‘Psychiatry’ at Psychology, Philosophy and Real Life, Page 5

Is the amount of time you spend online impacting negatively on your well-being? According to the first nationwide study attempting to quantify ‘internet addiction’ in the general population, between 6 percent and 14 percent of computer users say they spend too much time with online activities, to the detriment of work, relationships, and even food and sleep.

While I was out of the office last week, two notes came through from the Mental Health Foundation — one commenting on the UK government’s scheme to promote mental well-being at work, and one commenting on a television expose on the poor state of some English psychiatric wards.

Interesting developments in mental health news last week include the first skin patch for treating Alzheimer’s disease, an FDA public health warning about serotonin syndrome from combining certain anti-depressants with certain headache medications, and word of apparently serious conflicts of interest at two major medical journals publishing studies about vagus nerve stimulation and about the use of antidepressants during pregnancy.

A recently published Danish study of treatments for obsessive compulsive disorder suggests that cognitive behavioural therapy offers more specific antiobsessional effects than a standard medication, although CBT together with the medication provided the greatest overall improvement in mood. CBT remains the most studied of all psychotherapy approaches, with a growing body of research supporting its effectiveness.

A brief report from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine suggests that a fMRI scan may be able to predict whether or not cognitive behavioural therapy can help a person suffering from unipolar depression to recover.