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A study in the December 2007 issue of the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry examines the prevalence of psychotic symptoms and schizophrenia in nondemented 95-year-olds over a one-year period. A sample of 338 95-year-olds living in Göteborg, Sweden (individuals with dementia were excluded leaving 163 subjects for this study) received psychiatric and physical examinations as well as cognitive tests and interviews with close informants. The results indicated that the one-year prevalence of any psychotic symptom was 7.4% overall (hallucinations 6.7% and delusions 0.6% ). Four of the study participants met DSM-III-R criteria for schizophrenia (2.4%). No differences in cognitive functioning were found between individuals with psychotic symptoms and individuals without these symptoms. Individuals with hallucinations and paranoid ideation also had an increased frequency of paranoid personality traits. The authors concluded that there was evidence of a higher than expected prevalence of psychotic symptoms, paranoid ideation, and schizophrenia in the very old.

Click here for the abstract.

Romeo Vitelli
Creator of Providentia
Ashworth University Contributing Blogger

*A man who has lived a fascinating life, Dr. Romeo Vitelli spent fifteen years as a staff psychologist in Millbrook Correctional Centre, a maximum-security prison run by the Ontario government. In 2003, he successfully escaped prison and went into full-time private practice and currently also serves as a Disaster Management volunteer with the Red Cross. He is one of the web’s most respected and trusted sources in matters of psychology. We here in the Ashworth University community are honored to share with Dr. Vitelli’s gifts with our students and would like to express our gratitude to him. Visit Providentia to learn more about the life and work of Dr. Romeo Vitelli.

 
                    Thanks to Steve for permission to use this Photo.

Most famous for his radical theories on language learning and evolutionary psychology, Steven Pinker is a thinker with a vision that tends to provoke strong emotional responses in anyone who will listen.  The reason may be rather simple.  Pinker analyzes human intelligence from a zero sum perspective in which he meticulously deconstructs the foundations of what’s been established as scientific fact.  The following video presentation was made at Google Headquarters.  The Google geniuses always seem to bring in other geniuses to make the room smarter.  Afterwards, please share your thoughts with the Ashworth Psychology community.  Click on the image above to watch this video.  It’s good.

Ryan Rode
Interactive Services Manager
Ashworth University Psychology Program

            Thanks to Russell Lichter for pemission to use this Photo.

Even today, tuberculosis remains a fearsome disease with an uncertain outcome. How much more frightening must it have seemed in 1892 after an epidemic of tuberculosis struck the Rhode Island town of Exeter? Despite the fact that the deaths were limited to a single family, the possibility of it spreading seemed very real to the people of the region. Following the deaths of Mary Eliza Brown and her daughter, Mary Olive in 1883, the two surviving children seemed to be spared for a time. When Mercy Lena Brown suddenly died in January, 1892 and her brother Edwin began to sicken as well, the patriarch of the family, George T. Brown, became desperate for any solution to save his only surviving child. True treatment for tuberculosis would not be available for decades and all that he had to rely upon were the folk remedies that his neighbours suggested. 

History does not record who first proposed exhuming the deceased members of the family and burning the heart of the relative that seemed most likely to be responsible for the deaths. The word “vampire” was never actually used in this case but the rural residents of the area had a longstanding tradition of burning the heart of those deemed to have died an “unnatural” death to cure unexplained illness. Since Mercy Brown was only recently deceased and her body was still well-preserved by the cold weather, she was judged to be the guilty party by virtue of the liquid blood that was still in her heart. Although the medical examiner in attendance, Dr. Harold Metcalf, insisted that there was nothing remarkable about Mercy’s condition, her heart was removed and burned on a nearby rock. The ashes were then saved and placed in water for her brother Edwin to drink (his reaction to this “remedy” is not recorded). Sadly, Edwin still died some time later although the epidemic ended with him. Local tradition still holds that Mercy’s exhumation and the disposal of her heart still “took care of the problem” and laid her spirit to rest.

