What do psychologists want you to know about mental health?
We asked six psychologists, 'What should everyone know about mental health?'.
The SANE Blog
For people who are socially isolated, online forums and support services can be a great way to encourage tangible changes in daily life. Often, making friends online can be a stepping stone to reaching out and making friends in the offline world.
Remembering the past is important. It defines who we are. But sometimes the process of storing an experience as a memory can go awry.
These memory disturbances can present later in life where the event is relived in the form of a flashback.
Finding the right therapist is a familiar challenge for many people living with mental illness.
It’s a process that’s often compared to dating. For some it’s straightforward, while for others it can be a struggle to find someone they trust with their deepest thoughts.
Do you make mountains out of molehills? Is it all or nothing? Do you imagine the worst possible outcome for future events?
This type of anxiety is common. It can be debilitating and all encompassing. It can impact your ability to enjoy life, make decisions, or take action.
The symptoms and effects of schizophrenia are as unique and varied as the people who experience the illness.
Likewise the way people manage their symptoms – including treatment methods, medication and self-care strategies – differ from person to person. The strategies implemented can also change throughout someone's life.
Mania and hypomania are symptoms of bipolar disorder. Mania is the ‘high’ euphoric end of the mood scale, with hypomania similar but with less intensity.
If you think you’re experiencing mania, or symptoms are coming on, these strategies may help prevent or reduce the severity of an episode.
Self-harm is behaviour that deliberately causes pain to yourself — usually as an extreme way of trying to cope with distress.
While some people hurt themselves to try and cope with distress, the relief is usually short-lived, and can result in the desire to self-harm again. With support and understanding, you can learn new strategies to cope, and you can move on from self-harm altogether. Here are some positive steps you can take.
Trauma can be caused by a range of events, from war, terrorism, natural disasters, transport accidents, criminal and domestic violence and childhood abuse and neglect. Being exposed to these events can have lasting physiological and psychological effects.
People can have mixed reactions after receiving a diagnosis. The range of emotions experienced can include relief, confusion, fear, embarrassment, grief or empowerment. This is normal.
Many people ask whether diagnosis is a helpful part of recovery. Here are some of the positive and negative outcomes many people experience.