Overcoming anxiety is one of the most difficult things I’ve ever experienced. The everyday demands of life, between paying bills, working, staying connected to family, and trying to stay healthy, can turn any person’s life into nothing short of an anxious mess. You might be a person who has dealt with anxiety all their lives, or maybe this is something new only to your adult…
Here are some of the signs that either you or a loved one might be living with high functioning depression (HFD). Nearly every person will experience some form of depression in their lifetime, and you can even safely say that every living human knows at least one person who is living in what the medical community calls “high functioning depression.” It is important to note…
Rapid cycling bipolar disorder is a pattern of frequent, distinct episodes (manic, hypomanic, depressive, or mixed) in bipolar disorder. This can include four or more episodes over the course of about twelve months and may come and go, depending on the patient’s treatment and course of bipolar. It is not an explicit diagnosis, but rather a descriptor for the kind of bipolar a person is…
There are many different signs of bipolar disorder, including signs of a manic episode and signs of a depressive episode. Bipolar disorder, which was previously called manic-depressive illness or manic depression, is a mental disorder that causes abnormal shifts in levels of mood, energy, activity, concentration, and the ability to carry out regular, day-to-day tasks. To better understand what this disorder is, it is helpful…
Breaking codependency can be one of the hardest things that you ever do in your life. Thankfully, there are ways out. Co-dependency is a learned-behavior emotional and behavioral condition that affects an individual’s ability to have healthy, mutually satisfying relationships and can be passed down from one generation to the next. This behavior may lead to destructive and/or abusive relationships. It may also emerge alongside…
Pristiq withdrawal, like withdrawal from many other antidepressants, can be a bitch. However, because Pristiq isn’t an addictive drug, it’s not quite called withdrawal — it’s actually called antidepressant discontinuation syndrome. Thankfully, it only appears in about 20% of people, so if you’re taking Pristiq, you shouldn’t be as worried about it as you might be. Pristiq, also known as desvenlafaxine, is an antidepressant that…
Have you been asking yourself lately, “Am I depressed?” It’s a much more common question than you might think. Depression is a serious (though treatable) mental illness that comes in many different forms. Unfortunately, the media, television, and popular culture oftentimes make depression look a certain way (ie, someone who never showers or gets out of bed). If you’re wondering if you’re suffering from depression,…
You would be amazed what repressed emotions can do to your body and your mind. When I was a kid, I experienced all kinds of strange stomach problems, ranging from bloating, constipation, to feeling overweight and unhappy. I had gone to multiple doctors and specialists, tried a variety of diets, everything from gluten-free to keto to FOD maps. I tried different kinds of exercise routines.…
Brain Awareness Month is this June, and while the emphasis is on raising awareness for Alzheimer’s and dementia, it’s important to note overall brain health and how we can take preventative actions. When we think of mental health, we might get so focused on the brain that we forget external factors and how we take care of our bodies can be just as important as…
What Is Suicide Contagion? Suicide contagion (also known as “copycat suicide”) is a social phenomenon where portrayals of suicide in the media (such as in newspapers, news television, and entertainment) can facilitate more deaths by suicide due to the images and wording used. Suicide researcher David Phillips coined the term the “Werther Effect,” a name derived from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s novel, The Sorrows of…