Living with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Here's what's happening on the HealthyPlace site this week:

• OCD. It Struck with a Vengeance!
• "OCD Recovery: Thoughts That Made A Difference" On HealthyPlace TV
• More Information on Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
• Do I Have A Drinking Problem?
• Managing Your ADHD Child

Here's what's happening on the HealthyPlace site this week:

OCD. It Struck with a Vengeance!

"I was desperate for solutions in 1982," recounts James Callner, in his OCD blog post in the HealthyPlace Support Network. Mr. Callner, now an OCD advocate, was 29 years old at the time and seemingly living a pretty good life. When the OCD symptoms took hold, his life collapsed around him, eventually leading to his hospitalization.

But Mr. Callner learned something during that psychiatric hospitalization which changed his whole life. And no matter which psychological disorder you may be dealing with, it could change your life too.

"OCD Recovery: Thoughts That Made A Difference" On HealthyPlace TV

James Callner has recovered from many years of living with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). How he beat the disabling symptoms of OCD is the subject of this Tuesday's HealthyPlace Mental Health TV Show.

Join us Tuesday night, June 30. The show starts at 5:30p PT, 7:30 CT, 8:30 ET and airs live on our website.

• TV Show Blog with this week's show info
• Living with OCD: A Life of Obsessions and Compulsions (Dr. Croft's blog post)

In the second half of the show, you get to ask HealthyPlace.com Medical Director, Dr. Harry Croft, your personal mental health questions.

Coming in July on the HealthyPlace TV Show

• Surviving the Suicide of Your Child
• Sexual Addiction
• Narcissism
• Suicidality and Psychiatric Medications

If you would like to be a guest on the show or share you personal story in writing or via video, please write us at: producer AT healthyplace.com

Click here for a list of previous HealthyPlace Mental Health TV Shows.

More Information on Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

• What is Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
• Obsessions and Compulsions of OCD
• Checklist of Common OCD Symptoms
• Diagnosis of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder - OCD
• Risk Factors and Causes of OCD
• Treatment of OCD
• OCD: Getting Control of Your Obsessions and Compulsions
• OCD - Course and Prognosis
• OCD in Adults

Online Psychological Tests

• OCD Test
• Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale
• OCD Symptoms Test

In the HealthyPlace OCD Center, you'll also find feature stories on living with OCD and transcripts from previous chat conferences on OCD.

Do I Have A Drinking Problem?

It's a common question we get here at HealthyPlace.com. For instance, Marc wrote in yesterday:

"I'm 23. I have bipolar disorder. I don't believe in medications. My girlfriend says I've been using liquor to deal with my bipolar symptoms. I'm not sure that's true but how do you know if you have a drinking problem?"

Using drugs and alcohol to manage psychiatric symptoms from bipolar disorder, ADHD, depression, anxiety and panic attacks and other psychiatric illnesses isn't unusual. Mental health professionals refer to it as self-medication. You may have also heard the term dual-diagnosis, where the person is dealing with a mental health condition plus a substance abuse problem.

Sometimes the psychological problem occurs first. This can lead people to use alcohol or drugs that make them feel better temporarily. Sometimes the substance abuse occurs first. Over time, that can lead to emotional and mental problems.

So how do you know if you have a drinking problem? Here are the signs of problem drinking. You might also want to take this Alcohol Screening Test for Problem Drinking. We have many online addiction tests in the HealthyPlace Psychological Tests area.

If you're concerned about self-medication or dual diagnosis, please talk to your doctor about it. To get better, both conditions, the psychological illness and the substance abuse problem, have to be addressed. Here's some information on treating dual diagnosis.

You can find detailed information on all types of addictions - alcoholism, drugs, food, shopping, internet, nicotine, sex, porn, gambling plus addiction treatment, in the HealthyPlace Addictions Community.

Managing Your ADHD Child

Last Tuesday night on the HealthyPlace Mental Health TV Show, we discussed "Parenting A Child with a Mental Illness." After the show, we received several emails from parents of ADHD children saying they were stressed out and at the end of their rope.

If you're in a similar situation:

• Some Parents Drink to Cope with ADHD Child
• Coping with Attention Deficit Disorder
• Help for Parents of ADD-ADHD Children
• Eight Principles to Manage ADHD Children
• A Day In My Life as a Parent of an ADD Child
• Living with an ADHD Child. The Real Story!

We have plenty of helpful articles on ADHD

back to: HealthyPlace.com Mental-Health Newsletter Index