Monthly Archives: June 2010

Psychological Effects of the Gulf Oil Spill

The Gulf oil spill has affected numerous different aspects of life, but one not so apparent is the effects it has had on our minds and mental health of the people directly exposed to it.

“Dr. Keith Ablow, a psychiatrist and member of the Fox News Medical A-Team, said the mental health aspects of the oil spill may well dwarf any physical injuries sustained due to the disaster. “That’s because the spill is a direct stress to people’s self-determination and sense of well-being,” he said … “We’re seeing indications that people are drinking more,” said Howard Osofsky, a psychiatrist from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge.” – Mental Health Fallout From Oil Spill Just Beginning

Psychological effects may not even surface from this spill until later on. There was much research done on the Exxon Valdez spill in 1987 that show that people affected then are suffering now, and the chances of this also happening with this oil spill are high. – Valdez expert: Psychological impact of Gulf oil spill won’t fully emerge for years

“The psychological toll of the oil leak has been heavy for some and overwhelming for others, as evidenced by a charter boat captain who committed suicide in Alabama last week.” – PSYCHOLOGICAL TRAUMA OF OIL SPILL HITTING GULF COMMUNITIES HARD

10 Psychotherapy Myths Busted

View all of them with explanations here.

1. It’s all your parents’ fault

2. Talking about yourself is self-indulgent

3. In the end, it all comes down to sex

4. Most therapists are mad anyway

5. It costs a fortune and will take for ever

6. Depression is a chemical imbalance and best treated with medicine

7. There’s no point in raking over the past

8. Therapists fill you with psychobabble

9. Psychotherapy is just psychiatry-lite

10. Therapy will change my personality

Pain and Depression

A hot topic that has been popping up all over psychology news lately is the perception of pain and its relationship to depression. It has been found that pain is felt more intensely when someone is depressed or is experiencing sadness. It shines a new light when thinking about people who deal with physical pain on a regular basis. If they use therapy as a way to rid or relieve their depression or “mental pain,” then they may also be benefiting themselves by treating their physical pain. Here are a couple of supports articles:

Why Does Feeling Low Hurt? Depressed Mood Increases the Perception of Pain – “Their findings revealed that inducing depressed mood disrupted a portion of the participants’ neurocircuitry that regulates emotion, causing an enhanced perception of pain.”

Depression may make pain feel worse – “The study, published in Biological Psychiatry, suggested feeling sad disabled the ability to regulate the negative emotion associated with pain. The findings raise the possibility, Berna said, of treating pain by treating depression.”

Depression Can Make Pain Worse – “Following this line of research, the next step would be to study patients with chronic pain, because they often also suffer from depression, the researchers noted. The goal would be to find ways to more effectively treat the millions of people worldwide who experience chronic pain and depression, the authors explained.”

Depression makes pain worse – “The researchers noted that depression may not only be a consequence of being in pain. It might actually exacerbate pain, making it worse than it would be for those in a positive frame of mind.”

Mobile Psychotherapy

Psychotherapy is become even more accessible than ever. Access to this over the telephone and applications like Skype right on your cell phone make is easier to get the help you need, wherever you are, whenever you need it.

Telephone therapy study – All aspects of telephone therapy were looked at from this study. Some were bad and some were good. The main focus is that if you have a quality therapist and are willing to comply with the usage of the electronics. More research in this field is needed. Tom Essig.

Telephone therapy ‘as good as face-to-face consultations’ to beat the blues – “Telephone consultation can be as effective as face-to-face discussion in the treatment of clinical depression, a new study suggests … Researchers suggest that for people who are comfortable with phone calls, therapy could soon be cheaper, more convenient and minus awkward waiting rooms.” Thaindian News.

Is that a therapist in your pocket? – “Soon it will be possible to access a range of mental health therapies, tests and much more from your smartphone, according to an audio segment on National Public Radio (NPR), a nonprofit membership US-based media organization, on May 24.” Relaxnews.