Free Depression or Bipolar Disorder Monitoring Program Available to Consumers

Free Depression or Bipolar Disorder Monitoring Program Available to Consumers

Consumers with depression or bipolar disorder, being treated by a primary care physician, may benefit from additional monitoring by a trained pharmacist.

The program is seeking participation by consumers with depression or bipolar disorder. The program is funded by a grant funded by the Montana Department of Health and Human Services and is free to consumers. Patients receive a complete review of all of their medications, education brochures, and monitoring for the effects of their illness. All information collected is sent back to the primary care physician for review and interpretation.

To qualify, consumers must be on four or more medications, which can include over the counter or herbal medicines. Medications are not provided. Trained pharmacists are currently available in Billings, Roundup, Kalispell, and Lewistown or by Skype.

For more information please call Carla Cobb at 406-670-3722 or Dee Holley at 406-896-8805.

The Connection Between Substance Abuse and Mental Health

Our mental health affects the way that we feel and respond to life on a daily basis. When there is something wrong or out of balance in our mental state, it is going to throw off everything until it is properly
addressed, diagnosed, and treated. There is a very definite connection that has been discovered between substance abuse and mental health, or better said, a lack of true mental health. This is not to say that every person who abuses drugs or alcohol have a mental illness, but that there is a higher rate of mentally ill addicts than those who are not.

Of course, there is also the fact that many people believe that substance abuse and addiction are mental illnesses in and of themselves. This may very well be the case, but even if it's not, substance abuse is certainly an ailment of sorts and it needs to be treated alongside the mental illness that may have brought it on to begin with.

Many times, people with a mental illness, especially one that has not been diagnosed and is not being treated by a professional, will begin to "self-medicate". This essentially means that they will seek out substances that relieve the inner pain, stress, confusion, or other negative feelings that they are experiencing. For instance, a person with severe depression may begin to take "uppers" to allow them to feel happiness, even if it's only temporary. Often, the person with the mental health problem doesn't understand why they feel the way that they do, but once they find a substance that relieves the bad feelings, they are likely to become addicted quite quickly.

When that occurs, the person is now dealing with a dual diagnosis, meaning that there is a substance abuse problem as well as an additional mental health problem and both will need to be addressed and treated. An inpatient facility is likely the place to start, where the person is going to have intensive treatment, followed by aftercare day treatment programs for the substance abuse and psychiatric treatment and monitoring for the mental illness.

It is so easy to judge people that we see who are obviously dealing with substance abuse, but there is always an underlying problem that has led to the point we are seeing today. Often, that problem has to do with a mental illness that needs to be properly diagnosed and treated by a professional.

Published by Victoria Tiegert

Mental illness stigma lingers even though people understand it's a brain disease

By Shari Roan, Los Angeles Times

Public perception of mental illness and addiction has changed significantly -- and for the good -- in the last 15 years. That doesn't mean, however, that people feel comfortable working or living near or being friends with someone with mental illness, according to a major new survey.

The study compared people's responses to vignettes involving mental illness and addiction to gauge public understanding of the illness and feelings toward those who are ill or addicted. The surveys took place in 1996 and 2006. The idea, the researchers said, was to assess whether major efforts to improve the treatment of mental conditions and eliminate stigma in the United States is working. Several sweeping efforts have been made in the past two decades to educate Americans on mental illness. A major theme of these campaigns is that mental illnesses and addiction are biological, brain-based, sometimes-genetic illnesses that are each "a disease like any other."

The survey finds the public has embraced that concept, but only to a point. The percentage of people who attributed depression to neurobiological causes increased from 54% of those surveyed in 1996 to 67% in 2006. Those who endorsed psychiatrists to help treat alcoholism increased from 61% to 79% in the 10-year period.

However, the willingness to associate with people with these disorders did not change much. For example, the percentage of people who said they are unwilling to work closely with someone with major depression was 46% in 1996 and 47% in 2006. The percentage of people who considered people with schizophrenia to be a danger to others was 54% in 1996 and 60% in 2006.

