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Understanding Self Harm

Let me tell you all a story. Back in college, I used to be friends with this amazing girl who was into sports and always aced her exams. She was what you'd call a model student. Straight A's, teachers fawning over her, the students going to her for notes before every exam, she had her career down on the right path. So one day, she and I were sitting in the cafeteria during lunch. It was a fairly common Friday, college ended early, and we decided to grab a bit of food before we went out with friends. We were just talking about our lives and other random stuff you'd expect college kids to talk about when I noticed scar-like markings on her hand. Being a student of psychology and human behavior, I immediately knew something was up. I asked her "What's that?" She immediately rolled down her sleeves and brushed it off, saying "nothing" But I was persistent, and I kept asking her what it was about and why she was doing what she was doing. I told her that i
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Understanding Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia, sometimes referred to as multiple personality disorder, is a chronic mental health condition that affects about 3/1000 people in India. Although rare, the condition can severely deteriorate the quality of life of the individual experiencing it.  When schizophrenia is active, symptoms can include delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, trouble with thinking, and lack of motivation. However, with treatment, most symptoms of schizophrenia will greatly improve and the likelihood of a recurrence can be diminished. While there is no cure for schizophrenia, research is leading to innovative and safer treatments. Experts also are unraveling the causes of the disease by studying genetics, conducting behavioral research, and using advanced imaging to look at the brain’s structure and function. These approaches hold the promise of new, and more effective therapies. The complexity of schizophrenia may help explain why there are misconceptions about the disease. Schizophrenia

Understanding Autism

 Autism or Autism Spectrum Disorder is a mental health condition that causes problems with behavior and communication. It can involve a wide range of symptoms and the extent of the symptoms vary in every case. A person who has ASD may require full-time professional care, or they may not even notice its symptoms in some cases. People with autism have trouble with communication. They have trouble understanding what other people think and feel. This makes it hard for them to express themselves, either with words or through gestures, facial expressions, and touch People with autism might have problems with learning. Their skills might develop unevenly. For example, they could have trouble communicating but be unusually good at art, music, math, or memory. Because of this, they might do especially well on tests of analysis or problem-solving. More children are diagnosed with autism now than ever before. But the latest numbers could be higher because of changes in how it’s diagnosed, not bec

Understanding Social Anxiety Disorder

We've all had that feeling when we went to a party, but we'd rather be at home. For most of us, that feeling is nothing to be concerned about, but for some people, it can be a panic attack including endeavor.  The defining feature of social anxiety disorder, also called social phobia, is intense anxiety or fear of being judged, negatively evaluated, or rejected in a social or performance situation. People with social anxiety disorder may worry about acting or appearing visibly anxious (e.g., blushing, stumbling over words), or being viewed as stupid, awkward, or boring. As a result, they often avoid social or performance situations, and when a situation cannot be avoided, they experience significant anxiety and distress. Many people with social anxiety disorder also experience strong physical symptoms, such as a rapid heart rate, nausea, and sweating, and may experience full-blown attacks when confronting a feared situation. Although they recognize that their fear is

Understanding OCD

OCD is a mental health disorder that affects people from all walks of life, irrespective of age or history with mental health, and occurs when a person gets caught in a cycle of obsessions and compulsions. Obsessions are unwanted, intrusive thoughts, images, or urges that trigger intensely distressing feelings. Compulsions are behaviors an individual engages in to attempt to get rid of the obsessions and/or decrease his or her distress. Most people have obsessive thoughts and/or compulsive behaviors at some point in their lives, but that does not mean that we all have “some OCD.” In order for a diagnosis of Obsessive Compulsive disorder to be made, this cycle of obsessions and compulsions becomes so extreme that it consumes a lot of time and gets in the way of everyday life. Obsessions are thoughts, images, or impulses that go through a person's head involuntary. The person often finds them disturbing and they are incapable of controlling them. Obsessions are typically acc

Understanding Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar Disorder is a fairly common mental health condition that brings in severe mood swings and changes in sleep, energy, sleep, and thinking. It can be very confusing and frustrating because it is rather hard to diagnose unless you are looking for the symptoms. People who have bipolar disorder can have periods in which they feel overly happy and energized and other periods of feeling very sad, hopeless, and sluggish. In between those periods, they usually feel normal. You can think of the highs and the lows as two "poles" of mood, which is why it's called "bipolar" disorder. The word "manic" describes the times when someone with bipolar disorder feels overly excited and confident. These feelings can also involve irritability and impulsive or reckless decision-making. About half of people during mania can also have delusions or hallucinations. Which is why it is crucial for loved ones and friends to not downplay the suffering the person migh

Understanding PTSD

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)  is a psychiatric disorder that can occur in people who have experienced or witnessed a traumatic event such as a natural disaster, a serious accident, a terrorist act, war/combat, rape, or other violent personal assault. It has been known by various other names over the years such as Shell Shock or Combat Fatigue, and it was observed mostly in folks who had been to war. But today, it is one of the most common mental health problems for the general Populus.  People with PTSD have intense, disturbing thoughts and feelings related to their experiences that last long after the traumatic event has ended. They may relive the event through flashbacks or nightmares; they may feel sadness, fear, or anger; and they may feel detached or estranged from other people. People with PTSD may avoid situations or people that remind them of the traumatic event, and they may have strong negative reactions to something as ordinary as a loud noise or an accident