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Stress can be defined as any type of change that causes physical, emotional, or mental strain. Stress is your body’s response to anything that requires attention or action. 

Everyone experiences stress to some degree. The way you respond to stress, however, makes a big difference to your overall mental and physical well-being.

Sometimes, the best way to manage your stress involves changing your situation. At other times, the best strategy involves changing the way you respond to the situation.

Clues that Indicate You Might Be Stressed

Stress is not always easy to recognize, but there are some ways to identify some signs that you might be experiencing too much pressure. Sometimes stress can come from an obvious source, but sometimes even small daily stresses from work, school, family, and friends can take a toll on your mind and body.

If you think stress might be affecting you, there are a few things you can watch for:

• Cognitive signs such as difficulty concentrating, worrying, anxiety, and trouble remembering
• Emotional signs such as being angry, irritated, fearful, or moody
• Physical signs such as high blood pressure, headaches, clammy/sweaty hands, muscle tension and neck pain, changes in weight, frequent colds or infections, teeth grinding, digestive problems, and changes in the menstrual cycle and sex drive
• Behavioral signs such as poor self-care, not having time for the things you enjoy, or relying on drugs and alcohol to cope

Stress vs. Anxiety: What’s the Difference?

Stress can sometimes be mistaken for anxiety, and experiencing a great deal of stress can contribute to feelings of anxiety. Stress and anxiety both contribute to nervousness, poor sleep, high blood pressure, muscle tension, and excess worry. Experiencing anxiety can make it more difficult to cope with stress and may contribute to other health issues, including increased depression, susceptibility to illness, and digestive problems.

The Usual Suspects: Main Causes of Stress

There are many different things in life that can cause stress. Some of the main sources of stress include work, finances, relationships, parenting, and day-to-day inconveniences.

The Four Types of Stress

Not all types of stress are harmful or even negative. Some of the different types of stress that you might experience include:

• Acute stress: Acute stress is a very short-term type of stress that can be upsetting or traumatic; this is the type of stress that is out of the ordinary, such as a car accident, assault, or natural disaster.
• Chronic stress: Chronic stress is what we most often encounter in day-to-day life and seems never-ending and inescapable, like the stress of a bad marriage or an extremely taxing job.
• Episodic acute stress: Episodic acute stress is acute stress that seems to run rampant and be a way of life, creating a life of ongoing distress; episodic stress can be recurring illness, ongoing domestic violence, child abuse, and living through conflict and war.
• Eustress: Eustress, on the other hand, is fun and exciting. It’s known as a positive type of stress that can keep you energized. It’s associated with surges of adrenaline, such as when you are skiing or racing to meet a deadline. 

The Inner-Workings of the Stress Response

Stress can trigger the body’s response to a perceived threat or danger, known as the fight-or-flight response. During this reaction, certain hormones like adrenaline and cortisol are released. This speeds the heart rate, slows digestion, shunts blood flow to major muscle groups, and changes various other autonomic nervous functions, giving the body a burst of energy and strength.

When the perceived threat is gone, systems are designed to return to normal function via the relaxation response. But in cases of chronic stress, the relaxation response doesn’t occur often enough, and being in a near-constant state of fight-or-flight can cause damage to the body.

Stress can also lead to some unhealthy habits that have a negative impact on your health. For example, many people cope with stress by eating too much or by smoking. These unhealthy habits damage the body and create bigger problems in the long term.

Brace For Impact: How Stress Affects Your Health

Stress can have several effects on your health and well-being. It can make it more challenging to deal with life’s daily hassles, affect your interpersonal relationships, and have detrimental effects on your health. The connection between your mind and body is apparent when you examine stress’s impact on your life.

Feeling stressed over a relationship, money, or living situation can create physical health issues. The inverse is also true. Health problems, whether you’re dealing with high blood pressure or diabetes, will also affect your stress level and mental health. When your brain experiences high degrees of stress, your body reacts accordingly.

Serious acute stress, like being involved in a natural disaster or getting into a verbal altercation, can trigger heart attacks, arrhythmias, and even sudden death. However, this happens mostly in individuals who already have heart disease.

Stress also takes an emotional toll. While some stress may produce feelings of mild anxiety or frustration, prolonged stress can also lead to burnout, anxiety disorders, and depression.

Chronic stress can have a serious impact on your health as well. If you experience chronic stress, your autonomic nervous system will be overactive, which is likely to damage your body.

What Can I Do When I Have Too Much Stress?

There are some treatment options for acute and chronic stress, as well as a variety of stress management strategies you can implement on your own. Stress may be inevitable; however, whenever possible, prevention is the best strategy.

