Gracefully Insane: Life and Death Inside America’s Premier Mental Hospital

Its landscaped ground, chosen by Frederick Law Olmsted and dotted with Tudor mansions, could belong to a New England prep school. There are no fences, no guards, no locked gates. But McLean Hospital is a mental institution-one of the most famous, most elite, and once most luxurious in America. McLean “alumni” include Olmsted himself, Robert Lowell, Sylvia Plath, James Taylor and Ray Charles, as well as (more secretly) other notables from among the rich and famous. In its “golden age,” McLean provided as genteel an environment for the treatment of mental illness as one could imagine. But the golden age is over, and a downsized, downscale McLean-despite its affiliation with Harvard University-is struggling to stay afloat. Gracefully Insane, by Boston Globe columnist Alex Beam, is a fascinating and emotional biography of McLean Hospital from its founding in 1817 through today. It is filled with stories about patients and doctors: the Ralph Waldo Emerson protégé whose brilliance

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The Package Deal: Mental Illness, Stigma, and Discrimination

My longtime friend, Jean Lyon, encouraged me to write a book about my experiences with the mental health system. “You should write a book,” she said.”No, I couldn’t. No one would believe me,” I replied. “Yes, you could,” Jean insisted. “You could call it One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, the Sequel–it’s worse than the original.” The Package Deal is a short, 4500-word memoir that takes the reader into a world that most people do not know about. My non-fictional account provides an inside, uncensored look at societal discrimination against people with mental illness.This eBook consists of two distinctly different parts. Part one, titled Unplanned Patienthood, provides a humorous glimpse of the mental health professionals whom I have been fortunate, and not so fortunate, to encounter. Part two, titled A System Without Oversight, opens with my voluntary admission to a psychiatric unit in Northern Virginia. This part chronicles my conflict with the mental health system, which began when

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Does Freedom From Pain Ease Psychotherapy?

Psychotherapy that is based on talking about one’s life and problems, sometimes referred to as talk therapy, requires that the patient be reasonably alert and lucid. But people suffering from chronic pain may be either distracted by the pain or drowsy or muddled by the effects of prescription painkillers. That could make therapy more difficult in some cases.

If the pain can be eased without prescription drugs, people are likely to be more clear-headed, which can be especially important in some forms of therapy. Since inflammation has been found to be a major source of pain and other medical conditions, reducing inflammation could not only make life easier, it could also facilitate psychotherapy.

Hubby’s new job and dream home

Guest post of the week by Deangelo Spencer

My husband has decided it is time for a change. I always lived in the same house and never moved. He, on the other hand, moved all of the time and actually loved packing up things into boxes. A couple months ago, my husband started looking for new jobs and found a great one. I have to admit I am happy for him and excited about the increase in pay, but I didn’t want to move. I really liked the house we were in and didn’t think I would find anything better. I was wrong. With my husband’s pay increase, we were able to afford a lot of better houses this time. We found my dream home. It has a wonderful kitchen that is made for a chef. It has a state of the art Piedmont home security system, so I always feel the kids and I are safe. It even has a pool and hot tub. I am one lucky girl to be moving into such a wonderful house. I actually feel a little bad for being so reluctant to move. My husband just wanted what was best for me and the kids.

Is Fun Good for Mental Health?

Does fun contribute to mental health? I think it not only contributes to mental health but is actually essential. And not having any fun could be a symptom of depression or other mental disorder.

Certainly participation in sports, dance, and other forms of physical exercise have been shown to contribute to mental health. Participation can help alleviate depression, perhaps because of the release of endorphins.

My ballet teacher used to say that sweating releases or purges toxins from the body. That is one of the ideas behind sweat lodges, saunas, and steam rooms, too.

When we are having fun, we usually forget other cares, and we tend not to mind exerting ourselves, sweating, working hard. We ignore discomforts because when we’re having fun, we go into “the zone,” and we just don’t care about them.

Water sports like surfing, snorkeling, water skiing, and scuba diving are major fun for the people who love them. People speak almost poetically of being transported to other worlds while indulging in the sports they love.

Some like the adrenaline rush of extreme surfing, for example, but many find it relaxing to become one with the rhythm of the surf, riding waves that would not prepare them to win any competitions but still provide a sense of accomplishment and fun.

One way to keep the fun in having fun is to use the appropriate gear and dress safely and comfortably. Everyone can see the importance of good, well-maintained scuba gear, for example. A good quality wetsuit can be equally important for surfers, snorkelers, divers, and even for water skiers.

If you enjoy water sports much of the year, not just in summer, or if you live where the water is cold, don’t forget to stay warm with wetsuits and other accessories. Staying warm and comfortable can be a matter of safety—or just a matter of keeping the fun in having fun.

Whatever you find fun, be sure to save some time to do it. Having fun is important, and if combined with vigorous exercise, it is doubly important. Holiday stress can make it even more essential to take care of yourself and your mental health.

