Author: Toni Barrett

[Heroes Of The War]

Some of us will experience a traumatic event at some point in our lives, and this very circumstance may change how we view ourselves, the people around us, and even the world.  How long its effect on us will last depends on many factors. Some may be able to cope fast while others much longer.

Concealed War Trauma – Shell Shock Or Combat Stress

It is the term the military use for posttraumatic disorder.

English physician Charles Myers first documented “shell shock” in 1915, conceiving that symptoms are due to physical injury and the repeated exposure to concussive blasts caused brain trauma.  But his theory was proven not entirely accurate because some veterans who have the same kind of experience never showed any symptoms and others who didn’t have exposure to concussive blasts returned with signs.

Many provided nonphysical explanations on this happening for its pervasiveness.   And because of the upsurge of soldiers with similar symptoms during World War II, clinician Abram Kardiner shed light by concluding that these symptoms are from psychological injury.

Only people who have experienced a trauma know how it feels; it’s a unique experience and very difficult to erase from the mind, lasting for years with great emotional intensity. — Ana Nogales, Ph.D.

Heroes Coming Home With PTSD

We may view our soldiers as tough heroes, but even they have this posttraumatic stress disorder, and sometimes the effect on them is even much worse.  Veterans that are returning from their military service most often are having a hard time fine-tuning to their new lives outside of the military camp.

The US Department of Veterans Affairs disclosed that approximately 13.8% of veterans who came home from Iraq and Afghanistan suffered from PTSD.

Symptoms In Our Veterans

Signs may not be seen immediately and may occur after a month or a year, but you may notice them feeling a little uncanny, constantly restless or feeling on edge, emotionally numb, and disconnected.   They may quiver in fear resulting them to becoming over-vigilant and untrusting to some people.   Some may seem alarmed and panicky even with the slightest sensory trigger.  They often have nightmares, and would frequently demand to be left alone.

Anger is hard on you mentally and physically, and can lead to impulsive choices you regret, such as violence. If you find it hard to keep your rage in check, you need to reevaluate your methods for dealing with stress. — Samantha Rodman Ph.D.

PTSD To Committing Suicide

When suffering from PTSD, the person’s nervous system (body and mind) gets stuck in shock brought about by the war.

The nervous system has reflexive means of responding to stressful situations.

• Fight or flight. It is the automaticity to defend themselves to survive danger in a combat situation.  It’s when the heart beats faster, causing a rise in blood pressure, tightening of the muscles, and increased strength and reaction speed. Once the danger is over and the situation has calmed down, the body also cools down, lowering heart rate and blood pressure, drawing back down to its normal state.

• Immobilization/PTSD. It is when they find themselves stuck, unable to move on from experience, even after the danger has passed.  It is brought about by suffering too much stress.  They no longer have the ability to get their natural state of balance back.

Veterans suffering from PTSD have a high propensity to committing suicide due to the distressing thoughts and guilt associated with war.  Suicide is not always due to character defect, or they have become crazy, but because they have poor control of their impulses since they’ve become trapped in the memories of combat.

Treatments For PTSD

There is a variety of therapies for PTSD.

1. CBT – focusing on the memory of the traumatic event, learning skills and understanding of your thoughts and feelings.
2. Psychopharmaceuticals – use of medications called SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) and SNRIs (serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors), which are also antidepressants.
3. Mindfulness therapy – helps the person pay attention and be more aware of the present experiences.
4. EMDR therapy (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing) – focuses on sounds and hand movements as the person talks about the trauma.
5. Hypnotherapy – helps identify the trigger for the person to be more in control on how to react to the triggers.
6. Creative therapy – art therapies create a safe space as the person process his traumatic experience. It is his channel for words that are hard to verbalize.
7. Treatments using low doses of Ecstasy

Be patient and go with what works. — Jor-El Caraballo, LMHC

Studies have shown that patient’s high probability of improvement relies on when they are given the freedom to choose their mode of treatment.

