Mental Health Topics

Dreams are weird: they’re these alternative realities that feel freakishly real until we finally realize we’re just dreaming or we wake up. I remember this one week where I had a significantly weird dream just about every night: in just 7 days, I fought anacondas, rode a train into the…

‘Never Eat Soggy Waffles.’ Not a bad piece of advice, but actually not a piece of advice at all—instead, an easy way to remember where North, East, South, and West are on a map. This mnemonic device made first grade a whole lot easier. As did ‘My Very Educated Mother…

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a form of psychotherapy treatment which focuses on changing one’s negative thinking and/or behavioral patterns that lie behind their difficulties. These may be sleep or relationship difficulties, issues with drug abuse, alcohol dependence, or anxiety and depression. It works by first helping an individual to…

Depression: a crippling illness characterized by fatigue, feelings of worthlessness, and a depressed state that affects 350 million people worldwide. This overwhelming statistic reminds us that any one of us could develop the condition—but not a single one of us hopes to. So we do what we can to prevent…

Affluenza may sound like a cold or similar sickness, but it is actually a term used to describe a more “metaphorical” illness, whereas privileged kids who grow up emotionally and developmentally isolated from their mother and father feel an intense pressure to be successful. These individuals feel this weight at…

Okay, before I delve into the topic of zodiac signs, let me just say that I know astrology is not backed by any scientific evidence whatsoever—however, it is kind of fun and a guilty pleasure of mine. With that being said, my zodiac sign is a Pisces: I am compassionate…

As we get older, we try to forget about and deny our age. We take off a few years on forms at the doctor’s office and when a friend asks which birthday this one is we definitely don’t tell the truth (despite their suspicious looks). But words can only go…

We often look to celebrities—whether they be actors, singers, comedians, or TV personalities—for guidance. We hope that they don’t let us down, but use their platform for good, to demonstrate respectable actions and ideations. And while sometimes we’re left disappointed, at others we are proud, uplifted, and ultimately pieced back…

There is a plethora of misconceptions and myths when it comes to the topic of mental illness. For example, some people believe that disorders like depression and anxiety are dramatic diagnoses for difficult feelings like sadness or mere nerves. But this is certainly not the case—these conditions and those of…

Our primary form of communication is verbal communication. However, we speak just as often through nonverbal communication or body language. The way we sink into our chairs, cross our arms, and look down at the ground all communicate negative feelings—those of deflation, unease, and discomfort. Now, we can also communicate…

Personality disorders belong to a group of mental illnesses characterized by unhealthy thoughts and behaviors, which can seriously hinder one’s everyday functioning. A few examples include schizoid personality disorder (cluster A), borderline personality disorder (cluster B), and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (cluster C). These clusters are subgroups of personality disorders and…

For the last few days, you’ve lived on the pages of Indeed, scrolling through the many job postings and clicking on promising leads. You’ve recrafted your cover letter more times than you can remember and sent your resume to an abundance of companies (fingers crossed that this is finally the…