Trying to tell the difference between what expected behaviors are and what might be the signs of a mental illness isn’t always easy. There’s no easy test that can let someone know if there is mental illness or if actions and thoughts might be typical behaviors of a person or the result of a physical illness.
Each illness has its own symptoms, but common signs of mental illness in adults and adolescents can include the following… Read more ›
Does your child go through extreme changes in mood and behavior? Does your child get much more excited or much more irritable than other kids? Do you notice that your child goes through cycles of extreme highs and lows more often than other children? Do these mood changes affect how your child acts at school or at home? Read more ›
It’s not unusual for young people to experience “the blues” or feel “down in the dumps” occasionally. Adolescence is always an unsettling time, with the many physical, emotional, psychological and social changes that accompany this stage of life.
Unrealistic academic, social, or family expectations can create a strong sense of rejection and can lead to deep disappointment. When things go wrong at school or at home, teens often overreact. Many young people feel that life is not fair or that things “never go their way.” They feel “stressed out” and confused. To make matters worse, teens are bombarded by conflicting messages from parents, friends and society. Read more ›
One in five people have dyslexia, and it affects people who use both languages based on alphabets (such as English) or logographics (such as Mandarin, Korean, etc.), making it a worldwide issue. Despite its prevalence, though, dyslexia is often misunderstood by the people who have it, by the parents of kids who have it and by the teachers who teach those kids. Read more ›
In her book, The Conscious Parent’s Guide to ADHD: A Mindful Approach for Helping Your Child Gain Focus and Self-Control, Rebecca Branstetter, PhD, offers advice on parenting children with ADHD, who can sometimes stretch the skills and patience of the most committed parent. Read more ›
Parents wonder what they could be doing to better help their kids navigate the sometimes-treacherous waters of their adolescent years. Fortunately, scientists who study teen depression have some preliminary advice.
By looking at new findings in neuroscience as well as other psychological research and longitudinal data, scientists are zeroing in on a better understanding of what impacts teen depression and how to prevent it. Here are some of the suggestions coming out of the science. Read more ›
The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is a nonprofit, grassroots, self-help, support and advocacy organization of consumers, families, and friends of people with severe mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic and other severe and persistent mental illnesses that affect the brain. Read more ›
What does it feel like to have a child with mental illness?
“When our daughter was diagnosed with OCD and clinical depression at age 12, we discussed treatment options with the psychiatrist. At first, we were wary of medication, as most parents are. “If your child had type 1 diabetes, wouldn’t you give her insulin?” the doctor asked. “This is a disease—in fact it’s a life threatening disease. Medication is required. And so is regular therapy.”
And that was the beginning of our journey to understanding that our daughter has an illness, it needs to be treated, and she requires ongoing special care.” Read more ›
Palo Alto psychiatrist Dr. Adam Strassberg provides suggestions to help us all “Keep Calm and Parent On” in an article published in Palo Alto Online. Read more ›
