Sharon Packer

Superheroes and Superegos

Taming Trichotillomania While Weeding the Garden

Her mention of gardens got me to thinking, not just about fragrant flowers but also about “sympto... more

Secret Psychiatric Origins of Rocket Raccoon

The main character of Guardians of the Galaxy directly connects to psychiatry and comments on con... more

The Mind-Body Divide: As Seen Through a Jaundiced Eye

Psychiatrists increasingly recognize that not all treatments for depression are created equal—but... more

Altered Mental State: The Clue in the Blue Bottle

Here's the story of a man with long-standing diabetes -- a pillar of the community-- who had ... more

The Top Five Psychiatry Events of 2013

Five key events in 2013 will leave a longlasting mark on psychiatry. Here: a look at the impact t... more

Ocular Side Effects of Psychotropics: Special Considerations

With regard to visual adverse effects in patients who take psychotropic medications, new is not a... more

Rainy Day Sunflower at 9/11 Memorial

This sunflower at the 9/11 Memorial said that a ray of sunshine remains, and that life blooms ane... more

Ansky’s The Dybbuk, Freud’s Future of an Illusion, Watson’s “Little Albert,” and Supernatural Horror in Literature

Lovecraft’s Supernatural Horror in Literature mentions Ansky’s supernatural drama, The Dybbuk, an... more Lovecraft’s Supernatural Horror in Literature mentions Ansky’s supernatural drama, The Dybbuk, and proceeds to succinctly trace the origins of the Jewish mystical imagination. In 1927, Freud published The Future of an Illusion, denouncing religion and linking supernaturalism to an infantile need for an all-nurturing, omnipresent mother, among other things. This chapter traces the history of The Dybbuk and examines why it endures and appeals long after Lovecraft’s dubious praise of it, while Freud’s psychoanalysis has come to seem closer to superstition than science.

Ergotism in lethal catatonia

American Journal of Psychiatry, Oct 1, 1989

REFERENCES 1. Felice-Johnson J, Sudds T, Bennett G: Malignant hyperthermia: current perspectives.... more

Religion, Stress, and Superheroes

Stress: Concepts, Cognition, Emotion, and Behavior, 2016

Religion can be a cause of stress or a cure for stress. Religion's ability to relieve the str... more Religion can be a cause of stress or a cure for stress. Religion's ability to relieve the stress that it induces partly accounts for its tenacious hold on its truest or newest believers. Religious sentiment and sectarianism rises during times of increased personal or societal stress. Since change and uncertainty are potent causes of stress, on a psychological, sociological, and physiological level, it stands to reason that some of history's most unusual religious movements occurred at times of rapid social change and uncertainty. Individuals undergoing personal stress and lifestyle shifts are statistically more likely to get involved with unusual or innovative religious movements. Thus, adolescents who recently left home, those who are newly divorced, bereaved or relocated, and inmates who “relocate” to prison are especially susceptible to the appeal of “radical religions.” “Garden-variety” religions and also cults grow in response to the stresses of poverty, old age, war, illness, isolation, or impending death.

Why Psychiatrists Are Physicians First

For now, it is encouraging to know that psychiatrists remember that they, too, are physicians fir... more

9/11, Religion and Stress

Encyclopedia of Stress, 2007

The 9/11 attack is intimately associated with the subject of stress and religion because the bomb... more The 9/11 attack is intimately associated with the subject of stress and religion because the bombing of the World Trade Center was perpetrated by Islamic extremists in the name of the Muslim religion. Ironically, 9/11 caused stress among other Muslims, who became the subject of suspicion after 9/11 and were occasionally subjected to psychological or physical abuses. PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) after 9/11 was particularly prevalent among New Yorkers who lived nearer to Ground Zero. Because the historically Jewish “Lower East Side” is geographically close to Ground Zero, it is possible that those Jewish residents were made more susceptible to PTSD because they were reminded of the Nazi-era Holocaust and because they feared the directly anti-Zionist and anti-Jewish threats made by 9/11 perpetrators.

Movies and the modern psyche

Choice Reviews Online, 2008

... training. Each year, at its annual conference, the American Psychiatric Association (and Dr. ... more

Does “Judith” of The Walking Dead Reference the Jewish Judith of the Chanukah Story?

Women in Judaism: A Multidisciplinary e-Journal, Jul 3, 2023

In November of 2022, The Walking Dead (TWD) ended an eleven-year run, leaving a devoted fan base ... more In November of 2022, The Walking Dead (TWD) ended an eleven-year run, leaving a devoted fan base bereft of their favorite show but eagerly awaiting more spinoffs in the coming years. At its conclusion, The Walking Dead left an even more important legacy: TWD was one of the most watched TV series of all time, which is no small accomplishment, given the competition it faced from an ever-expanding assortment of streaming shows available online. TWD became paradigmatic of zombie films, carrying on a tradition started by George Romero-yet the word "zombie" is never spoken throughout the series. In TWD, a world-wide pandemic has infected everyone in America. It is implied that the entire world is impacted. As per the sole surviving CDC scientist (played by Noah Emmerich), the virus was a subject of study in Paris. It is unclear how much progress was made by Parisian scientists, who survived longer than their American counterparts, but it is clear that only a single researcher at CDC headquarters in Atlanta remained. His absent colleagues were either "wiped out" or "opted out." CDC staff has no success in identifying the source of the virus, but the CDC scientist acknowledged that "everyone is infected," even if they are not bitten by creatures known as "walkers." Until that authoritative disclosure, it was assumed that the contagion traveled only through direct contact with infected blood-which usually came by way of bites. Due to this enigmatic infection, no one dies a natural death. Instead, the afflicted rise after death, with their flesh withered. They walk slowly, with a stilted Parkinsonian-style gait. These unfortunate creatures cannot be put to rest until a knife or bullet enters their brains. Based on a successful graphic novel by the same name, authored by Robert Kirkman, and initially illustrated by Tony Moore but mostly by Charlie Adlard, The Walking Dead TV series did not remain 100% true to its source material. The spectacularly successful TV show took liberties at times, changing names and timelines and even introducing surprisingly popular new characters, such as Daryl Dixon (played by Norman Reedus). Both versions feature a long line of interesting characters who interact with one another, to make the storyline even more complex.

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Jewish mystical movements and the European ergot epidemics

The Israel journal of psychiatry and related sciences, 1998

Chronic intake of ergot, a chemical present in bread blighted by ergot-producing fungi, results i... more Chronic intake of ergot, a chemical present in bread blighted by ergot-producing fungi, results in a wide variety of neuropsychiatric and vascular symptoms. The symptomatology and epidemiology of outbreaks of ergot poisoning are traced, and are shown to coincide with the emergence of Jewish mystical movements, such as the early Pietist movement in Germany, Sabbateanism and Chasidism, thus suggesting that environmental ergotism contributed to these mystical movements. The interaction between ergotism and other nutritional, neuropsychiatric, social, psychological and historical influences is considered.

How Anti-Semitism and the Shoah Helped Shape Twentieth-Century Psychiatry

Anti-Semitism and Psychiatry

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The Mind-Body Divide: As Seen Through a Jaundiced Eye

Psychiatrists increasingly recognize that not all treatments for depression are created equal—but... more

Ocular Side Effects of Psychotropics: Special Considerations

With regard to visual adverse effects in patients who take psychotropic medications, new is not a... more

The Piccolo Player and His Last Tragic Tune

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