Recently, the need to save and accumulate items, known as hoarding, has been added to the American Psychiatric Association’s classification system: the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5). People diagnosed with hoarding disorder persistently feel they must save items and experience great distress if they attemptContinue Reading
In the addict’s world there is ongoing tension between a person’s normal self and the addicted self. A Jekyll-and-Hyde struggle emerges. The addictive system is so compelling that the addict feels it would be deadly to stop it. Yet, as the system continues, the person’s values, priorities and loved onesContinue Reading
Online gaming was officially recognized as a mental illness by the World Health Orgahization (WHO) in June, 2018, adding it to the International Classification of Diseases according to Newsweek Magazine. For Online Gaming Disorder to be considered an addiction, the condition must extend beyond normal playing, to a point whereContinue Reading
It may be difficult for a person to admit they have a problem with online pornography or internet sex addiction. Porn addiction, like substance abuse, is a problem that affects many people of nearly all age groups. Porn availability is one of the fastest growing problems of the 21st centuryContinue Reading
You may be asking yourself, how do I know if I have an internet problem? It may be a difficult question to answer, so let’s take a few minutes to define the question a little better. What do we mean by the word problem? When a behavior or a setContinue Reading
Several large studies show that use of digital media devices beyond two hours a day of free time, and especially beyond four hours a day is correlated with more depression and unhappiness in teens, according to a recent Wall Street Journal Report (June 24, 2018). Compromised Well-Being The article wentContinue Reading
Perfectionists look for faults in everything, and nothing is ever quite good enough. Perfection is an illusion that is always just out of reach. High achieving individuals try to overcome their internalized shame and guilt, which stems from a belief they are somehow flawed, and strive to prove their worthContinue Reading
We all know that alcohol is harmful and addicting but it is also toxic to our brain cells. It contributes to chronic conditions that reduce blood flow and thus increases the risk for all forms of Dementia. Recent studies of more than 1,000,000 adults who were diagnosed with Dementia duringContinue Reading
Antipsychotic drugs developed in the 1950s revolutionzied the treatment for schizophrenia. These drugs eliminate many schizophrenia symptoms, and are nearly always a part of treatment. (Barnes & Marder, 2011) A number of drugs were produced during the 1960s through the 1980s that are referred to as conventional antipsychotic drugs thatContinue Reading
Delusions are a serious mental illness whereby a person cannot tell what is real from what is imagined. There are a lot of different kinds of delusions: Depressed Delusions – a person believes they have committed horrible crimes or sinful deeds; Somatic Delusions – an individual believes their body isContinue Reading