Omega-3 Is Not the Bullet

A new study of heart patients suffering from depression is in itself depressing — at least if you were excited about the potential of omega-3 fatty acids to life your spirits. From the New York Times:

The patients were randomly assigned to a combination of sertraline, an anti-depressant, and either omega-3s or a corn oil placebo. After 10 weeks, there was “absolutely no difference” in depression remission rates between the 59 patients taking omega-3s and the 56 patients taking the placebo, said Robert M. Carney, lead author of the study, which appeared in the Oct. 21 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

“It was very disappointing,” he said.

The trial was launched because patients with heart disease are at greater risk of dying if they are depressed, Dr. Carney said. Depressed patients are known to have low levels of omega-3s, which are a risk factor for heart disease, as well.

Now, with any study, there are multitudinous caveats. It’s a small sample. They had lower levels of omega-3s to begin with. Perhaps there were other factors (i.e., physical illness) that superseded the treatment of depression, yadda yadda.

And there has been other research to suggest omega-3s are useful for depression. USA Today broke down a different study in 2007:

The omega-3 fatty acid in some fish may be a “brain food” that helps ward off depression because it increases gray matter in three areas that tend to be smaller in people who have serious depression, a study suggests today.
The increase could help explain why past studies have found that the omega-3 acid DHA reduces symptoms of depression. The richest sources of DHA are fatty fish and fish-oil capsules.

Researchers gave magnetic resonance imaging tests to 55 adults. Participants also reported everything they ate for 24 hours on two randomly selected days, says study leader Sarah Conklin, a neuroscientist at University of Pittsburgh Medical School. She’ll report her findings at the American Psychosomatic Society meeting in Budapest.

The more DHA a person consumed, the more gray matter there was in three areas of the brain linked to mood: the amygdala, the hippocampus and the cingulate, Conklin says. Seriously depressed people tend to have less gray matter in these areas, she says.

For every yes in research, there’s a no. It’s really frustrating for people looking for answers. That’s why it’s best to just go with your gut: Try what feels right and if it works for you, great. If it doesn’t work for you, move on to something else. But remember: There is no magic bullet — oily or otherwise.

liz | 2:52 PM | alternative treatments, depression

My New Hero: Glenn Close

Not because she’s a phenomenal actor, which she is, but because she’s just initiated a new project to banish stigma. The project is highly personal, as she explains on Huffington Post:

As I’ve written and spoken about before, my sister suffers from a bipolar disorder and my nephew from schizoaffective disorder. There has, in fact, been a lot of depression and alcoholism in my family and, traditionally, no one ever spoke about it. It just wasn’t done. The stigma is toxic. And, like millions of others who live with mental illness in their families, I’ve seen what they endure: the struggle of just getting through the day, and the hurt caused every time someone casually describes someone as “crazy,” “nuts,” or “psycho”.

What’s remarkable is not her frankness about this personal history, but her motivation to act, which seems almost like a wholesale rethinking of her career and what it’s meant in popular culture. In Fatal Attraction, for example, she played a woman obsessed with Michael Douglas (those were the days, right Michael?). She loses control of the obsession and becomes terrifying. As Close writes, the movie was a great success, and audiences loved to hate her character.

Alex Forrest is considered by most people to be evil incarnate. People still come up to me saying how much she terrified them. Yet in my research into her behavior, I only ended up empathizing with her. She was a human being in great psychological pain who definitely needed meds. I consulted with several psychiatrists to better understand the “whys” of what she did and learned that she was far more dangerous to herself than to others.

The original ending of Fatal Attraction actually had Alex commit suicide. But that didn’t “test” well. Alex had terrified the audiences and they wanted her punished for it. A tortured and self-destructive Alex was too upsetting. She had to be blown away.

So, we went back and shot the now famous bathroom scene. A knife was put into Alex’s hand, making her a dangerous psychopath. When the wife shot her in self-defense, the audience was given catharsis through bloodshed — Alex’s blood. And everyone felt safe again.

