As a kid, I vividly remember sitting around my grandmother’s house thinking, “I want to be an NFL player and have a big NFL contract one day.” Looking back, I never dreamed that I would be where I am now, having just finished my first season with the Cleveland Browns. ...
One of the mental health conditions I deal with is social anxiety. So, you would probably think that I rejoiced when the CDC guidelines came down about social isolation. However, that’s far from the truth. Social anxiety doesn't mean I want to be a hermit. I still crave hum...
Over the 18 years I have studied emotions, I have learned things that felt so universally important for health and well-being that I was shocked they weren’t taught earlier in life. I learned trigonometry in high school, which I’ve barely used, but I never learned critica...
Agoraphobia was one of my first diagnoses. As a child, I didn’t know what this word meant. I now know that this mental health condition, according to Dr. John Barnhill of New York-Presbyterian Hospital, is the “fear and anxiety about being in situations or places without ...
Understanding neural pathways in the brain may help reduce the symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Jump To: Episode <!-- Video --> Featured Guest Share Transcript About the Host In this episode of NAMI’s podcast, NAMI CEO Daniel H. Gillison Jr. speaks with author, clinical psychologist and leading anxiety researcher Dr. Tracy Dennis-Tiwary about...
2020 has been an uncertain and stressful year. COVID-19, and its many consequential effects, have led to some very difficult moments. The loss of loved ones, livelihoods and freedoms that we take for granted have been difficult to bear. It has been painful to watch social...
I am still learning. I still have my bad days. These conditions are a part of me and I have to live with that, but I don’t have to let them cripple my success.
I have learned that mental illness is a lot more common than I ever thought. Everyone knows somebody who is dealing with a mental health issue.
Many people can experience feelings of anxiety or depression during the holiday season. People who already live with a mental health condition should take extra care to tend to their overall health and wellness during this time. Extra stress, unrealistic expectations or eve...
Talking with parents is something I rarely did when I began my job as a college psychiatrist twenty-five years ago. However, in response to students coming to my office with more complex problems and severe symptoms, I have tried to get parents involved with the hope of stre...
When COVID-19 surged across the world, it exposed flaws in various systems and sparked the need for change. My life became impacted in a similar (but much smaller) manner. I am a recent college graduate, who prides myself on leadership involvement in several extra-curricu...
“Yes, I am a prisoner of sorts, but my prison isn't the house. It's my own thoughts that lock me up!” – V.C. Andrews Intrusive thoughts are unwanted thoughts that can pop up in our minds unannounced, at any time. Their repeated occurrence can make it hard to focus on da...
OCD involves persistent, intrusive thoughts (obsessions) and repetitive behaviors that a person feels driven to perform (compulsions) in response to those thoughts.
Check if your experiences could be symptoms of an underlying mental health condition.
I hope that receiving care will become less of a struggle. It’s bad enough fighting your own mind while also trying to navigate your way through a broken system.
Before I struggled with depression and anxiety, I had no clue what it meant to be depressed. Now I know, but it’s tough to explain.