Many examples of verbal abuse aren’t easy to pinpoint, especially in the beginning of a relationship. Most verbally abusive statements are camouflaged by tone of voice, choice of words, body language, the abuser insisting "it's for your own good" and other such verbal decoys. Even so, examples of verbal abuse are easy to pick out once you have the ear for them.

If you have mental health problems and you are dating, it can be difficult to be sure when you should tell the person you are dating about your mental health issues. It is a sensitive subject and you generally want to make sure you are with someone you care about and trust before you bring it up. What should you do though when you are in recovery from alcoholism and you are forced to face the issue on a first date?

"Maggie Goes On A Diet" is described by Amazon.com and other retailers as an inspiring tale about a 14-year-old who loses weight and becomes the school soccer star. The premise behind the book is to show how Maggie gains confidence and develops a more positive self-image after losing weight and achieving her goals. There is just one problem. This diet book's reading level and content makes it more appropriate for girls of elementary and middle school ages. The exact group that is  beginning to struggle with body image and weight issues. The exact group that is vulnerable to developing eating disorders.

Maintaining all relationships is difficult.  Dating is even harder.  But I think it takes a special kind of person to begin a relationship with a person who has a mental illness.  This fact hit home for me this weekend when I adopted a cat.   You might not immediately see the parallel between getting a pet and, say, dating someone with bipolar.  However, I adopted a cat who may have heart disease and it was a gut-wrenching decision.

Despite what many people think, mental illness isn't just about "being sad" or hallucinating or feeling suicidal - mental illness is about physical pain too. One of the ways people get diagnosed with illnesses like depression is due to physical complaints (what doctors call somatic pain). When you have a mental illness, not only your brain hurts, but your body does too.

It would seem like I've fallen into a hole recently. I haven't disappeared entirely, but nothing I've tried to write lately has made much sense, if any. I think I need a vacation. Bob is doing well; however, when your house feels like a demilitarized zone 90% of the time, there are bound to be some casualties. Unfortunately, in our case, it appears the first casualty is our marriage. So please bear with me as I try to hold it together, figure it out, and try to make sense of the chaos. I'll be back next week. Thanks.

Determination helps me overcome anxiety. White-knuckled stubbornness. Hours spent thinking to myself, "anxiety cannot win." Sometimes this is rather like yelling at the sea to stop making so many waves but in spite of that, it works for me. For a trait that's usually frowned upon, stubbornness, determination, has its uses to overcome anxiety.

I was reading a study that basically was saying that partying isn’t a requirement for happiness in college. My first thought: well sure it’s not essential, but it was definitely a huge part of my college lifestyle and I thought I was happy because of it. It made me feel like a belonged, had confidence, and could let go of all stress from life when I drank. Fortunately I have learned in recovery that it was really all a rouge, and mask to real self confidence and having choices in this world.

The Bill of Rights was added to the United States Constitution to ensure the federal government did not trample the rights of the people. At the time, many contested the Bill of Rights saying that the federal government had no power that was not explicitly enumerated in the Constitution, so there was no need to spell out the Peoples' rights. Well, it's a good thing we do have the Bill of Rights because today it serves to remind the government to stay in its' own lane. Like our country's Bill of Rights, there should be no need for a Partner's Bill of Rights within a relationship. However, when you love someone, it is easy to blur the boundary lines between "me" and "you" as two merge into "one relationship."  When you consider that in an abusive relationship there is one partner fighting to completely engulf the other partner into him or herself, then the boundary lines easily become non-existent. No matter what the Constitution of your relationship, it is a good idea to keep in mind the following inalienable rights.

As an ADHD life coach, I get to work with some of the most amazingly creative adults living with ADHD every day. This week, I met with a new client to talk about how ADHD was impacting her life and began helping her design initial ADHD coaching strategies to better manage these challenges.