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Surprising Side Effect of Parkinson’s Drug: Creativity

August 6, 201800Career, Creativity, Dopamine, Featured news, Psychiatry, Psychopharmacology, Self-Control August, 18

Source: Image Credits Feature: Ingrid Hauff, Used With Permission

In 2014, Ingrid Hauff was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease (PD), a degenerative disorder that attacks the nervous system, leading to speech impairment, loss of control over body movement, and a long list of other symptoms. Plus, there is no cure.

Struggling with the diagnosis, Hauff checked herself into a psychiatric clinic where she was introduced to art therapy. The clinic supplied her with materials, and the staff asked her to paint what she felt. She initially used painting as a way to cope with the illness.

Hauff tells the Trauma and Mental Health Report:

“Before my diagnosis, I never painted. I could never have imagined that painting would be so important to me like it is today. I paint every day. It is a great pleasure for me to paint. I forget every trouble, and I find the [disease’s] side effects are lessened.”

Painting has become more than therapy for Hauff. It’s now a fundamental part of her life, and her unique artistic style and choice of colour have helped her become a successful artist. She has even held an exhibition of her landscape paintings in Berlin.

But her story of artistic knack and creative development is, surprisingly, not a rare one for those diagnosed with PD. Some scientists are investigating whether medications, such as Levodopa and Pramipexol, prescribed to relieve PD symptoms, heighten creativity. These drugs increase the neurotransmitter dopamine, a chemical in the brain that regulates movement. Dopamine is gradually depleted as PD progresses, so boosting this neurotransmitter allows patients to retain regular movement and regain control over their bodies.

Like all medications, though, these drugs have a multitude of side effects, ranging from headaches and nausea, to tremors and hallucinations. Unlike other medications, however, one side effect stands out from the rest: uninhibited creativity.

Neurologist Rivka Inzelberg and colleagues published a study in 2014, finding that patients treated with dopaminergic drugs showed enhanced verbal and visual creativity in comparison to neurologically healthy individuals who were not on the medication. This is one of several studies where Inzelberg demonstrated that PD medications are associated with higher rates of creative capability.

But in some instances, patients claim to produce artwork to a point where they can’t restrain themselves. Eugénie Lhommée and her colleagues interviewed people with PD and published a case study on the influence of increased dopamine on creativity. In it, the patient reported:

“I transformed my home into a studio, with tables and canvases everywhere [and] started painting from morning till night. I used knives, forks, sponges […] I would gouge open tubes of paint—it was everywhere. I started painting on the walls, the furniture, even the washing machine. I would paint any surface I came across. I could not stop myself from painting and repainting every night in a trance-like state. My partner could no longer bear it. People close to me realized that I crossed some kind of line into the pathological, and, at their instigation, I was hospitalized.”

Hauff also experienced an “extreme influence” on her artwork when prescribed Pramipexol:

“I began painting for hours every night. I didn’t have any ability to stop. I lost a lot of sleep and was constantly without energy after these sessions, so I decided, together with my neurologist, to stop [Pramipexol]. I’ve been off of it since the beginning of February 2017, and now after one month [on new medication], I can declare that my feeling of control has come back.”

While these experiences can be damaging to patients and their loved ones, Hauff was able to take advantage of this unique side effect by exhibiting and selling the artwork she had produced. Her solution to the problem was to switch to a different medication. The creative boost remained, but the compelling drive disappeared. Hauff explains:

“My creativity is still there, but the ‘painting time’ is now reduced radically. I am painting only during the daytime. My opinion is that Pramipexol limits my ability to maintain self-control.”

But Hauff has no regrets about her experience with Pramipexol:

“It let me find my creativity and showed me what I can do. It showed me secret parts of my soul. It showed me what has slept in my brain and in my heart for nearly 60 years. It showed me a way to live with my Parkinson’s.”

As is the case for most individuals considering a drug therapy, people with PD have to weigh the benefits and drawbacks of medication options. But as more research on this unexpected and artistic by-product emerges, it begs the question of whether similar medications can be used to boost creativity in the future.