New methods are being developed to treat PTSD, especially for our veterans to guard their well-being far better.

We often hear people say that instead of going to a therapist, they opt for other forms of therapy. They might say they are not comfortable or that they just don’t trust a stranger with their feelings. There are a lot of other reasons why people often think negatively about seeing a therapist, and we will be discussing them in this article.

Continue reading Top 10 Reasons Why People Prefer Not To See A Therapist

Although there had been an increase in campaigns and conversations on mental health, there are still a whole lot of misconceptions, myths, misunderstandings, and stereotypes in availing the services of a psychologist. These things are what hinders these individuals in seeking professional help. To fix these ongoing stigma, we have decided to determine and debunk these common misconceptions.

Psychologists Listen While You Sit On A Couch And Rant

In the past, most psychologists prefer to adopt a practice called psychoanalysis. It is the Freudian method of talking therapy, where the client tends to lay on the couch while recollecting their memories, and the therapist listens and takes note of the problems. From here, the experts base their interpretations on the unconscious processes of the mind.

Source: usar.army.mil

In the modern day, however, most psychologists opt to practice a more conversational approach wherein the session focuses on both the present problems and future outcomes instead of dwelling on the past. The therapist and client are equal in this strategy, which will require more active involvement from both sides.

Psychologists Do Not Have Mental Health Issues Or Life Problems

Although psychologists spend more or less six years in mastering the behavior of the human mind, it does not mean that they are already masters of life. In reality, they still consider themselves ordinary people who also face the typical challenges of life. They still experience some blind spots despite learning all of these evidence-based concepts and theories.

There are even times wherein they forget to take care of their mental health since they are busy trying to help others fix theirs. Believe it or not, they are also still a work-in-progress just like anybody else!

When most people hear the term psychologist, their immediate impression is that of a mental health professional who provides psychotherapy. Of course, this impression is not incorrect; rather, it is incomplete. — Dillon Browne Ph.D.

Psychologists Are Experts Who Can Solve Problems In One Session

It is not true! Psychologists only consider themselves as the main facilitators of the sessions. The outcome of these sessions depends on the effort of both the patient and the psychologist. In reality, psychologists only construct the road, but the clients are the ones in-charge to drive through this road and reach their destinations. In other words, they are just there to guide you to make the changes you opt to experience in your life.

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Some clients even treat their sessions, just like a grocery shopping time. They bring a long list of issues to address, and they are expecting to solve everything in only one seating. It should not be the case.

First, it is not scientifically possible to tackle multiple issues in a session. It takes time to process even just one problem. Second, psychologists are not wizards who can magically make your problems disappear. It will require trust development, rapport building, and extensive understanding from both sides to be able to comprehend the client’s issues fully.

Some cultural groups tend to express distress physically, such as in sleep problems. Then the psychologist focuses on physical problems before working on other issues, such as emotional problems. — Gordon C. Nagayama Hall, Ph.D.

Psychologists Can Always Provide A Clear Diagnosis To Their Patients

Although psychologists are trained to have a precise diagnosis of mental health issues, it does not mean that they should always provide one. Sometimes, it will take them a while to be able to figure out what’s wrong, so they opt to push back their diagnosis. At other times, some clients don’t even meet the criteria for a specific diagnosis, so psychologists do not proclaim anything.

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Yes, they may chat with you about their hunches and ideas, and they might even give you recommendations on how to move forward, but this does not mean that they are diagnosing you with something mental-health related.

Some people who work under the label of “psychologist” are primarily therapists. While others who work under this label are primarily behavioral scientists. — Glenn Geher Ph.D.

All Psychologists Can Help You

Remember, not all psychologists can help you. Be open to the possibility that sometimes psychologists and clients do not click. If you feel uncomfortable with your current psychologist, do not hesitate to open this up to them, and start looking for another one. It might be disappointing and frustrating for people who are expecting so much from their sessions, but this is the reality of it.

