Mental Health Topics

168 hours. That is how many hours are in each week. Did you know that? I certainly did not; I never thought to do the math. Someone recently recommended the book, “I Know How She Does It” by Laura Vanderkam. Truthfully, it is written for a specific group of people…

Child therapists know that children grieve differently from adults, and they also understand how a child’s unique grieving process might be overlooked in the midst of significant loss. Children who experience the death of someone close to them are often surrounded by adult suffering. They might not want to burden…

Few scandals are able to hurt a romantic partner more than infidelity. In most relationships, monogamy is not only an unspoken rule, it’s a requirement; without it, monogamous relationships just couldn’t exist. For some, this means forgoing monogamy, while some remain faithfully committed to the sole person of their choice….

In January of last year, my boyfriend and I jumped on the bandwagon and adopted a pandemic puppy. We named her Summer (thought it fitting for a golden retriever) and quickly fell in love. She’s like our child — we’ve watched her grow into the stick-loving, ball-chasing, somersaulting, silly, loving,…

Geek therapy is a mental health intervention that incorporates so-called nerd culture into the therapeutic process. It’s a method that mental health professionals can utilize to reach clients who are interested in anime, gaming, comics, and other traditionally “nerdy” pursuits. Geek therapy operates on the principle of affinity, meaning that…

Bipolar disorder is a mental disorder characterized by extreme fluctuations in mood. These emotional shifts may take place over the course of hours, weeks, or months, and are often accompanied by drastic changes in behavior and functioning.  There are three main types of bipolar disorder. People with bipolar I (type…

No one enjoys being lied to—but chances are, you’re absorbing some form of misleading or skewed information every day. This is known as misinformation—purposefully deviant reporting that aims to trigger an emotional response, usually in favor of the creator’s own biases. It can spread like wildfire across social media platforms,…

Feelings of inadequacy appear when you feel like you don’t measure up to your coworkers, but these thoughts you’re having may not reflect reality. Unhelpful comparisons, self-criticism, poor coping habits, and unrealistic expectations can often play a key role in how you currently feel. Even if there’s no reason to…

My five-year-old daughter has a self-professed “crush” on Tae Young, who is a cartoon member of the early 2000s fictional boy band 4*Town, which is featured in the 2022 Disney Pixar movie “Turning Red.” (I know, my head is spinning too.) I can’t tell if my daughter thinks Tae is…

Thinking about arriving at your new destination might be exciting, but getting there is often anything but. Moving can churn up some seriously intense levels of stress; anyone who’s ever relocated to a new home or apartment may understand the feeling well. Relocating can be difficult to manage, without us…

Psychology has long been a field of study where researchers have explored and examined themes, ideas, and subjects that may be avoided or ignored by society as a whole. For female psychologists, breaking new ground has always come with the job title—but too often in the past, that meant simply…

A new research study from Thriveworks shows that more Americans are engaged in parasocial relationships than they care to admit. Humans naturally form one-sided connections to media personas and public figures, even genuinely mourning their deaths. These parasocial relationships are usually harmless, though 9% of people report lasting mental health…