Best Mental Illness Blogs

May 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Friendship 

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Sometimes you just want some quick help, some helpful and lifechanging information. Maybe you want to connect with a fellow traveler, or get some new ideas on how to better improve your life—despite your mental illness.

Blogs are a great source of help for those who need a friend or a shoulder to cry on. Some blogs are written by doctors, others by patients—folks like you just trying to get through the day. Learn what they both do by perusing these great psychiatry related blogs.

“Sandy’s Blog” takes you on a journey from her personal struggle with anxiety and depression to what she is doing about it as now.  Learn about “Therapy and Meds,” “Coping,” and a host of other issues relating to mental illness.

Adrian, a registered clinical psychologist, talks about various mental health issues on his blog, “Improve Mental Health.” Get the grit on depression, anxiety, PTSD, sleep disorders; even headaches. Free e-books are provided on this terrific site.

The “Mental Health Blog” gives members an opportunity to share their story. Learn what others are doing, and share what you’ve been learning about your own mental illness. Currently, almost 40 bloggers are a part of Mental Health Blog and the site is looking for more sharing.

Your mental illness; you may think of it as your ball and chain but it doesn’t have to be. You’re not alone. Help is out there online. Puruse the blogs here, and then travel your own journey–you may just find a new friend.

 

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Some of the Types of Personality Disorders

March 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Some of the Types of Personality Disorders

There are a wide variety of different personality disorders out there these days, generally characterized by a chemical imbalance in the brain that causes mood swings and other often peculiar behavior. Here is a look at some of the personality disorders that exist.

Borderline Personality Disorder – This personality disorder is also called BPD. This is a serious mental illness that has a lot to do with pervasive instability in behavior, moods, self image as well as interpersonal relationships. The most common method of manifestation for this personality disorder is instability in the person’s sense of self. They constantly see the world in black or white, up and down, love and hate, and cannot help it.

Schizoid Personality – This is a type of psychiatric condition that entails social isolation coupled with an indifference to other people. This personality disorder creates an isolated pattern that tends to be lifelong in nature. People that are suffering from this disorder will completely separate themselves away from all other people as much as they possibly can, and as such they tend to develop a very reclusive nature.

Schizotypal Personality – This personality disorder is primarily characterized by thinking and beliefs that are perceived to be odd or peculiar. People with this personality disorder tend to dress eccentrically and they tend to have odd thoughts, interpersonal style and behavior that does not fit in with the norm.

Paranoid Personality – This psychiatric condition is characterized by the person having a very extreme distrust and suspicion for pretty much everyone else, friends, family, strangers and otherwise. This far surpasses the normal level of paranoia that someone might experience. Someone that has paranoid personality disorder may consistently feel as if they are being persecuted, and they may constantly be afraid that they are being under attack. Paranoid personality disorder can become increasingly worse with time, especially when the paranoid personality feels that someone really is out to get them.

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Adding Behavioral Health Coverage to Your Insurance Plan

January 21, 2011 By Leave a Comment

If you have a medical problem, or even if you’re healthy but know that you could get sick in the future, it’s a good idea to add behavioral health coverage to your health insurance plan. This kind of coverage addresses mental health issues, which can develop on their own or as a result of a serious physical illness. When people are sick, they can get depressed and anxious. Left unchecked, that can develop into an actual mental illness that needs treatment on its own and/or in conjunction with the physical health problems. Not everyone gets down when they get sick, but it can and does happen. Having insurance coverage to get it treated can really help you move forward with your life.

Of course, you have to weigh the odds of it happening against the cost of having the insurance. Behavioral health coverage isn’t free. Depending on your plan, it could cost you just a few dollars or it could be quite expensive. With that in mind, you’ll want to check around online to compare insurance quote A to insurance quote B in order to see what it will cost you. If it seems too expensive, maybe you should check with a few different insurance companies in order to determine if there’s a better option for you. Switching companies could save you a lot of money in the long run.

Money isn’t everything, of course, and your health is more important than cost, but you still have to be able to afford your insurance. If you can’t afford the insurance and you’re struggling to pay the premiums, you may end up getting sick from the stress. That’s not a good thing, and could lead to problems that are more serious in the future. Choosing good, affordable insurance with behavioral health coverage is the right way to go.

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Beware Of Excessive Focus On Life In Virtual World – It Is Unhealthy For Your Mind

January 15, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Impact of double life in the virtual world along with normal life is beginning to hurt mankind. While the example below may seem like an extreme, it certainly is indicative of how bad excessive computer usage can be on ones mental health.

A lady was arrested after law enforcement authorities broke into her house only to discover that her pet dogs had died of starvation and children were in a terribly malnourished state. The lady had ignored all her domestic duties and chores and was focused on playing games on the computer.

