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People receiving treatment for severe acne may be at higher risk of attempting suicide, but that is probably caused by depression linked to the condition and not the drug, a new study says.

Swedish researchers at the Karolinska Institute studied data from nearly 6,000 people who were prescribed the drug isotretinoin between 1980 and 1989. Isotretinoin is sold under names including Accutane, Roaccutane, Clarus, Decutan and others. The medication has been commonly prescribed to treat serious acne since the 1980s.

The scientists said it was more probable that mental health problems linked to patients’ severe acne explained the higher suicide risk rather than the drug treatment. They suspected patients whose acne improved after treatment might still be depressed if there were no major improvements in their social lives.

Depression can seriously impact your life. Symptoms include feelings of guilt, thoughts of death or suicide, restlessness, trouble concentrating or making decisions, fatigue, lack of energy and changes in weight or sleep patterns. Additional symptoms may include pain, irritability and anxiety. Current American Psychiatric Association guidelines state that adults experiencing at least five of the symptoms of depression for two consecutive weeks should talk to a health care professional.

Participants in a workout program at Atlas CrossFit Chicago say that the variety of challenging exercises helps keep them motivated.
(Photograph by Amber Lindke and Kelly Doherty/Medill.)

“Without exercise, I’d be taking an extra handful of pills or I’d still be sick,” said Kevin, a Chicago-area salesman who has dealt with depression for more than half of his life.

Kevin, 42, who asked that his last name be withheld, is among the approximately 15 million adults suffering from depression in the United States.

Researchers have known about the link between exercise and an improvement in mental health for years, but they have recently acknowledged its effectiveness as a part of a larger treatment plan in the field of mental health.

Beverly Gillis, a 66-year-old Glenview resident, described the process of looking for a job as “extremely draining,” something that often makes her feel like “less of a human being.”

A former office manager who left her last job for health reasons, she has been looking for employment since August to help pay her medical and living costs. Hundreds of resumes later, she’s worn down financially and emotionally.

“It gets to you,” she said. “How can it not?”

The word “bully” may conjure up images of a 9-year-old punk shaking down a 7-year-old for lunch money. But teenagers experience bullying too, and research shows it can be a red flag for depression and suicidal behavior.

That’s true whether teens are doing the bullying, or are victims of it.

“If you are vulnerable and being bullied, it can be the straw that breaks the camel’s back,” said Madelyn S. Gold, a professor of psychiatry and public health at Columbia University and the New York State Psychiatric Institute who has studied bullying.

Recent upswing has mental health providers looking to wash away the stigma

Carly Petersen knows the stigma attached to mental illness and suicide, and she knows the only way to erase the stigma is to talk about it.

The Valparaiso resident has wrestled with a host of emotions since losing her daughter Kelsey to suicide two years ago. Kelsey, who was 15 and suffered from a dissociative disorder, was embarrassed by her illness, her mother said.

Now Petersen has begun speaking out to break the silence around suicide. She is co-organizer of the Out of the Darkness Community Walk in September to raise funds for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

Can you really be bored to death?

In a commentary to be published in the International Journal of Epidemiology in April, experts say there’s a possibility that the more bored you are, the more likely you are to die early.

Annie Britton and Martin Shipley of University College London caution that boredom alone isn’t likely to kill you—but it could be a symptom of other risky behavior like drinking, smoking, taking drugs or having a psychological problem.

Economic development tax tapped for initiative in Valparaiso

Sixth-grade students at Thomas Jefferson Middle School sit in a circle Monday as Porter-Starke therapist Natalie Muskin-Press, top center, introduces them to the Life Skills Program. The program is part of a city-wide initiative to curb chemical dependency at an earlier age. (Photograph courtesy of Jon L. Hendricks/The Times.)

Helping early teens stay away from dangerous substances and make healthy life choices is the focus of a new program kicked off Monday at Thomas Jefferson Middle School.

Natalie Muskin-Press, a chemical dependency and addiction therapist with Porter-Starke Services, had sixth-grade students trace their hands, then jot down positive words to describe themselves along each finger.

In the palm, students then listed two or three things about themselves they’d like to improve.

In an Oct. 11, 2000 file photo Yale University students and others spend a fall afternoon on Yale University's Cross Campus in New Haven, Conn. In the background is the Sterling Memorial Library, the main library for the university. A new study has found that five times as many high school and college students are dealing with anxiety and other mental health issues than youth of the same age who were studied in the Great Depression era.
(AP Photo/Bob Child/file)

A new study has found that five times as many high school and college students are dealing with anxiety and other mental health issues as youth of the same age who were studied in the Great Depression era.

The findings, culled from responses to a popular psychological questionnaire used as far back as 1938, confirm what counselors on campuses nationwide have long suspected as more students struggle with the stresses of school and life in general.

“It’s another piece of the puzzle—that yes, this does seem to be a problem, that there are more young people who report anxiety and depression,” says Jean Twenge, a San Diego State University psychology professor and the study’s lead author. “The next question is: What do we do about it?”

Northwest Indiana sees four unrelated cases this week

Four unrelated suicides this month in Northwest Indiana should remind region residents to be aware of signs that a co-worker, friend or family member might be dangerously distraught, a local psychiatrist said last Friday.

The incidents came one after another:

• A 33-year-old Merrillville man leapt from a 73rd Street overpass Monday, December 14, onto Interstate 65, killing himself.

• A 12-year-old Gary boy reported missing that afternoon was found dead two days later near his family’s Colfax Avenue home from what the Lake County coroner ruled a self-inflicted gunshot wound.