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Women have certain rituals, dietary trends, exercise habits and more which they become accustomed to before they get pregnant. Once they find out they are pregnant their dietary and exercise habits can no longer be self-serving. They have another person’s needs to consider. Most women gain weight during pregnancy. For women who might have underlying eating disorder issues they never realized before, the out of control weight gain is very triggering. They feel out of control of their bodies, uncomfortable with themselves, and feeling anxious that they cannot change it. An obsession about their body, size, and appearance is striking to them. Before their body, whatever they did to maintain control over how they looked and how they felt they looked might have not been a conscious issue because there was not shift in their body. Now, pregnant with their child, and with a changing body, they are forced to reckon with  the deep psychological as well as physical discomfort that experience creates.

Thus far in the recorded history of marijuana consumption, there has not been an overdose to date. Despite emergency police calls of paranoia due to THC edibles consumption, and concern that someone unconscious from smoking too much marijuana might be dead, the natural herb has never caused an overdose death. Marijuana consumption can, however, cause a chemical dependency, which led professionals to create the marijuana use disorder diagnosis.

Borderline personality disorder is often misdiagnosed for other issues because of the complex ways that it manifests through the emotions.

Alcohol presents three kinds of dangers. First, alcohol is a danger to yourself. Second, alcohol is a danger to others. Lastly, alcohol is a danger to your community.

The brain has things happen within it and the brain has things happen to it. Every second of every day the brain is working tirelessly to perform thousands of functions. Synapses are firing and refiring, behaviors are being ingrained into our system, thousands of stimuli are coming in and being processed- the brain is absolutely remarkable. However, the brain is also incredibly vulnerable. Vulnerable to both physical and emotional impact, the brain can be injured. When we experience trauma, abuse, or mental illness, it changes our brain. We have memories that cannot be erased, we learn lessons that could take years to unlearn and learn differently. New studies show that mental illnesses like depression structurally change the brain on the inside. Published in Scientific Reports, the study used a new form of imaging to map white matter in the brain. Talking about brain matter, we often talk about grey matter in the brain. For example, mindfulness and meditation are common practices proven to reduce the symptoms of depression and even help some people achieve remission from depression. Both mindfulness and meditation have been proven to increase grey matter in the brain, which is raw brain tissue upon which knowledge and information can be imprinted. White matter, on the other hand, is what connects one area of grey matter to the next area. Wiring together clusters of synapses and everything that lives in the grey matter of the brain, white matter is critical to brain function. Compromises in white matter can mean compromises in emotions, thinking, and other human functions. The study found that patients with depression had “alterations” in their white matter. Additionally, white matter in the brain of patients with depression did not have as high a quality compared to patients who did not have depression. Brain imaging studies are essential for gaining a deeper understanding of complicated mental illness like depression. Mental illnesses are not just feelings. They are complex systems of brain reactions which take on a physical form. Ongoing research enlightens the treatment process while also validating many of the treatments already in place.

Eating disorders are triggered by practices other people might find normal. Calorie counting, tracking food intake, clocking exercise, analyzing macro and micro nutrients, reaching a daily “step” goal. For others, these are the revolutions of technology in health and fitness. It is easier than ever to track your every move, how many calories those moves burn, your heart rate, and more. Constantly clued into your health, your are supposed to feel like you can optimize your daily life to optimize your daily health. Modern healthy living gets things backwards about health. Social media platforms are the perfect example. Posting screenshots of fitness tracking apps, pictures of nutritious meals, “mirror selfies” about working hard and taking care of your body- all of these could be hiding deeper issues. Orthorexia nervosa, for example, is a new eating disorder which has developed out of the clean eating health trend. Exercise addiction, anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, body dysmorphia, and otherwise disordered eating or body image issues could be hiding behind what looks like a very healthy, dedicated, disciplined individual. Fitness tracking apps support an obsession which is emphasized through compulsive behaviors. People with disordered eating and exercising behaviors create obsessive thought processes about their food, their exercise and their appearance. Should they miscalculate a portion, miss a workout, or be forced to eat outside of their strict “healthy” diet, their brain obsesses about the consequences. In order to rid themselves of those obsessive thoughts, they compulsively detox, cleanse, starve, purge, exercise, restrict, or more to make up for it. This behavior is normalized as well. Instead of accepting all food as food and eating in balance with moderation, “bad” food has to be compensated for or else it could cause problems. Most often the real “problems” that these behaviors cause is emotional insecurity and a feeling of being out of control. Sometimes, technology brings out and fully cultivates a preexisting mental illness which never had anywhere else to develop. Those who might have body image issues, depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem might find solace in eating disorder behaviors and the obsessive commitment to fitness tracking apps, bringing their problems to light.   If you feel you are losing control of your life due to an unhealthy obsession with fitness, exercise, eating, and more, your are not alone. There is help for recovering from an eating disorder. As a leading primary mental health provider, Avalon By The Sea offers trusted residential treatment programs which provide trusted results. Call us today for a confidential assessment and information on our healing programs in Malibu, California: 888-958-7511