Though research and treatment options for people with mental illness or addiction have clearly improved, many could be held back by social stigma, said the authors of the study, led by Indiana University researchers. "Public attitudes matter," they wrote. "Attitudes can translate directly into fear or understanding, rejection or acceptance, delayed service use or early medical attention."

It may take a new approach -- something other than science-based anti-stigma campaigns -- to change public attitudes, the authors said. One such approach is to focus on the "abilities, competencies, and community integration of persons with mental illness and substance use disorders."

(Which brings to mind Los Angeles Laker's star Ron Artest and his efforts to raise money for mental health services by raffling his NBA Championship ring. Artest, who has been treated for depression, has been outspoken about the importance and value of seeking treatment. His "Win My Bling" raffle raised $120,000 in just one day last week.)

In a commentary accompanying the study, Dr. Howard H. Goldman of the University of Maryland points to encouraging signs that people with these diseases can live on equitable terms with those who have not suffered addiction or mental illness.

"We may not have eliminated social stigmatization of symptomatic individuals with mental illness," he wrote. "But improved treatment has helped many of them to make their symptoms and dysfunction less visible and less problematic."

The papers appear in the current issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry.

Violent Crime Less Frequent in Neighborhoods with Businesses

Neighborhoods that combine residential and business developments have lower levels of some types of violent crime, suggests a new study.

The findings were equally true in impoverished areas as they were in more affluent neighborhoods, possibly offering city planners and politicians a new option in improving crime-afflicted areas, according to the researchers.

“A residential neighborhood needs more than the addition of one or two businesses to see any positive impact on violent crime,” said Christopher Browning, professor of sociology at Ohio State University and lead author of the study.

“There needs to be a sufficient density of businesses and residences throughout the community to really see the benefits.”

The findings are significant as more cities across the country move toward mixed developments as a way to bolster downtowns and run-down neighborhoods, said Browning.

The study appears in the current issue of the Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency and was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation.

Source:  Ohio State University

Meditation Improves Attitude of Teenage Boys

Researchers have discovered a particular form of meditation known as mindfulness meditation appears to improve the outlook of male teenagers.

The technique, based on the processes of learning to become more aware of our ongoing experiences, was found to increase well-being in adolescent boys.

Researchers from the University of Cambridge analyzed 155 boys from two independent UK schools, Tonbridge and Hampton, before and after a four-week crash course in mindfulness.

After the trial period, the 14- and 15-year-old boys were found to have increased wellbeing, defined as the combination of feeling good (including positive emotions such as happiness, contentment, interest and affection) and functioning well.

Source: University of Cambridge

Teenage Competition: Helpful or Harmful?

By Rick Nauert PhD Senior News Editor
Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on July 7, 2010

Teenage Competition: Helpful or Harmful?Are teenagers too competitive? Does being competitive influence teenage girls more than boys? Is being competitive a good or a bad thing when you’re a teenager?

New research suggests the answer is: “it depends.”

Researchers say competing to win is detrimental to girls’ social relationships and has been linked to higher levels of depression, whereas this was much less the case for boys.

However, competing to excel is beneficial to the well-being of both genders.

A new study by Dr. David Hibbard from California State University and Dr. Duane Buhrmester from the University of Texas finds that the influence of competitiveness on psychological well-being and social functioning in adolescents depends on both the type of competitiveness and the teenager’s gender.

Their findings are published in Springer’s journal Sex Roles.

Competitiveness can be both a virtue and a vice. One person’s win can be another person’s loss and the drive to be better than others, when taken too far, can appear ruthless and selfish.

Consequently, competitiveness may have social and emotional downsides and its effects are likely to differ for males and females. Indeed, research shows that competitiveness is rated both as more typical of adult males and as more desirable for males than for females.

To date, the implications of competitiveness for males and females during late adolescence – a time when high school seniors are looking to assert their identities for jobs that involve varying levels of ambition and competition, while at the same time working to establish close friendships and romantic relationships – have not been investigated fully.

Hibbard and Buhrmester’s work looks at the effect of two types of competitiveness on teenagers’ psychological well-being and social functioning in late adolescence: competing to win (that is, to dominate and outperform others), and competing to excel (that is, to perform well and surpass personal goals).

