Free Republic

Over the last three decades, the abortion debate has been characterized as the clashing of rights: the human rights of the unborn on the one hand and the reproductive rights of women on the other. This decades-long rhetorical deadlock has left a good number of Americans—the great majority of whom understand that an individual human life is taken in each abortion— personally opposed, yet unwilling to "impose their beliefs" on anyone else. The popularity of this so-called pro-choice position is due, in large measure, to the success abortion advocates have had in convincing Americans that abortion is a necessary precondition...

WASHINGTON, D.C., FEB. 27, 2005 (Zenit.org).- Less time with Mom and Dad has contributed to more problems for more kids over the last few decades. So says Mary Eberstadt, a part-time research fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution and author of "Home-Alone America: The Hidden Toll of Day Care, Behavioral Drugs, and Other Parent Substitutes" (Penguin). Eberstadt shared with ZENIT how this separation of children and their parents is producing unforeseen negative consequences. Q: If children are better off materially than ever before, why are they beset by so many troubles such as psychiatric problems, obesity and sexually transmitted diseases?...

Among famous inventors, Leo H. Sternbach may not immediately leap to mind. But this May in Akron, Ohio, Dr. Sternbach, who is 96, will be inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. He holds more than 240 patents, but perhaps his most famous invention, in collaboration with colleagues, is a chemical compound called diazepam, better known by its brand name, Valium. One of the earliest benzodiazepines, Valium was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 1963 as a treatment for anxiety, and it would become not only the country's best-selling drug, but an American cultural icon. Referred to...

Fouroboros | Outsourcing: Corporate Anorexia in a Land of Plenty 11-12-2004 UPDATE: More Links to outsourcing-related posts at bottom There are a pair of terms we've come to use in our company, terms my partners and I arrived at after seeing management and employee, company and consumer get at ridiculous cross-purposes to each other: Insulated Deciders. Isolated Deliverers. Salon: [get the day-pass, it's free.]"The biggest fear people have isn't terrorists," says Don Pellow, a full-bearded, burly former president of the main United Auto Workers union local at the Electrolux plant. "The terror is that they won't have medical care, not...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 - The nation's hard-pressed health care system for veterans is facing a potential deluge of tens of thousands of soldiers returning from Iraq with serious mental health problems brought on by the stress and carnage of war, veterans' advocates and military doctors say. An Army study shows that about one in six soldiers in Iraq report symptoms of major depression, serious anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder, a proportion that some experts believe could eventually climb to one in three, the rate ultimately found in Vietnam veterans. Because about one million American troops have served so far in...

LONDON, December 2, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A study published in the current issue of the British Journal of Psychiatry has revealed that 43% of gays, lesbians and bisexuals have a mental disorder. The study carried out by the Imperial College in London surveyed 1285 respondents from these groups. Mental problems included anxiety, sleep disturbance, panic attacks, depressive moods or thoughts, problems with memory or concentration and compulsive behaviour or obsessive thoughts. The researchers noted that there is a dearth of research into the mental health of gay men, lesbians and bisexual men and women in the UK. The study found...

Insanity and terrorism New insights show terrorists are young, with little education or money. And many suffer from mental illness Stewart Bell National Post March 27, 2004 The terrorists who blew up four packed commuter trains in Madrid on the morning of March 11 must have marvelled at their success. With 10 bombs, triggered with cellphones, they killed about 190 people and injured another 1,750. But how could they do it? What kind of person can coldly plan a terrorist attack, knowing it will result in the murder of hundreds of fellow human beings? What kind of person can condemn...

<p>For 25 years, a difficult-neighbor problem plagued Curtis and Elaine Colvin of Seattle. The neighbor's home and lawn resembled a junkyard. Finally, last spring, the elderly man was taken out of state by relatives.</p> <p>Konstantinos Apostolou bought the house — and sent in five men to clear the floor-to-ceiling junk. "It was the most disgusting thing I've ever seen in my life," says his son, George Apostolou. There was nowhere to walk, except for a narrow "goat path" connecting the rooms. The men hauled out seven Dumpsters' worth of clothes, books, magazines, spoiled food, firewood, car parts, tires, bank statements and 50-year-old tax records. "I feel bad for the guy," says Apostolou. "I'm sure he was ill."</p>

This morning Steve Doocey of Fox and Friends interviewed Howard Dean, and asked him a question about the "Panic attacks" that Dean experienced when he learned that he was to become the Governor of Vermont. Howie flatly denied it as false. When I investigated this I did learn that the term "Panic attack" was verbage that Carl Limbacher had inserted into the story, however, I found this an interesting study in the way People magazine cleaned up all the references to Howie's anxiety problems and the counseling he received, which he did admit in the transcript of the interview on...

Democratic presidential front-runner Howard Dean denied that he ever suffered from "panic attacks" during a Monday morning interview with Fox News Channel's "Fox & Friends," insisting that neither he nor a reporter who recently interviewed him had used that term to describe an episode where he hyperventilated upon taking office as Vermont governor in 1991. Citing a recent interview he gave to People magazine, Dean complained to "Fox & Friends" host Steve Doocy, "I think if you read People magazine it says no such thing. The quote that you just read, it didn't say anything about a panic attack." People's...

