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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.

Massage therapy has helped millions of people with tension and stress. The American Massage Therapy Association found that in 2015, massage therapy was nearly a $12.1 billion industry. In a general sense, massage therapy involves “pressing, rubbing, and manipulating the skin, muscles, tendons, and ligaments”, according to Mayo Clinic. There are several diverse types of massage therapy, including:

Art therapy can give people a voice, develop social skills, assist in relaxation, and much more. Art therapy is defined by the dictionary as “a form of psychotherapy involving the encouragement of free self-expression through painting, drawing, or modeling, used as a remedial activity or an aid to diagnosis”. As stated on the Huffington Post, art therapy exercises are often meant to emphasize the process, not the result, of the project. The following are some therapeutic art projects that you may want to begin to help you connect with your feelings and express yourself:

According to the American Holistic Health Association, “holistic medicine is the art and science of healing that addresses the whole person – body, mind, and spirit”. Holistic medicine considers the environmental, nutritional, physical, emotional, spiritual, and lifestyle components of a person’s life. The 2007 National Health Interview Survey revealed that approximately 38% of adults used complementary and alternative medicine. In total, 83 million adults spent $33.9 billion out-of-pocket for these services, and those numbers have likely increased. Holistic medicine consists of several different practices:

Many people in recovery cite spirituality as a key element to their success. In a study conducted by researchers from Maryland, participants in recovery were asked to explain the role of spirituality in their recovery. Many participants explained that when they were actively addicted, their spirituality seemed to suffer, and it seemed to go “hand in hand” when they entered recovery. Spirituality is defined by the Cambridge Dictionary as “the quality that involves deep feelings and beliefs of a religious nature, rather than the physical parts of life”.