Book Review: It ’ s Not Always Depression
How many of us are truly connected to our emotions? Since emotions can be uncomfortable, we can all probably admit to dealing with them in an unhealthy manner at some point. Maybe we cope through our addiction to technology, through comfort eating, or other things. In It’s Not Always Depression: Working the Change Triangle to Listen to the Body, Discover Core Emotions, and Connect to Your Authentic Self, Hilary Jacobs Hendel talks about techniques we can use to stay connected to our emotions rather than the traditional therapy model of discussing thoughts and personal histories.
“Everyone of us can benefit from und...
Source: Psych Central - March 26, 2018 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Tina Arnoldi Tags: Book Reviews Depression Disorders is it depression not always depression Source Type: news
Preventing Interpersonal Violence in Relationships, Part 2
This is Part 2 in a series on interpersonal violence in relationships. Read Part 1 here.
Risk Factors — People Who May Be Vulnerable to Dating Abuse
It can be hard to imagine why any person would allow a partner to hurt them and frighten them, while remaining in the relationship. A number of common risk factors may make some individuals more vulnerable to the risk of relationship abuse:
A trauma history – Adverse experiences, especially in childhood, can impair a person’s ability to function well psychologically, emotionally, and in relationships. Especially when the trauma is not recognized and treated, the...
Source: Psych Central - March 26, 2018 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Robyn Brickel, MA, LMFT Tags: Abuse Alcoholism Anxiety Codependence Family Parenting Relationships & Love Substance Abuse Trauma Women's Issues #metoo controlling behavior dating abuse dating violence Domestic Violence Emotional Abuse emotional dependen Source Type: news
Preventing Interpersonal Violence in Relationships, Part 1
As a therapist, I want to help survivors of dating violence, domestic violence, and abusive relationships recover their sense of safety and self-fulfillment in life.
And I want to do more. I want more people to know how grave the damage is to survivors of abuse and sexual assault. I want to see more action and education to stop dating and interpersonal violence and prevent it.
Artists and performers can be powerful allies for awareness. In a song “The Whole Damn Year,” singer songwriter Mary J. Blige explains the harrowing experience of a person living with relationship trauma:
Bad, how deep the pain is
Oh, you...
Source: Psych Central - March 25, 2018 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Robyn Brickel, MA, LMFT Tags: Abuse Anger Codependence PTSD Relationships & Love Trauma Women's Issues #metoo controlling behavior dating abuse dating violence Domestic Violence Emotional Abuse Insecurity Intimate Partner Abuse intimidation Jealousy R Source Type: news
6 Tips for Effectively Managing Your Bipolar Disorder — From Pill Trays to Practitioners
Bipolar disorder is a difficult illness. It affects everything. In addition to affecting your mood, it affects your judgment, concentration, memory, energy and sleep. It affects your relationships. It affects your everyday. It can bring about a deep, sinking despair, or jolt you into a euphoric state where your brain literally can’t compute the consequences of your actions. Some people experience depressive and manic symptoms at the same time—darkness, distorted thoughts and fatigue followed by restlessness, racing thoughts and irritability.
It can feel so overwhelming.
However, this doesn’t mean you’re doomed ...
Source: Psych Central - March 22, 2018 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Margarita Tartakovsky, M.S. Tags: Bipolar Disorders General Psychotherapy Self-Help Sleep Stress Treatment being healthy with bipolar Bipolar Disorder bipolar disorder books bipolar disorder treatment Depressive Episode hope and bipolar disorder managing bipola Source Type: news
Help for Those with Alzheimer ’ s or Related Dementia
According to the Alzheimer’s Association, approximately 5.5 million Americans are now living with the disease, and it is estimated that 16 million people will be living with Alzheimer’s by the year 2050. While deaths from heart disease have decreased by 14% since 2000, deaths from Alzheimer’s disease have increased by 89%. It is also interesting to note that 35% of caregivers (family and friends) of Alzheimer’s or other dementia patients report that their own health has declined compared to 19% of caregivers of older people with no dementia.
Clearly, we have a crisis on our hands — not just for those sufferin...
