Kroppen som en plåga. Kroppen som en välsignelse. Kroppen som ett gränsland

Body as Torment. Body as Blessing. Body as borderland: The Symbolism of the Body and Illness in the Works of Tito Colliander. In my article, I examine the mental and physical illness of the body in the writing of the Finnish-Swedish writer Tito Colliander. Based on Yuri Lotman’s semiosphere theory, I show the cross-border function of the body in the text. The body suffering from a mental disorder or a physical pain is a kind of a filtering membrane that controls, filters, and adapts the external into the internal. The body can be considered as a borderland between the external and the internal, right and left, life and death, the male and the female, the upper and the lower, the spiritual and the material, heaven and earth, one’s own – alien. Based on Colliander’s writing, I show how the depiction of the body and the body’s diseases contributes to the literary representation and understanding of the fundamental oppositions of the culture.

Associations of Mental Health and Chronic Physical Illness During Childhood With Major Depression in Later Life

While poor health in childhood has implications for mental health years later, less is known regarding its long-term impact. We determined whether childhood chronic physical illness burden was associated with major depression (MD) in later life (i.e., >50 years), and tested mediation by childhood mental health status using path analysis. Data came from the 2016 U.S. Health and Retirement Study (n=18,047). One standard deviation increase in childhood chronic physical illness burden was associated with 1.21 (95% CI = 1.12, 1.30) times higher odds of MD in later life. Childhood mental health status explained 57.8% (95% CI: 35.2, 80.4) of this association. Results indicated that the relationship of chronic physical illness burden in childhood with MD in later life was mediated by childhood mental health status. Whether greater screening for psychiatric-related symptoms in childhood or review of health histories in later life can reduce the burden of MD requires further study.

Functional status in relation to depression among elderly individuals in Indonesia: a cross-sectional analysis of the Indonesian National Health Survey 2018 among elderly individuals

Background Depression among elderly individuals is related to physical illness, functional status, prolonged treatment and other factors. Depression is not effectively treated with medication but can be alleviated by treating the physical illness and improving functional status. Therefore, this study aims to determine the relationship between functional status and depression in elderly individuals in Indonesia. Methods The data used were obtained from a national survey dataset, namely, the Basic Health Research and Socio-Economic Survey in 2018, which was carried out in 34 provinces and 514 districts or cities. The total number of respondents was 93,829, aged ≥60 years. Functional status and depression were assessed using the Barthel index and MINI (Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview), respectively. Furthermore, data processing was carried out with the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26 program and analyzed using the chi-square test and multiple logistic regression with the complex sample method. Results Elderly individuals with severe dependence were at the greatest risk of becoming depressed compared to those without functional impairment or with independence after considering sociodemographic factors and disease history have 5.730 (95% CI = 4.302-7.632) the adj odds. Furthermore, this figure was higher than that of individuals with total dependence have 4.147 (95% CI = 3.231-5.231) the adj odds. The physical illness experienced also played a role in the risk for depression, which was higher among elderly individuals with stroke and a history of injury. The sociodemographic factors involved include low education and economic levels. In contrast, the area of residence and marital status had no statistically significant effect on the relationship between functional disorders and depression. Conclusions Elderly individuals with decreased functional status are prone to depression. The highest probability for depression was observed among those with severe dependence compared to those with total dependence. Consequently, interventions that involve various sectors, including social and family support, are needed.

"Within and Without": Exploring the Mind in the Novels of George MacDonald

<p>George MacDonald‟s first published novel, Phantastes, is the story of a young man who enters and must negotiate his way through a fantasy landscape. This landscape, it is suggested, is one of the mind, and Anodos‟ journey through it one of self-exploration and discovery. The sustained metaphor of the mind as a territory to be actively explored through the medium of the physical world, furthermore, is argued to be the basis of several of MacDonald‟s novels. While for Anodos the mind is all, forming as it does the basis of the entire fantasy world of Fairy Land, in the author‟s numerous realist texts the interest emerges in more varied ways, including for example, portrayals of depression, madness, and drug (ab)use. While this significant and unifying feature of MacDonald‟s novels has been at times observed by critics with regard to some individual texts, it has not been directly confronted in terms of an inclusive study of his oeuvre. What this thesis demonstrates is firstly the overwhelming significance of the mind as a focal point for MacDonald‟s novels, as represented by six central texts: Phantastes, Adela Cathcart, Wilfrid Cumbermede, Malcolm, Donal Grant, and The Flight of the Shadow. It is suggested that such a consistent prioritising of the mind over the physical body lies in the author‟s own experience of ongoing physical illness and resulting confrontation with mortality. The mind becomes, for MacDonald, a means of negotiating the relationship between the realms of the physical and the spiritual. In Phantastes, for example, Anodos‟ physical experience (achieved through the genre of fantasy) of his own mind in Fairy Land, concludes with reference to the afterlife. The mind in this (and MacDonald‟s other novels) provides the means by which transcendence is achieved.</p>

