Whether it’s compulsively checking your email or eating one more cookie than you should, we all have bad habits.
But even if you know it’s bad and you berate yourself for doing it, why is it so difficult to stop?
Dopamine. That wonderful chemical, affecting motivation and reward, can actually deter you from focusing on what is important.
Take for example when you have a piece of chocolate. The delicious experience releases a surge of dopamine and creates a memory in your brain. So the next time you see chocolate, your brain releases more dopamine, which drives you to want the chocolate and perpetuates the habitual cycle.
How can we break the cycle? How can we stop a bad habit we’ve continued for years? (more…)
With end-of-the-year work deadlines, holiday shopping, family get-togethers and other celebrations, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. So here are some tips on how to handle holiday stress:
- Don’t expect too much. Treat this time of year, like you would any other time of year.
- Make time for family, friends, holiday shopping, running errands and parties, but don’t take on more than you can handle.
- Let others plan the festivities for a change, or at least let them help. (more…)
Some people may be skeptical of pure altruism, but many psychologists believe we were born with the urge to help.
Developmental psychologist and author of the book “Why We Cooperate,” Michael Tomasello said infants have an innate tendency to want to help other people and this helping behavior is not necessarily encouraged by rewards or positive conditioning from their parents.
At 18 months, infants will immediately help an adult who dropped something. Even as early as 12 months, infants will point to an object an adult pretended to lose and try to help them find it.
Around age 3 children become more selective in their helping behavior. They are more concerned about social norms and choose their actions with the purpose of wanting to fit in, Tomasello said. (more…)
During periods of hardship and uncertainty, ACT for Mental Health continues to provide low-cost therapy sessions to people in need. But in order to keep our fees low and provide effective therapy, we depend on the generosity of our supporters.
We understand times are tough, so we appreciate any donation, even just $5 or $10. By contributing to our campaign, you become part of the safety net that keeps people in our community from falling down.
Please go to our website at www.actmentalhealth.org and click on the “Donate” button, to make a secure donation using PayPal.
During an economic crisis, adolescents often become the unintended victims of despair. Whether their parents are working long hours or struggling to find work after layoffs, teenagers often feel the weight of their parents’ stress.
In the South Bay more teenagers have been diagnosed with depression than in previous years, according to a Mercury News report .
To combat adolescent depression, it’s important to know what sort of therapy works for teenagers. A new study shows more adolescents recover from depression after long-term therapy treatment than short-term treatment. (more…)
After two Gunn High School students committed suicide in May 2009, the school administration sent out emails to the community creating awareness for adolescent mental health.
Understanding students are under a lot of pressure to do well in school especially around final exam time, Principal Noreen Likins said to parents, “Please reassure your student that their health and welfare is much more important than anything else right now. We stand ready to help and support you in any way we can in the difficult task of helping students navigate these teen years.”
It’s hard to know why these students ended their lives. However, there are significant signs of depression to be wary of, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. (more…)
What could be worse than feeling anxious? Perhaps feeling anxious about feeling anxious.
This type of anxiety is linked to depression, according to research published in the December issue of the Journal of Anxiety Disorders.
Scientists tested anxiety levels of 94 above-average worriers and discovered two types of anxiety most often related to depression are fear of losing thought process control and fear of revealing anxiety in public. (more…)
Finding a diagnosis for bulimia is not easy, especially since many people who suffer from bulimia are ashamed of their illness and deal with it in private.
But after one-quarter century of research, findings show: 45 percent of bulimic patients fully recovered, 27 percent improved considerably, while 23 percent deal with bulimia for most of their lives. These findings were based on nearly 80 studies of thousands of patients.
People with bulimia try to avoid weight gain through various methods including self-induced vomiting, excessive exercise or not eating for a day or more. (more…)