disorder
The spectrum of Mental Health disorders is incredibly vast; we showcase the multitude of conditions that affect mood, thinking and behavior.
My Strange Addiction
We’ve all heard the saying, “Everyone is addicted to something that takes away the pain.” It is often paired with black and white images of young adults and/or teens drinking, smoking, self-harming, purging their latest binge, or black tears sliding down a porcelain face. Don’t believe me? A quick search on Tumblr should prove you wrong.
By Amber Schrader-Matthies7 years ago in Psyche
The Gendering of Mental Health
We live in a highly gendered society. Certain roles, behaviours, and experiences may be seen as typical of one gender but unacceptable in the other. Those who do not conform to gender norms and expectations, including those who identify as transgendered/queer/two-spirited, are met with fear and negative judgment. So what does this mean for mental health, both now and in the past?
By Ashley L. Peterson7 years ago in Psyche
Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy
Munchausen syndrome by proxy (MSBP) refers to the deliberate cause of illness to a child, inflicted by a caretaker. Munchausen by proxy is a real illness, but rare in some ways. It simply means that the caretaker wants to make their victim ill so that they can be the big and only hero. Forcing somebody to take too much insulin in order to make them pass out is one of the ways this illness can manifest. Munchausen by proxy usually starts affecting the caregiver, the mother, or perhaps the father if the father is prone to believe the mother’s exaggerations, such as the need both parents have for collusion.
By Iria Vasquez-Paez7 years ago in Psyche
Interviews with a Big Black Broad: Sessions #7
Interviewer: When did you began to seek professional help to treat your BDD? BBB: I'm sure it's not surprising that I was reluctant. I was complacent in dealing with my issues on my own up 'til the age of 28. I hid from mirrors. I would dwell in front of mirrors. I took down mirrors. I put them back up. I spent all my money on food, alcohol, makeup, hair products and expensive girdles of all kinds. I hid from the world for days and weeks on end. I drank to endure those moments when I gave in to the mounting pressures I felt to rejoin the world even when I felt the worst about myself. The annoyance of having to deal with a disorder that caused me to focus so much on myself had also taken its toll on me. I wasn't a purposefully vain person. I wasn't someone who would choose to be so self-consumed. I wanted to travel the world. I loved people and wanted to meet more of them from all walks of life. I didn't want to assume that everyone who stared at me only did so because they saw someone ugly. I needed the courage to live the life I ultimately wanted. How could I live any longer without being able to face myself in the mirror? Without being able to leave my house without being inebriated in some way? So, I faced the fact that I would remain stuck in the same positions in my life (literally) if I didn't at least try professional help.
By Anarda Nashai7 years ago in Psyche
Body Dysmorphic Disorder
For as long as I can remember, I wasn't comfortable in my own skin. I was born a twin in a family of four kids, and consequently I fought to find what made me special or unique. I was the runt of the litter (literally, not figuratively). My twin and I were born last out of the four and I was without a doubt the smallest of the family.
By Paige Sanz7 years ago in Psyche
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
There are elements in my family that do not take medication for their OCD. You know who you are. These are people who cannot face up to the fact that they have a disability as I do, only I’m not impaired by it like you are. OCD makes you doubt yourself; did I leave the stove shut off? Did I leave the door locked? Is my house burning down while I’m away from it because the stove was left on? Am I doing this assignment for work right? Yes, I’m doing this assignment but I’m not sure if my boss will like it so I have to make it perfect, starting over a dozen times.
By Iria Vasquez-Paez7 years ago in Psyche
Manic Happiness
Mania is a phase of Bipolar Disorder characterized by an abnormally heightened mood, hyperactivity, and a reduced need for sleep. Basically, I feel confident, energized, and ready to take on the world, with barely any sleep. I feel genuinely happy, and excited for life. Which is a huge deal considering the depressive lows of Bipolar Disorder, are very low. When I am low, I am insecure, and miserable. I have no confidence, no energy, and all I want to do is sleep. It’s no wonder that when I am Manic, I get irritated when people tell me to take my medicines. When I am on my medicine, I don’t feel low, but I am nowhere near the "high" that mania gives me. I’m in what feels like a lull. Almost emotionless, and numb. Scared that if I feel too happy, Mania is coming. Scared that if I feel too depressed, that the depressive low is coming. It’s an uneasy feeling to have.
By Rachel Bonneval7 years ago in Psyche
Avoidant Personality Disorder
Avoidant personality disorder is characterized by a need to avoid people, support, and compassion, laced by an inadequacy component. People with avoidant personality are sensitive to what people think about them to the point of paranoia. Avoidant people feel like they can’t make it socially, imagining their own ineptitude. People with avoidant personality avoid school, work, anywhere people scrutinize them. Any human interaction there is avoidant people, avoid because they feel that inadequate. They want to avoid people and that’s their bottom line. Avoidant people are shy, or timid, the quintessential loner. They have low self-esteem and are hypersensitive to rejection.
By Iria Vasquez-Paez7 years ago in Psyche
The Slow Motion Circus
It’s a helpless mind that wanders so completely that it cannot retrace steps or patterns. Events and places from my past seem to be fleeting back and forth between conscious enigma and the reality for which it was at the time. Every brilliant little speck of happiness, every impulse I long for is hiding somewhere out in the open, like a wild beast waiting for its hunter.
By Jordan Holt7 years ago in Psyche
