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World Autism Awareness Day

GirlShrink — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 01:43:43 +0000

April 2nd is World Autism Awareness Day.

If you don’t know much about autism, I urge you to learn a little more about the disorder that affects millions of children in the world.

Learn more about world autism awareness day here: http://www.autismspeaks.org/what-autism/waad/about-world-autism-awareness-day

How Life is For a Bipolar Borderline Personality Disorder Person

Patricia Patterson — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 07:22:56 +0000

Group of borderline disorders that share common characteristics of mood instability like fear, anger, self- mutilation and others are often referred to as bipolar borderline personality disorders. Individuals who suffer from this type of mood disorders are said to have omnipresent or widespread instability of moods which makes it hard for them to be in a relationship long-term; or in some cases to be comfortable around other people.

This type of disorder condition is seen often equally in both women and men also. Borderline disorder can start earlier in life, but most of the time it is demonstrated fully as people get older. Individuals who have this type of disorder are often more likely to get in and get out of relationships; too afraid to be abandoned. As soon as they are into any relationship they become more controlling and may not want to let go. They are said to be indiscriminate in their sexual activities. They find themselves in a vicious cycle of love and hate relationship, which is their allusion of being in love, even though they are the ones who will quickly abandon the relationship without any apparent reasons. Those who suffer from this condition often will look for acceptance from others to make them feel wanted and complete.

Bipolar Borderline Personality Disorders is a combination of manic-depressive moods and borderline personality disorder. It is not a rare case when you are already diagnosed with one or two of these disorders. Borderline personality disorder is mostly distinguished with manic depressive episodes including some similar signs or symptoms of depression and anxiety.

Often, it is hard to deal with individuals who have this type of personality disorder because they can also be aggressive and manipulative. One in every fifthly person in America is diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder and sometimes even more. The cause of Bipolar Borderline Personality Disorders is said to be unknown however, environment and genetic factors are said to play a major role in its development.

A great percentage of people with Borderline Disorders claimed to have been abused as a child. Neglected or abandoned by parents or caregiver. Most researches indicates their vulnerability to stresses of the environment in their earlier lives when there were younger, helpless, and unable to control what is happening to them. The unhappy earlier life or memory of abuse are often factors which will lead to making bad judgments as a grown-up when it comes to making life decisions like choosing life partner for example.

Bipolar Borderline Personality Disorder as most other types of mental disorder conditions are often emanated from mania or depression. And like most depression disorder, this type of disorder is often treated with mood stabilizing drugs or antidepressants. Also, people with this type of condition are treated with psychotherapy or talk-therapies to help see if they can self analyze themselves on emotional level. This type of treatment involves one on one therapy with the psychotherapist to build a solid relationship. Bipolar can occur time after time, or even get worse over time, and this is one reason proper treatment with therapies and medication are very crucial. In most case, individuals who suffer from borderline disorders are treated more imperiously with anti-psychotic medications which are intended to help them from injuring themselves or even commit suicide.

Ben Paul is an expert author who has written extensively about different types of medical and health related matters. If you want to know more about causes and symptoms of depression and anxiety visit this page about aderall or other related pages like: online medicine for depression and much more.

Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown Talk Bipolar Disorder

GirlShrink — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 03:14:33 +0000

In an issue of Sister 2 Sister magazine, Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown talked with Jamie Foster Brown about their lives.

In the article, Brown discusses a variety of issues including having learning and mood disorders his entire life. He also mentions that the couple is undergoing marriage counseling, and that they are trying to have another child.

Brown says that he knew they needed help when the police were called to break up a domestic dispute at their Atlanta home during the Christmas holidays. He also says that the couple had a fight after Whitney tried to force him to take his bipolar disorder medication.

In the article Bobby says:

“When I was younger, I was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder, so I know that bipolar and ADD is basically the same thing.”

“When I checked into Betty Ford I was wondering what was wrong with me. I was trying to figure out why was I going through these different changes. I mean, I could be happy one moment and then the next minute I’m like angry. Totally. Full of fire and rage. And I didn’t know what was wrong. I went to the doctor and they talked to me and they did all these tests on my brain and on my mental stability and they came up with the diagnosis that I’m bipolar.”

Brown says that he decided to switch medications and is on one that is better for him and relaxes him.

