This episode deals with the question of weight gain from antipsychotic medication: I'm on 20 milligrams of olanzapine. It's helping me and I don't want to change it. The only thing is that I've gained a lot of weight that makes me feel very una

What is akathisia, and how to stop it?

Oct 27th, 2021 37m 31s

What is akathisia? Akathisia is a relatively common medication side effect. Akathisia is a feeling of restlessness that many people find difficult to describe. Many people with akathisia say that it makes them feel like they would like to crawl

Lack of insight into mental illness: Are there any new leads?

Oct 12th, 2021 37m 48s

This week’s listener question was “is there any new research about curing anosognosia?” Anosognosia is a medical term derived from Greek root words that mean “lack of disease knowledge.” Although anosognosia started off as a neurological concep

Can Antidepressants Reduce Self-Harm?

Sep 28th, 2021 31m 36s

Can Antidepressants Reduce Self-Harm? Self-harm is a common behavior. About 1 in 8 children and up to 1 in 5 adolescents will deliberately injure themselves without suicidal intent. But even without suicidal intention, self-harm is an alarming

What is Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome?

Sep 21st, 2021 38m 42s

Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome (also called CHS) is the topic of this week’s episode. Melissa and Dr. Erik answer the question “How can something that’s an anti-vomiting medicine be the cause of a vomiting illness”? Cannabinoid hyperemesis s

Is it possible to prevent Alzheimer’s disease?

Sep 14th, 2021 35m 43s

In this episode, Melissa and Dr. Erik discuss Alzheimer’s disease and address the question of whether it’s possible to prevent Alzheimer’s disease. What is Alzheimer’s disease? Alzheimer’s disease is one of several causes of dementia. The Ame

Are There Any Medications to Treat Alcoholism?

Sep 7th, 2021 37m 38s

Alcoholism is an all-to-common problem. Achieving recovery from alcohol use disorder is an important therapeutic goal. There are many causes of alcohol use disorder, including genetic and biochemical contributions. Unfortunately, most alcohol t

What is borderline personality disorder?

Aug 31st, 2021 35m 49s

This week’s podcast episode focuses on borderline personality disorder. Borderline personality disorder is a common condition Borderline personality disorder is relatively common. It’s a condition that currently affects about 1 out of every 60

What is psychosis?

Aug 24th, 2021 30m 5s

Psychosis is a word that gets spoken a lot, but that gets discussed very little. About 1 of every 11 people will experience psychosis at some point in their lives. But even though it’s a common experience, we hardly ever talk about it. In this

Does therapy help?

Aug 17th, 2021 30m 35s

There are so many forms of therapy today that it can be hard to decide which is best for you. One of these types is “psychotherapy,” which sounds a lot scarier than it is. In this episode of “Ask a Psychiatrist” we learn about what psychotherap

What's the best way to overcome anxiety?

Aug 10th, 2021 35m 10s

Anyone who has ever felt anxiety (which pretty much includes all human beings) knows how uncomfortable it can be. In this episode of “Ask a Psychiatrist” we learn about our internal early-warning systems and what it means when our bodies and mi

Why don't antidepressants work for me?

Aug 3rd, 2021 33m 38s

Why do anti-depressants seem to work well for some and not at all for others? In this episode of Ask a Psychiatrist, Dr. Erik Messamore takes on this question, offering practical information about the multi-faceted nature of depression and fact

Trailer

Trailer - Ask a Psychiatrist

Jul 21st, 2021 1m 20s

Ask a Psychiatrist is a podcast where a real psychiatrist answers real questions about health, illness, recovery, and well-being. The host of Ask a Psychiatrist is Dr. Erik Messamore, a board-certified psychiatric physician and PhD-level pharma