Kellevision

Insomnia and Melatonin and Mental Health

Working with a lot of clients who are struggling with trauma and histories of abuse, anxiety and insomnia are constant problems.  Many people have been prescribed medications such as Ambien, Sereoquel or one of the other mood stabilizers for sleep.  Many of these medications have been found to have serious side effects.  I am not a medical doctor, but a therapist, so I do not make medication recommendations.  However, there is a natural, over-the-counter (OTC) medication which I often recommend that people look up and consider:  melatonin.  What is it and why do I recommend it?

Depression, Anxiety, Substance Abuse and Stress in America

Tim Ferriss, the author of "The 4-Hour Work Week" has posted some interesting stats on his blog about work and American life. 

Diagnosing Bipolar Disorder

Diagnosing Bipolar Disorder

A diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder is a very serious matter and much more serious than mere "mood swings".  What are the diagnostic criteria for diagnosing Bipolar Disorder and what do Bipolar mood swings look like?

How to Help Someone Grieve

A client, who recently lost a brother, asked me how she could help her mother who was still grieving the loss of her son.  It was an excellent question.  American culture does not teach us how to grieve.  A not-so-uncommon approach is to go to the doctor and get an antidepressant to avoid feeling the pain.  But this only delays the inevitable.  It does not help you to grieve.  And it does not help the person you care about to grieve and move on.  How do you help another person grieve in a healthy way?

Beauty and the Beast and Women in Relationships

I hate this particular fairy tale.  And I strongly encourage parents not to tell this story to their daughters.  Why?  It tells the story of a beautiful and intelligent woman who falls in love with a beast.  The moral of the story?  If she loves the beast enough he will become a prince.  What's wrong with that?

Fear of Failure and Procrastination

My mother had a friend who was an oil painter.  She never finished a painting.  She would work on it for weeks or months and bring it to the point that it only needed a few finishing touches - and then she stopped.  My mother once asked her why she never finished them.  Her answer?