Acamprosate is a medication that works in the brain to treat alcohol dependence. Acamprosate works by decreasing cravings and urges to use alcohol.
Chelsea's personal experience with OCD has taught her that while you can’t control others’ behavior or what they say, you can control your reaction to it.
Whether you come from the same situation, or whether you are struggling with depression, suicide, anxiety etc., I want you to know that you are loved.
One year ago today, I was pronounced dead from attempting suicide for the third time. Today will be a bittersweet day for the rest of my life.
I am the author of my own life and I choose to put a semicolon instead of a period at every point that my depression tells me otherwise.
Today, I am good. I won’t say great because there are days when I want to give up because I feel no one listens to me about mental illness. But I know I am helping some people.
I knew I needed counseling and sought it out, but the eight months following were a blur of jumping from therapist-to-therapist and medication-to-medication with no improvement. In fact, I was getting worse.
Stigma and the fear of not being ‘normal’ was enough to keep me from getting treatment for a debilitating mental and physical illness for 23 years. Elementary school, middle, high school and college were a constant struggle. Academia was my enemy and I could never catch a bre...
Picture one of those slow motion videos of a tennis ball being hit by a tennis racquet and coiling inward before being released back to its original shape as the ball projects through the air. That’s what mental resiliency is: the ability to “bounce back” from conflict ...
I’ll never forget my mother two days after her suicide attempt. It was the beginning of winter and she had recently been diagnosed with bipolar disorder . After a stay in the ICU and two days of medication, she was just regaining some clarity when I spoke to her. She knew...
I hear comments all the time: “My place is so perfect. I’m so OCD.” “No, it has to be neat and clean. I’m so OCD.” “You should see how I organized my Star Wars collection. I’m so OCD.” I was born with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder ( OCD ). I struggled throughout m...
Many people don't know how to provide comfort or respond appropriately in times of need or crisis. Instead of listening and taking the time to provide a constructive response, they jump to conclusions. They say the first thing that comes to mind, or in other words, they reac...
Mental health care didn’t exist for me, or at least, that is what it felt like when I was a child. My feelings, emotions and any negative response to them was often discounted as me being a “sensitive child.” Without knowing better, I accepted that I was different, o...
Being hospitalized for a week due to mental illness isn’t exactly anybody’s idea of a good way to spend spring break, but my junior year of high school, that’s exactly what I did. After weeks of angry outbursts, panic attacks, attempts to self-harm and suicidal ideation, my...
When the hospital doors close behind you for the first time, it often feels more like the beginning of a prison stint than the start of a journey to recovery. The immediate deprivation of personal choice and the creature comforts of private life only seem to reinforce this p...
When I received my borderline personality disorder (BPD) diagnosis, my world came crashing down. While I was aware of the symptoms I was experiencing, I didn’t see the disorder within myself, or maybe just didn’t want to see the disorder within myself. As a mental ...
I am a 50-year old American veteran and I am here to tell you about my struggle with PTSD and how biking has helped me manage my condition. I joined the military in 1994 and served for 23 years. Having come from a military family, I was thrilled to serve my country, especi...
When to worry and how to respond if your child is struggling.
On February 17, 2020, I was at a crossroads, deciding whether I wanted to live or die. After contemplating suicide for two days, it seemed like that was the only answer. I had battled depression for years, but I never told anyone how I was feeling. I was raised to believe...
This past Sunday was Father’s Day, and it’s had me thinking all week about the legacy of my own father, the legacy I am passing down to my own son and, in general, what it means to be a man. My dad was a paratrooper in the military, then he was a bookbinder by day and a c...