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A new memoir by environmental journalist Jeremy Leon Hance, incorporates travel, humor and mental illness. “I didn’t want to write a book about mental illness that was a downer or defeating, but rather I wanted to tell the story of how people actually live with chronic mental illness day by day, because so many of us do,” author Hance told us. “And sometimes, especially when you’re ten thousand miles from home, chasing endangered species through rainforests, it can be funny. I don’t shy away from some of the dark places our mental health struggles can take us, but try to tell a story of how a person moves forward, even if hesitantly, and does what’s important to them.” [More]

Some children develop obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms quite suddenly, often after an infectious illness such as Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections (PANDAS). It has been hypothesized that these symptoms derive from antibodies that cross-react with cells in the brain, causing local brain inflammation and impairing brain circuit function. However, this has been somewhat controversial, in large part because these antibodies have proven difficult to identify. A new study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry by a team of Yale scientists examined this phenomenon. [More]

As OCPD is one of the most common personality disorders in the general population, research into this topic is of great importance, say researchers. “We feel it is important to look beyond the clinical diagnosis, however, as experiencing OCPD symptoms is likely to interfere with psychological well-being as well,” study author Victor Pop told us. “As the perinatal period constitutes a timeframe of many changes and adaptations, expectant mothers with OCPD symptoms could be especially at risk to experience postpartum depressive symptoms.” [More]

Taking the time to learn how to be more mindful is well worth the effort. Researchers are more interested than ever in how mindfulness and meditation affects our health and well-being. According to 2011 research published in the Journal of Happiness Studies, there are several ways that mindfulness training can be good for our mental and physical health [More]

Over the past few decades, a number of studies have evaluated how psychotherapy—from CBT to DBT to Psycho dynamic Therapy—works to change the brain. They have looked at which areas of the brain are affected during and after the therapy process, and how these changes lead to symptom reduction and overall improved functioning for clients. [More]

Many of us have talked about being "obsessed" over something in our lifetime, but what does that actually mean? There are a lot of definitions floating around, but there are some people in this world where their "obsession" actually becomes something that gets in the way of living a happy, fruitful life. It can be difficult for people to get through these sorts of times in their lives, and they may have some struggle with their obsession. [More]

Investigation into PANDAS has led to a newer line of thought regarding rapid-onset OCD symptoms (Mittelman, 2012). A broader category called PANS, Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Symptoms, is being investigated. This broader diagnosis has been suggested due to diagnostic difficulties with PANDAS. [More]

There are a lot of issues that are being focused on in the news today, and it's important to take a look at them so that we can better understand them and what they do to the people who are dealing with them. One type of mental illness that has gotten a lot more focus as of late is the category of personality disorders. Personality disorders are a category of disorders that have certain traits, but each of them are different as well. [More]

What is the best way to help children from aged five to eight with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)? A recent study from Bradley Hospital in Rhode Island offers an interesting insight. Researcher there found that family-based cognitive behavioral therapy is beneficial. They found that developmentally sensitive family-based treatment that included exposure/response prevention was more effective in reducing OCD symptoms and functional impairment in this age group when compared to a structured relaxation program. [More]

Doing it well and doing it perfect are not the same. Allowing yourself to not be perfect takes courage, and results in growth you may not expect. [More]