Learn more about bipolar disorder if you are married to someone with the disorder-Click Here!

Recommended Reading: Adult Bipolar Disorders: Understanding Your Diagnosis and Getting Help by Mitzi Waltz

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Lisa Angelettie, M.S.W., is a psychotherapist, author, and life coach. She has been helping people make smarter life choices since 1998. Get more free tips like this when you subscribe to the GirlShrink newsletter .

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New Treatment For Bipolar Disorder

GirlShrink — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 03:14:17 +0000

Researchers at the McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts have found that the magnetic fields generated by a MRI scanner can immediately and significantly improve the mood of patients with biploar disorder.

In their study, there was mood improvement in 23 out of 30 patients with bipolar disorder.

The scientists are planning a larger study, and predict that if this study replicates these results, bipolar patients may be able to receive the treatment during a 20-minute visit to the doctor.

A person with Bipolar Disorder, also known as manic depression, is often defined as a someone who experiences moods that shift from high to low and back again in varying degrees of severity. The two poles of bipolar disorder are mania and depression. It is common for the person to be depressed more often and experience only one bout of mania to be considered for bipolar disorder.

Depression symptoms:
Refusing to get out of bed for days
Sleeping more often
Tired but unable to sleep
Instances of uncontrollable crying
Uninterested in things you once enjoyed
Ignoring daily responsibilities
Feeling hopeless, helpless, worthless for a long period
Unable to make basic decisions
Thoughts of suicide

Mania symptoms:
Feeling like superman. Even if it is unsafe or illegal.
Requiring less than normal sleep, but not feeling tired
Living, Spending, or Dressing excessively and lavishly.
Indulging in risky sexual behavior. Increased libido.
Having hallucinations or delusions
Extremely energetic

Consider starting to learn more by choosing our recommended reading selections:

New Hope for People with Bipolar Disorder : Your Friendly, Authoritative Guide to the Latest in Traditional and Complementary Solutions, Including: Proper Diagnosis of Depression & Manic-Depressive … (New Hope)
by Jan Fawcett, Bernard Golden, Nancy Rosenfeld, Frederick K. Goodwin

Loving Someone With Bipolar Disorder by Julie A. Fast, John D. Preston

*Details of this study were previously reported at WomansDay Magazine 4/2004

Click Here! for help if you are in a relationship or married to someone with bipolar disorder.

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What Is Bipolar Disorder II?

GirlShrink — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 03:13:54 +0000

Most people are familiar with the term Bipolar Disorder a.k.a. Manic Depression. It is when someone experiences moods that shift from high to low and back again in varying degrees of severity. The two poles of bipolar disorder are mania and depression.

In America, mental health professionals use the DSM IV reference book as a source for diagnosis. Therefore in America, we include another diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder II, which involves symptoms of depression and hypomania instead of full-blown mania as in Bipolar Disorder I.

Hypomania is a less extreme form of a manic episode.

Symptoms include:
Feeling totally confident in yourself
Finding your focus on projects
Feelings of extra creativity and innovation
Issues that cripple your during depression, you are suddenly able to just brush off
You feel like you are ‘king of the world’ without feeling too invincible

Sounds like someone you know? Possibly yourself? Well, it could be and the best way to know is to seek help from a medical or mental health professional in your area.

Consider starting to learn more by choosing our recommended reading selections:

Loving Someone With Bipolar Disorder by Julie A. Fast, John D. Preston

*Symptom descriptions are based on the criteria for hypomania as stated in the DSM IV

Interested in Social Security Disability for Bipolar Sufferers
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The article above may be freely reproduced provided that: (1) you include the following resource box in its entirety; and (2) you only mail to a 100% opt-in list. Here’s the resource box to use if reprinting the article above:

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Maurice Benard Is Advocate For Bipolar Disorder

GirlShrink — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 03:13:36 +0000

Maurice Benard is a very popular soap actor on General Hospital (ABC), as the role of the complex character – Sonny Corinthos. In addition to Maurice being a very popular character on this favorite television soap, off-camera he is popular as well – but as a voice in the battle against bipolar disorder.

Unusual for most actors, Maurice has been very open about his personal battle with the bipolar disorder. He has made appearances on television programs such as The View, Entertainment Tonight, and Oprah – and has been interviewed in many print media outlets.

