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For instance, prominent mood features are required for the diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder, but not for the diagnosis of schizophrenia. Learn more about key differences in schizoaffective disorder vs. schizophrenia, including those related to their symptoms, causes, diagnosis, and treatment. Symptoms In both schizoaffective disorder and schizophrenia, hallucinations and delusions tend to occur. Hallucinations are false sensory perceptions and include hearing voices, seeing images, or feeling sensations that are not there....

Why Are Self-Soothing Skills Important? Coping strategies are diverse, just like the people who rely on them. When stress and anxiety hit, it’s a good idea to have a few skills ready to help you find relief. For example, seeking out social support can be an excellent way of improving your mood. However, symptoms of PTSD, such as unpleasant memories or thoughts about a past traumatic event, can sometimes occur unexpectedly....

Sex therapists may recommend getting physical exams in order to rule out medical causes of sexual problems. Some may also encourage the use of sexual surrogates for individuals who are working on sexual problems and do not have a partner to practice with. However, sex therapists do not perform medical exams on or have sexual interactions with their clients. What Is Sensate Focus? The technique of sensate focus was initially developed as a sex therapy technique by Masters and Johnson in the 1960s....

As with all prescription drugs, Navane comes with the risk of side effects, some of them serious. It also can cause withdrawal symptoms when you stop taking it, which can be managed by your physician. Here’s some information on the side effects you should watch out for when taking Navane. Most Dangerous Side Effects Navane potentially can cause tardive dyskinesia, which is a condition that causes your muscles to move involuntarily....

Visualize What You Want Books like The Secret and concepts like The Law of Attraction have caught on in a major way lately because they give voice to what most of us intuitively understand: visualizing what you want in life is an essential step toward achieving it. Many people start with big concepts like, ‘I want to have more money’, ‘I want to live a healthier lifestyle’, or ‘I want to be happier’....

One of the goals of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is to identify when you have these types of thought patterns and change the way you think. As part of CBT, you will examine the feelings that come about when you have these thought patterns. Below is a list of ten ways of thinking that can contribute to social anxiety.

Common in those with borderline personality disorder (BPD), splitting is considered a defense mechanism by which people with BPD view others, events, or even themselves in all-or-nothing terms. Splitting allows them to readily discard things they have assigned as “bad” and to embrace things they consider “good,” even if those things are harmful or risky. Effects of Splitting Splitting can interfere with relationships and lead to intense and self-destructive behaviors....

Klonopin is the trade brand name for the drug clonazepam, an anti-anxiety benzodiazepine. Benzodiazepines are often referred to as sedatives or tranquilizers due to their calming, sedating, and tranquilizing effects. Other common benzodiazepines include Xanax (alprazolam), Valium (diazepam), and Ativan (lorazepam). Benzodiazepines can decrease the intensity of panic attacks and anxiety. Klonopin is commonly prescribed to treat panic disorder (with or without agoraphobia). Klonopin has anticonvulsant properties, making it an effective drug in the treatment of certain types of seizures....

Major depressive disorder may be one of the most common mental health disorders in the United States, but it isn’t always recognizable from the outside and symptoms vary significantly from person to person. If your depression isn’t addressed, it can worsen. This is why it’s important to keep your partner in the loop. Your partner should be your advocate, your cheerleader, the person who knows you best, but telling them about your depression can feel awkward, uncomfortable, and stressful....

Thalassophobia differs from aquaphobia, the fear of water, in that it centers on bodies of water that seem vast, dark, deep, and dangerous. People are not afraid of the water so much as they are afraid of what lurks beneath its surface. According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), phobias are the most common type of mental illness in the United States. While specific phobias themselves are quite common among the general population, it is unknown how many people have thalassophobia....

The loss may be the loss of a loved one, or something else that had meaning for you, such as an idea, a business, a relationship, a physical ability, or even a sense of independence or control. This article explores acceptance as the final stage of grief, as well as some coping strategies that may be helpful to you at this time. What Are the Stages of Grief? A Swiss-American psychiatrist named Dr....

Grief can often be painful when other people around us have adapted to the changes of life, but we have not yet. We can feel alone and left out all over again. “In grief, we often do not want to move forward for fear that we will forget about our loved ones. Yet be assured, our loved ones would desire our growth,” says Jonathan Rios, LMHC, a licensed psychotherapist. People do not grieve in the same ways or in the same time frame....

Both medication and therapy have been shown effective in treating social anxiety disorder. Social anxiety that occurs in all situations responds best to a combination of medication and therapy, while therapy alone is often sufficient for people with anxiety specific to one type of performance or social situation.  So, if you’ve been diagnosed or think you may have SAD, know that it’s possible to overcome it. Prescription Medications Several different types of medications are prescribed to treat SAD....

Meet Dr. Jenn Mann Jenn Mann is a licensed marriage and family therapist who is best known for being the host of VH1’s hit shows, “Couples Therapy with Dr. Jenn” and “Family Therapy with Dr. Jenn.” She’s the author of several bestselling books including “The Relationship Fix: Dr. Jenn’s Guide to Improving Communication, Connection & Intimacy.” Why Jenn Mann Is Mentally Strong Dr. Jenn spent five years on the United States Rhythmic Gymnastics National Team....

A panic attack is a period of intense fear accompanied by symptoms such as a racing heart, shortness of breath or dizziness. When people who have SAD experience panic attacks they are generally triggered by social or performance situations. To understand why panic happens, it is helpful to look at the cyclical pattern of events that leads to panic. Initial Feelings Imagine that you are sitting in a meeting at work....

Mixing alcohol with Adderall is a common occurrence, especially among younger people. In a 2019 study on alcohol and stimulant use, researchers found that college students who had misused stimulants over fourteen days had a higher likelihood of alcohol use within the same period. For some reason, people combining Adderall and alcohol is a common occurrence. One theory suggests that people on Adderall drink alcohol to manage the side effects of using Adderall....

According to the Prison Policy Initiative, 37% of inmates in state and federal prisons, and 44% of individuals in locally-run jails have a mental illness, but 66% of people in federal prisons report no mental health care provision. This is a complex issue with no easy solution, but if one of the goals of incarceration is rehabilitation or even the prevention of recidivism, it’s critical to spread awareness and increase advocacy for mental healthcare in prisons....

The misuse of addiction vs. compulsion causes confusion for everyone, especially those experiencing these conditions. However, it also creates confusion for professionals trying to help people progress through treatment. Addiction vs. Compulsion In order to understand the meaning of the two terms, it is essential to look at the common features that they share as well as their key differences. Addiction is a broad term used to describe the process by which someone becomes dependent on a particular substance or behavior....