The best road to recovery is to find a psychologist you can gel with, whom you trust, and who you are comfortable with. It will ensure that you are maximizing your therapy experience by opening up quickly to your psychologist.

More misconceptions are lurking in the air, but these are five of the most common ones. We hope that this post helped debunk some of the myths that have been bothering your mind. So, if you need someone to help you address your problems and get your life back on track, take a brave step and set an appointment with a psychologist. Rest assured that it will be worth your time and effort.

All of us, even those not gifted with empathic qualities, are sure to melt when we see a child suffering from leukemia. We shed tears when talking to a mom whose daughter is debilitated with pain from chemotherapy. But a child suffering from the misfortunes of a psychiatric or behavioral health problem is vaguely seen on the outside. A lot of kids and teenagers who are emotionally hurt keep the pain to themselves. Others show their feelings in unpleasant or violent ways. And mostly because of stigma – shame, lack of knowledge, humiliation, and misconception about psychiatric problems – most of these children never get medical care.

Nearly one in five children is affected with an emotional or behavioral disorder. You may recognize that something is not right, but what it is or what to do remains a mystery.  — Susan Newman Ph.D.

People who are concerned about these problems (like you and me) need to discredit some myths about child behavioral health. This is crucial in getting help and understanding for more children because they deserve it.

The Myths

Myth #1. Bad parenting causes psychiatric disorders.

A child’s school and home atmosphere and his bond with his parents can aggravate a psychiatric disorder; these factors do not primarily result in the psychiatric disorder itself. Depression, anxiety, and autism are believed to have been caused by biological factors. And although parenting is not to blame, parents do play a vital role in supporting and caring for their children to hasten their recovery.

Myth #2. Children diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder are marred for life.

A child’s potential for a budding future and a fulfilled life can be at risk when he is diagnosed with a debilitating psychiatric disorder. However, if his pains and struggles are acknowledged and treated earlier, then he will have a better opportunity of managing the symptoms and growing up into a healthy and resilient adult.

Myth #3. Children develop psychiatric problems because they are weak and scared of many things.

It’s not easy to distinguish the symptoms of your child’s psychiatric problem – his offensive behavior, hyperactivity, or severe anxiety, for instance – from his character. But a psychiatric disorder is a disease, like diabetes or neutropenia, and not the child’s personality. Parents and other family members should not assume that children already have built-in tools to help them overcome the challenges in their lives. However, they can indeed recover better and faster with the guidance and support of parents and significant others.

It would be silly to tell someone to just “buckle down” and “get over” cancer. The same applies to mental illness. — David Susman, Ph.D.

Myth #4. Any form of therapy for kids is useless.

Today, psychiatric disorders in children are not treated with just conventional talk therapy. Current treatment programs that have been studied and proven to be effective utilize cognitive behavioral therapy, which is geared towards eliminating a child’s negative thoughts, emotions, and behaviors that have caused him severe disabilities and issues. Many studies have shown that interventions started earlier, specifically at the time when the first symptoms appear, are more successful.

Myth #5. Children can cope with their psychiatric disorder if they are strong-willed.

Psychiatric disorders are not merely anxieties or mood swings. The anxiety is so strong, and the stress is severe, and this may affect almost all, if not all, aspects of their life. Children do not have sufficient skills and enough experiences to manage an illness as serious as clinical depression or ADHD. His healthcare team must create a proper treatment plan, which typically includes some form of behavioral therapy and learning ways to achieve happiness.

Myth #6. Most children are given too many medications.

People who are obliged to speak in public have complained about using prescription medicines in treating their children, which is the reason why many think that psychiatrists give medications to all their patients suffering from a psychiatric disorder. However, efficient and compassionate psychiatrists decide wisely before they begin a child on a treatment program that would include medication usually in conjunction with cognitive therapies. Psychiatric disorders are serious illnesses that need serious consideration as well.

