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Imagine this scenario. You’re at a club, and you’ve only had one or two drinks so far. You plan to drink more, but then you begin feeling strange. Your face becomes flushed, you experience warm, red, itchy bumps on your skin, your asthma is acting up more than ever, and your nose is becoming stuffy. What is happening? You were just feeling fine 30 minutes ago. Alcohol intolerance is real, and it can cause severely unpleasant reactions almost immediately after you drink alcohol. Additional symptoms from the ones listed above may include low pressure, headache, nausea/vomiting, and diarrhea. If you experience alcohol intolerance, you may not need to see a doctor right away but rather refrain from drinking alcohol, limit the amount you are drinking or avoid certain types of alcohol altogether. However, if symptoms persist or become more severe, or are causing unnecessary pain, consult a physician immediately just to be safe. The enzyme in the body that digests alcohol, called aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH2), is shown up as a variant in other people’s genes, causing them to produce less active ALDH2. When this happens, it prevents the body from digesting the alcohol properly. A variety of ingredients within the alcohol beverage may cause the intolerance, including:

Having a personality disorder can be challenging, especially if you haven’t been diagnosed. Many symptoms of personality disorders affect every aspect of someone’s life, and eventually cause trouble in these areas, causing the person to seek a diagnosis. For example, someone with a personality disorder may experience paranoia, extreme emotional swings, unstable self-image, unstable relationships with others, impulsive or destructive behaviors, and more. Personality disorders cannot be cured, but they are treatable. The Personality Disorders Awareness Network (PDAN) outlines several effective treatments that have been used to help lessen the severity of symptoms found in a personality disorder:

Personality disorders are mental health conditions that can affect the way a person views themselves, the world, and interactions at play with others. Histrionic personality disorder (HPD) can be challenging because it is characterized by excessive attention-seeking, emotional overreaction, and suggestibility, according to Psychology Today. A person with this disorder may over-dramatize situations, placing relationships with others at peril and leading to the development of depression. People with this disorder feel uncomfortable when they are not in the spotlight – they may be very lively and dramatic when meeting new people, but may also embarrass close friends and family when they engage in excessive public displays of affection or sobbing uncontrollably over minor concerns in public. A study published in the Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy found that women with HPD had significantly lower sexual assertiveness, self-esteem, sexual desire and marital satisfaction. Those women also experienced greater levels of sexual preoccupation, sexual boredom, and orgasmic dysfunction, and were more likely to enter an extramarital affair than women in the control group whom did not have HPD. When dating someone with HPD, it is important to recognize and become familiar with all the symptoms found in the disorder. For example, one common characteristic is believing that relationships are more intimate than they really are. The person may also easily pick up on the opinions of others, without having sufficient data or reasoning to back up their claims. A person with this disorder cares deeply about their appearance, and has rapidly shifting mood swings that may be “shallow” to others. The best way to understand your partner is to educate yourself on their disorder and maybe even attend couple’s therapy with them. In doing this, both of you can learn more about one another and how to overcome some of the obstacles you each may face in the relationship. Treatment for HPD typically involves psychotherapy, a form of “talk therapy” that allows a person to uncover new parts of themselves and learn more about how they think, act, and feel. A relationship with someone who has HPD is possible, but there may be specialized concerns to work through.

Addiction impacts not just the person who was directly affected, but friends and family as well. Unfortunately, with sobriety comes learning of the ways we have hurt our loved ones, and this can be painful to grasp. Resentment and regret can seep into our loved ones, with some seeming to no longer wish the best for us. If initial family or friends’ reactions are ones of negativity and/or disheartening behavior, give them time. If serious relationship damage occurred prior to you seek treatment, a lot of anger and guilt could still be at bay. Your loved ones may need to know you’re serious, and you must show this through your words, actions, and as time goes on. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) notes that family therapy can become indispensable in situations like these. Family therapy aims to hear how addiction has impacted everyone, allowing everyone to feel heard. Through this, each person can work individually and together in therapy to rid of negative thought patterns and habits while replacing them with more hope and positivity. The more your family and friends learn about addiction and how it affects a person’s brain, the more they should be able to look at the situation more objectively. However, this does not mean that the pain will completely disappear, at least not for a while.    A mother explained her pain from hearing about her children’s’ struggle with addiction on CNN, “It’s like having someone punch you in the stomach…You’re never the same from the second you find out [about a loved one’s struggle with addiction]…It’s the hardest thing in the world.” CNN notes that many loved ones blame themselves, as they believe there was something else they should have done to stop their loved one. Yet others may feel anger from being lied to, cheated on, stolen from, and more. It’s important to remember, however, that the family dynamic can change over time with the help of a family therapist. The most important thing you can do for yourself and your family is to focus on your recovery.

