Hoarding is compulsive need to acquire and inability to discard items of no apparent value, to the points where one’s ability to function becomes impaired. The New Old Age blog in the New York Times takes a look at this compelling subject which inspired A&E’s TV show Hoarders

She was a retired college professor, living alone in a New York apartment that had become unmanageable. When she called Bergfeld’s Estate Clearance Service for help, Kristin Bergfeld had trouble entering the apartment; the professor had to move objects out of the way simply to open her front door.

Inside, Ms. Bergfeld found a familiar scene: a person overwhelmed by her possessions, many of them unused or useless. “You know those big plaid plastic bags people use for laundry?” she recalled. “About 100 of those, filled with teaching materials from the last 10 years. Clothing items she’d bought from catalogs, 10 of each in different colors with the price tags still on them. Lots and lots of bottles for recycling — maybe 30 large trash bags — that never made it out.”

The stuff was stacked three feet deep. In the bedroom, it reached the ceiling. The professor could no longer use her bed; she slept in a cleared space on her kitchen floor. “It’s a heart-breaker every time I see it,” Ms. Bergfeld said. “This is an intelligent, engaging person who was hugely embarrassed and ashamed.” link to read this article

Source: The New York Times

Daily micronutrient dose may combat mental illness

A University of Canterbury clinical psychologist has discovered compelling evidence that taking a micronutrient supplement may have big benefits for sufferers of some mental illness

Associate Professor Julia Rucklidge (Psychology) has just had an article published in the Journal of Attention Disorders on the effect of micronutrients on behaviour and mood in adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), which affects an estimated three to five per cent of adults.

The journal article is based on findings of an open-label trial (all participants know what treatment they are receiving) she conducted with 14 adults with both ADHD and severe mood dysregulatrion (SMD). Over eight weeks the participants ingested a 36-ingredient micronutrient formula that consisted of mainly vitamins, minerals and amino acids. The participants were taking no other medications.

Significant improvements were noted across informants (self, observer and clinician) in Professor Rucklidge’s trial on measures of inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity, mood, quality of life, anxiety and stress, all with medium to very large effect sizes. [continue reading…]

The presumption that children need both a mother and a father is widespread. It has been used by proponents of Proposition 8 to argue against same-sex marriage and to uphold a ban on same-sex adoption.

On the other end of the political spectrum, Barack Obama endorsed the vital role of fathers in a 2008 speech: “Of all the rocks upon which we build our lives, we are reminded today that family is the most important. And we are called to recognize and honor how critical every father is to that foundation.”

The lead article in the February issue of Journal of Marriage and Family challenges the idea that “fatherless” children are necessarily at a disadvantage or that men provide a different, indispensable set of parenting skills than women. [continue reading…]