Well, the vaccines have been available for over a year, and clearly, nothing is as it was. Masks are still necessary, COVID-19 cases are still common and further fueled by new variants, and testing precedes almost all social events. I feel like I’m living in an extended groundhog day, one that may never end and has no “lesson for me to learn” to break the cycle. I’m boosted, masked up anytime I go somewhere and I avoid large groups....
Another key difference between precipitated withdrawal and typical withdrawal is that the latter occurs gradually while the former can occur suddenly. The sudden onset of symptoms can be a frightening experience. Precipitated withdrawal causes a person to develop sudden and severe withdrawal symptoms due to medicines used in medically-assisted treatments. Understanding how medically-assisted treatment works is crucial to grasp how precipitated withdrawal can occur. How Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) Works While MAT was initially designed to treat opioid use disorder, it has since evolved to include treatment for alcohol use disorder and opioid overdose....
Psychiatric service dogs can be trained to assist people living with bipolar disorder as well as other mental health challenges, including autism, schizophrenia, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and panic disorder. The tasks a service dog is trained to perform to aid someone living with bipolar disorder depend on the individual’s circumstances and personal challenges and needs. The Role of Service Dogs for Bipolar Disorder The ultimate function of a psychiatric service dog is to alleviate or diminish the negative effects of bipolar disorder on the handler’s life....
While it functions as individual therapy, it utilizes a group format. It is rooted in psychology, but it also incorporates elements of theater and sociology. Techniques of Psychodrama Sessions are usually performed once a week in a group made up of around eight to 12 people. A session typically lasts around two hours. There are three basic components of a psychodrama session: The Warm-Up PhaseThe Action PhaseThe Sharing Phase...
Alcoholism has been recognized for many years by professional medical organizations as a primary, chronic, progressive, and sometimes fatal disease. The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence offers a detailed and complete definition of alcoholism, but probably the most simple way to describe it is a mental obsession that causes a physical compulsion to drink. Mental Obsession Mental obsession? Did you ever wake up in the morning with a song playing over and over in your head?...
Medications for milder pain are usually available over-the-counter to anyone who wishes to purchase them, and can often control minor pain like a headache or aching muscles. But stronger medications, those which control high levels of pain including chronic pain, can also induce dependence or addiction. These medications are controlled by the government, which tells us whether they are available for purchase, whether we are eligible to purchase them, how we can buy them and lays out the consequences if we obtain or use them outside the law....
Depression tests are often in the form of a questionnaire. A physician or mental health professional may ask the questions orally or an individual may be asked to read and answer the questions on paper or on a digital device. The answers alone aren’t enough to determine if someone has depression because a test won’t account for other possible reasons for an individual’s answers. For example, someone experiencing acute pain may report difficulty sleeping and poor appetite—but those symptoms may be caused by pain rather than depression....
Other examples of self-concept include: How you view your personality traits, such as whether you are an extrovert or introvertHow you see your roles in life, such as whether you feel that being a parent, sibling, friend, and partner are important parts of your identityThe hobbies or passions that are important to your sense of identity, such as being a sports enthusiast or belonging to a certain political partyHow you feel about your interactions with the world, such as whether you feel that you are contributing to society...
Shared psychotic disorder was first identified in 1860 by Baillarger. It then came to be known under a number of different terms. These include the following: “Folie a deux” (madness shared by two) or “folie imposeé” coined by Lasegue and Falret in 1877"Folie communiqueé" (communicated psychosis) coined by Marandon de Montyel in 1881"Folie simultaneé" (simultaneous psychosis; in which both parties live with primary delusions that they transmit to each other) coined by Regis in 1880; also known as “folie induite” coined by Lehman in 1885...
So what are they? “Singing bowls—both Tibetan brass metal and quartz crystal type—work by striking the bowl gently with a type of instrumental mallet that initiates a specific tone and then dragging that mallet around the outer rim of the bowl to carry the sound and vibration of that tone,” Amy Hausman, a holistic health practitioner and licensed acupuncturist at Co-Creative Healing Arts and Acupuncture in Westchester, New York, says....
A 2018 study comparing the health benefits of warm baths and showers found that participants who took 10-minute baths at 104 degrees Fahrenheit reported better overall health and skin conditions, along with decreased stress, pain, and fatigue. Baths also help promote blood flow, soothe sore muscles and joints, and improve mental well-being by reducing feelings of anxiety, depression, and anger. Taking warm baths has even been linked to deeper, more restful sleep....
Research in social psychology is often focused on subjects that fall within three broad areas: Social influence: Social influence refers to the ways in which our opinions and behavior are affected by the presence of others. This includes studies on topics such as conformity, obedience, and social pressure.Social perception: Social perception refers to the ways in which we form impressions of other people. This includes research on topics including first impressions, stereotyping, and prejudice....
Shared Features Both GAD and SAD are characterized by persistent anxiety that is excessive or disproportionate to an actual threat. The meaning of “threat,” however, differs between the two. People with SAD sometimes experience physical symptoms associated with their anxiety, as do those with GAD. Biased thinking—in many cases catastrophizing (imagining worst-case scenarios)—is central to both types of anxiety disorders as well. Differences Though the types of thought traps can be similar, it is the thought content that distinguishes GAD from SAD....
The Reality Principle at Work To understand the reality principle, it’s important to first have a grasp of how the two components of personality identified by Freud function. The id seeks instant gratification of needs, demands, and urges. If we acted according to what our id wanted, we might find ourselves grabbing food off of another person’s plate just because it looks so delicious or getting too friendly with someone else’s spouse when we’re feeling amorous....
This model was developed from research looking at how change occurs in “natural recovery” from addictions. It has been embraced by health care providers seeking to move away from confrontational and pathological approaches toward motivational and person-centered approaches, such as motivational interviewing. The Four Stages of Change There are four main stages in this model: precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, and action. Maintenance and relapse are also sometimes included as additional stages....
