Bipolar disorder affects between one and two per cent of the adult population
Many of us have a friend or family member we wonder about because they seem to shift unpredictably from one mood to another. We are often worried or in awe of them because they can be on a high one day and despondent the next. While it certainly isn’t always the case, people like this…
Psychotic episodes can occur for a variety of reasons, not all of them having to do with mental illness
Hallucinations and delusions are the first things many people imagine when they hear about mental illness. They think of people who hear voices, see imaginary people or think they are someone they’re not. While hallucinations and delusions are not the hallmark of every mental illness, they can occur as a symptom of several disorders. Schizophrenia…
Postpartum OCD is frequently misdiagnosed and misunderstood – but it is treatable, help is available
By Gina Wong Athabasca University and Nicole Letourneau University of Calgary In January of 2018, a new mother in California became part of a viral Facebook post that described her baby’s four-month postpartum checkup. As a result of the thoughts she shared with her health-care providers, the police were called and she was escorted to…
It's clear the status quo isn’t meeting the needs of our aging population. So what can be done?
By Ruta Valaitis and Maureen Markle-Reid McMaster University Despite having diabetes and arthritis, Verne was a thriving independent 72-year-old who lived at home with his wife when he had a stroke. He had excellent emergency care in the hospital and began his recovery there. But he didn’t adjust well after arriving home. He started to…
Childhood abuse or neglect can permanently alter an individual’s physiology
In a previous column, I pointed out that nature and nurture should not be regarded as enemies or polar opposites. Rather, they are two intertwined realities that work together to make up the human experience. Nature was designed for nurture. Many studies in recent years have documented the effects that early childhood experience can have…
We are a long way from identifying definitive biomarkers to illness and personalized gene therapies are likely generations away
By Nicole Letourneau and Suzanne Tough University of Calgary Genetics will save the day – that’s the message you see constantly in the media and even in academic literature. But it's a message that can distract us from providing quality care now. Newspapers herald breakthroughs in finding genetic biomarkers for autism. Magazines trumpet finding a…
Two of the primary risk factors for the disease are obesity and lack of exercise
Diabetes is one of the leading health problems affecting North America today and is rapidly on the rise. It is also well known that this disease can cause serious health complications such as vision loss and amputation as well as life-threatening problems like stroke, heart disease and kidney failure. Indeed, diabetes, which affects the body’s…
Shelly Qualtieri talks about her business as a counsellor, coach and facilitator
Shelly Qualtieri is a counsellor, coach and facilitator with Shelly Qualtieri – Counselling & Coaching Tell me what you do and what your business is about? Qualtieri: I’m the entrepreneur and heart and soul behind Shelly Qualtieri – Counselling & Coaching. I’m a counsellor and a registered social worker (RSW). The core of my business…
For every $1 invested in psychological services for depression, there’s a $2 return to society
Too often goes untold are the stories of thousands of people who die by suicide every year in Canada – our friends, relatives, colleagues and neighbours. What’s also not well documented is how frequently many of them may have struggled with depression, often for months or even years, and how many may have lacked adequate…
It is becoming increasingly clear that our genes influence everything from our personality traits to specific psychiatric disorders
Nature has been pitted against nurture for centuries. People have always pondered the question of whether human behaviour is primarily dictated by genetic hard-wiring or by our experiences and environmental factors. The debate has lasted so long because we know comparatively little about the functioning of the human brain. As a result, disorders of the…