Myth #7. Children outgrow their behavioral health problems.

Children have a lesser likelihood of outgrowing their psychiatric problems. Rather, they are more likely to grow into or develop incapacitating symptoms. Most often, when a child’s behavioral problems are not treated during childhood, these problems become more complicated and hard to treat in adulthood. Screening young individuals for behavioral problems before they turn 14 is very important. At the same time, initial interventions can be introduced slowly while their brains are most responsive to modifications and treatment plans.

If you are still having problems managing your child’s behavior or your child has recently become more fearful, angry, or aggressive, meeting with a psychotherapist may be helpful in order to explore the underlying reasons for the behaviors and to get your child back on track. — Wendy Salazar, MFT

Losing a lot of weight is not as easy as getting online therapy to deal with anxiety or depression. There are endless reasons for a person to gain extra pounds, you see, but finding the drive to let go of them can be difficult. That is especially true if you have been overweight for most of your life, and the idea of cutting back your food intake seems scary.

All the same, there can’t be a task that’s too big for someone who feels determined to shed their pesky fats. The only question is, “Can you lose 60 pounds in three months whether you exercise or not?”

Method #1: With Exercise

Items You Should Have

Scale

The weighing scale gives you a full idea about your progress through numbers. This gage does not need to be as fancy as what you see in clinics or gyms. Even the bathroom scale that you can purchase off a hardware shop will do.

Timepiece

It’s advisable to invest in a smartwatch which can do you a lot of favors in your weight-loss journey. Aside from tracing the minutes you’ve spent for one exercise, it should also be able to monitor your heartbeat and pulse rate.

Planner

You may utilize an organizer to pen your daily or weekly goals. Its size does not necessarily matter, yet you have to place it somewhere you will often notice. In this manner, you cannot lose track of your agenda.

With few exceptions, most foods are good foods and can provide nutrition to our bodies. Rejecting diets allows the intuitive eater to place the focus back on their body—the vessel receiving this nutrition—and start to hone in on its cues. — Mandy Beth Rubin, LPC

What Should You Do?

Reducing body fats through exercising is a huge decision. For you to even consider it means that you are genuinely eager to lose weight. Check out the process below.

Step 1: Fix Your Objectives

Make good use of a planner and write not what you wish to achieve in the next 90 days but how you’re going to do it. Though you will never be criticized for dreaming big, it’s best to set smaller goals in the beginning.

Step 2: Talk About Your Plan With A Physician

Only a medical practitioner can guarantee that your system can handle physical training. Hence, bring this organizer to your doctor to find out if the program won’t be harmful to your health.

Step 3: Prepare Your Muscles By Stretching

Once you’ve gotten the green light from the physician, you need to include a warm-up routine to your exercise. The reason is that it will lessen your chances of pulling a muscle or enduring a cramp while performing different drills.

Step 4: Do Simple Exercises

Considering that your weight has increased tremendously due to lack of workout sessions, your body can cope better if you mostly do low-impact movements. Say, instead of running, walk or jog. Rather than lifting weights, try doing planks or squats.

Step 5: Check Your Pulse And Heart Rates In Between

Working out can’t be easy, especially when you have so many fats to get rid of. To be sure that you are not going overboard with the drills, take note of your heart and pulse rates throughout the routine. You can monitor these without effort in case you wear a smart timepiece.

Step 6: Stick To The Program

The sixth step serves as a reminder that you need to stay true to your goals no matter what. We have witnessed some cases in which the individual gets discouraged halfway when they don’t see a drastic change on the weighing scale. It’s not okay, however, since you can lose 60 pounds if you keep exercising religiously.

Step 7: Track Your Weight Changes

The last phase – which is more of a bonus tip – requires you to measure your weight once or twice a month. The numbers can motivate you to train harder each time to succeed in this journey.

