Blogs
Elizabeth Caudy
Because of my schizoaffective disorder, I beat up on myself a lot. Whenever anything goes wrong, I blame myself--or look for ways to blame myself. As a feminist, I want to love the goddess that I am, but this isn’t reality for me.
Kim Berkley
It may be difficult to imagine how self-harm affects others when no one even knows (at least to your knowledge) that you're hurting yourself. Pain, however, always causes a ripple effect.
Tanya J. Peterson, MS, NCC
Anxiety hangs out in the body as much as it does in the mind. Many of the symptoms of anxiety are physical because we are one whole, united system: brain, body, and mind. Because of this, our entire being--thoughts, emotions, and body--is impacted by stress and anxiety. As annoying and life-disruptive as this is, it means that we have multiple ways to find it and heal it. You can reduce your symptoms by working with your body. Here are some ways you can ease the anxiety in your body both immediately and long-term.
Martyna Halas
My name is Martyna Halas, and I’m very excited to join HealthyPlace as the new author of "Speaking Out About Self-Injury."
Megan Lane
I can still remember my first experience with verbal abuse. At the time, I was only 13 years old.
Nori Rose Hubert
There is a common perception that the hypomanic phase of bipolar disorder type II does not impede one's ability to work, unlike the full-blown manic episodes that come with bipolar disorder type I. I believe that this is misleading. While it is true that hypomania is less severe than mania, the symptoms -- elevated mood, inflated optimism, distractibility, increased goal-oriented activity, racing thoughts, and impulsivity -- are the same. Hypomania may not have sent me to the hospital, but before I began treatment, hypomania made it almost impossible for me to work.
TJ DeSalvo
Why is it important to avoid digital self-harm on the Internet? Is it possible to avoid it when the modern Internet is itself complicit in facilitating self-harm?
Megan Griffith
Growing up, maladaptive daydreaming was a huge part of my life. Of course, I didn't realize it was maladaptive until I went off to college and the daydreams just sort of stopped. I missed them a lot at first, and there are times even now, several years into my recovery from depression and anxiety, that I miss my daydreams.
Hannah O'Grady
After being on antidepressants for over 10 years, I have noticed ways in which my antidepressants have impacted my sex drive. It is not uncommon for people to experience a shift in their libido when starting to take medication for their mental health. For some, this shift in sex drive may be apparent and seemingly detrimental to their relationships, while to others, this shift may be smaller (perhaps even negligible). When I first began taking antidepressants at 14, I noticed a drastic decrease in my experienced sexuality that became apparent even to my partners.
Beth Avery
Most people know that working out can benefit physical health, but did you know that regular exercise can improve mental health as well? Exercise has been shown to significantly reduce posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, improve sleep quality, and improve depression in people with PTSD.