Mental Health Topics

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…

If your mailbox is any indication that invitations to weddings are far and few between these days, it may not be a coincidence. People are waiting for the right time to marry. It’s a fact that Americans are putting off marriage until later. A U.S. Census Bureau survey demonstrates this…

It’s one of the oldest debates of psychology—nature versus nurture. One side of the argument is that an individual’s development is predisposed in the DNA. Biological psychology stresses that genetics and biological influences are responsible for making us who we are. Behaviorism centers on the impact that environment has on…

Love—this simple word has been a conversation of philosophers, the subject of poems and books and a topic studied by scientists for centuries. People try to grasp what it is exactly. In fact, “What is love?” was the most searched phrase on Google in 2012. Still, there are debates about…