scholarly journals Sociocultural Context of Suicidal Behaviour in the Sundarban Region of India

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. N. Chowdhury ◽  
S. Banerjee ◽  
A. Brahma ◽  
A. Hazra ◽  
M. G. Weiss
Keyword(s):  
Psychiatric Diagnosis ◽  
Suicidal Behaviour ◽  
Adjustment Disorder ◽  
Community Action ◽  
Easy Access ◽  
Social Stressors ◽  
Young Females ◽  
Detailed Assessment ◽  
Self Harm

The role of mental illness in nonfatal deliberate self-harm (DSH) is controversial, especially in Asian countries. This prospective study examined the role of psychiatric disorders, underlying social and situational problems, and triggers of DSH in a sample of 89 patients hospitalised in primary care hospitals of the Sundarban Delta, India. Data were collected by using a specially designed DSH register, Explanatory Model Interview Catalogue (EMIC), and clinical interview. Psychiatric diagnosis was made following the DSM-IV guidelines. The majority of subjects were young females (74.2%) and married (65.2%). Most of them (69.7%) were uncertain about their “intention to die,” and pesticide poisoning was the commonest method (95.5%). Significant male-female differences were found with respect to education level, occupation, and venue of the DSH attempt. Typical stressors were conflict with spouse, guardians, or in-laws, extramarital affairs, chronic physical illness, and failed love affairs. The major depressive disorder (14.6%) was the commonest psychiatric diagnosis followed by adjustment disorder (6.7%); however 60.7% of the cases had no psychiatric illness. Stressful life situations coupled with easy access to lethal pesticides stood as the risk factor. The sociocultural dynamics behind suicidal behaviour and community-specific social stressors merit detailed assessment and timely psychosocial intervention. These findings will be helpful to design community-based mental health clinical services and community action in the region.

Homoeopathy for Adjustment Disorder: A Case Series

2021 ◽  
Vol 34 (01) ◽  
pp. 041-051
Author(s):  
S. Karunakara Moorthi ◽  
Susu Pertin ◽  
S.V. Vishnupriya ◽  
K.C. Muraleedharan ◽  
P. Radhika
Keyword(s):  
Causal Attribution ◽  
Case Series ◽  
Adjustment Disorder ◽  
Liaison Psychiatry ◽  
Positive Role ◽  
Statistical Manual ◽  
Diagnostic And Statistical Manual ◽  
High Prevalence ◽  
Self Harm

AbstractDespite its high prevalence in clinical and consultant liaison psychiatry populations, adjustment disorder (AD) research has traditionally been hindered by its lack of clear diagnostic criteria. Here, we are presenting five cases of AD diagnosed with Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.Five patients who consulted at the Out Patient Department of National Homoeopathy Research Institute of Mental Health, Kerala, India, with symptoms of AD were treated with individualised homoeopathic medicine. Assessment of the symptoms was done using Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale—21 Items. Details of consultations, treatment and assessment are summarised. Possible causal attribution of changes was explicitly depicted by Naranjo Criteria. It shows the positive role of homoeopathic treatment in AD.All five patients showed marked improvement.We were able to prevent the considerable self-harm and suicidality associated with AD. However, more extensive research is needed in the topic to prove the effectiveness of individualised homoeopathic medicine in AD.

Talking, Reading, and Writing on Smartphones

2020 ◽  
pp. 407-422
Author(s):  
Naomi S. Baron
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Phones ◽  
Easy Access ◽  
Reading Habits ◽  
Internet Protocols ◽  
Reading And Writing ◽  
Reading Material ◽  
Voice Calls ◽  
News Headlines ◽  
Communication Preference

Mobile phones have increasingly been transformed from speaking technologies to devices for reading and writing. Cost helped drive this shift since written short messages were historically less expensive than voice calls. A second factor was communication preference for texting over talking, especially among younger users. With ready Internet access on smartphones, reading habits began shifting as well. Social networking messages, along with other short texts such as weather reports or news headlines, made for obvious reading material, as did the plethora of longer written documents available online. The e-book revolution enabled readers to retrieve entire books on their phones. Mobile phones are also writing platforms. Developments in hardware and software dramatically simplified the input process. Instead of multi-taps, users now rely on virtual keyboards for easy access not only to alphanumeric characters and punctuation marks but also to sophisticated predictive texting and autocorrection. Interestingly, while technically we are writing when inputting text on smartphones, many users do not perceive such input as real “writing”—a term they reserve for writing by hand or with a computer. Additional writing issues include norms regarding so-called textisms, along with the role of culture in shaping attitudes regarding linguistic correctness. Many organizations are discontinuing voicemail systems in favor of written messaging. At the same time, voice over Internet protocols continue to grow, and small voice-activated social robots designed for home use are proliferating. The chapter closes by asking what the spoken–written balance on smartphones might look like in the future.