Practicing Caroling for the Holidays

Guest post written by Cyretha Kilton

There are a few things that my family and I love to do every year around the holidays. It’s always been that way. One thing that I always take charge of is when our family gets together and goes caroling in our housing development a Saturday night. I’ve been doing it for a few years by now and right now I’m in charge of everyone getting together to practice.

While I was looking through some carol lyrics online to print off and for us to sing, I ran across some info on miracle ear. After I looked through it a little bit I decided to go and get a hearing test to get fitted for some hearing aids.

I did find some good carols for us to sing while we’re caroling. They’re some ones that I think the kids aren’t familiar with so I’m sure that should make things interesting and maybe my job a little tougher. But if it comes down to the end and we don’t have the songs down, we can always just stick with all the classics that the kids already know!

For mental health problems of oral diseases

Many people know that bad teeth will affect their health, appearance will affect the irregular teeth, bad teeth, but the impact on mental health is often overlooked.

Oral health is the cornerstone of good health, oral and maxillofacial region in the human body aesthetics occupies a very important role, plays the role of the window, is the most representative image of one of the characteristics. Oral health can have a charming smile people, more confident in social situations. However, oral diseases caused by facial asymmetry, a variety of occlusal abnormalities, such as periodontitis and tooth loss, affects not only the face of co-ordination and beautiful, the exercise of chewing function, and often lead to some psychological and even social problems, and some oral diseases problems caused by enough to affect one’s life. Some dental problems are often caused by social barriers, low self-esteem over time become closed, affecting the language skills and social skills.

Psychological problems caused by teeth, almost is a very common problem in everyday life, we can see many young people do not like dental equipment missing teeth, smile, quiet, so it is likely to cause autism; we can find many young woman, because the teeth crowded or yellow black and afraid to speak, a feeling people will speak to laugh at her, do not dare to do the interview candidates. These problems are usually very easy to find the problem, there are some hidden problems than easily be found, for example, character led to some children from inter extreme self-centered, the resulting distortions of personality and so on.

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According to the orthodontic experts, according to all ages because of missing teeth, bad bite patients come to treatment, of which a considerable proportion of patients with varying degrees of psychological problems, many people have been ridiculed by colleagues or partners or Nicknamed painful experience, experts say, many people have a personality change after treatment, with the advance of these patients the treatment process, the psychological is changing, many people have become increasingly closed to within cheerful and confident.

The phenomenon known by many, bad teeth on people’s psychological and personality will have very serious negative impact, so we must pay attention to dental health problems. Expert tips to keep teeth healthy can start from the following aspects: sooner or later, proper brushing, mouthwash after meals; use of dental floss, interdental brush cleaning tool such as the adjacent tooth surfaces; the use Children’s oral health advice of fluoride toothpaste, fluoride foam fluoride; Eat less sugary foods, reduce the number of sweets; refrain from smoking, chewing tobacco and betel nut; do not eat hot or spicy foods; help physicians solve orthodontic tooth missing and bite is abnormal; regular oral examination, done for early detection of oral diseases, early diagnosis and early treatment.

As parents from infancy to begin with children and food teeth, pay attention to correct the child sucking means, mouth breathing, tongue, Yaochun, unilateral chewing and other bad habits, the child’s permanent molars and the eruption of the heart premolar for pit and fissure sealant, timely removal of teeth remaining, if necessary, the missing teeth on the early use of the gap retainer to keep the gap of missing teeth, thus contributing to the normal eruption of permanent molars for children with neat, healthy, beautiful teeth lay the foundation.

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Brain Food Fish – How Does The Right Fish Keep Your Brain Healthy and Protect Your Mental Health?

As brain food, fish are top of the list, as your mother may have said! However, you need the right amount and type of fish to get the full benefits, and here’s how they work.

 Brain food – fish  

Cold water fatty fish make the ultimate brain food, as they are rich in omega 3 fatty acids. The main fats are called DHA and it is these that provide your brain with the nourishment it needs and many other health benefits too.

The best species for this are tuna and hoki, not salmon as most today are farm raised.

Your brain is composed of over 60% fats of which half of those are DHA!

Basically, DHA is the building block of your brain tissue membranes, and particularly abundant in the gray matter and retina. A lack of these fats causes the brain to not function optimally, leading to many conditions.

For example, it has been noted in studies that people with low levels of these omega 3 fats are more likely to suffer from a mental condition like depression, anxiety or even Alzheimer’s. In addition, children with autism and ADHD also tend to have significantly lower levels in their brains too.

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These DHA fats are also mainly responsible for the powerful anti-inflammatory powers of fish oils as they are converted into a special chemical called Resolvin D2, which can halve your risk of a premature cardiac arrest.

If you get enough of these fats, you can also enjoy a sharper mind with improved memory and concentration. In fact after one trial with people aged 60 and over, it was found that taking daily fish oils resulted in them having the memory and mind of a much younger person, at least ten years younger!

Omega 3 fats are not manufactured by your body and must come from what you eat. Fish today is expensive and most contains toxins from the pollution, making it hard to eat the four portions a week you need for the optimum amount of omega 3.

