Did you know you that being kind to yourself reduces stress? Do you realize when you're not being kind to yourself? Do you know what self-care means? A lot of people experience anxiety as stress and pressure: to be perfect, appropriate, correct, on time, grown-up, professional, controlled. It's easy for stress and anxiety to weave their way into your life. But you can be kind to yourself more often and reduce stress and anxiety in the process.

Last week I talked about Seroquel indications and dosage as well as the warnings and precautions for Seroquel. Today I complete discussion of the prescribing information on Seroquel and suggest why you need to know this stuff anyway.

On Thursday, I discussed trauma, a contributing factor in the development of Dissociative Identity Disorder, and how assumptions about the severity of that trauma initially scared me into rejecting my DID diagnosis. But through research, meaningful dialogue, and no small amount of rumination, I more clearly understand now why I have DID. I identify four categories of causation, the first of which I call The Sensitivity Factor. Having come into this world a highly sensitive being, traumatic stress can easily surpass my tolerance threshold. Subjected repeatedly to situations that overwhelmed my capacity to cope, dissociation became my only escape.

It's hard to listen to any feedback from anxiety when I think my blood is full of laughing gas and I'm hysterically gasping for air. It's one of 'those' days. All systems go, I'm at the bottom of a wishing well, throwing coins towards the light. Sometimes it's impossible to prevent these days when living with anxiety, but sometimes, by listening to the feedback anxiety can give you, you can avoid them.

Dr. Frederick Frese is an amazing man with a great sense of humor. He was first diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia while serving in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1966. During this week's HealthyPlace Mental Health TV Show, Dr. Frese recalls his first run-in with schizophrenia while guarding nuclear weapons at a naval base and subsequent hospitalizations where he was declared by the state to be "insane."

On Monday we discussed the full prescribing information for Seroquel including: warnings, indications and usage, dosage and contraindications. Today we get to the meaty part - Seroquel Warnings and Precautions.

One of the obstacles I encountered in coming to terms with my dissociative identity disorder (DID) diagnosis was the idea that DID is by and large caused by horrendous abuse. Because DID and unimaginable trauma were intrinsically linked in my mind, I thought accepting my diagnosis required believing that I had suffered inconceivable horrors, repressed memories of child abuse that were lurking somewhere in the recesses of my dissociative mind. I didn't want to believe that, so I rejected the diagnosis altogether. I wish I'd known that tolerating ambiguity is part of dissociative living, and that it's possible to reconcile yourself to having DID without making assumptions about your history.

Being in the presence of an ADHD solution supernova tends to burn people. Obviously, it is better to not let your intensity get away from you, but sometimes you aren’t even aware it is happening. This is why it’s important to train yourself to put out fires afterwards. Yes, you may have saved the day, but at what cost? Try these tips to see if you can salvage relationships from the fire:

(Part 1: For Children with Mental Illness, Right Teacher Key to School Success) As second grade approached, I was determined to make it a better year. I met with the principal to discuss classroom placement; specifically, I wanted to ensure that my son Bob, who has childhood bipolar disorder, wouldn’t be placed with all “problem” kids, since noise and chaos would exacerbate his own behavior issues. I also wanted to address parent/teacher communication, so I could closely monitor his progress. Further, I wanted to contact his teacher prior to the start of the year, so we could address my concerns before the hectic first days. Luckily, the principal agreed.

A typical dating scenario goes something like this: boy meets girl and they hit it off. They date long enough for boy to develop serious feelings for girl. Then girl suddenly drops what feels like a knee to the gut—she discloses one of those horrible relationship-altering things that should have been mentioned earlier. This can be summed up as the “woulda, coulda, shoulda” conundrum as in, “If only you woulda told me this earlier, I coulda dated other people and moved on with my life. Gee, you really shoulda told me…”