Whether you’re prone to depression, grieving a loss or just feeling a bit “bah-hum-bug,” a season focused on joy can be tough. Here are some tips for surviving the holidays: Keep Yourself Healthy Maintaining healthy habits is essential to treating and preventing “the blues.” Heading to bed on time and avoiding lengthy post-party naps is…
There are many ribbons indicating the bearer’s passion for a specific cause. A yellow ribbon for our soldiers, pink for breast cancer awareness, and red for AIDS awareness are some of the common ribbons that can be seen on the back of many vehicles on the highways. The multi-hued puzzle ribbon indicating autism awareness only…
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is the intervention of choice for the treatment of a variety of psychiatric disorders, including depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and personality disorders in both inpatient and outpatient settings. Research indicates that CBT is an especially effective intervention for a broad range of psychological problems. In fact, studies comparing the effectiveness of…
The National Institutes of Mental Health noted that most violent crimes are committed by people who are not mentally ill, and most mentally ill people do not commit violent crimes. Dramatic cases in the news, however, sometimes can lead readers to falsely assume that mentally ill people are violent. Mental illness, nonetheless, does become an…
About 30% of all Americans that go to the doctor are instructed to begin an exercise program. This has increased from 23% from just a few years prior. Approximately one third of all Americans are obese. Clearly, there are a whole lot more calories being taken in than burned. Despite the improvements that are associated…
When people talk about an illness, they usually base their ideas on the symptoms, or signs of that illness. For instance, colds can include stuffy noses, scratchy throats, and lowered energy. Flu can include fever, chills, and stomach upset. More serious illnesses, such as heart disease or cancer, also have a variety of physical indicators…
As a psychiatrist treating patients hospitalized with mental illness, I go through this scene quite often: anxious parents (who sometimes fly in from out of town) meeting with the treatment team to discuss their child’s illness, treatment, and prognosis (our technical term for prospects.) These parents come from different cultural, social and economic backgrounds, but…
You probably have heard of mental illnesses such as depression or eating disorders. It is likely that you or someone close to you have experienced one of these disorders. You may have never heard of the term “personality disorder.” Yet, it is also likely that you have met someone with such a condition and have…
While en route during your normal routine, you may have noticed that there are several large groups of pinwheels throughout the city. These are placed as part of a national effort to bring attention to Child Abuse Prevention. The pinwheel represents the hope and promise of a happy childhood for all children. A pinwheel, while…
The world can be a very dangerous place. Tornados, Hurricanes, Personal Assaults, Car Accidents and even Terrorist Attacks can occur. People exposed to these events can sometimes have problems with feeling safe and secure after they feel their life so profoundly and personally threatened. Most of the time, people do not choose to have a…