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Valium and Vicodin are listed under two separate drug classifications, and these two drugs are used for completely different reasons. Valium (the brand name for diazepam) is a benzodiazepine often used to treat anxiety disorders, seizures, restless legs syndrome and more. It has known side effects of drowsiness, muscle weakness, and/or loss of coordination. Vicodin, on the other hand, is an opioid based medication (the brand name for hydrocodone bitartrate and acetaminophen). This drug is a drug used to treat moderate to severe pain, and is not used for mental health purposes.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) affects nearly 2.2 million adults in the United States each year. A person with OCD may have obsessions and compulsions that they feel the urge to repeat over and over. Obsessions take the form of repeated thoughts, urges, or mental images that cause anxiety, and compulsions are repetitive behaviors that a person feels compelled to do in response to an obsession. This could take the form of washing, knocking, checking, arranging, cleaning, counting, and much more. Symptoms of OCD may fluctuate over time, lessening in severity or becoming more distressful for a person. OCD can easily affect all aspects of one’s day and can become very stressful. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has been shown to be very effective in the treatment of OCD. With CBT, a person can learn more about the ways their beliefs have shaped their perceptions on things and how they’ve acted upon those beliefs to determine if those beliefs are helping or harming their quality of life. We all have beliefs that prevent us from doing certain activities, but a person with OCD has a secondary level of thoughts that create further anxiety and obsession. A study conducted by researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles and published in the journal Translational Psychiatry found that CBT presented a significant increase in connectivity between 8 different brain networks, including the cerebellum, caudate nucleus, putamen, and the dorsolateral and ventrolateral prefrontal cortices. This means that CBT seems to help a person compensate for their OCD by helping them to develop new cognitive and behavioral strategies towards it. A lot of people with OCD are not aware they have it until a situation arises that brings the symptoms to light, a person mentions it, or they are diagnosed. If you have been struggling with obsessive thoughts and compulsions, treatment is available. CBT isn’t the only form of effective treatment, either. There are several others that have proven to help people. Make the decision to seek out a reputable treatment center today so that you can take control over your OCD.

Xanax (the brand name for alprazolam) is a benzodiazepine and is considered one of the most addictive benzodiazepine medications on the market today. Known for quickly making changes to the brain, up to 44% of Xanax users become dependent on the drug. Medicinally, Xanax has been prescribed to patients who experience panic disorders, anxiety disorders, or anxiety caused by depression. However, others use this drug recreationally because of its euphoric effects. The Chicago Tribune states that Xanax addiction has the potential to become America’s next drug concern, as many Americans are overestimating the benefits and underestimating the risks of this drug. Xanax works by increasing the amount of the neurotransmitter GABA in the brain, which results in feelings of relaxation and calmness. Xanax slows down the movement of brain chemicals, boosting the effects of GABA. When taken as prescribed by a doctor, Xanax can be relatively safe and effective. However, it’s once a person has begun taking more than needed and/or more often that they begin to develop tolerance and later, dependence. This can easily become dangerous as a person with dependence to the drug may experience withdrawal symptoms while not taking the drug, such as anxiety, depressed mood, restlessness, poor memory, muscle aches and tension, tremors, and seizures. Xanax may work differently in the body if you have alcoholism, alcoholic liver disease, hepatic function, impaired renal function, if you are an older adult, and if you are obese. Some individuals who are struggling with mental illness have attempted to self-medicate using Xanax, but the drug can worsen any of these symptoms because of abuse. A level of caution is always necessary when taking Xanax, even if it’s prescribed. Due to its addiction potential, even people who have followed the doctor’s directions exactly as prescribed have still struggled with dependence. If you’ve been prescribed Xanax, the best method is to regularly check in with your doctor to monitor your progress and to see if you need to slowly taper down. Always consult the help of a medical professional if you experience any symptoms of concern.

