Dialectical Behavior Therapy: Therapeutic Solution

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a mental health condition that causes people to have difficulty maintaining stable relationships, lack self-control, and feel paranoia.

Initially developed as a treatment mechanism for borderline personality disorder, dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) now expands its reach far beyond that scope. Similar to cognitive behavioral therapy, DBT is increasingly considered effective in managing varied forms of psychological stress associated with problematic personal relationships.

Dialectical behavioral therapy trains individuals to discern an optimum balance between acceptance and change – two vital dynamics commonly and personally at play in human interactions. What immediately sets DBT apart is how it holistically tackles the issue at hand – by developing different skill sets related to mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotional regulation, and lastly – most relevant in the context of relationship problems – interpersonal effectiveness.

Thus, people learn methods to handle their emotions better and react more positively during instances of conflict or disagreement. They build strategies that help them navigate through differences more successfully; such improvements eventually lead them toward healthier communication patterns altogether.

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) causes people to have difficulty in maintaining stable relationships, lack self-control, and feel paranoia. No one knows the cause, but it is rooted in genetic, biological, environmental, and social factors. Here's how Dialectical Behavior Therapy can help. A therapy that is given to those who have the borderline personality disorder.
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A Comprehensive Diet Plan For Children With ADHD Amid COVID-19

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With the implementation of the lockdown left and right due to COVID-19, it’s pretty hard to stick with your usual diet. It might be because some shops are closed, stocks in the groceries are limited, or you don’t have the means to buy the ingredients due to unemployment.

However, it might be more challenging for you if you live with a family member with ADHD. These people need to come up with a healthy diet for them to be able to control the symptoms brought about by this disorder.

With this in mind, here is a comprehensive diet plan that you can integrate with your child’s meal. Keep in mind that we made sure to present a diet plan that will be easy to comply with while we’re still in the middle of this global pandemic.

Maintain Iron Levels

Believe it or not, the majority of parents and a couple of professionals are unaware of how vital iron is when it comes to controlling ADHD symptoms. A research in 2004 showed that the average iron level of individuals with ADHD was 22 as compared to the 44 of those who did not have the disorder.

To be able to increase the ferritin level, you can start preparing iron-rich food. It includes beans, chicken, and lean red meat.

Drink Fruit Smoothies

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Vitamins, minerals, and fiber from fruits offer a big help to those children with ADHD. The amount of folate and Vitamin C that they get from these juicy foods plays a direct role in terms of enhancing brain function. They aid and guide the neurotransmitter’s formations, and this then results in positive behavior.

For this option, you can try making a fruit smoothie through the combination of fresh fruit and yogurt. You blend strawberries, bananas, orange juice, and ice in a blender. Then, add a scoop of yogurt, which is optional to add to the drink’s thickness. Blend it again for a couple of seconds, and it’s ready!

Take note that you’re not limited to the fruits mentioned above. You may create your combination depending on the fruits and vegetables present in your kitchen.

Add Multivitamins

Your child is probably not receiving the daily recommended value of both vitamins and minerals if he loves eating junk food and soda or if he is a picky eater. To remedy this, instruct him to drink multivitamins or multimineral every morning. Vitamins will help him reach his daily recommended amount.

It might be too difficult for you to accomplish this strategy if he is finicky. What you can do is to trick him into drinking one through the use of Yummi Bears multivitamins + minerals. These are supplements that take the shape of gummy bears – perfect to attract the attention of your child!

Prepare Whole-Wheat Bread With Peanut Butter

Kids with ADHD, or even those without this disorder, love snacks! Therefore, you should maximize this opportunity by providing the best diet for your child during snack time. What you can do is to prepare something that contains protein as this helps with both learning and memory.

One excellent idea you can venture to is by making whole-wheat bread with peanut butter. Peanut butter is a rich source of protein, whole wheat bread aims to add some fiber to the diet.

Incorporate Omega-3 Fatty Acids

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Omega-3s are vital to the nerve and brain cell function.

A study by Goteborg University in Sweden concluded that daily doses of omega-3s reduce ADHD symptoms by almost half. This result came from the experiment, where he focused on a group of kids with ADHD and instructed them to take fish oil daily. There was a significant decrease in ADHD symptoms in more than a third of the children within six months.

If you want to incorporate this into your child’s diet, you may find this acid in foods like sardines, salmon, and tuna. Good thing these cold-water fatty fishes are not that hard to find!

Balanced Diet

Ned Hallowell, M.D., tells his patients to plan their meals carefully by including fruits or vegetables,  carbohydrates, and one-fourth a protein. Richard Brown, M.D., who wrote the book How to Use Herbs, Nutrients, and Yoga in Mental Health Care, says, “Many diets are deficient in key vitamins, minerals, and fats that may improve attention and alertness.”

Overall, there is still a need to implement a balanced diet.

Always keep in mind that a healthy diet contributes a significant difference to those with ADHD. As a parent, it is your job to make sure that your child complies with the rules of nutrition no matter what.

10 Tips In Dealing With A Spouse Who Has Bipolar Disorder

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Marriage can be challenging enough as it is, but it can be more difficult if one of the spouses has bipolar disorder. While getting a diagnosis, appropriate treatment, and access to the right medications is now easier than ever, the day-to-day struggles of living with a bipolar person can push any relationship to the breaking point. However, it is not impossible to succeed, especially if you follow our tips below.

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7 Tips For Supporting A Romantic Partner With Anxiety

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Mental health issues can secretly destroy a person more than physical problems do. A lot of people experience these kinds of psychiatric conditions, yet it is invisible from their faces that are full of smiles and laughter. Helping a person overcome a psychological problem is essential in improving their mental health. As a significant other, how can you help your romantic partner prevail over anxiety?

