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Anxiety takes many forms. No matter the type, chances are that it feels miserable. By making us feel different fears, worries, or panic or by creating within us obsessions and compulsions, anxiety disorders interfere with our ability to fully live life and enjoy relationships. The good news is, that no matter how extreme anxiety becomes, you don't have to live with it forever. There are ways to treat anxiety.
Whenever a tragedy occurs, it is natural to look for someone or something to blame, even when the blame isn’t rational; and no one is guiltier of this than the media. This was clearly evident in the way the media treated the tragic Fort Hood shooting last week in which Spc. Ivan Lopez shot and killed three people and wounded 16 others before taking his own life. Instead of just reporting these facts, many in the media tried to tie these actions to combat-related posttraumatic-stress disorder (PTSD). And while Spc. Lopez was being evaluated for PTSD, there is no way of knowing whether his actions were in any way related to the disorder and insinuating such does a great disservice to veterans and those serving in the military. In fact, all the media has done is further stigmatize PTSD.
Alcohol addiction is often referred to as a family disease because not only does the alcoholic suffer from the hazardous effects, but the family is victimized as well. Living with an alcoholic on a daily basis is not an easy task and can be quite an emotional rollercoaster. One moment you may be sad and worried about your loved one. Then, within a matter of minutes, you may become overwhelmed with frustration and anger. The lies, angry outbursts, financial difficulties, and constant unpredictability can quickly become too much to handle. Children of an alcoholic may become depressed and start to act out, while the spouse may become so preoccupied by their loved one’s drinking that he or she begins to neglect his or her own needs (How to Deal with an Alcoholic).
There is a prolific (thoroughly annoying) commercial that talks about the physically painful symptoms of depression. It does this in order to sell you an antidepressant. And while I believe advertisers as much as I believe politicians, in this particular case, the advertisers have a point. Depression is physically painful. And severe depression can be severely physically painful. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Illness (DSM) doesn’t really take this into account but that doesn’t make it any less real.
I love watching YouTube videos that capture veterans returning home to their unsuspecting loved ones. The videos steal rare moments of vulnerability when spouses, mothers, children, fathers, and even dogs discover that the soldier for whom they have endured a tortuous distance is suddenly within their grasp. But what happens when the distance does not stay away? What happens when the distance comes home in a uniform? What do spouses, lovers, and soldiers do when they find that the trauma of combat is as intimate as their own embrace?
Self-Harm, Scars and Some Stars
It’s been a while since I read a life-changing book. I mean, a book that keeps your mind going throughout the day and your emotions on edge. I read The Fault in Our Stars , by John Green, in less than two days and even though I’m a writer, I’m not a quick reader.
The book is about two teenagers with cancer who meet at a cancer support group and, you guessed it, begin talking. It may sound cliché, but the story is one that must be read. Even though I am a cancer survivor, you don’t have to have the disease to be able to relate to the idea of pain.
It may be different than self-injury pain, but it is pain all the same.
If physical health was truly the gold standard for living well, instead of just the perception, I would be the luckiest man in the world. In my adult life, I haven't had the sniffles for more than a couple days. Frankly, my biggest physical flaw is that, as a redhead, my skin burns when I pass a beach-themed vacation poster.
Reality and perception are very different things. While my physical health can be defined as "pretty good for a middle aged guy," my mental health is best described as "dude, where are your pants?"
In April of 2002, I went on a date that ended with me being sexually assaulted. As the anniversary approaches, my symptoms of borderline personality disorder have increased. I've learned that I have to come to terms with what happened to me. Here are three insights I've had.
Parenting a mentally ill child is not easy, but it becomes more challenging when major life changes happen. Your child may overreact to small changes and much more so over big ones. Major life changes can include switching schools, moving or having a new sibling. How you present major life changes can drastically improve your child’s reaction to it. Here are some tips below to help you prepare a mentally ill child for a life change.
It is not my intention to make this blog post any form of commentary on religion itself, but as a part of an inter-faith family with Easter and Passover coming soon, I recently got to thinking of how religion’s restrictions on what we eat can impact someone in eating disorder recovery.
I believe she will only be able to rid herself of her demons, and hopefully her BPD as well, when she's ready to confront the abuse of her father. If she can put the blame where it belongs, she may stop projecting that victim/perpetrator cycle on the present men in her life. These demons are a metaphor for the purgatory she has created for herself. That reality has consequences in the real world, but it need not be real in the tangible sense. Exorcising her demons will require the expenditure of real physical energy and probably the destruction of aspects of her personality. If this ever happens, and it's possible but not probable, then these demons will evaporate. They are only as real as one's personality is real. In short, reality is not the question, it's what you make of the things you feel to be real.