Archivo etiqueta «Trastornos mentales»
By Anthony D. Mancini, an assistant professor of psychology at Pace University (THE NEW YORK TIMES, 06/02/12):
When the United States announced last week that its combat troops in Afghanistan would be withdrawn by mid-2013, there was obvious relief. But it was followed by familiar concerns.
One of the biggest of those concerns is the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder among the tens of thousands of returning veterans, which according to some media reports runs as high as 35 percent. These reports have incited fears that we will soon face a PTSD epidemic. But are such fears justified?
According … Seguir leyendo
By Paul Steinberg, a psychiatrist (THE NEW YORK TIMES, 01/02/12):
Asperger syndrome and Aspies — the affectionate name that people diagnosed with Asperger syndrome call themselves — seem to be everywhere.
Considered to be at the high-functioning end of the autism spectrum, Asperger syndrome has become more loosely defined in the past 20 years, by both the mental health profession and by lay people, and in many instances is now synonymous with social and interpersonal disabilities. But people with social disabilities are not necessarily autistic, and giving them diagnoses on the autism spectrum often does a real disservice. An … Seguir leyendo
By Benjamin Nugent, the director of creative writing at Southern New Hampshire University and the author of American Nerd: The Story of My People (THE NEW YORK TIMES, 01/02/12):
For a brief, heady period in the history of autism spectrum diagnosis, in the late ’90s, I had Asperger syndrome.
There’s an educational video from that time, called “Understanding Asperger’s,” in which I appear. I am the affected 20-year-old in the wannabe-hipster vintage polo shirt talking about how keen his understanding of literature is and how misunderstood he was in fifth grade. The film was a research project directed by … Seguir leyendo
By Dr. Albert Lim Kok Hooi, an oncologist (THE NEW YORK TIMES, 25/02/11):
You remember how difficult it was to be one of the boys. Others were on the pitch playing football. You were somewhat clumsy and that made you avoid sports. In any case, you preferred to read by yourself. You joined the Boy Scouts. That ended disastrously when you had to overnight in a tent with three others. The close proximity gave you the creeps and constipation. Your nights went sleepless.
You found it hard to join in conversations. It always seemed you were rudely butting in. … Seguir leyendo
By Sanjay W. Pimplikar, an associate professor in the department of neurosciences at the Cleveland Clinic’s Lerner Research Institute (THE NEW YORK TIMES, 20/07/10):
A panel of medical experts from the National Institute on Aging and the Alzheimer’s Association last week proposed changes in the way doctors diagnose Alzheimer’s disease — including the use of so-called biomarkers, tests like PET brain scans and analyses of spinal fluids to promote early detection of the disease. Although these recommendations are well intentioned, evidence suggests that it would be a mistake to adopt them at this time. To understand why, it’s important to … Seguir leyendo
By Andrea Gillies, the winner of the Wellcome Trust Book Prize 2009 for Keeper (Short Books), her account of caring for Nancy (THE TIMES, 18/11/09):
Not so very long ago I found that I (a writer, editor, mother of three, but otherwise a free agent) had volunteered to become a full-time carer for someone with Alzheimer’s: my mother-in-law, Nancy. She and her husband, Morris, came to live with us in a vast Victorian house surrounded on three sides by sea in the far, far North of Scotland.
Previously I’d thought of my “self” as something inviolable, something that was … Seguir leyendo
By Anna Motz, a consultant clinical and forensic psychologist (THE GUARDIAN, 15/11/09):
Last week’s suicide of the German goalkeeper Robert Enke revealed more than the terrible news of one man’s death, the cruelty of depression and the pressures on sportsmen to protect the public’s idealised view of them; it also exposed the ongoing shame and stigma of mental illness. For years he had been struggling with depression, kept secret from the public and his colleagues for fear of a vicious backlash that could, he apparently feared, raise questions about his capacity to care for his adopted baby girl and … Seguir leyendo
By Simon Baron-Cohen, the director of the Autism Research Center at Cambridge University and the author of The Essential Difference (THE NEW YORK TIMES, 10/11/09):
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, published by the American Psychiatric Association, is the bible of diagnosis in psychiatry, and is used not just by doctors around the world but also by health insurers.
