Helping Psychology Posts - November 2009

Disappointment: 5 Steps to Coping with a Setback

Life is a series of surprises and disappointments; it’s how we deal with the setbacks that defines who we truly are. Whether suffering from school stress, relationship woes or everyday hardship, setbacks can have us drowning in anxiety. From simply taking a break to sort out your thoughts to learning to develop a thicker skin, read about ways you can deal with disappointment in life by clicking here.

Procrastination: Breaking the Habit

As students, procrastination is usually part of the deal, but it doesn’t have to be. Learning to properly manage your time is essential to achieving success in all your endeavors, especially in a school setting. Procrastination usually stems from an underlying mental issue such as low self-confidence or perfectionism, but can be easily remedied by clicking here.

Postpartum Depression: Battling the Baby Blues

Postpartum depression is a serious and debilitating mental illness faced by thousands of women worldwide. Symptoms can include deep depression, anxiety, anger, and even trouble bonding with the baby. Treatment for postpartum depression begins with a medical evaluation followed by counseling with a licensed psychologist. In extreme cases medication may be required to alleviate severe symptoms of depression and anxiety. To learn more, click here.

Staking Emotional Vampires

Vampires are more than just the blood-sucking creatures found in horror novels. Modern vampires take on a more realistic form; that of someone close to you. Do you have a friend, relative or co-worker in your life that makes you feel exhausted after every encounter? That is the mark of an emotional vampire. Generally the result of an underlying mental disorder, these vamps often suffer from a poor self-image and low self-esteem. Click here to learn more.

Dissociative Disorders: Types & Treatments

Dissociative Amnesia, Dissociative Identity Disorder, Dissociative Fugue and Depersonalization Disorder are the four main types of dissociative disorders. Patients with any of the four types generally experience loss of memory, detachment, anxiety, depression, and a distorted sense of self. Left untreated, dissociative disorder can lead to multiple personality disorder and other mental illnesses. To learn more about dissociative disorders, click here.

Antidepressants: Medications for Depression

Antidepressants are prescription medications that are used to lessen the symptoms of depression such as sadness, exhaustion and pain. Commonly prescribed antidepressants include selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, monoamine oxidase inhibitors, tricyclic antidepressants and serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors. Antidepressants are used to restore the balance of brain chemicals responsible for causing depression. Click here to learn more.

Behavior Analyst Job Description

Behavior analysis is the field of studying how and why behavior changes over time, and is quickly becoming a popular career choice among psychology majors. Different than clinical psychology, behavior analysis looks for answers in environmental and biological factors surrounding human behavior, rather than purely mental factors. A career in behavior analysis may mean working with Autistic children and people with other developmental disorders. Interested in becoming a behavior analyst? Click here.

Curing Childhood Phobias

It’s a common occurrence for young children to be awakened with night terrors or to avoid certain situations that are unfamiliar, but what happens when childhood fears transition into adulthood? Around 10% of adults suffer some form of phobia including cynophobia (fear of dogs) and claustrophobia. Curing phobias in children tends to prevent them from occurring later on in life, but that doesn’t help people currently suffering from debilitating fears. Using one-session exposure treatment (OST), psychologists are able to treat up to 80% of adults with various phobias. Click here to look more.

Intro to Biopsychology

First-year psych students will eventually come across a branch of psychology called biopsychology, which deals with direct experimentation on non-human and human subjects using monitoring devices such as EEGs. Physiological psychology is a division of biopsychology that studies the mechanism of behavior through the manipulation of the brains of non-human subjects. The goal of biopsychology is to provide quality research on medications used by people all over the world. To learn more about this fascinating branch of psychology, click here.

Binge Eating: Diagnosis of the Week

Helping Psychology has added a new feature called Diagnosis of the Week. Each week, learn what psychological terms and conditions to add to your professional repertoire. To begin with, find out about binge eating, a destructive mental disorder that can result in severe bodily harm and even death. Also known as compulsive overeating, binge-eating is one of the most common psychological disorders, especially among women. Interested? Click here to learn more.

Misdiagnosing Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder is considered a frustrating mental disorder by sufferers as it is oftentimes misdiagnosed as anxiety or depression. It is estimated that over 70% of bipolar patients are initially diagnosed with some other mental health disorder. Due to the emotional highs and lows associated with the disorder, patients only tend to seek treatment in the depressive phase. With early and accurate detection of bipolar disorder, an appropriate treatment plan can allow patients to manage the symptoms and live fuller lives. To learn more click here.

Sad: Seasonal Affective Disorder

As the seasons change from fall to winter, many people experience a profound sense of sadness and anxiety, which may be attributed to a drop in the levels of serotonin produced by the brain. SAD, or Seasonal Affective Disorder, is characterized by depression, irritability and mood swings. Psychologists have yet to find a cause, but the disorder can be treated using a combination of psychotherapy and antidepressant medication. Are you feeling SAD this holiday season? Click here.

The Upside of Criticism for Psych Students

Learning to take criticism with a grain of salt as a psychology student is essential to growing both mentally and professionally. A positive side to criticism is that it lends itself to fueling motivation in even the most self-confident student. As a psychologist, criticism is found at every turn, but can be positive because it challenges theories and creates a basis for further research. To learn more about how criticism is beneficial, click here.

Art Therapy as an Alternative Treatment

In lieu of intensive psychotherapy or medication, art therapy uses creativity to facilitate healing and wellbeing in mental patients seeking healing and treatment. Children, adolescents, adults and seniors can all benefit from art therapy as it facilitates self-expression. Creative therapy works to help patients improve self-esteem, reduce stress, achieve personal insights and resolve conflicts. Learn more about the mental benefits of art therapy by clicking here.

