According to a study covered in this article from Medical News Today, a group of 161 high school students in Israel – 124 girls and 37 boys, with an average age of 15 – were selected for their level of social anxiety and difficulty relating to friends. During a 10-week span, four groups were assigned to blog and two control groups were assigned to write a private diary or do nothing. During this time, self-esteem, social anxiety, emotional distress and the number of positive behaviors improved significantly for bloggers when compared to teens that did nothing and those who wrote private diaries.

According to study’s lead author, Meyran Boniel-Nissim, PhD, of the University of Haifa, Israel, “Blogging enables free expression and easy communication with others.”

During the study, many students opened their blogs up to comments from the online community. Students sharing their difficulties with the public improved their self-esteem, anxiety, emotional distress, and positive social behaviors the most.

If you know someone who is dealing with social distress, anxiety, or another mental illness, Pasadena Villa can help. We provide full medical treatment, psychiatric therapy, medication management, life skills training, and aftercare via our safe, friendly locations in Orlando, Florida and the Tennessee Smoky Mountains. Call 877-845-5235 or contact us online for more information about our residential mental health programs.

The new study followed 438 Australian mothers and their children from infancy until the kids were 5 years old. As little as half a day of childcare a week appears to significantly reduce the risk of toddlers exhibiting behavioral problems at age 5. When mothers had reoccurring symptoms of depression, their toddlers were twice as likely to act out and four times as likely to be sad or depressed themselves.

According to a study covered in this article from Today Parenting, author Lynne Giles, Ph.D. at the School of Population Health and Clinical Practice at the University of Adelaide in South Australia, there are several ways in which childcare may buffer some of the effects of maternal depression on child behavior.

“First, some respite from the maternal role for mothers with depression may help the mothers fulfill their parenting role when they are with their toddler,” said Giles. “Second, toddlerhood is a time when social interactions are very important developmentally. So day care may also help to fill a socialization role of depressed mothers.”

Other psychiatry experts say this premise makes sense.

“A mom needs a break- it’s good for everyone’s health,” said Dr. C Neill Epperson, professor and vice chair of Department of Psychiatry at Emory University.

Dr. Margaret Stuber, professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles believes depression can hobble a mom’s ability to give a toddler what she needs to develop into a healthy preschooler.

“Toddlers need someone who is able to respond to their emotional outbursts,” said Stuber. “Someone who can help them understand their feelings and how to regulate them.”

If you know someone who is dealing with clinical depression, anxiety or another mental illness, Pasadena Villas can help. We provide full medical treatment, psychiatric therapy, medication management, life skills training, and aftercare in via our safe, friendly locations in Orlando, Florida and the Tennessee Smoky Mountains. Call 877-845-5235 or contact us online for more information about our residential mental health programs.

HR Daily Advisor offers some insights into how to approach employees suffering from a mental illness or other disability. Above all, they stress to managers not to call anyone “crazy,” but to rather, work through the problem and look for ways to assist employees who need help.

Experts increasingly acknowledge that work is a key factor in supporting mental wellness. So, for those who have suffered from mental illness, meaningful employment is an essential part of the recovery process. Remember that, while employers have the right to a productive employee, employees have the the right to work in a safe environment, free from discrimination and harassment.

If you or someone you care for suffers from clinical depression, anxiety, or another mental illness, please call us at 877-845-5235 or contact us online. We provide full medical treatment, psychiatric therapy, medication management, life skills training, and aftercare via our safe, friendly locations in Orlando, Florida and the Tennessee Smoky Mountains. We believe every person can live a happy, productive and healthy life; every client has the ability to learn, grow and recover.

Many mental health therapists believe  symptoms of anxiety and depression worsen this time of year because people are unable to say “no” to all of the extra demands on their time, finances, and energy. The Mayo Clinic can help you take control of the holidays with this set of tips to prevent holiday stress and depression.

If you or a loved one is dealing with extreme anxiety and depression or another mental illness, Pasadena Villa can provide the healing environment and tools to help. We also offer medication management and a variety of therapy programs all designed to promote social integration. Pasadena Villa’s mental health facilities include adult residential treatment centers in Orlando and Tennessee, as well as transitional living. Please call 877.845.5235 or contact us online to speak to someone today.

From counteracting the depressive effects of Seasonal Affective Disorder to devising mental challenges that boost the mood, Psych Central offers 12 Winter Depression Busters for good mental health this holiday season.

The holidays are no reason to avoid the challenges of mental illness. If you are the caretaker or family member of an adult or young person with clinical depression, anxiety, or another mental illness, please call us at 877-845-5235 or contact us online. We provide full medical treatment, psychiatric therapy, medication management, life skills training, and aftercare via our safe, friendly locations in Orlando, Florida and the Tennessee Smoky Mountains.

“I feel my brain is damaged; I don’t know any other way to say it,” Ms. Myrick says. “I don’t know if it’s from the illness, the medications, all those side effects or what. I only know that I do need certain things in my life, and for a long time — well, I had to get to know myself first.”

