigma already surrounding the subject. Encouraging the public to talk about suicide is the first step on the long road to improving the mental health of the country as a whole.
Bankers should be taught how to spot suicide risk
Evening Herald (Saturday, 23 April 2011)
Practice of creditors should be overhauled to include consideration for the mental health of customers, a leading anti-suicide campaigner has insisted. President of the Irish Association of Suicidology, Fine Gael TD Dan Neville, has urged the Government to bring in new mental health awareness training for banking and debt collection staff.
