Psychlinks Psychology Self-Help & Mental Health Support Forum

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General discussions about psychology, psychiatry, mental illness, and mental health issues.

Members requesting general advice or support and topics that don't fit anywhere else

Discussions about therapists, theorists, and types of therapy or approaches to therapy, and mandated or court-ordered preventative treatment.

Medical conditions and health issues with implications for mental health and well-being.

Access to medical and mental health care. Applying for or appealing government or private insurance disability plans: What you need, how long it will take, what you should and should not do.

Coping with workplace stress, depression, or harassment. Stress and depression in students: coping with school and campus life. Burnout and stress leave. Short-term sick leave or long-term disability, and returning to work after being on leave.

Public attitudes toward mental illness. Myths about mental illness. The problem of stigma and the stigmatization of mental illness sufferers.

Stories of people who have struggled with and overcome adversity, including mental illness or mental health issues - extraordinary acts or accomplishments of ordinary people. Has someone - a public figure or someone you know personally - inspired you in triumphing over the challenges of life?

Recommended books, articles, exercises, and other resources to help you explore feelings, thoughts, relationships, and self-concept.

Announcements about research projects that may be of interest to PsychLinks Forum members. Note: All posts here are reviewed and moderated by Psychlinks staff. Thus, new posts are not visible until after they have been approved. Do not resubmit your post. Notices about research projects submitted anywhere else but here will be deleted.

Recommended internet sources. How to evaluate health and mental health sites on the internet and in the media. Accreditation of health sites on the internet.

Computers; computer security, software, and hardware; technology, the internet, and search engines.

Online counselling and psychotherapy: Advantages, disadvantages, and effectiveness. Telephone counselling.

Benefits of and reviews of health and mental health forums. Setting up, optimizing, promoting, and funding a health or mental health forum.

Blogs, bloggers, and how they contribute to health information on the internet.

Ethical and legal issues related to health information on the net, in the media, and in internet behavior. The balance between freedom of speech and protecting vulnerable individuals.

The psychology of the internet, people on the internet, internet behavior, and internet "addictions".

Anxiety disorders and stress management.

Panic attacks, with and without agoraphobia

OCD - what it is and how to cope.

PTSD may result from a single traumatic experience or a series of incidents, including natural disasters, acts of violence, and childhood or adult abuse.

Phobias are intense irrational fears of objects, events, or situations. How are they different from normal fears and what can be done about them?

Coping with social situations including shyness, self-consciousness, and anxiety.

Depression, dysthymia, and seasonal affective disorder - causes, symptoms, and treatment.

Bipolar Disorder or Manic-Depression - causes, symptoms, and treatment. Bipolar I and Bipolar II Disorders. Cyclothymia.

Questions about suicide, suicidal thinking, and suicide prevention.

How to cope, what to expect, finding support when you want it, finding help when you need it.

General discussions about eating disorders, eating for comfort, eating as a coping mechanism, binge eating, compulsive eating, compulsive exercising, etc.

The social and psychological origins, risks and dangers, and treatment of eating disorders.

Binge eating, compulsive eating, and emotional eating: Causes, Treatment, and Management

Body image issues and how they contribute to eating disorders, low self-esteem, and depression.

Healthy and unhealthy weight management. Nutrition: What's good for you and what isn't? Popular diets - how good are they? Are they safe? Do they work? What works and doesn't work for you?

From explosive rage including road rage to bottled up anger - finding appropriate and effective ways to express and disperse anger.

Bullies and their victims, fighting, aggressive behavior, harassment, and interpersonal violence.

Domestic violence, spousal abuse, child abuse - physical, sexual or emotional-psychological - it's all abuse and it's all destructive. See also Adult Survivors and Victims of Crime.

Survivors of childhood abuse, adult abuse, Adult Children of Alcoholics, and Dysfunctional Families. See also Victims of Crime.

Dating, living together, marriage - helping relationships to grow and staying connected.

Coping with the process of the end of a relationship. Life after separation. Blended families. Step-parenting. Co-parenting.

Issues and discussions about sex differences, sex roles and stereotypes, and our attempts to understand the opposite sex.

Issues for teens and young adults: coping with parents, coping with peers, coping with life, coping with yourself...

Questions about coping with or helping friends or family members.

Pets as family, friends, support, and therapy, including Psychiatric Service Dogs.

Origins and characteristics of Secure attachment v. Insecure Attachment Disorder, Avoidant Attachment Disorder, Anxious-Ambivalent Attachment Disorder, Resistant Attachment Disorder, Disorganized Attachment Disorder, and abandonment issues.

What is self-esteem? What is identity? What is self-concept? Problems with low self-esteem or negative self-concept.

Questions and discussions about sex, sexuality, sexual orientation, etc. Please remember to be careful about potential triggers for other members!

Finding solutions to the challenges and worries of parenting and finding a balance between being a parent and just being YOU.

Planning pregnancy. Infertility. Miscarriage. Managing healthy pregnancies and very young infants and toddlers - for mom, dad, and the rest of the family. Managing depression, anxiety, and other disorders during pregnancy. Postpartum depression.

Parenting young children, kindergarten to pre-teens.

Transitioning to adolescence means big changes for teenagers - it also requires an evolution in your approach to parenting - how to adapt to the teenage years and into the 20s.

Adjustment reactions, conduct disorders, aggressive behavior, and normal childhood behavior problems.

Schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and related syndromes.

Autism, Asperger Syndrome, etc.

Avoidant Personality Disorder, Dependent Personality Disorder, Histrionic Personality Disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder, etc.

Also known as APD - Includes discussions of Conduct Disorder and Psychopathy.

Diagnosis and Treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). Friends, partners, and family members of individuals with BPD.

Narcissism and Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD). Partners and friends of Narcissists. Children of Narcissistic Parents.

Alcohol and drug use or abuse, nicotine, caffeine, and other addictions.

Compulsive gambling, compulsive internet behaviors, compulsive shopping, etc.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Attention problems, impulsivity, hyperactivity: is it ADHD, or something else? Strategies for managing ADHD and learning disabilities.

Dissociative Identity Disorder (formerly Multiple Personality) and other dissociative states or disorders

Memory, amnesia, repressed memory, recovered memories, and false memory syndrome.

Self-injury, self-mutilation, cutting, etc.

Sleep, dreaming, insomnia, hypersomnia, sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome, narcolepsy, and other sleep disorders.

AKA Tourette's Syndrome or Tourettes Syndrome and related tic disorders.

Disorders not included in other categories.

Prescription drugs and over-the-counter (OTC) drugs: How do they work? How long do you need to take them? What are common side effects and drug interactions?

The pros and cons of herbal remedies, "natural" remedies, naturopathy, homeopathy, and other alternative approaches

Interactions among prescription medications, alternative remedies, over the counter drugs, foods, alcohol, etc.

Delinquency and criminal behavior - developmental factors, social factors, personality factors, psychopathy, etc.

The criminal justice system and the courts, risk prediction, rehabilitation and correctional treatment, and forensic psychology.

Immediate and longer term reactions to victimization, resources for victims, etc. (See also Abuse, Domestic Violence, Child Abuse and Adult Survivors).

Featured articles on mental health, psychology, psychotherapy, parenting, relationships, computers, the internet, etc.

Reviews of web sites, forums, blogs, and books related to psychology, psychiatry, psychotherapy, health, and mental health.

Humor, fun quizzes, quirks and quarks - fun stuff.

This is for... uhh... just chatting.

This forum is for original poetry by Psychlinks Forum members. Favorite poems by other authors are acceptable provided that the poem is fully credited to the author, with links to the published versions (internet sites or booksellers such as Amazon).