The New York Times and Insanity

I recently searched The New York Times' archives back to 1851 because I wanted to find any patterns in our society's attitudes about mental illness. I discovered that melancholia was the initial term used for depression in the English language. Melancholia was first used in The Times on April 29, 1868. Interestingly, the word depression appeared in The Times for the first time 17 years earlier on October 18, 1851, describing the state of mind of an accused man in a murder trial. This was the first mention of a mental illness ever in The NY Times. The murder trial has amazingly strong ties to discussions going on today about the link between mental illness and crime.

We as a society have been fascinated and horrified with mental illness and the possibility of crime since at least 1851. The stigma associated with mental illness is very old. This stigma has been ingrained into our society, and so it is no wonder it still exists. The phenomenon of people with mental illness leaving institutions and getting back into society is only a few decades old. Stigma associated with mental illness is still here, but as treatments get better and people get more educated and enlightened, there will be less of it.

The second article ever printed in The Times about "mental illness" was in 1869. It concerned a book about the famous author and man of letters, Lord Byron. Lord Byron probably suffered from bipolar disorder. The biography was written by the Countess Guiccoli, who was a companion and admirer of Lord Byron. Byron was as much a luminary then as the mathematical legend John Nash is in our times. We still recognize greatness in some with mental illness. Undoubtedly, Byron is an example of the saying, "There is a fine line between genius and insanity."

In The Times, I read about attempts by scientists and doctors since 1907 to relieve the suffering of people with mental illness. In 1907, a surgeon discovered a treatment that supposedly relieved the disease of dementia praecox or schizophrenia. The New York Times writer hailed it as a "cure" for schizophrenia. The idea of operating on the brain started around 1890, but this article in 1907 is a record of an intermediate phase in the treatment for schizophrenia. This type of psychosurgery developed into lobotomies. So, looking back at what we now deem to be barbarous treatment of the mentally ill, we see this pronouncement of a "cure" for schizophrenia as hype.

It seems some of the words we use to describe mental illness have changed. The treatments we have today are generally more humane, but some things regarding mental illness haven't changed much since The Times started printing. Concerning mental illness and crime, stigma seems to be as much a part of our society today as it was more than 150 years ago. However, as opposed to 1851, many people today dare to inform society of their battles with mental illness. Indeed, New York City Voices would not exist if there weren't people who dared to express themselves. With their courage, they have lessened stigma a bit. Finally, insanity and genius seem to be linked to an extent.

To summarize, some things have not changed much, but some things have changed for the better. Let's hope we can keep the positive momentum going.

Un Avance en la Investigación de la Esquizofrenia y la Depresión

¡Buenas noticias para esta semana! En la edición del 6 de enero de la revista Science se informó que los científicos del Instituto Rockefeller, bajo la dirección del Premio Nobel Paul Greengard, han dado un paso adelante en el descubrimiento de una cura para la depresión. El Instituto Rockefeller está descubriendo el mecanismo básico de la enfermedad mental que ha atormentado al hombre desde el principio de los tiempos.

La historia mas reciente es que los medicamentos actuales para la depresión actúan sobre el neurotrasmisor llamado serotonina para mitigar los síntomas, algunas veces, devastadores. Parece que existe una causa aún más básica de la depresión, que la serotonina. Se trata de la proteína p11, que según parece, regula la manera como el cerebro usa la serotonina. Los medicamentos que regulan la proteína p11 podrían no ser una cura para la depresión, pero podrían acercarse mucho más a la raíz biológica del desorden.

Como si su investigación sobre las causas de la depresión no fuera suficiente, el Doctor Greengard me asombró hace dos años con su artículo del 21 de noviembre publicado en Science y titulado Diversos actos psicotomiméticos a través de una trayectoria señalada común (Diverse psychotomimetics act through a common signaling pathway). Este trabajo versa sobre el DARPP-32 y sus relaciones con la esquizofrenia y otros desórdenes sicóticos. Para simplificar bastante las cosas, la proteína p11 es a la depresión lo que el DARPP-32 es a la psicosis.

La buena noticia es que el Doctor Greengard y su equipo fundaron una compañía llamada Terapias Intracelulares (Intracellular Therapies) cuyo sitio web es http://www.intracellulartherapies.com. Esta compañía está trabajando actualmente en los tratamientos nuevos para la psicosis. No está claro aún si esta misma compañía trabajará en los tratamientos para la depresión utilizando la proteína p11 de alguna forma, o si ese esfuerzo se organizará de una manera diferente.

Esperemos que el Instituto Nacional de la Salud (National Institute of Health) provea algún tipo de ayuda económica a las Terapias Intracelulares, con el fin de progresar rápidamente en su investigación. Podría suceder.

