Personality traits vs. disorders: know the difference! By Robin (PSY) We all know someone who’s narcissistic – they’re full of themselves, they put other people down, and they’re generally not fun to be around! Could it be that the person you’re thinking of is suffering from Narcissistic Personality Disorder? How about someone who’s “clingy” with their significant other – are they suffering from Dependent Personality Disorder? Let’s not forget the friend who “hates” people and never wants...
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Bitterness bites: know how to bite back By Cassie (cynefin) Bitterness, or an intense type of anger, may surface if someone has experienced a lot and has had difficulty remaining positive. It also surfaces if people are unable to cope in the face of stressful events. People are often bitter when they feel they have been wronged; they might be entirely bitter or use bitterness with sarcasm or humor. Bitterness can be reserved for a certain person, group (of people or an organization), a...

Dissociation and You: Making a Grounding Kit. If you ever find yourself unable to remember what you have recently done, be it for five minutes or hours at a time, you may be dissociating. Being unable to remember recent events is called amnesia or memory loss. For some people this is a medical condition but for others is due to dissociation. If you know or think you are dissociating, it is very important to tell a health professional as it may be indicative of severe trauma or a...

Article featured in Avatar - Volume 2, Issue 11 (May 2009). The Pros and Cons of Understanding your Mental Disorder By Gidig About 9.5% of all adults in the United States have a diagnosable mood disorder. Mental disorders include major depressive disorder, bipolar depressive disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety disorder, eating disorders, ADHD, and others. Psychiatrists, doctors, and other health professionals can give you information on these disorders but thanks to the Internet we are now...

A Guide to Eating Disorders According to statistics, Anorexia and bulimia affect nearly 10 million women and one million men; sometimes they can be fatal if nothing is done about them. Please don’t suffer in silence, there is always someone to support you though any difficulties you may be having. Anorexia Nervosa is characterized by self-starvation and excessive weight loss. Symptoms of anorexia include: Refusal to maintain body weight at or above a minimally normal weight for height,...

Article featured in Avatar - Volume 2, Issue 12 (June 2009). Thyroid and Mood Disorders By Gidig (Maria) You go and talk to your doctor about depression, and they do a blood test to check your thyroid function. This may sound off the wall, but evidence and research is beginning to show that your thyroid and mood may be linked. Many people who have a mood disorder, such as manic depression especially, seem to have thyroid dysfunction. Thyroid dysfunction could be caused by your...

Teen to Teen. Let's talk. By Kaylee. High school, the hardest time in a teenager’s life. With the schoolwork, preparing for college, parents, and the stress of finals can really make us feel the pressure. We feel out of control, but imagine dealing with all of the above mentioned, and also dealing with the battle of your own body. Some teenagers do just that, and some even develop an eating disorder in the process. I am one of those teenagers who deal with body image issues. My name is...

Are you a young carer? The impact of caring on young carers By Holly (Celyn) What is a young carer? Put simply, young carers are young people (under the age of 18) who provide care or support for someone else, often a family member (regardless of whether they live in the same house or not). This might be for someone older such as a parent or grandparent, or for someone younger such as a younger sibling. The care provided depends on the person, their disability (mental illness or physical...

Article featured in Avatar - Volume 1, Issue 10 (March 2008). Loving Yourself by .Infinity. (Mel) As we go through life, we all go through different things. We go through different experiences, different obstacles, different phases and so on. Many times, mostly every time, the things that happen during each situation can make a huge impact on how we see ourselves. May it have been something someone said, something you couldn't do or whatever, either negative thing can cause you to have...

Article featured in Avatar - Volume 3, Issue 11 (May 2010). LGBT Mental Health By Maria (Gidig) Mental health is brought up in many topics we talk about in this era. A huge part of living in the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) community is hearing about our own mental health. There is unfortunately a large difference between the mental health of LGBT people and that of ‘straight’ (heterosexual) people. We have finally reached a point in our culture that identifying as...

The benefits of relaxation techniques: Practicing relaxation techniques can improve how you physically respond to stress by: • Slowing your heart rate • Lowering blood pressure • Slowing your breathing rate • Reducing the need for oxygen • Increasing blood flow to major muscles • Reducing muscle tension You may also gain these overall health and lifestyle benefits from relaxation techniques:

Colouring for mindfulness By Lydia (WhisperingSilence) Over the past few years, colouring has become a more popular pastime or a hobby for many adults around the world. Colouring is usually an activity associated with young children, and there are benefits such as children finding it calming and relaxing and teaches youngsters about colouring and improving hand-eye coordination while also allowing a freedom of expression and building on their imagination. These benefits are also the same...
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Article featured in Avatar - Volume 3, Issue 10 (April 2010). Self Care By Maria (Gidig) Many of us have heard something about “self care” at least once. While it may seem like we already do a significant amount of self care by sleeping, eating, and even breathing, many people do not take enough time for themselves. Without self care, stress levels are much higher, relationships can be compromised, and depression creeps up. You can even physically feel better when you practice better...

Article featured in Avatar - Volume 3, Issue 3 (September 2009). The Grey Bipolar Area By Gidig Depression and Bipolar Disorder are both mood disorders that can greatly affect your life. Though many see bipolar disorder as movies and television make it seem, minute by minute mood swings, this is not truly the case. Depression is a constant low mood, lasting weeks, months, and sometimes even years at a time. While bipolar disorder includes depression, you also go into stages called...