“If you don’t like your perspective, change it.” What’s reality, and if there is a reality, why does each person see it so differently? For example, one man sees his dog sitting on an old couch and thinks “Oh, wow, I need to buy a new couch, and that dog needs walking. I don’t have […]
3 Great Mindfulness Exercises You Can Do Today
Do you ever race through life struggling to keep up? It’s about that alarm clock going off in the mornings, a quick jump in the shower, an even quicker rush through breakfast, and the oh-so-disturbing traffic on your way to work when you’re running late. It’s that busy “busy-ness” that pushes you through the day, […]
PTSD: conquering nightmares
People with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) often suffer from debilitating nightmares. The dreams can be so terrifying the person is afraid to sleep. If this sounds familiar, here are six nightmare-busting methods that might help you conquer those bad dreams. (1) Talk about the nightmares. Share your dreams with someone you trust, ideally a therapist […]
Everything you need to know about Schizoaffective Disorder
Perhaps your doctor diagnosed you (or someone you care about) with schizoaffective disorder. Your first thought is, “Does that mean I have Schizophrenia?” The second is typically, “I’ve never heard of schizoaffective disorder. Is the doctor making things up?” The quick answers: No, you don’t have Schizophrenia. No, your doctor isn’t inventing the diagnosis. Although […]
Beating obsessive compulsive disorder
You “obsess” over obsessing and find yourself doing unnecessary things over and over again, completing them just because the anxiety won’t go away unless they’re done. A quick visit to your doctor’s office clarifies everything: you’ve got Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Now you have to figure out what to do about it. OCD is marked by […]
When depression meds don’t work: antidepressant amplifiers
Sometimes depression doesn’t get better, not with a single antidepressant. With all the medications on the market and all the pressure not to prescribe, what should a psychiatrist do? Add more medication, and the patient has side effects. Withhold medications, and they suffer or worse. People are complicated. Medications are complicated. But then there are […]
Journal like your life depends on it
The pen is mightier than the sword, and considerably easier to write with.–Marty Feltman. Mental health providers encourage their patients to keep journals. Sometimes it’s almost obsessive. We journal! Everyone should journal! Write like you’re fighting for your life! But why do we write? I guess it’s because the empty page is a place to […]
More than one kind of anxiety problem
We’re all anxious at times, especially when stressed or facing something unpredictable. Anxiety and fear help us pick up on threatening things in our environment and react – often before we know what that “thing” is. But anxiety becomes an illness when it starts controlling and ruining one’s life. There are many different types of […]