In his most recent interview on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Maurice revealed how his life wasn’t as “perfect” as it appears to be to most Americans. Although he has a loving wife of 14 years (Paula) and two daughters, Maurice also has had a long-time battle with bipolar disorder– a mental illness which at one point left him suicidal and in a mental institution.

Now that he is winning the battle against his mental illness, Maurice works as an advocate and is currently working with the National Mental Health Association (NMHA) on the Bipolar Disorder: Do You Know It? campaign to teach America the importance of recognizing the signs and symptoms of bipolar disorder.

Bipolar disorder is a chronic mental illness which presents mood swings that range from blissful to bleak. Another term for bipolar disorder is manic depression, and it is a disorder which presents itself usually during adolescence or soon after.

Click Here! if you are married to someone with bipolar disorder and need help.

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** Reprinting of the article above is welcome! ** The article above may be freely reproduced provided that: (1) you include the following resource box in its entirety; and (2) you only mail to a 100% opt-in list. Here’s the resource box to use if reprinting the article above:

Related Articles:
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New Treatment for Bipolar Disorder
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What Is A Binge Eating Disorder?

GirlShrink — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 03:13:16 +0000

Binge eating disorder is a medical syndrome in which, according to currently accepted definitions, people:

-feel their eating is out of control;
-eat what most people would think is an unusually large amount of food;
-eat much more quickly than usual during binge episodes;
-eat until so full they are uncomfortable;
-eat large amounts of food, even when they are not really hungry;
-eat alone because they are embarrassed about the amount of food they eat;
-feel disgusted, depressed, or guilty after overeating.

Binge eating also takes place in another eating disorder called bulimia nervosa. Persons with bulimia nervosa, however, usually purge, fast, or do strenuous exercise after they binge eat. Purging means vomiting or using a lot of diuretics (water pills) or laxatives to keep from gaining weight. Fasting is not eating for at least 24 hours. Strenuous exercise, in this case, means exercising for more than an hour just to keep from gaining weight after binge eating. Purging, fasting, and overexercising are dangerous ways to try to control your weight.

While binge eating is similar in nature, it is different than being a compulsive overeater.

Occurrence and risk factors

Binge eating disorder is probably the most common eating disorder. Most people with this problem are either overweight or obese (see note), but normal-weight people also can have the disorder.

About 2 percent of all adults in the United States (as many as 4 million Americans) have binge eating disorder. About 10 to 15 percent of people who are mildly obese and who try to lose weight on their own or through commercial weight-loss programs have binge eating disorder. The disorder is even more common in people who are severely obese.

Binge eating disorder is a little more common in women than in men; three women for every two men have it. The disorder affects blacks as often as whites. No one knows how often it affects people in other ethnic groups. People who are obese and have binge eating disorder often became overweight at a younger age than those without the disorder. They might also lose and gain back weight (yo-yo diet) more often.

Note: The 1998 NIH Clinical Guidelines on the Identification, Evaluation, and Treatment of Overweight and Obesity in Adults define overweight as a body mass index (BMI) of 25 to 29.9 and obesity as a BMI of 30 or more. BMI is calculated by dividing weight (in kilograms) by height (in meters) squared.

Causes

No one knows for sure what causes binge eating disorder. As many as half of all people with binge eating disorder have been depressed in the past. Whether depression causes binge eating disorder or whether binge eating disorder causes depression is not known.

Many people who are binge eaters say that being angry, sad, bored, or worried can cause them to binge eat. Impulsive behavior (acting quickly without thinking) and certain other emotional problems can be more common in people with binge eating disorder.

It is also unclear if dieting and binge eating are related. Some studies show that about half of all people with binge eating disorder had binge episodes before they started to diet.

Researchers also are looking into how brain chemicals and metabolism (the way the body uses food energy) affect binge eating disorder. This research is still in the early stages.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article “Binge Eating Disorder”. You are free to copy & use this article under the terms of the license. *Please note that a courtesy copy of your publication would be appreciated.

What Is Bibliomania?