– Ty LeBlanc, Contributing Writer. The Trauma and Mental Health Report.

-Chief Editor: Robert T. Muller, The Trauma and Mental Health Report.

Copyright Robert T. Muller

This article was originally published on Psychology Today

Workplace Alcohol Tests: Where Do We Draw the Line?

February 22, 201840Addiction, Alcoholism, Career, Featured news, Health, Law and Crime, Work February, 18

Source: Bousure at flickr, Creative Commons

Keeping our personal and professional lives separate is something many of us strive for. But, as Johnene Canfield recently discovered, we only have so much control over this process. In the spring of 2015, Canfield was fired from her six-figure position as a Minnesota Lottery official after a DUI conviction and a stint in rehab for alcohol abuse. The following October, she filed a lawsuit to reclaim her job.

Canfield’s former employers say the reason they dismissed her was to ensure the safety of other employees and clients, as well as to preserve employee productivity at the Minnesota Lottery. But these reasons reveal how problem drinkers are viewed as incapable of workplace competence.

According to Linda Horrocks, a former health care aide at Flin Flon’s Northern Lights Manor, a long-term care home for seniors, “Employers often act based on what they think they know about addiction and alcohol addicts”—but not necessarily on the reality of living with addiction. Horrocks, like Canfield, was fired for alcohol addiction.

She was eventually re-hired by the Northern Regional Health Authority, the health-governing body in northern Manitoba that oversees employment at Northern Lights Manor. But her employer required her to sign an agreement to abstain from drinking on and off the job, and to undergo random drug and alcohol testing.

In an interview with the Trauma and Mental Health Report, Horrocks said:

“I didn’t object to the testing, but I didn’t want to commit to never drink again on my own time. My union even advised me against signing this agreement, because I would just be setting myself up for failure—I hadn’t gone through treatment yet. And so, I was fired again.”

Horrocks maintains that the employers’ offer to help her abstain from alcohol completely was based on misconceptions about alcoholism and treatment.

“The managers knew a little bit about alcoholism, as family and acquaintances had gone through treatment. They just decided that the counselling that I was going through with Addictions Foundation of Manitoba was not enough because it is a harm-reduction program, not a direct path to complete abstinence.”

Horrocks understands why some may think that abstinence is the only way:

“After all, if you’re a recovering alcoholic, alcohol is deemed ‘your enemy.’”

Proponents for abstinence-based treatments argue that periods of abstinence can repair brain and central nervous system functions that were impaired. Having problem drinkers self-moderate alcohol intake has had variable success in the past. For some, the temptation of having “just one drink” can be a precursor to relapse. And for them, total abstinence may be a better approach.

But Horrocks explains, abstinence may not be the best approach for everyone. The harm reduction model accepts that some use of mind-altering substances is inevitable, and that a minimal level of drug use is normal. This approach also recognizes research showing experimental and controlled use to be the norm for most individuals who try any substance with abuse potential.

Harm reduction seeks to reduce the more immediate and tangible harms of substance use rather than embrace a vague, abstract goal, such as a substance-free society. During intervention talk sessions, therapists explore and attempt to modify drinking patterns or behaviours with the client. The clinicians support autonomous decision-making and independent goal setting related to drinking.

Evidence published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal shows that these programs aim to reduce the short- and long-term harm to substance users and improve the health and functioning of these individuals. There are also benefits to the entire community through reduced crime and public disorder, in addition to the benefits that accrue from the inclusion into mainstream life of those previously marginalized.

Benjamin Henwood and colleagues from the University of Southern California also show that those who work on the front-line of severe mental illness and addiction prefer the harm-reduction approach to complete abstinence. Yet few employers have taken this approach into account when deciding the fate of employees with proven substance abuse problems outside of the workplace.

Horrocks’s and Canfield’s experience begs the question, where do we draw the line? How much say do employers have over their employees’ personal lives? It may just be that employers need to better respect the privacy of workers, so long as workplace productivity is not affected. And if employers maintain substance abuse policies that bleed over into the personal lives of staff, consideration of a harm-reduction approach is key.

