Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD, more specifically) has entered our language to jokingly refer to someone who likes a little bit of organization. In reality, clinical OCD is no laughing matter as the anxiety disorder can hijack your life, imprisoning you in a world of uncontrollable compulsions and/or obsessions. To help you...
You cut your finger, break a bone, or burn yourself and pain ensues, which is your nervous system’s way of signaling the damage. What about the mysterious body aches and pains that often accompany anxiety, stress, depression, and other mental health issues? Just because there’s no visible signs of physical...
Americans, on the whole, have experienced an alarming amount of trauma. To wit, 70% of adults report experiencing trauma, to say nothing of children. For many, this trauma leads to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) — 5% of adolescents and 3.6% of adults in the United States struggled with PTSD in...
When it comes to mental health issues of all kinds, there remains an alarming amount of misinformation and misconception that may be preventing people from getting the help they need. This is especially true of one of the more common mental health disorders — depression. At the Institute for Advanced...
The numbers surrounding trauma, which includes physical and emotional trauma, are extraordinarily high in the United States — more than 223 million people have experienced at least one traumatic event in their lives. Diving even deeper, 90% of those who struggle with a mental health issue report experiencing trauma. At the...
Nearly one in five people in the United States (46.6 million) struggles with a mental health illness. This includes both children and adults. And these numbers are only continuing to grow, especially in light of recent events. One of the first lines of defense against mental health disorders are medications...
Bipolar disorder is not only a highly complex condition, but it’s also one of the most misdiagnosed mental health issues as it involves components of more common disorders, such as depression. Making matters more confusing, there are three main types of bipolar disorder, which affect 4.4% of the adult population...
Life is full of ups and downs, and there are many events, situations, or people that can temporarily send you into a sad or low mood. And these moods can last for days or weeks, casting a general pall over your life. If you’ve been struggling with low moods for...
More than 17 million people struggle with major depression in the United States, making it the largest mental health care concern in our country. As if the grips of depression aren’t awful enough, treatment can be frustrating as people respond differently, or not at all, to the traditional medications and...
Unfortunately, trauma is fairly common among Americans — approximately 60% of men and 50% of women experience at least one trauma during their lives. For many, the event(s) can have a long-lasting effect, leading to a psychological disorder known as post-traumatic stress disorder, which is commonly known as PTSD. In...
More than half of those who are diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), which affects about 1.2% of adults in the United States, report serious impairment and another 35% have moderate impairment. In other words, OCD can have a significant impact on your ability to get through life as obsessive thoughts...
Everyone experiences highs and lows in life, but the term “bipolar” has been used to describe those who swing back and forth to the extreme. While there’s some truth to this when it comes to what a bipolar disorder truly is, it doesn’t paint the full picture. At the Institute...
If you’re suffering from depression or obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), you’re not alone. Recent studies estimate that about 16 million American adults have experienced depression and 2-3 million adults have OCD. For many of these men and women, traditional treatments like psychotherapy and mood medications don’t provide significant relief. At the...
Intractable chronic (long-term) pain can make it impossible to carry out your normal daily routine. You may find you’re unable to attempt personal care, get through a normal day at the office, or participate in social or recreational activities you once enjoyed. At the Institute for Advanced Psychiatry, Diana Ghelber,...