Graduate Students: Writing Your Curriculum Vitae

So you’re heading to grad school? Filled out an application? Check. Sent in your GRE scores? Check. Composed your curriculum vitae? Similar to a resume, a curriculum vitae offers graduate school committee members a chance get to know a student applicant’s academic and professional accomplishments. As a work in progress, a curriculum vitae continues to reflect a student’s endeavors throughout grad school. Want to learn how to write an outstanding CV? Click here.

Addiction: Steps to Avoiding Relapse

Maintaining long-term recovery after an addiction requires support, from both family and outside institutions. Learning techniques for dealing with difficult situations and breaking destructive habits can be gained through counseling with a licensed psychologist. Learning how to live independently after an addiction is possible. Click here to find out how.

The Power of Subliminal Messages

Subliminal messages have been used for decades as an advertising tactic. Nowadays, subliminal messages are being studied to determine positive uses for the powerful persuasion technique. To learn more about the numerous studies that have been conducted to determine exactly how the subconscious mind responds, click here.

Youth Bipolar Meds Linked to Weight Gain

Rapid weight gain is now considered a possible side effect in children taking antipsychotic medication to reduce symptoms of bipolar disorder. Side effects vary with each individual, but 10 – 20 pounds of weight gain is common. Children are especially prone to weight gain as the medication causes carbohydrate cravings in young children. Click here to learn more.

New Treatment for Veterans Suffering from PTSD

Posttraumatic stress disorder and other mental health problems such as panic disorder are on the rise, especially among Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. According to a new study published in The American Journal of Public Health, 21.8 percent of returning soldiers who received psychiatric diagnoses were diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder. Cognitive-behavioral therapy is shown to be the most effective treatment method for PTSD in veterans. Want to know how it works? Click here.

Mythomania: Compulsive Lying Disorder

Almost everyone is guilty of telling little white lies, but what happens when the lies get out of hand? Compulsive lying, or mythomania, is considered an underlying symptom of mental illness as it can be a manifestation of the delusions associated with psychosis. Treatment for mythomania includes psychiatric evaluation and intensive therapy. Click here to find out more.

Smoking Linked to Increased Risk of Suicide in Bipolar Patients

Smoking is now considered to be a risk factor for suicide in patients suffering from bipolar disorder. According to a recent study by doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital, smokers with bipolar disorder were more likely to harbor suicidal thoughts and behaviors than their non-smoking counterparts. This may be attributed to the impulsive actions and tendency toward addiction observed in bipolar patients. Read about this study in detail by  clicking here.

Schizophrenia: Diagnosis of the Week

Schizophrenia is a widely recognized mental disorder among the medical community. The disease is characterized by a distorted perception of reality due to full blown hallucinations and psychosis. Schizophrenia is diagnosed in about 1 out of every 100 individuals and first manifests in young adulthood. Treatment for schizophrenia is life long as there is no cure for the disease. Find out more by clicking here.

Personal Construct Theory and the Reality of Threat

Psychologist George Kelly established the Personal Construct Theory as a clinical research technique that would remove the influence bias has on an observer, even when dealing with emotions including threat. Threat is one of Kelly's Dimensions of Transition, which he defined as "the awareness of imminent comprehensive change in one's core structures." Feeling threatened is likened to paranoid behavior and is usually treated using psychotherapy. To find out more about the Personal Construct Theory  click here.

Diagnosing Autism in Children

Autism is quickly gaining recognition as a common mental disorder as about one in every 150 children are diagnosed with the disorder. Diagnosing Autism is difficult because symptoms are subtle and no lab test or x-ray can determine whether a child is suffering from the disorder. Signs of autism in children can include impaired speech ability, rocking behavior and lack of eye contact. Need to know more? Click here.

Transcendental Meditation Shown to Benefit At- Risk College Students

Stress and college generally go hand-in-hand, but what happens when the stress is so severe that it actually causes physical harm? Students suffering from major stress are at-risk for potential health problems later in life such as heart disease, high blood pressure and immune deficiencies. Learning to cope with stress early in life is essential to maintaining a healthy body. Transcendental Meditation is now being used to treat mental and physical illnesses such as anxiety, depression and hypertension in college students. Want to learn how to relax? Click here.

2012: Armageddon or Mass Hysteria?

Mass hysteria is defined as "a socially contagious frenzy of irrational behavior in a group of people as a reaction to an event." Is that what the year 2012 has in store for us, or is it truly the end of the world? Either way, history has had its share of hysterical events, including the recent Y2K fiasco. Will 2012 be another link in a long chain of doomsday prophecies? Only time will tell. Click here to learn more.

Psychological Research: Understanding Correlational Studies

Correlational studies are a form of psychological research used to establish a positive or negative relationship between variables. Three types of correlational studies include naturalistic observation, survey method and archival research. Click here to find out how to use a correlation study in your research.

A Little Anxiety Goes a Long Way                         

Modern society lends itself to a host of mental disorders such as anxiety and depression, which if left untreated, can morph into other serious illnesses like heart disease or stroke. Researchers are working on a theory that patients suffering from both anxiety and depression may actually have a lower rate of mortality than those with just one disorder. According to the study, the disorders seem to cancel each other out. Click here to discover how.

Insomnia: Diagnosis of the Week

Insomnia is more than a physical disorder, but can be attributed to mental disorders such as anxiety, stress or depression. Working with a psychologist or therapist to discover the underlying cause of the insomnia is a viable treatment option. Learning relaxation techniques and undergoing behavioral therapy may also help alleviate symptoms of sleeplessness. Click here to learn more.

Treating Children with Autism

After learning about diagnosing children with Autism, find out about the viable treatment options available. As a neurological disorder, Autism affects the speech and social interaction areas of the brain. Several behavioral therapies are available for treating children with Autism that aim to alleviate symptoms rather than cure the disorder. Click here to learn more.