Free Republic

the [55 minute but all worth it]follow up documentary to Plugged In

Capt. Susan Carlson was not a typical recruit when she volunteered for the Army in 2006 at the age of 50. But the Army desperately needed behavioral health professionals like her, so it signed her up. Captain Carlson went to Afghanistan in 2011, seeking “to experience what soldiers experience.” Though she was, by her own account, “not a strong soldier,” she received excellent job reviews at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., where she counseled prisoners. But last year, Captain Carlson, a social worker, was deployed to Afghanistan with the Colorado National Guard and everything fell apart. After a soldier complained that she...

Almost one in five young American adults has a personality disorder that interferes with everyday life, and even more abuse alcohol or drugs, researchers reported Monday in the most extensive study of its kind. The disorders include problems such as obsessive or compulsive tendencies and anti-social behavior that can sometimes lead to violence. The study also found that fewer than 25 percent of college-aged Americans with mental problems get treatment. One expert said personality disorders may be overdiagnosed. But others said the results were not surprising since previous, less rigorous evidence has suggested mental problems are common on college campuses...

THE release last week of a government-sponsored survey, the most comprehensive to date, suggests that more than half of Americans will develop a mental disorder in their lives. The study was the third, beginning in 1984, to suggest a significant increase in mental illness since the middle of the 20th century, when estimates of lifetime prevalence ranged closer 20 or 30 percent. But what does it mean when more than half of a society may suffer "mental illness"? Is it an indictment of modern life or a sign of greater willingness to deal openly with a once-taboo subject? Or is...

Shopaholism: Human weakness or mental disease? Experts say over-consumption is on the rise. NEW YORK (Money magazine) - Marie LaTortue loves shopping the way Michael Jackson loves plastic surgery: truly, madly, deeply. Every few months, Marie goes on a binge, hitting the malls in a state of giddy determination, dropping hundreds of bucks on clothes and shoes she knows she'll never wear. "The adrenaline just starts pumping," the Fort Lauderdale hairdresser says. "When I see a blouse I like, I have to get every single color. I just have to." The two dozen bags of clothes in her bedroom (most...