Bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depressive illness, is a brain disorder that causes unusual shifts in mood, energy, activity levels, and the ability to carry out day-to-day tasks. There are four basic types of bipolar disorder; all of them involve clear changes in mood, energy, and activity levels. These moods range from periods of extremely “up, ” elated…
One of the many things I’ve had to learn to deal with as someone with a mental illness is labels. In every area of our lives, we take shortcuts in our attempts to figure someone out. We label people who wear nice clothes as professional, folks with glasses are labeled smart, and so on. When people know my diagnosis of bipolar and anxiety disorders — and given…
This 1856 photograph is one of the earliest to depict a phrenologist at work. What s phrenology? It s the foundation for many of the principles that are seen in modern psychiatry and neurology today. Phrenologists believed the shape of the brain was an indicator of mental capacity, and that different portions of the brain controlled different parts of the body…
Plastic surgeons are trained to perform procedures that correct physical deformities and those intended solely to improve a patient’s appearance. But here’s another skill plastic surgeons should have: the ability to identify cosmetic surgery patients who are never satisfied with the way they look and, in extreme cases, may develop cosmetic surgery addictions…
Individuals diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) have, to an extreme degree, behavior patterns in which they are inattentive and hyperactive and/or impulsive. Until relatively recently, Attention ADHD was thought to be a disorder that occurred only in childhood and then gradually faded away. Researchers and clinicians now recognize that…
Memorial Sloan Kettering provides expert care for people with rare blood disorders. Our depth of experience means that you get the best possible care no matter how uncommon your disease. Our physicians have great familiarity with the treatment of these disorders and their complications, and with deciding which therapies are appropriate. Every patient receives…
Your brain uses many different chemical messengers to operate. These messengers not only tell your brain what to do - they also affect how you think, how you feel, and how you respond to things around you. Anxiety causes some of these messengers to decrease. Studies have proven that anxiety seems to cause the production of some messengers, like serotonin, to…
Neurological disorders are diseases of the brain, spine and the nerves that connect them. There are more than 600 diseases of the nervous system, such as brain tumors, epilepsy, Parkinson s disease and stroke as well as less familiar ones such as frontotemporal dementia. UCSF Medical Center is one of the top hospitals in the nation in neurology and neurosurgery…
Adults with ADHD are more likely to: Change jobs a lot and perform poorly Be less happy with their jobs and have fewer successes at work Problems in Life Get more speeding tickets, have their license suspended, or be involved in more crashes Smoke cigarettes Use alcohol or drugs more often Have less money Relationship Problems Have more marital problems Get separated…
In 2013, the American Psychiatric Association revised the PTSD diagnostic criteria in the fifth edition of its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5; 1). PTSD is included in a new category in DSM-5, Trauma- and Stressor-Related Disorders. All of the conditions included in this classification require exposure to a traumatic or stressful…
Physiology encompasses the tissue, organ and cellular functions of the human body. An optimally healthy body has normal physiology. Conversely, human disease represents an aberration in normal physiology-something in the body fails to function as it should. Normal physiology can be disrupted by a variety of mechanisms, ultimately manifesting as disease. Hemochromatosis…
According to the Brain Injury Association of America (BIA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), traumatic brain injuries are one of the leading causes of permanent disabilities or death in infants and children. Brain damage can happen either from blunt force trauma to the infant’s head (less common, but possible with a forceps extraction…
Some maladies that attract psychiatric attention are unequivocally brain diseases. Huntington’s disease. Brain tumors. Lead poisoning. However, these are not psychiatric diseases. Huntington’s is a genetic abnormality diagnosed and treated by neurologists. Brain tumors are managed by neurosurgeons and oncologists. Lead toxicity is treated by internal medicine…
Why are you eating? Knowing the answer can help you stop. Image: Flickr/pfig Most people think emotional eating is due to lack of self-control. However, in my extensive work with eating disorders and disordered eating, I would say that is rarely the case. If emotional eating were a simple issue of discipline, we could easily find this discipline without torturing…
The cause of bipolar disorder is not entirely known. Genetic, neurochemical and environmental factors probably interact at many different levels to play a role in the onset and progression of bipolar disorder. The current thinking is that this is a predominantly neurobiological disorder that occurs in a specific part of the brain and is due to a malfunction of…
There are several kinds of bipolar disorder. Each kind is defined by the length, frequency and pattern of episodes of mania and depression. Bipolar I Disorder Bipolar I is characterized by one or more manic episodes or mixed episodes (which is when you experience symptoms of both a mania and a depression). Typically a person will experience periods of depression…
Position Statement: Eating Disorders are Serious Mental Illnesses In the U.S. and abroad, the failure of insurers and other gatekeepers to treatment to consistently recognize eating disorders as serious mental illnesses has resulted in an ongoing heath care crisis for sufferers and their families. In response to growing concern about this crisis, the Academy…
People with personality disorders exhibit characteristic, emotional response patterns that can become problematic. Generally, each of the personality disorders has an emotional response pattern that is associated with that particular disorder. This inflexible pattern of emotional response often creates difficulty. Some personality disorders are characterized…
The definition of a psychopath and causes of psychopathy are sometimes argued about in scientific circles, but understanding the symptoms and signs of a psychopath is possible. Psychopathy causes may include genetics and early life factors and the signs and symptoms of a psychopath are typically noticeable before a psychopath s 16th birthday as these symptoms…
Though there are a number of different kinds of eating disorders, there are four common types and most people who have a dysfunctional relationship with eating and their bodies have a disorder that falls into one of the following categories: anorexia, binge eating, bulimia and other eating disorders. Anorexia Severely cutting calories by eating very, very little…
People with personality disorders have long-standing patterns of thinking and acting that differ from what society considers usual or normal. The inflexibility of their personality can cause great distress, and can interfere with many areas of life, including social and work functioning. People with personality disorders generally also have poor coping skills…
Somatic symptom disorder (SSD formerly known as somatization disorder or somatoform disorder ) is a form of mental illness that causes one or more bodily symptoms, including pain. The symptoms may or may not be traceable to a physical cause including general medical conditions, other mental illnesses, or substance abuse. But regardless, they cause excessive…
As the classification of mental disorders advances towards a disease model as promoted by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Research Domain Criteria (RDoC), there is hope that a more thorough neurobiological understanding of mental illness may allow clinicians and researchers to determine treatment efficacy with less diagnostic variability. This…
I ve sung along, worked out, and danced to enough Demi Lovato tunes to feel a rush of excitement before chatting with the woman behind such earworms as Heart Attack and Neon Lights — especially since the 23-year-old singer/songwriter/actress/author/ X Factor judge has been refreshingly candid about the struggles she s faced, from self-harm to bullying to…
