MENTAL HEALTH – Page 4

The Holidays Can Be A Time To Reflect And Find Meaning In Loss For Those Suffering With Prolonged Grief

12Dec

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

MENTAL HEALTH, VIDEO REELS

The Holidays Can Be A Time To Reflect And Find Meaning In Loss For Those Suffering With Prolonged Grief

For many who are suffering with prolonged grief, the holidays can be a time to reflect and find meaning in loss. The holiday season is meant to be filled with joy, connection and celebration of rituals. Many people, however, are starkly reminded of their grief this time of year and of whom – or what – they have lost. The added stress of the holiday season doesn’t help. Studies show that the holidays negatively affect many people’s mental health. While COVID-19-related stressors may have lessened, the grief from change and loss that so many endured during the pandemic persists. This can cause difficult emotions to resurface when they are least expected. I am a licensed therapist and trauma-sensitive yoga instructor. For the last 12 years, I’ve helped clients and families manage grief, depr...

Relationship Stress Is Contagious – During The Holidays And Beyond Here’s What You Can Do To Support Your Partner And Boost Your Own Health

14Dec

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

MENTAL HEALTH

Relationship Stress Is Contagious – During The Holidays And Beyond Here’s What You Can Do To Support Your Partner And Boost Your Own Health

With the flurry of shopping, spending money and traveling to see family, stress can feel inevitable during the holidays. You might already know stress can affect your own health, but what you may not realize is that your stress – and how you manage it – is catching. Your stress can spread around, particularly to your loved ones. As a social-health psychologist, I have developed a model on how partners and their stress influence each other’s psychological and biological health. Through that and my other research, I’ve learned that the quality of intimate relationships is crucial to people’s health. Here’s just a sample: Relationship stress can alter the immune, endocrine and cardiovascular systems. A study of newlyweds found levels of stress hormones were higher when couples were hostile d...

12Dec

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

MENTAL HEALTH

How To Get Through The Holiday Craze!

I'm the first to admit I have some strong opinions, some of which have been wildly popular, and others absolutely not. That could be because we have been indoctrinated into a modicum of agreement on what's polite, etiquette or even appropriate when it comes to giving unsolicited advice. Or (my suspicion is) we are simply afraid of the truth. However you look at it, the consequences for such straight talk can be stringent; tribal ostracization, social paralysis or, worse, no one likes you and you die alone. Yet somehow the threat of becoming such a pariah doesn't stop me from trying to penetrate the unconsciousness that most of us suffer from. I think I may quite seriously be genetically incapable of keeping my mouth shut under certain circumstances; either that or I have an emotional stig...

Students In This Course Take A Close Look At Addiction

14Dec

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MENTAL HEALTH

Students In This Course Take A Close Look At Addiction

To better understand addiction, students in this course take a close look at liquor in literature. Title of course: Alcohol in American Literature What prompted the idea for the course? I got the idea for the course when I was writing a chapter on the temperance movement in American literature for my doctoral dissertation. I ended up reading a lot of fiction and poetry about alcohol and the anti-alcohol movement. I thought it would be fun to teach a class that surveyed American literature through a booze-themed lens. Since alcohol affects and disables people regardless of gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity or class, it is easy to find literature about the impact of alcohol from many points of view. What does the course explore? I pair my course with a medical doctor who teaches...

12Dec

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

MENTAL HEALTH

Hooked On Social Media

41 US states are suing Meta for getting teens hooked on social media. Here’s what to expect next. In the United States, 41 states have filed lawsuits against Meta for allegedly driving social media addiction in its young users (under the age of 18), amid growing concerns about the negative effects of platforms. The lawsuits allege Meta has been harvesting young users’ data, deploying features to promote compulsive use of both Facebook and Instagram, and misleading the public about the negative effects of these features. What might we expect to happen next? And are there potential consequences for Australia? Leveraging whistleblower revelations The most significant suit, filed in a federal court in California, involves 33 states. The claim is based on breaches of state consumer protection ...

