Posts

The Role of Dopamine Dopamine transmits chemical messages between neurons (brain and nerve cells) by binding to dopamine receptors. The action is similar to a key slipping into a lock. Dopamine has a variety of functions and impacts multiple areas of the brain. Amygdala: Plays an important role in processing Hippocampus: Important for memory Insular cortex (also called the insula): Important for homeostasis, or how the body maintains a proper temperature, signals hunger, and regulates heartbeat and breathing Motor cortex: Deals with movement Prefrontal cortex: Important for problem-solving, complex thinking, memory, intelligence, and language...

One of the things that always surprised students was how much cumulative stress they were under. It wasn’t just the huge exams or the job interviews that stressed them out. Daily life stressors added up over time, making them feel overwhelmed and ill-equipped to manage challenges. While many stress relief strategies are free of charge—laughing with a friend or walking in the park—there are also products that make stress relief convenient and easily accessible....

It’s important to note that erotophobia is not a simple aversion to sex, sex acts, or intimacy. The level of fear created by this condition causes very real distress. Symptoms of Erotophobia For a fear of sex to rise to the level of becoming a phobia, the fear must be excessive, irrational, create great anxiety or distress, and occur for at least 6 months. It’s not simply “being scared of sex,” which can be natural—and even expected—in some situations and for some people....

Physical Conditions Any fear that is based on a legitimate medical concern or imminent threat is, by definition, not a phobia. Many apparent cases of escalaphobia can actually fall into this category. Medical vertigo, balance difficulties, a lack of depth perception, vision troubles and sensory issues may make some people reluctant to use an escalator. For this reason, it is always important to see a doctor to rule out any physical causes of a possible escalator phobia....

They are typically described as outgoing and gregarious. They have a way of encouraging other people to be their best and often have a hard time believing anything bad about the people they are close to. According to psychologist David Keirsey, approximately 9% to 13% of the population has an ESFJ personality type. Key ESFJ Characteristics People with an ESFJ personality type tend to: Be sensitive to the needs and feelings of others Derive their value system from external sources, including the community at large, rather than from intrinsic, ethical, and moral guidelines Enjoy helping others Expect their kind and giving ways to be noticed and appreciated by others Get easily hurt by unkindness or indifference Have a need for approval Provide care for others Want to be liked by others...

The Basics of Family Therapy Family therapy is different than the traditional kind of psychotherapy that most people are familiar with. Rather than just one person and their therapist, family therapy involves the whole household working together with one or two therapists. This form of treatment typically involves the parents or siblings but can also include extended groups when appropriate. Family therapy may be an option for you if the person with BPD is negatively impacting your family’s daily life or if you think the actions of your household may be worsening BPD symptoms....

When you are struggling with depression, it can feel a bit overwhelming to think about eating the right foods. However, some of these small changes in your diet may help decrease your symptoms and positively affect your daily life. Foods That Help With Depression Whatever your dietary preferences, there are a variety of options that can provide mood-boosting benefits. This isn’t to say that you need to overhaul your eating habits and only consume these foods, but being conscious of which foods impact your mood can help you better manage symptoms of depression....

What Is GAD? The major markers of GAD are significant, persistent, and uncontrollable anxiety and worry about a wide range of situations and things in life. Your anxiety will be pervasive and out of proportion to the circumstances—and can even be caused by nothing at all. You may feel that disaster is lurking around every corner. Your friends and family likely describe you as a “worrier” or “nervous.” For instance, if you have GAD, you may insist your loved ones call you when they get home....

Around 14% of Americans report experiencing emotional abuse or neglect during their childhood. Emotional abuse can include: Insulting, name-calling, or swearing at a child Threatening to physically harm the child Terrorizing or otherwise making the child feel afraid Emotional neglect involves failing to meet a child’s emotional needs. This can include failing to: Believe in the childCreate a close-knit familyMake the child feel special or importantProvide supportWant the child to be successful...

