Reading Time: 3 Minutes Despite the best efforts of clinicians, patients with addiction problems will sometimes relapse after successfully undergoing treatment. Physicians can support such patients in their recovery efforts following relapse by developing a strong therapeutic alliance with them and by better understanding the mechanisms of relapse. Understanding relapse The American Society of Addiction Medicine defines relapse […]
Author : Kristen Fuller, MD
Navigating Trauma Together
Reading Time: 4 Minutes Navigating Trauma Together: Supporting Your Partner’s Healing Journey and Establishing Healthy Boundaries Trauma comes in all shapes, forms, and sizes, from emotional trauma in childhood and physical trauma from a gruesome accident to trauma from intimate partner violence and intergenerational trauma. If your partner has experienced trauma, you most likely have noticed that they are […]
Is your teen at-risk of a mental health crisis?
Reading Time: 3 Minutes How to Talk to Your Teen About Mental Health Being a parent is difficult; being a parent of a teenager can feel even harder at times. Dealing with the hormones, the mood swings, testing the limits of their independence, exploration or identity, and the reckless behaviors, all while trying to raise a respectable, kind teenager […]
7 Ways to Celebrate Pride Month Sober This June
Reading Time: 3 Minutes Celebrating Pride Sober – How to Show Your Support and Keep Your Recovery on Track June is Pride Month and it’s a time for celebrating the LGBTQIA+ community. During this month, we come together to celebrate those who changed history, as Pride Month recognizes the historic and present-day progress toward equality. Cities across the world […]
PTSD vs. PTSI
Reading Time: 5 Minutes PTSD is a mental health disorder that involves severe anxiety, flashbacks, fear, and negative thoughts after experiencing or witnessing a traumatic, life-threatening event. The individual can directly experience this traumatic, life-threatening event, or they can be a witness to such an event. Individuals with PTSD/PTSI will have reminders of the event, will feel stressed, and […]
Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms
Reading Time: 3 Minutes Coping mechanisms are thoughts or behaviors that help with internalized and externalized stressful situations and unpleasant emotions. Coping mechanisms are conscious and voluntary acts that differ from defense mechanisms, as defense mechanisms are subconscious or unconscious acts. However, both coping and defense mechanisms aim at preventing or reducing unwanted stress. Coping mechanisms come in all […]
Trauma and Self-Esteem
Reading Time: 3 Minutes Trauma comes in all shapes and sizes, whether physical abuse, childhood trauma, emotional trauma, going to war, workplace harassment, refugee camps, a traumatic accident, a natural disaster, or working as a first responder; trauma can affect individuals in all different ways. Trauma can negatively impact how you see the world, solve problems, your decision-making skills, […]
Antidepressant Withdrawal
Reading Time: 3 Minutes Antidepressants are a class of medications used to treat depression and some anxiety disorders. The most common class of antidepressants is selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, also known as SSRIs. Other examples of antidepressants include: – Serotonin/Norepinephrine Reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) – Atypical Antidepressants. – Tricyclic Antidepressants (TCAs) – Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors (MAOIs) Antidepressants take approximately six […]
Embracing Your Inner Child: A Path to Improved Mental Health
Reading Time: 2 Minutes As we grow older, we often become more serious and focused on the demands of adult life. However, it’s important to remember the joy and wonder of childhood. Embracing your inner child can actually help improve your mental health by promoting creativity, playfulness, and self-expression. Creativity As children, we were encouraged to be creative and […]
How Fear and Anxiety Can Affect Our Everyday Wellbeing
Reading Time: 3 Minutes Feelings of worry, fear, and panic can be common in everyday life, especially when facing a stress-related situation or challenge. These feelings can be a natural defense mechanism our body experiences as a fight or flight response. However, when fear, worry, and panic become a prominent part of our daily lives, we may struggle with […]