Category: Uncategorized

Why Am I Hearing Things That Aren’t There?

Nothing throws you for a loop like when you swear you can hear something that doesn’t seem to have an explanation. If what you heard really doesn’t have a source, it might be an “auditory hallucination.” It can range from a simple sound to hearing music so clearly, it’s hard to believe there’s no band or radio nearby.

Often, what people hear is voices. Sometimes, they’re mean, critical voices. But others might be neutral or even pleasant.

No matter what the sound is, it’s a clear sign to go talk to your doctor. The sooner you do, the quicker you can find out what’s going on and get treated.

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Why do there seem to be so many mentally ill people in French cities?

One hundred French psychiatrists have written to the health minister to highlight the problems with mental healthcare in France, with one doctor saying it is “not normal” to see so many mentally ill people on the streets.

So, why does the situation seem so bad?

It is not uncommon to see people who seem to be suffering from serious mental health issues on the streets of major cities but in Paris and other large cities in France the situation seems to be even more acute than you might expect.
A letter sent from 100 French psychiatrists to health minister Agnes Buzyn on Tuesday and revealed by Le Parisien explains why this might be the case.
According to the health professionals, patients with mental disorders, sometimes of a serious nature, are not being treated because the country’s psychiatry services are overwhelmed.   more

10 Lady Gaga Mental Health Quotes That Helped Break Stigma

While a decade ago Lady Gaga was best known for wearing a meat dress and arriving at the Grammy Awards in a giant egg-shaped contraption, these days she’s also lauded for her relentless pursuit of mental health equality. In fact, Lady Gaga’s quotes about mental health are so relevant they will inspire you to join her in the effort to break the stigma. It’s no secret that Gaga has always been strategic and intentional about making cultural and political statements with her music — few will forget her artistic commentary on the damaging effects of fame from her performance of the song “Paparazzi” at the 2009 Video Music Awards.

However, the addition of her brutal honesty about her own mental health struggles — she revealed at the SAG-AFTRA Foundation’s third annual Patron of the Artists Awards that she has battled PTSD and “debilitating mental spirals that have included suicidal ideation and masochistic behavior” — has sparked an important mental health dialogue. What’s more, Gaga is using every opportunity, including acceptance speeches, natural disasters, press events for her movie A Star Is Born, and more to speak out about the importance of bringing mental illness out of the shadows and into everyday conversations.  more

Former teammates paint disturbing picture of Aaron Hernandez in Patriots locker room

Hernandez a headache for Brady

It didn’t even matter if Hernandez caused problems for Brady.

Lloyd told The Globe about an incident involving New England’s five-time Super Bowl winning quarterback.

“(Hernandez) was out at the walkthrough in flip-flops trying to run around,” Lloyd said. “He was laughing. He was loud. And Tom keeps it serious in the walkthrough. And Tom says, ‘Shut the f— up. Get the f— out of here.”

Hernandez did not respond well to Brady’s demands.

“It was like he went from this child-like, laughing, disruptive behavior and he storms off in a fit of rage,” Lloyd said.

Mood swings

Lloyd painted a picture of an erratic Hernandez who would shift gears from macho and angry to sensitive and insecure.

“There would be swings where he’d be the most hyper-masculine, aggressive individual in the room, where he’d be ready to fight somebody in fits of rage,” Lloyd said. “Or he’d be the most sensitive person in the room, talking about cuddling with his mother. Or he’d ask me, ‘Do you think I’m good enough to play?’”

The Globe noted that Hernandez suffered multiple brain injuries and went on to play the week after a concussion, his second documented brain injury.  more

HOW TO STOP THE BINGE-PURGE CYCLE OF BULIMIA NERVOSA

The binge-purge cycle of bulimia nervosa is one of intense shame for those struggling and can be a source of confusion for loved ones as to why the individual doesn’t “just stop.” First, let’s explain what we mean when we talk about the binge-purge cycle.

The Binge-Purge Cyclebinge purge cycle

Over time, the frequency of the cycle tends to increase, and this pattern becomes more firmly engrained in the brain. However, no matter the frequency or length of time that someone has engaged in this pattern it is possible to step out of it. more

People who hear voices in their head can also pick up on hidden speech

The secret to both might lie in how our brains experience the world
Serial killer David Berkowitz, also known as the “Son of Sam,” famously claimed that he heard voices in the form of a dog telling him to commit murder. But hearing voices isn’t necessarily a sign of psychosis. In fact, according to the authors of a recent study published in the journal Brain, enhanced attention-related nerual pathways might cause these illusory sounds. People hear them because their brains may be especially primed to pick up speech.

“It’s true that lots of people who hear voices have serious mental health issues,” Ben Alderson-Day, a psychological research at Durham University and lead author on the study told Popular Science. “But roughly 5 to 15 percent of the general population will have some experience of hearing unusual voices at some point in their lives. We think potentially up to one percent might have pretty frequent experiences and just don’t really tell anyone and get on with their everyday lives.”  more

Are Alcoholism and OCD Related?

Are alcoholism and OCD related? It’s a common question, and the short answer is yes, in many ways not just alcoholism but addiction in general has been shown to have some relationship with obsessive-compulsive disorder or OCD. We’ll talk about what OCD is, and some of the ways there are relationships between this mental disorder and addiction, including alcoholism.

You’ve probably heard people joke around and say they’re OCD when it comes to everything from avoiding germs to keeping their house a certain way, but OCD is actually a diagnosable mental health disorder that goes beyond liking things clean or orderly. With alcoholism, there are often underlying co-occurring mental health disorders a person suffers from, and OCD and alcoholism are just one example of this.  more

Why, as a woman, I love watching porn

Porn is that age-old subject that seems to endlessly divide people – most notably women. Some call it misogynistic and out-dated, others can’t get enough of it.

Myself? I love a bit of porn. And not your ‘feminised’ version either, but your bog standard, easily available, Red Tube smut. It turns me on — both with a partner and on my own.

There is still a stigma attached to women watching porn, with much of the criticism aimed at the banal narratives of your average skin flick – we’re ‘supposed’ to enjoy things which are more mentally arousing.  more