Three requirements for success in recovery

Here is an excerpt of a story that a woman shared about her recovery on the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services website: “As much as it pains me to admit, I let that foundation slip away and relapsed with nearly three years clean. Due to [the drug’s] availability and relatively low price, I used heroin this time, and jumped straight into using it intravenously…I was able to stop using after four days. It was incredibly discouraging having to change my clean date, but I didn’t give up.” Compared to popular belief, relapse is a common component of recovery. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) states that approximately 90% of those with alcoholism are likely to experience at least 1 relapse over the course of a 4-year period following treatment; those who do not seek treatment are less likely to achieve a 3-year remission, thus having higher chances of relapse. However, relapse should be considered a normal part of recovery and should not be considered a sign of failure or weakness. Whether you are in recovery for an addiction or mental illness, relapse can happen with either one and there are many reasons why a relapse may take place. Psychology Today states the following as triggers that could lead to relapse:

“Whether you think you can or whether you think you can’t, you’re right.” – Henry Ford Perspective is everything in recovery – it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy, which makes it a very big deal. What makes one person successful and another person fail? Whether it comes to creating and maintaining a business, learning a new instrument or reaching a goal in recovery, people become successful first and foremost because they believe they can. They have a vision, and they have identified the steps to getting there. The people that haven’t reached success yet or have stopped chasing after a venture is likely because they have imposed on themselves one of the following harmful beliefs:

Previous research has shown that engagement in activities can benefit one’s recovery; meaningful activities, as stated in a 2009 study published in the Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research, are typically expressed as “pursuits that allow a person to grow in connection, confidence, and contribution through development of skills, education, vocation, or relationships.” Games during recovery can be a great way to connect with others, focus on living in the present moment, and rationalize steps towards becoming a better version of ourselves. The following are some excellent games that can be played that incorporate all these things:

According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 23.5 million people aged 12 or older need treatment for illicit drug or alcohol abuse. Addiction affects nearly all of America – a person with an addiction is affected mentally, physically, and spiritually – and their loved ones experience devastating moments of despair as they feel helpless watching their loved one struggle daily. No discrimination is exhibited when it comes to addiction, as all populations deal with this major issue. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) provides some excellent information on various populations: African Americans Illegal drug use among this population is 12.4%, compared to the national average of 10.2%. According to a 2014 study titled “Less Drinking, Yet More Problems: Understanding African American Drinking and Related Problems”, researchers from Indianapolis found that African Americans report a later initiation of alcohol use during adolescence and generally lower rates of use into adulthood, but they experience more social consequences from drinking as well as alcohol-related injuries and illnesses. African Americans are also at higher risk for polydrug use. American Indians and Alaskan Natives SAMHSA states that this population has amongst the highest rates of substance abuse and mental disorders compared to other U.S. racial or ethnic groups. The National Institute on Drug Abuse claims this is likely due to limited socioeconomic opportunity; American Indian youth are also initiating substance use earlier than other populations. Alaskan Native adolescents show to have the highest rates of lifetime tobacco use, marijuana use, nonmedical use of prescription relievers, and nonmedical use psychotherapeutics than other populations. Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Other Pacific Islanders Among people ages 12 and older, the rate of illegal drug use was 4.1% amongst Asian Americans and 15.6% amongst Native Hawaiians or other Pacific Islanders. Binge drinking was also lowest among Asian Americans with a 14.5% rate, while Native Hawaiians or Other Pacific Islanders experienced a rate of 18.3%. Many people in this population find difficulty seeking treatment for substance abuse due to language barriers and external societal perceptions of success. Hispanics or Latinos Of about 52 million Hispanics or Latinos in the United States, the rate of illicit drug use among Hispanics ages 12 and up was 8.9%, while the national average was 10.2%. Binge drinking amongst this population was 24.7%, and alcohol use within the past year among Hispanic youth was 23.9%. A study conducted by researchers from Chicago found that this population is about average with the general population on drinking rates, but tend to have poorer outcomes in substance abuse programs due to language and cultural barriers.