scholarly journals Psychobiological risk factors for suicidal thoughts and behaviors in adolescence: a consideration of the role of puberty

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tiffany C. Ho ◽  
Anthony J. Gifuni ◽  
Ian H. Gotlib
Keyword(s):  
Pubertal Timing ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Neural Systems ◽  
Hormonal Changes ◽  
Suicidal Thoughts ◽  
Social Stressors ◽  
And Behaviors ◽  
Suicidal Thoughts And Behaviors ◽  
Pubertal Transition

AbstractSuicide is the second leading cause of death among adolescents. While clinicians and researchers have begun to recognize the importance of considering multidimensional factors in understanding risk for suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STBs) during this developmental period, the role of puberty has been largely ignored. In this review, we contend that the hormonal events that occur during puberty have significant effects on the organization and development of brain systems implicated in the regulation of social stressors, including amygdala, hippocampus, striatum, medial prefrontal cortex, orbitofrontal cortex, and anterior cingulate cortex. Guided by previous experimental work in adults, we also propose that the influence of pubertal hormones and social stressors on neural systems related to risk for STBs is especially critical to consider in adolescents with a neurobiological sensitivity to hormonal changes. Furthermore, facets of the pubertal transition, such as pubertal timing, warrant deeper investigation and may help us gain a more comprehensive understanding of sex differences in the neurobiological and psychosocial mechanisms underlying adolescent STBs. Ultimately, advancing our understanding of the pubertal processes that contribute to suicide risk will improve early detection and facilitate the development of more effective, sex-specific, psychiatric interventions for adolescents.

Neuronal regulation of renal function: A model system for nervous system interactions

1992 ◽  
Vol 70 (5) ◽  
pp. 733-734 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Michael Wyss
Keyword(s):  
Nervous System ◽  
Renal Function ◽  
Renal Disease ◽  
Easy Access ◽  
Renal Nerves ◽  
Clinical Consequence ◽  
Nerve Activity ◽  
Renal Nerve ◽  
Renal Nerve Activity

The kidney is the most highly innervated peripheral organ, and both the excretory and endocrine functions of the kidney are regulated by renal nerve activity. The kidney plays a dominant role in body fluid homeostasis, blood ionic concentration, and pH and thereby contributes importantly to systemic blood pressure control. Early studies suggested that the neural-renal interactions were responsible only for short-term adjustments in renal function, but more recent studies indicate that the renal nerves may be a major contributor to chronic renal defects leading to established hypertension and (or) renal disease. The neural-renal interaction is also of considerable interest as a model to elucidate the interplay between the nervous system and peripheral organs, since there is abundant anatomical and physiological information characterizing the renal nerves. The investigator has easy access to the renal nerves and the neural influence on renal function is directly quantifiable both in vivo and in vitro. In this symposium that was presented at the 1990 annual convention of the Society for Neuroscience in St. Louis, Missouri, three prominent researchers evaluate the most recent progress in understanding the interplay between the nervous system and the kidney and explore how the results of these studies relate to the broader questions concerning the nervous system's interactions.First, Luciano Barajas examines the detailed anatomy of the intrarenal distribution of the efferent and afferent renal nerves along the nephron and vasculature, and he evaluates the physiological role of each of the discrete components of the innervation. His basic science orientation combined with his deep appreciation of the clinical consequence of the failure of neural-renal regulation enhances his discussion of the anatomy. Ulla C. Kopp discusses the role of the renorenal reflex, which alters renal responses following stimulation of the contralateral kidney. She also considers her recent findings that efferent renal nerve activity can directly modify sensory feedback to the spinal cord from the kidney. Finally, J. Michael Wyss examines the functional consequences of neural control of the kidney in health and disease. Although the nervous system has often been considered as only an acute regulator of visceral function, current studies into hypertension and renal disease suggest that neural-renal dysfunction may be an important contributor to chronic diseases.Together, these presentations examine most of the recent advances in the area of neural-renal interactions and point out how these data form a basis for future research into neuronal interactions with all visceral organs. The relative simplicity of the neural-renal interaction makes this system an important model with which to elucidate all neural-peripheral and neural-neural interactions.