There is no doubt that such a person is mentally ill and requires treatment rather than punishment. However, it is next to impossible to identify such persons in advance. We all may be ignoring our family and our social and marital responsibilities simply because we are more comfortable on the internet.

In such a scenario, not only should we focus on the harmful effects of the web but we should also focus on improving our mental health. Just as we focus on our physical routine and try to incorporate exercises and strenuous activities to keep our muscles fit, we should indulge in mental activities that will keep our mind sharp.

This is particularly true if we have a relatively sedentary lifestyle. If you have a desk job and if you focus on specific task to be completed within a specified time without any application of creativity or inventiveness, then having a hobby or a sport that put strain on your mind will be a very good thing.

You can always use the web to inculcate these habits. However, always remember that relying on offline sources of entertainment and enjoyment will offer additional advantages. Do not be in a hurry to criticize such advice simply because you are asked to move away from your comfort zone. The internet is good but is not without its share of mental health problems.

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Psychiatry and your child

December 17, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Many parents think that they will stage manage their children’s mental issues. If there’s a fight at school, a traumatic experience of some kind, a death in the family, or worse, a divorce; parents think they know enough about life to help their children through these.

However, this is not true in almost all cases. Parents have faced certain situations in life which may have created their psychic immune system. That may be true, but it is very very hard to pass on this inherent immunity to young kids. Unless you are an expert, and have studied psychiatry both in theory and practice, you may not be able to help at all. Worse, you can actually do positive harm.

It is also not a good idea to ignore your kid’s psychological issues. These are real, and just like diseases, they need to be treated. It is never a good idea to keep them stored, because stored mental problems have a tendency to grow and escalate the disease. In these cases, it is best to see a psychiatrist.

A good psychiatrist will help your child in the long run, pushing them slowly but surely towards mental clarity. The long settings, the scientifically administered medication and the careful attention from a peer figure will almost certainly act as a deterrent against all those teenage aberrations that are habitual in our age. They will be kept in check, and your kid will be better able to cope with every mental issue that life throws at him or her.

Costwise, too, prevention is cheaper than cure any time of the day. It will cost in huge terms if you let mental issues fester in your kid. There may be monetary, social and other sorts of impact of such neglect. However, early prevention through the attention of a good psychiatrist will be very helpful to all concerned; rest assured, this is always in your best interest.

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The Mentally Challenged of Africa

December 9, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Right from time immemorial, humanity has been afflicted with various diseases and disorders. Although we have made very impressive progress in science and technology, some of these diseases have defied all attempts to find a lasting cure. This brings to mind the conditions such as the much-dreaded Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), cancer, diabetes and hypertension. Apart from these well-known diseases, there are some others, which are not too obvious.

In this class are the mental disorders of various types. Of all the numerous diseases known to affect humans, psychiatric disorders happen to be some of the most problematic and challenging. The main reason for this is the fact that the mechanisms responsible are poorly understood.

This should not come as a surprise especially when we know that the brain is the most complex structure in existence. In various parts of Africa, millions of people are mentally-challenged. In a continent that is ravaged by wars, poverty and so many ills, it is not surprising that not a few citizens have gone gaga.

However, the most painful aspect of the phenomenon is the fact that the mentally-challenged in Africa are almost always neglected and ostracized even by the close family members. Those that are in government are more concerned with how to loot the treasury rather than how to take good care of the psychologically-imbalanced ones.

The widespread belief in Africa is that whoever suffers from a psychiatric condition is doing so because of his or her own handiwork. They say that the psychiatric condition, especially schizophrenia is a punishment from the gods. As a result, they are abandoned to roam the streets, at times stark naked without any form of hygiene. They are living but dead. In a case where your own family disowns you because your brain is misfiring, then you are as good as a zombie.

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Online Shrinks

December 1, 2010 By Leave a Comment
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With increasing penetration of internet into our daily lives and the increasing laziness of people to get out of their houses has given birth to online therapy. Internet has revolutionized shopping, friendship, communication, education, dating, entertainment, gambling, porn, businesses and the list just keeps going on. Although not yet in big time practice, this is being looked at very closely. Particularly the use of online medicine and diagnosis is being looked at closely to put the same into practice in Psychotherapy. People when facing some king of illness or disease are first consulting online resources such as Google’s vast database and forums where people have already discussed their problems. This gives a person a good idea of the disease that she has and can feel relaxed that the cure is available. People do not usually feel comfortable going to doctors for their personal problems related to their sex or mental illness.
But is consulting an online shrink the same as seeing a shrink in person? Debates are currently going on with a few institutes carrying out controlled trials to gauge the effectiveness of this trial. A few unlicensed commercial shrinks are also providing online counseling for people. A few of the major problems associated with online therapy is that the psychologist loses the important sing of asserting a patients response to a question, that is the body language. Even if cameras are used, they can only focus on the face but not the entire body. Still optimistic psychologists argue that what tools are lost with body language are gained with a clear understanding of the patients consciousness. This is more effective when people are tying instead of taking. While typing a patient has time to think and rethink his answer to every question. But this practice needs further study and worse case scenarios need to be outlined.