Success at seeing oneself thinner, even if it is only by a couple of pounds, and gaining stamina and strength, could motivate and reinforce further weight loss and fitness efforts. — Judith J. Wurtman Ph.D.

Method #2: Without Exercise

Items You Should Have

Healthy Foods

The variety of meals that may help you reduce weight faster has to come from the vegetable, protein, and legume groups. These are the same foods that you want to eat alternately and without “white” carbohydrates, of course.

Red Wine (Optional)

A few studies have gathered that the resveratrol in red wine can assist in transforming the sleeping fats into sources of energy. But then again, you don’t need to add it in the fray in case you can’t drink alcohol for health reasons.

What Should You Do?

Yes, it is possible to lose 60 pounds in three months without exercising too. The deal is to consume healthy dishes four times a day. Understand how to do it through the following steps.

Step 1: Have Breakfast

A hearty meal in the morning can enable your digestive tract to function well. Your diet can progress nicely if you start the day with breakfast.

Step 2: Don’t Skip Lunch

Allow your guts to metabolize the food for at least three hours before eating lunch. You may prefer to prepare it at home to be sure that the meal only consists of items from the three groups.

Step 3: Have Another Lunch

Once several hours pass, indulge in another smaller lunch. See it as a later afternoon or evening snack if you will.

Step 4: Eat Your Dinner

The final meal of the day should never be forgotten. To feel full even without rice, always incorporate legumes (e.g., black beans and lentils) with your dish.

Step 5: Sip On A Glass Of Wine Before Sleeping

In case you can drink an alcoholic beverage, you may have a glass of red wine before dozing off. The antioxidants comprised in the drink may help your body use the fats efficiently.

When you start to feel deprived about restricting your food, work toward acceptance: If I want to lose weight, be healthier, I have to accept that by restricting my diet I can achieve my goal.   Say, ”Oh, well, I don’t like this, but I can accept it and move on”. — Marta Rocha, MHCI

Ready To Lose Weight?

Seeing that you’re free to lose weight with or without working out, how you will go forward after reading this article will entirely depend on your choice. You can stick to dieting, for instance, or keep on meeting a fitness coach. Nevertheless, it won’t hurt to find the balance between the two methods to increase your chances of reducing your weight.

Good luck!

Finding out that you have a severe mental health issue can pose several challenges in your life. First of all, there will be denial on your part because you will find it difficult to accept that you are going to deal with a mental illness. Second, you will start to think of the people surrounding you, especially your family. You may find it difficult to identify the proper courses of action in the fear that your way of thinking can fail you in any way. Third, it can also be a big issue if you do not have enough money to pay for the treatment.

Lucky for you, there are several methods on how you can handle the situation in a smart matter. Put in mind that there is nothing in this world that you can deal with properly. All that you must do is to believe in yourself that you are capable of making things happen. Learn the art of self-preservation at all times so that you will not make the situation worse. In this article, we are going to share a list of things that you can do once you discover that you have a mental health problem.

 

Talk To An Expert

The best thing that you need to do is to talk to a professional medical or mental health expert who can explain the diagnosis to you. As much as possible, avoid interpreting the results on your own as it can lead to some issues. At the same time, never ask for recommendations or comments from your friends about the diagnosis. Keep in mind that only experts are qualified to explain to you about your mental illness. Listen to them because they are the ones who are skilled in the health industry field.

 You must take care of yourself and stay strong for your child, and also know when to befriend others who have faced similar challenges so you don’t feel isolated and alone. — Susan Newman Ph.D.

Confide With Someone

Once you get the results confirming the presence of a mental health issue on your part, you automatically have two options to choose from. The first one is to keep it to yourself until you are ready to let someone know about your condition. The second one is to entertain the need to connect and talk to someone. Do not deny yourself the much-needed emotional support in this trying time in your life. Call a friend and confide to him about your problems. The mere act of talking about it can already relieve you from the pain.

