 Tele-medicine is the provision of health care remotely through the use of technology. Telehealth psychiatry is a method to provide a range of services including:
Although it uses video-based electronics, telehealth psychiatry involves direct care between the psychiatrist and patient. Telehealth is a live interactive method for a doctor to provide needed mental health service to remote patients. It can also be used to transmit medical information to other consultants. Benefits of Telehealth Psychiatry
Telehealth psychiatry provides a needed service in what might otherwise be an underserved area due to access or safety concerns. It is a cost effective method to offer aid to patients in privacy. The psychiatrist must be licensed in the states they are working, and can only provide care for patients in those states. It is used in a number of different settings:
Experts estimate that 1/8 emergency room visits require a psychiatric intervention. Electronic Psychiatry visits can help evaluate the patient and offer treatment options. Nursing homes and long-term care facilities use telehealth psychiatry appointments to provide mental health treatment without compromising accessibility. Those in jail and prison can now also receive valuable psychiatric treatments for ongoing mental issues. For the ordinary individual, they will schedule an appointment for a video appointment. However, it is suggested that, if at all possible, the patient should be prepared for an in-person appointment. The individual should have all relevant information, medical records, medications, and other materials readily accessible. Research is showing that telehealth psychiatry visits are equivalent to in-person appointments. Diagnoses are just as accurate, treatments are as effective, and patients show a high degree of satisfaction. Privacy and confidentiality are still maintained to standards or greater. For people with severe anxiety disorders or those with mobility issues, remote treatments have proven highly beneficial. When considering a telehealth psychiatry appointment, it is important to find a secure place for your appointment. The psychiatric team will be responsible for their location. Be sure to verify the software works and you have a working internet connection. While many devices and operating systems offer secure software, not all do.
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 How often has mom told us “eat a little something and you will feel better”? Think about it...your brain never stops working. All day and all night, your brain keeps your bodily functions operating. Using all that energy requires constant fuel. What you eat directly affects your bodily functions, including the brain. So the better you eat, the better your brain will work. Conversely, when you overeat, or consume junk food, or otherwise skimp on nutrition, you are prone to sadness and anxiety. This is the basic principle of nutritional psychiatry. Today's research is showing a correlation between good nutrition and the reduction of free radicals, inflammatory cells, the kinds of bacteria that live in the intestinal tract, as well as how you feel, and behave. Eating highly refined sugars is now linked to impaired brain function and the aggravation of mood disorders like depression. Nutritious foods with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants protects the brain from oxidative stress or free radicals produced as the body oxygenates. Serotonin is a substance, a neurotransmitter, that regulates sleep, appetite, evens out moods, and reduces pain. The vast majority of serotonin is produced in the gastrointestinal organs. So there is a direct connection between the transmitters in the gut and the serotonin that keeps our lives on track. As proper nutrition is processed by the body, it helps regulate our moods as well. Studies have found that the risk of depression is lowered by 25% to 35% in persons who follow a Mediterranean or Japanese diet. These eating plans are high in vegetables, fruits, unprocessed grains, and fish and low in meats and dairy. They also shun processed and refined sugars and other foods. A food diary is an easy way to see if it works. Try one of these diet plans and after about a week start keeping a record of what you ate through the day and then how you felt the next day. Continue this for another week and see if there is a change in your mental attitude. This is also a way that you can find trigger foods by reintroducing them into your eating plan and then tracking how your emotions are affected. Also note if you have increased or decreased energy and sleep patterns. Nutritional psychiatry is applying these studies to patients who suffer from various forms of mental illness especially anxiety and depression. It appears to be an effective method to reduce or eliminate medications that can have other side effects that adversely affect some people. Combining healthy eating with approved psychiatric counseling sessions is one of the non-invasive techniques that can greatly improve lives. A 2020 study has revealed that anti-inflammatory fats like Omega-3 are connected to a lower risk of depression. This study found that women who consumed fish twice per week had a 25% lower risk of depression as compared to those women who ate fish less than twice per week. Higher risk of depression was found in people who failed to get enough magnesium (beans, lentils, peas, avocado, nuts, whole grains, and dark chocolate). The same was found in those who were deficient in zinc (oysters, pumpkin seeds, cashews).  Stress is emotional strain that is a result of difficult or adverse circumstances. It is an emotional response, but it can have physical symptoms as well. Some of the physical symptoms include:
The emotional symptoms include:
Situations that cause concern are called stressors. Stressors can be external like relationship issues or financial problems, but stressors are also internal like pessimism, what-if thoughts, or poor self-esteem related. Stress is basically our perception of something difficult to deal with. Stressors are somewhat individualized. For instance, some people find gazing off a mountain top to be beautiful and peaceful while others are terrified of the height involved. Common external stressors are:
Internal issues include:
Ideally, we identify stress and utilize coping skills before it negatively impacts our life. If anxiety continues to be a problem and leads to dysfunction, it is time to meet with a psychiatrist. Here are some indicators of dysfunction that show anxiety becoming unmanageable:
Coping Skills Once stress begins impacting your life, it is time to get serious about learning coping skills. When basic coping skills don't work, it is time to meet with a counselor to learn more advanced skills. Here are some basic skills to practice:
 In the clinical world of mental health, a sociopath and a psychopath are each classified as someone with antisocial personality disorder (ASPD). These are individuals who cannot understand others' feelings. In general, they have no guilt for doing harm. They may be charming. The terms sociopath and psychopath are often debated in academic circles, and many consider them to be the same thing. Others apply small differences to the conditions. Shared behavior between sociopaths and psychopaths are:
Being selfish, acting out, or acting rebelliously are not, in themselves, cause for a diagnosis of ASPD. However, if the symptoms are ongoing and are not altered by punishment or changes in lifestyle, the outcome is often different. People with ASPD rarely if ever feel bad about what they are doing or how they are treating others. Sociopaths are generally nervous and can burst into anger easily. They have few acquaintances and probably few to no friendships because they have difficulty maintaining relationships. As a rule, they are less educated and frequently live on the fringes of society. Crimes they commit are generally spontaneous. Psychopaths are very charming people and find it easy to manipulate others. Because they are so charismatic, they seem disarming. They are usually well educated and hold steady jobs. While they do not form relationships, they learn how to imitate emotions. They appear normal. For this reason it can be difficult for a victim to realize they have been targeted. Their crimes are very well planned and executed and plan for contingencies. Psychiatric diagnoses usually center on the “nature versus nurture” theory. Psychopaths are genetically predisposed to their behavior, while sociopaths are developed from childhood trauma or abuse. To be diagnosed with ASPD, an individual over 18 must clearly demonstrate at least three of the following behaviors.
Other indicators can be:
Both psychopaths and sociopaths are a risk to society and a danger to others in many cases. Violence is not a required element for a diagnosis of ASPD but it is often found as a trait in those who have been so diagnosed. Because of their ability to dissociate from others and lack of remorse, psychopaths are typically the more dangerous of the two. Many convicted serial killers have been diagnosed as psychopaths. Not everyone who has an antisocial personality disorder is a psychopath or a sociopath. It is estimated that as much as 3% of the population has ASPD. It is more common in males, those with substance abuse, and in prisons.  |
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