De acuerdo a las Noticias de Google, se han publicado 184 artículos alrededor del mundo, escritos en inglés, sobre este avance para comprender la depresión. Cuando el artículo de DARPP-32 se divulgó no había más de 20 artículos publicados alrededor del mundo sobre el tema. Este informe desigual muestra cuán encubiertas se encuentran la psicosis y la esquizofrenia en comparación con la depresión.

La depresión tiene menos estigmas, que la esquizofrenia, lo cual significa que se gastan menos dólares para encontrar una cura para la esquizofrenia. Como alguien que sufre de esquizofrenia, me siento muy frustrado por esto. Doy gracias a Dios por el Doctor Greengard y la Universidad Rockefeller. Han hecho tanto con tan poco.

The Importance Of Medication Compliance

I was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia when I was first hospitalized late in 1992. At the age of 19 I was put on a low dose of the anti-psychotic Navane -- 10mg. I couldn't stand being on the medicine because of the stigma of having to be dependent on anti-psychotics, so my psychiatrist and I worked together to taper me down to 1mg of Navane a day and then finally 0mg of Navane a day. Not surprisingly, after I got off the Navane I started to become psychotic. I thought I was a new incarnation of the Buddha because in part I was taking a Buddhism class and in part because I felt a "third eye" of electricity in the center of my forehead. Needless to say, three days later I was an inpatient in a psych ER near my University because I thought that the Feds were after me, and soon after I was on 40mg of Navane and zombified.

I have never been able to get back to those low doses of medication. To dream of getting on those low doses of medication is all I can do these days. What not to do is get off the medication totally after you have a breakdown, because if you do chances are you will have a relapse. Every relapse I've had has brought me down a peg in level of functioning. For example, after my first relapse I was able to read all day, but after my second relapse it was no longer possible to do that. Before and after my first relapse, I was a social person. After my second relapse I lost my social skills and was not able to carry on a conversation as I used to.

These days all I can do is wait and wait for better medications. I keep my eyes and ears peeled for news about new anti-psychotic medicines and wait for the "magic" one that will work wonders for me. Had I just stayed on a low dose of my old Navane, I would never have had to play this waiting game. My advice to those who have just had a psychotic break: STAY ON YOUR MEDS. Keep seeing your psychiatrist. Two out of three people will need to anyway, and do you really want to take the chance of deteriorating? This is not to say you can't lower your meds, but if you stay on a low dose of medication it is a lot safer than if you don't take any meds at all.

Even with staying on meds, the monthly relapse rates are estimated to be 3.5 percent per month. That rate of relapse rises to 11.0 percent per month for patients who have discontinued their medication. In plain English this means patients are three times more likely to relapse if they don't take their meds.

Good luck, stay well. Remember, mental health is the most important gift for a person with mental illness.

Saint Dymphna: Patron Saint of the Mentall Ill

Saint Dymphna in popular legend is the daughter of a pagan Celtic chieftain named Damon. Dymphna was Christian. It is thought she died around 650 A.D. She ran from home with her confessor, St. Gerebernus and two companions after the death of her mother so she could escape the incestuous interest of her father.

There are two scenarios to explain why Dymphna's father had this incestuous interest for his daughter. Both scenarios show the king went insane after the death of his wife. The first scenario was that after searching through the whole kingdom for a woman as good and beautiful as his late wife, he realized that this daughter was the only one who could take his late wife's place. The second scenario was that he tried to marry his daughter because he thought it was the best thing to do for political stability in his lands.

Saint Gerebernus, Dymphna, and their two companions fled to Antwerp, and built an oratory at Gheel, near Amsterdam, where they lived as hermits. Dymphna's father found them in a number of months, and his men put the priest and two companions to death, whereas Dymphna was beheaded by her own father because she refused to return with him to his lands. When the bodies of Dymphna and Gerebernus were discovered at Gheel in the 13th century, cures for epileptics, the insane, and the possessed were reported many in number. Saint Dymphna is the patron saint of epileptics and those suffering from mental illness. Her relics are reported to cure insanity and epilepsy. When the old church of Saint Dymphna in Gheel was destroyed by fire in 1489 it was replaced by a new church, which was consecrated in 1532.

Under Dymphna's patronage, the inhabitants of Gheel have been known for the care they have given to those with mental illness. By the close of the 13th century, an infirmary was built. Today the town possesses a first class sanitarium, one of the largest and most efficient colonies for the mentally ill in the world. Gheel was one of the first to start a program where the insane inhabitants lead normal and useful lives in the homes of farmers or local residents. The strength of Dymphna's cult is evidenced by this compassionate work of the people of Gheel for the mentally ill at a time when they were universally neglected or treated with hostility.

Saint Dymphna's feast day is May 15.