What was once thought to be exclusively an adult mood disorder, and seen earliest in the late teen years, bipolar disorder among children has become much more common since the mid-1990s. A review of national diagnostic trends in the United States found that the number of children, including very youngContinue Reading
Prior to the 1970s Bipolar Disorders were unsuccessfully treated with antidepressants until the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of Lithium. Some patients responded better with litium than with antiseizure drugs such as Tegretol (Carbamazepine) and Depakote (Valproate), or to a combination of such drugs. (Altamura et al., 2011;Continue Reading
Research studies show that anger and alcohol consumption are bosom buddies. Alcohol consumption is higher in people who suffer from intense anger. Among people with only mild anger only twenty-two percent have two or more drinks at a time, while forty-four percent of people with intense anger consume that muchContinue Reading
No one seeks counseling or psychotherapy because they have persistent and severe feelings of joy and happiness. People don’t read psychology blogs looking for help because their dog ignores them. People begin sensing there might be a problem when they find themselves in a bad mood more often than not.Continue Reading
Talking fast and furiously, spending money carelessly, thinking one has great abilities or supernatural talents, and having mood swings between extreme highs and lows are all sure signs of a bipolar mood disorder. A different form of depression. While this report is not a diagnosis, it may be helpful inContinue Reading
Some people are just born happy. They wake up every morning with a pleasant smile on their face, spreading joy everywhere they go. They are able to succeed at anything they set their mind to, and consequently expect perfection in themselves and others. They are brimming with self-confidence and super-optimism.Continue Reading
Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) has received the most research to date of the new classiciation of obsessive-compulsive related disorders. People with body dysmorphic disorder are preoccupied with the belief that they have a particular body defect or flaw. In reality, the perceived flaw is usually imagined or greatly exaggerated inContinue Reading
Memories of traumatic events can lay dormant just beneath our consciousness, often for days, weeks or months. A triggering event can cause intense emotional and physical sensations that bring the trauma right back as if the event is happening all over again. There are important reasons why memories of traumaticContinue Reading
Antidepressant drugs that are used to treat Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) help to reduce obsessions and compulsions. (Fineberg & Craig, 2010; Simpson, 2010) These drugs increase brain serotonin activity but they also help produce more normal brain activity. Studies have shown these antidepressant drugs help improve symptoms for between fifty andContinue Reading
The disorder of Hair-Pulling has become classified as an Obsessive-Compulsive Related Disorder. Individuals with hair-pulling disorder (also known as trichotillomania, derived from the Greek term for frenzied hair-pulling), repeatedly pull hair out from their scalp, eyebrows, eyelashes or other parts of their bodies. (APA, 2013, 2012). Typically, people with thisContinue Reading