The ending worked. It was thrilling and the movie was a big hit. But it sent a misleading message about the reality of mental illness.

This is a bold admission from a woman who derived so much success from this role, but there’s no escaping what she says. It has long bothered me — and, I suspect, other advocates — that the message there is one of terror and fear.

Not only does Close take on her role in that film, she assesses the entertainment industry as a whole:

Whether it is Norman Bates in Psycho, Jack Torrance in The Shining, or Kathy Bates’ portrayal of Annie Wilkes in Misery, scriptwriters invariably tell us that the mentally ill are dangerous threats who must be contained, if not destroyed. It makes for thrilling entertainment.

There are some notable exceptions, of course — Dustin Hoffman in Rainman, or Russell Crowe’s portrayal of John Nash in A Beautiful Mind. But more often than not, the movie or TV version of someone suffering from a mental disorder is a sociopath who must be stopped.

I like to think that her speaking out will change this. As she so eloquently says, silence is the problem. Read more of her elegant prose here. It is well worth it. There you’ll find links to the initiative she’s promoting.

Thank you, Glenn, for speaking out against silence. You rock.

liz | 10:30 AM | SCHIZOPHRENIA, bipolar disorder, celebrities, depression, media, meds

A Message to Patrick Kennedy

First of all:

Ted Kennedy’s Health Care Legacy

The Cause of Ted Kennedy’s Life

Patrick, my condolences on your father’s passing. When your dad’s brothers died, he had to get himself together and stop being an irresponsible, drunken frat boy. He had to become a leader who espoused what they did: social justice, pacifism, equal rights, etc. You have a head start: You made mental health parity happen, and you’ve been engaged in fighting the good fight since the beginning. You’re my hero.

But I also know you’re flawed and troubled, like your dad was, like we all are. The politicians who pretend to be saints tend to fail us, so you just go on being imperfect. And if you need support in your time of grief, just think of us out here, rooting for you to do well. We support you because you’re our voice now. And because we know what it’s like to live with loss. We believe in you. Carry on.

liz | 3:19 PM | bipolar disorder, celebrities, depression

Liveblogging Primetime Outsiders

All the below is about this show.

Madigan: They didn’t flatter you with that lighting.

David Oaks: You’re looking so handsome! I had no idea. Your eyebrows are very sexy. (I’m completely sincere.)

“But critics worry …” That’s journalism-speak for “We don’t have any specific sources who say this, but we’ll generalize it so we have reason to focus on …”

… violence. That’s what they’re focusing on. Why am I not surprised?

So of all the things they could talk about related to Mad Pride — and related to mental health — this is what they’ve come up with: criminals and violent crime. Ugh. TV is so predictable and depressing.

Okay, so now we’re telling the story of a kid with hallucinations and delusions (the CIA, yadda yadda) who KILLS HIS MOTHER? Does the average American viewer understand how fucking rare this kind of thing is? That it’s not the necessary result of deciding not to take meds?

On to the withdrawal story: Clearly, the program wasn’t looking for a success story. This poor woman who decided to do the show so they could feed off her misery — I knew that’s what they wanted. Is she doing the withdrawal in conjunction with a doctor? Who the hell knows? The show doesn’t tell you. It hardly tells you her name. And …

Oh! There it is again: “Critics worry … ” (that she’s going to be “a time bomb” without her meds). Who are these critics worrying about this girl? Frank Rich? David Denby? I’d love to know.

“Violence is unpredictable with or without drugs.” Brilliant script.

Blurry homeless images. Madigan cello-ing. … This show is so bad, it’s like a joke. I guess it all goes back to what producer Ia Robinson told me, when we discussed my being on the show: She doesn’t have any friends or family who have mental problems, so the whole topic was like “walking on the moon.” Yes, that’s the phrase she used. The show should’ve been blasted out to Mars.