A total of 110 twelfth-grade high school students from the Richardson Independent School District in Dallas, Texas, their best same-gender friends and their parents completed questionnaires assessing a combination of competitiveness, gender-role orientation, self-esteem, depressive symptoms, loneliness, aggression, empathy, close relationship qualities, and school grades.

The authors found that teenage boys scored higher on ‘competing to win’ than girls but there were no gender differences for ‘competing to excel’ scores.

For girls, competing to win was linked to higher levels of depression and loneliness and to fewer and less close friendships. Competing to excel was linked to higher self-esteem and less depression for both genders, but was largely unrelated to social functioning.

Hibbard and Buhrmester conclude: “The overarching issue this study explored was whether competitiveness as a motivational orientation is good or bad for males and females. The findings clarify, to some degree, western cultures’ ‘ambivalence’ about competitiveness. The view that competitiveness is the road to emotional well-being is supported to the extent that one is talking about competing to improve oneself or excel. On the other hand, if one is talking about competing to win or show dominance over others, then females seem to pay a socio-emotional price.”

People with mental illness have new Bozeman facility

By JODI HAUSEN, Chronicle Staff Writer

The services at Gallatin Mental Health Center haven't changed but the space in which they are delivered has.

In February, the center opened Hope House and Eck House -- a mental health crisis center and a four-unit subsidized housing facility for people with mental illness, respectively.

Now, two more facilities - Gallatin County Outpatient Services and the Open Arms Drop-In Center -- have opened for business.

"We're kind of in the fogginess of moving in," Scott Malloy, director of the center, said sitting in his office during a brief break Monday.

With vaulted ceilings, wood floors and walls and furnishings in muted earth tones, all the facilities at the campus have a more homey feeling than a typical institution for patients with mental illness. Instead of fluorescent lights, numerous large windows and warm-toned lighting fixtures brighten the rooms.

The 8,700-square-foot outpatient facility boasts a dividable conference room with video-conferencing capabilities, offices and "a really awesome lobby," Malloy said, explaining that their former entryway in the Medical Arts Building on North Willson Avenue was about the size of his current office.

Next door, a fish swam around a small plastic container on an end table, waiting to be plunked back into its bowl at the new drop-in center Monday.

Clients sitting on recently-installed upholstered furniture there were pleased with their new space that houses two offices, a small meeting room, laundry, deck with barbecue and kitchen and pantry lined with red Folgers coffee containers.

"I love it," said John Watson, the drop-in center's director. "We've gone from two rooms at North Willson (to this) in two years."

The 50 mental health center employees did a majority of the moving over the weekend, along with the help of offenders sentenced to the Gallatin County work release program, Malloy said.

If there is a missing piece from the new campus, it is public transportation directly to it, both directors said. Although it us less than a half-mile walk from Bozeman Deaconess Hospital where the Streamline bus already stops, Malloy said he is hoping Streamline will add a stop off Haggerty Lane in front of the campus when the free bus service revamps its maps in the fall.

To celebrate the campus and Mental Health Month, the center, which assists up to 1,000 clients at any given time, will be hosting an open house next week and a series of talks throughout the month of May.

For more information, call 522-7357.

New Research on Suicidal Behavior

Determining who is at risk for suicide is an arduous and inexact endeavor. Even trained clinicians can miss warning signs.

Researchers have now developed an instrument they believe will help predict those at risk.

Matthew Nock of Harvard University, along with colleagues from Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital, modified a well-known word-association test to measure associations between life and death/ suicide and examined if it could be effective in predicting suicide risk.

The Implicit Association Test (IAT) is a widely used test that measures automatic associations people hold about various topics. Participants are shown pairs of words; the speed of their response indicates if they unconsciously associate those words.

In the IAT version used in this study, participants classified words related to “life” (e.g., breathing) and “death” (e.g., dead) and “me” (e.g., mine) and “not me” (e.g., them).

Faster responses to “death”/”me” stimuli than “life”/”me” stimuli would suggest a stronger association between death and self.

People seeking treatment at a psychiatric emergency room participated in this study. They completed the IAT and various mental health assessments. In addition, their medical records were examined six months later to see if they had attempted suicide within that time.

