What Does Depression Really Feel Like? “Mental pain is less dramatic than physical pain, but it is more common and also more hard to bear. The frequent attempt to conceal mental pain increases the burden. It is easier to say, ‘My tooth is aching’ than to say ‘My heart...

Suicide Awareness This is a very important post. Suicide is a huge public health crisis. I work with adults and adolescents who are suffering from depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, and substance abuse. Everyday I work hard to help people see hope when they don’t feel they have any. This week...

Complementary and Alternative Treatments for Depression Complementary Versus Alternative What is complementary treatment versus alternative treatment? We hear them so often linked together, we don’t tend to think about what those terms actually mean. Some people might think they mean “woo woo” type treatments and some people prefer only...

Medication for Depression There are many options for medications in order to treat depression.  A positive aspect of antidepressants is they often treat anxiety as well, and many people have anxiety and depression combined.  Although there are many classes of medications for depression, I will focus on three different...

Types of Mental Health Practitioners Types of Mental Health Practitioners For mental health needs, there are many different types of practitioners that a person can go to when they are suffering from mental illness. Let’s discuss what the different types of practitioners and their roles are. These are in...

Depression and the Brain Unlike an open wound or a cast on a broken leg, we cannot actually see that someone has hypertension (high blood pressure), diabetes, or depression.  We only know we have these illness because of the effects it has on our bodies.  They refer to hypertension...

What is Depression? There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind. Mental pain is less dramatic than physical pain, but is more common and is more hard to bear.  The frequent attempt to conceal mental pain increases the burden: It is easier to say “My...

*** Disclaimer*** Please know that I am very passionate about helping others with every type of mental illness and disorder; however, I need to make a disclaimer related to this section. These articles are not meant for you to diagnose yourself with any type of anxiety disorder. If you...

More Neurobiology Related to Anxiety and Fear The Limbic System The Limbic System is made up several parts of the brain and these parts contribute to our emotional and behavioral responses.  The Limbic System includes, the hippocampus, amygdala, hypothalamus, and the thalamus. (Yep, they’re really hard to pronounce). The...