Depression in Women with Migraine Linked to Childhood Abuse

... "This study confirms adverse experiences, particularly childhood abuse, predispose women to health problems later in life, possibly by altering neurobiological systems," said study author Gretchen Tietjen, MD, with the University of Toledo-Health Science Campus and a member of the American Academy of Neurology. "...

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Recovered Memories

".. traumatized individuals respond by using a variety of psychological mechanisms. One of the most common means of dealing with the pain is to try and push it out of awareness. Some label the phenomenon of the process whereby the mind avoids conscious acknowledgment of traumatic experiences as dissociative amnesia. Others use terms such as repression, dissociative state, traumatic amnesia, psychogenic shock, or motivated forgetting. Semantics aside, there is near-universal scientific acceptance of the fact that the mind is capable of avoiding conscious recall of traumatic experiences.[12] A body of empirical evidence indicates that it is common for abused children to reach adulthood without conscious awareness of the trauma .. "

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Abuse Victims Have Long Term Bad Health

" .. New research shows that abuse victims feel the impact of violence long after it occurred. A recent study in the Journal of Women's Health found that older African-American women who were exposed to high levels of family violence at some point in their lifetimes -- whether by a partner or family member -- are at a greater risk of poor mental and physical health status.
"Not just ongoing violence, which everybody thinks about, but even when it's over, there's something about what happens that seems to have a lingering effect that we don't quite understand yet," said Dr. Anuradha Paranjape, co-author of the study and associate professor at Temple University School of Medicine.
It makes sense that abused women would report worse health, given that people in stressful situations have higher levels of stress hormones, which interfere with immune function, Crawford said.
Other studies show a clear connection between depression and abuse. Adult women who have been abused in a relationship in the past five years have rates of depression 2½ times greater than women who have never been abused, according to a different study of more than 3,000 women. They are also more likely to be socially isolated, said author Amy Bonomi, associate professor at The Ohio State University .. "

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Columbia Univ Survey for Women Survivors of CSA

You are invited to participate in an online survey that investigates the benefits and costs of talking to a therapist about the sexual abuse you experienced in childhood. This information will be used to help clinicians be more effective in treating survivors of sexual abuse, as it will allow them to better understand the experience of survivors.This research is being conducted at Teachers College, Columbia University. All responses will be anonymous. The survey takes about 15-20 minutes to complete. Upon completion, you will be entered into a raffle for a chance to win $100.

Eligibility Criteria:

• Must be 18 years of age or older

• Must be female

• Must have experienced at least one incident of sexual abuse in childhood

• Must currently be in therapy or have been in therapy at some point in the past

If you meet the above criteria, please complete this survey by logging onto: www.psychdata. com, enter "129928" in the "Go to survey #" box, and enter the password "Disclosure. "If you have any questions, please contact Sarah Feldman at Columbia.tcsurvey@ gmail.com. *This project, #09-202, has been approved by the Teachers College, Columbia University Institutional Review Board*

Psychological Impact of Child Abuse

" .. According to a new Mayo Clinic study, a history of child abuse significantly impacts the wide range of challenges facing depressed inpatients. Included are an increase in suicide attempts, prevalence of substance use disorder, and a higher incidence rate of personality disorder .. "

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