Chronic Pain: The Search for Relief

Fibromyaliga is a chronic pain syndrome characterized by a wide array of symptoms, generally deep in the joints and muscles. It affects approximately 5 million Americans a year, primarily women. Though chronic pain has been around for over a century, the cause has long been a mystery.

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Cutting Behaviors

“They are just doing it for attention” and “they’re unsuccessfully trying to commit suicide” are the two most common misconceptions people have regarding cutting behaviors, and they are far from true. Cutting stems from unhealthy coping skills in an attempt to manage emotional suffering. Cutting brings these

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Teenage Girls and Bullying

Typically, when one thinks about a bully, the image conjured is of a boy who is an outsider, is bigger and tougher than his peers, and who often starts fights and steals lunch money from others. It may be surprising to hear that girls can also be

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Can you spot a psychopath?

Today, media depicting what they consider to be a “psychopath” bombards society. Characters like Dexter, Patrick Bateman, or Hannibal just to name a few. But could you spot a psychopath from a story? Past research has shown that the general public’s understanding and beliefs of mental illness

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Chronic Stress and DNA

Every one of us complains about being overly stressed. We have all accepted that stress is a natural part of life. However, recent research on chronic stress suggests that the damaging effects of stress can begin to impact us even before we are conceived. A recent interview

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Schizophrenia and CRT

Cognitive Remediation Therapy improving cognition for youth with Early-Onset Schizophrenia Cognitive decline is associated with early-onset Schizophrenia. In fact, it is one of the first observable symptoms in addition to psychotic experiences. Cognitive decline can have a significant impact on an individual diagnosed with early-onset Schizophrenia and

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Autism Myths Explained

Common Myths about Autism Spectrum Disorders According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1 in 68 American children have an Autism Spectrum Disorder – a prevalence that has increased 10x in the past 40 years!  Scientists have been unable to establish a causal explanation

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Creativity and Madness

Creativity and Madness:  What science tells us about creative genius and mental illness In her autobiography An Unquiet Mind, Kay Redfield Jamison chronicles her experience with Manic Depression or Bipolar Disorder.  An accomplished clinical psychologist, writer, and professor of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine,

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Understanding Addiction

Understanding Addiction – The Role of Avoidance Coping and Maladaptive Behaviors According to the National Institute of Drug Abuse, the United States spends nearly 600 billion dollars annually in costs related to crime, lost work productivity, and healthcare for individuals who abuse tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs.

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