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Acupuncture can be formally defined as “a complementary medical practice that involves stimulating certain points on the body, most often with a needle penetrating the skin, to alleviate pain or to help treat various health conditions,” according to LiveScience. Acupuncture is becoming more and more popular in America; a 2012 study found that 14.01 million people were using acupuncture in 2007, and the numbers have certainly increased from there. With the opioid crisis affecting millions around the United States, acupuncture is becoming more widespread. Acupuncture has been shown to provide many benefits, including stress reduction and pain relief, but also to increase levels of chemicals in the brain such as serotonin, norepinephrine, dopamine, and more. According to Forbes magazine, acupuncture was recognized as a therapy for drug treatment by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1996. Many have been utilizing acupuncture as a way to manage their pain, which is reducing the number of opioid prescriptions needed, thus helping to reduce the number of opioid addictions. A 2015 study conducted by Harvard researchers, as explained on the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine’s official website, found that repeated acupuncture treatment was found to “reduce or eliminate the need for opioids by restoring the balance in key brain regions, altering pain-related attention and memory.” As more people are using this method to reduce their pain, opioids are becoming less critical. How does acupuncture relieve pain? Harvard Health notes that acupuncture releases endorphins – the body’s natural pain-killing chemicals – and by affecting the region of the brain that manages serotonin, the chemical responsible over our mood. Several treatment sessions may help a person feel more relaxed and experience less pain overall. While more research is being conducted, it’s clear that acupuncture is showing some signs of effective strategies. Perhaps people are finding more holistic, natural ways to help ease their pain without using prescriptions. If you are considering acupuncture, it is advised that you speak with your doctor first to ensure this would be a good fit for you.

Before you embark on a specific treatment program, it’s important to make sure that the one you’ve selected fits your needs best. Intensive outpatient treatment programs are best for those who:

According to a 2014 study titled “Acupuncture: Past, Present, and Future”, acupuncture has been around for more than 40 years and has taken upon more than 10 million treatments each year in the United States alone. Medical News Today states that with acupuncture, an acupuncturist will place small needles among meridians - or energy highways - to help open up energy flow and balance a person. Holistic practices such as acupuncture, also known as alternative therapeutic methods, have become increasingly popular as Americans attempt to find non-invasive remedies to everyday issues they’re experiencing. The following are some amazing benefits that acupuncture has been said to provide:

When it comes to recovery and mental health, goal-setting is incredibly important. The right treatment center will have you work with a therapist and/or coach to help you establish goals for yourself in recovery, as well as ways to reach those goals. Forbes Magazine states that the key to reaching your goals are to have a vision, identify measurable goals (goals that you can clearly tell when they have been reached), set benchmarks by making smaller steps towards reaching those goals, and to celebrate when you have reached them. Okay - so you have a clear idea on how goal setting works, but how do lists fit in to this success? Bustle Magazine states several benefits to list-making:

A new study published in the Yoga Journal found that nearly 20.4 million people practice yoga in the United States; yoga has become an increasingly popular tool to help people find balance amidst the chaos of life. Aside from the more traditional styles of yoga, such as hatha or iyengar, people from around the country have begun to create their own forms of yoga, including the unexpected: goats, dogs, horses and other animals, marijuana, nudity, “rave” scenes, aerial fitness, and more. While many may find these types of yoga to be beneficial, there are some key issues here. According to CBS News, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on a mission to revitalize yoga through a campaign that will bring yoga back to its roots - India. During the clip, it showed how yoga is practiced in India - a much different way of life than how it is practiced in America. For example, yoga in India consists of cleansing the nostrils and snorting, meditation, and very strict, precise movements. The Prime Minister stated that yoga is not meant to be seen as a form of exercise, but rather a tool to become more connected with oneself and the world. Does this mean that Western civilization’s form of yoga constitutes as cultural appropriation? Yes, it does - but this can be mitigated by incorporating more of the nature that yoga was meant for - not just the physical component. Julia Gibran, a Toronto yoga teacher, stated for Vice Magazine, “In the West in general, we focus on one limb of yoga, and that is asana. It’s become a very physical practice. But there are ways to acknowledge the roots [of the practice]. People can put a little focus on meditation, or bring in breath work.” Gibran also noted that when she first practiced yoga it was taught by her grandfather, and she read a book called Bhagavad Gita with him - then moving on to learn more about Hindu tradition, cultural history, deities and symbolism, and more. She went on to explain, “....the study of asana does help the Western population in terms of anxiety and stress, so it’s been such a gift. But something I struggle with is I feel very lucky to be of West Indian descent teaching yoga...I do consider myself, oddly enough, to be a minority.” Does this mean that Americans should stop practicing yoga? Absolutely not - it just means that we need to work on incorporating more than just the physical component of yoga. We need to practice meditation and breathing, because these are key grounding tools that were developed to help us garner more love and peace for ourselves and the world.