Get Medication

Acceptance is something that you need to master immediately so that you will not get stuck at a certain level. Remember that advancements in the health industry have been helpful for patients like you. Nowadays, you can already avail of specific treatments and medications from trusted suppliers or companies. What you need to do is to spend on these items as it can improve your health in the long run. As already mentioned above, avoid seeking medication or treatment support from people who are not considered as experts in the field. Only buy the medicines or programs that have been proven to be effective in improving the healing process.

 

Keep Calm

 

It can be easy and convincing to start losing your mind the moment you realize that you are mentally ill. At times, you will use your condition as an excuse to panic and act negatively. These actions are unwarranted because they can only give rise to more pressing problems in the future. The ideal thing that you can do is to keep your calm to ensure that you can think clearly. Always put in mind that panicking will only lead you to nowhere. Be smart enough to remain calm at all times.

The recommended “dose” of exercise for the treatment of depression is 14 miles of walking per week. — SAUNDRA JAIN, MA, LPC, PSYD

Exercise Regularly

Make it a habit of engaging in physical activities that can help not only in improving your health but also in changing your mood into something better. You do not have to go to the gym daily to achieve your fitness goals. The best part of all is that you can try home exercises even at the comforts of your own room. Thirty minutes to one hour of exercise is already considered sufficient. Say goodbye to a sedentary life because you deserve good health.

Prioritize Self-Preservation  

Now that you have already found out about the mental illness, the right thing to do is to put yourself as a top priority at all times. Never do something that can potentially harm yourself of everyone around you. Be more careful or precautious when it comes to taking good care of your health and body. Otherwise, you may suffer from the consequences of your acts. Be sure to think twice before you do a particular act. Think of how it can affect you or the ones you love before you do it. Self-preservation is easy to achieve as long as you follow the tips mentioned above.

Yes, they may sometimes display unusual behaviors when their illness is more severe, but people with mental illness aren’t more likely to be violent than the general population. — David Susman, Ph.D.

Finding out about your mental illness shall never be treated as the end of the world for you. Instead, use it to inspire you to live a more meaningful life.

Mental health is an issue that most of us are hesitant to talk about. That’s because we somehow don’t want to be the center of attention. We often get ashamed of being in a situation where there’s a thought of experiencing it all alone. However, what we don’t understand is that mental illness requires awareness and treatment. Knowing the signs and symptoms help in breaking the stigma that surrounds mental health. So without further ado, here are the highlights of some of the behaviors associated with mental health problems.

It’s unrealistic to think that we don’t have anxieties and that we don’t need to defend against them. — Julian P Humphreys Ph.D., PCC

Anxiety

We all encounter varying levels of stress in our day to day lives. Some are due to work and school pressure while others are family or relationship-related matters. But for some people, the feeling of anxiety is extreme. It gets prolonged which makes it difficult for them to carry out a simple task. Sometimes, it even causes panic attacks as well.

In most cases, people with severe anxiety experience reduced concentration and memory loss. There’s also difficulty in making decisions. Sometimes, even a little problem becomes a big deal. It makes them feel irritable and angry.

Depression

Most of us experience a roller coaster struggle in our lives. But if the lower mood doesn’t seem to stop and can’t find a way to improve, it could be depression. When we suffer from this mental condition, there’s a tendency of having mixed emotions. These emotions include anxiousness, sadness, guilt, agitation, and hopelessness. Our self-confidence starts to fade, and we begin to think that other people’s negative description of us is correct. We tend to blame and criticize ourselves for being weak and vulnerable. We often neglect responsibilities because we lose interest in everything we do. From there, we allow isolation to take place.

