“Mental health is the overall wellness of how you think, regulate your feelings and behave. A mental illness, or mental health disorder, is defined as patterns or changes in thinking, feeling or behaving that cause distress or disrupt a person’s ability to function.” (The Mayo Clinic) While the focus is often on teens and adults, preteens also experience mental health …
Mental Illness in Men
Mental illness affects over 50 million adults in the US every year. That’s one in five people of all races, ethnicities and ages. Serious mental illness affects one in 25 adults. While it occurs in both women and men, fewer men are diagnosed with mental illness. But men are also less likely to seek or receive treatment, which means they …
What It Feels Like to Live with Mental Illness
When someone has a broken leg, the evidence is visible. They have a cast, possibly crutches; people can witness their struggle with opening doors or navigating furniture. But when someone has a mental illness or disorder, the evidence may not be obvious—if others can see it at all. And no can see “inside” the struggle of trying to navigate a …
Mental Health Care for College Students
College should be a time of discovery, freedom and independence. But sometimes those perks of the college experience can become a source of mental distress. Students can also struggle with mental health issues they bring with them to college. College can still be a time of growth and independence if students attend to their mental health and get help when …
Safety Concerns Surrounding Antipsychotic Medications
Antipsychotic medications are used to treat disorders like bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. In combination with other medications, antipsychotics may also be prescribed to treat the following issues: post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) anxiety disorders eating disorders severe depression Antipsychotic Basics Antipsychotic medications are used to manage and relieve symptoms of psychosis such as …
Early Mental Health Evaluation: Diagnosing Childhood Mental Health Disorders
Early mental health evaluation in children can be challenging for many reasons—primarily because children may not be able to express themselves clearly. Their vocabulary is somewhat limited. Also, their feelings, emotions and understanding of themselves is evolving. Their cognitive and social skills are not fully developed. Because of these limitations, it is vital that parents and primary caregivers understand the …
Managing Test Anxiety
Anxiety comes in many different forms—and results from different external and internal stimuli and perceptions. A person’s response to stressful situations can manifest itself as differing behaviors. However, those situations which render people unable to reasonably perform or react to a situation can be a direct result of anxiety. Performance anxiety, visiting medical offices, social anxiety and test anxiety are …
Evaluating ADHD
How ADD/ADHD is Diagnosed Evaluating ADHD in children or adults can be difficult as there is no set test. ADHD is typically diagnosed after a person has shown some or all symptoms of ADHD regularly for more than six months. Symptoms must be present in more than one setting and have been present since the age of 12. There are …
Autism’s Associated Mental Health Conditions
There’s More to Autism than Meets the Eye The following information on autism and its accompanying medical and mental health issues is not meant to diagnose or replace the care of a trained and licensed healthcare professional. This is not meant to be used in place of a personal consultation. There are a number of medical and mental health issues …