From red-haired curls to dimpled cheeks, certain characteristics run in families. But not every inherited trait is as harmless as a dimpled cheek. Some families struggle with a darker legacy: depression. People who live with this mental illness aren’t just blue-they often feel hopeless, helpless, and, in the most serious cases, suicidal. The symptoms are …
“Teach your children well,” a Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young song famously advises. Children are impressionable, like tofu that absorbs the flavor of whatever it’s immersed in. But sadly, many children are immersed in unsavory environments. It’s time to learn how to teach your children about substance use. Influence of Parental Attitudes Some parents say …
What happens when you or someone you love no longer lives in reality? From imagining enemies around every corner to experiencing confused thoughts that make normal life impossible, schizophrenia is a psychotic disorder that makes it hard to tell what’s real-and what’s not. Schizophrenia is a very complex illness that almost always requires ongoing mental …
Are you struggling with how to help a depressed friend? If so, you are not alone. Depression affects more than 3 million teenagers each year, and most of them have friends like you who are trying to find ways to help. Because you are a close friend, you are in a unique position to observe …
Intrusive thoughts that won’t go away. Disturbing impulses. Compulsive behaviors that don’t make sense. No matter how hard you try to stop or control them, you can’t. That’s the nature of the challenging and complex anxiety disorder known as obsessive-compulsive disorder, or OCD for short. OCD can manifest in a variety of ways, ranging from …
Anxiety is the body’s way of alerting a person that danger is near. As such, it is a normal reaction to stressful situations. However, when anxiety gets out of control, or when a person feels anxious all of the time, it is possible that they have a disorder. The signs of anxiety will eventually surface, …
A huge closet full of clothes. An endless array of shoes. Multiple pets. In popular culture, it’s common to accuse women of “hoarding” certain types of objects. While oftentimes the female “pack rat” image is merely a joke, there are many instances in which the behavior indicates a serious disorder. Compulsive hoarding, which is often …