A National Health Interview Survey conducted by the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) discovered last year that 18 million Americans practiced meditation, and this is no surprise, as the benefits are bountiful. Meditation has been shown to reduce stress, increase concentration, encourage a healthy lifestyle, increase self-awareness and happiness, increase acceptance, slow aging and more, according to the Huffington Post. The practice consists of focusing the mind on a thought, object, or activity to achieve mental clarity and emotional calmness. The Scientific American states that meditating regularly can change the way different regions of the brain communicate with one another – MRI scans have shown that, after an 8-week course on mindfulness practice, the brain’s “fight or flight” region, the amygdala, appears to shrink. This primal region of the brain is associated with feelings of fear and anxiety, and typically becomes active as a response to stress. Furthermore, as the amygdala shrinks, the pre-frontal cortex, associated with awareness, concentration, and decision making, becomes thicker. Thus, a person who practices mindfulness and meditation often is more easily able to accept things as they come and live in the present moment. It is also stated that the amygdala’s connection to the rest of the brain becomes weaker with more meditation practice. People have reported feeling less pain from meditating, and research hints that it’s because individuals are able to separate the anterior cingulate cortex – associated with the unpleasant feelings of pain – with the prefrontal cortex, instead of allowing them to interact with one another. It’s clear to see that the benefits of meditation and mindfulness aren’t just happening outside the body. Fleur Carter explained her story with mindfulness on the website, Mind Body Green. She stated: “I felt agitated, unsettled, and completely overwhelmed, yet I had no idea why…And so I did, diligently each day I’d sit for 15 minutes and practice smiling from the inside out. I generated thoughts of loving kindness from my heart and allowed the feelings to permeate through my body…After a week, I had already noticed a shift in my state of mind: I was not as agitated and the feeling of overwhelm was slowly melting away…I would finally follow my dreams and let go of the life I had carved out for myself that was filled with other people’s ideals and a huge list of ‘shoulds’”.

President Donald Trump is a hot topic for Democrats and Republicans alike, as past statements he has made have surfaced their way for analysis and defense by many Americans. Several books have been published examining the president’s mental health, as there is a growing argument of whether he is mentally stable enough to run the country. Books such as “The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump” contain essays from 27 psychologists, psychiatrists, and mental health professionals on Donald Trump’s mental state – and here is what they’re saying: “We submit that by paying attention to the president’s mental state as well as his actions, we are better informed to assess his dangerousness. Delusional levels of grandiosity, impulsivity, and the compulsions of mental impairment, when combined with an authoritarian cult of personality and contempt for the rule of law, are a toxic mix.” According to the Washington Post, Trump has been theorized as having narcissistic personality disorder, which is characterized by grandiosity, inflated sense of self-importance, exaggerated achievements, expecting to be recognized as superior, monopolizing conversations and looking down on others, taking advantage of others to get what they want, and more. Other claims suggest that he shows indications of sociopathy, which includes lacking empathy, absence of guilt, and intentional manipulation. Are these theories true? Psychology Today recognizes the ethicality that must come into play. As many of these health professionals state, they are not “diagnosing” the president, but rather “assessing” him based on his past words and actions. A true diagnosis can only be conducted by a licensed health care professional, and would include a psychological evaluation that assesses a person’s symptoms, thoughts, feelings, and behavior patterns. Lab tests would also need to be completed, as well as a physical screening. While there are many concerns that people have surrounding President Trump’s mental health, an official diagnosis is required to truly determine his “stability”. However, this heated topic does bring to play the fact that much of America is divided and needs to come back together. Our differences are causing more hatred and less support, and, according to the 2017 Stress in America Survey, Americans are more stressed than ever on the topic of our political climate.

Personality disorders affect the way a person thinks, acts, perceives events, and interacts with others. NBC News states that 1 in 5 Americans has a personality disorder; this may include narcissistic, borderline, bipolar disorder, dependent or avoidant personality disorder, and more. One disorder that isn’t talked about as often is paranoia personality disorder (PPD) – if you’re experiencing these symptoms and they are significantly distressing you and causing you difficulty in your day to day life, you may want to seek the help of a health care professional. Known for being grounded in excessive distrust and paranoia, this disorder causes people to rarely confide in others and misinterpret harmless events as malicious. For example, a person with this disorder may interpret the actions of someone else as being threatening or demeaning, when there is really no reason to think this. Psychology Today notes that people with PPD do not lost their sense of touch with reality, but they often deny their own negative feelings towards others. A person with PPD’s worst fear is being exploited or betrayed, even if a person has proven time and time again that they are trustworthy. Self-sufficiency is often crucial for those with PPD, as they do not want to rely on someone else in fear they might betray them. The following are some examples of scenarios that may involve a person with PPD: