The other day I was watching an Instagram video of a woman’s nose job. (On Instagram, I’m always watching either cosmetic surgery before-and-afters or slow pans around dollhouse interiors.) The woman was adorable. Then she did this time-lapse thing with bandages on her nose and dark circles under her eyes….
If you or someone you know struggles with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), you’re probably aware of intrusive thoughts. These are those unwanted, stress-provoking thoughts and urges that seem to come out of nowhere and prohibit you from thinking straight or performing certain tasks. For example, you might be running late for…
According to the National Survey on Drug Abuse and Health, 9.2 million adults in the United States struggled with substance use disorder and another mental illness (such as an anxiety or mood disorder) in 2018. These statistics show that substance use disorder and other forms of mental illness tend to…
Assuming too much responsibility could increase your chances of developing OCD and anxiety. Researchers from Hiroshima University surveyed American college students about their feelings related to three types of responsibility: responsibility to prevent or avoid harm, responsibility for negative results, and responsibility to resolve a problem. The team found that…
When one is hurt by the world—initially by our parents or caretaking environment—it is a natural human reaction to try to control our external environment. Having a controlling personality is not considered to be a personality disorder; however, contemporary psychodynamic theory and practice see DMS-V personality disorders as being environmental…
Personality disorders belong to a group of mental illnesses characterized by unhealthy thoughts and behaviors, which can seriously hinder one’s everyday functioning. You’re probably familiar with several of these disorders, like borderline personality disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder. But you might not be familiar with their distinguishing clusters. Each personality disorder…
College students face severe mental health challenges, which threaten to wreak havoc on their studies as well as their overall wellbeing. It’s important to keep a watchful eye on the college goers in your life, specifically if they exhibit harmful symptoms of a mental illness like anxiety or depression. In…
Just this morning, as I was walking out of my apartment building, I froze at the bottom of the stairs. Did I turn the stove off? Like every other morning, I made scrambled eggs for breakfast. And again—like every other morning—I worried that I forgot to turn the burner off….
“When you have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, you don’t really get quiet moments,” says poet Neil Hilborn in his renowned poem “OCD”. What he means is you don’t really get a break from your obsessions and your compulsions, characteristic of the disorder. You experience repetitive thoughts and urges and feel compelled…
Bad Thoughts Sometimes Come from Out of Nowhere You’re standing at the sink peeling a carrot. You have a paring knife in your hand. You’ve peeled carrots dozens of times with the same knife. Why this time do you have the thought you might stab your husband in the back?…