Month: April 2018

Reading of the Week: Suicide & the News – the New CPA Media Guidelines for Reporting on Suicide

April 26, 2018 /

From the Editor

“Hemingway Dead of Shotgun Wound; Wife Says He Was Cleaning Weapon.” So reads the headline from the front page of The New York Times reporting the death of author Ernest Hemingway. It quotes Frank Hewitt, the Blaine County Sheriff, who comments that the death “looks like an accident… There is no evidence of foul play.”

It is well known that writer Ernest Hemingway died by suicide – the sheriff didn’t want to say it. As we as a society discuss mental illness more and more, how do we discuss topics like suicide? For years, of course, we didn’t – or, if we did, reporting was often insensitive.

In last month’s Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, Sunnybrook Hospital’s Mark Sinyor and his co-authors, including other psychiatrists and journalists, suggest guidelines for the reporting of suicide. The effort provides an update of a past report, and includes recommendations for social media.

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In this Reading we look at the guidelines, and consider the opportunities and problems of the Twitter era.

DG

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Reading of the Week: Big Buzz, Big Impact? Considering Bell Let’s Talk and Other Awareness Campaigns

April 19, 2018 /

From the Editor

Bell Let’s Talk generates incredible attention. The annual effort raised almost $7 million this January, with tens of millions of social media interactions. It was praised by many, including the Prime Minister.

But do awareness campaigns like Bell’s actually result in people seeking care? And are awareness campaigns ultimately helpful? In this week’s Reading, we have two selections that consider these questions.

In the first selection, the study authors look at the Bell campaign, as well as outpatient visits for mental health, tapping Ontario databases. “The 2012 Bell Let’s Talk was temporarily associated with increases in the trends of outpatient mental health visits, especially within the adolescent female cohort.”

The second selection is an interview with Dr. Simon Wessely, one of the most prominent psychiatrists in the U.K., and the president of the Royal Society of Medicine. In a BMJ interview, he weighs in on integrating mental health and physical health services, his choice of psychiatry as a profession, and – yes – the role of awareness campaigns. “Every time we have a mental health awareness week my spirits sink. We don’t need people to be more aware. We can’t deal with the ones who already are aware.”

bell1Big campaign, big impact?

So are awareness campaigns worthwhile? You can read these selections and draw your own conclusions.

DG

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My Interview with Residents Psyche Newsletter

April 16, 2018 /

I did an interview with Dr. Nadia Daly, a senior resident in psychiatry, for the Residents Psyche Newsletter – a Canadian Psychiatric Association project.

We talked about important papers, my psychiatry blogging, and my favourite psychiatry-related movie (spoiler alert: I don’t have one). Dr. Daly asks good questions, and I enjoyed the opportunity.

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You can find the interview here: https://www.cpa-apc.org/residents-psyche-minutes-mentor-dr-david-gratzer/.

Reading of the Week: The Big NYT Article on Antidepressants & Withdrawal – Our Vioxx Moment?

April 12, 2018 /

From the Editor

“Many People Taking Antidepressants Discover They Cannot Quit.”

The New York Times. Front page. Sunday edition.

One of the most read newspapers in the world just ran a story suggesting that antidepressants may be linked to significant withdrawal symptoms. That news article is, well, news. Journalists Benedict Carey and Robert Gebeloff interview a mother of four who says, “Had I been told the risks of trying to come off this drug, I never would have started it.”

istock_000017711523xlargeAntidepressants: small pills but big problem?

This week’s Reading looks at the big article and considers its big implications.

DG

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Reading of the Week: Three Essays on Mental Illness

April 5, 2018 /

From the Editor

As stigma fades, we are as a society talking more and more about mental illness. And we are also writing more on the topic.

This week, the Reading features three essays that ask three provocative questions. Does naloxone access save lives? What’s it like to be depressed and in medical school? How do involuntary commitment laws affect the families of those with mental illness?

These essays are very different in part because they reflect very different perspectives on our collective experience with mental illness: the perspectives of providers, patients, and families.

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Enjoy.

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