Either due to traumatic experiences—including abuse or extreme neglect—or developmental anomalies, some kids have intense fight, flight, or freeze responses and little ability to self-soothe. —  Blake Griffin Edwards, MSMFT, LMFT

Mood Disorder

Mood disorder such as bipolar condition causes fluctuations in our overall needs. It is a condition where we start to lose the grip of maintaining jobs, school tasks, personal responsibilities, and relationships. In some instances, people often see it as the unwillingness to cooperate on what’s currently essential. It makes us always want to quit because we easily get distracted. Our moods shift from happiness to sadness in an instant. There’s also a tendency to feel pain but sometimes lets us have full energy at the same time.

Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a mental condition that is generally misunderstood by many. It is classified as the most feared mental health illness. That’s due to its adverse effect such as having a split personality where it moves a person away from reality. A person with this type of condition may have delusions about other people or themselves. The symptoms of this condition impact the ability to communicate with others, as well as the many other aspects of everyday lives. They are distracted by a thing that doesn’t mean anything to others. They may stop paying to attention in a conversation because they are thinking about something else.

The traditional view has been that schizophrenia occurs in approximately 1% of people. But it’s now clear that the sort of experiences captured under the label are common in the general population—frequently far less distressing and disruptive, for sure, but essentially the same thing.  — Daniel Freeman, Ph.D. and Jason Freeman

These mental conditions can leave unnoticeable signs. But if we pay enough attention to what’s in it, we’ll have the chance to understand it even better.

Mysticism of some sort is an enduring theme throughout history, a staple of most civilizations over thousands of years. — Lawrence R. Samuel Ph.D.

With the recent advancements in technology, it has become easier for a lot of people to disseminate information. The rise of social networking sites has contributed to the convenience of spreading news, findings, and other theories. Nowadays, people all over the world can share anything with one click of a button.

This can be dangerous since many individuals keep on sharing different information online without verifying whether these are true or fake. At the same time, there are also many persons who share what they believe in even if their belief is baseless. Most of the time, they end up convincing their friends in the online world. The most widespread conspiracy theories are linked to mental health.

In this article, our primary focus is to pinpoint the top reasons why people believe conspiracy theories on mental health.

1.Anxiety

A recent study reveals that there is actually a connection between anxiety and inclination to conspiracy theories. According to this research, people who are always anxious are more likely to believe in conspiracy theories. Anxious individuals often experience a loss of control or focus on a particular subject matter. This is the reason why they prefer to think baseless theories compared to those already clearly established.

 It is about engaging in a variety of activities that are understood as this-worldly, and to identify with, or be a member of, non-religious groupings or associations. — Phil Zuckerman Ph.D.

2. Suspicions

Having suspicions about a particular thing is actually necessary. It can protect an individual from coming across unreliable information or belief. However, being too suspicious can also be detrimental to the persons involved. For example, one may not easily believe in a published scientific finding because he is doubtful about it. In this case, there is no longer need to

3. Fear

People who promote conspiracy theories about mental health claim that following the theories would make people live longer and become healthier. Otherwise, those who do not accept the theories will end up suffering from medical problems. This is the main reason why a lot of people find it convenient to believe the theories easily.

They would just simply accept the conspiracy theories because of fear of harm or even death.

 

4. Paranoia

One of the common traits among conspiracy theorists is paranoia. They consider many threats to their existence, which is why they do not accept recent medical findings concerning mental health. They would rather believe something that they are comfortable with even if experts have already disproved the theories. For these
people, it is more important to consider what they feel than what is the truth.

Hindsight bias is the human tendency to believe that we knew something was going to happen, but only after hearing about the event’s occurrence.  Hindsight bias makes us think that we (or others) can actually tell the future. — Ronald E Riggio Ph.D.

5. Supremacy

A large number of conspiracy theorists have too much confidence in what they do or study. They do not accept the findings of other experts or professionals. They believe that it is impossible for other people to be more superior to them. These individuals also enjoy giving critics about medical findings all for the purpose of increasing their self-worth or superiority.