Neurofeedback therapy has been shown to be very beneficial for treating things like anxiety, PTSD, ADHD, concussions, sleep problems, strokes, brain surgery, movement disorders, and more. Katherine Ellison, a journalist who won the Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting, tried neurofeedback therapy and explained that she was able to learn more about how ADHD affected her brain and how she could better control it. She stated that her session involved looking at a screen with a beautiful field of flowers. Her explanation to the National Public Radio (NPR) was this: “When my brain responded the way it was supposed to, the field would burst into color. I’d hear bird song and beautiful flowers would bloom, but when I got distracted or when I got a little bit more sped up, the flowers would wilt. It would turn gray, and I’d know that I needed to work a little harder.” According to Psychology Today, neurofeedback therapy involves watching some sort of computer or monitoring device while having electric sensors to give information as to what is going on in the brain and body. Through this, neurofeedback therapy will provide you information about your brain and how it works. As you continue with the sessions, you will better be able to connect some of the pathways in the brain that were dysregulated. Neurofeedback therapy is a completely non-invasive treatment that reads, not inputs, neural activity in the brain. Research is still being conducted to prove the effectiveness of neurofeedback therapy, but many people attest to its benefits. For example, one person stated, “I have tried a variety of treatments...neurofeedback is the only thing that has really helped me feel good. I no longer crave alcohol, very rarely get depressed or feel bad about myself - even at a challenging time in my life. I have learned to take small steps, enjoy life, be happy, and be me, something I had trouble with.” Neurofeedback therapy is said to be conducted over a series of weeks, with many people ranging from 20-40 sessions. However, results vary by person, and you’ll never know if it could provide some benefit to you unless you try it. Speak with someone today to learn even more about this form of treatment and to see if it would be a good fit for you.

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) describes bipolar disorder (BPD) as a mental illness that involves manic and depressive episodes. BPD affects nearly every aspect of a person’s life if untreated; thankfully there are medications and treatment options to help people better manage their symptoms. There are several celebrities who experience BPD and now that mental health is becoming a more appropriate topic of discussion, many are speaking out about their experiences and giving advice to others who are experiencing it, too. For example, Demi Lovato told WomensHealthMag.com, “...it’s possible to live well, feel well, and also find happiness with bipolar disorder or any other mental illness they’re struggling with.” These words hold a lot of weight for fans of Lovato’s - people who are inspired by her music and look up to her. Buzzfeed states that after the tragic death of Robin Williams, Wayne Brady opened up about his mental health. He stated, “It took me awhile to get my stuff together, to go, ‘You know what? If you’re not happy, you have to do something about it.’ Just to admit that you are feeling this way is a huge step. To claim that, to say, ‘Why do I feel dark? Why do I feel unhappy? Let me do something about this.’ It’s clear that for many people, admitting the need for help is difficult. Most of the time, we place our mental health on the backburner because we choose to focus on what seems to be more pressing needs at the time - maintaining family responsibilities, keeping up with work-related tasks, doing everything we can to keep up with the demanding requests of an addiction, and more. Although this happens, it’s important for us to stay on top of making sure that our mental health is taken care of. After all, it’s most dangerous when mental illnesses arise because of our inaction. Catherine Zeta Jones has spoken about her bipolar disorder to help reduce stigma. She stated, “...I hope fellow sufferers know that [bipolar disorder] is completely controllable. I hope I can help remove any stigma attached to it, and that those who don’t have it under control will seek help with all that is available to treat it.” Celebrities are people who have experienced tragedy, mental illness, and more. Thankfully with more help from celebrities, we can make mental illness an even more common discussion, one that is centered around love and support.

Schizophrenia is a spectrum mental disorder involving a disconnection between thought, emotion, and behavior. A person with schizophrenia may exhibit faulty perception, inappropriate actions or feelings, disconnection from reality and personal relationships to fantasies and delusions, and a series of other mental fragmentations. Researchers have attempted to find ways to help those with schizophrenia better manage their symptoms, with the latest technique involving technology. According to BBC News, a pilot study conducted by researchers from King’s College London Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience and the University of Roehampton found that video games could help people with schizophrenia control their symptoms. Participants were asked to play a video game while connected to an MRI scanner. With the video game, participants were to move a computerized rocket through various mental strategies - the pilot test showed that individuals were better able to identify what originally seemed as external voices to internal voices. In a sense, this form of treatment is similar to neurofeedback therapy - a tool used to help people control what is normally involuntary bodily process such as skin temperature, blood pressure, heart rate, and brain waves. Since those with schizophrenia are more visually and audibly sensitive, delusions and hallucinations can be particularly frightening for them. Thus, video games provide a way for people to alter their perceptions of the voices they hear through the brain’s movement of a particular object - in the pilot study’s case - a rocket. Although the study provides preliminary data, the results seem promising, and researchers are believing in its abilities. As we look toward the future, hopefully even more treatment options will become available to those with schizophrenia so that they can have various methods to work with, to whatever suits their learning style and needs best. If you have schizophrenia, make the decision to seek treatment today. With different resources available, you can learn to better manage your symptoms. Treatment may involve therapy, activities, as well as medication. Don’t wait any longer, and seek the help you need today.

