Author Archives: Kaylee Mai

HPPD

Predictors of HPPD Following Psychedelic Use

Posted on by Kaylee Mai
13
Dec

Psychedelics use is not without its risk, with more research needing to be done on potentially adverse side effects. A study from the Imperial College London and the University College San Francisco sought to evaluate the cognitive and perceptual changes associated with delusional ideation, magical thinking and hallucinogen persisting perception disorder (HPPD).  The results concluded …

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Depression, Medication

The Truth About Antidepressants

Posted on by Kaylee Mai
12
Dec

What really are antidepressants? Medication is one major aspect of treating depression, though its role is to alleviate symptoms and doesn’t directly address the cause of depression. Medication is also a long term commitment. Finding the right medication and waiting for the medication to work may take weeks or even months, but alongside psychotherapy it …

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Depression, Self-care

10 Skills to Combat Depression

Posted on by Kaylee Mai
12
Dec

Treatment of depression often involves a combination of things. Psychotherapy alongside medication is the generic medical approach to treating depression, though the patients themselves can also employ additional activities to combat depressive symptoms. Supplemental habits such as moving one’s body and spending time in nature can reduce symptoms if practiced often. WebMD offers a list …

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Anxiety, Depression, Student Health

The Student Mental Health Crisis

Posted on by Kaylee Mai
12
Dec

Adolescent mental health has been on the decline for decades. The aftermath of the pandemic has left students from across the U.S. scrambling for mental health resources; the demand exceeds the supply, resulting in one of the worst mental health crises to date. School districts have adopted certain practices in order to serve their students’ …

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Anxiety

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction may be an Important Tool for Those with Anxiety

Posted on by Kaylee Mai
20
Nov

Anxiety can be distressing and sometimes even debilitating, but for those with anxiety, more options are available for relief in addition to traditional pharmaceuticals. Elizabeth A. Hoge MD and her colleagues sought to compare the effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction to escitalopram, a commonly prescribed pharmaceutical referred to as a “first-line medication for patients with …

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Sleep

5 Ways to Fall Asleep the Night Before a Big Day

Posted on by Kaylee Mai
07
Nov

Even the best of us have experienced pre-night insomnia: the inability to sleep the night before an important occasion. The “psychophysiological arousal [triggered by a big event]” says Dr. Jade Wu, amplifies already present issues with falling asleep— which then frustrates a person further. Compounding anxiety and frustration leads to overthinking. Even if the event …

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HPPD

Reddit-led study on HPPD

Posted on by Kaylee Mai
08
Aug

Subreddit r/HPPD is an online community that provides support for those who suffer from Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder (HPPD). HPPD is a very rare disorder in which a person will experience continued hallucinations, typically paired with visual snow, usually after taking a psychedelic drug. The subreddit recently announced its very first observational study in partnership …

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Sleep

A 2-minute Trick for Sleep

Posted on by Kaylee Mai
13
Jun

Did you know that nearly two out of three Americans were reporting some kind of sleep issue by mid-2021? UC Berkeley psychology professor Dacher Keltner and Drew Ackerman came up with something called “the Worry Journal,” in which you take just a minute or two to write down your thoughts and any worries on the …

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Anxiety

How to Regulate Anxiety

Posted on by Kaylee Mai
30
May

Research has revealed that we’re living in a time with the highest level of anxiety in recent decades, with young people being particularly affected. However, instead of taking this as a total negative, PsychologyToday recently published an article on the topic of how we might regulate our anxiety to actually help us, to take it …

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Uncategorized

Signs and Symptoms of OCPD

Posted on by Kaylee Mai
29
Mar

Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder, or OCPD, is a mental condition that centers around a preoccupation with rules, orderliness and control, to different degrees. OCPD affects between 2-7% of the population and is prevalent in more males than females. Although their names sound extremely similar, OCPD is not the same as OCD, or obsessive-compulsive disorder. According to the U.S. …

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