Blogs
Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a relentless experience of anxiety and worry. Worry and anxiety are part of the human experience; there’s even a type of anxiety known as existential anxiety that we feel simply because we exist. However, the anxiety and worry of GAD go far beyond ordinary anxiety. Regardless of the type of anxiety you experience, even if it’s a diagnosable disorder such as GAD, you can find peace as you learn to leave worry at the door.
Reaching your SMART goals with bipolar disorder gives you a sense of accomplishment, a feeling like no other. Living with bipolar disorder poses challenges, but you don't have to give up your hopes and dreams, no matter how big or small. It would benefit you to learn to be flexible, patient, and realistic with yourself. Goals aren't reached overnight. Regardless of your goal (physical, emotional, academic, professional, or personal), it is important to set yourself up for success. Using SMART goals with bipolar helps you to do that.
Finding purpose to help you cope with depression is powerful in that it pushes you to do something instead of sitting still, and utilizing purpose can help you realize your worth. I often feel purposeless and self-indulgent, working towards nothing specific and, instead, moving towards unclear goals (Accomplishing SMART Goals with Bipolar Disorder). So my most recent coping endeavor is figuring out how to cope with depression through purpose
Parents, this guide shows you how to identify eating disorders in your teen. You know that the teens are a tumultuous time and, sadly, this is also when a majority of eating disorders develop. Parents have their own lives and when an eating disorder starts it’s insidious (The Many Causes of Eating Disorders). It’s a huge secret that the teen will try to hide. By the time you realize something is wrong the eating disorder is usually established. Here are the top three signs for parents to look for as a guide to identifying eating disorders in their teen.
Even if you were not diagnosed with depression or if you feel that you have it under control, you can always experience depression spells. They can hit at any time, sometimes with no warning. They can hit at the most random times—during a class, at a family reunion, after an interview, during the middle of a workday, etc. Read on to find out about recognizing and dealing with depression spells before they get worse.
If you do a web search of “breaking habits,” you will get over 30 million results about how to break bad habits (smoking, poor diet, lack of exercise, etc.). But recently, I came across the quote below by 20th-century theologian Henry Van Dyke, and it resonated deeply with me. It made me realize that habits, while often necessary, can be restrictive. Even if they’re not bad habits, you may want to consider breaking a habit that is not bad in order to grow a bit.
Emotionally preparing for a funeral when you have depression seems next to impossible. The days I spent preparing for my grandfather's funeral had me sick and my stomach filled with dread (Coping with Loss: Bereavement and Grief). My grandfather was my buddy, teaching me tons of things from how to drive to how to bake bread and his death hit me with a wave of memories and unprocessed emotions. Preparing to attend his funeral was daunting, especially with my depression at high intensity. I'll share a couple things I learned to better help you prepare for a funeral when depressed.
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and one of the least discussed mental health topics is childhood mental illness. Twelve million children in our country have a mental illness, yet fewer than one in five get treatment (Childhood Psychiatric Disorders). So not only parents suffer from our cultural silence. Our children with mental illness suffer, too.
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.