The COVID-19 pandemic appears to be associated with a higher burden of depressive symptoms than might have been predicted in comparison with earlier disasters and society-wide disruptive events, such as the September 11th attacks. Since April 2020, self-reported symptoms of depression have increased over the previous year, and remain high. A survey1 published in The Lancet Regional Health – Americas …
Suicide remains a sad mystery in many ways. Those left behind can never really know what was in their loved one’s mind at the last. We blame ourselves, and we deal with all the guilt, anger and grief that the act leaves behind, but we can never completely understand what leads someone to take their own life. Willa Goodfellow, in …
Three different findings associated with insulin resistance and pre-diabetes are predictive of developing depression according to a study published online from the American Journal of Psychiatry. Study Summary MedPage Today (9/23/2021) writes that, “Three surrogate measures for insulin resistance all showed a significant link with developing a major depressive disorder [MDD] over a nine-year follow-up period,” researchers concluded. The 601-participant study …
Google’s Hangouts Meet is finally giving way to the more advanced version, Google Meet. For several years we have been using Google Meet as the preferred way of setting up telepsychiatry sessions at Gateway Psychiatric. There are two essential points to know. The information about how to join a Google Meet is to be found in the invitation to the …
Next week will commence another round of our 6 week Bipolar 101 group for Gateway clients/patients hoping to learn more about how to manage the impact of their moods with more grace and awareness. Bipolar 101 is an online, six session group that covers topics such as general knowledge of the disorder, medications, substance use, early detection of episodes, healthy …
Neurological and psychiatric symptoms are common in COVID-19 infections A recent meta-analysis looked at 215 studies from 30 countries and found that neurological and psychiatric symptoms such as depression and anxiety are common in patients, and are found as much or more in mild cases as in acute cases requiring hospitalization. Loss of sense of smell and taste, weakness, fatigue …
Brexpiprazole (Rexulti) is a medication that has similar effects to two other atypical antipsychotics, cariprazine (Vraylar) and aripiprazole (Abilify) but brexpiprazole does not have approval in the United States for treating bipolar mania. Why is this, and how should it guide clinical practice? A recent review of all of the studies of brexpiprazole in bipolar mania that are listed on …
Over the years we have written a lot about the importance of integrating mental health care and medical care and the experience of the past year demonstrates to all of us the importance of having excellent primary care as well as mental health care. For that reason, we are excited to pass on an offer that comes once a year …
For now over 70 years, Americans have delegated the month of May as “Mental Health Awareness Month” (since 1949). And with medical experts and researchers across the planet sharing their observation that the Covid-19 pandemic is going to continue to have an array of mental health impacts into the foreseeable future, mental health awareness needs to remain in the forefront …
Gateway Psychiatric just joined the Psychedelic Medicine Association. This membership is a continuation of our longstanding interest in alternative treatments for depression. I have been working with Bay Psychiatric Associates and Roberto Estrada for nearly five years providing ketamine infusion and now nasal esketamine to patients with treatment resistant depression. This followed attending the 2017 Ketamine Conference which was held …
