Current Psychiatry Research and Reviews - Current Issue

Mothers, as vital and important individuals in their children's lives, experience various struggles, emotions, and experiences in relation to their child's autism diagnosis. This study aims to provide an in-depth understanding of mothers' experiences in dealing with the diagnosis of autism in their child using a phenomenological approach.

In this study, a qualitative phenomenological approach was used, and purposeful sampling was employed until data saturation was achieved. The participants were selected from mothers who sought their children's participation in rehabilitation classes at the Autism Spectrum Disorder Research Center in Hamedan, Iran. Unstructured interviews were conducted as the method of data collection. The descriptive method of Colaizzi was utilized for analyzing the obtained data.

Twelve participants took part in this study. The average age of the participants was 35.16 years. The analysis of mothers' lived experiences in dealing with their child's autism diagnosis using a descriptive phenomenological approach revealed four main themes: fear of the child's future, worry about social harassment, emergence of emotional shock, and fear of trouble.

The results of this study demonstrated that concern for the child's future, worry about social harm, experiencing emotional shock, and fear of being trapped were the major challenges faced by mothers upon learning about their child's positive autism diagnosis. Therefore, professionals, policymakers, and regulatory organizations should pay attention to the issues raised in parents' experiences in order to provide appropriate healthcare services for children with autism and their families.

Persistent genital arousal disorder (PGAD) presents with a constant unwelcome sensation of genital arousal. Moreover, restless genital syndrome (RGS) is one of the restless leg syndrome (RLS) variants.

We aimed to clarify the differences between clinical diagnoses of these two similar conditions. Assessing the circadian pattern of symptoms, the simultaneous presence of RLS and restless bladder syndrome, exacerbation of symptoms with caffeine use, healing with magnesium use, and familial history of RLS helped us with the differentiation between PGAD and RGS.

We propose to rule out the diagnosis of RGS in all patients with PGAD symptoms.

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is characterized by exaggerated anxiety without any apparent cause of concern. The primary treatment of this disorder is usually SSRIs, which have many digestive side effects and do not provide complete treatment for the patient. The use of non-pharmacological methods may help reduce these complications. Therefore, the present study was conducted to investigate the effect of ginger as an adjunctive therapy along with SSRIs to reduce anxiety in patients with GAD.

In this double-blind, controlled clinical trial study, a total of 80 patients with GAD were randomly assigned into two groups. For the intervention group, at the same time as SSRI drug, two 500-mg ginger capsules were used daily while in the control group, two starch capsules were used daily as a placebo along with SSRI. Data collection tools were Hamilton's anxiety questionnaire and a gastrointestinal symptom severity scale. Data were collected before the intervention and after the 12-week intervention.

There was no significant difference between the intervention and control groups in terms of average anxiety and severity of digestive symptoms before the intervention (p > 0.05), but there was a significant difference between the groups after the intervention (p < 0.05). Also, the average scores of anxiety and severity of gastrointestinal symptoms in the intervention group increased significantly from the beginning of the intervention to the follow-up (intragroup difference) (p < 0.05).

The results of the study showed that the use of ginger along with SSRIs reduced anxiety and released the severity of gastrointestinal symptoms in patients with GAD. In addition, in this study, it was found that ginger, along with SSRIs, can have beneficial effects on indigestion, diarrhea, and nausea in patients with GAD. However, these findings require more extensive research.

IRCT20201108049306N1.

Identifying the psychosocial effects on healthcare workers is critical in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.

In this study, we aimed to examine the psychological effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare workers of a cancer hospital in Turkey and to determine its predictors.

The psychosocial effects of the epidemic on hospital staff were evaluated by a psychiatrist through a face-to-face psychiatric interview. A semi-structured questionnaire containing socio-demographic variables and questions about social changes, and Symptom Checklist-90 Revised (SCL-90-R) were administered to the hospital staff that agreed to participate in the study.

Twenty-three percent of the subjects had threshold values for the Global Severity Index in SCL-90-R. The most common symptoms were obsessions and depressive symptoms (42% and 36.5%, respectively). Being young, being a woman, being single, worsening economic situation, high education level, history of past psychiatric disorders, isolation and/or quarantine history, lack of personal protective equipment, separation from the family, fear of infecting a family member or cancer patient were determined as risk factors.

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in significant psychosocial impact on healthcare workers, highlighting the need for appropriate strategies to understand and mitigate these effects.

Individuals with mental disorders are subject to stigma from society. Some patients accept and internalize this stigma, while others suffer from loneliness and reduced quality of life.

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between internalized stigma, feelings of loneliness, and quality of life in patients with mental disorders.

In 2023, a descriptive study was conducted on 250 patients with psychological disorders who were referred to Sina Hospital (Farshchian) in Hamadan. The patients were selected using a convenience sampling method. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews using four questionnaires: demographic information, the internalized stigma of mental illness, Russell's loneliness scale, and the World Health Organization's 26-item quality of life questionnaire. The data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical tests in SPSS-22 software.

There was a significant positive correlation between internal stigma and loneliness (p < 0.001, r = 0.817) and a significant negative correlation between internal stigma and quality of life (p < 0.001, r = -0.777). Additionally, loneliness and quality of life had a significant negative correlation (p < 0.001, r = -0.838).

The results generally indicate that approximately half of the patients with internalized stigma experience moderate to severe distress. As internalized stigma increases, patients are more likely to experience feelings of loneliness and decrease their quality of life. Therefore, it is recommended that measures be taken to reduce internalized stigma in patients with psychiatric disorders to alleviate feelings of loneliness and improve their quality of life.