Ms. Myrick is among a group of 20 people diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, among them two doctors and a lawyer, who have been demonstrating to researchers how the disorder can be managed, allowing its sufferers to build full, successful lives.

Living with schizophrenia is no easy matter, even for the most determined. Ms. Myrick uses her high-profile job as a way to battle her bouts of paranoia and depression. But she also relies heavily on a combination of medication, occasional weekend stays at a hotel, and personal support net, including family, an intuitive pet dog and a local psychiatrist.

Ms. Myrick also makes it a point to constantly monitor her mood: “When I’m well,” she said, “I have to continually ask, ‘What does it take to be well?’ I need some very specific things around me. And if get spinny — that’s what I call it when my brain moves too fast — well, I need to have a plan.”

Read more about Ms. Myrick’s inspiring story, including her harrowing past stays in mental hospitals, at the New York Times.

If you or a loved one are dealing with a diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder, Pasadena Villa can provide the healing environment and tools to help. Our mental health programs strongly feature the Social Integration Model, which immerses clients into real life activities within the community. We also offer medication management and traditional and group therapies. Pasadena Villa ‘s mental health facilities include adult residential treatment centers in Orlando and Tennessee, as well as transitional living. Please call 877.845.5235 or contact us online to speak to someone today.

• Nearly 15 percent of high school students have seriously contemplated suicide in the past year
• 4,400 adolescents and young adults (ages 10-24) commit suicide each year
• 9 in 10 of these suicides suffered from treatable mental illness
• 63 percent of these showed clear signs of mental illness in the year before their death
• 149,000 seek emergency care for self-inflicted injuries

Parents and teachers who suspect a young person may be depressed or exhibiting other mental health issues should trust their instincts and seek help or provide referrals. Teens and young adults, who smoke and/or abuse alcohol and illegal or prescription drugs, may be likely candidates as sometimes these behaviors are an indicator of deeper problems. Identifying and treating mental health problems in early life may change the course of a young person’s life.

If you are the caretaker or family member of an adult or young person with a mental illness, Pasadena Villa can help. We offer a full spectrum of residential housing, medication, therapy, life skills training, and other mental health services. Please call us at 877-845-5235 or contact us online.

The most important thing for the bipolar patient and his or her family to understand is that it is possible to do all of the right things (medication, therapy, diet, exercise, sleep, etc.) and still relapse. There is no clear understanding of why this happens. Sometimes stressors and difficult life events may lead to a relapse.

“There may be changes in the cellular level that cause cycling but their cause is unknown,” says Joseph R. Calabrese, MD, director of the Mood Disorders Program at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio.

If bipolar symptoms worsen or return, the situation should be addressed quickly by the patient and his or her family. Many families develop a “relapse plan” in which there is a list of actions and agreements between the patient and another party about what will happen as a relapse reveals itself and progresses. Effective treatment at an early stage of an episode may help shorten and/or lessen the severity of an episode.

Patients who believe they are relapsing should contact their psychiatrist, therapist, family practice doctor, a trusted family member or friend, or even visit an ER for help as soon as possible.

If you are the caretaker or family member of an adult or young person with bipolar syndrome or another mental illness, please call us at 877-845-5235 or contact us online. We provide full medical treatment, psychiatric therapy, medication management, life skills training, and aftercare via our safe, friendly locations in Orlando, Florida and the Tennessee Smoky Mountains. We believe every person can live a happy, productive and healthy life; every client has the ability to learn, grow and recover.

A word of caution, if your loved one is actively threatening suicide, don’t try to handle the situation on your own. Call 911, take your loved one to the emergency room, or contact his/her mental health professional.

Pasadena Villa^® provides mental health residential and transitional services for adults with cognitive, emotional, and social disorders. If your loved one has a mental illness, Pasadena Villa can help. Our social integration model enables young adults with mental health disorders to live with a greater sense of independence, become socially responsible citizens, and rebuild relationships with family and friends. Please call us at 877-845-5235 or contact us online.

When one’s life is consumed by procuring and enjoying the source of addiction, during recovery the question of what to do with all of that “extra” time, which used to be devoted to feeding the addiction, becomes important. This extra or empty time can be disconcerting and may actually become a trigger for relapse if not managed carefully. Since Pasadena Villa’s programs are structured and supervised, keeping residents busy and occupied from the moment they awaken until they go to bed, residents have significant help and support in learning to fill their “extra” time with healthy, productive activity. Residents also have access to weekly AA meetings for additional support.

For those not struggling with addiction, this may seem an odd problem. However, for those who have paced around their house seeking any distraction to divert their mind from what it wants, there is understanding. The structure provided by Pasadena Villa is vital to the recovery of your dual diagnosis young adult.

If you are the caretaker or family member of an adult or young person with a mental illness, please call us at 877-845-5235 or contact us online. Our Social Integration Model helps individuals with a dual diagnosis by providing an integrated, comprehensive approach to both the emotional disorders and the substance abuse.