The discipline of public health dovetails well with mental health. There are multiple sub-disciplines that creates the bridge between two disciplines. Dr. Michael Szirony from the School of Counseling and I have worked on several projects looking at wide variety research topics delving into cognition, affect, and the effect on overall health. We have worked on four major works thus far:
Banerjee, S., Burkholder, G., Sana, B., & Szirony, G. M. (2020). Social Isolation as a predictor for mortality: Implications for COVID-19 prognosis. MedRxiv. Link
S Banerjee, G Burkholder, B Sana, GM Szirony
MedRxiv
S Banerjee, G Burkholder, G Szirony, B Sana
European Journal of Public Health 31 (Supplement_3), ckab165. 122
S Banerjee, G Szirony
Journal of the Neurological Sciences 429, 118672
S Banerjee, G Szirony
Journal of the Neurological Sciences 429, 117823
Mental Health
My training and experience in abnormal psychology and counseling have led me to conduct several research studies on aspects of mental health.
Recently, in my lab, we looked at suicide and depression by examining their cross-sectional and longitudinal linkages with both chronic personal conditions and environmental factors.
In one example, we found an overwhelming increase in suicide ideation among adults who were exposed to lead. For adults, this is mainly an occupational hazard that is not being sufficiently monitored.
This interplay between mental and physical health can be seen in many diseases, especially in relation to stress and our emotional responses to it. The challenge to researchers in this area is how to diagnose emotional states, which are often invisible and difficult to objectively determine.
My colleague, Dr. Michael Schwab, has been testing new tools to help people explore and determine and report their own and others’ emotional status. One of these tools is ‘The Feeling Cards’, a set of 64 cards representing 64 emotions, organized into families and opposites. In this link, Michael describes a process for using the cards. I have also provided the cover to this wonderful tool.
Another tool that I find useful is the emotion wheel. Many of these have been developed over the years and, though they differ, all provide a useful way of surveying the broad field of emotion!
