Common Myths about Autism Spectrum Disorders According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1 in 68 American children have an Autism Spectrum Disorder – a prevalence that has increased 10x in the past 40 years! Scientists have been unable to establish a causal explanation
Read more →Mental Illness Reduces Life Expectancy A recent analysis by Oxford University psychiatrists has revealed that many mental illnesses reduce life expectancy by 10 to 20 years[1]. According to their review of studies which reported the mortality risk of various diagnoses (e.g., mental disorders, substance and alcohol abuse,
Read more →New research indicates that social pain and physical pain are processed in similar regions of the brain We all can relate to the psychic turmoil associated with social pain, where rejection and heartbreak are often described as unbearable. And yet in our “sticks and stones” society, emotional
Read more →Creativity and Madness: What science tells us about creative genius and mental illness In her autobiography An Unquiet Mind, Kay Redfield Jamison chronicles her experience with Manic Depression or Bipolar Disorder. An accomplished clinical psychologist, writer, and professor of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine,
Read more →Understanding Addiction – The Role of Avoidance Coping and Maladaptive Behaviors According to the National Institute of Drug Abuse, the United States spends nearly 600 billion dollars annually in costs related to crime, lost work productivity, and healthcare for individuals who abuse tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs.
Read more →Children, television, and the importance of social interaction In a recent article by DeLoache et al. (2009), researchers indicated that forty percent of mothers of young children believe their children can learn from television. Interestingly, the New York Times published an article on the children’s series SpongeBob
Read more →Violence, Mental Health, and Society In light of the recent Isla Vista shooting case, it seems appropriate to have a conversation about violence, mental health, and society. In the wake of tragedy and loss, it is natural for society to try to make sense of what contributes
Read more →Dr. Ermshar was proud to be a part of the Women in Business Luncheon at the Langham Hotel in Pasadena, California. The luncheon was sponsored by Pasadena Magazine and included a panel discussion on women in philanthropy and in any kind of business from sales to
Read more →Understanding the difference between subclinical Narcissism and Narcissistic Personality Disorder It’s no wonder that Narcissism has become a catch-all moniker for an increasingly self-obsessed society, when words like “selfie” have become legitimized through their recent addition to the Merriam-Webster dictionary. In a digitized society where individuals are
Read more →New research explores the ways in which social media impacts your life Nearly a billion people use social media to connect on a daily basis. As a result, social media platforms have recently garnered much attention in social science research. What are the implications of this new
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