Mental Health Disorders

Why America's sons are underachieving, and what we can do about it. Something is happening to boys today. From kindergarten to college, American boys are, on average, less resilient and less ambitious than they were a mere 20 years ago. The gender gap in college attendance and graduation rates has widened dramatically. In Boys Adrift, Dr. Leonard Sax delves into the scientific literature and draws on more than 20 years of clinical experience to explain why boys and young men are failing in school and disengaged at home.

Perfectionism is a naturally limiting mindset. For example, kids are taught to color inside the lines, and any color outside the lines is considered a mistake that must be corrected. Imperfectionism frees us to live outside the lines, where possibilities are infinite, mistakes are allowed, and self-judgment is minimal.

Dr. Jeffrey Bernstein shares a groundbreaking 10-day program to help parents understand their child's behavior and regain control of their household. In this updated edition, parents will learn how to face new challenges, including defiance resulting from excessive technology use (even to the point of addiction) and the stress of modern family life. Dr. Bernstein explains what causes defiance in kids and why it's so destructive to the family, then offers parents a step-by-step guide on how to reduce conflict and end upsetting behaviors.

Stress is our internal response to an experience that our brain perceives as threatening or challenging. Trauma is our response to an experience in which we feel powerless or lacking agency. Until now, researchers have treated these conditions as different, but they actually lie along a continuum. Dr. Elizabeth Stanley explains the significance of this continuum, how it affects our resilience in the face of challenge, and why an event that's stressful for one person can be traumatizing for another.

Imagine, if you will, a disease - one that has only subtle outward symptoms but can hijack your entire body without notice; one that transfers easily between parent and child; one that can last a lifetime if untreated. According to Dr. Paul Conti, this is exactly how society should conceptualize trauma: as an out-of-control epidemic with a potentially fatal prognosis. In Trauma: The Invisible Epidemic, Dr. Conti examines the most recent research, clinical best practices, and dozens of real-life stories to present a deeper, richer, and more urgent view of trauma.

Dr. Susan J. Noonan provides people experiencing depression with strategies to take stock of their mental state, to chart a course toward emotional balance, and to track their progress on the journey to well-being. Dr. Noonan explains how to obtain care from professionals, outlines what medical options are available, and lists everyday things people can do to feel better. Integrating medicine, psychology, and holistic care while exploring the basics of mental health, she touches on diet, sleep habits, physical activity, and mindfulness techniques.

If you have body-focused repetitive behaviors (BFRB) such as hair pulling or skin picking, you may feel embarrassed about seeking help. But there are proven-effective strategies you can use to overcome these behaviors and improve your overall quality of life—this book will show you how. In this evidence-based resource, three renowned experts and clinicians offer powerful CBT skills to help you move past BFRB. You'll learn why you engage in these behaviors, and how to identify your own sensory "triggers"—places, things, or experiences that cause your behavior to become worse.

Suicide rates among Army soldiers increased 80 percent between 2004 and 2008, according to a recent report published in Injury Prevention. In the last several years, the number of soldiers returning from the Middle East with mental and physical wounds has continued to climb. According to Dr. Simon Rego, a supervising psychologist at Montefiore Medical Center, "Unlike any other time in history, U.S. military suicide rates now appear to have surpassed those among comparable civilian populations. It is therefore critical that we address this emerging public-health problem."

This guide offers the most comprehensive insight and advice into coping with nervous stress. Sufferers of nervous illness regard Self Help for Your Nerves as their bible – many believe that if they had found it earlier they would have been saved years of unnecessary suffering. Dr Claire Weekes looks at: how the nervous system works, what is nervous illness, common factors in the development of nervous illness and recurring nervous attacks. Plus important chapters on depression, sorrow, guilt and disgrace, obsessions, sleeplessness, confidence, loneliness and agoraphobia.