8Dec

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

MENTAL HEALTH

What The Heck Is Navel-Gazing?

Think therapy is navel-gazing? Think again. Midway through a recent lecture about my psychology research, a bright graduate student voiced a familiar question. “I have heard psychotherapy makes people more self-absorbed,” they said. “So how can you encourage a practice that has such a negative social impact?” I am often struck by these negative stereotypes, despite growing demand for counseling – particularly amid the pandemic. The well-entrenched image seems to be that psychotherapy is an indulgent, narcissistic cocoon where therapists enable patients to “navel-gaze” and blame others for their problems. Full disclosure: I have seen examples of this during my 27 years in practice. But most patients are genuinely trying to improve close relationships, recover a sense of meaning and purpose ...

Are You Addicted To Social Media? Here Are 7 Tell Tale Signs

12Dec

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MENTAL HEALTH

Are You Addicted To Social Media? Here Are 7 Tell Tale Signs

Social media anxiety disorder is a mental health condition that is similar to social anxiety disorder. Before he committed suicide in June, 29-year-old YouTube star and model Desmond Amofah, also known as Etika, filmed himself offering insight on the effects of social media. One comment he made was shared widely after his death: “It can give you an image of what you want your life to be and get blown completely out of proportion. It consumed me.” Health professionals are taking notice. The Anxiety and Depression Association of America asserted in November: “Social media anxiety disorder is a mental health condition that is similar to social anxiety disorder.” Facebook turned 15 this year, and its launch spurred a host of other social media avenues: Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, etc. Marke...

A Black Clinical Psychologist Explains And Offers 5 Ways To Heal From The Profound Mental Health Consequence Of Racial Trauma

12Dec

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MENTAL HEALTH

A Black Clinical Psychologist Explains And Offers 5 Ways To Heal From The Profound Mental Health Consequence Of Racial Trauma

Racial trauma has profound mental health consequence – a Black clinical psychologist explains and offers 5 ways to heal. Since European expansion into the Americas, white people have demonized Black people and portrayed them as undesirable, violent and hypersexual. Originally, the intent of this demonization was to legitimize the conquest and sale of African people. One consequence of this negative portrayal has been the documented psychological impact on Black people themselves. It includes self-hatred, internalized racism and an erosion of Black consciousness within the Black community. During the 1960s, Martin Luther King Jr. recognized the consequences of racist stereotypes and tried to change the language and symbols of racism. “Somebody told a lie one day,” King said. “They couche...

12Dec

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

MENTAL HEALTH

Psychology — The Darker Side

The Darker Side Of Psychology When you think about psychology what first comes to mind may be that 101 class you took in college to satisfy a requirement, or perhaps an article you have recently read or a snip-it you saw on Youtube. Which usually characterizes a group of psychologists, somewhere, who have done a statistical analysis of humans doing whatever. Predictably, you would have found that most of their subjects fell within the fat lump of the bell curve. While a few individuals, are probably out there right now, doing anything and everything you can imagine. It has most likely always been that way. Primates are curious, if nothing else. It’s been a hallmark of our species, and may stem from our perennial desire to transcend the limits of our experience. Moreover, a shrinking numbe...

12Dec

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

MENTAL HEALTH

Understanding The Cycle Of OCD

Obsessive compulsive disorder is more common than you think. But it can take 9 years for an OCD diagnosis. Obsessive compulsive disorder, or OCD, is a misunderstood mental illness despite affecting about one in 50 people – that’s about half a million Australians. Our new research shows how long and fraught the path to diagnosis and treatment can be. This initial study showed it takes an average of almost nine years to receive a diagnosis of OCD and about four months to get some form of help. What is OCD? OCD affects children, adolescents and adults. About 60% report symptoms before the age of 20. One misconception is that OCD is mild: someone who is extra tidy or likes cleaning. You might have even heard someone say they are “a little bit OCD” while joking about having beautiful stati...