A friend turns down invitations to gatherings that will include more than three or four people she knows. A family member accepts invitations but always backs out at the last minute. You accept whatever reason they offer but wonder if there’s something more going on. Could they be struggling with social anxiety disorder? Social anxiety disorder. Social phobia. Different names….the …
You’re scheduled to speak in front of a group, and you get increasingly tense before the big day. Are you just nervous, or do you have anxiety disorder? You’ve been feeling down for a solid week—do you have true depression, or are you simply feeling blue? We all encounter challenges that affect our moods. Sometimes it’s difficult to tell when …
Stress is part of life. We all experience stressful situations from time to time. But when stress builds beyond your ability to cope, when it starts to affect your mental and physical health, it’s time to find ways to manage it. Causes and Types of Stress Stress has increased globally in recent years. Even before the coronavirus pandemic, 35% of …
Our early intimate relationships are marked by hopes and dreams and strong feelings. Due to lack of experience, teens may be blindsided when feelings turn dangerously negative. Teasing, name-calling and little “love taps” might seem like a normal part of dating, but they could be signs of abuse to come. When behaviors escalate into teen dating violence (TDV), young people …
In busy or trying times, it can be difficult to take care of ourselves. Between the demands of work and school, family responsibilities and packed daily schedules, there’s little room to take a breath, much less a daily walk. And if you’re in a role that requires you to give to others—parent, caregiver, healthcare worker—giving back to yourself can be …
The holidays are a special—and unusual—time of year. For up to two weeks, we take time away from work and daily routines to visit friends, get together with family, observe religious holidays, celebrate the start of a new calendar year and relax (in our spare time). “According to a recent survey, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) reports that …
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 …
Each year in the US, one in five adults experience mental illness. One in six children age 6–17 experience a mental health disorder. Fortunately, there are multiple treatment settings that offer choices appropriate for the circumstances, the disorder involved and each person’s needs. The most available, and most common, treatment setting is outpatient therapy. Of the 11.6+ million mental health …
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 …
Bullying has affected children and teens for generations. But we’ve only recently understood bullying’s mental health effects, which extend beyond the victim to bystanders who witness it and the bullies themselves. What is bullying? The Centers for Disease Control defines bullying as a form of “youth violence” toward a victim involving unwanted aggressive behavior from a bully (an individual or …