On the surface, these two terms sound similar – mood and personality – in the world of psychology and mental disorders, they must be related, right? Somewhat, yes. While there are some overlapping symptoms associated with each, there are some key differences that are important to recognize if optimal treatment is to be received. If you haven’t been diagnosed but you think you may have a mood or personality disorder, learning some key differences may help you explain your experiences to your doctor. Mood disorders are based on the relationship a person has with their emotions. While all of us experience ups and downs when it comes to mood, a person with a mood disorder may experience these ups and down in much more severity and for longer or shorter durations. For example, one common mood disorder is bipolar disorder (BPD), which is often characterized as having manic and/or depressive episodes. Mania consists of feelings of elatedness – feeling “on top of the world” and a person with BPD may make large financial decisions or engage in risky behaviors while feeling this way. Depression, on the other hand, involves feelings of utter sadness and hopelessness, causing people who have this to no longer enjoy activities they once loved. Personality disorders are characterized as major differences between an individual person and other people regarding how they deal with emotion, how they interact with others, how they think about problems and how they interpret situations. There are 3 main subcategories of personality disorders: Type A, Type B, and Type C: Type A: The individual relates to others in a way that is considered odd. For example, paranoid personality disorder is based on a person’s mistrust and suspicions of others. Type B: Has difficulty regulating moods, often switching rapidly between high and low moods. For example, borderline personality disorder often involves unstable moods and at times, self-harm. Type C: Feelings of fear and anxiety dominant this person’s perception. For example, a person with avoidant personality disorder may avoid any situation that may cause them anxiety of rejection. It’s understandable how one could have confused mood with personality disorders. However, these differences place focus on whether a person should be diagnosed simply on the way they relate to their emotions, or whether they exhibit this relation in social aspects as well. If you have been struggling with a mental disorder, make the decision to seek out help at a reputable treatment center today.

Panic disorder is characterized by seemingly out-of-the-blue panic attacks, causing the person who experiences them to live in fear of them reoccurring. With this disorder, a panic attack can occur unexpectedly, even waking someone from sleep. Panic disorder typically begins in early adulthood (20s), but children may also experience this disorder. The reactions to panic attacks are often strong, with many people feeling as though they’ve had a heart attack. If you have panic disorder, you’ve likely felt ashamed or embarrassed to attend work, school, and social situations in fear that you may have a panic attack again.

Many of us have experienced that extra scoop of ice cream or eating some more chips at the end of a long day. We may not do this every day, but occasional cravings for it happen. This happens to a lot of people – but does this classify as binge eating disorder? Not quite. There are some key differences between overeating at times and having binge eating disorder (BED). A lot of those differences lie in the amount of food consumed, how often these episodes occur, and the feelings experienced afterwards. By understanding the difference between overeating and BED, we can more correctly identify when our eating patterns are normal and when they may indicate a more serious health condition. Unlike overeating, BED produces feelings of shame, guilt, sadness, and regret. Many people with BED feel as though they have no control over their eating – they may eat when they aren’t hungry and may also eat alone because they are embarrassed of how much they eat. BED also causes many people to eat quicker than what is considered normal, often without taking any compensatory measures to make up for the large amounts of food consumed, such as purging, excessive exercise, etc. Americans tend to overeat, with emphasis placed on large sizes of fast-food and quick access to these selections. While our society perpetuates overeating, there is a clean difference between the overeating nature of many Americans and the eating associated with BED. If you have been diagnosed with BED, note that recovery is possible and there are some very effective methods of treatment for this disorder. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has been shown to help many people with BED; it focuses on helping people change old, negative habits of thinking towards more positive, productive thoughts. If you haven’t yet, make the decision to reach out to a reputable treatment center today. There are many resources that you can use to be on your way towards a happier, healthier life. It’s never too late.

People with avoidant personality disorder (APD) have similar symptoms to those with social anxiety disorder (SAD) but their symptoms are more severe. However, it is said that because both disorders hold many of the same symptoms, they are often diagnosed together. Like SAD, people with APD fear rejection, ridicule, and humiliation by others. There are several key traits of APD:

Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the United States, with around 40 million Americans experiencing it each year. Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) affects 6.8 million adults, and women are twice as likely to be affected than men. People with GAD are likely to experience symptoms of restlessness, irritability, muscle tension, sleeping problems, difficulty controlling worrying, and being easily fatigued. If you have GAD, you can probably agree that these symptoms can be exhausting if not treated. Below are some very common situations that many people with GAD experience often:

