Mental Health Topics

A cardinal feature of depression, like other mental health conditions such as anxiety or trauma, is difficulty with memory: remembering, recalling, and—sometimes in severe cases—recognizing people, things, tasks, memories, events, and to-dos. Often, people with depression will have great difficulty remembering where things in the house or at work may…

Alzheimer’s diminishes one’s memory, ability to think, and everyday functioning; currently, an estimated 5.8 million Americans suffer from the disease. That said, memory loss doesn’t always signify Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia—instead, we might experience a simple lapse in our memory. It’s important to distinguish the difference and understand…

A recent study says emotional or traumatic events can create false memories, despite the widespread belief that traumatic events are more vivid and, therefore, reliable.  The latter belief is called flashbulb memory, which says that emotional events cause us to completely capture the context of the event and our reaction…

Rarely do we second guess the validity of our memory, but the truth is that our minds do sometimes deceive us by creating false or distorted memories. A recent study demonstrated this phenomenon, as participants claimed to remember viewing footage of United 93 crashing in Pennsylvania on September 11—but this…

Implicit memory is easily recalled without much effort, helping us with tasks like walking, talking, and driving a car on a regular basis, all without much effort. An Implicit Association Test was created to test our associations with particular individuals; it urges subjects to make quick judgments and often indicates…

The focus of counseling often varies; however, commonly discussed issues among older adults include the loss of loved ones, health issues, and identity crises. Many of these individuals have lost a spouse, are facing severe physical or mental health issues, or are missing fulfillment and enjoyment in life. Older adults…

According to the National Survey of Drug Use and Health, cannabis use is growing the fastest among older adults. However, a new study “Qualitative Analysis of Cannabis Use Among Older Adults in Colorado” says that many of these individuals report challenges to getting medical marijuana, including fear of stigma from…

Many people develop mental and neurological disorders as they enter old age, depression, dementia, and anxiety being among the most common. These challenges often go underrecognized, but it’s important we stay on top of our mental, emotional, and physical health as we age. Take care of yourself throughout life by…

When we’re young, we often view people in their 20s or 30s as “old”; this idea of old, however, changes as we age. A recent study says the older we get, the younger we feel—in other words, our perception of old age changes as we get older. Researchers reached this…

Substance abuse is a serious disease that plagues the lives of both men and women. It is characterized by problems controlling use of a substance (alcohol or drugs), failure to quit even when it affects important areas of life, and the development of cravings, tolerance, and withdrawal when use of…

Too much screen time can lead to sleep problems in teens. But reducing screen time and blue light exposure can resolve these problems within a week. Researchers from the Netherlands Institute of Neuroscience investigated the effects of screen time on adolescents and saw that teens who were exposed to screen…

It’s difficult for many people to admit they need help and then to actually seek out that help—it’s sometimes even more difficult for men. That said, it’s important that men (as well as women) ask for and seek professional mental health help when they need it, as counseling can help…