NCW Libraries

"Across the world, Hari found social scientists who were uncovering evidence that depression and anxiety are not caused by a chemical imbalance in our brains. In fact, they [believe they] are largely caused by key problems with the way we live today. Hari's journey took him from a ... series of experiments in Baltimore, to an Amish community in Indiana, to an uprising in Berlin. Once he had uncovered [what he argues are] nine real causes of depression...

"For years John Moe, critically-acclaimed public radio personality and host of The Hilarious World of Depression podcast, struggled with depression; it plagued his family and claimed the life of his brother in 2007. As Moe came to terms with his own illness, he began to see similar patterns of behavior and coping mechanisms surfacing in conversations with others, including high-profile comedians who struggled with the disease. Moe saw that there was...

""It's like the meanest, wildest monkey running around my head, constantly looking for ways to bite me." That was how Kirsten Pagacz described her OCD to her therapist on their first session when she was well into her 30s--she'd been following orders from this mean taskmaster for 20 years, without understanding why. Initially the tapping and counting and cleaning and ordering brought her comfort and structure, two things lacking in her family life....

How to Handle a Narcissist and 10 Steps to Heal From Narcissistic Abuse What is Narcissism? The word has traditionally been associated with a harmless love for one's self, very rarely being used to describe a destructive abuse mechanism. When mainstream society thinks of narcissism, I get the feeling it's not looked at with disdain, but rather as an off-the-cuff petty character trait. How wrong could it be? The world we live in has become narcissistic....

A revolutionary approach to overcoming perfectionism! A recent, randomized study-published by Mindfulness Journal-shows that Present Perfect is effective as a standalone intervention. The study found that those who had read the book experienced a statistically significant reduction of self-criticalness, a result that was still maintained at a six weeks follow-up (Wimberley, Mintz, & Suh, Mindfulness, Nov. 2015). While there's no doubt that setting...

Adults and children who have been diagnosed with a bipolar disorder can benefit from eating a bipolar diet. Bipolar disorders can be described as a psychological illness that manifests itself in intense low and high mood swings. While professionals in the medical field cannot recommend a specific cure for the illness, they can recommend changes in an individual's diet plan because they are closely related. Changes in the diet can assist with managing...

More than a just a journey, Alfredo gives us a blueprint for humane treatment of mental illness. In 1981, twenty-three-year old Alfredo Zotti, began his lifelong challenge of living with Bipolar II Disorder. He quickly hit rock bottom, spending time as a homeless person and turning to street drugs and alcohol to medicate his symptoms. After hospitalization and careful outpatient monitoring, he became a successful musician and completed university....

Bipolar disorder is not only one of the most difficult mental health issues to treat, but also one of the most stigmatized and misunderstood. For these reasons, a diagnosis of bipolar is a major turning point in a person's life. Bipolar Disorder: A Guide for the Newly Diagnosed helps readers process their diagnosis, decide who to tell, and discover the treatments and lifestyle changes that can help manage their symptoms. This book offers hope and...

After a traumatic experience, we are told time and time again to take care of ourselves and reach out to the people we love. But what happens when you reach out and your partner can't reach back? This book is for people in relationships where either partner has faced trauma in any of its forms: violence, natural disasters, war, life-threatening accidents, crime, health problems, or loss of a loved one. One or both partners can use Healing Together...

There's a wide spectrum of emotional sensitivity, and it varies from one person to another. Some people oscillate between over-control and over-expression. Others stuff or hide their emotions for months before they finally blow their stack and "stand up for themselves" through overly aggressive behaviors. People diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD) for example, are often emotionally sensitive, and may have problems with emotion dysregulation,...