The results, reported in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, revealed that participants presenting to the emergency room after a suicide attempt had a stronger implicit association between death/ suicide and self than did participants presenting with other psychiatric emergencies.

In addition, participants with strong associations between death/ suicide and self were significantly more likely to make a suicide attempt within the next six months than were those who had stronger associations between life and self.

These results suggest that an implicit association between death/ suicide and self may be a behavioral marker for suicide attempts. These findings also indicate that measures of implicit cognition may be useful for identifying and predicting clinical behaviors that tend not be reported.

As Nock explains, “these results are really exciting because they address a long-standing scientific and clinical dilemma by identifying a method of measuring how people are thinking about death and suicide that does not rely on their self-report.”

He adds, “we are hopeful that this line of research ultimately will provide scientists and clinicians with new tools for measuring how people think about sensitive clinical behaviors that they may be unwilling or unable to report on verbally.”

Mahzarin Banaji, also of Harvard University and a co-author of this study, adds that this work presents a strong argument for the importance of funding basic behavioral research.

“These results are an example of basic research helping to solving a troubling and devastating problem in every society. The method we used was designed to understand the mind, but it turned into a technique that can predict disorders of a variety of sorts. One wonders why funding agencies that should know better about the value of basic research seem so naive when it comes to decisions about what is in the public’s interest.”

By Rick Nauert PhD Senior News Editor
Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on April 13, 2010

U.S. will allow pilots to take antidepressants

By Reuters - Fri Apr 2, 11:08 AM PDT

The Federal Aviation Administration said on Friday it was lifting a ban on antidepressants for pilots with mild to moderate depression. To be cleared to fly, pilots who take the drugs must pass screening tests to show they have been successfully treated for at least a year.

Officials said they believed the ban had caused pilots to forego treatment or hide the fact they were taking medication to treat depression. The FAA is offering a six-month grace period for pilots to come forward without penalty if they are currently suffering from depression or are under treatment.

"We need to change the culture and remove the stigma associated with depression. Pilots should be able to get the medical treatment they need so they can safely perform their duties," FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt said.

Officials said they did not know how many pilots would be affected but noted that about 10 percent of the population suffers from depression.

Pilots who take antidepressants will be monitored for the length of their careers, the FAA said.

The policy applies to four antidepressants -- Eli Lilly and Co's Prozac, Pfizer Inc's Zoloft, and Celexa and Lexapro from Forest Laboratories Inc.

Dr. Fred Tilton, the FAA's federal air surgeon, said other medications may be allowed if pilots are being effectively treated with them.

Tilton said antidepressants were originally banned because older medications carried risks such as sedation that were considered unacceptable in the cockpit. Newer medications have side effects that can be manageable, he said.

(Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Steve Orlofsky))

Suicide Among the Young: How to Try to Prevent It

To the Editor:

Re “After Three Suspected Suicides, a Shaken Cornell Reaches Out” (front page, March 17):

Suicide is a tragedy, made worse when occurring in youth. Many university campuses, not only Cornell, are beleaguered by this excruciatingly painful problem. After all, they have our youth and promise in their classes, seminars and dormitories.

The continuing neglect of the major cause of suicide among youth is shocking. The bulk of coverage in the media largely misses it. It is not only about stress, long winter nights, school challenges or failures, loneliness or social isolation. After all, most people who face these stressors do not kill themselves.

Thus, although stress might precipitate it, it is about mental illness, most commonly mood and substance abuse disorders. Until we as a country face the challenge of reaching our youth and providing high-quality mental health services, until we can reduce the stigma of seeking help for psychiatric conditions, we are crippled in our efforts to stem this scourge.

Our future is our youth. We are duty-bound to reach them and maximize the likelihood not only of their survival but also of their success.

Maria A. Oquendo
New York, March 17, 2010

The writer is a professor of clinical psychiatry and vice chairwoman for education in the department of psychiatry at Columbia University.

•

Study links bullying to cognitive deficits, brain changes

By ANNE MCILROY, Toronto Globe and Mail

They lurk in hallways, bathrooms, around the next blind corner. But for the children they have routinely teased or tormented, bullies effectively live in the victims' brains as well -- and not just as a terrifying memory.