scholarly journals Economic crisis and suicidal behaviour: the role of unemployment, sex and age in Andalusia, Southern Spain

2014 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Antonio Córdoba-Doña ◽  
Miguel San Sebastián ◽  
Antonio Escolar-Pujolar ◽  
Jesús Enrique Martínez-Faure ◽  
Per E Gustafsson
Keyword(s):  
Economic Crisis ◽  
Suicidal Behaviour ◽  
Southern Spain

scholarly journals Postcard intervention for repeat self-harm: randomised controlled trial

2010 ◽  
Vol 197 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annette L. Beautrais ◽  
Sheree J. Gibb ◽  
Alan Faulkner ◽  
David M. Fergusson ◽  
Roger T. Mulder
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Department ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Randomised Controlled Trial ◽  
Outcome Measures ◽  
Suicidal Behaviour ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Elevated Risk ◽  
Emergency Department Presentation ◽  
Self Harm ◽  
Randomised Controlled

BackgroundSelf-harm and suicidal behaviour are common reasons for emergency department presentation. Those who present with self-harm have an elevated risk of further suicidal behaviour and death.AimsTo examine whether a postcard intervention reduces self-harm re-presentations in individuals presenting to the emergency department.MethodRandomised controlled trial conducted in Christchurch, New Zealand. The intervention consisted of six postcards mailed during the 12 months following an index emergency department attendance for self-harm. Outcome measures were the proportion of participants re-presenting with self-harm and the number of re-presentations for self-harm in the 12 months following the initial presentation.ResultsAfter adjustment for prior self-harm, there were no significant differences between the control and intervention groups in the proportion of participants re-presenting with self-harm or in the total number of re-presentations for self-harm.ConclusionsThe postcard intervention did not reduce further self-harm. Together with previous results this finding suggests that the postcard intervention may be effective only for selected subgroups.

scholarly journals Repetition of deliberate self-harm and subsequent suicide risk: Long-term follow-up study of 11 583 patients

2004 ◽  
Vol 185 (1) ◽  
pp. 70-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Louis Zahl ◽  
Keith Hawton
Keyword(s):  
Relative Risk ◽  
Suicide Risk ◽  
Single Episode ◽  
Deliberate Self Harm ◽  
Young Females ◽  
Follow Up Study ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Self Harm

BackgroundRepetition of deliberate self-harm (DSH) is a risk factor for suicide. Little information is available on the risk for specific groups of people who deliberately harm themselves repeatedly.AimsTo investigate the long-term risk of suicide associated with repetition of DSH by gender, age and frequency of repetition.MethodA mortality follow-up study to the year 2000 was conducted on 11583 people who presented to the general hospital in Oxford between 1978 and 1997. Repetition of DSH was determined from reported episodes prior to the index episode and episodes presenting to the same hospital during the follow-up period. Deaths were identified through national registers.ResultsThirty-nine percent of patients repeated the DSH. They were at greater relative risk of suicide than the single-episode DSH group (2.24; 95% CI 1.77–2.84). The relative risk of suicide in the repeated DSH group compared with the single-episode DSH group was greater in females (3.5; 95% C11.3–2.4) than males (1.8; 95% C1 2.3–5.3) and was inversely related to age (up to 54 years). Suicide risk increased further with multiple repeat episodes of DSH in females.ConclusionsRepetition of DSH is associated with an increased risk of suicide in males and females. Repetition may be a better indicator of risk in females, especially young females.

scholarly journals Antidepressant dose and the risk of deliberate self-harm

2014 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 329-331 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Barbui ◽  
S.B. Patten
Keyword(s):  
Cohort Study ◽  
Clinical Practice ◽  
Propensity Score ◽  
Adverse Effects ◽  
Suicidal Behaviour ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Observational Cohort Study ◽  
Panic Attacks ◽  
Observational Cohort ◽  
Self Harm

Although the mechanism by which antidepressants (ADs) may increase the risk of suicide-related outcomes is unknown, it has been hypothesised that some adverse effects, including akathisia, insomnia and panic attacks, as well as an early energising effect that might allow patients with depression to act on suicidal impulses, may have a key role. Considering that these adverse effects are dose-related, it might be hypothesised that the risk of suicidal behaviour is similarly related to the AD dose. This research question has recently been addressed by a propensity score-matched observational cohort study that involved 162 625 patients aged 10–64 years with a depression diagnosis who initiated therapy with citalopram, sertraline or fluoxetine. In this commentary, we discuss the main findings of this study in view of its methodological strengths and limitations, and we suggest possible implications for day-to-day clinical practice.

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