Folklore surrounding vampires varies from region to region but there are still some common elements to be found in many cultures. While legends of undead creatures that feed on the living seem fantastic by modern standards, hysteria surrounding supposed vampire attacks can still occur today. (more…)

 
Are we on this again?

“Study doubts the effectiveness of antidepressant drugs.”  Or, even better, as per The Independent: “Antidepressant drugs don’t work– official study.“

I don’t know what passes for official nowadays.  The data is the exact same data that has existed for 30 years.  Yes, these authors are acting like they FOIA-ed the second Zapruder film, but let me assure you it’s the same old data.  These authors did the exact same study in 2002.  So have twenty other groups.  This is not new. 

But it is news.  The question is why.

I have a side question.  Why is it that when an article says something works, people are suspicious of bias, but when an article says something doesn’t work, everyone thinks it’s objective science?   IT’S ALL BIAS.  

People are completely missing the point of this paper and all the other recent re-investigations, the true social and clinical consequences of them.  For example: they’re saying antidepressants are no good.  Ok.  What do you think doctors are going to use  instead?  Psychoanalysis?  Nothing?  They’re going to prescribe antipsychotics.  Are you listening to me?  I’m not even saying this is clinically wrong to do, but do you not see the setup?  Abre los ojos, man. (more…)

               Thanks to Curtis Perry for permission to use this Photo.

Since at least the 1930s, mental health professionals in the city of Jerusalem have attested to the existence of a peculiar syndrome affecting some first-time visitors. Referred to as the Jerusalem syndrome, it is described as an intense religious psychosis characterized by delusions, obsessive ideas, or other psychotic symptoms that can affect first-time visitors to the city and can quickly resolve in a matter of weeks. There is a suggested typology of Jerusalem syndrome episodes based on whether there is a preexisting psychiatric history or idiosyncratic ideation involved.

Case histories that have been reported include one individual, who was observed to be dressed in a white tunic and wearing a gilded crown on his head welcomes tourists and pilgrims on their way to the Wailing Wall and proclaiming himself as King David. Being the psalmist, he held a lyre and sang psalms accompanied by occasional preaching. Another case involved a self-proclaimed “messiah” who was observed to guard the entry to Jerusalem and calling on all sinners to repent as he claimed the doomsday is near.  Another individual referred to himself as “Samson” and attempted to move the giant stones of the Wailing Wall “to the right place”. After fighting down policemen who tried to interfere, “Samson” was taken to the Kfar Shaul Psychiatric Hospital in Jerusalem where he was treated and later released. (more…)

                             Image courtesy of storyspinn. 

Recently I was contacted by an associate producer from the Dr. Phil show. Are they seeing if I’d be a good guest? It certainly appears like that’s a possibility. So, in addition to getting some very desperately needed help from Dr. Phil and his team, I may one day soon be able to give my bastion of loyal readers a quasi-insider’s view of the show and its’ process. All I can say is, pray for me, and, for now, enjoy this correspondence, edited, of course, for privacy reasons: (more…)

               Thanks to Eduardo Vedia for permission to use this Photo.

I once worked with an athlete on the U.S. ski team with Olympic aspirations.  The problem was that he was “burned out” and unable to perform at his customary high performance level.  This athlete had heard about my success as a sports psychologist helping athletes who were going through this difficult stage and contacted me.  After hearing his story, I agreed to work with him.  My first effort was to help him get in touch with what he was experiencing.  He didn’t want to leave the team, but thought he had no other option. 

I began by dealing with the issue of time management to see if he could find the extra time he needed for other desired activities.  I also recommended that he take about three weeks off from his sport simply to rest his mind and body.  Obviously, his coaches did not respond to this strategy with much enthusiasm.  Once they realized that the alternative was to remove him from the team, they consented to giving him some time off.  We used this hiatus to work on relaxation strategies and stress reduction.  I also helped him rediscover why he was skiing in the first place.  By the time he returned to his sport, he felt renewed and invigorated.  He was back to his old self.