Preliminary evidence shows that bullying can produce signs of stress, cognitive deficits and mental-health problems.

Now University of Ottawa psychologist Tracy Vaillancourt and her colleagues at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario plan to scan the brains of teens who have been regularly humiliated and ostracized by their peers to look for structural differences compared with other children.

"We know there is a functional difference. We know their brains are acting differently, but we don't know if it is structural as well," said Vaillancourt, an expert in the biology of bullying.

She says she hopes her work will legitimize the plight of children who are bullied, and encourage parents, teachers and school boards to take the problem more seriously.

Vaillancourt has been following a group of 17-year-olds since they were 12. All 70 of the children were routinely bullied during those years -- teased, harassed, threatened or excluded.

Physical violence is relatively rare, she says, because their tormentors are smart enough to know it will get them into trouble.

"For many of these kids, every day is a nightmare," she said. They go to school and no one will talk to them. Someone deliberately bumps into them in the hallway, and all the other children laugh. They get called horrible names.

The researchers will start with brain scans of 15 of the extreme cases, like the child who stood in her gym uniform while other kids put her school clothes in the toilet and urinated on them.

There are also teenagers in the study who have been bullied for five straight school years.

The scientists have already shown that children who are bullied are more likely than other kids to have cognitive deficits.

They score lower on tests that measure verbal memory and executive function, a set of skills needed to focus on a task and get the job done. Mental-health problems, such as depression, are also more common.

Vaillancourt suspects they will also have a smaller hippocampus, a part of the brain involved in memory. Depression has been shown to be related to a smaller hippocampus. As well, animal studies have shown that chronic high levels of stress can kill brain cells. Vaillancourt says this kind of damage may help explain why children who are bullied often perform poorly academically.

She will also be looking for a smaller prefrontal cortex, which plays a role in being able to pay attention and other executive functions.

These kinds of differences have been documented in functional magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, studies of children who have been neglected or abused. Vaillancourt suspects the chronic stress of being bullied will have a similar impact.

She and her colleagues have already published research showing that boys who are bullied tend to produce more of the stress hormone cortisol. It is as if their system is in permanent overdrive.

It's the opposite for the girls; they tend to produce less cortisol than average, as though their stress response system is overly subdued.

"At some point, their brains stop reacting," said Vaillancourt, who holds a Canada Research Chair in children's mental health and violence prevention.

These changes to the brain's stress response system may be linked to the higher rates of depression among children who are regularly picked on by their peers, especially girls. The adolescent years are when peer relations are most important and when girls, more than anything, want to belong, Vaillancourt says.

(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)

Depressed woman loses benefits over Facebook photos

A Quebec woman on long-term sick leave is fighting to have her benefits reinstated after her employer's insurance company cut them, she says, because of photos posted on Facebook.

Nathalie Blanchard, 29, has been on leave from her job at IBM in Bromont, Que., for the last year and a half after she was diagnosed with major depression.

The Eastern Townships woman was receiving monthly sick-leave benefits from Manulife, her insurance company, but the payments dried up this fall.

When Blanchard called Manulife, the company said that "I'm available to work, because of Facebook," she told CBC News this week.

She said her insurance agent described several pictures Blanchard posted on the popular social networking site, including ones showing her having a good time at a Chippendales bar show, at her birthday party and on a sun holiday - evidence that she is no longer depressed, Manulife said.

Blanchard said she notified Manulife that she was taking a trip, and she's shocked the company would investigate her in such a manner and interpret her photos that way.

"In the moment I'm happy, but before and after I have the same problems" as before, she said.

Blanchard said that on her doctor's advice, she tried to have fun, including nights out at her local bar with friends and short getaways to sun destinations, as a way to forget her problems.

She also doesn't understand how Manulife accessed her photos because her Facebook profile is locked and only people she approves can look at what she posts.
Insurer confirms it uses Facebook

Her lawyer Tom Lavin said Manulife's investigation was inappropriate.