Democratic presidential front-runner Howard Dean offered more details this week on psychological counseling he underwent for anxiety attacks suffered in the 1980s - and revealed that he had a panic attack the day he took over as governor of Vermont 13 years ago. Reacting to news of Gov. Richard Snelling's death in August 1991, Dean told People magazine, "I hyperventilated and I started hyperventilating and I thought, You better stop that or you won't be much good to anybody." The panic attack was understandable, Dean said. "To suddenly get told that you have responsibility for 600,000 people — it provokes...

Democratic presidential front-runner Howard Dean offered more details this week on psychological counseling he underwent for anxiety attacks suffered in the 1980's - and revealed that he had a panic attack the day he took over as governor of Vermont 13 years ago. Reacting to news of Gov. Richard Snelling's death in August 1991, Dean told People Magazine, "I hyperventilated and I started hyperventilating and I thought, You better stop that or you won't be much good to anybody," The panic attack was understandable, Dean said. "To suddenly get told that you have responsibility for 600,000 people — it provokes...

How could a psychiatrist in practice for 27 years fail to recognize an anxiety attack? I was interviewing a new patient when the first surge of adrenaline hit, but I couldn't identify the sensation. The patient continued talking about her lifelong struggle with depression. I broke into a sweat and wondered whether I was having a hot flash. I glanced at the clock -- 20 minutes to go. As I summarized the pros and cons of various antidepressants, my voice trembled. Did the patient notice? I felt as if I were disintegrating. I reached for a prescription pad, trying to...

Stressors of the season Experts recommend exercise, rest and relaxation to keep holiday headaches at bay By Michelle Dynes rep2@wyomingnews.com Published in the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle CHEYENNE - While Christmas brings to mind nativity scenes, Santa Claus and mistletoe, other people may be thinking of family fights and January bills. The holidays can cause headaches, mostly stemming from added stress. Stressors are defined as anything that causes stress, but these can be positive or negative. Negative stressors around the holidays could be family arguments or money worries. But even things people normally enjoy can cause stress, such as visiting friends or...

Camus as Conservative: A post 9/11 reassessment of the work of Albert Camus Murray Soupcoff The Guardian -- that last fanatical bastion of English left-wing obstinacy and foolishness -- published a unique book review honouring the latest Penguin edition of The Plague, the enduring fictional allegory of human suffering and sacrifice, written by French existentialist novelist Albert Camus. It was particularly surprising that The Guardian, of all publications, would publish what was really a revised introduction to the latest English-language edition of The Plague, since Camus' unique philosophical and political point of view was always so different from that of...

Too much coffee can induce aggression and paranoia By Roger Dobson 26 October 2003 People who drink too much coffee are at risk of caffeine psychosis, according to a new report. It found that too much caffeine can lead to marked changes in personality and make drinkers more aggressive, anxious and temperamental. "Caffeinism" puts sufferers at further risk of anxiety neurosis, irregular heart beats, insomnia, muscle twitches, and nervous irritability. The warning comes a week after Tony Blair suffered an irregular heart beat, which he reportedly blamed on too much strong continental coffee at the European Union summit in Brussels....

The United States of Anxiety: survey reveals a jittery nation overcome with self-doubt By David Usborne in New York 09 September 2003 It is two years this week since the terror attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon. A repeat of those awful incidents has so far not materialised and George Bush is crowing that the Taliban in Afghanistan and Saddam Hussein in Iraq have been removed from power. Have Americans regained their old optimism, therefore? Hardly. That is the overall conclusion of a new survey released by Euro RSCG Worldwide, an international advertising group. The survey and...

David Clark, who has weathered disabling panic attacks and severe depression, will help prosecute a half dozen murder and capital murder cases involving 18 defendants in Madison and Rankin counties when he takes over the district attorney's office in January. Bringing criminals to justice can be a challenge. For Clark, proving he can do so may be a bigger one. Clark, 59, who defeated incumbent Rick Mitchell with 52 percent of the vote in the Aug. 5 primary, is under a doctor's care for diabetes, high blood pressure and severe depression. He takes three medications and two shots daily to...

Web surfing could get 'disorder' classification P. Douglas Filaroski Excessive Internet use that harms personal relationships or affects work performance could be classified as a new psychiatric disorder that could effect businesses, researchers at University of Florida said. In the journal "Depression and Anxiety," UF psychiatrists propose criteria for establishing a disorder marked by extreme Web surfing, e-mailing or other online time. In separate studies, researchers found people who spent more than 30 hours a week online, divorced from spouses and fired from jobs as a result of distractions. Diagnosis and treatment could have implications for individuals and also for...

In the US, researchers have discovered that people who spend more than 30 hours a week online, were getting divorced from spouses and were fired from jobs as a result of distractions. The researchers suggest that excessive Internet use that harms personal relationships or affects work performance could be classified as a new psychiatric disorder. In the journal "Depression and Anxiety," University of Florida psychiatrists propose criteria for establishing a disorder marked by extreme Web surfing, e-mailing or other online time. In the publication "Current Psychiatry," UF researchers presented five points to help practitioners understand patients' Internet use. They correspond...