Dr. Henry Paul, MD

Psychiatrist, Author and Educator

Tag Archives: child psychiatrist NY

ABOUT THAT PILOT

April 7th, 2015

Most of the news coverage of the recent airplane crash has described the co-pilot, Andreas Lubitz, as a depressed person; one with suicidal tendencies who had recently researched suicide and cockpit security on his computer. He apparently sought medical help for an undisclosed mental health issue. It is also suggested by the news media and law enforcement that the co-pilot might have been on medication recently for a mental health issue.

25869324_sAlthough suicide does happen more frequently in the depressed population, we should remember that it is not that common, and violence is rare. To understand this co-pilot you have to go beyond the criteria for diagnosing the usual major depressive episode and consider that some people become so depressed that they develop psychotic depression sometimes with delusions. Delusions can convert a person’s perception of the world so dramatically that it becomes a very bad place, even a place that one should leave. Sometimes taking others with you is not perceived as a murderous act but as one of saving them from suffering in such a terrible world. On occasion, you will see this in suicide notes left by parents who kill their children and then commit suicide so that everyone is “safe and together” in a better place. As bizarre as all this might sound it might explain what happened in this horrendously destructive act and decrease our perplexity to a degree.

It would not be the first time that the mental health of a pilot has been called into question. Alpo Vuorio, MD, PhD, an aviation specialist in occupational medicine at the Mehiläinen Airport Health Centre in Finland, led a study in 2014 that had researchers looking at the last 20 years of data for “aircraft assisted suicide”. What they discovered was reported in the Journal of Aviation, Space and Environmental Medicine. The study found that from 1993-2012, 24 of 7,244 plane crashes were thought to be deliberately caused by a pilot.

In TIME magazine last month, Vuorio said in response to the study, “I really wish that we had some kind of deeper thinking about this issue, because it’s one of the most difficult in aviation medicine.”

Screening pilots and cabin crew of commercial airlines for mental health issues is tricky. I just wrote last week about the fear of disclosing a mental illness to your employer. In this particular case, declaring that you have a mental illness, however temporary, could be a career-ender for a pilot. Disclosing your disorder to your employer raises questions not only about pilots disclosing their mental health issues but also how do you treat them and what is the criteria for deciding if they are capable of flying. Many people in many high-profile professions work while being treated for their mental illness. There certainly is a lot to consider here. The good thing is that the dialogue has started, and the discussion needs to include all professions and not just airline pilots. So let’s remember, this case of possible depression should not warrant any great worry that suicide and homicide are frequent outcomes of this disorder. The majority of depressed people can receive treatment and recover without tragedy.

Disclaimer
This blog is intended for educational purposes only. It is not intended as medical or psychiatric advice for individual conditions or treatment and does not substitute for a medical or psychiatric examination. A psychiatrist must make a determination about any treatment or prescription. Dr. Paul does not assume any responsibility or risk for the use of any information contained within this blog.

HAVE THE LIMITS FINALLY BEEN PUSHED WITH “SLENDER MAN”?

June 6th, 2014

Teenagers today are faced with a far wider range of media influences, subcultures, and social choices than ever before. That is why the news that two 12-year old teenage girls lured another 12-year old girl into a game of hide-n-seek that almost turned deadly is so shocking. Just the bizarre nature of the attack has stunned parents and families across the country. And who is this Internet meme “Slender Man” anyway?

As a child psychiatrist, who has treated children, teens and young adults for more than 30 years, this is truly an unsettling story. Slender Man is featured on the Creepypasta Wiki website. A website that compiles tales of fictional horror, where much of the fascination with Slender Man is rooted in the overall mystery of him and his purpose – that remains unknown. He is known to kidnap children, and they are never found.

Apparently, according to a news report by NBC affiliate WGBA in Green Bay, WI., one of the attackers told law enforcement that they wanted to” become “proxies” of the faceless character, and would have to prove their dedication with killing. They planned to take their victim’s body to a part of Nicolet National Forest in Wisconsin’s north woods, where Slender Man supposedly lives.”

So what happened here? How could two young girls do something like this? Unlike the “good ole days” when news was disseminated by media outlets today it pours out on hundreds of channels and countless websites. Children are thus exposed to an enormous amount of gore, disaster, and sexually charged and other possibly trauma-inducing topics and themes. Music videos (not to mention the lyrics) depict graphic sex and violence as if it were completely normal and desirable, and many radio shows and Internet websites seem obsessed with different forms of violence and cult followings. For many adults, we turn this stuff off, but for children and young adults they aren’t always so quick to do so. This has a confusing and deeply disturbing impact on youngsters.

For many years, there has been debate over the effect of media on childhood development. The tide has been changing to considering that exposure to media violence is a negative phenomenon. Of course, there would only be a very small minority of children who would ingest such material and act it out as these girls have, but never the less we have to know what our kids are exposed to. It seems like these girls were overly vulnerable to the effects of what they saw and their immaturity might have been a factor. But also in general there are types of developmentally fragile young people who should be sheltered from such material. The degree of being able to separate fantasy from reality varies from one child to another. As young people get older, we expect that the degree of impressibility decreases, but not for all children. So we must know our children and know what they watch and listen to and not be shy about limiting exposure.

DISCLAIMER
Information contained in this blog is intended for educational purposes only. It is not intended as medical or psychiatric advice for individual conditions or treatment and does not substitute for a medical or psychiatric examination. A psychiatrist must make a determination about any treatment or prescription. Dr. Paul does not assume any responsibility or risk for the use of any information contained within this blog.