Meghan Marty

On February 10th, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) released the proposed draft of diagnostic criteria for DSM-5 on its website www.dsm5.org. Publication of the new DSM is scheduled for May 2013. The proposed diagnostic criteria will be available on the website for public comment until April 20, 2010. APA is inviting health professionals, consumers of mental health services, and family members to visit the site to review and comment on the draft criteria.

"This Emotional Life" is a 3-part series that aired for the first time on PBS this week.

Hosted by Daniel Gilbert, a social psychologist at Harvard and author of "Stumbling on Happiness," the series did a nice job of explaining some pretty sophisticated psychological concepts, using cutting-edge research and interviews with a diverse group of individuals.

Part 1 focused on social connections and their impact on human
emotion. Part 2 explored different human emotions from anger to anxiety
to despair.  Part 3 dealt with various aspects of happiness, including socioemotional selectivity theory. 

It has been challenging, but I accomplished a lot (both professionally and personally) over the past six months:

- In late July, I successfully defended my thesis

- In mid-September, I climbed Pikes Peak

- In November, I got engaged to my best friend

- In late December, I passed my comprehensive exam.

It feels good to have two out of the three major hurdles in my program
finished (after the thesis and comps, there's just the dissertation). I
had a great, relaxing winter vacation, but now it is time to get back
to work....

I'm in Atlanta, GA this week-end for the annual Gerontological Society of America conference. All the presentations I've seen so far have been fantastic.

One of the best things about this conference is the interdisciplinary nature of the programming. Yesterday, I saw a paper presentation by Meldrena Chapin, Ph.D. who identifies herself as an Architectual Gerontologist (who even knew a field like that exists?). She spoke about culture-change in long term care, and her presentation will be uploaded to her website soon.

Thought I'd share this piece from the DailyOM about transitioning through life's phases. I especially love the last sentence about changing as we grow older: "When we anchor our identity in our spiritual nature, we understand that physical change does not change who we are, but only offers another perspective from which to experience, understand, and celebate life."

Great (free!) resource for family members and professional caregivers about observing and talking about pain in people with dementia, including an on-line presentation and resource packet.

An interesting article from the New York Times about relationships between children of older adults and their parents.

An interesting, but also disturbing, article on the complex issue of dementia and sex.

The APA Office on Aging recently updated their on-line resource guide for Depression and Suicide in Older Adults. It features empirical journal articles, books, book chapters, and several links to resources for consumers.

This week-end I hiked to the top of Pikes Peak with 2 friends from school and one of our professors to raise money for the Brain Injury Association of Colorado. We trained for the hike all summer and the fact that climbing a really big mountain is a great metaphor for graduate school wasn't lost on any of us. Here's what the hike taught me:

- Adequate preparation before you begin is useful (e.g., having the right equipment, knowing at least a little bit about what you are getting yourself into)

- The path can be really steep at first, but eventually it levels off a bit

- There are often many different routes you can take to get to the top

- You never know what is around the next corner and there may be many obstacles blocking your path along the way

- Having others with you on the journey makes the whole adventure more fun

- There will always be others who are climbing more slowly and more quickly than you, so it's helpful to focus on going your own pace

- It's easy to get bogged down by what is right in front of you and lose sight of the reasons for why you are climbing

- Finally, it takes a lot of determination and persistence to reach the summit, and the only way to get there is to take it one step at a time.