"I don't think for judging a mental state that Facebook is a very good tool," he said, adding that he has requested another psychiatric evaluation for Blanchard.

"It's not as if somebody had a broken back and there was a picture of them carrying ...a load of bricks," Lavin said. "My client was diagnosed with a major depression. And there were pictures of her on Facebook, in a party or having a good time. It could be that she was just trying to escape."

Manulife wouldn't comment on Blanchard's case, but in a written statement sent to CBC News, the insurer said: "We would not deny or terminate a valid claim solely based on information published on websites such as Facebook." It confirmed that it uses the popular social networking site to investigate clients.

Insurance companies must weigh information found on such sites, said Claude Distasio, a spokeswoman for the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association.

"We can't ignore it, wherever the source of the information is," she said. "We can't ignore it."

Blanchard estimated she's lost thousands of dollars in benefits since Manulife changed her claim.

Story by CBC News via http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2009/11/19/quebec-facebook-sick-leave-benefits.html

Montana mental health court shows early successes

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) -- Officials say a new adult mental health court in Billings is showing some modest successes in its first year.

The mental health court is designed to help criminal defendants with clinical mental health disorders learn to treat their illnesses and live within the law. The program is only available to 14 people this year, but planners hope to expand the court to serve 40 people in its second year and 70 people in its third.

Billings Police Lt. Mark Cady says he's seen the court lead people who were frequently in trouble to change their ways. The program is still new in Billings, but early numbers suggest that only 10 percent of participants are going on to re-offend.

---

Information from: Billings Gazette, http://www.billingsgazette.com

Why Symptoms of Schizophrenia Emerge in Young Adulthood

ScienceDaily (Feb. 26, 2010) — In reports of two new studies, researchers led by Johns Hopkins say they have identified the mechanisms rooted in two anatomical brain abnormalities that may explain the onset of schizophrenia and the reason symptoms don't develop until young adulthood. Both types of anatomical glitches are influenced by a gene known as DISC1, whose mutant form was first identified in a Scottish family with a strong history of schizophrenia and related mental disorders. The findings could lead to new ways to treat, prevent or modify the disorder or its symptoms.

full article can be found at this link

Fish oils 'beat mental illness'

Taking a daily fish oil capsule can stave off mental illness in those at highest risk, trial findings suggest.

A three-month course of the supplement appeared to be as effective as drugs, cutting the rate of psychotic illness like schizophrenia by a quarter.

The researchers believe it is the omega-3 in fish oil - already hailed for promoting healthy hearts - that has beneficial effects in the brain.

A "natural" remedy would be welcomed, Archives of General Psychiatry says.

"The finding that treatment with a natural substance may prevent, or at least delay, the onset of psychotic disorder gives hope that there may be alternatives to antipsychotic drugs," the study authors said.

“ If young people can be treated successfully with fish oils, this is hugely preferable to treating them with antipsychotics ”
Alison Cobb Mind

Antipsychotic drugs are potent and can have serious side effects, which puts some people off taking them.

Fish oil supplements, on the other hand, are generally well tolerated and easy to take, say the scientists.

The international team from Austria, Australia and Switzerland tested the treatment in 81 people deemed to be at particularly high risk of developing psychosis.

Natural choice

Their high risk was down to a strong family history of schizophrenia, or similar disorders, or them already showing mild symptoms of these conditions themselves.

For the test, half of the individuals took fish oil supplements (1.2 grams of omega-3 fatty acids) for 12 weeks, while the other half took only a dummy pill. Neither group knew which treatment they were receiving.

Dr Paul Amminger and his team followed the groups for a year to see how many, if any, went on to develop illness.

Two in the fish oil group developed a psychotic disorder compared to 11 in the placebo group.

Based on the results, the investigators estimate that one high-risk adult could be protected from developing psychosis for every four treated over a year.

They believe the omega-3 fatty acids found in the supplements may alter brain signalling in the brain with beneficial effects.

Alison Cobb, of the mental health charity Mind, said: "If young people can be treated successfully with fish oils, this is hugely preferable to treating them with antipsychotics, which come with a range of problems from weight gain to sexual dysfunction, whereas omega-3s are actually beneficial to their general state of health.

