Mental Health

The Boy Who Couldn’t Stop Bleaching

by Andy Behrman It’s a snowy day. I’m trapped in my apartment in Manhattan – - bleaching the tub, toilet and tile floor in the bathroom. I’m scrubbing like a goddamn madman until everything is sparkling white. Killing all of the bacteria in the small six foot by six foot room. It’s not just that I’m a germaphobe or... [Read more...]

Why is it so Hard for Us to Recover from Being Suicidal?

By David L. Conroy, PhD Combat veterans, sexual assault survivors, and other victims of trauma are vulnerable to a condition called Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). People with PTSD suffer from a range of symptoms that interfere with their capacities to enjoy normal life. People who suffered suicidal conditions, particularly conditions that were... [Read more...]

Writing about Trauma Can Produce Health Benefits

By Jane Collingwood It’s well established that talking about traumatic incidents with a therapist, supportive family or friends can be therapeutic, producing improvements in psychological and physical health. People who open up about traumatic events they have experienced have been found to benefit from a variety of health improvements, including... [Read more...]

Psychological Growth from Extreme Trauma

By Rick Nauert Ph.D. People who survive an extreme traumatic experience may rebound and experience personal growth. In fact, individuals may savor a higher level of personal strength and function. This position statement, provided by a University of Buffalo researcher and expert in the effects of horrifying trauma may calm fears of lifelong stress after... [Read more...]

OCD and Reflections on September 11th

by Steven Phillipson, Ph.D. In general, when real life delivers a crisis, persons with anxiety disorders, and specifically those with OCD, tend to manage these crises somewhat more effectively than the population at large. The very nature of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is the mind’s relentless and endless effort to process and prepare for the... [Read more...]

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Relationships

10 Rules for Friendly Fighting for Couples

By Marie Hartwell-Walker, Ed.D. For some people, this is a truly radical idea: There is no need to fight with your partner. Ever. Accusations, recriminations, character assassination, threats, name-calling, and cursing, whether delivered at top volume or with a quiet sarcastic sneer, damage a relationship, often irrevocably. Nobody needs to be a monster... [Read more...]

7 Signs of Unfriendly Fighting

By Marie Hartwell-Walker, Ed.D. Roger and Robin have been married and fighting for 8 years. They both say they don’t like it. They both claim it’s the other’s fault. They both say they love each other but they can’t stand the fighting. On the brink of divorce, they’ve made the first agreement that either can remember, to come to therapy. During... [Read more...]

12 Ways to Make Friends

By Therese Borchard I was really sad to read that so many readers don’t have four friends whom they could ask to compile lists of positive qualities in order to star a self-esteem file. It seemed that almost one-fourth of the comments on the message board of my “Video: My Self-Esteem file” pointed to the sad reality that many people... [Read more...]

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Success Stories – #7

by Anonymous Lesbians Everywhere: A gay spiker confronts her pure-O theme about getting an answer to her sexual orientation question This particular tale of OCD begins with a crush on a boy named Sam. I was a very happy girl. I was about to graduate at the top of my high school class, spent bags of time with my friends, and was enjoying my crush, of... [Read more...]

HAIR PULLING a.k.a. TRICHOTILLOMANIA – A simple habit or a complex diagnosis?

by Steven Phillipson, Ph.D. What is Trichotillomania? Trichotillomania (TM) involves the anxious pulling or removal of body hair, to such an extent that it produces a disruption to one’s life functioning. This insidious condition is associated with feelings of depression, shame, anxiety and disgust. Individuals with this condition often engage... [Read more...]

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Misc

How to Cope with Job Loss When You Have a Mental Illness

By Jennifer Steele Losing a job is difficult to handle and the challenges it presents can be overwhelming and devastating, especially for someone with bipolar disorder, depression, an anxiety disorder or other mental illness. It is important that you don’t lose your motivation or allow yourself to get discouraged. If you don’t know what to do or... [Read more...]

The Anatomy of a Psychopath

By Rick Nauert, PhD. Jack the Ripper, Dr. Hannibal Lecter, Charles Manson, the list goes on. We all wonder if something happened in the life of an individual to produce psychopathic tendencies, or was it a hardwired characteristic that lay dormant, awaiting an environment stimulus to explode and begin a cascade of terror? A trio of British researchers... [Read more...]

Can Sex Be a Primer for Love?

By John M. Grohol, PsyD. According to research published in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin in August, the answer is “Yes,” sexual cues can directly influence a person’s relationship-oriented behaviors. The researchers conducted a number of experiments to try and determine whether an association exists between erotic stimuli (sexually... [Read more...]

Are You a Victim of Emotional Abuse?

By Cathy Meyer Emotional abuse in a marriage is such a covert form of domestic violence and abuse that many people aren’t able to recognize they are a victim. A spouse may have a feeling that something is wrong. They may feel stressed out; a sense of depression; anxiety but they can’t quite identify what is causing those feelings. Emotional... [Read more...]

Passive Aggressive Behavior, a Form of Covert Abuse

By Cathy Meyer Passive Aggressive (adj.) Of, relating to, or having a personality disorder characterized by habitual passive resistance to demands for adequate performance in occupational or social situations, as by procrastination, stubbornness, sullenness, and inefficiency. Covert (adj.) Not openly shown, engaged in, or avowed : VEILED Passive Aggressive... [Read more...]

Understanding the Effects of Domestic Violence

Domestic violence physically, psychologically and socially affects women, men and their families. Initially, the abuse usually is an attempt by one partner to exert control through intimidation, fear, verbal abuse or threats of violence. Victims of domestic violence may be isolated from friends, family and neighbors and lose their network of social... [Read more...]

Types of Domestic Abuse and How to Recognize Them

Adapted from an article written by Cathy Meyer Whether domestic abuse is overt or covert, it is about control. Aggression is primitive and immature reactions to a sense of helplessness and feeling a loss of control. Domestic abuse, violet or non-violent is used to keep a sense of safety for the abuser. Covert abuse is sly and underhanded. It is hard... [Read more...]

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