Finding A Place in the World: The Experience of Recovery from Severe Mental Illness

Recently, considerable attention has been given to individuals labeled “mentally ill,” with the possibility that they too often go untreated with psychotropic medications and in turn, commit disproportionally higher rates of violence. The world-known television show60 Minutesbroadcasted a special on this topic in the United States on September 29, 2013; however, they created a disturbingly inaccurate picture of those who suffer with what some label as “mental illness.” There are decades of peer-reviewed research demonstrating that individuals diagnosed with severe mental illness, labeledschizophrenia,and given psychotropic medications are in fact less likely to recover from their disorder and more likely to be rehospitalized. Additionally, although mental health commitments, often calledforced orders to treat,are quite common and now being supported more so due to such programming, the research on mental health commitments has not shown they are actually effective.

Download Full-text

Schizophrenia, Culture, and Culture-Bound Syndromes

Psychology Research and Applications ◽

10.22606/pra.2021.31001 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 3 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Kevin Volkan ◽

◽

Keyword(s):

Mental Illness ◽

Severe Mental Illness ◽

Geographical Location ◽

Geographic Boundaries ◽

The World ◽

Supernatural Beliefs ◽

Developed Nations ◽

Insight Into

Schizophrenia is a severe mental illness that affects people all around the world. It presents in many different contexts, across geographic boundaries, and in different ways. Rates of schizophrenia seem generally to be the same regardless of geographical location, though there is some evidence that those in developed nations have a higher incidence of the disorder. Also, immigrants who relocate to areas where their culture has little, or no representation are at more risk for schizophrenia. While the prevalence of schizophrenia is similar around the world, the presentation of the disorder can vary widely, depending on the cultural, religious, and supernatural beliefs native to specific areas. Examples of varying types of presentation of schizophrenia, including culture-bound disorder variants, can give insight into the ways in which people from across the world make sense of this devastating disease, and ways in which they attempt to treat it.

Download Full-text

Rethinking Schizophrenia in the Light of New Evidence: Thirty Years after the Vermont Longitudinal Study of Persons with Severe Mental Illness

Avances en Psicología Latinoamericana ◽

10.12804/revistas.urosario.edu.co/apl/a.5753 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 35 (2) ◽

pp. 199

Author(s):

Alberto Fergusson ◽

Miguel Gutierrez-Pelaez

Keyword(s):

Mental Illness ◽

Longitudinal Study ◽

Severe Mental Illness ◽

Mental Health Professionals ◽

Academic Research ◽

The Public ◽

Empirical Correction ◽

The World ◽

The Mind ◽

New Evidence

Despite new evidence, procedures, client testimony, and movements around the world, old myths regarding schizophrenia still prevail among both the public and mental health professionals. Thirty years have passed since the mind-blowing publication in 1987 of the Vermont Longitudinal Study of Persons with Severe Mental Illness (Harding, Brooks, Ashikaga, Straus, & Breier), which led to Harding and Zahniser’s 1994 article, Empirical Correction of Seven Myths about Schizophrenia with Implications for Treatment. We need to systematically review what we know and what we do not know in the light of new evidence. We need to find ways to communicate the knowledge derived from academic research on schizophrenia and psychosis to professionals working with this population, and to people with schizophrenia and their families. Thus can we begin to break down the rock-solid prejudices that have been rooted in humanity for centuries.

Download Full-text

Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity in People With Severe Mental Illness: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Frontiers in Endocrinology ◽

10.3389/fendo.2021.769309 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Medhia Afzal ◽

Najma Siddiqi ◽

Bilal Ahmad ◽

Nida Afsheen ◽

Faiza Aslam ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Illness ◽

General Population ◽

Data Collection ◽

Severe Mental Illness ◽

Overweight And Obesity ◽

Risk Of Bias ◽

Pooled Prevalence ◽

High Prevalence ◽

The World ◽

Prevalence Of Obesity

Aims1) To determine the pooled prevalence of overweight and obesity in people with severe mental illness (SMI), overall and by type of SMI, geographical region, and year of data collection; and 2) to assess the likelihood of overweight and obesity, in people with SMI compared with the general population.MethodsPubMed, Medline, EMBASE, and PsycINFO databases were searched to identify observational studies assessing the prevalence of obesity in adults with SMI. Screening, data extraction and risk of bias assessments were performed independently by two co-authors. Random effect estimates for the pooled prevalence of overweight and obesity and the pooled odds of obesity in people with SMI compared with the general population were calculated. Subgroup analyses were conducted for types of SMI, setting, antipsychotic medication, region of the world, country income classification, date of data collection and sex. We assessed publication bias and performed a series of sensitivity analyses, excluding studies with high risk of bias, with low sample size and those not reporting obesity according to WHO classification.Result120 studies from 43 countries were included, the majority were from high income countries. The pooled prevalence of obesity in people with SMI was 25.9% (95% C.I. = 23.3-29.1) and the combined pooled prevalence of overweight and obesity was 60.1% (95% C.I. = 55.8-63.1). Sub-Saharan Africa (13.0%, 95%C.I. = 6.7-25.1) and South Asia (17.7%, 95%C.I. = 10.5-28.5) had the lowest prevalence of obesity whilst North Africa and the Middle East (35.8%, 95%C.I. = 23.8-44.8) reported the highest prevalence. People with SMI were 3.04 more likely (95% C.I. = 2.42-3.82) to have obesity than the general population, but there was no difference in the prevalence of overweight. Women with schizophrenia were 1.44 (95% C.I. = 1.25-1.67) times more likely than men with schizophrenia to live with obesity; however, no gender differences were found among those with bipolar disorder.ConclusionPeople with SMI have a markedly high prevalence and higher odds of obesity than the general population. This may contribute to the very high prevalence of physical health conditions and mortality in this group. People with SMI around the world would likely benefit from interventions to reduce and prevent obesity.

Download Full-text