Except Joey P. He’s delightful and a voice of reason.

liz | 9:34 PM | SCHIZOPHRENIA, alternative treatments, bipolar disorder, celebrities, criminal justice system, depression, hospitals / hospitalization, meds, philadelphia, side effects, stigma, suicide, violence

Mind Freedom and Icarus on ABC

Tomorrow night at 10 p.m. EST, the show Primetime will feature the Mad Pride movement. Mind Freedom International (MFI) has worked hard to make this show happen, so everyone set the Betamax to RECORD.

To get a sense of what it’s going to be about, go here for the article, which offers an online video interview with Joe Pantoliano, who’s featured in the story. (Full disclosure: I was interviewed for the show, but I don’t think I’ll be mentioned.) On the page with Pantoliano’s story, there’s a poll: “Should people with mental illnesses be required to take medication?” Now, why the hell would that be the question related to this piece? Here are the potential answers:

No. It should be a patient’s choice whether or not to accept medication.
72%

Yes. When people refuse to take medications, it can be dangerous.
28%

I’m distressed that even 28 percent would agree to that fatuous statement. But then again, that’s a big focus of the piece that’s online right now: whether Mad Pride is “safe.” I’m not going to comment further until I see the TV show; maybe that false dichotomy — Mad Pride vs. taking meds — won’t be the setup. I hope not, because it’s really kind of stupid.

liz | 9:57 PM | depression, media

Dr. John Grohol Has Far More Patience (Patients?) Than I Do

There’s a prickly debate going on over at Psych Central on the subject of the MOTHERS Act, which, rather unexcitingly, suggests pregnant moms get screened for postpartum depression — something that’s rather standard in the UK and Australia. There is opposition to the Act, as embodied in a post by J. Douglas Bremner, psychiatrist and author, who believes the act stigmatizes motherhood. He quotes Amy Philo, who had a terrible experience after being misdiagnosed with PPD (and who was featured in a recent article in Time about the Act).

John Grohol wrote a response to Bremner’s assertions about the Act and about PPD in general. His response has caused a bit of a furor over there. In broad strokes, I agree with Grohol and endorse his position — which will have the Scientologists among you lashing out against me. But there does have to be a check embedded in the legislation so that medication is the last treatment prescribed rather than the first. And OB/GYNs should not be prescribing psych meds on their own but only in consultation with a psychiatrist. There are already too many scrips flying out of the hands of the wrong people.

It’s interesting that the issue of screening is rather uncontroversial in other countries. I wonder what that says about us. And about Scientology.

Grohol has been responding thoughtfully to all his commenters, which is why he has more patience than I do. I always get overwhelmed at the thought of doing that, so I retreat into a box of cereal or something. Tally-ho, John!

liz | 10:19 AM | depression

Michael Jackson: Suicidal?

From the Telegraph (UK):

Friends of the King of Pop have claimed that he “often overdosed” and had been trying to kill himself for a decade. One said: “We’re surprised he even made it to 50”.

The Daily Star reported that insiders believe the financially struggling star “couldn’t face his problems” and wanted a way out.

He would keep the suicide note in his pocket and overdosed, they told the newspaper. “Michael always talked about dying young,” one said. “He wrote suicide notes then tore them up. He kept one with him – he often read it.

“He wanted everyone to know how sad he was.” Another friend told the newspaper that Jackson had wanted to end his life ever since he was humiliated by child abuse claims in the 1990s.

That’s quite sad.

Michael Jackson Kept Suicide Note

liz | 10:05 AM | celebrities, depression

Goodbye, Anti-Sacred and Profane Writing Machine

After a long battle with cancer, PW staff writer, Guardian columnist, punk-rock novelist, NME gadfly, gender-twisting rebel comedian and poet Steven Wells has gone on to other things. Well, not really. According to Steven, there’s no such thing as the afterlife, and if there is, I guarantee he’s really, really pissed off right now. I can just picture him at St. Peter’s Gates, saying, “Fuck me! This shit actually exists?”