Treatment Options

Stress is not a distinct medical diagnosis and there is no single, specific treatment for it. Treatment for stress focuses on changing the situation, developing stress-coping skills, implementing relaxation techniques, and treating symptoms or conditions that may have been caused by chronic stress.

Some interventions that may be helpful include therapy, medication, and complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).

Psychotherapy

Some forms of therapy that may be particularly helpful in addressing symptoms of stress including cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR). CBT focuses on helping people identify and change negative thinking patterns, while MBSR utilizes meditation and mindfulness to help reduce stress levels.

Medication

Medication may sometimes be prescribed to address some specific symptoms that are related to stress. Such medications may include sleep aids, antacids, antidepressants, and anti-anxiety medications.

Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Some complementary approaches that may also be helpful for reducing stress include acupuncture, aromatherapy, massage, yoga, and meditation.

Ways to Cope With Stress

Although stress is inevitable, it can be manageable. When you understand the toll it takes on you and the steps to combat stress, you can take charge of your health and reduce the impact stress has on your life.

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Here are a few things to get you started:

• Learn to recognize the signs of burnout. High levels of stress may place you at a high risk of burnout. Burnout can leave you feeling exhausted and apathetic about your job. When you start to feel symptoms of emotional exhaustion, it’s a sign that you need to find a way to get a handle on your stress.
• Try to get regular exercise. Physical activity has a big impact on your brain and your body. Whether you enjoy a walk in the park, stretching, pilates, or you want to begin jogging, exercise reduces stress and improves many symptoms associated with mental illness.
• Take care of yourself. Incorporating regular self-care activities into your daily life is essential to stress management. Learn how to take care of your mind, body, and spirit and discover how to equip yourself to live your best life.
• Practice mindfulness in your life. Mindfulness isn’t just something you practice for 10 minutes each day. It can also be a way of life. Discover how to live more mindfully throughout your day so you can become more awake and conscious throughout your life.

Final Thoughts

Stress is a part of life and comes in all shapes and sizes. There are things we can do to minimize or even prevent much of the stress in our lives. But some stress is unavoidable.

If you find you are overwhelmed by an acute stressor, or the daily grind, there are ways to cope and recover. Whether you try some stress management strategies on your own or seek professional help… it is important to keep stress levels in check to avoid the negative impact on your cognitive, emotional, and physical well being.

The medical model suggests that mental health disorders are the product of some type of physical condition. Psychiatrist R.D. Laing coined the term in The Politics of the Family and Other Essays, indicating that this model is a “set of procedures in which all doctors are trained.”

Learning more about what the medical model is, including its assumptions, can help us better understand why certain psychological conditions are treated using similar methods as those used for physical illnesses. An example of this is using medication to treat anxiety disorders.

What Is the Medical Model?

The medical model treats mental disorders as physical diseases that result in specific symptoms or functional impairments. As such, medication is often used in their treatment. In psychology, the medical model is more widely used by psychiatrists than psychologists,

Supporters of the medical model usually consider symptoms to be telltale signs of an inner physical disorder. They believe that if symptoms are connected, it can be characterized as a syndrome.

Medical Model Assumptions

The biological approach of the medical model focuses on a person’s genetics, neurotransmitters, neurophysiology, neuroanatomy, and other aspects of their physical makeup. It uses the same type of framework used to diagnose and treat physical illnesses such as the common cold to also diagnose and treat psychological conditions.

Psychopathology says that disorders have an organic or physical cause. The medical model approach suggests that mental conditions are related to the brain’s physical structure and functioning.

Symptoms of mental illness, such as hallucinations, can be categorized as syndromes caused by disease. The appearance of these symptoms allows a psychiatrist to make a diagnosis and prescribe treatment.

Medical Model and Mental Health

Based on the medical model, mental illness should be treated, in part, as a medical condition. Thus, this treatment typically involves the use of prescription medications.

Medications prescribed for mental health disorders work by changing the brain’s chemistry. In most cases, these medications increase, decrease, or otherwise modify a brain-based chemical that is responsible for regulating or affecting mood, perception, anxiety, or other mental responses.

Medical Model Example: Anxiety Disorders

One example of how the medical model is applied to mental health is anxiety. Studies have shown that individuals who are diagnosed with anxiety disorders, including phobias, often have an issue with the regulation of serotonin levels in their brains.

Serotonin is a chemical that acts as a neurotransmitter. Neurotransmitters modulate the signals between neurons and other cells. Serotonin impacts a variety of mental health processes, one of which impacts mood.

