Animals have a way of lifting spirits and transmitting calmness, both to their owners and to strangers. All it takes is the sight of a dog to make some people smile, and petting any animal has been shown to lower heart rate and blood pressure, which translates to an overall reduction in anxiety.
Are Emotional Support Animals an Effective Depression Treatment? Read More »
No one expects to see anorexia symptoms in seniors, which is why they often go undetected. Unusual eating patterns may be noticed, but it never occurs to family members or friends that an eating disorder might be the problem, since these conditions are usually diagnosed in much younger people — or so it is assumed.
Depression is a serious medical condition that can be life-threatening. While effective treatments exist, the causes of depression are not always clear. Is depression genetic or environmental? Are its root causes psychological, emotional, physiological or a combination of the three? And are there different answers for different types of depression?
An Overview of the Effects of Genetics on Depression Read More »
Acute stress disorder (ASD) is a diagnosable mental health condition that occurs in the days or weeks immediately following exposure to a life-threatening traumatic event. Many people confuse this condition with another better-known illness, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which only occurs a month or more after such an event. Although they are essentially different, ASD
Attention seeking is a normal behavior in all children. From birth, children seek the attention and love of their parents or caregivers. It is important for emotional growth and the development of interpersonal relationship skills. However, studies show that when children don’t get adequate attention, the brain may rewire itself to respond differently to stimuli,
Bullies & Children Acting Out: The Rebellion of Attention Seeking Disorder Read More »
Brainspotting therapy has recently emerged as a promising new therapy for trauma victims. As mental health professionals progress in their understanding of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), brainspotting therapy has been of special interest due to the unique way this treatment activates specific areas of the brain.
Where there is depression, art often seems to follow—sometimes great art. Poe, Pollock, Michelangelo, Hemingway, Keats, Gauguin, Dickens and Blake are just a few famous creative artists who are known to have suffered from terrible bouts of depression.
Artists and Depression: The Link Between Depression and Creativity Read More »
When referring to narcissistic personality disorder assessment tools, quizzes and tests, reliability means that when you use the assessment tool (for example, a self-administered quiz or test), you receive the same results regardless of who administers the tool or how many times you use it. Different treatments for narcissistic personality disorder exist, but before you
Are Self-Assessment Tests for Narcissism Reliable? Read More »
Women are 50% more likely than men to suffer from an anxiety disorder at some point in their lives. But with more than 40 million adult Americans affected by disabling anxiety symptoms associated with these types of disorders, it is clear that a significant number of men are suffering from anxiety as well, which may
By Gina Marchando, DMFT, LMFT, CHT, CIT, Clinical Director at The RanchThe media’s various portrayals of people with dissociative identity disorder (DID) have one thing in common: They get much of it wrong. Dissociative identity disorder, formerly classified as multiple personality disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, is usually far from
