Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

The diagnosis of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, has changed over the years as we learn more about how individuals respond to traumatic events. Prior to our current diagnostic system, the disorder was referred to by various names including Shell Shock in the early 1900s and through WWI and Battle Fatigue after WWII, according to…

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Stoic Philosophers – The First Cognitive Behavioral Therapists

When we think of philosophers, names like Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle often come to mind. For psychology, this makes a lot of sense since we use Socratic Questioning, documented by Plato, as an important component of Cognitive-Behavior Therapy (CBT). Aristotle was the first to write about the mind-body connection. But the first approach to self-help…

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Spotlight on Self-Care

Self-care is the process of reducing stress and ill-being and improving health and well-being. It is about countering the forces that deplete us and building the forces that nourish or strengthen us. Self-care is important to healthy psychological functioning and has become especially vital in the age of COVID-19. Like all animals, human beings are preprogrammed…

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When Therapy Helps With Social Anxiety

A type of therapy that is often recommended for social anxiety disorder is cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT. In this type of therapy, people learn to challenge unhelpful thought patterns, create new behaviors, and respond to their emotions in more productive ways. As with any treatment, there is a range in how much CBT improves…

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Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Anxiety: It Works for Both Teens and Adults, but Not Necessarily in the Same Way

A common treatment for anxiety disorders is cognitive-behavioral therapy, or CBT for short. CBT aims to help people develop effective coping strategies for addressing stressful situations and managing their emotions. It provides a set of techniques that people can use to confront negative thoughts and negative behaviors, hence the name. Because CBT involves engaging with…

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Going Shopping or Going Into Nature: Which Is Better for Your Mental Health?

What should you do this weekend – go blow some hard-earned money, or go walk around by some trees? One is certainly cheaper than the other. A recent study titled Shopping Versus Nature: An Exploratory Study of Everyday Experiences, published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology, investigated, well, pretty much what the title suggests. Specifically,…

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ADHD Treatment

ADHD is a neurodevelopmental type of psychiatric disorder. Because the brain, including areas of the brain that have been indicated as significant in ADHD, stops developing by the end of the third decade of life, ADHD in adults is a permanent disorder. Many children diagnosed with ADHD will grow into adults with ADHD. Treatment for…

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History of Psychology (387 BC to Present)

Timeline of Psychology 387BC: Plato suggested that the brain is the mechanism of mental processes. 335BC: Aristotle suggested that the heart is the mechanism of mental processes. 1774AD: Franz Mesmer detailed his cure for some mental illness, originally called mesmerism and now known as hypnosis. 1793: Philippe Pinel released the first mental patients from confinement…

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