Studies show that nearly 50% of all jobs today require some degree of technology, and it is predicted that number will rise to 77% within the next decade. Furthermore, Vision Council states that as many as 95% of Americans spend at least 2 hours or more each day on a digital device. Nearly one-third of Americans spend 9 or more hours a day. Between the amount of technology required for jobs and the number of people becoming addicted to the internet, it’s safe to say that technology is at the forefront. According to CBS News, many Americans report eye problems including dryness, irritation, and blurred vision. If you’ve experienced these things, you may have also experienced frequent headaches, back pain, neck strain, and more. Another report titled Diverse: Issues in Higher Education states that increased technology use has caused us to difficulty interacting with one another in person - while the ideal circumstance would be for us to cut down our use of technology, this is not always feasible. However, are there are some steps that we can take to ensure our health alongside our productivity:

With the recent shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in South Florida, many are questioning whether mental illness is really to blame for the devastating shooting of 17 people. The 19-year-old responsible was shown to have displayed very aggressive, violent behavior throughout the years, with several neighbors reporting him to security on various occasions. This brings to light 2 main arguments posed by the public: Is mental illness to blame, and how can gun laws be altered with more security measures to prevent horrific situations such as this? A widespread debate has been that gun laws should be restricted to those with mental illness. Could this be effective? The American Psychological Association (APA) published a book with many insights that relate to this issue. Chapter 4 of the book, titled “Mass Shootings and Mental Illness” proposes several suggestions based on research. For example, the book states that restricting gun laws to those with mental illness not only perpetuates the stereotypes that those with a mental illness are dangerous, but it also holds little value because people who engage in mass shootings do not often have a history of hospitalization or other incidents which would lead them to the diagnosis of a mental illness or treatment for one. Furthermore, the book states that less than 3% of situations with gun violence are attributed to mental illness. Thus, restricting gun use to this population would not protect people from individuals who do not classify as having a mental illness. PBS News Hour stated that President Trump believes that mental illness leads to gun violence. In a tweet just a day after the event, he stated, “So many signs that the Florida shooter was mentally disturbed, even expelled from school for bad and erratic behavior. Neighbors and classmates knew he was a big problem. Must always report such instances to authorities, again and again!” Dr. Louis Kraus, forensic psychiatry chief at Chicago’s Rush University Medical College, believes this is off-track. He stated, “The concept that mental illness is a precursor to violent behavior is nonsense. The vast majority of gun violence is not attributed to mental illness.” Overall, it seems that more needs to be in place for individuals attempting to buy a gun, and signs of a dangerous person need to be reported immediately and through various routes. The more we all take a stand against violence, the safer we make our communities.

On Valentine’s Day this year, after being expelled, a 19-year-old came back into Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and shot 17 people. This tragic event has caused many of the high school’s students and parents to speak up about gun laws. According to CNN, young survivors are organizing advocacy for gun reform. Darren Levine, a teacher of the high school, stated, “They can change the world, and we can only go with them.” Furthermore, there will be several official meetings with law enforcement, school administrators, teachers, and mental health experts to determine better ways to protect the safety of students within schools. The high school will be reopening in phases as the school will run on a modified schedule to ease students back into classes within 1 week. Some students opened up about the terror they experienced within the high school that day. As stated on People Magazine, Lorena Sanabria, a student of the school, explained, “We were all desperate. We were all crying. We were on our phones trying to stay in touch with our families and read the news.” Her mother stated, “I heard the gunshots. My daughter was talking to me and I was hearing the gunshots.” Time Magazine notes that people from all over the country are in protest, hoping to place added pressure on Congress due to the aftermath of this horrific event. Over 100 students from the high school are heading to Florida’s capital to urge lawmakers to take action on gun laws as to prevent a repeat of the event that happened on Valentine’s Day. Another group of protesters in Los Angeles rallied for stricter background checks and other safety-related measures, with some even holding up signs that said “Our Children Are Counting On You”. Thus far, the Senate is preparing a package that includes increasing the minimum age to purchase a firearm to 21, establishing a waiting period to purchase a firearm, creating gun-violence restraining orders, and more. Hopefully with more people speaking up, we can persuade Congress to take a stance for children - and everyone - all over the country. Placing more safety measures could potentially prevent some of what has unfortunately happened already this year.

It can be disappointing to hear a loved one say they will seek help, and then you witness no change. We want the best for our loved ones, and it becomes a stressful situation when we cannot control whether they actively seek help or not. If your loved one has spoken to you about seeking help but has done nothing to prove they are serious, they could be in the pre-contemplation or contemplation stage. Researchers C. DiClemente and J. Prochaska developed a five-stage of model of change to help professionals understand what motivates people to make a change. The 5 stages are: