Why is there a bipolar 2 and a bipolar 1? There’s no depression 2 or depression 1. There’s no anxiety 3.0. What makes bipolar disorder (formerly known as manic depression) different? The quick answer is that people with bipolar 2 have enough variation in their symptoms from type 1 bipolar…
Everyone has their sexual preferences or fetishes — for some, that involves extremely erotic practices like being tied up, handcuffed, or being otherwise made to suffer. That said, there’s a fine line between having a sexual fetish and struggling with sexual fantasies and behaviors that cripple your life. When it…
What if you were depressed for so long that you forgot what happiness felt like? What if your low mood started to feel permanent, like part of your personality? This is the reality for many people with dysthymia, or persistent depressive disorder (PDD), a chronic depressive state that lasts two…
Known more commonly and collectively as depression, depressive disorders are a set of closely related mental health conditions that affect a person’s mood, energy, nervous system, sleep cycles, biochemistry, and even brain waves. There’s little in an individual’s daily life that depressive disorders won’t affect—but other than a shared capacity…
We deem an individual “narcissistic” when they’re overly self-centered, they make every conversation about them, and they make selfish decisions. But many of us don’t realize that there is a personality disorder characterized by overblown self-importance called narcissistic personality disorder (NPD). So, what’s the difference between having narcissistic tendencies and…
All types of depression are characterized by deep sadness and a loss of interest in once-loved activities. Those who are depressed might wake up after a long night’s sleep and still feel miserably tired. They might forget to do simple things like brush their teeth or eat a meal (or…
Depression is one of the most well-known and studied mental health conditions. It’s characterized by feelings of sadness or emptiness, low energy, lack of concentration, and chronic nerve pain, among a myriad of other symptoms. Depressive episodes may even last for months or even years. The different forms of depression…
How many of us have felt suddenly unwell for a time, and out of concern, googled our symptoms? Later on, when we’re better, we might feel a little bit embarrassed that we were so concerned—maybe our mysterious symptoms were all in our heads. Experiencing this fear of illness or disease…
Imagine that you’re going about your morning as usual – making coffee, feeding the cat, tidying the bedroom – when your chest starts to hurt. The pain quickly mounts. Within minutes you’re drenched in sweat and you feel as if you’re suffocating. You close your eyes and try to take…
Major depression disorder (MDD) is a mental health condition that impacts emotional well-being and can cause severe functional consequences in daily life. MDD is also called clinical depression, major depression, and unipolar depression (to distinguish it from bipolar depression caused by bipolar disorder). In Ancient Greece, depression was called melancholia,…
Grief is a normal human response to the pain of losing someone. It can be brutal, anguished, disorienting, maddening, enraging, and lonely. But ultimately, people do emerge from grief. They may feel forever changed; however, they do find meaning in their lives again. Those difficult feelings eventually make way for…
Becoming a little preoccupied with imperfections in our physical appearance is normal. But when we start losing the ability to accept our flaws, body dysmorphic disorder can develop. Common signs of body dysmorphic disorder include constantly scanning one’s reflection for flaws, obsessively grooming, taking selfies, and getting excessive cosmetic surgeries….