Disorders

Cyclothymic disorder is a mild form of bipolar disorder II, characterized by emotional ups and downs. With cyclothymic disorder, an individual might feel great one week, and then low or down the next.  Without treatment, the time in between these mood swings might feel fine—but when their symptoms flare, they…

Imagine that you’re going about your morning as usual – making coffee, feeding the cat, tidying the bedroom – when your chest starts to hurt. The pain quickly mounts. Within minutes you’re drenched in sweat and you feel as if you’re suffocating. You close your eyes and try to take…

Autism, officially known autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a somewhat common neurodevelopmental disorder but isn’t well-understood by the general public. And despite increasing understanding and awareness in regards to autism, misconceptions still persist.  For example, it’s common for many people to confuse autism with learning disabilities but under closer scrutiny,…

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences in the brain that affect behavior, communication, and other developmental skills. It can be treated to help lessen the effect of symptoms, but it will remain present throughout one’s lifetime. Though autism isn’t something that can be “cured,” with…

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it’s estimated that approximately 1 in 36 children will be born with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). ASD is one of the more common neurodevelopmental disorders—and you might be wondering, especially if you or another family member has ASD, if autism…

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a mental health condition that causes difficulty with emotional regulation, behavioral issues, and self-image struggles, which can result in mood swings, unstable relationships, and self-destructive and impulsive behavior.  BPD is one of many personality disorders, which are a consistent pattern of experiences of oneself and…

Children are often picky with their food choices, but sometimes, those eating habits can go beyond pickiness and start affecting a child’s physical health. If a child’s eating patterns become increasingly restrictive and they begin to have symptoms like a lack of energy, failing to hit growth milestones, and refusing…

Learning disorders usually present in children at a young age. However, that doesn’t always mean that a diagnosis will be made promptly. Often, parents wonder if their child’s delays or behaviors are normal (because what’s normal, anyhow?) or think they’ll “grow out of it.” Fortunately, there are other key figures…

Sleep is for the weak — right? While it might make us feel better to declare this adage after a late night, the opposite is true. Ideally, adults should get around seven or more hours of sleep per night. Sleep is essential to living a happy, healthy life, and even…

After experiencing a traumatic or emotionally scarring event, the fear, pain, and helplessness felt in that moment can linger and affect someone’s life in the weeks and months after it happens. This reaction is completely understandable, as events like those are extremely harmful and can certainly change the life of…

When it comes to getting sick from what we eat or touch, we know to avoid certain things—especially in a post-pandemic world. From experience, science, or what we’ve been taught since childhood, avoiding contaminated products is often second nature.  But that doesn’t mean we can’t take things too far, which…

A delusion is someone’s unshakable belief in something untrue. It’s not a part of the person’s culture or subculture—and almost everyone else knows the belief is false. Delusions can also be linked to a mental health condition, known as delusional disorder.  While delusional disorder is a single condition, people with…