A serotonin level that is too high or too low is associated with both depression and anxiety. Consequently, these types of mental health conditions are often treated with a class of antidepressants known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).

An SSRI prevents some of the serotonin from being reabsorbed. It stays in the synaptic gap in order to further stimulate the second nerve cell. SSRIs are not the only medications used in the treatment of anxiety disorders, but they are among the most effective.

Criticisms of the Medical Model For Mental Illness

Not everyone accepts that mental health disorders are always a result of some type of medical or physical health issue. One of the main criticisms of this approach is that it fails to take into account other factors that can impact a person’s mental health, such as their environment.

Some suggest that psychological conditions are a direct byproduct of societal issues such as oppression. This is referred to as the social model of disability and provides a different view of how mental illness may form, in addition to how it would be treated (i.e., by instigating societal changes versus medication-based treatments).

Medical model criticisms are just one example of the age-old nature versus nurture debate. Are mental health conditions a result of our biology or our environment? Most experts agree that it is a combination of both, so treating these issues often involves a variety of approaches—including medication and psychotherapy.

When it comes to lust and love, most people have experienced at least one or the other. However, with that being said, some people might agree that experiencing both in a relationship is pretty rare.

Whether you’ve always thought of your relationship in terms of one or the other or even if you’re just wondering how to tell the difference between the two, there are some important things to know about both of these feelings.

We spoke with Sherry Benton, PhD, a practicing therapist and founder of the mental health platform TAO Connect, to find out more about these two feelings and what kind of meaning they carry in our personal lives.

What Is Lust?

“Lust is purely wanting sexual contact,” says Dr. Benton. “This is largely selfish with little thought or regard for the other person’s well-being.”

Just because you’re lusting after someone doesn’t mean that you can’t or don’t love them. Since it denotes physical attraction and sexual desire, you can actually experience the feeling of lust in or out of a relationship. That said, when people mention love at first sight, they are probably talking predominantly about lust.

“Lust exists on a continuum–you can certainly have [an] initial attraction to people you don’t know,” explains Dr. Benton. “Sometimes we have a little attraction, sometimes more. Sometimes the attraction is immediate; other times it builds after we get to know someone.”

But, What About Infatuation?

Aside from the feelings of lust and love, Dr. Benton adds the word “infatuation,” which occurs early in a relationship and is sometimes called the “velcro stage.”

“With infatuation, you tend to idealize the other person and are very wrapped up in a shallow understanding of the other person,” says Dr. Benton. “Infatuation can bring people together, but it rarely keeps people together.”

What Is Love?

Psychologists have long attempted different methods to measure and define love by studying couples with different backgrounds, attachment styles, among other personal attributes.

However, psychologist Zick Rubin determined that romantic love is made up of three components: attachment, caring, and intimacy. Put simply, these three words mean wanting or needing to be with someone, caring about their happiness, and sharing personal thoughts and concerns with them.

Dr. Benton also explains that “love isn’t as much of an emotional high as infatuation.” Unfortunately, this lack of an emotional high can be hard for some people to reconcile, especially in long-term relationships.

In other words, it can mean that you feel like you desire the other person less than you once did or like the relationship has become less passionate. However, this is normal as we grow more comfortable in our relationship. Similar to the infatuation phase, passionate love usually primarily exists in the beginning phases of a relationship.

“In any good relationship, sexual desire increases and decreases from day to day,” says Dr. Benton. “It is actually a good thing when infatuation diminishes and is replaced by sincere, realistic love and caring for the other person.”

Can You Feel Lust and Love at the Same Time?

You might not be able to cultivate lust necessarily, but it is possible to build on intimacy. Since sexual desire will ebb and flow in long-term relationships, it’s more important to focus on keeping the relationship vibrant in other ways. 

To do this, Dr. Benton suggests taking alone time away just for yourselves as a couple. The beginnings of relationships are fun because you are getting to know all of this new information about a person.

While you may not be constantly learning new facts about your partner in a long-term relationship, you can continually cultivate a deeper level of intimacy.

Take the Love Quiz

Our fast and free love quiz can help you determine if what you’ve got is the real deal or simply a temporary fling or infatuation.

This love quiz was reviewed by Ivy Kwong, LMFT.

How to Express These Feelings to Someone

If you’re in a position wherein you find yourself wanting to tell someone you’re in love with them and, in the words of Dr. Benton, “the relationship is appropriate and possible,” go for it. While the fear of rejection,and rejection itself, are real concerns, it’s also important to express your feelings.

If you want to express lustful feelings toward someone, prioritize honesty. Once you’ve told the person that you feel attracted to them in this way, move on to prioritizing consent.

