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Evidence shows ketamine is not an opioid and can treat depression easily
Ketamine has gotten a bad rap as an opioid when there’s plenty of evidence suggesting it isn’t one, Johns Hopkins experts say. They believe this reputation may hamper patients from getting necessary treatment for the kinds of depression that don’t respond to typical antidepressants. In a new paper, the researchers clarify the mechanism behind ketamine’s…
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Family: Suffering Together With Psychiatric Disorders
“I don’t care what the &%@!* you think!! It’s all your fault!! I’m outta here!!!” With that, Ben picked up the massive carved oak coffee table and threw it at the window. It hit the window and the wall with a thud, pushing the window frame in a contorted mangle of metal and glass out…
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Are There Biomarkers for PTSD and Suicidal Thinking?
Know someone who’s suicidal? Or…how about this? Do you know someone you think might be? Is there someone in your life who’s always down, irritable, short-tempered… even jumpy, maybe? Maybe you wish they’d adjust their attitude, or take a chill pill. Sometimes, people can be like this and the problem is that they might be…
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Ketamine Tied to Remission from Suicidal Ideation for Most Patients
BY M. ALEXANDER OTTO REPORTING FROM APA 2019 SAN FRANCISCO – Serial ketamine infusions eliminated suicidal ideation in more than two-thirds of patients at a psychiatry office in Connecticut but at significantly higher doses than those recently approved for Janssen’s new esketamine nasal spray (Spravato). The patients were treated by Lori V. Calabrese, MD, at…
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How the Biology of Suicide Illuminates Prevention
When someone commits suicide, you’ll sometimes hear people say, “It makes no sense! She had everything to live for…” Or, “What a selfish thing to do. What about all the people who loved him? What about his kids…his wife..?” But this sort of tragedy isn’t about selfishness. To grasp what happens with your suicidal loved…
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Antepartum and Postpartum Anxiety: Moms Who Suffer Without Feeling Sad
Treatment can help anxious moms relax and enjoy their babies. Jill was so excited to be pregnant. She’d waited for 4 years after she and Joe were married to start trying. She was just elated three months later when a home pregnancy test showed those two little lines. She was pregnant! Even the slightest thought of…
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OCD: Better Treatment Targets For a Happier You
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder or OCD is a term that is sometimes thrown around mistakenly. It’s sometimes used to describe someone’s careful behavior… you know, like careful organization, attention to detail, or a tendency toward cleanliness, which of themselves are actually normal behaviors. Many of us may be particular about these things without giving them a second…
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Can Genetic Clues Really Predict Bipolar Disorder and Schizophrenia?
If you struggle with bipolar disorder, and the symptoms that seem to dominate your life, it may help you to know that many psychiatric disorders don’t really come with a list of predictable symptoms. If you have times when you’re short-tempered, highly energetic, sure of yourself, and quick to argue, you may have a mood…
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Ketamine and Depression Treatment-Time Marches On
Time magazine recently offered a Special Edition on mental health… Did you see it? The article about depression treatment – and ketamine specifically – by Mandy Oaklander published in July 2017, was reprinted for this special edition. The title of the special edition is “A New Understanding”…but since the article Oaklander wrote is two years old,…
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Study Finds Ketamine Nasal Spray Effective For Treating Depression: What You Should Know
A new study finds that a nasal spray formulated from the anesthetic ketamine is a safe, fast-acting and effective treatment for treatment-resistant depression. Researchers presented the findings this week at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association. Esketamine, the intranasal formulation of ketamine, recently received FDA approval as a depression treatment when used with an oral antidepressant, based…