There are different types of mental health conditions and ways that people can experience mental health issues. Personality disorders can be especially challenging. Unlike conditions such as anxiety and depression, those with personality disorders often do not know that they have these conditions, because it is a part of their “normal” – their reality. Often, as therapists, we use a person’s own insight into themselves to know more about them and help them get a…
read moreSo much of the discussion around mental health in veterans revolves around post-traumatic stress disorder. Those that serve can experience significant trauma, and that trauma does have the potential to cause issues like PTSD. But the military’s affect on a person’s mental health extends far beyond PTSD. There are so many issues that can arise because of a person’s time serving – and what happens after – that can lead to mental health issues unique…
read moreLong Island Counseling Services has expanded! We are thrilled to announce that we have opened up two new offices, to make it easier for those on Long Island to find a therapist near them. Only a few years ago we operated an office in Melville and an office in Bellmore, though we moved our Bellmore office to East Meadow. Now, we have offices in two new locations: Rockville Centre, NY Huntington, NY Some of our…
read moreAnger is, in many ways, one of the strangest emotions we have as human beings. It is a common one, yet also frequently unproductive. Happy makes you feel good. Sad helps release tension and emotions. Even emotions like anxiety can help drive you to change. But anger rarely has a positive benefit. Some people believe it might help motivate people to change. Others feel like it offers some form of protection. But anger, especially sudden…
read moreAnxiety is a mental health condition. One of the symptoms of anxiety for many people, however, is fear over the person’s health. Anxiety causes such a wide variety of physical symptoms related to the heart – such as a rapid heartrate, trouble breathing, and lightheadedness – that it’s easy to understand why so many people have heart-related anxieties develop. Rest assured, your heart is designed to handle this. While everyone’s individual heart health may vary,…
read moreWithin our brain are chemicals, called neurotransmitters, that affect mood and mental health. When they’re functioning properly, we typically feel decent, we can cope with stress, and we respond properly to different emotional experiences. But many of us have neurotransmitters – especially serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine – that are not balanced properly. You may have too many of one, you may have not enough of another, but they are out of balance to what your…
read moreThe last post we made spoke about how and why addressing our phobias is important, even if it’s a phobia of something we do not often encounter. Today, let’s expand on the ways that phobias can affect our long and short term mental health. Let’s talk for a moment about social anxiety. Social anxiety is, itself, often considered a phobia. It is often referred to as “social phobia,” though it is sometimes treated differently than…
read morePhobias are a form of anxiety where a specific “thing,” called a stimuli, results in significant and extreme anxiety. For example, a person could have “Acrophobia,” which is a fear of heights. Or they could have “arachnophobia,” which is a fear of spiders. A person experiences a phobia when there is a specific living thing, item, event, or situation that causes them this fear. These anxiety responses can be intense – so much so that…
read moreWe live, in many ways, in a society built around being neurotypical – being a person whose brain develops and functions in a way that we expect them to function on average. Not only are there very few resources and support systems for someone that doesn’t fit the mold of what an individual should be, but the way that we’re taught to do teach, train, parent, and more are all designed around neurotypical individuals. If…
read moreFor many of us, December is the peak of seasonal affective disorder (SAD), more commonly known as “seasonal depression.” Seasonal depression is a condition where a lack of natural sunlight, holiday stress, trauma, isolation, and other mental health issues cause depression that tends to get worse in late fall, and continue until the weather gets warmer. For those with untreated seasonal depression, the development of symptoms is as reliable as… well… the seasons. It is…
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