"These are promising results and more research is needed to show if omega-3s could be an alternative to antipsychotics in the long term."

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/health/8490937.stm

Published: 2010/02/02 00:02:02 GMT

© BBC MMX

Tough economy can take its toll on your health

The Dallas Morning News - September 07, 2009

Sep. 7--The longest recession since World War II has wreaked havoc on consumers' personal finances and thrown millions out of work.

The emotional upheaval from the sick economy also has resulted in physical ailments, such as headaches, backaches, neck aches and insomnia.

In other words, the economy can be bad for your health.

"We are seeing more people who are feeling overwhelmed," said Dr. Charles Herlihy, a psychiatrist and medical director at Texas Health Springwood Hospital. "It begins to take a toll on them emotionally, physically."

The margin for economic security is razor-thin these days, raising the stress level for many.

"Retirees are worried about having enough income to pay their bills. Some question if they can stay retired," said Lynn Lawrance, a certified financial planner at Financial Network Investment Corp. in Dallas.

"Many who are still employed are kicking like crazy to keep their head above water now, let alone worry about retirement," she added.

One of the worst scenarios is when people feel that they've lost control of their personal finances.

"They really spiral down into significant depression when they don't have control over their finances," said Dr. Art Mollen, an osteopathic family physician and author of Healthonomics: The Handbook for Balancing Your Physical & Financial Checkbooks.

"Once it affects mental function, it's going to affect their physical function," he said. "They may lose weight, they may gain weight, depending on how the depression is affecting them."

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine questioned 250 homeowners going through foreclosure in Philadelphia and found that 47 percent showed symptoms of depression, with 37 percent exhibiting signs of major depression.

The rate was especially high considering previous research showed that only about 12.8 percent of people living in poverty were depressed, the study found.

"Although the health status of homeowners has traditionally tended to be better than that of renters, the financial and emotional stress of foreclosure may undermine the potential benefits of homeownership," said the study, which will appear in the October edition of the American Journal of Public Health.

It's no surprise that the researchers found deep attachment to homes.

"There is a sense of hope when people buy their homes," said Craig Evan Pollack, an internist who recently completed a fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and is now an associate scientist at Rand Corp.

"The difference between those dreams and hopes and [the] reality that people are finding themselves in may be part of the stress that people are feeling, and a sense of sadness as well."

Losing control

Money and all its aspects are important symbols of success, power, dominance and accomplishment.

"Everyone likes to have a certain amount of control in their life, and all of a sudden when they're losing their home, they're losing their job, that affects their overall self-confidence," said Mollen, medical director and founder of the Mollen Clinic in Scottsdale, Ariz.

The first step in regaining control over your finances is acknowledging what you've lost, said Todd Mark, vice president of education at Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Greater Dallas.

"If you've got a financial crisis, what is the root cause?" he said. "Is it lack of income or has your income been steady? Is it an unplanned expense that you weren't prepared for?"

For example, if you got caught with an unexpected car repair bill, you can avoid that in the future by stashing away savings for emergencies.

Likewise, if your debt is out of control, stop charging on credit cards and start paying off that bill. If you're having trouble making payments, contact your creditors quickly and see if they will work with you.

Action plan

"You can only regain control once you analyze where you are, what your potential challenges are and develop an action plan of tackling those as a goal of moving forward positively," Mark said.

Make a brutally honest assessment of your finances and be patient.

"Say to yourself, 'It took me years to get into this debt, and it will take me years to get out of it,' " Mark said.

There are certain aspects of your finances you can't control.

"When stuff happens, what you do or don't do is critical," Lawrance said. "If you're passive, it's easy to feel that you have no control. If you become proactive and take charge of what you can, you'll feel like you still have some control."

Her remedy?

Take a piece of paper and draw a line down the middle. "In the first column, write what you can control or influence. In the other column, put what you can't control."

For example, you can't control the economy, but you can cut back your spending and do side jobs to increase your income.

"You may have to work longer hours," Lawrance said, but you should balance that with exercise, a healthy diet and plenty of sleep.

"Make sure you include items for your career, for your physical, financial and mental health and relationships," she said.