Source: Psych Central - March 19, 2018 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Janet Singer Tags: Aging Alzheimer's Disabilities Memory and Perception Neuroscience Alzheimer's disease Dementia Memory Loss Source Type: news
10 Good and 10 Bad Things About Procrastination
“Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today.” – Benjamin Franklin
“There’s nothing to match curling up with a good book when there’s a repair job to be done around the house.” – Joe Ryan
Everyone procrastinates. Some, in fact, are proficient at it. While I used to count myself in that category, I’ve made a conscious effort to change my ways in recent years and I must say I’ve been quite successful in the endeavor. Still, the urge to put off what must be done occasionally plagues me. So, I found the research on what’s good and what’s bad about procrastination so fascinating I just had to sh...
Source: Psych Central - March 18, 2018 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Suzanne Kane Tags: Anxiety General Habits Happiness Motivation and Inspiration Self-Help Habit Change overwhelm Procrastination Source Type: news
How MDMA May Help with the Pain of PTSD
PTSD affects everyone from soldiers, children, to someone recovering from a natural disaster or sexual assault. The memories of the tortured experience torments their mind, sometimes replaying over and over again as they relive the experience. But what if there was a drug that could help them feel in touch with the world again? A drug that, if used in a controlled environment, could bring them back to reality with a fresh set of eyes? MDMA might be the answer for PTSD.
What is PTSD?
PTSD is a psychological condition that is triggered by a traumatic event. The person may suffer from nightmares or flashbacks, causing severe ...
Source: Psych Central - March 17, 2018 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Ayanna McClintic Tags: Medications Miscellaneous Drugs Neuroscience Psychology PTSD Trauma Treatment ecstasy MDMD Posttraumatic Stress Disorder psychoactive drug Serotonin Source Type: news
True Freedom Anxiety and Expectations
With freedom comes anxiety, according to psychoanalyst Erich Fromm in his book Escape from Freedom (1941). He believed we don’t know what to do with freedom once we get it and find new controls and structures to reduce our freedom. Those with long prison histories often return to prison, unable to create structure and consistency outside of prison. Addicts will tell you that getting clean is hard, but staying clean is even harder.
We all have, at some point, tried to implement change in our lives, but found it difficult to break our habitual unhealthy patterns of thinking and behaving. Why? It’s our ego’s self-prote...
Source: Psych Central - March 16, 2018 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Sloane Fabricius, LMFT Tags: Anxiety General Habits Happiness Mindfulness Personality Relationships & Love Self-Esteem Authenticity Avoidance Coping Skills Eckhart Tolle Ego expectations Guilt Perfectionism Present Moment Resilience Self Acceptance Source Type: news
Book Review: The Heart of Trauma
Betrayal, painful losses, devastating natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and mass shootings can all cast a physiological residue on those left in their wake. A neuroscientific footprint that extends far beyond the experiences that caused it, but into all aspects of our lives, trauma can jeopardize our ability to experience the very relationships that can help heal it.
In The Heart of Trauma: Healing the Embodied Brian in the Context of Relationships, Bonne Badenoch demonstrates how the safe sanctuaries of warm, loving relationships can help heal trauma, and how we can create them.
It has been said that successful ther...
Source: Psych Central - March 10, 2018 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Claire Nana Tags: Book Reviews PTSD Stress Trauma Treatment books on relationships embodied brain heart of trauma Source Type: news
Book Review: Out Of The Madhouse
Michael Maitland suffered from clinical depression, anxiety, and anorexia so severe that it landed him in the emergency room with a collapsed lung.
In his new book, Out Of The Madhouse: An Insider’s Guide To Managing Depression and Anxiety, which he co-wrote with his father, Michael takes us inside his journey – through journal entries – from suicidal to recovery.
“I can’t really believe how I managed to get this bad. At university (2007-2010), I slowly started to notice I didn’t feel right. I began staying in more, not seeing people, and struggling with how I felt about myself. As my self-esteem droppe...
Source: Psych Central - March 9, 2018 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Claire Nana Tags: Anorexia Anxiety Book Reviews Depression Treatment managing anxiety Managing Depression out of the madhouse Source Type: news
Book Review: Parenting the Addicted Teen
While parents play a critical role in a teen’s recovery from addiction, the cycle of addiction itself often disempowers the entire family in such a way that recovery and reconnection become almost impossible.