When it comes to the discipline of the mind, theories were formed left and right, influencing today’s psychological evaluations and applications.  Theories, by definition, are based on statements of possibilities for some natural occurrence and are usually supported by evidence. Theories relating to science are most likely based on a certain framework with multiple probabilities and explanations. When a theory is presented, it becomes a concept to be tested.

…just a bit of historical perspective reminds us of how far we have come and how important our increasingly person-centered values are and continue to be as we work together to shape the future of health care delivery for generations to come. — Blake Griffin Edwards LMFT

The theoretical foundation for psychological interpretations is currently used as standards for comprehending manifestations of human emotions, behaviors, and thoughts. Mental health theories usually have two basic components – the behavioral description and prognosis for subsequent actions.   Since the discovery of psychology, there have been several theories that were proposed in order to elaborate and surmise different facets of individual behavior. While other theories were dismissed due to its weak premise and presented evidence, some were able to pull through and are currently being used by medical practitioners, and some were reconditioned by researchers.

1. Grand mental health theories

There are six types of grand theories formulated by a few renowned, historic personalities like Erik Erikson, Jean Piaget, and Sigmund Freud.The development proposed by grand mental health theories often contain the learning, cognitive, and psychoanalytic theories that collectively explain the entirety of a human’s behavior towards oneself and the society. Currently, researchers and psychologists continually use these grand mental health theories to expand the basis of examination.

2. Developmental mental health theories

Considered as one of the more popular theories, the developmental mental health theories have is said to have a high influence on our present-day psychology. A lot of relevant psychological studies applied as of this date has derived much of their explorations through the concepts and principles devised by developmental mental health theories. This mostly describes human development in such a way that focuses on growth and formation throughout the years like in Erik Erikson’s case, the psychosocial development theory.

Since 1985, we have since learned that psychosocial skills and insider knowledge interact with ability to enhance the likelihood of progress to the next level of talent development, and we do have some ideas about which psychosocial skills matter broadly across domains. — Jonathan Wai Ph.D.

3. Behavioral mental health theories

Behaviorism, an approach that is aimed at understanding human and animal behavior through systematic mechanisms and experiments, theorizes that behaviors can be learned through the process of conditioning. Through people’s interaction with their environment, conditioning happens. Behaviorists somehow believed that people’s responses to any form of environmental stimulant trigger their actions.

4. Social mental health theories

This is mainly based on the interpretation, perception, and explanation of a person’s social behavior. These are paradigms created to broaden social phenomena encompassing certain ideas involving the changes in the society and the influence of ethnicity, love and relationships, gender, social structure and behavior, civilization, and modernization.

5. Humanistic mental health theories

Emerged in the 1950s, humanistic mental health theories are popularized by Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers as those theories emphasizing the fundamental morality of humans. Humanistic theorists believed that individuals are mainly defined by their perception of their surroundings and are motivated to become successful in gaining maximum potentials.

All moral disengagement techniques are tricks to get people to accept behaviors that they would otherwise immediately recognize as unethical and unfair. — Sherry Hamby Ph.D.

6. Cognitive mental health theories

Mainly centered on how human minds think, cognitive mental health theories is considered as one of the most modern theories being used by psychologists. While other theories consider other factors like chemical imbalances in the brain and genetics, the cognitive psychological theory assumes that humans behave accordingly on how they think and can also be explained by the stimuli responses.

7. Personality mental health theories

Governed by the idea that a person’s behavior, thoughts, and feelings, personality psychology is aimed at examining these patterns and correlating them to what makes an individual stand out. By highlighting the uniqueness of a person, theorists have devoted their time to study the traits and characteristics that others lack or do not possess. In a broader perspective, theories revolving with personality psychology tend to address a broader concern of how it is to be a real person.   Answers are built on theories   Having a deeper sense of understanding and differentiating one theory from another improves your general view of psychology. Theories may seem insignificant but one must take into consideration that, treatments and therapies revolving around mental health are derived from these theories; making them as solid foundations for the modern psychology.