Anything, but Ordinary

When it comes to socializing, it’s a challenge with someone with autism. We try to make friends, we want to make friends, but we don’t know how to approach people. We don’t know when it’s a good time to go up to someone and talk to them. When we do get the chance, we don’t know what to say or how to say it. We don’t know if the person we’re talking to is listening just to be nice or if they feel like they have to listen because they know its rude to walk away. We feel like no

When it comes to addiction, you have to think about if addiction runs in your family. A lot of the time, you know someone that has struggled with some sort of addiction. Some people will stay away from drugs and alcohol because it’s something they know. They knew someone close to them that relied on drugs and alcohol so they did whatever they could to not go down that same path. In other cases, addiction is all someone knows. Existing research showed that annually, 11.8 mill

The holidays are stressful for everyone. There are a lot of things that need to be done like prepping for family that are coming from out of town and a lot of things to see like the Christmas lights that people have put up, but if you throw mental health into the mix, it’s not going to be fun for everyone involved. There’s always a vision where you have to be the perfect host, you have to provide everyone with the perfect meal, give the perfect gifts, but as time goes on, the

Schizophrenia remains one of the most misunderstood and stigmatized illnesses today. Having a mental health condition isn’t easy. You will do whether you can to relieve the symptoms. You will do what it takes to not hear the voices in your head. Going through something like schizophrenia can be traumatic. You want to find something that will make the voices stop. Living with schizophrenia can feel lonely. People who have the condition may feel like they have a severed connec

Schizophrenia is a mental health condition that affects how a person thinks, feels and behaves. It’s a combination of hallucinations, delusions and disorganized thinking and behavior. When you get diagnosed, the symptoms have to be persisting for at least 6 months. When someone is having a hallucination, they are seeing and/or hearing something that isn’t present to anyone else. They feel like it’s right in the room with them. Delusions: Fixed false beliefs held, despite cl

Even though they share a name, they are completely different. With bipolar 1, you are diagnosed when you experience a manic episode. When that happens, you will experience an extreme increase in energy and mood swings, including feeling extremely happy or uncomfortably irritable. With bipolar 2, someone will experience hypomanic episodes. They will still have out of character behavior, but it’s not as extreme as bipolar 1. Keep in mind that bipolar 2 is not a milder form of

Matthew, it’s been one year since you passed away and there hasn’t been a day when I haven’t thought about you. Life wasn’t easy for you. There were things that you were struggling with that I don’t wish on my worst enemy. You dealt with not only addiction, but severe health issues that almost cost you your life. You tried for so long to conquer your demons and to be able to live a life without addiction. You fought for so many years. Addiction is a struggle that not many of

Kids are smart to understand that if they are struggling with mental health and anxiety, but they just don’t know how to express it. They don’t have the words to tell you that they are having a hard time. If you have a child in your life, telling them that it’s okay for them to be feeling the way they do. It’s okay to go to an adult and tell them that they are having a hard time. Everyone has dealt with some sort of anxiety. Kids should know that there are ways to take contro

Growing up in a house with people who don’t give you what you need in life can leave an impact on you. It can last a lifetime and in most cases, an adult will do anything to erase that part of their life. They will hide behind drugs and alcohol to cover up the lasting effects of their childhood, but there are also people who will learn from their past and break the cycle. They promise themselves that if they were to have kids, they won’t treat them the same way. Having relati

ADHD means Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and it can look a lot like Autism. When someone has one or the other, they can have difficulty focusing, they can also be impulsive and have a hard time communicating. Both ADHD and Autism are two different conditions. Autism is related to developmental disorders. Language skills, behavior, socializing and the ability to learn are affected. People with autism have a hard time connecting with people and making friends, wherea