–Veerpal Bambrah, Contributing Writer, The Trauma and Mental Health Report.

–Chief Editor: Robert T. Muller, The Trauma and Mental Health Report.

Copyright Robert T. Muller.

This article was originally published on Psychology Today

Models Face Routine Exploitation, Mental Health Problems

January 25, 2018130Body Image, Career, Eating Disorders, Featured news, Health, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder January, 18

Source: Richard George Davis, used with permission

Former model Nikki Dubose has graced the covers of fashion magazines from Maxim to Vogue to Vanity Fair. She’s modeled in Barcelona, Paris, London, and Tel Aviv, and has walked the runway for numerous fashion designers.

Despite the glamorous lifestyle, Dubose is also a sexual assault survivor, and has struggled with eating disorders and mental-health issues. The story is a common one for many in the modeling industry. In an article for the Huffington Post, Dubose describes her experience:

“There were regular pressures to sleep with the director of my agency, constant ‘model dinners’ he organized that involved the owner of the agency, the director and his friends, and select models. This led to [my] being drugged and raped. [I was] raped by a photographer at a lunch that was organized by the director of my agency. Later, when I confronted the director, I was shot down.”

A recent report from The Model Alliance shows that nearly thirty percent of models report being sexually harassed, while twenty-eight percent have been pressured into sex with someone in the industry. Most of the models surveyed said they never told anyone—over two-thirds of those who did report the harassment to their agents were essentially ignored.

In a 2014 Flare Magazine exposé, model Misty Fox also revealed being mistreated by a photographer. Fox said he took photos of her without consent as she was using the bathroom:

“He went to the next cubicle, leaned over like a kid in primary school and took my picture.”

When she asked for the film:

“He just sneered, ‘What are you going to do, tell your daddy?’”

When Fox reported this incident to her agent, the reply was:

“‘Honey, it’s [name redacted]; he’s a really big deal. You’re lucky to be there. Get some good shots. Gotta go.”

Stories of photographers preying on young models are commonplace, and there are few consequences. In an interview with the Trauma and Mental Health Report, Dubose said:

“Education and legislation are critical here—talking about sexual abuse in workshops so that models can develop safety plans, know what organizations to reach out to, and who to call if something happens. Prevention is key. Plus, predators need to be held accountable. Adopting regulations is also important to change the way the industry currently runs.”

Recently, Dubose worked alongside California State assembly-member Marc Levine on Bill AB 2539, which addressed the need for “workplace protections and health standards in the modeling industry.” This proposal was based on the current French law that prohibits using models with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 18 or lower. Disappointingly, the bill was not passed by the California state legislature. Dubose said:

“The government continues not to take the necessary measures to ensure the safety of models in an industry that puts them at risk.”

People often associate modeling with a luxurious lifestyle, but working in the industry can have an impact on mental health. Studies in the past decade have shown that models run a higher risk of developing psychological disorders and report lower life satisfaction compared to other occupations. The Model Alliance reports that sixty-eight percent of models surveyed suffer from anorexia, depression, or a combination of both.

Dubose recognizes how common mental health issues are in her industry. Her memoir “Washed Away: From Darkness to Light” recounts the painful struggles and abuses she suffered as a young, aspiring model. Success often comes at a great cost, with young hopefuls developing an array of dangerous disorders and unhealthy coping mechanisms in the pursuit of fame. She explains:

“Models are often forced into doing things that they don’t want to do, such as losing weight for jobs or sleeping with photographers and other people in the business, and are often victims of wage theft. Most of these girls and boys are minors. It is not acceptable for them to be subjected to abuse, rape, financial theft, and so on.”

A movement for change is emerging in response to these problems. Dubose and many others like her are fighting to create a future where young models perform their jobs in a safe environment without worrying about sexual and financial exploitation, eating disorders, and mental-health issues. Dubose concludes:

“It’s only a matter of time before we see major, positive change. I’m confident.”

