the study and treatment of mental illness, emotional disturbance, and abnormal behavior.
Questions tagged [psychiatry]
42 questions
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Is ignoring a bully an effective means to prevent bullying?
It's a common belief among people such as teachers and parents or other carers/guardians that a good way to prevent being bullied is to simply ignore the aggressor, as that apparently gives them no sort of entertainment to suck out. No matter who…
user28632
25
votes
1 answer
Is there any scientific basis for Seasonal Affected Disorder (SAD)?
I've heard a lot of people claiming they they have a disorder called Seasonal Affected Disorder.
Is there any research that indicates this is an actual mental disorder?
morganpdx
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Does too much study cause mental illness?
I've often heard that students (science/math Ph.D. candidates, in particular) who study too diligently and for long periods over longer spells develop mental health problems like depression, anxiety, agoraphobia, etc. That students should "take a…
user3291
18
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3 answers
Is sleep training a form of neglect or harmful?
Some people claim that "crying it out" is harmful. For example, the article on PhD Parenting states that crying it out is harmful to a child. I've heard others suggest that it's neglectful. I expect many of these references are to the Ferber method…
Brian M. Hunt
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Are 10% of mental health problems caused by abortion?
A recent meta review (mentioned in some articles in the media, e.g. The Telegraph or CBS News) examining the association between abortion and mental health problems "Abortion and mental health: quantitative synthesis and analysis of research…
Mad Scientist
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Has mental health deteriorated 1000-fold since 1850?
In the standard “things are worse now than ever before” polemic, it's claimed that rates of mental illness are higher now than ever – usually without any proof, and usually alongside known-false claims such as people now being more violent or less…
Chel
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Are antipsychotic drugs vastly overused in the US?
A recent opinion piece in Al Jazeera titled "Mass psychosis in the US" claims that antipsychotic drugs are overused in the US, mostly due to the influence of "Big Pharma" which is pushing new atypical antipsychotics.
Has America become a nation of…
Mad Scientist
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Are there laboratory tests for mental disorders?
So, as usual, another one of our friends on Facebook has decided to link to something "denouncing the evils of the modern medical establishment", claiming that (among other things) there are no lab tests for mental disorders (presumably because…
Clockwork-Muse
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Is there a correlation between mass-murder and use of psychoactive prescription drugs such as SSRIs?
It seems to be a commonly-held belief that there is a strong correlation between the use of prescription drugs such as SSRIs and mass-shooters. For instance, this claim:
Every mass shooting over last 20 years has one thing in common... and it's not…
Larry OBrien
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13
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Does sleeping an average of 11 hours or more raise one's risk of brain-related disorders?
I am familiar with the effects of sleep deprivation and some of the harmful effects of oversleeping. However, I have also heard more than once that sleeping more than 10 hours on average, even for a non-sedentary person, can lower overall brain…
EuropaDust
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Can split personalities have different physical traits?
It is sometimes claimed that the multiple personalities of a person with dissociative identity disorder may not only display different character, behaviour, and movement types, but even show different functionings of the body. Quoting,
One example…
Saibot
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Are people with depression more likely to commit murder?
Are people with depression more likely to commit murder than people without depression?
In Claims about Andreas Lubitz's mental health only serve to stigmatise depression, Pete Etchells writes
Depression does not make you want to kill people
I…
Andrew Grimm
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Can mental state affect eye-color?
I have heard see this sketchy reference that people with Multiple Personality Disorder, or other mental disorders, have different physical features when having different personalities. For example, their eye color will change.
Is it true that…
Napoleonothecake
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Do Russians get depressed the same way Americans do?
In 2010, The Wired wrote an article called "Why Russians Don't Get Depressed", describing a paper in Psychological Science.
Others, such as The Atlantic and Reuters, wrote about the study as well.
The article made many bold observations, such…
user17561
9
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2 answers
Is depression caused by chemical imbalances?
According to this recent Quartz article:
The theory that [depression is] caused by chemical imbalances is false.
And:
[Chemical imbalance as the cause of depression] was once a tentatively-posed hypothesis in the sciences, but no evidence for it…
Larry OBrien
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