According to the National Institutes of Health, more than one in five women has more than three drinks every time she consumes alcohol. Although women are less likely to drink than men, their lower weight and reduced water content means that they’ll start experiencing problems related to their drinking much sooner. If you suspect that…
People with a history of childhood trauma often carry those issues unconsciously forward into adult relationships. A pattern of childhood neglect, emotional or physical abuse, or a story involving sexual molestation or rape creates difficulties for adults as they attempt to make long-term bonds in committed relationships. It is not uncommon to find such an…
“Things will never get better.” “I’m worthless.” “I’ll never be happy.” If these statements sound familiar, you may be struggling with depression. One of the most prevalent psychiatric disorders, depression afflicts nearly 7 million Americans annually. Almost one-third of these cases are classified as severe, and they are the ones in which feelings of hopelessness…
Compulsive shopping, also known as shopping addiction, is an unofficial mental health disorder characterized by shopping or spending behaviors that function in roughly the same ways that alcohol or drug use function in substance addiction. It belongs to a larger of group of unofficial disorders known as behavioral addictions or process addictions. These addictions occur…
Specific phobia is a medical term used to describe a persistent, irrational fear-based reaction to things or situations that have a minor or nonexistent potential to cause harm. Various people can develop this type of response to almost anything. However, some phobic reactions occur much more frequently than others. Women and girls develop specific phobias…
Schizoaffective disorder is a psychiatric condition characterized by a set of symptoms that combines features of schizophrenia with features of depression, mania, or some other form of mood disorder. Compared to most other mental illnesses, doctors know relatively little about schizoaffective illness. This is true, in part, because of the complex combination of symptoms that…
Narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) is a mental health condition marked by deep-seated insecurity hidden behind such things as outsized displays of arrogance, self-importance, and self-adulation. This condition affects a small but significant percentage of American adults. Both women and men develop NPD. However, the condition’s impact on women differs from its impact on men in…
Bipolar disorder not otherwise specified (BP-NOS) is the diagnostic category that mental health professionals use when describing bipolar symptoms that don’t fit the criteria for an official form of bipolar illness. As such, the category acts as a generalized depository for bipolar-related characteristics. Despite its catchall nature, a BP-NOS diagnosis is medically serious. In many…
Histrionic personality disorder (HPD) is a psychiatric condition characterized by highly dramatic and/or emotional attention-seeking conduct that disrupts a person’s ability to participate fully in everyday life. It belongs to a larger group of conditions commonly referred to as Cluster B personality disorders. Women develop histrionic personality disorder roughly four times more frequently than men.…
Avoidant personality disorder (AvPD) is a psychiatric disorder characterized by a persistent pattern of excessive shyness, sensitivity, or sense of inadequacy that hinders full involvement in social and/or interpersonal aspects of everyday life. Avoidant personality disorder in women develops at roughly the same rate as men, and it affects people from both genders in essentially…
