In 1841, a Boston schoolteacher named Dorthea L. Dix became interested in many social reforms, especially the treatment of the mentally ill. One Sunday, she went to the House of Correction in East Cambridge to hold a Sunday school class for female inmates. She was revolted by the filth, neglect, and despair of the mentally ill people who were held in the jail. She persuaded local authorities to improve the conditions, and began touring Massachusetts to see what needed to be done. In 1843, she wrote a tract called Memorial to the Legislature of Massachusetts, which called for drastic reforms.

If you're in recovery from an eating disorder, you can join me now in a collective sigh of relief.  We survived the holidays.

Make New Years Resolutions stick this year with four tools to achieve success and avoid setbacks. Learn how confidence and self-esteem play a role in keeping your resolutions.

Why Should You Let Go of Anxiety? 1. Anxiety has taken up too much of your life. Anxiety takes loads of energy to sustain. It sucks that energy from you. So if Anxiety is around, you have much less energy for other important things in your life. There is nothing good about this waste. Life is precious, every moment is precious. (i.e., Loving and connecting with people trumps isolation to "protect yourself" from losing a loved one. Taking a risk beats forgoing great opportunities. Reaching out is more gratifying than letting words go unspoken.) Enough is enough! Live free from fear!

Before your PTSD diagnosis, when you’re struggling with PTSD symptoms, you know exactly what to do: You have to figure out what’s wrong. If you’re proactive about chasing down answers and fortunate enough to find a professional who recognizes the signs of PTSD and diagnoses you with posttraumatic stress disorder, your next challenge is deciding how to approach recovery. Since there is no single way to heal, it’s up to you to know your options.

ADHD and Christmas make a great combination. No, seriously. It is one of the few times a year when "Bob" can let loose and be himself without having to be censored or held back by me. Or his ADHD diagnosis. Most of the time, Bob and I worry about school, homework, etc. But, Christmas is the time of year when none of that matters and we're both reminded of how fortunate we are regardless of the effect ADHD has on him. I love the excitement in his eyes and the joy he experiences each day leading up to Christmas. He becomes a regular kid - excited, eager and super-ready for the holiday. Bob's spirit uplifts my own and brings me into the holiday mood.

Addiction has often been called a “family disease.”  I would expand this definition to include those who are friends as well due the fact that the affected person’s behavior usually has an impact on those around them, whether they are family or friends.  As a result, a pattern of co-dependent behavior can occur.  So what can significant others do to help the active addict?

Do you remember when we were kids? Before life smacked us upside the head and screamed for us to wake-up? Before we realized life wasn't easy--once our innocence was gone. I remember how excited I was, five or six years old, sitting under the Christmas tree and shaking my presents. I would take my gifts and separate them from my two siblings. They would do the same. We all had our piles; each wrapped with ribbons and sometimes a bow.

My name is Heiddi Zalamar and I am a single mom to "Bob", therapist and writer. As a licensed bilingual mental health counselor, I work as a child and family therapist in a low-income area in NYC. I have been working with kids since I was 13 years old, so by the time I had my son, I thought I could handle anything. NOT!

Has your co-worker or loved one ever given you a beautiful gift, but then acted offended that you didn't appreciate it enough, claimed that you were lying about how much you liked it, snatched it back saying you didn't deserve it at all, or any other action that changed your happiness into some other feeling? If so, you've experienced an abusive incident aimed at destroying your sense of reality. How could your lovely, heart-felt reaction be interpreted in some other way? Did you react to the gift "wrong"? Should you have felt more appreciative, more grateful, less selfish? Suddenly your reality, the truth as you know it, doesn't make sense. What is going on?