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What You Need To Know About ADHD

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, popularly known as ADHD, is one of the most complicated and hard-to-understand conditions in the world. In fact, up to this day, a lot of people are still skeptical about it. Thankfully, an extensive scientific study already proved that this mental disorder is real and that it’s extremely common for kids and adults.  But as previously mentioned, ADHD is a very complicated condition; this is the main reason why it can be easily misunderstood and is quite hard to diagnose.

 

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Understanding Personality And The Disorders That May Arise

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 As defined by the American Psychology Association, personality is the individual differences in characteristic patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving. With this, our character plays a crucial role in our existence, defines our relationships, and even sets the ideals of our survival, because it is through our personality that we find the definition of our totality as human beings.

Formation of Personality

One’s personality starts to develop while we are still in the womb. Some would debate on this theory, saying that it’s only a fetus with no feelings or emotions, and the behavior they represent are rather primitive to be acknowledged as a personality trait. Nevertheless, psychologists have pointed out that together with the physical development in the womb, the emotional and psychological development, that includes personality, is also in the formation process. Everything that the fetus feels and senses while in the womb are all compounded to what he/she will become in later life.

As unique individuals, we all have different kinds of personalities. Our parents have a significant contribution to how we form our personhood. Other from genetics, social relations, life experiences, and environment all influence the development of personality. With this, we can say that one’s character is not stagnant or finite. It changes as the person ages and encounters many life challenges. “Personality disorders disrupt your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, causing abnormal personality traits.” Mindia Gabichvadze, PsyD said.

Everything that we experience in life has similar emotions, feelings, and behaviors that we tend to express. Our personality sets the boundaries of our sanity; it is through the congruency of the senses, and emotions that we show according to the situation that we are into. It is through our personality that we get to express ourselves, that we had the opportunity to convey to others what we feel and think and to understand others as well. Our personality helps us survive the challenges that life may throw at us, if we have a stronghold of reality and a sound mind, then we can use our personality to our advantage. “A mental illness cannot be willed away or brushed aside with a change in attitude. Ignoring the problem doesn’t give it the slip either.” A reminder from Deborah Serani, PsyD

Judge Not, So Ye May Not Be Judged.

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When we meet a person that is new to us, we readily know or try to understand what is their personality. Understanding one’s personality can be a challenge. It will take years and a longer duration of being acquainted with the person until one can indeed say that you know him/her. Despite this criterion, it is still not an assurance that you will honestly know and comprehend one’s personality traits.

When Life Gives You A Lemon, Make Lemonade.

In general, we are taught to accept any trials and tribulations with a positive attitude. However, when we can no longer deal with the many problems in life, there comes the point where our personality becomes shaken, and in a split-second, everything becomes different on how we respond to the stimulus around us. Some with a weak personality quickly suffer the consequences – goes into a mental breakdown, depression, panic attacks, mood disorders, up to the extent that they lose mental functions leading to schizophrenia. Simon Rego, PsyD also adds that “Patients diagnosed with schizophrenia do not present with a split personality, nor is it common for someone with the disorder to be violent.” Remember that.

 

The List of Personality Disorders.

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DSM 5 has listed ten types of personality disorders and must follow certain requirements to obtain the diagnosis of personality disorder. Personality disorders are not directly caused by substance abuse or any effects of a medical condition, have been going on for a prolonged time and become consistent throughout, and are far from the normalcy of the person’s developmental stage or what is proper to certain socio-cultural practices. A psychiatrist or psychologist will give a series of tests to evaluate if the person has a personality disorder. The official diagnosis should come from a mental health professional and not through a self-test taken over online. Briefly, the list includes the following: (1) Paranoid PD, (2) Schizoid PD, (3) Schizotypal PD, (4) Antisocial PD, (5) Borderline PD, (6) Histrionic PD, (7) Narcissistic PD, (8) Avoidant PD, (9) Dependent PD, and (10)  Anankastic (obsessive-compulsive) PD.

 

 

 

A Guide To Supporting Someone With Mental Health Problems

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Even with our best intentions at heart, expressing support for our loved ones with mental health problems can be tricky. We can only know so much about what they are going through, and because of this, some of our efforts do not necessarily translate to the best courses of actions. However, this should not discourage any of us from reaching out. All it takes is a better understanding of how we can be there for the people we hold dear. Here is a guide to offering your support to someone battling mental health issues.

Know More About Their Condition

As with a lot of pursuits, knowledge comes before action – and being a better friend is no exception. To get a better understanding of the situations, they are going through; it helps to know as much as you can about what they’re going through. From knowing its formal definition, to how this manifests itself into someone’s day-today, doing so – in a way – places you in their shoes. It will help you to be more mindful of the things that will be helping them. As well as what will not be helpful for your friends to get better.

Validate What They Are Saying

Someone struggling with emotions and experiences that are hard to process can feel like they are alone in the battle they are facing. In these times, the warmth of hearing “I understand” or a “your feelings are valid” can ease them a lot and make them feel less alone.

According to Dr. Lindsay Macchia, an associate psychologist at the Child Mind Institute, “Validation communicates to another person that their emotions make sense given the context they are in.” She adds that “Even if you have never been in that particular situation or felt an emotion quite as strongly, validating your friend shows that this is not an ‘overreaction’ or an ‘underreaction.’ It is how they feel, and that is perfectly acceptable.”

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Let Them Share As Little Or As Much As They Want To

In our desire to know how they feel and how they are doing, we sometimes can place a lot of pressure on the people we love. Understand that letting their guard down and talking about their deepest worries and feelings takes immense levels readiness and trust – both of which do not come right away. Never rush them into opening up, and let them do so in a moment and place where they feel comfortable expressing themselves.

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