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Woman more prone to Mental Disorders

November 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment
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One is ten women is meant to have some kind of mental disorder. Women nowadays have to deal with problems relating to children, work, cheating husband, friends, relatives, etc. Handling multiple pressures and stress and numerous compulsions are leading many women to become prone to anti-depressant and sleeping pills. These problems along with their monthly hormonal changes make women more comorbid to mental disorders such as Attention deficit disorder, Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Depression, Insomnia, border line personality disorder, and many more such disorders. It is causing many women to reach out to shrinks and supports groups to make sure they do not develop there disorders or to find solutions for their conditions.
A recent research concluded that there are more than 4 million females in United Stated with Attention deficit disorder and Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, which is on an alarming rise. The previous focus was on children who were thought to be more prone to develop mental disorders. The idea was to detect the disease early and cure it before it grows to a full-fledged mental disease. Attention deficit disorder and Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder are disorders relation to the disordered behavior of the neurons. It comes along with hyperactivity as a side effect. Although most of the diseases have a genetic reason for their prevalence, the epigenetics also play a major role in the development of these diseases. Many women in college develop Attention deficit disorder and Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder because of the stress that they go through during this time. Although mental disorders can be treated with medication, it is better to avoid them. Hence women need to stop taking too much stress and stop trying to focus on multiple things at a time. Only through increase understanding and reasoning by the other sex, friends and family is this possible.

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OCD and its Welcoming Nature

November 12, 2010 By Leave a Comment
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Obsessive compulsive disorder or OCD is a mental disorder where the patient suffers from constant nervous breakdowns and anxiety attracts. These anxiety attacks and nervous breakdowns arise from internal thoughts that cause the person to develop a mixture of emotions such as fear, anger, uneasiness, depression, redundant behavior and many more such violent behaviors. These emotions are directed towards reducing the anxiety to calm themselves down. The problem with having obsessive compulsive disorder is that in this condition the person becomes more prone to other mental disorders such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or Bipolar Syndrome or a Major Depression. The patients of Obsessive compulsive disorder will at least one in their lifetime experience acute depression. The chances of a person with Obsessive compulsive disorder developing depression are increased by their separation and distinction from normal people because of their mental illness. Another reason why this patient is prone to other mental disorders is because of serotonin changes in the brain. These serotonin changes cause the other mental disorders to easily develop because of the weakness of the brain to resist against the changes to stop the development of new mental disorders. The alternate mental disorders are avoided by uptake of SSRI’s that will successively inhibit the development of diseases because if inability of the brain to resist them. SSIR’s are also effective as anti-depressants and reduce depression. Further the presence of disturbing thought and their ability of the sufferer to forget these thought increases the co-morbidity of developing multiple mental disorders. Hence it is important for a patient with Obsessive compulsive disorder to make sure she does not let other mental disorders take root. This is only possible with a regular visit to a doctor or a shrink who can easily detect the early signs of development of new mental disorders.

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Co-Occurrence: MichaelsHouse.com

November 12, 2010 By Leave a Comment

There is an all too tragic trend developing within the country, one that the masses often deny: individuals suffering from mental disorders are forced to rely on substances (such as alcohol, marijuana and an excess of prescription pills) to find relief. The assumptions still attached to disease – ones that brand all individuals unworthy of time or concern – have stripped away hope. There is no support. There is no pity. There is instead only the fear of being discovered and the belief that illegal drugs are a far kinder help than traditional medication.

And this has led to the emergence of the Co-Occurrence.

As the name implies, the Co-Occurrence is when an individual is plagued from dual disorders: one that is mental and one that is self-induced. Substance abuse is defined as a disability, and it becomes part of a far greater problem when combined with already unstable minds. Issues like depression, manic thoughts or aggressive tendencies can easily become exaggerated; and, as a dependency for a specific drug appears, the user is also faced with a sudden addiction. The elements blur into each other and create a vicious cycle.

It is essential therefore that the stigmas that dominate public opinion be erased. Those with mental disorders are not to be cast away, left to develop this secondary disease. They are instead to be provided with the necessary support and aid. Treatment is to be obtained for them – choosing centers that will address both the psychological problems and those formed from the substance abuse. MichaelsHouse.com and similar organizations should be considered.

The dangers of the Co-Occurrence are many and the results are often terrible. But there is help to be found. It simply requires the involvement of those who too often would turn away. It instead demands their determination and their willingness to care.

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