We’ll all miss Steven so much, and I’ll say more about that later. For now, I’m wishing the best to all family and friends who are hurting. That’s what Steven really cared about in the end, though he was very passionately annoyed by knitting, as well.

Steven was often told he was anti-American. I loved his passion, and he cracked us the fuck up every day. This video was part of a series he did for PW called Steven Wells’ America, in which he took sacred cows and basically grilled them for dinner. Below, he reflects on the religiosity of an America that voted for Bush a second time (Steven was a staunch atheist). Toward the end he smiles a bit, so you know that he knows he’s being ridiculous. And that’s part of what was so cute about Steven — he’d rant, but then laugh at himself.

liz | 10:41 AM | BIG PHARMA, Funny or Offensive?, GLBT, Song of the Day, alternative treatments, anxiety, celebrities, children, cute fix, depression, hospitals / hospitalization, media, meds, military, philadelphia, phobias, politics, random, religion, suicide, violence

Let’s All Send Our Biggest, Hugest Hugs to Susan S.

The incomparable author of If You’re Going Through Hell Keep Going is feeling bad these days. Here’s something she posted yesterday:

I am just tired. Tired of feeling ill from my meds 24/7. Tired of being too sick to work. Tired of not having any money and applying for food stamps and subsidized housing.

Tired in the fact the one trip to the city I took since 07 cause I didn’t have the money to go= I get comped two tickets for “Next to Normal”, and it triggers every trigger I have in the universe. I haven’t been the same since i saw the play.

Other than underwear, I have not bought any new clothes since 07. I have not gone anywhere, unless you count Princeton and New Brunswick. I don’t.

Living in the burbs where it’s all families and young marrieds commuting into the city- it sucks, I should be in a city- any city somewhere. Not here. Please not here.

All I ever wanted from the time I graduated from college was to be a wife and mother. The ex said he wanted children, after we married I found out he didn’t. Hence the annullment. I would have never married him if he had told the truth.

All I have at this point of my life, are broken dreams. I don’t have any dreams now.

I spend my days popping pills to sleep 18 -20 hours a day so I can be as close to death as I can without actually being dead. I have a blog which got some awards but no one visits. All I know how to do is write. And I wonder if I can every really do that.

All I know, I just want to be somewhere else before my birthday. That’s it. I just don’t know how to get there.

The cat will be fine. AK or Peter will take care of her. I am not fine. I need a dream, or a dirt nap.

Now, team, this is your assignment: Go to Susan’s blog and leave her a comforting comment. We have all been where she is now, and it’s not a good place to be. And the idea that someone else could care for kitty Holly? Ridiculous. No one loves Holly or understands her like Susan.

My life would be so much less meaningful without Susan. She has supported me and encouraged me in dark times. She has been an admirer and friend. And yes, she’s a kick-ass writer. We love you, Susan!

liz | 10:35 AM | depression, suicide

Depression Confession: Alec Baldwin

From People magazine:

It was the private voicemail message not meant to be shared and yet ended up being heard by nearly everyone – Alec Baldwin’s angry April 2007 tirade against his daughter, Ireland, accusing the then-11-year-old of being a “rude little pig” who needed to have her “ass straightened out” after she had “humiliated me for the last time.”

Only now, as the Emmy-winning 30 Rock star admits in a candid interview with Playboy for its July/August issue (on newsstands and online Friday), after the phone message was exposed, he contemplated killing himself.

…

Describing his thoughts of killing himself as “very serious,” Baldwin, 51, says, “I spoke to a lot of professionals, who helped me … If I committed suicide, [Kim Basinger's side] would have considered that a victory. Destroying me was their avowed goal.”

His self-destructive state of mind was such, recalls Baldwin, that he also offered to quit 30 Rock and actually went ahead and – briefly – dropped his agent, who also represented Basinger.

I find him quite delightful, personally.

Alec Baldwin Was Suicidal over Angry Voicemail to Daughter

liz | 11:14 AM | celebrities, depression, media