Traumatic occurrences are unfortunately common. Some people who survive these experiences do not suffer from negative mental health effects, while others develop a variety of distressing and potentially debilitating symptoms. Taking a trauma quiz can help you decide if you should seek professional help.  What is Trauma? When the word trauma is used in a mental health context, it refers...

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) has been recognized by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) as a distinct mental health condition for more than 40 years. But many experts believe that the time as come for rethinking borderline personality, with the goal of classifying the disorder more appropriately and improving clinicians’ ability to treat it more effectively.  What is BPD? Borderline personality...

Sleep deprivation can have a profound negative impact on a person’s body and mind. To protect your health, it is important to understand what causes sleep deprivation, what the potential effects can be, and how you can get help if you need it. What is Sleep Deprivation? Sleep deprivation is a condition that results from an insufficient amount of quality...

Anxiety disorders can be sources of life-altering distress. People who have anxiety disorders may drastically limit or change their behaviors because they believe that they are in imminent danger, even when no credible threat exists. Since these conditions are associated with an impaired ability to correctly perceive one’s environment, people may wonder if anxiety can cause hallucinations. How Exactly Does Anxiety...

Mental health conditions can be particularly tricky to treat. Most mental health conditions, such as bipolar disorder, stem from a chemical imbalance in the brain that causes the brain to behave in ways that aren’t considered to be “normal”. Because of this, most mental health treatments revolve around different forms of therapy instead of medications, as most medications also cause...

OCD, or obsessive-compulsive disorder is a mental health condition that affects millions and millions of people on a daily basis. Many people wonder, what does OCD feel like? Well, for some people, having OCD can be a mere minor inconvenience throughout their day, like a lingering cough or the sniffles. For some though, it can be so debilitating that it...

Pro-ana, pro-anorexia, and pro-bulimia (or pro-mia) are terms that refer to content that is primarily found online and promotes the behavior and attitudes that are part of some eating disorders. The pro-ana sites and social media that provide this content often state or imply that this is part of a personal lifestyle choice instead of symptoms of an illness. Why...

Trauma is an emotional response to a terrible event like an accident, domestic violence, or sexual assault. Immediately after a traumatic event, you may experience shock and denial as well as other typical reactions that can cause long-term trauma, including unpredictable flashbacks, strained relationships, and other physical symptoms.  When a person is exposed to multiple traumatic events such as domestic...

By Susan Reiner for Montare Behavioral Health It’s January, and while some of us are happy to have just made it through 2021 intact, many of us have likely begun this new year, as with many others in the past, with resolutions to improve in countless ways. Maybe you’ve decided to quit smoking, or to finally clean out the stack...

A mood stabilizer is a type of medication that helps people control and ”even out”  mood swings such as  Mania  Hypomania  Depression They work by decreasing abnormal activity in the brain. Many people don’t fully understand how mood-stabilizing medications work. Scientists believe that they influence certain neurotransmitters in the brain (chemicals in the nerve cells) that may play a part...