Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by impairment of social communication, repetitive behavior and restrictive interest. The risk of ASD is strongly associated with the prenatal period – studies have found that the administration of valproic acid (VPA) to pregnant mothers increases risk of developing an Autism spectrum disorder in the child. Patients with ASD […]

A study modelling the spread and impact COVID-19 that was done by an UK university and published in the latest WHO report, has analyzed 4 different strategies to deal with the COVID-19 virus (1. doing nothing 2. measures to slow down infection rates 3. measures to suppress the virus like curfews and 4. combination of […]

What’s the difference between clinical depression and just having ‘sad mood’ (sadness) or ‘feeling blue’? This often-asked question is often asked and sometimes, it may indeed be hard to tell whether there are already signs of depression if someone has been feeling depressed for some time. To try clarify this question to some extent, feel […]

Today, I stumbled upon this little video on the web, and thought I’d like to share it with you. Even though I feel it banalizes the problems in life to an extent – it invites to contemplate, and that alone certainly doesn’t hurt… 😉

‘And meanwhile, in Thailand…’ – it feels like looking back into how mental health issues were dealt with 100+ years ago in Europe. Thailand is very backward with respect to public information regarding mental illness and its treatment and training for mental health providers. The highest degree in psychology in Thailand is a bachelor degree, […]

For a long time, the brain of an adult was considered as a rigidly fixed, hard-wired organ. The latest scientific findings, however, show just the opposite, proving not only something that Buddhists have always known, but also illustrating why psychotherapy ‘works’ … and that many of our weaknesses might actually be more changeable than we […]

A test checking for traits of the following personality disorders has just been put online: Psychopathy / Antisocial Personality Disorder Narcissistic Personality Disorder Histrionic Personality Disorder Even among professionals, there is confusion about the meanings and differences between psychopathy, sociopathy, antisocial and histrionic personality disorder, and much more so amongst persons who sense problems in […]

Viagra, the popular anti-impotence drug, may stop working for many patients after 2 years, the results of a study suggest. Dr. Rizk El-Galley of the University of Alabama at Birmingham and colleagues interviewed 151 men who had filled prescriptions for Viagra. Overall, 74% reported that 25 milligrams (mg) to 100 mg of the drug enabled […]

To a high extent, the work of a psychotherapist consists of the treatment of the various forms of depression, so I’ve always tried to improve my understanding of this particular form of mental disorder – and of its most extreme form, the idea to commit suicide. So I’ve continuously gathered data on suicide – here […]

Interesting figures have recently been published by the British Home Office: statistics show that young men suffer just as much as women from ‘abuse’ by their partners – at least if forms of emotional violence like harassment or bullying are considered as forms of abuse as well. Probably because men are usually feeling less self-confident […]