Many athletes who yield to the initial impulse to get away from their sport when burnout symptoms set in are left with a lifelong sense of regret and dissatisfaction.  They always wonder what might have been if burnout had not robbed them of the pleasure of competition and the pursuit of victory.  For those willing to seek the intervention of a skilled and understanding sport psychology consultant, the result can be quite positive.  It really is possible to “have it all”—high-level achievement and a life outside one’s sport.

Take a moment to consider your own athletic experiences and the negative feelings you may have had at times about participating in your sport(s).  Ask yourself if the decisions you made at the time were the right ones for you.  Would you have made other choices if you knew then what you know now?  Whatever your response, never forget that life is ahead of you, not behind.  There’s still time to “get it right.”

Nicole Detling Miller, M.S.
Sport Psychology Instructor
Ashworth University

                          Thanks to Karen Geiger for permission to use this Photo.

I really enjoyed Seth Woolf’s response to Deb’s solid commentary on his previous post. Since we don’t yet have our comments section clearly displayed on this blog, I’ve posted this conversation as an original post for everyone to see and engage. What are your thoughts?

From Deb: 

Dear Sir — I believe you have missed the point of what Dr. Phil has been trying to achieve. As young people, typically all of us do not realize the consequences of actions. I can indicate to you that as a owner of a company, these kind of posting would stop me from hiring an individual, no so much as their right to participate in such activity, but in that the judgment of said individual is not who I want representing my company. In short…it is that simple and professionally said individuals are limiting their options later in life, as they age and realize that childhood was not meant for public display. 

From Seth: 

It is perhaps true that I have “missed the point of what Dr. Phil has been trying to achieve” but, if so, it is because I find his aims pointless. I simply feel the cause and effect of this situation has been confused. If employers look down on such technological behavior and confessionalism, I think it says more about their own bourgeoise biases, and less about the quality of the candidates. More importantly, I would also like to counter your claim that “As young people, typically all of us do not realize the consequences of our actions.” This is a sweeping statement about young people, one which I do not follow. For one, I don’t see “young people” as a definable, homogeneous group. I’m 22, am I a young person? What about a twelve year old in Auswitz? What about an eighty year old with the mental capacities of a person one tenth his or her age? Is it for individuals to decide, society, or who? Similarly, I don’t see how a person, regardless of age, could realize all the consequences of his or her actions. Everyone, again regardless of age, must simply act with what information they have at a given moment. (more…)

              Thanks to Todd Ehlers for permission to use this Photo.

It is likely that many diverse factors have contributed to the current obesity epidemic. Fast food, less activity, trans fats, viruses, big portions, and so on have all been blamed for our increasing waistlines. The more we understand the phenomenon, the better equipped we are to deal with it.

Adina Lemeshow and her colleagues have added a new consideration–social status [1]. Teen girls were asked to rate themselves on a ten point social standing scale, with 10 representing people with the most respect and highest standing and a 1 representing people “no one wants to hang around with.” Girls who rated themselves less than 5 were 69 percent more likely to experience a two unit or more increase in BMI over the following two years, even after other factors such as socioeconomic status, TV viewing habits, mother’s BMI, and depression were controlled. (more…)

 
                 Thanks to Erwan for permission to use this Photo.

After William Enman escaped from the New Jersey psychiatric hospital where he had been serving his sentence, he sent a letter to the governor and hospital CEO protesting that he had earned the right to sign himself out. The 64-year old patient has been serving a sentence for a brutal double-murder hat he had committed in 1974. Although diagnosed as schizophrenic, he has consistently denied the diagnosis and refused to comply with psychiatric treatment. Enman’s September 9, 2007 escape from Ancora Psychiatric Hospital sparked a nation-wide manhunt although he was recaptured without incident 48 hours later. After his rearrest, he stated that he had escaped the hospital to “clear my mind” and that he needed to “get away” from his drug problem. In his letter, he stated that he had “maxed out” the time that he had spent in hospital and was entitled to leave.

In the decades since he was first imprisoned for the brutal bludgeoning deaths of a man and his young son, Enman has committed numerous infractions including having contraband weapons being found in his cell and placing his hands around the throat of his then-wife in 2003. (more…)