Is Social Media Affecting Your Teen’s Mental Health?
January 9, 2018 Posted in: Announcement
The relationship between teens and social media is constantly changing. Since its introduction, social media has transformed the way future generations communicate, socialize, and maintain lifelong friendships. Though there are many benefits to being “plugged in,” there are also risks for teens. Social media can offer a world of cyberbullying, poor time management, decreased self-esteem, and feeling left out.
Over the last decade, anxiety and depression have become common mood disorders among teenagers. A 2017 report concluded that the number of... Continue reading →
How to Talk to a Child about Tragic Events
November 8, 2017 Posted in: Press Release
On Sunday 5 November, a lone gunman opened fire on worshippers at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas. It was the deadliest mass shooting in Texas history. The perpetrator was eventually stopped but not before he had gunned down least 26 people, including children.
Five days earlier, on 31 October, innocent people in New York were the target of an attack when a local man drove a rental truck down a crowded bicycle path close to the World Trade Centre. The attack only ended when the man crashed into a school bus. Luckily, none of the children on the bus were killed, but they will undoubtedly be traumatized.
The 5 Most Common Signs of Bullying and How to Stop It
October 24, 2017 Posted in: Announcement
Bullying has been around since the beginning of time. Bullying is destructive and dangerous behavior that can leave physical scars as well as mental. Those who have been bullied can suffer from PTSD and other mental illnesses. If your child is being bullied at school or even online, you may not even know it. Often those that are bullied will feel ashamed and may be embarrassed to talk about it with their parents. Silence only makes the shame worse and the bullying continues.
Luckily, there are some ways that you can tell your child or teen is being bullied. Here are five of the most common signs of bullying and some ways to address them.
1. Bumps and Bruises
Children will... Continue reading →
Adolescent Mental Health: Teen Suicide Is Not a Game
July 26, 2017 Posted in: Press Release
In today’s digital age, everything is accessible to teenagers via connected devices – even suicide. The rise in teen suicides is alarming. Learn what you can do to protect your teen.
Suicide, at any age, should not be taken lightly. It is a serious problem and extremely harmful to not only the person attempting it, but everyone in his or her life. Knowing the outcome of a suicide, it’s unfortunate that the severity of the problem even has to be said in society these days, but it seems there is a concerning culture developing around the act – particularly among teens.
Prior to the 2000s, the number of suicides committed... Continue reading →
Understanding Schizophrenia: How to Recognize the Causes, Symptoms, and Early Warning Signs in Young People
November 8, 2016 Posted in: Announcement
Schizophrenia is a serious and chronic mental health disorder that alters how someone thinks and feels in a way that can interfere with normal behavior. The onset of the illness can happen at any age, but the U.S. National Library of Medicine says signs most commonly start showing between the ages of 16 and 30, with men generally developing it in their late teens to early 20s and women in their late 20s to early 30s. The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) reports that only about 1 percent of the American population... Continue reading →
Opiate Addiction: Side Effects and Treatment Options
October 6, 2016 Posted in: Announcement
Opiates come in a variety of types and with a variety of demons associated with abuse. If you suspect a loved one is suffering from opiate abuse, we recommend becoming informed on the treatment options available to them.
How Opiate Addiction Destroys Families and Lives
Addicts don’t wake up one day and decide to get themselves hooked on a substance that could potentially destroy every good thing they’ve ever had in their lives. For some, the addiction happens by accident, the unhappy side effect of needing to take prescribed opiate painkillers for a long-term injury. For others, the addiction happens when the addict uses opiates... Continue reading →
How to Help Someone Struggling with Addiction
August 25, 2016 Posted in: Announcement
Merriam-Webster dictionary defines an addiction as "a strong and harmful need to regularly have something (such as a drug) or do something (such as gamble)." Watching a friend or loved one struggle with their need to take something you know is detrimental to their life is painful. You love them. And you want to do anything you can to help them.
Though our desire to help comes from a place of caring and concern, sometimes it can actually hinder the addict. There's a fine line between helping and enabling. Knowing the difference between the two is a critical factor in when, or even whether, your loved one overcomes their... Continue reading →
Understanding Bipolar Disorder
August 2, 2016 Posted in: Announcement
When you hear the words "bipolar disorder", do you understand what they mean? We hear it in passing, usually from people who don't really know what it is, when describing someone who might act like two different people at times. It seems to be used interchangeably with schizophrenia or having multiple personalities, but the three are not the same thing.
Schizophrenia is a condition characterized by delusional thinking and hallucinations. Multiple personality disorder is an illness that makes a person think there is more than one defined identity within his or her being, and those identities coexist to take on different... Continue reading →
The Increased Risk of Alcohol and Drug Abuse among Military Vets
September 9, 2015 Posted in: AnnouncementIt’s a bit of a Catch 22: being able to “hold your liquor” is the sign of a tough man, but turning to alcohol time and again to drown the pain of battle memories turns you into a shadow of a man. For male and female military personnel and veterans, there is an increased risk of alcohol and drug abuse for multiple reasons, including military culture and stress-related mental health issues such as PTSD.
Male vets have always been far more likely to abuse alcohol than the general population—especially after returning home from traumatic battle situations. With more women in the military than in times past, female vets are also reporting higher percentages of heavy or binge drinking, though female military vets prefer to abuse more prescription drugs than alcohol.
The sights,... Continue reading →
Depression in the Military
August 25, 2015 Posted in: AnnouncementWhile suffering from depression is not a unique experience for people in any particular career, military personnel and their families are more susceptible to both depression and other issues such as PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) and anxiety. The 2010 Medical Surveillance Report from the US Department of Defense reported that over 27% of military personnel who have lived in combat situations report having depression, and that doesn’t count the number of spouses and children of military personnel who also suffer from depression.
You can have depression along with other mental health issues, or on its own. Depression can have a devastating effect on your ability to function normally in your life in the military and with your... Continue reading →