Innovative Psychiatry
These articles about OCD (Obsessive-compulsive disorder) are offered to increase understanding and reduce stigma. OCD is a long lasting disorder where a person has recurring, repetitive thoughts and then related compelling behaviors or actions they feel inner pressure to take and repeat over and over…
In response to those obsessive, intrusive thoughts, a person feels pressure within to repetitively take these actions, or perform these behaviors. These behaviors may be
Now, we all know that checking things, or counting, or handwashing are normal behaviors we all do, but it’s different for someone with OCD. This person:
A tic disorder can affect this person in some cases, and can be a motor tic or a vocal tic. In the case of motor tics, the affected person may shrug his shoulders repeatedly, or make a facial grimace, blink his eyes, or jerk his head or shoulder. In each case these are repetitive actions.
Vocal tics include throat clearing, sniffing, and grunting.
All of these symptoms may come and go, may re-emerge in the presence of stress, and may seem normal to children and some adults. However, most adults understand that their behavior is abnormal but feel helpless to control it.
Neuroscience researchers work to find relief for these distressing symptoms.
Because of promising outcomes with IV ketamine combined with mixed results at other times, more studies are being performed.
While causes of OCD are unknown, risk factors include genetics, brain structure and functioning, and environment.
As you read these articles about OCD, consider the symptoms and treatments available and we hope you’ll share your understanding with others who suffer.
Since low testosterone in men has long been presumed to accompany aging, it can be overlooked as a cause of TRD in young men. John had gained 75 lbs (!) through the stressful and exhausting project at work. He’d come to hate the way he looked. Co-workers had turned on each other, undercutting rather than […]
Ketamine appears to restore faulty connections between brain cells, according to research performed in mice. The anesthetic ketamine can relieve depression in hours and keep it at bay for a week or more. Now scientists have found hints about how ketamine works in the brain. In mice, the drug appears to quickly improve the functioning […]
A new study shows that weekly ketamine infusions are associated with continued and maintained reductions in depressive symptoms among patients with treatment-resistant depression. The findings, which are considered novel among studies assessing ketamine administration for patients with treatment-resistant depression, evidence the promising role the controversial drug could play in psychiatric care. A team of investigators, led […]
Too much screen time? Let yourself have 2 more minutes of it right now: because if you’ve been tooling around reading anything related to mood disorders or anxiety disorders, IV ketamine, and other advanced treatments, you’ve probably noticed that there’s buzz about resilience. Because of the world that has opened up since IV ketamine began […]
Two survivors of the Parkland high school shooting on Valentine’s Day 2018 took their own lives a couple weeks ago. Sydney Aiello, a senior and cheerleader at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, struggled to restore normalcy in her life after the terrifying experience. Her trauma, of course, included the loss of friends who were killed […]
They’re different, but each can bring relief to those who suffer. As word gets out that esketamine intranasal spray has been approved by the FDA, the internet is rippling with articles, posts, interviews, newsclips and press releases about ketamine — IV ketamine, esketamine, and ketamine nasal spray. And — online forums and meeting places are […]
Transformative remission is inextricably linked to the quality, depth, and degree of dissociation during ketamine infusions. Christopher trudged through the day, listless. He felt dead inside. Just couldn’t work up a care about what happened at the job interview. But practicality — the bills were piling up — drove him to go anyway. He did […]
For years, ketamine clinics across the country have offered intravenous infusions as a fast-acting treatment for severe depression. But last week, the US Food and Drug Administration approved a version of ketamine, called esketamine, to do the same thing — so what’s the difference and what will this mean for newly interested patients? Ketamine, sometimes […]
The newly approved drug, esketamine, is one half of the ketamine compound. By Angela Chen@chengela Mar 11, 2019, 3:45pm EDTIllustration by Alex Castro/The Verge For years, ketamine clinics across the country have offered intravenous infusions as a fast-acting treatment for severe depression. But last week, the US Food and Drug Administration approved a version of ketamine, called esketamine, […]
Have you heard? In the “ketamine for depression” world we’re all a-buzz. Esketamine nasal spray’s been added to our arsenal to fight refractory depression. This is the first psychiatric medicine of its kind to win FDA approval. A medicine developed in a new brand new direction — glutamate modulation — to stimulate production of BDNF […]