In her new book, Parenting the Addicted Teen: A 5-Step Foundational Program, Barbara Krovitz-Neren contends that in reconnecting and learning to be present for their families, parents may hold the key to their teen’s recovery.
“The lack of support for parents in the addiction and mental health field during, and even more so, after treatment astounds me,” writes Krovitz-Neren.
When children withdraw into th...
Source: Psych Central - March 7, 2018 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Claire Nana Tags: Addictions Book Reviews Children and Teens Family Parenting Self-Help Substance Abuse addiction in teens Parenting the Addicted Teen teenager addiction Source Type: news
Book Review: Mindful Eating
How long does it take you to eat lunch? 10 minutes? 15 minutes? Have you ever found yourself sitting at your desk or in front of the TV, realizing that you have no recollection of what you’ve eaten? If so, you’re not alone.
We live in a busy world, where fast is expected. This impacts us in all areas, including the way we eat. Mindless eating does not necessarily imply a disorder needing psychiatric assistance. It is a habit that many of us employ when we’re simply not paying attention.
In Mindful Eating, Jan Chozen Bays, MD shares how to have a better relationship with food through mindful eating. She t...
Source: Psych Central - March 6, 2018 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Tina Arnoldi Tags: Binge Eating Book Reviews Bulimia Diet & Nutrition Eating Disorders Healthy Living Mindfulness Self-Help Weight Loss books about eating mindful eating Source Type: news
Healthy Ways to Cope with PTSD
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has a tremendous impact on a person’s life. The symptoms affect relationships, moods, and the ability to live a normal and effective life. When not dealt with properly, PTSD symptoms can lead to unhealthy ways of coping, such as drug or alcohol use. But when direct action is taken to improve things, a trauma survivor can put themselves in a position of power. And they can make healthy decisions to manage PTSD and improve their quality of life.
Recovery Is a Process
Knowing and understanding that recovery is a time-consuming process will help you feel more in control. It takes time an...
Source: Psych Central - March 1, 2018 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Darren DeYoung Tags: Addictions Medications PTSD Self-Help Trauma Treatment anhedonia Coping Skills Personal Growth Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Quality Of Life Traumatic Experience Source Type: news
5 Mistakes to Never Make with an Abuser
Abuse is about having power over someone. Abusers typically want to feel superior, to control and dominate. To them, communication is not about understanding. It’s a win-lose game. They use verbal abuse and/or violence to accomplish this. They’re frequently self-centered, impatient, unreasonable, insensitive, unforgiving, lack empathy, and are often jealous, suspicious, and withholding. Their moods can shift from fun-loving and romantic to sullen and angry. Some punish with anger, others with silence — or both. It’s often “their way or the highway.”
They can be bullies. Typically, abusers deny any responsi...
Source: Psych Central - February 27, 2018 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Darlene Lancer, JD, MFT Tags: Abuse Borderline Personality Codependence Divorce Men's Issues Narcissism PTSD Relationships & Love Trauma Women's Issues bullying Communication controlling behavior Domestic abuse Domestic Violence domination Emotional Abu Source Type: news
Complex Trauma: Dissociation, Fragmentation, and Self Understanding
For those of us working in the field of complex trauma, one of the most exciting events of 2017 was the release of Healing the Fragmented Selves of Trauma Survivors by Dr. Janina Fisher. The book is a wonderful summary and synthesis of the current state of knowledge in trauma research enlivened with wisdom, insight and deep compassion for the victims of abuse. Dr. Fisher draws together neurobiological research, psychological theory, and a productive, if sometimes painful, process of trial and error in which dozens of committed therapists sought out better ways of helping survivors of trauma.
Unfortunately, many people suf...
Source: Psych Central - February 26, 2018 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Fabiana Franco, Ph.D. Tags: Abuse Caregivers Children and Teens Dissociation Dissociative Motivation and Inspiration Neuroscience Parenting Personality Psychology Psychotherapy Self-Esteem Trauma Treatment Alienation C-PTSD Child Abuse child neglect Source Type: news
