From time to time I plan to post summaries of recent interesting news in the fields of psychology and psychiatry. This is the first installment.  I also provide my perspective, opinions, and observations.

Neonates in Intensive Care Endure Painful Procedures, Mostly Without Analgesia- A recent study found that infants in neo-natal intensive care experienced an average of 16 painful or stressful procedures per day. And that 79% of these were without analgesia. Very slowly, more practitioners are becoming aware of the long term consequences for traumatic experiences as an infant including the birth process.  Unfortunately, the quackery of the ‘re-birthing’ movement has caused many practitioners to develop excessive cynicism to these notions.  Even though people have no conscious memory of these experiences, there are unconscious memories that result in a number of problems in later life as a result of early traumatic experiences.  I’ll write more on my clinical observations of early traumas in the future.

Childhood Nutrition Linked to Adult Intellectual Function- Okay, you’re a parent.  You are not your child’s friend.  Many parent’s nowadays are confused about their role.  They want to be ‘friends’ with their child.  That is not the role of a parent.  The role of a parent is to educate a child, love a child, and nurture a child’s soul in the ways of the Lord so that they will be prepared for life’s challenges.  So the kid says, “Yuck!!! I don’t want to eat it.”  Show and explain that “big people,” adults, love to eat fruits and vegetables because ‘they make you smarter and stronger.’  As a child, I came to identify with my grandfather, who LOVED the fruit and vegetables that were grown in his garden.  I think that nutritional changes are a key component of mental health.  This must always be addressed in treatment.  If you address this early on in a child’s life, you give them intellectual, and maturity advantages throughout their lives.  Please do so.  Fast food, such as McDonalds, Burger King, etc… are out of the question.  But, please, do not take the easiest path with regard to parenting.  You may think you are doing your child a favor, but you are not!

Relaxation Training for Anxiety: A Ten-Years Systematic Review With Meta-Analysis - The notion is that you ‘cannot be anxious and relaxed at the same time.’  For many people, relaxation techniques are very effective in helping you cope with anxiety and stress.  For others, it is not effective at all.  There is some evidence that meditation is more effective than relaxation as this article notes.  Relaxation training is very different from activities that you may find relaxing.  It is much deeper than that.  But for some, relaxing is also seen as a threat.  Psychotherapy with a competent psychotherapist can help you uncover why relaxation is so scary to you..  It may be a medical experience, “Just relax, this will be over in a minute.”  And the word relax becomes associated with pain.  There are many other variations on why people have trouble relaxing.  If you have trouble learning relaxation techniques, you may require long-term psychotherapy to help resolve unconscious aspects that lead to your inability to relax.

Early Treatment of Migraine With Combination Therapy Effective, Well Tolerated- Headaches are a complex phenomena.  This research shows that medication is very helpful compared to placebo.  However, in my practice, it is very important to address the psychological factors of headaches.  I remember one fellow who developed intense and severe ‘migraine headaches.’  This was described as a stabbing sensation that started in the back of the head.  As a result, he would fall down on to the floor ’sobbing’ as a result.  In analysis, it was uncovered that the location of the pain was exactly the same as when his father, ‘beat my head against the wall.’  After his head was beat against the wall, he fell to the floor sobbing.  Now, sometimes headaches are a result of constipation or poor nutrition.  You need to drink water ONLY, and stay away from soft drinks.  It doesn’t matter if they are diet or otherwise.  Diet soft drinks are somewhat worse actually.  If you need caffeine, get it from coffee or tea.  Eat high fiber cereal for breakfast, bananas, and orange juice for breakfast (every day).  The article doesn’t say these things obviously, but these are things I have found to be very effective with my patients.

Wine Is Healthy In A New (Or Old) Way – The Last Psychiatrist has an interesting article on how wine consumption effects digestion.  I’ve always thought that the combination of food and drink was very important in the health effects of what was being consumed.  This article provides more evidence along those lines.