ADAA Mental Health Blogs for the Public
06.30.2023
Sensations of pain and illness in our bodies naturally grab our attention. This attention to pain and illness also naturally evokes emotional responses.
06.13.2023
What happens in PTSD, is that the brain goes into the fight and flight mode and is constantly on alert to protect the person from recurrence of the highly dangerous experience. But the problem is that it cannot come down from that state of heightened arousal, even after leaving the dangerous situation, and coming back to the safe life environment.
06.07.2023
If you’re wondering whether you or a loved one might be suffering from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), there are some important things for you to know.
05.16.2023
Shame is “just” a feeling, but it can become very big and very painful. If it feels very big, it doesn’t mean there is something even worse about you, but rather that there are layers to it. We can make it smaller and more manageable by talking about it and listening to it. When you understand it and the feeling is smaller, it will be easier for you to work with it.
05.02.2023
It’s common for a new mother to experience thoughts or worries about her newborn child. I remember the worrying thoughts I had shortly after my son was born when I left for an ADAA conference for a few days. A call from the nanny saying he was sick cut short my trip and I was on the first plane back home. I worried the entire flight. I ruminated about him being sick; I was anxious and I scolded myself for leaving him. But when I saw him and realized that he would be fine, my anxiety subsided.
04.20.2023
The headlines and the CDC report are indeed alarming, but they should serve as a wakeup call to all of us. Yes, we should think seriously about why we are seeing a steep decline in the mental health of teenage girls, but we have to come together now as parents, family, friends, educators, clinicians, providers, and as a society to support, enhance and establish more preventive measures for our youth.
