Living with Someone Who is Mentally Ill – How to Keep Your Chin Up Caring for someone who is mentally ill can be challenging, but it doesn’t have to be an insurmountable task, or take away your own identity either. Often, with your help and that of others, such as a therapist, someone with a mental illness can pull themselves …
The Importance of a Positive Self-Image
The Importance of a Positive Self-Image Your self-image is just that — your image of yourself. It is the combination of the impressions your experiences in life have made on you, whether for good or bad. When these experiences combine to give you a negative self-image, you constantly doubt yourself. You worry about whether the decisions you make were the …
Laughter Therapy: Harness the Emotional Benefits of Laughter
Laughter Therapy: Harness the Emotional Benefits of Laughter Someone says something that makes you smile. Before you know it, that smile has turned into a laugh. Soon you are laughing so hard that your face starts to turn red and you can’t catch your breath. But you still can’t stop laughing. Chances are that you’re happy. Even if you were …
Using Facebook to Boost Your Self-Esteem
Using Facebook to Boost Your Self-Esteem Using Facebook can boost your self-esteem, according to a study from Cornell University. Facebook allows people to put their best face forward, according to Jeffrey Hancock, associate professor of communications at Cornell. Being able to choose what to reveal about yourself and filtering out anything that might reflect poorly on you gives you a …
Airbrushed Model Photos Can Damage Your Body Image
Airbrushed Model Photos Can Damage Your Body Image They are in fashion magazines, on TV, in videos and nearly everywhere online. Models with seemingly perfect bodies — rail thin, tan, not a blemish in sight, no wrinkles and gorgeous looking. Body image is a big problem in America, especially with obesity running rampant across the country. Teens are especially vulnerable to …
Filing for Bankruptcy Doesn’t Have to Bankrupt Your Self-Esteem
Filing for Bankruptcy Doesn’t Have to Bankrupt Your Self-Esteem Living paycheck to paycheck is very stressful. Filing for bankruptcy is even more so. So many people tie their self-worth to their net worth that dealing with financial pitfalls can take hard emotional tolls on one’s psyche. Just because you are having financial trouble, maybe even serious financial trouble, it doesn’t …
The Unhappy Side of Anti-Depressants
The Unhappy Side of Anti-Depressants More and more people are taking anti-depressant medication every day. While a doctor may give you a prescription for anti-depressants, he may not explain the negative side effects that you can suffer from as a result of taking them. The negative side effects can affect your day-to-day living almost as much as being depressed. Anti-Depressant …
Stigma Surrounding Mental Health Can Cause Shameful Emotions
Stigma Surrounding Mental Health Can Cause Shameful Emotions Stigma is a negative reaction to a specific group of people that sets them apart from others. It can lead to unwarranted discrimination and prejudice. The stigma surrounding those with a mental illness is strong. Many people with mental illnesses keep their conditions a secret, for fear of being stereotyped as crazy, …
World Disasters Could Be Contributing to Your Depression
World Disasters Could Be Contributing to Your Depression Disasters around the world, whether natural or man-made, seem to be increasing every year, but this should hardly come as a surprise. Consider the ever-growing incidences of school shootings, random bombings at public events, terrorist acts, industrial accidents, hurricanes, floods and other natural disasters. The media is often blamed for hyping up …
Is it Grief or Depression?
Is it Grief or Depression? Grief and depression are similar feelings. They both make life very stressful and sad. They both can cause insomnia and a poor appetite. While they can co-exist, grief and depression do have some distinct differences. One obvious difference is that while grief can easily bring on depression, depression does not necessarily trigger grief. And extreme …