The emotional trauma we suffer as children not only shapes our emotional lives as adults but also affects our physical health and overall well-being. Scientists now know on a biochemical level exactly how parents' chronic fights, divorce, death in the family, being bullied or hazed, and growing up with a hypercritical, alcoholic, or mentally ill parent can leave permanent, physical "fingerprints" on our brains.

Since its first publication in 1983, Surviving Schizophrenia has become the standard reference book on the disease that has helped thousands of patients, their families, and mental health professionals alike. In clear language, this much-praised and important book describes the nature, causes, symptoms, treatment, and course of schizophrenia, and explores living with it from both the patient’s and the family’s point of view.

Step 1: You admit that you're powerless over your addiction. Now what? Twelve-step programs like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA) have helped countless people on the path to recovery. But many still feel that 12-step programs aren't for them: that the spiritual emphasis is too narrow, the modality too old-school, the setting too triggering, or the space too exclusive. Some struggle with an addict label that can eclipse the histories, traumas, and experiences that feed into addiction, or dismisses the effects of adverse experiences like trauma in the first place.

Dr. Amador's research on poor insight was inspired by his success helping his brother Henry, who had schizophrenia, accept treatment. Like tens of millions of others diagnosed with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and addictions, Henry did not believe he was ill. In this latest edition, all chapters have been updated with new research on anosognosia (lack of insight) and much more detail on LEAP. Listeners will find expanded guidance on how to learn and use LEAP.

As a pediatrician, Katrina Ubell, MD, always struggled with her weight—she was either 40 pounds overweight, or struggling to lose that weight. Although she'd regularly counsel parents on the importance of keeping their kids healthy and fostering good eating habits, Dr. Ubell, as a busy professional, was never able to do the same for herself. Like everyone else, she tried many different diets and programs, but would always regain the weight.

We all experience stuckness in our lives. We feel stuck in our relationships, career paths, body struggles, addiction issues, and more. Many of us know what we need to do to move forward—but find ourselves unable to take the leap to make it happen. And then we blame and shame ourselves, and stay in a loop of self-doubt that goes nowhere. The good news is you’re not lazy, crazy, or unmotivated. In this empowering and action-oriented guide, you’ll discover why we can’t think our way forward—and how to break through what’s holding us back.

Sufferers with any type of body image or anxiety conditions will identify with Chloe’s suffering and the daily struggles she faces. Dr. Callaghan and Dr. O’Connor’s wisdom, expertise, and compassionate approach have enabled Chloe to move on significantly with her life. Their approach is captured perfectly as they provide valuable insight into why and how Chloe struggled with her condition and what needs to be done to ensure her path to recovery and beyond.

Post-traumatic stress disorder was recognized as a psychiatric disorder in the latter part of the 19th century. In PTSD, Allan V. Horwitz traces the fluctuations in definitions of and responses to traumatic psychic conditions. Arguing that PTSD, perhaps more than any other diagnostic category, is a lens for showing major historical changes in conceptions of mental illness, he surveys the conditions most likely to produce traumas, the results of those traumas, and how to evaluate the claims of trauma victims.

Decreasing narcissism in people has been done countless times before and there is scientific evidence showing anyone who is willing to put in the work can create new healthy habits. Some of your past relationships may never be restored but your future relationships can absolutely go the way you want. While you may feel alone for having a narcissistic personality disorder or just narcissistic tendencies, about 1 in every 16 people (6.2%) of the population has it too.

What if emotional abuse is so hidden that its effects remain unchallenged for decades, masquerading as personal failings? Believing Me is an emotionally gripping memoir that gives language to the hidden and ineffable nature of childhood trauma and how it can imprint on a person, resulting in fractured self-esteem, addictions, perfectionism, and a string of abusive relationships.

We spend a third of our lives in bed, but how much do we really understand about what happens when we go to sleep? What's the right amount? Why do we experience jet lag? Is snoring normal? Enter Dr. Meir Kryger, a world authority on the science of sleep, with a comprehensive guide to the science of slumber that combines detailed case studies and pragmatic advice.