Self-esteem is the overall opinion that you have of yourself and your abilities. If you have a healthy self-esteem, you feel good about yourself and feel worthy of respect from others. If you have a low self-esteem, you place little value on your opinions and ideas; you may also worry that you aren’t deserving of respect from others. Self-esteem is a crucial piece of who we are because it is a combination of several factors, including:

Approximately 51 million people worldwide have schizophrenia, a type of mental disorder involving a breakdown between thoughts, emotions, and behavior. With this disorder, individuals may have a faulty perception, may exhibit inappropriate actions and feelings, and more. The American Psychiatric Association notes that many people with schizophrenia experience delusions, hallucination, difficulty with thinking and concentrating, and lack of motivation. Recent research is leading to new medication that could help even further reduce symptoms that individuals with schizophrenia experience. Paul M. Grant, a research professor of psychology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania explained for the U.S. News that many people with schizophrenia don’t get a high quality of life. He stated, “For some people, they go through that cycle and they just don’t ever get the life that they wanted – they live solitarily, they keep to themselves”. Many others wind up homeless or abuse drugs and alcohol because of not only their symptoms but also due to stigma. If you have schizophrenia, you may have experienced some of these challenges. According to Science Daily, newest research is showing promise for a medication that may be able to directly target antipsychotic drug effects such as weight gain, anxiety, dizziness, severe digestive problems, agitation, and more. For scientists, they are particularly focused on the D2 receptor in the brain to see how certain medications bind to it. Before now, scientists were unable to find a way to isolate the D2 receptor – many medications also bind to many different dopamine, serotonin, and histamine receptors, causing serious side effects. If researchers can find a medication that doesn’t spark unwanted side effects, individuals with schizophrenia may be able to enjoy a higher quality of living while on medication. Hopefully soon, we will have something to help further alleviate distressing symptoms that many are experiencing. If you have schizophrenia, understand that you are not alone. Treatment is becoming more advanced and is opening more avenues – a future that we can become excited for. Seek the help you need today.

If you have a serious mental illness, you may have felt overwhelmed, fearful, and so flustered that you could barely think. You may have felt your chest tightening, as though the world was caving in. During these moments, it can feel like the world is falling apart – and it may feel like nobody can save you. Many people have experienced these feelings, and this is when treatment becomes a critical component of your recovery. When you first enter treatment for your mental illness, stabilization will be the first step. Stabilization, in a broad sense, may mean something different depending on the person. In the world of mental health recovery, it means reaching a psychological state of peace. Several interventions may be used to help you reach this:

With the opioid epidemic, doctors all over the country are limiting the number of refills patients can have, and some patients are being denied certain medications altogether. According to NBC News, many people are using Facebook to find and obtain prescription drugs they can’t otherwise get at the doctor’s. Through Facebook groups, people can request to join and then will swap certain drugs that are needed through private messaging. One woman stated, “If it weren’t for the online diabetes community I would be dead.” The dangers of sharing prescription drugs, however, are that people will not know if certain drugs have been stored incorrectly, are expired, or are contaminated. Yet many people are still risking their lives in pursuit of obtaining these prescription drugs. Drug makers and insurers are recommending that people first speak with their physician before taking unknown medication, and to only take what was prescribed to them. This easily becomes a problem, however, when the medication a person needs is denied access to them. Drug sharing isn’t just a U.S. problem, however. BBC News notes that tens of millions of prescription drugs have been smuggled into the UK, and officials are working to fix this issue. As one official stated on the website, “Tough enforcement is a fundamental part of the strategy and we are taking coordinated action to tackle illegal drug use alongside other criminal activity”. Overall, it seems there is a huge amount of criminal profit that is being made on selling prescription drugs through the black market. As the U.S. and other parts of the world are tackling the opioid epidemic, these drugs seem to be escaping through other avenues and we will have to see where this takes our country. If you are struggling with opioid addiction, make the decision to seek help today. Treatment may involve naloxone, an opioid antagonist that helps to reverse an opioid overdose. It’s never too late, and treatment is available. There are many people who care about your health and recovery; you are not alone.