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World of Psychology


Habits

How to Make Healthy Lifestyle Changes That Last

Most people are aware that making healthy lifestyle changes would be good for their long term well-being, yet doing so can feel daunting for many. According to an article in US News and World Report, about 80% of people will fail at their New Year’s Resolutions, and many by the middle of February.

If you are feeling stuck trying to make changes, don’t dismay! First, know that you are in good company and it can take lots of stops and starts, steps back as well as steps forward, to make wished for changes. Second, consider the following steps below to shift how you might be approaching change and notice if this makes a difference.
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Children and Teens

Podcast: Postpartum Psychosis Warning Signs

Having a baby is a wonderfully happy time, right? For many women, it certainly is, but estimates show that 1 in 5 women who give birth will suffer from some type of perinatal mental illness, such as depression, anxiety, OCD or psychosis. Chances are, this includes someone you know. In today’s podcast, Dr. Katayune Kaeni, a psychologist who specializes in perinatal mental health and a sufferer herself, discusses these often confusing and debilitating disorders, particularly postpartum psychosis, a more rare and severe form of perinatal mental illness.

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Antipsychotic

Schizophrenia: Challenging the Illness

Pat Deegan, a person who experiences schizophrenia and who also happens to have a Ph.D. in Psychology, is an inspiration to me. When I began my journey to recovery several years ago, her idea of the stages of recovery really moved me. She likened it to the petals on a flower and how at the beginning stages, petals are all over the place and detached from the flower like parts of a person's identity, and then later the petals get reattached and the flower looks like a flower again. 
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Children and Teens

Are You Sharing Too Much Information about Your Child Online?

Is it ever okay to discuss your child’s problems online? What if you are merely seeking advice? How do you know where to draw the line? 

It is tempting to turn to the internet for quick answers and support. Perhaps your child is out of control. Or depressed. Or struggling in school. And you need advice... fast. It is comforting, helpful, and downright cathartic to vent and ask for guidance. We all know how worries and frustration can overwhelm. No family escapes the parenting years unscathed!
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Anxiety and Panic

How Parents Can Get Out of the Helicopter Seat

You can’t read the daily news without encountering stories of school shootings, bullying, Amber alerts for child abductions, and news of fatal sports injuries. Despite efforts by schools to address bullying positively, we currently have government leaders who model name-calling, mockery, and marginalizing others as part of their daily conversation and tweets. 

It’s enough to make any reasonable person unreasonably anxious. It makes already anxious parents want to wrap their kids in bubble wrap to eliminate all risks and keep them under their watchful eye, often winning for themselves a not complimentary term -- “helicopter parents."
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Children and Teens

The Early Years: What Will Children Remember?

Consider your first memories and at what age they appear. Some remember very little about Kindergarten. Others will have a few memories from age four, and even fewer adults have any clear memories before that age. This seems obvious to most parents, but the influence of this perspective is less clear and leads to myths about development. So much so that some adults will say, “They won’t remember,” when considering certain choices, commitments, exposure to content or environments during a child’s first few years of life.
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General

Podcast: Panicked Over Finances? Why Money Influences our Mental Health

 

The rent is due tomorrow; but then you’ll be left with only $10 for the week’s groceries. What do you do? Many people panic over money (or the lack of it), but for those of us with mental illness, it can feel like a life or death situation: It can trigger an even greater anxiety attack and/or depression. Or it may mean not being able to afford the medication that keeps you well enough to work. What can be done?

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Suicide

Why Police Officers Are Dying by Suicide

Police officers are at a higher risk of suicide than most other profession. I wish the statistics were wrong but they are not. Although some police services are mandating bi-yearly or yearly psychological check-ins for officers, many are not unless you are in a specialty unit. Some police services might offer support immediately following trauma-related incidences, but not all do.

The reality is, police officers are reluctant to get honest about mental health and addiction issues. For many officers, admitting you are struggling with mental health or addiction issues runs the risk of your gun being taken away, being assigned to desk duty, or being passed over for a promotion. Some might say that makes perfect sense for safety reasons but not everyone struggling with addiction or mental health issues is a harm to themselves or others. Is shaming and ostracizing really the solution?
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