I am compelled to start this post by stating that I am not in the business of speculating on the mental health of strangers, nor am I interested in providing pseudo-psychological assessments of celebrities in the news. It is important to make this clear because I don't want readers fooled by the title of this post. Indeed, there are enough armchair psychologists in the media offering analysis of celebrities' behaviour. Rather, the recent attention that Mr. Sheen has garnered made me think of a psychological process that can significantly impact mental health, including substance abuse. Psychologists call it cognitive dissonance.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Friday, February 25, 2011
From Weight Loss to the Treatment of Depression: The Importance of Understanding "Rate of Change"
Of the many factors that influence change, one's expectation or understanding of how change occurs is significant among them. People can vary considerably in their understanding of how change occurs - specifically, rate of change. Rate of change can be defined as the speed and consistency of improvement when trying to eliminate a problem. For example, if you are trying to lose weight, there are different patterns of change. You might:
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Bell's "Let's Talk Day": Right Idea - Wrong Estimates: Are Health Organizations in Canada Underestimating the Prevalence of Mental Illness?
Bell Canada is promoting mental health awareness today with their "Let's Talk Day." It's a great idea that will see Bell contribute 5 cents from every text and long distance call to support mental health programs. I also love Clara Hughes' involvement in the project - an act that is both courageous and generous.
However, I am quite certain that Bell has its "1 in 5 Canadians" figure wrong. You may have seen the advertisements on TV or the web where Bell cites a figure from the Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR) which states that 1 in 5 Canadians will experience mental illness in their lifetime. You will find a similar figure on both the Health Canada and Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) websites. Unfortunately, I suspect they are all incorrectly citing data from one study(1).
However, I am quite certain that Bell has its "1 in 5 Canadians" figure wrong. You may have seen the advertisements on TV or the web where Bell cites a figure from the Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR) which states that 1 in 5 Canadians will experience mental illness in their lifetime. You will find a similar figure on both the Health Canada and Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) websites. Unfortunately, I suspect they are all incorrectly citing data from one study(1).
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