The best solution is to take daily fish oil supplements so you can control the amount and purity of what you take. Simply ensure they are rich in DHA fats and molecularly distilled to remove the toxins.

If you get the right amount of fish oil as brain food, you can not only protect your mental health, but also your overall health now and in the future too.

Discover the purest and most effective fish oil omega 3 soft gels available today.

Rich Hawkins is a dedicated researcher of the amazing health benefits of natural supplements including quality omega 3 fish oils.  Take a moment to visit his site now at http://fish-oil-antiflammatory-guide.com and discover the latest supplements he recommends after extensive research.

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Mental Health Conditions That Can Be Treated With Cognitive Exercises

Brain is a vital organ in human body as it coordinates all activities in the body and thus, proper attention should be accorded to its health. In the recent times, several studies have shown that brain exercises improve the cognitive of people who experience decline arising from diseases, chemotherapy, and trauma. Some of the mental health conditions that are reduced by brain fitness include ADHD & ADD, Dementia, Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis & cognitive fatigue, Parkinson, dyslexic, Chemo Fog and Chemo brain. It is therefore necessary for individuals to understand the issues that relate to each memory condition in order to appreciate the role of brain fitness.

The first mental health condition is ADHD & ADD, where ADHD stands for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. This brain condition is the most common memory condition in children. Children affected by ADHD demonstrate impaired performance at school, home, and in relations with other children. If the condition is untreated in the right time, children can develop adverse long-term effects advancing to adulthood. The main symptom of this brain fitness condition is difficulties in concentrating. The other condition that affects memory is the Alzheimer’s disease (AD), which affects old people’s behavior, thought, and memory. The brain effects from AD increases gradually, resulting in habitual forgetting of daily activities.

Advanced AD affects the elderly ability to remember names of the family members, which is abnormal to the aging process. This brain condition affects transmission of information between nerve cells causing disruption in brain functionality. The other mental health condition is Dementia, which describes lowering and loss of cognitive function. The effects of Dementia vary among individuals from mild to moderate and then severe. In order to determine the brain fitness levels of individuals affected by Dementia, neurodiagnosticians use scales, evaluations and interviewing relatives and patients. Dementia can be treated by learning new activities such as swimming, dancing or playing instruments.

The other brain fitness condition that affects brain is Multiple Sclerosis & Cognitive Fatigue, which can result in disability of the patient. This mental health condition comes with varying symptoms depending on the level of central nervous system damage. However, large number of Multiple sclerosis report impaired memory, loss of attention, and cognitive fatigue. The other brain fitness condition that can be reduced by cognitive training is the Dyslexia. Dyslexic patients can improve their reading performance, memory ability, and functionality by undertaking brain fitness exercises. The mental health benefits that accrue after training last for six months.

The other mental health condition that can be treated by brain training is the Chemo Fog and Chemo Brain. Chemotherapy is known to be the biggest contributor of cognitive impairment at old age for patients diagnosed of cancer. Moreover, the riskiness of people suffering mental health impairment is high for patients treated with higher doses. Some of the skills affected by chemotherapy include mental flexibility, attention, and verbal function among other brain skills. The other brain fitness condition that can be reduced by cognitive exercises is the Parkinson disease, which is characterized by trembling, slowness of movement, posture instability, and stiffness of limbs.

Thomas Mann is the author of this article on Brain Fitness. Find more information on Traumatic Brain Injury here.
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Home Organization and Mental Health Benefits

When traveling down a street lined with lovely similar styled homes you would never think that a small percentage of those homes may look good on the outside but inside are disasters. Some cases of clutter are extreme with areas of the home being unable to walk thru while others need more efficient storage for paperwork and filing such as Metal Storage Cabinet or an additional Metal Lateral File Cabinet.

It’s known that keeping your home clean is regarded to increase your overall health, similar to having a good diet or extreme exercise program. This extra health benefit you get from an organized life will also enhance time management skills not to mention clear up any allergies you may have developed from dust related issues from the clutter.

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The problem with hoarding is believed to afflict 15 million Americans to a significant degree with hoarding not only affecting the person with the disability but also to the people in that person’s inner circle. Hoarding causes a feeling of hopelessness for all involved with difficulty starting anything since it seems to be an insurmountable task.

Common reasons for hoarding involve but aren’t limited to a lack of faith in their internal memory, with hoarders needing to hold onto material things. This fear of losing an item is based on forgetting something without that visual reminder around.  In addition, clutter will replace the personal relationship that person has with others since they know it is not a socially accepted behavior.

When dealing with a hoarder in your family, its best to call in local authorities since threats are sometimes the only thing a hoarder will react to. In addition, call a professional to diagnose the situation and be the person that enforces the cleanup. A professional care manager will have a crew to offer extra help if the situation exists and will have local contacts throughout the community that will help with this delicate problem. The last thing a family member should do is make the situation personal, with a “I’m right and your wrong mentality.”

Take gradual steps in preparing the hoarder and their inner circle for this life transformation and if possible have a mental health councilor work with all parties involved throughout the process.

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