Mental Health Issues/Mental Illness

Depression is one of the most common health conditions in the world. Depression isn't a weakness, nor is it something that you can simply "snap out of." Depression, formally called major depression, major depressive disorder or clinical depression, is a medical illness that involves the mind and body.

Depression impacts your thought processes and behaviors and can cause a variety of emotional and physical problems.

You may not be able to go about your usual daily activities, and depression may make you feel as if life just isn't worth living anymore.

Treatable. Most health professionals today consider depression a chronic illness that requires long-term treatment, much like diabetes or high blood pressure.

Stigma of Depression - In today's society, the is little room for stigma to exist, as so many individuals now seek treatment for depression. Those that don't suffer from it, tend to not really "get it". Don't let others keep you from seeking help, feeling better is possible!

BDD is characterized by a significant dissatisfaction with one's appearance, particularly with perceived flaws. Depression link high.

Article on BDD can be found at: http://psychcentral.com/news/2010/06/29/cognitive-therapy-for-body-dysmorphic-disorder/15193.html

Shame often keeps us frozen, unable to tell our therapist or support group what it is that troubles us most.

F irstly, you are not alone in feeling shame.

Secondly, whatever it is you do to perpetuate your negative state of mind is probably pretty common.

Lastly, take a deep breath and know that your therapist will not judge you - rather offer ways to help

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is most commonly characterized by intrusive, repetitive thoughts resulting in compulsive behaviors and mental acts that the person feels driven to perform.

In severe cases, it affects a person's ability to function in everyday activities. The psychological self-awareness of the irrationality of the disorder can be painful. For people with severe OCD, it may take several hours a day to carry out the compulsive acts.

Checking, washing, cleaning, counting are some examples. What does your clothes closet look like or the kitchen cupboards?

When you have borderline personality disorder (BPD), you have difficulty controlling your emotions and are often in a state of upheaval - perhaps as a result of harmful childhood experiences or brain dysfunction.

With borderline personality disorder your image of yourself is distorted, making you feel worthless and fundamentally flawed. Your anger, impulsivity and frequent mood swings may push others away.

Difficulty maintaining close relationships tends to be another indicator.

5 good tips for staying healthy are...

1) have a trusted third party to be able to speak with
2) limit your exposure or just avoid toxic people
3) work on your negative self talk
4) move your body - just a few minutes can help!
5) find the humor and laugh

Antisocial personality disorder is a type of chronic mental illness in which your ways of thinking, perceiving situations and relating to others are dysfunctional.

When you have antisocial personality disorder, you typically have no regard for right and wrong. You may often violate the law and the rights of others, landing yourself in frequent trouble or conflict. You may lie, behave violently, cheat, do harm with no or little remorse.

Others and relationships are just a means to get what you want.

Understanding Self Injury: A brief overview

Many self-injurers find that acts such as cutting, overdosing, burning themselves etc. actually make them feel better - at least in the short term.

The trouble is that there's always a price to be paid for self-injury. That price may be physical (scarring, liver damage etc.), social (leading to relationship problems) or psychological (a source of guilt, depression, self-reproach, frustration or anger). The short-term relief is real and it works for a while but self-injury often causes more problems than it solves in the longer term.

The way you feel about what you do is at least as important as the action itself.

If your self-injuring is mainly to get a dramatic response from others (what some people might call attention seeking) it's likely that you have a deep emotional need to feel validated.

Validation means being valued and treated with respect for your feelings and opinions.
You may need to know that others care about you and value your existence.

It is important to consider exploring with a professional other ways of living and experiencing your life and this world.

Schizoid personality disorder is a condition in which people avoid social activities and consistently shy away from interaction with others. People with the disorder are generally loners with a profound inability to connect with others and form personal relationships.

To others, people with schizoid personality disorder may appear aloof, dull or humorless, and they're often ignored in social settings.

People with schizoid personality disorder show a flattened or restricted range of emotions, and can appear indifferent to what's going on around them.

I hope it's this:

"You are valuable, You matter!"

_______________________________

Self harm should not be an option.

_______________________________

This is not a real diagnostic tool - Still interesting.
http://www.sanityscore.com/

Meet others that share similar struggles. Share in their successes
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or call if you're in the Ventura County, CA area 805-204-7315

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