Mental Health Topics

Excoriation Disorder or Skin-Picking Disorder is also known as dermatillomania and is brand new in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5)*. People who have the disorder have a constant desire to pick at their skin even if it causes it to rupture, bleed and damages…

Breakups aren’t usually mutually agreed upon or if they are, it’s a pretty rare phenomenon. When one person in the couple is left to pick up the pieces of an ended relationship, it can take a while to cope with not seeing, speaking, or texting that person every day—or several…

Cocaine is made from the leaves of a coca plant native to South America. A powerfully addictive stimulant, its use has serious short and long-term health effects. In addition, there’s risk of great harm when cocaine is taken with alcohol, heroin and other substances. One of the most frequent and…

Before criticizing your daughter or friend the next time they take a selfie, you might want to think again. If you feel selfies are for vain or self-absorbed people, it might be good to step back and take a look at “the whole picture” and find out that selfies may…

Sometimes careers require us to move to different parts of the country—or the globe, for that matter. The move may require getting to know new coworkers, making a different network of friends and taking care of many details, including purchasing a house or renting an apartment, as well as becoming…

You decide to wear a dress instead of your regular attire of blue jeans and a T-shirt when you meet your family for dinner one night, and your sister gives you a compliment that doesn’t really seem flattering at all. She says she doesn’t usually like what you wear, but…

The urge to steal items can’t be resisted, and they really don’t need or even want the things they steal. They can afford to buy the items, but there’s an impulse to steal, and it’s out of control. Kleptomania is a type of impulse control disorder that, in spite of…

You watch it on television, where a person can barely walk in his house because of stacks of papers and boxes piled on top of one another. The person sometimes can’t use the kitchen or living room, because there are so many things covering every square inch of the floor…

Erik Erikson was a German psychoanalyst who was influenced by Sigmund Freud. He explored three parts of identity—the ego (self), personal (the personal idiosyncrasies that differentiate one individual from another) and social/cultural (the different social roles of a person). Erikson is known for his psychosocial theory of development, which recognizes…

It’s no secret that our country has become more and more divided over the last year. Americans are often found arguing about politics, religious views, or racial issues. It is not uncommon for me to hear people talk about how differing opinions on sensitive issues have created division amongst family…

Individuals with Paranoid Personality Disorder (PPD) usually have prevalent distrust and suspicion of other people that has lasted for a long time. They will almost always distrust other people’s intentions, sometimes even thinking their motives are evil. While there is no evidence to support their beliefs, people with the disorder…

Personality disorders are described as long-standing and lasting patterns of behavior. It is uncommon for them to be diagnosed during childhood or in adolescence primarily because at this age the individual is in development, is undergoing personality changes and is maturing. That is why Adult Antisocial Behavior (AAB) (DSM-5)* is…