Mental Health Cover

Once again the issue of media reporting of youth suicide has raised its head. Upsetting reports of a B.C. teenager’s suicide have flourished throughout the media. Details regarding the persons actions, method of suicide and other intense details have been revealed and given this teen a prolific profile in the media. The death has certainly taken the country by storm and opened public’s eyes to bullying and teenage suicide. But, some worry that these reports and continuous updates will affect youth in similar situations and could result in copy-cats. Over the past week, I had the opportunity to touch on this subject where I discussed ways the media can report these tragedies responsibly and provide the public with useful information.   Click here to view an article from the Chronicle Herald. These sensational reports of youth suicide seem to be increasing throughout Canadian media. Evidence shows that this type of reporting is linked to increased rates of suicide, especially in youn...

Recently, sensationalized reports of health problems associated with the use of some medications used to treat ADHD have appeared in the media.  Check out some of the stories here: The Spec Digital Journal Metro News It can be frightening to read about incidents of severe adverse effects to medication, but it's important to keep a critical perspective when reading about these sensational stories. Do medical treatments have risks?  Absolutely!  Every treatment does.  What must happen when a treatment is prescribed is that the patient, parent and health provider must agree that the benefit is likely to be greater than the risk.  For some treatments, risks can range from mild to severe, or either common or uncommon.  For example, the risk of a heart attack may be 1/10,000 as a side effect of that medication, while the risk of a stomach ache may be 1/100 or a headache 1/10.  Compare that to the risk of dying by being struck by lightning (1/7...