Stopping Self-Harm Urges Using Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Feb 1, 2012

If you feel you may harm yourself, get help now.

I talked about dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) in the last post. Dialectical behavior therapy is designed to work specifically with borderline personality disorder and part of this disorder is often self-harm so DBT uses specific techniques to try to stop self-harm urges and prevent self-harm.

What is Self-Harm?

Self-harm is a huge problem for many people. It is typically a sign of borderline personality disorder but it can occur with any disorder (or no diagnosis at all). Self-harm, also known as self-mutilation or self-injury, can be any form of self-abuse including cutting, burning, hitting and statistics often include those with eating disorders as well. Millions of people in the US practice some form of self-harm.

Self-harm is often practiced by teens and is more common in women than in men, but make no mistake about it, many adults self-harm and men do as well. It is a behavior to be taken seriously. Here are some techniques to stop self-harm urges.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy for Borderline Personality Disorder

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Jan 29, 2012

In spite of what some people intimate, I do endorse non-drug solutions and one of the best adjunct treatments to medications is psychotherapy. Many types of therapy can work for different people, but one current and research-backed therapy is Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT).

Now, don’t let the big words scare you – this is not a scary therapy. This is simply a therapy that works to use reason to integrate and synthesize to opposite points of view. Meaning, the techniques taught are designed to find a balance in emotion, behavior and acceptance.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy and Borderline Personality Disorder

Dialectical behavior therapy was designed specifically to treat borderline personality disorder; however, it has shown usefulness in mood disorders and research is currently underway to see if DBT techniques are also useful in other disorders. This therapy represents a huge breakthrough as the first indicated treatment of borderline personality disorder.

Dr. Oz Show – The Shock That Could Save Your Life – Electroshock Therapy for Depression

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Jan 25, 2012

As many people know the Dr. Oz show, did 30 minutes today on electroshock therapy. I’m going to talk a little about the Dr. Oz show’s representation of electroshock therapy and add a few additional facts.

First off, the Dr. Oz show is a source of entertainment, like anything else on TV, so he added drama that wasn’t particularly necessary. That is the way of the show, and TV, however. Specifically, the show started off with scenes of electroshock therapy being given pre-1950 which is when you see people having convulsions in the bad old days before people were anesthetized during treatments. This is not the best way to start a show that is supposed to educate about current treatment, but he does balance this later on.

The Good About the Dr. Oz Show

I was impressed really. They did do a lot of things right and they did share a lot of facts about electroshock therapy, now known as electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). What the Dr. Oz show did right:

Represented the modern procedure accurately and even showed the procedure being performed
Mentioned repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) as an alternative therapy (rTMS uses magnetic waves rather than electricity)
Stated that almost all insurance companies cover ECT (to the best of my knowledge this is true)
Spoke that it should be used judiciously
Placed it in a reasonable historical context
Tried to reduce stigma and fear and increase awareness around the procedure
Mentioned memory loss (twice) as a side effect

The Bad about the Dr. Oz Show on Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)

As with all things in life, nothing is perfect. Some things you should know that weren’t altogether accurate about the show:

Only talked about right unilateral brief-pulse ECT – while this is considered the most modern form of ECT it is not the only type. Before getting ECT you need to know what type you are getting in order to accurately judge the risks.
Stated that ECT “reset the chemical messengers / receptors” in the brain – the truth is we don’t know exactly how ECT works, we only know that it does. It’s likely it works in multiple ways but “resetting chemical messengers / receptors” is mostly just a simplified concept and not medically accurate or at the very least, not medically complete.
Didn’t mention the other side effects of ECT – while memory loss is generally considered the most concerning, other side effects are also possible.

Altogether, I thought it was a good show, and if a tad flamboyant, represented ECT well but there are other things you should be aware of.

Breaking Bipolar Reading Round-Up

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Dec 23, 2011

Happy holidays all.

I’m a pretty busy gal right now, so not a lot of time to write new material. I promise I’ll try to get to something new next week.

However, while you’re waiting, have you caught up on all your Breaking Bipolar articles? No? I didn’t think so. Here’s a run-down on some of what I’ve been doing over at HealthyPlace:

Last Minute Holiday Tips for the Bipolar – just published today. Here are four things you should know before you get any deeper into the holidays.
What 2011 Taught us About Mental Illness – a wrap-up of the top ten things research taught us about mental illness last year including: bipolar misdiagnosis, bipolar treatment success predictor, mania treatment comparison and antipsychotic information. Part one and part two.
You’re Narcissistic! Getting Over Insults – How one reader got to me even though I knew they shouldn’t have.
Celebrating Mental Health News – on why we should celebrate the good moments in mental illness.
How to Choose a Good Psychiatrist – one I’ve touched on here but in more detail.
Bipolar Disorder Thought Types – have you ever considered the odd types of thoughts you have a person with a mental illness? I have.
The Importance of Self-Care in Bipolar Disorder – tips on self-care plus a video.
Sexual Health and Bipolar Disorder – the sexual concerns of people with mental illness.

Doctor Background Checks; ECT in Film; New Borderline Criteria – 3 New Things

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Dec 1, 2011

Today we return to my 3 New Things series so I can touch on three new pieces of information I’ve found this week. This week I talk about:

How to get a background check on a doctor
The sorry portrayal of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in film
The newly-proposed diagnostic criteria for personality disorders in the DSM-V

N-Acetylcysteine (NAC) – Inexpensive Treatment for Bipolar Depression

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Nov 22, 2011

N-acetylcysteine, also known as N-acetyl-L-cysteine or just acetylcysteine is a supplement that shows promise in the treatment of bipolar depression. This is really big news because there are very few drugs, supplements or anything else that show promise in the area of bipolar depression. But N-acetylcysteine (NAC) is even better than most because:

N-acetylcysteine is an over-the-counter supplement
N-acetylcysteine is cheap
N-acetylcysteine has very few known side effects

Why Aren’t Lifestyle Changes Frontline Treatment for Depression?

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Nov 3, 2011

Many people complain about overmedication. They lament that the first thing doctors do is prescribe a medication for depression or another mental illness rather than suggest lifestyle changes like exercise and meditation.

This is often true. Doctors, including psychiatrists, often prescribe medication over suggesting lifestyle changes when a mental illness like depression is diagnosed.

And that’s a completely reasonable thing to do.

Free rTMS, Brain Changes in Depressed Females, Why Anti-Benzodiazepine? – 3 New Things

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Sep 29, 2011

Last week I didn’t post three new things but don’t take that to mean I wasn’t learning because I certain was, and always am. For this week I have these three new pieces of information to share:

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) treatment for depression to be free for (some) Canadians
Brain changes are noted in depressed females
Why are some doctors anti-benzodiazepine?

Should Ecstasy (MDMA) be a Psychiatric Medication?

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Sep 26, 2011

You may not know this, but ecstasy (MDMA) has been studied as a psychiatric medication. Yes, that’s right, that stuff kids take at raves. The stuff that makes you thirsty and fall in love to the person next to you. That stuff. And MDMA was shown effective in several psychiatric uses.

But research on MDMA (ecstasy) was curtailed in 1985 when the US government named it a class 1 drug (like heroin) over the objections of doctors. Psychiatric research on MDMA is gearing up again though and it has shown promise in treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and possibly depression and anxiety.