January 4, 2008
Mental Health
Chemical fix for negative emotions a risky route
Irish Times Subscription (Wed, 2 Jan 2008)
Why are we increasingly turning to chemicals – prescribed drugs – to deal with emotional lows, asks Fiona O'Doherty.
'People should feel there is nothing to be ashamed of'
Irish Examiner (Thu, 27 Dec 2007)
Paul Leavy was diagnosed schizophrenic at the age of 17. He suffered bullying and was left feeling as though he had just been given a life sentence. However, in a shining example of how mental illness should not become a barrier to everyday living, four years on he is helping others come to term with illnesses and "In the early days it kind of hindered me as I was ashamed of it. I felt that there was a lot of disrespect and stigma," he said.
Childline answers 672 calls for help on Christmas Day
Irish Examiner (Thu, 27 Dec 2007)
Hundreds of children felt lonely enough on Christmas Day to seek the help of the ISPCC's Child- line service, the organisation has revealed. While most homes around the country were filled with cheer, Childline answered 672 calls from children and young people on Tuesday, mostly about everyday life issues and large numbers of them reported feeling isolated and lonely. ISPCC director of services Caroline O'Sullivan said the lack of out-of-hours support services available to young people and their families affected by mental health issues is a cause of concern.
Mental Health Service
Lack of psychiatric support cited
Eircom.net (Fri, 4 Jan 2008) The majority of young people with a mental illness are not receiving appropriate treatment, the director of a mental health group said yesterday. Tony Bates, of Headstrong, the National Centre for Youth Mental Health, said that "less than 10 per cent of young people with a mental illness engage in support services". He believes most people at risk from mental illness can be successfully helped with a "small amount of support" when it is provided at the right time.
One in five young adults has mental illness
Irish Examiner (Wed, 3 Jan 2008)
Psychiatric illnesses among young adults remain largely untreated with many taking solace in alcohol rather than getting medical help. This is according to research from a team of sociologists and psychologists from
University College Dublin and Trinity College. It profiled the habits, background and mental health of 97 young people with an average age of 21.
Harney criticises HSE’s service plan
Eircom.net (Mon, 24 Dec 2007)
Minister for Health Mary Harney has strongly critiscised aspects of the health service Executive’s (HSE) blueprint for the operation of services next year, particularly in the area of mental health and primary care.
Mental health budget 'not spent'
Sunday Times (Sun, 23 Dec 2007)
The Mental Health Commission is investigating claims that more than €51m allocated to improve mental health services has been spent in other areas by the HSE. Voluntary organisations say there is no evidence that money allocated in the past two years to reform psychiatric care has in fact been spent on that.
OUR STATE OF MENTAL HEALTH Frantic hospital scenes can mean mentally-ill fall through the cracks
Sunday Independent (Sun, 23 Dec 2007)
Jim Cusack reports on the concerns raised recently about the lack of facilities for mentally-ill people presenting at hospitals.
Agony when someone you know is ill
Sunday Independent (Sun, 23 Dec 2007)
Committal is a heartbreaking process for everyone, writes Antonia Leslie.
Eating Disorders
Anorexia may start with sex hormones in womb
Irish Independent (Mon, 31 Dec 2007)
Sex hormones in the womb could be a cause of the eating disorder anorexia, a study has found. The suspicion is that oestrogen may be overproduced by some mothers, affecting the baby's brain and making it susceptible to the eating disorder. Psychiatrists investigating the cause of the illness did so by studying records of thousands of Swedish twins, held in a data- base
