The American journal of psychiatry
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In the alternation of deconstitution and constitution that is fundamental to human life, humor has a useful role, mainly as a deconstituting force, whereas folklore emphasizes the revitalization of existence. Yet humor can be harmful in situations where there is a lack of mutual respect, and it can be growth-retarding if it becomes a substitute for needed change. ⋯ In folklore, humor reinforces the injunction to seek wider worlds beyond the one that has become monotonous and stifling. Humor and folklore themes can, therefore, prove helpful when used judiciously in psychotherapy.
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Psychiatric treatment of delirium usually focuses on behavioral management during the period of cognitive disturbance. Psychological sequelae have received less attention. ⋯ Such assimilation may be uniquely impaired because the patient lacks clear and correct information about the event. The authors propose that the psychiatric care of delirium include facilitation of the patient's efforts to obtain and assimilate information about the delirium after its resolution.
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The author evaluated psychiatric care in three U. S. prison systems. ⋯ Psychiatrists should guard against prescribing unnecessary medications, particularly minor tranquilizers and sedatives, and should be concerned with prison conditions conductive to mental illness, particularly overcrowding, abuses of solitary confinement, and inadequate programs for inmates who are mentally disturbed but not overtly psychotic. The author recommends minimum staffing standards and suggests considering the transfer of mentally ill inmates to appropriate psychiatric hospitals outside the prison system.
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Case Reports Comparative Study
Similarities in EEG sleep findings for Kleine-Levin syndrome and unipolar depression.