According to the American Heart Association, one out of every five people who are hospitalized for either a heart attack or chest pain will develop depression. These patients don’t experience post-surgical depression or passing depression. Major depression is four times more common in those who have had a heart attack or been hospitalized for chest pain than the rest of the population. Additional statistics from the American Heart Association included one out of three survivors of a stroke developing depression and half of patients who have any kind of cardiac bypass surgery. Depression and the heart are closely related and can have a fatal relationship. Depression causes a high amount of stress. In people who experience their depression through lethargy and fatigue, there is typically a loss in diet, nutrition, and exercise. People who turn to drugs, alcohol, or food to cope with their depression also put a great amount of stress on the heart. CNN cites that patients with heart disease who are diagnosed with major depression are twice as likely to die within ten years as other patients. The lack of motivation, poor diet and exercise, and extreme emotional stress is heavy on the heart- metaphorically and physically. Coupled with substance abuse, the heart is strained to keep up with the weight of depression. Treatment for heart disease and heart attack should include a mental health screening and required short term work with a counselor or a therapist. Depression is considered relapsing and remitting. Proven practices like therapy, meditation, yoga, exercise, and treatment have reduced people’s depression scores considerably until they are in clinical remission. All of the practices proven to benefit people with depression are also healthy for the heart. Any kind of therapeutic technique which reduces stress reduces inflammation. Ultimately, heart problems are caused by chronic inflammation, which can be caused by chronic stress. Mental illnesses like depression are forms of mental stress and some have been linked to causing inflammation in the body. Yoga and meditation have been scientifically proven to reduce stress, reduce inflammation, and help encourage heart health.

In addition to blocking cravings for heroin or other opiates, Vivitrol can affect the brain in other ways. Vice reported that “its active ingredient may also block the brain’s natural opioids, endorphins, and enkephalins.” Vivitrol's main ingredient naloxone causes a long term release into the brain which can stave off cravings for long periods of time. However, the other ways the brain is affected can create depression or a lack of interest in life which is triggering to heroin and opioid addicts. As depressant drugs, opioids slow down the brain and body so much that people in the thick of their opioid addiction do nothing much more than use opioids. The article explained, “Consequently, it has the potential to reduce normal pleasures like those from food, exercise, music, and perhaps most important, the ‘warmth’ of feeling connected to others.” Depression, suicidal thoughts, and a low tolerance for opioids are other side effects.

Relationships aren’t supposed to cause anxiety. No relationship is perfect. Couples learn how to argue in healthy ways because it isn’t healthy to be in total agreement without any conflict at all. Communication, understanding, and using tools for finding solutions are what helps couples stay together to reconcile their differences. When a mental illness is present in a relationship, simple maintenance routines like communication and understanding can be difficult. People have all different kinds of experiences in their life and in their relationships which cause them to have anxiety within their relationships. For example, adults who experienced divorce through their parents at a young age have a certain kind of anxiety. To them, the law has been programmed into their brains that you can never know when a partner might leave, when they are lying, or when a fight is going to lead to separation. Relationship anxiety can be caused by abuse, abandonment, and neglect, as well as just the presence of an anxiety disorder. People who are struggling with other mental illnesses might have relationship anxiety because of the shame and stigma associated with their mental illness. They feel that their mental illness makes them unlovable and that anyone would be right to want to leave them. You can tell if you are struggling with the pressures of relationship anxiety by developing a mindful awareness of your thoughts. If you’re in treatment, or considering going to treatment for a mental health disorder, mindfulness will become a major part of your recovery. Mindfulness gives you the ability to non-judgmentally observe your thoughts by noticing your behaviors, paying attention to the circumstances, and becoming aware of what is going on in your mind at the time. You might notice things like:

Anxiety disorders are mental health conditions that affect the mind and the body. When you experience a panic or anxiety attack, you are experiencing the full psychosomatic manifestation of the anxiety in your mind all throughout your body. Symptoms of the heart During a severe anxiety attack or a panic attack, it can feel as though you are experiencing the symptoms of a heart attack. Most often, there will not be the left-side symptoms specific to an actual heart problem. If you start experiencing numbness or tingling down your left arm, shoulder, or jaw, contact your doctor. Common symptoms include feeling tightness in the chest. Beyond just feeling chest restriction, it can often feel like the chest is being clamped together or that there is a heavy weight being placed on the chest. Increased heart rate happens due to the adrenaline and cortisol pumping through the blood as a result of the fight or flight system kicking in. Growing anxiety or panic can also result in a pounding heart, feeling heart palpitations, and a high heart rate. Symptoms of the body Adrenaline and cortisol are stress hormones which encourage the body to take action in the face of real or perceived threats. Without any action these stimulating hormones can cause feelings of uneasiness like trembling and shaking, as well as discomfort like nausea, dizziness, upset stomach, lightheadedness, or feeling like you are about to faint. Other physical symptoms can include experiencing some numbness, tingling in the limbs, sweating, chills, or even a hot flash like a sudden fever. Symptoms of the lungs Anxiety is known to cause people to feel like they can’t breathe. Sensations of not being able to breathe can come from the tightening of the chest sensations, making it feel as though there is no way to take a deep breath. As a result, you feel a shortness of breath which can cause psychological sensations of not getting enough air, feeling smothered by your environment, or experiencing some kind of choking.