GirlShrink — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 03:13:00 +0000

Obsessed with books.
Bibliomania is the obsessive purchase or collecting of books to the point where social relations or health are damaged. One of many obsessive-compulsive psychological disorders associated with books, bibliomania is frequently characterized by the collecting of books which have no use to the collector nor any great instrinsic value to a genuine book collector. The purchase of multiple copies of the same book and edition, for example, or the accumulation of books beyond possible capacity of use or enjoyment, are frequent symptoms of bibliomania.

The term “bibliomania” is also used of a more selective but (in some opinions) excessive accumulation of books. These bibliomanes are also obsessed with the hunt, but greater discrimination, resources, and talent lend a patina of respectability to the higher class of bibliomane.
Great collectors of books, like other people who sacrifice their immediate personal interests and society to a particular drive or ambition, may serve the greater good. They assemble libraries of rare or valuable manuscripts and books, but are nonetheless considered bibliomanes in so far as they are driven to collect beyond what are deemed normal bounds.

Other abnormal or condemned behaviour involving books include book-eating (bibliophagy), compulsive book-stealing, book-burying, and book-burning.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article “Bibliomania”. You are free to copy & use this article under the terms of the license. *Please note that a courtesy copy of your publication would be appreciated.

What Is Avoidant Personality Disorder?

GirlShrink — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 03:12:44 +0000

Avoidant personality disorder (sometimes abbreviated APD or AvPD), or anxious personality disorder, is a personality disorder characterised by a pervasive pattern of social inhibition, feelings of inadequacy, and extreme sensitivity to negative evaluation. People with avoidant personality disorder often consider themselves to be socially inept or personally unappealing, and avoid social interaction for fear of being ridiculed or humiliated.

Avoidant personality disorder usually is first noticed in early adulthood, and is associated with rejection during childhood by parents and peers. Whether the rejection is due to the extreme interpersonal monitoring attributed to people with the disorder is still an open question.

The DSM-IV-TR, a widely used manual for diagnosing mental disorders, defines avoidant personality disorder as a “pervasive pattern of social inhibition, feelings of inadequacy, and hypersensitivity to negative evaluation, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by four (or more) of the following:
1. Avoids occupational activities that involve significant interpersonal contact, because of fears of criticism, disapproval, or rejection

2. Is unwilling to get involved with people unless certain of being liked

3. shows restraint within intimate relationships because of the fear of being shamed or ridiculed

4. Is preoccupied with being criticized or rejected in social situations

5. Is inhibited in new interpersonal situations because of feelings of inadequacy

6. Views self as socially inept, personally unappealing, or inferior to others

7. Is unusually reluctant to take personal risks or to engage in any new activities because they may prove embarrassing

Link with other mental disorders

Research suggests that people with avoidant personality disorder, in common with social phobics, excessively monitor their own internal reactions when they are involved in social interaction. However, unlike social phobics they also excessively monitor the reactions of the people with whom they are interacting. The extreme tension created by this monitoring may account for the hesitant speech and taciturnity of many people with avoidant personality disorder. They are so preoccupied with monitoring themselves and others that producing fluent speech is difficult.

Avoidant personality disorder is reported to be especially prevalent in people with anxiety disorders, although estimates of comorbidity vary widely due to differences in (among others) diagnostic instruments. Research suggests that approximately 10-50% of the people who have a panic disorder with agoraphobia have APD, as well as about 20-40% of the people who have a social phobia. Some studies report prevalence rates of up to 45% among the people with a generalized anxiety disorder and up to 56% of the people with an obsessive-compulsive disorder. Although it is not mentioned in the DSM-IV, earlier theorists have proposed a personality disorder which has a combination of features from borderline personality disorder and avoidant personality disorder, called “avoidant-borderline mixed personality”.

Natural course of the disorder

People with avoidant personality disorder often experience vicious cycles of withdrawal in which the avoidant helps to create the anticipated rejection. Other people interpret the avoidance of the person with APD as a sign that the avoidant does not like them, and react by avoiding the person. This reinforces the avoidant’s fear of rejection and encourages further withdrawal.

Another common development is the appearance of so-called “second-line defenses” in order to deal with the anxiety that the avoidance creates. Examples of such defenses are a denial of the fear of rejection, or a replacement of their fear of rejection with a defensive insensitivity. The latter mechanism is called “hardening”.

