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     Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRI’s) are the most commonly prescribed antidepressants. Serotonin is the primary chemical messenger, or neurotransmitter, which has been linked with depression and which has been found as deficient in the pleasure and reward pathways of the depressed brain.   These types of medications block the receptor sites of certain neurons from […]

To sum up how ADHD medications work, they serve as “jump starters” for the naturally occurring neurotransmitter, dopamine, which is the main brain chemical responsible for experiencing pleasure, feeling motivated, being able to focus, and organizing one’s thoughts into purposeful actions.  These medications also increase another important neurotransmitter, norepinephrine, which is responsible for energy, alertness,

Imposter Syndrome occurs when a successful and hard-working person experiences a pattern of self-doubt and a persistent fear of being “found out” regarding one’s inadequacies and flaws. This person can never have enough achievements to fully perceive oneself as worthy of being proud, because the fear of impending failure or embarrassment is always present in

Human beings are instinctually programmed to seek safety, stability, and connections with others. When these needs are not met, it is natural to want to make sense of the problems, disappointments, and traumas which destroyed these needs.  It can be very difficult to just abandon the traumatic parts of one’s history.  Narrative Therapy techniques can

Generational trauma occurs when the effects of a parent’s or a grandparent’s trauma are passed down to younger generations. This can occur if a parent experienced physical, emotional, and/or mental abuse as a child, and the cycle of trauma and abuse impacts one’s parenting behaviors.  Generational trauma is typically passed from parent to child via the

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy combines behavioral therapeutic techniques with mindfulness training techniques aimed at helping an individual to live consciously in the present and to remain focused on one’s core values and goals, rather than focusing on past events which are out of one’s control.  The ACT approach encourages the depressed client to accept unpleasant experiences, as

Trauma refers to events which are emotionally painful and which remain in an individual’s subconscious throughout one’s life.  Trauma can occur in many different forms: (1) directly experiencing a violent event or mistreatment from peers or family members, (2) witnessing a violent event or death which happens to someone else, (3) dealing with a traumatic

If you are an adult with an insecure attachment style, you may have been raised in a chaotic or violent family environment or may have endured years of emotional, physical, sexual, and/or verbal abuse.  An insecure attachment style is mainly characterized by an inability to trust others and often includes self-sabotaging behaviors and a chronic

Distress Tolerance is a module in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and these mindfulness-based skills are often called “crisis survival skills” because they help a person to navigate a perceived or actual crisis.  The Dialectical Behavior Therapy approach focuses on synthesizing your emotional brain and your reasonable brain, with the primary goal of learning how to tap

In his book, The Power of Unwavering Focus, Dandapani, a Hindu monk and philosopher, proposes that distraction, anxiety, stress, worry, and fear are the most severe mental ailments which plague modern society.  If you have Adult Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), you understand all too well how all of these mental states are created by