Online Counseling Blog

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating condition that can develop following a trauma or terrifying event.  PTSD was first recognized and brought to public attention by war veterans.  Any traumatic or violent event such as rape, torture, mugging, being kidnapped, child abuse or serious accidents and natural disasters can trigger PTSD in a person.  The [...]

There are two types of treatments that are effective treatments for an anxiety disorder.   They are medication management and specific types of psychotherapy.  Both approaches can be effective for most disorders either together or psychotherapy without medication can also be most effective if medication is not needed. The first thing that is done at the doctor’s [...]

Treatment for Bipolar Disorder involves long-term preventive treatment because people with bipolar disorder need substantial stabilization of their mood swings. The best treatment for bipolar disorder is a combination of medication and psychotherapy which also encompasses psychosocial education. Treatment needs to be continuous, rather than on and off.  Ongoing support is needed after a person [...]

All of us experience occasional feelings of sadness.  These emotions can be a normal part of life, as is the grief we feel after the loss of a loved one or a divorce.  If this sadness or unhappy feelings start to interfere with your ability to function or how you view your world, this could [...]

Bipolar Disorder used to be called manic-depression and is still a good description of the disorder as often the mood swings can be either mania or depression or mixed. For an overall description of Bipolar Disorder, see the previous post here. These are the symptoms associated with Mania and Depression:

Occasional mild anxiety is something that is part of the human experience. But if anxiety becomes chronic and fills your day with worry and tension without little or nothing to provoke it, then this is much more than the normal anxiety people experience and is diagnosed as Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). Most people that have GAD [...]

Highs and lows can be part of life but when you have bipolar disorder they can be severe.  Bipolar disorder is a lifelong illness that involves strong mood swings.  Many years ago bipolar disorder was called manic-depression.  The term “bipolar” refers to the two extremes (poles) of the disorder.  The highs are called mania and [...]

There are a few things to consider when beginning counseling.  First is what type of counseling such as individual, couples, family or group are you looking for to suit your needs?  The second is knowing at least a general idea of what the problem is such as depression, anxiety, addictions, relationship or family problems. The third [...]