Because No One is Immune. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story can save a life.
It doesn’t matter what your economic or social status is, what your religion or race might be or your gender or sexual orientation; Mental Health can affect anyone, at anytime.
Art is my way to engage & interact with those dealing with their own Mental Health issues.
I see you. I am you. You’re not alone.
Everyone has a gift. How will you choose to use yours?
Read: Why #ArtTherapy could help with Mental Illness.
- Chris
News Worthy
Mental Health Articles & News
Imposter Syndrome
Impostor syndrome is an internal experience of believing that you are not as competent as others perceive you to be, as if you are a fraud. Despite being a "syndrome," it is not a diagnosable mental illness. Instead, the term is usually narrowly applied to intelligence and achievement, although it also has links to perfectionism and the social context.
To put it simply, imposter syndrome is the experience of feeling like a phony in some area of your life, despite any success that you have achieved in that area.
Catastrophizing
Everyone has negative thoughts. But for many people, negative thinking can spin out of control and out of proportion to the reality of a situation. A relatively modest error, disappointment, or source of embarrassment (or even the possibility of one) can sometimes become, in one’s mind, a cause for major fear or despair—in short, a catastrophe.
This pattern of thinking can itself be destructive because unnecessary and persistent worry can lead to heightened anxiety and depression. But through learning to identify and reframe initially exaggerated conclusions, along with other techniques, people with a tendency to make a proverbial mountain out of a molehill can get a better hold on their negative thoughts.
Repurposing Ketamine
Repurposing ketamine in the therapy of depression could well represent a breakthrough in understanding the etiology of depression. Ketamine was originally used as an anesthetic drug and later its use was extended to other therapeutic applications such as analgesia and the treatment of addiction.
At the same time, the abuse of ketamine as a recreational drug has generated a concern for its psychotropic and potential long-term effects; nevertheless, its use as a fast acting antidepressant in treatment-resistant patients has boosted the interest in the mechanism of action both in psychiatry and in the wider area of neuroscience.
PSYCHOLOGICAL BENEFITS OF ART THERAPY
“Beholding beauty with the eye of the mind, he will be enabled to bring forth, not images of beauty, but realities…” ~ Plato
As parents, when our child falls ill, or is prone to a disorder or a discomfort; we are diligent to seek for remedies and constructive answers to aide in that time of discomfort. As a parent, I can reassure you that I will do everything in my power to gain the best care for my child’s needs.
Whether we are searching for answers for the physical or the psychological; as parents we yearn for positively constructive remedies to solve our child’s discomforts.
HOW TO KNOW IF THERAPY IS WORKING
Knowing if therapy is working isn’t straightforward – it can be complicated and the clues are often subtle. It’s important to know that therapy doesn’t work like medication for a headache – take a pill, wait 45 minutes, and the pain starts to go away. Instead, therapy is more about taking the time to look for and treat the source of the pain, and accordingly, success in therapy takes time, hard work, occasional setbacks, and will look different for each person, as it will depend on their goals for treatment.
Truth Be Told: Breaking the Silence on a Silent Killer, Mental Illness
***Trigger Warning***
A body found in the St. Lawrence river of Montreal the night of October 4th, 2018 mentioned in a few news articles, was my husband, Anand Almeida. I can talk forever about suicide statistics, that every 40 seconds someone in the world dies by suicide. But it doesn’t hit home until it happens to you or someone you know.
Depression and Anxiety Make Me Doubt Everything I Do
Chronic self-doubt is bad for both your personal and professional life. Speaking from personal experience, doubting yourself all the time fills your heart and soul with fear. You're afraid of failure when you dare to be proactive or try something new. Conversely, you're also afraid of underachieving or being stuck in the same place. It's a lose-lose situation because whether you take action or not, you will end up doubting yourself.
The Psychology of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought a wide array of complications into our lives. Anxiety, uncertainty, and social isolation have presented immense challenges to our mental health and psychological well-being. In addressing these needs, approaches vary widely. How can we make sense of the different schools of thought within clinical psychology? And how do these relate to underlying psychological phenomena, such as mental flexibility, mindfulness, and impulse control?
"Laughing gas", rapidly relieves severe depression
A Phase 2 clinical trial has found a 60-minute treatment session with the gas nitrous oxide can deliver significant and rapid improvements in patients with treatment-resistant depression, and the research indicates these benefits can last for at least two weeks….
Addressing Signs of Suicidal Behaviour in Children and Teens
Childhood and adolescence can carry challenges — the pressure to fit in, figuring out who you are, bullying, and more can all be hard for kids and teens to manage.
It can sometimes start to feel like too much. While anyone can experience thoughts of suicide, suicide rates are rising in younger people…
Mental health: Pressure to return to the office could be making employees more anxious
After a year of social distancing, mask wearing and – for millions – working from home, many employers are eager to bring their staff back to the office. But for many, the prospect of readjusting to in-person work is a daunting one…
9 Essential Mental Health Apps to Prevent Suicide and Self-Harm
Your mental health and wellbeing can directly affect your quality of life. It is therefore important that you pay extra attention to your mental wellbeing. Issues like self-hate, depression, self-harm, and suicide can result from untreated mental health conditions.
20 'Offbeat' Self-Care Ideas You Probably Haven't Tried
We can’t function properly if we aren’t taking care of ourselves, which is why it is important to practice self-care. Whether that looks like treating yourself to a bubble bath or doing the “un-fun” but necessary acts of self-care like laundry, it’s important to figure out what methods work best for you and your well-being.
#ShareHope
Showing care and spreading hope to someone who may be vulnerable to suicide is an important step in making a difference in their lives. This is why the Mental Health Commission of Canada has launched a year-round, online campaign to spread hope. The content and impact of this campaign is being built by YOU – by your words, images and messages of hope. We would like to invite you into this space to make a difference, to share your messages of hope, and to connect with others in a powerful and meaningful way.
7 Helpful Tips To Help You Open Up In Therapy — Even When You're Scared
Regardless of whether you’re brand new or have been going to therapy sessions for a long time, you may feel overwhelmed at the possibility of sharing your pain, negative thoughts, and deepest secrets with a stranger.
Marijuana use linked to higher rates of depression
Over 281,000 people between the ages of 18 and 35 participated in the National Surveys on Drug Use and Health from 2008 through 2019.
The participants answered questions related to marijuana use, depression, suicidal thoughts, plans, and attempted suicide.
The researchers evaluated four different groups — those who used no marijuana, people who used marijuana daily, people who used marijuana non-daily, and individuals with cannabis use disorder.
'A bully in your brain': What it's like to live with body dysmorphic disorder
I missed a semester in college because I couldn't leave my house for a month," Stern told "Good Morning America." "I've had three to four medical leaves of absence [from my job] because I couldn't function optimally."
The Real (and Very Normal) Reason You're So Exhausted After Therapy
As someone with years of therapy under her belt, I have firsthand experience with the range of feelings that can result from a session. Sometimes I'll leave feeling light as a feather-as if a major weight has been lifted from my chest-after having a certain realization, or, with help from my therapist, learning to reframe a previously distressing situation. Knowing that I have a better grasp on some aspect of my mental health can even go as far as being reenergizing.
Many of us feel ‘empty’ – understanding what it means is important for improving our mental health
It’s likely you have felt “empty” at some point in your life – or perhaps you’ve heard someone else describe themselves in that way. But while this might be a relatively common feeling, it’s often not spoken about as a symptom of mental health difficulties. Typically, “feelings of emptiness” are only considered as a symptom of borderline personality disorder – a mental health condition characterized by challenges with emotions, relationships to others, and feelings of chronic emptiness.