Treatment

Treatment of avoidant personality disorder can employ various techniques, such as social skills training, cognitive therapy, exposure treatment to gradually increase social contacts, group therapy for practicing social skills, and sometimes drug therapy (Comer, 1996). A key issue in treatment is gaining and keeping the client’s trust, since people with APD will often start to avoid treatment sessions if they distrust the therapist or fear rejection.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article “Avoidant Personality Disorder”. You are free to copy & use this article under the terms of the license. *Please note that a courtesy copy of your publication would be appreciated.

What Is Autism?

GirlShrink — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 03:12:18 +0000

Autism on the rise-learn the facts.

Autism is classified as a neurodevelopmental disorder that manifests itself in markedly abnormal social interaction, communication ability, patterns of interests, and patterns of behavior. Although the specific etiology of autism is unknown, genetic factors appear to be important.
There is great diversity in the skills and behaviors of individuals diagnosed as autistic, and physicians will often arrive at different conclusions about the appropriate diagnosis. Much of this is due to the sensory system of an autistic which is quite different from the sensory system of other people, since certain stimulations can effect an autistic differently then a non-autistic, and the degree of how the sensory system is effected varies wildly from one autistic to another autistic.

Nevertheless, professionals within pediatric care and development often look for early indicators of autism in order to initiate treatment as early as possible. However, some people do not believe in treatment for autism, either because they do not believe autism is a disorder, or because they believe it can do more harm than good.
Typically developing infants are social beingsâ€”early in life they do such things as gaze at people, turn toward voices, grasp a finger, and even smile. In contrast, most autistic children prefer objects to faces and seem to have tremendous difficulty learning to engage in the give-and-take of everyday human interaction. Even in the first few months of life, many do not interact and will avoid eye contact, seemingly indifferent to other people.

Autistic children often appear to prefer being alone rather than in the company of others and may resist attention or passively accept such things as hugs and cuddling without caring. Later, they seldom seek comfort or respond to parents’ displays of anger or affection in a typical way. Research has suggested that although autistic children are attached to their parents, their expression of this attachment is unusual and difficult to interpret. Parents who looked forward to the joys of cuddling, teaching, and playing with their child may feel crushed by this lack of the expected and typical attachment behavior.

Social Development

Autistic children lack “theory of mind”, the ability to see things from another person’s perspective, a behavior cited as exclusive to higher primates such as adult gorillas, adult chimpanzees, adult bonobos and children above the age of five. Typical 5-year-olds understand that other people have different knowledge, feelings, and intentions, interpretations based upon social cues (e.g., gestures, facial expressions). An individual with autism lacks these interpretation skills, an inability that leaves them unable to predict or understand other people’s actions. The social alienation of autistic and Asperger’s people is so intense from childhood that many of them have imaginary friends as companionship. However, having an imaginary friend is not necessarily a sign of autism and also occurs in non-autistic children.
Although not universal, it is common for autistic people to have difficulty regulating their behavior. This can take the form of crying or verbal outbursts that may seem out of proportion to the situation. Individuals with autism generally prefer consistent routines and environments; they may react negatively to change. It is not uncommon for individuals to exhibit aggression, increased levels of self-stimulatory behavior, self-injury, or extensive withdrawal in overwhelming situations.

Sensory Integration Dysfunction

A key indicator to clinicians making a proper assessment for autism would include looking for sensory integration disorder. Children will exhibit problems coping with the normal sensory input. Indicators of this disorder include oversensitivty or underreactivity to touch, movement, sights, or sounds; physical clumsiness or carlessness; poor body awareness; a tendency to be easily distracted; impulsive physical or verbal behaviour; an activity level that is unusually high or low; the inability to unwind or calm self; difficulty learning new movements; difficulty in making transitions from one situation to another; social and/or emotional problems; delays in speech, language, or motor skills; specific learning difficulties/delays in academic achievement. One common example is an autistic’s hearing. The autistic may have trouble hearing certain people while other people are louder than usual. Or the autistic be unable to filter out sounds in certain situations, such as in a large crowd of people. However, this is perhaps the part of the autism that tends to vary the most from person to person, so these examples may not apply to every autistic.

Click Here! for the essential guide to autism.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article “Autism”. You are free to copy & use this article under the terms of the license. *Please note that a courtesy copy of your publication would be appreciated.

Related Articles:
Autistic Communication Difficulties
Repetitive Behaviors in Autistic People