"Within and Without": Exploring the Mind in the Novels of George MacDonald

<p>George MacDonald‟s first published novel, Phantastes, is the story of a young man who enters and must negotiate his way through a fantasy landscape. This landscape, it is suggested, is one of the mind, and Anodos‟ journey through it one of self-exploration and discovery. The sustained metaphor of the mind as a territory to be actively explored through the medium of the physical world, furthermore, is argued to be the basis of several of MacDonald‟s novels. While for Anodos the mind is all, forming as it does the basis of the entire fantasy world of Fairy Land, in the author‟s numerous realist texts the interest emerges in more varied ways, including for example, portrayals of depression, madness, and drug (ab)use. While this significant and unifying feature of MacDonald‟s novels has been at times observed by critics with regard to some individual texts, it has not been directly confronted in terms of an inclusive study of his oeuvre. What this thesis demonstrates is firstly the overwhelming significance of the mind as a focal point for MacDonald‟s novels, as represented by six central texts: Phantastes, Adela Cathcart, Wilfrid Cumbermede, Malcolm, Donal Grant, and The Flight of the Shadow. It is suggested that such a consistent prioritising of the mind over the physical body lies in the author‟s own experience of ongoing physical illness and resulting confrontation with mortality. The mind becomes, for MacDonald, a means of negotiating the relationship between the realms of the physical and the spiritual. In Phantastes, for example, Anodos‟ physical experience (achieved through the genre of fantasy) of his own mind in Fairy Land, concludes with reference to the afterlife. The mind in this (and MacDonald‟s other novels) provides the means by which transcendence is achieved.</p>

Assessment of psychiatric comorbidities and sociodemographic profiles of the patients referred to the general hospital psychiatric unit of a tertiary care hospital in Kolkata, West Bengal

Background: According to the previous studies, psychiatric symptoms are high in patients with physical illness, but the referral rates are much below expectation. Aims and Objectives: Here a descriptive cross-sectional study has been conducted using self designed semi structured proforma to asses the socio demographic profile and psychiatric diagnosis of patient with physical illness referred from other departments in a tertiary medical care centre for consultation liaison (C-L) psychiatry care. Materials and Methods: The study population consists of the patients referred to psychiatry department for consultation purpose from all the other departments in a 4 months period. The data were collected on a self designed semi structured pro forma and all the diagnosis were made according to International Classification of Disease -10 (ICD-10) criteria. Analysis has been done using descriptive statistics. Results: A total numbers of 203 patient has been referred to psychiatry department during the study period . Among them 144 were inpatient and 59 were outdoor based referral. Majority were female, married . The maximum referral were from general medicine department followed by neuromedicine. Most common reason of referral being suicidal attempt by different means followed by patients having depressive features .The most common psychiatric diagnosis was depression followed by delirium. Conclusion: C-L psychiatry plays a significant role in better evaluation and management of patients with psychiatric comorbidities referred from non-psychiatric departments.

COVID-19-Related Psychological and Psychosocial Distress Among Parents and Youth With Physical Illness: A Longitudinal Study

Despite the initial thrust of research aimed at understanding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on youth with physical illness and their parents, knowledge gaps in the literature remain, providing the impetus for additional investigation. This study described changes in psychological distress from prior to during the COVID-19 pandemic for parents and youth with physical illness, compared parent-proxy and youth self-reported perceptions of COVID-19-related psychosocial health, and modeled factors associated with psychological and psychosocial distress. There were 147 parent–youth dyads (2–16 years) from MY LIFE—a longitudinal study of youth with physical illness. The Kessler-6 (K6) measured psychological distress for the time before the COVID-19 lockdown (December 19 to March 20) and during the pandemic (December 20 to March 21) among parents and youth. COVID-19-related psychosocial health was measured using the CRISIS. Parents and youth reported increases in K6 scores (d = 0.62 and 0.38). Parent-proxy reports on the K6 were lower vs. youth self-reports prior to and during the pandemic (d = 0.63 for both). In contrast, parents reported lower proxy CRISIS scores for worries (d = 0.38) and effects of social restrictions (d = 0.52). Pandemic parent K6 scores were associated with age, combined in-person and online schooling for youth, COVID-19-related worries, and effects of social restrictions. For youth, only COVID-19-related worries and effects of social restrictions were associated with K6 scores. Parent worries were associated with youth sex, parental stress, family functioning, online and combination learning, and social restrictions. Parental depression and worries were associated with effects of social restrictions. Youth worries were associated with online and combination learning, and social restrictions. Youth disability, online learning, and worries were associated with effects of social restrictions. Few clinical factors are associated with COVID-19-related psychological and psychosocial distress. Instead, parent/family factors and youth learning environment have prominent roles in predicting outcomes and have implications for the health, education, and social services systems.