The attempt to catalog all the ways that Americans can go crazy dates at least to 1840, when the Census included a question on “idiocy/insanity.” From those two simple categories, we now have more than 300 separate disorders; they are listed in a 943-page book called the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or DSM for short.
Tag Archives: disorders
Health: Real Men Get The Blues
It wasn’t easy for Bill Thielker to believe it when his doctor diagnosed him as depressed–mostly because he wasn’t terribly sad.
Bad to the Bone
To their victims they seemed pretty normal at first, even admirable.
A Complex Link Between Marijuana and Schizophrenia
Since the days of Reefer Madness, scientists have sought to understand the complex connection between marijuana and psychosis. Cannabis can cause short-term psychotic experiences, such as hallucinations and paranoia, even in healthy people, but researchers have also long noted a link between marijuana use and the chronic psychotic disorder, schizophrenia.
Doc Who Tied Vaccine to Autism Ruled Unethical
In 1998, Andrew Wakefield, a gastroenterologist at London’s Royal Free Hospital, published a study in the prestigious medical journal Lancet that linked the triple Measles, Mumps and Rubella vaccine with autism and bowel disorders in children. The study — and Wakefield’s subsequent public statements that parents should refuse the vaccines — sparked a public health panic that led vaccination rates in Britain to plunge.
Exercise Lifts Mood, but Does It Work Against Depression?
At his research clinic in Dallas, psychologist Jasper Smits is working on an unorthodox treatment for anxiety and mood disorders, including depression. It is not yet widely accepted, but his treatment is free and has no side effects.
Researchers to animal-rights activists: We’re not afraid
Three research scientists have taken a rare public stand against animal-rights activists, describing them as terrorists for their threats and acts of violence in commentaries published in the latest issue of The Journal of Neuroscience.
Internet addiction linked to ADHD, depression in teens
Some children and teens are more likely than their peers to become addicted to the Internet, and a new study suggests it’s more likely to happen if kids are depressed, hostile, or have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or social phobia.
Study: More cases of autism in U.S. kids than previously realized
A study published Monday in the journal Pediatrics indicates about 1 percent of children ages 3 to 17 have autism or a related disorder, an increase over previous estimates.
How to solve 9 sleep problems
Most of us have experienced those maddening midnight moments when, no matter how tired we are, we either can’t fall asleep, can’t stay asleep or our sleep is of such poor quality it feels as if we were awake.