–Ty LeBlanc, Contributing Writer, The Trauma and Mental Health Report.

–Chief Editor: Robert T. Muller, The Trauma and Mental Health Report.

Copyright Robert T. Muller.

This article was originally published on Psychology Today

Crushing Debt Affects Student Mental Health

January 4, 201860Anxiety, Career, Depression, Education, Featured news, Health, Politics January, 18

Source: thisisbossi at flickr, Creative Commons

Brian, a graduate from a university in California, struggled financially and emotionally. He often experienced anxiety, panic, and shame about his student loans.

Upon graduating, Brian moved to Germany, and to this point, has not paid back a cent of his debt. So long as Brian continues to live abroad, earns a living in a foreign country, does not pay U.S. taxes, and does not collect social security, loan companies are unable to contact him.

Brian’s story of “debt dodging” is just one way, albeit extreme, some students cope with the stress of educational loans, which play a very large role in higher education in North America. And Brian is not the only student who has left his home, family, and friends to escape.

In Canada, average student debt estimates hover in the mid-to-high $20,000 range. This estimate is close to the $26,300 figure that many students said they expected to owe after graduating, according to a recent Bank of Montreal survey.

When she was granted a large enough loan to pay for four years of university and one year of college, Aneeta (name changed for anonymity), a recent graduate of the journalism program at the University of Guelph-Humber in Canada, says she did not understand the consequences of accepting such a large sum of money.

In an interview with the Trauma and Mental Health Report, Aneeta explained:

“I really didn’t grasp the gravity of having so much financial assistance from the government, and then having to owe all that money back until after I actually graduated. And it was even more anxiety-provoking because I really struggled to find permanent, full-time work after leaving school.”

Since graduating, Aneeta still lives with her parents and has bounced between temporary retail jobs. The toll the debt has taken on her mental wellbeing includes frequent feelings of self-doubt, embarrassment, and even days of relentless anxiety and depression.

“Honestly, my plan after graduation was to score an awesome job in my field and save up enough money to move out and rent. I just forgot to consider the 25+ thousand dollars that I owe—which I think a lot of undergraduates do, to be honest with you. And every time I think of how much I owe and how much of a long way I have to be debt-free, it freaks me out. And then I feel guilty for spending the money I do have.”

Unable to afford much at all, Aneeta feels isolated and out of the loop; she seldom sees her friends. For students like Aneeta, high debt loads represent not only financial stress, but they can delay the time it takes to reach certain life milestones.

Denise Lopez, a registration and financial aid assistant at the University of Toronto (U of T), said in an interview with the Trauma and Mental Health Report:

“The number of former students I see who are well into their 30s and 40s and are still paying off their student loans is overwhelming. And many of them admit to being financially restricted from the things they really want to do like buy a car or property.”

Lopez distinctly recalls one U of T alumnus who shared his fear that, when his kids hit university age, he’ll still be paying off his own student loans. And with university tuition rising to record levels in Canada, his fears may not be unfounded.

According to research by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, the cost of a university degree in Canada is getting steeper, with tuition and other compulsory fees expected to triple from 1990 to 2017.

The mental wellbeing of students is not the only area affected by steep tuition and loans—their parents’ lives are also altered. For example, parents are postponing retirement and taking on additional debt to help put their children through school or pay off loans. In Aneeta’s words:

“My dad recently became an UBER driver to help me pay off my loans because I can’t do this on my own. I feel guilty. I can see the financial burden and stress in his face. If he had the choice, he wouldn’t want to be working on-top of the hours he puts in at his day job.”

–Veerpal Bambrah, Contributing Writer, The Trauma and Mental Health Report.

–Chief Editor: Robert T. Muller, The Trauma and Mental Health Report.

Copyright Robert T. Muller.

This article was originally published on Psychology Today

Crushing Debt Affects Student Mental Health

January 4, 201800Anxiety, Career, Depression, Education, Featured news, Health, Politics January, 18