Here was a company touted as a trailblazing feminist organization with a former CEO accused of female-to-female sexual harassment. How could that be? What Is Same-Sex Sexual Harassment? When most people think about sexual harassment in the workplace, they envision a man harassing a woman. But there are cases where women harass women, men harass men, and women harass men. In fact, the law prohibits sexual harassment by either men or women against people of the same and opposite gender....

Other well-known hallucinogens include psilocybin, which occurs naturally in certain wild mushrooms, commonly known as magic mushrooms, or shrooms, and mescaline, which is found in the peyote cactus in Mexico and the Southwest United States. Ecstasy is less hallucinogenic and more stimulating—meaning it increases alertness more than LSD or magic mushrooms. It is sometimes classed as a stimulant and sometimes as an entactogen or empathogen, rather than a hallucinogen. Less well-known psychedelic drugs include Ololiuqui (found in the seeds of the morning glory flower); khat, dimethyltryptamine or DMT (found in certain plants from Central and South America); harmine (found in a South American vine) and 5-MeO-DMT and bufotenine (which naturally occurs in the venom of certain toads)....

People with social anxiety or low self-esteem often struggle with being assertive. However, assertiveness can be learned. Learn how to be more assertive, why it’s essential, and how it can benefit you in your day-to-day life. Ways to Be More Assertive If you’ve struggled with asserting yourself, the good news is there are many ways to change this. Being assertive is a character trait that can be learned and honed....

One of the difficulties those with social anxiety disorder (SAD) face is the tendency towards being self-conscious and inwardly focused. If you are receiving treatment for SAD, one avenue for broadening your focus is to learn to become more thoughtful of others. This can be accomplished by making a simple goal to do five thoughtful things each day. You might plan the first three items and then let the other two come about spontaneously....

For some, this mood change is temporary and easily managed with lifestyle modifications. But for others, the winter blues can turn into a more severe type of depression called seasonal affective disorder or SAD. The good news? There are things you can do to beat the winter blues. Winter Blues vs. Seasonal Affective Disorder According to Georgia Gaveras, DO, chief psychiatrist and co-founder of Talkiatry, the main difference between the winter blues and SAD has to do with severity and function....

What Do Therapists Do? The term “therapist” is often a used generically to describe a number of health care professionals who provide mental health services to clients. For instance, a clinical psychologist and licensed professional counselor may both work with a variety of mental health concerns in various settings. Some career paths can also take you into a particular specialty. A substance abuse therapist works with people dealing with addiction while a marriage and family therapist focuses on relationship issues....

According to the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), there’s no single answer that will work for everyone. However, just becoming aware of your negative behaviors is an important first step. Habits develop with repetition. Understanding the pattern that supports a bad habit can then help you short-circuit the loop. As New York Times investigative reporter Charles Duhigg outlines in his authoritative book The Power of Habit, all undesirable behaviors share these fundamental traits:...

Find out how to cope with your friend moving away. The Importance of Friendship Nowadays, you might feel pressured by social media to have hundreds of friends. But one or two friendships can be greatly meaningful. Even one friendship can impact your life. The study looked at both adolescent girls and boys. While boys in socio-economically vulnerable environments faced pressure to be macho, these intimate friendships were especially helpful in building their resilience....

This article offers practical and healthy suggestions to help you cope with your grief when you return to your job, office, or workplace after the funeral, memorial or internment service of a loved one. Tips for Coping With Grief at Work Struggling with grief while at work can be a challenge. If you find yourself in that situation, here are some tips to try as you cope with the loss of a loved one....

While kleptophobia is not recognized as a distinct mental disorder, it may meet the diagnostic criteria established in the DSM-5 for a specific phobia. A specific phobia involves an irrational and excessive fear of a specific object or situation. Causes While the exact causes of specific phobias are not known, it is believed that past negative experiences often play a role. For example, if you have been robbed in the past, you may be at a higher risk of developing a fear of being robbed....