Children who have ADHD are often given medicine as part of their treatment plan. The type of medicine most often chosen is a psychostimulant.
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Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a behavior disorder. It is often first diagnosed in childhood.
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Autism spectrum disorder is a problem that affects a child’s nervous system and growth and development. It usually shows up during a child’s first 3 years of life.
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If you are a parent or grandparent of a child with ASD, it can be heartbreaking if you feel like you just can't connect with him or her. Here are some things to know that can help you and your relationship.
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Bipolar disorder is a mood disorder. People with bipolar disorder switch between periods of mania and periods of depression. There is no cure, but medicine and therapy can help manage symptoms.
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A mood disorder is a mental health class that health professionals use to broadly describe all types of depression and bipolar disorders.
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Depression is a serious mood disorder. It touches every part of your life and is caused by a chemical imbalance in your brain. Treatment involves medicine and counseling.
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Most people who commit suicide have a mental disorder, most commonly a depressive disorder or a substance abuse disorder.
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Dysthymia is a milder, yet long-lasting form of depression.
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Seasonal affective disorder, or SAD, is type of depression. It happens during certain seasons of the year—most often fall or winter. It is thought that shorter days and less daylight may trigger a chemical change in the brain leading to symptoms of depression. Light therapy and antidepressants can help treat SAD.
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Binge eating disorder is an illness that resembles bulimia nervosa and is characterized by episodes of uncontrolled eating or bingeing. It differs from bulimia because its sufferers do not purge their bodies of the excess food.
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The disorder may develop when others make repeated negative comments about a person's weight.
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Grief moves in and out of stages from disbelief and denial, to anger and guilt, to finding a source of comfort, to eventually adjusting to the loss.
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Learning about grief and how it affects your family can help you get through the difficult times together. It may even help your family grow stronger.
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Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a common anxiety disorder. It causes unreasonable thoughts, fears, or worries. A person with OCD tries to manage these thoughts through rituals.
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Rituals such as hand washing, counting, checking or cleaning are often performed in hope of preventing obsessive thoughts or making them go away. Performing these rituals, however, provides only temporary relief, and not performing them markedly increases anxiety. Left untreated, obsessions and the need to perform rituals can take over a person's life. OCD is often a chronic, relapsing illness.
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A growing number of scientific studies indicate that optimistic people tend to live longer and have better physical and mental health than pessimistic people.
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When you're faced with a highly stressful event in your life, the strategies outlined here will help you cope.
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Panic disorder is when you have repeated, unexpected panic attacks and worry constantly about when the next one might happen. Medicines and therapy can help.
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If you tend to worry a lot, even when there’s no reason, you may have generalized anxiety disorder or GAD. Medicine and lifestyle changes can help.
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Substance abuse is a recognized medical brain disorder. It refers to the abuse of illegal or legal substances. Alcohol is the most common legal drug of abuse. Substance dependence describes abuse of drugs or alcohol that continues, even when serious problems related to their use have developed.
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Genetics can play a part in whether you have problems with alcohol. But many other factors also have an influence.
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Three kinds of prescription drugs are potentially addictive: opioids, tranquilizers, and stimulants.
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Knowing about marijuana can help you recognize its use in children and others and help a user seek treatment.
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Cocaine use ranges from once in a while to nonstop. There is no safe way to use the drug.
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