Problems with the heart have long been diagnosed using tools like electrocardiograms, otherwise known as EKGs. Scans of the brain can already help doctors determine physical and physiological problems, and now researchers think they could improve the accuracy of mental illness diagnoses. The idea holds a lot of promise. If doctors can order a simple, …
To look at Jude’s fingernails, you’d think she had an unfortunate disorder, something that affected nail growth and left only jagged bits of rough and misshapen keratin on the ends of her fingers. She chewed at them mercilessly when she thought no one was watching, and though she’d tried everything to quit what she believed …
There is a relatively new treatment for addiction on the market. It isn’t a new type of therapy or a variation of a 12-step program and it isn’t a replacement for a drug, like methadone, which acts as a replacement for heroin. The new drug, called Vivitrol, is an injection that prevents addicts from getting …
Millions of people in the U.S. struggle to get a good night’s sleep on a regular basis. In some cases, insomnia is caused by physical ailments, such as seasonal allergies or chronic pain. For many others, however, sleep disturbances are directly linked to mental health problems, such as depression or anxiety. Unfortunately, frequent or chronic …
Treating Insomnia Alone Doesn’t ‘Fix’ Underlying Disorder Read More »
It’s often been said that depression is the “common cold” when it comes to psychiatric disorders, while schizophrenia is likened to “cancer.” While those metaphors may be oversimplified, they’re not far off the mark in many ways. Schizophrenia is one of the most serious — and often one of the most disabling — types of …