While some sources of trauma are time-limited, others occur repeatedly over prolonged periods of time. The term complex PTSD is used to capture the profound psychological harm these people exposed to the latter have experienced, including changes in self-concept, problems with emotional regulation, distorted perceptions of the perpetrator, and impaired relationships with others. Diagnostic systems […]
Why Isn’t Complex PTSD in the DSM–5? Read More »
Content warning: This post talks openly about suicide and suicide attempts, in the context of exploring my own thoughts about suicide. It’s National Suicide Prevention Week, so it seems like an appropriate time to talk about suicide in all its ugliness. I have attempted suicide multiple times; most were associated with my first episode of
Up Close & Personal Thoughts About Suicide Read More »
Sleep—it’s so important to have, yet sometimes so hard to get. Mental illness can make getting a good night’s sleep particularly difficult. Whether it’s depression, where you’re exhausted but can’t sleep, or mania, where you have too much energy to feel the need for sleep, insomnia is something that spans across diagnoses. A key non-medication
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) Read More »
Wouldn’t it be nice if the treatment of depression was simple? Unfortunately, there’s nothing simple about depression treatment in the real world. Treatment-resistant depression (TRD) refers to depression that hasn’t responded to trials of adequate duration and dosage of at least two antidepressants. When determining whether the illness is treatment-resistant, it’s important to consider whether
Options for Managing Treatment-Resistant Depression Read More »
In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychological terms. This week’s term is attachment theory. Psychologists John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth originally developed attachment theory, which links emotional bonds in social relationships, human development, and evolutionary influences. Attachment in early life Infants automatically seek attachment to familiar caregivers, and display attachment
What Is… Attachment Theory Read More »
The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) study was a landmark research trial conducted by Kaiser Permanente and the U.S. Center for Disease Control. The study examined the correlation between adverse experiences in childhood and health outcomes in adulthood, and it clearly showed just how profound that connection is. What are adverse childhood experiences? Adverse childhood experiences
The Lasting Impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences Read More »
In Untangled: A Story of Resilience, Courage, and Triumph, Alexis Rose offers raw, forthright descriptions of the repeated abuse she experienced in childhood and into adulthood. I would caution anyone who has experienced abuse themselves to carefully evaluate whether they are far enough along in their own healing to feel safe while reading this kind
Book Review: Untangled Read More »
Some studies have shown that the quality of the therapeutic relationship between client and therapist is a stronger predictor of therapeutic outcomes than the type of therapy used. However, it seems logical that the type of therapy should at least to some extent match up with how you tend to conceptualize the problems you’re experiencing.
Psychotherapy Alphabet Soup: CBT, DBT, ACT, and More Read More »
The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F*ck by Mark Manson claims to provide “a counterintuitive approach to living a good life.” He wrote this book in reaction to the problems he saw in the self-help industry. His own background is as a blogger; there’s no indication that he has a background in psychology or
Book Review: The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck Read More »
In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychological terms. This week’s term is narcissism, along with narcissistic personality disorder. You can find narcissism everywhere on the internet these days, although it’s not always used accurately. The term derives from Greek mythology and the story of Narcissus, who fell in love with
What Is… Narcissism & Narcissistic Personality Disorder Read More »
