Depression affects about 16 million Americans every year. The World Health Organization calls depression the number one cause of disability worldwide. Symptoms typically include prolonged feelings of sadness, fatigue, irritability, aggression, lack of motivation, disturbed sleep, poor memory and concentration, feelings of hopelessness, physical aches, and thoughts of suicide or death. The symptoms of depression… Continue Reading What’s the Difference Between Depression and Dysthymia?
Anxiety is never pleasant, especially if you have an anxiety disorder. Anxiety can make everyday tasks feel like major challenges. It can impair your performance when you need to pass a test, interview for a job, give a speech, or deliver in a big moment. Even worse, anxiety can harass you when there’s nothing going… Continue Reading 3 Ways Anxiety Changes Your Brain
The many downsides to addiction are well known. Addiction can damage your health, stall your career, undermine your relationships, ruin your finances, lead to mental health issues, and even cause death. No one with even a vague awareness of the problems addiction typically causes would choose addiction. Millions of Americans struggle with addiction every year… Continue Reading Is There Anything Good About Addiction?
Medication assisted treatment, or MAT, means using FDA-approved medications as part of an integrated treatment plan. For people with opioid addictions, this typically means taking methadone or buprenorphine, a strategy called opioid replacement therapy. Among people who study opioid addiction, MAT, along with therapy or counselling is considered the gold standard of opioid addiction treatment.… Continue Reading 3 Reasons Why MAT Isn’t Just Replacing One Addiction with Another
Living with mental illness makes everything harder. If you’re depressed, you might not be able to get out of bed. If you have an anxiety disorder, you may be irrationally afraid of necessary things like driving or social interaction. If you have schizophrenia or a personality disorder, it may be very difficult to form stable… Continue Reading Is There Anything Good About Mental Illness?
Anxiety disorders are common co-occurring conditions with addiction because people who suffer from them desperately want relief from their symptoms, which sometimes include intense panic attacks. Often, people who suffer from anxiety disorders will be prescribed benzodiazepines such as Xanax that relieve anxiety in the short term, but are highly addictive. They may also self-medicate… Continue Reading 4 Ways to Cope with Social Anxiety Disorder
The recovery process can be a complicated one, and it is a lifelong commitment that lasts long after we’ve completed treatment. When we’re recently finished with a treatment program, we can be presented with unique challenges that can threaten our sobriety. We’re reintegrating into our regular lives, with the old routines, lifestyles and relationships that… Continue Reading Why Should I Consider Outpatient Programs After Treatment?
Many of us have grown so accustomed to keeping up with our daily lives while handling tremendous amounts of stress that we don’t recognize the warning signs of burnout until it’s too late and we’re already suffering. We’ve learned how to function and maintain the regular operations of our lives. We manage to keep a… Continue Reading Recognizing the Warning Signs of Burnout
It can take a lot of time and effort to convince a friend or family member to enter treatment for addiction. Many people find it difficult to accept they need help. While entering treatment is a big achievement, it’s only the beginning of recovery. There’s a lot of work left to do and studies have… Continue Reading Why Do People Want to Leave Addiction Treatment Early?
No one wants to live with mental illness. Mental illnesses can make your life harder in many ways. Depending on what you have, you may be depressed, anxious, impulsive, angry, combative, confused, or paranoid. Now it appears mental illness has another big drawback: it can shorten your life. Depending on what mental health issue you… Continue Reading Can Mental Illness Shorten Your Life?
