Dating is difficult enough by itself, but when you date and have binge eating disorder, there are sometimes issues that pop up even when having a simple dinner. There's no easy way to navigate the world of dating or binge eating disorder, but when you are confident, honest, and open, you can make everything a little bit easier. Here are my tips for dating with binge eating disorder without losing your mind.

Living with anxiety can mean a life full of challenges, and the challenges of living with with anxiety can be significant. Anxiety can range from mild to debilitating; further, it comes in many forms and types of anxiety disorders. Despite the differences in degrees of severity and the way anxiety is experienced, there is a common thread: anxiety can make life difficult. Add to this the fact that the experience of anxiety can be hard for "outsiders" to understand, and the frustration level skyrockets. Indeed, the challenges of living with anxiety can be daunting, but we all have the power to overcome them. 

A new study investigates the possibility that when combat posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression occur together, this increases anger in veterans. This actually makes sense as veterans with combat PTSD often experience increased anger. Additionally, anger has been found to be an aspect of major depressive disorder, for many. Therefore, anyone who suffers from both depression and combat PTSD could, quite reasonably, experience increased anger.

You might not know it, but biphobia -- prejudice against bisexuals -- has harmful effects on mental health. If you identify as bisexual or pansexual, chances are you've had your sexuality questioned or confronted in some way. More than likely, you have experienced biphobia even from friends and family and this biphobia might harm your mental health. It can be an innocent sounding question such as: "How can you be in a committed relationship if you're bisexual?" or "Are you sure you don't want to be with someone from the same sex as well?" These kinds of ignorant questions reflect the biphobic society that we live in. It delivers the toxic message that our sexuality is not valid and reinforces the belief that we must choose between being straight or gay.

There are a significant number of people diagnosed with depression who don’t get better because they actually have bipolar disorder and have been misdiagnosed or have a mild form of bipolar. I was one of those people. Luckily for me, it only took about 6-9 months to correct the misdiagnosis but for many people, it takes much, much longer. Many people sit with a misdiagnosis of depression for, literally, years. And what doctors (and patients) should be thinking about is if a patient has been diagnosed with depression but isn’t getting better, does he or she really have mild bipolar disorder?

The new movie, Welcome to Me, definitely offers an offensive depiction of borderline. Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a complex and challenging illness for those with expertise; so I wasn't entirely surprised that Welcome to Me failed miserably in representing BPD. If my sentiment wasn't already clear, I hated this film. The TV caricature with a borderline label contained traits uncharacteristic of BPD. The movie, Welcome to Me, is offensive and reckless; this movie transmits misinformation to the public, further stigmatizing borderline personality disorder.

There are so many myths about mental illness and violence. In fact, part of the stigma of mental illness is due to fears of violence. I wince every time someone with a psychiatric diagnosis commits a crime because it reinforces this stigma and teaches people to be afraid because they believe there is a link between mental illness and violence. But a study by Northwestern University found that most mental illnesses aren't predictors of violence.1 The only exception is a substance abuse disorder. So how do we shatter the myth that mental illness means a person will be violent?

A mother’s life can be full of bliss. All mothers share many of the same events in life. The difference, for some, is the attitude in which motherhood is approached. For some, the sound of a baby's cry, a toddler's whining or a teenager's grumbling is difficult and frustrating. But for others, the baby's cry is a sign they need you, the toddler's whine is a sign of growth and the teenager's grumbling is a time to teach. You can find bliss in your life as a mother by learning from each of these five stages of your child's life.

Taking personal inventory in addiction and alcohol recovery on a regular basis is critical. Working through a situation by taking inventory in addiction and alcohol recovery is an empowering process.

Today, I write a letter to my son with a mental illness on this Mother's Day: Seventeen years ago today, on Mother's Day, your dad and I climbed on an airplane and flew half-way around the world to adopt you. Back home, your nursery had a crib, toys and baby clothes. On the plane, we had a diaper bag, stroller and baby food. In our hearts we had dreams, hopes and excitement for the baby who would make us a family.