Changing any such central document is complicated. It should therefore come as no surprise that a committee of experts charged with revising the manual has caused consternation by considering removing Asperger syndrome from the next edition, scheduled to … Seguir leyendo
By Max Cleland, the secretary of the American Battle Monuments Commission, a Democratic senator from Georgia from 1997 to 2003. He is the author, with Ben Raines, of Heart of a Patriot: How I Found the Courage to Survive Vietnam, Walter Reed and Karl Rove (THE NEW YORK TIMES, 07/11/09):
“Every day I was in Vietnam, I thought about home. And, every day I’ve been home, I’ve thought about Vietnam.” So said one of the millions of soldiers who fought there as I did. Change the name of the battlefield and it could have been said by one of … Seguir leyendo
Por José Guimón, catedrático de Psiquiatría de la UPV-EHU (EL CORREO DIGITAL, 24/09/09):
Los trastornos mentales son más frecuentes en la mujer, aunque no necesariamente más graves que en el hombre. Se sitúan actualmente como la segunda causa de discapacidad en las mujeres en todo el mundo y se prevé que sean la primera causa en 2020. Un porcentaje mucho mayor (el 75%) de las mujeres que el de hombres que ingresan por una enfermedad mental han padecido un abuso físico o sexual en algún momento de sus vidas. Así, entre 50-75% de las mujeres en tratamiento por abuso … Seguir leyendo
Por José Guimón, catedrático de Psiquiatría de la UPV-EHU (EL CORREO DIGITAL, 18/08/09):
La repercusión mediática del colapso que se produjo durante tres horas el 6 de agosto de la red social Twitter contrasta con el descuido con que la población se desentiende de las consecuencias dramáticas del escaso apoyo que recibe la lenta disolución de las redes sociales de los enfermos mentales en los últimos decenios en nuestro entorno.
Aunque el concepto de ‘red social’ se remonta a los antropólogos y a sociólogos de principios del siglo XX, se suele aceptar que el término fue acuñado por Barnes … Seguir leyendo
By Tyler E. Boudreau, a former Marine captain and the author of Packing Inferno: The Unmaking of a Marine (THE NEW YORK TIMES, 26/01/09):
The Pentagon’s recent decision not to award the Purple Heart to veterans and soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress has caused great controversy. Historically, the medal has gone only to those who have been physically wounded on the battlefield as a result of enemy action. But with approximately one-third of veterans dealing with symptoms of combat stress or major depression, many Americans are disappointed with the Pentagon’s decision; many more are downright appalled. As a former … Seguir leyendo
By Lawrence M. Wein, a professor of management science at the Stanford Graduate School of Business (THE NEW YORK TIMES, 26/01/09):
The American troops in Iraq daily face the risk of death or injury — to themselves or their fellow soldiers — by homemade bombs and suicide attackers. So it is not surprising that post-traumatic stress disorder is a common problem among returning soldiers. But how many, exactly, are affected?
This question is key to determining how large an investment the Department of Veterans Affairs needs to make in diagnosing and treating the problem. The United States Army’s Mental … Seguir leyendo
By India Knight (THE TIMES, 18/01/09):
The news last week that prenatal testing for autism might be on the cards was rather spun out of shape: we are not on the verge of a test — not right now, anyway – but work by the Autism Research Centre at Cambridge University shows we are heading that way.
The team found that babies exposed to high levels of testosterone in the womb had a higher risk of developing autistic traits. Previous research had shown that high levels of testosterone were associated with less eye contact by a child’s first birthday, slower … Seguir leyendo
By Anne Karpf, the author of The Human Voice (THE GUARDIAN, 03/12/08):
To most people the very mention of Alzheimer’s induces a state of hopelessness. We make nervous jokes about “senior moments”, or express don’t-know-how-you-manage sympathy to carers. Those with Alzheimer’s themselves, meanwhile, are often talked of as if they’ve already slipped the bonds of humanity: they’re ex-persons.
So if I told you that I’d spent an evening at the Wellcome Collection in London a few weeks ago discussing dementia and emerged feeling excited, you might wonder about the soundness of my mind. Yet the pioneering work described there … Seguir leyendo