Addiction What is it? According to the American Society of Addiction Medicine, “people with addiction use substances to engage in behaviors that become compulsive and often continue despite harmful consequences.” (https://www.asam.org/quality-care/definition-of-addiction). Commonly used addictive substances include alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, inhalants, and heroin. Prescription drugs can also be used in addiction.…
Prior to Your Therapy Appointment It takes a lot of strength to make your first therapy appointment – congratulations on taking the first step! Being new to therapy, you may be wondering what your first session will involve. Here we’ll walk you through what you can expect at your first…
Mental Health Awareness Month May is mental health awareness month, so let’s partner and break the stigma. I was reading my email earlier today and I received one from Claire’s jewelry store. I usually just erase those emails and send them straight to the trash. However, this email caught my…
Teens need a support system Do you remember being a teenager? In this phase of life many of us begin to figure out who we are and who we want to be. We learn valuable life lessons about friendships, love, and our overall life-paths. We prioritize our social groups and…
The Chinese Bamboo Tree “If you don’t like the fruits, look at the roots.” -Jessica Flint The bamboo tree is fertilized and watered daily for 5 years with very little to show for it. Then it breaks through the ground, and in 5 weeks it grows to 90 feet. So,…
Every shape, size, skin, hair and eye color, complexion, height and ethnicity before me, all beautiful. I contemplate why the world around us insists on defining beauty when beauty lies in each and every person.
Eating disorders have the 2nd highest mortality rate among all psychiatric illnesses, with someone dying every 52 minutes as a direct result. #EatingDisordersAwarenessWeek
Only second to opioid overdose, I know from reading that eating disorders are the deadliest mental illness. According to ANAD (National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders), “10,200 deaths each year are a direct result of an eating disorder- that’s one death every 52 minutes.
Binge Eating Disorder According to the National Alliance of Eating Disorders, binge eating disorder includes recurring episodes of overeating in a hurried manner and brief timeframe. These individuals often eat when they are not hungry and can extend beyond the point of a person reaching excessive fullness. Much like bulimia,…
Anorexia Nervosa According to the National Alliance for Eating Disorders, Anorexia Nervosa is an eating disorder that affects about 1% of females and about 1/3rd of that for males. Not only that, but it has the highest mortality rate among mental health disorders. It causes individuals to obsessively fear weight gain…