Alternatively, if you’re in a relationship and you find yourself lusting after someone else, if at all possible, tell your partner the truth so that the two of you together can decide your comfort levels in terms of acting on it.

Keep in Mind

While both lust and love can cause stress, it’s important to remember that these emotions are normal, and everyone is learning how to navigate them. While it may not be easy sometimes to tell someone how you really feel about them, try to prioritize honesty even if you mostly feel physically attracted to someone.

Also, remember that it’s OK not to constantly experience the butterflies that are typically associated with a relationship’s beginning stages. Getting to the point of love takes work. To reach the stage of love, you need to take the time to build a connection with someone. While it may not always feel like a head rush, deeper levels of intimacy are always rewarding.

Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that plays an important role in regulating various body functions and feelings. Because serotonin levels may impact mood and anxiety levels, serotonin drugs are sometimes prescribed to treat mental health conditions.

There are several different substances, including medications and supplements, that can increase serotonin levels in the brain. It is essential to be aware of how these serotonin medications affect the body and how they may interact with other substances. Here’s what you need to know.

Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs)

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) inhibit the reuptake of serotonin in the brain. Reuptake is a process in which neurotransmitters in the brain are reabsorbed, deactivated, or recycled for future use.

When serotonin reuptake is inhibited, more serotonin is available in the brain. This leads to an increase in serotonin levels, resulting in improved mood, decreased anxiety, and inhibition of panic.

SSRIs are considered the first-line treatment for conditions such as depression and panic disorder. SSRI medications include:

• Celexa (citalopram)
• Lexapro (escitalopram)
• Luvox (fluvoxamine)
• Paxil (paroxetine)
• Prozac (fluoxetine)
• Trintellix (vortioxetine)
• Viibryd (vilazodone)
• Zoloft (sertraline)

SSRIs are approved for the treatment of a variety of mental health conditions, including generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), major depressive disorder (MDD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and social anxiety disorder (SAD).

Serotonin-Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors (SNRIs)

SNRIs inhibit the reabsorption of both serotonin and norepinephrine in the brain. Norepinephrine is a neurotransmitter that influences sleep and alertness. It is believed to be correlated to the fight-or-flight stress response.

Some SNRIs include:

• Cymbalta (duloxetine)
• Effexor (venlafaxine)
• Fetzima (levomilnacipran)
• Pristiq (desvenlafaxine)
• Savella (milnacipran)

Triptans

Triptans are a class of drugs commonly used to treat migraine or cluster headaches. They act on serotonin receptors in the brain, thereby affecting serotonin levels.

Examples of triptans include:

• Amerge (naratriptan)
• Axert (almotriptan)
• Frova (frovatriptan)
• Imitrex (sumatriptan)
• Maxalt and Maxalt-MLT (rizatriptan)
• Relpax (eletriptan)
• Zomig and Zomig ZMT (zolmitriptan)

Tricyclic Antidepressants (TCAs)

TCAs are named after the drugs’ three-ringed molecular structure. Prior to the introduction of SSRIs in the late 1980s, TCAs were the medication of choice for the treatment of major depressive disorder, panic disorder, and other anxiety disorders. TCAs are also used to treat certain pain syndromes and nocturnal enuresis (bedwetting).

Examples of TCAs include:

• Elavil (amitriptyline)
• Tofranil (imipramine)
• Sinequan (doxepin)
• Anafranil (clomipramine)

TCAs are used less frequently today in the treatment of depression because they tend to produce more unwanted side effects compared to SSRIs.

Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors (MAOIs)

MAOIs are a class of antidepressants believed to increase levels of norepinephrine, serotonin, and dopamine (another neurotransmitter) in the brain. They are effective for the treatment of major depressive disorder, panic disorder, and other anxiety disorders.

Examples of MAOIs include:

• Nardil (phenelzine)
• Parnate (tranylcypromine)
• Marplan (isocarboxazid)
• Emsam (selegiline)

Other Psychiatric Medications

There are also other psychiatric medications that can influence serotonin levels in the body.

• BuSpar (buspirone): BuSpar affects the neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine. It acts as an agonist on serotonin receptors, which means that it increases the actions of these receptors. As a result, this medication can be useful for relieving symptoms of anxiety.
• Eskalith (lithium): This medication is a mood stabilizer that is used in the treatment of bipolar disorder. It works by restoring the balance of neurotransmitters, including serotonin. 
• Desyrel (trazodone): Desyrel is an antidepressant medication that works by increasing the amount of serotonin available in the body. It also has sedative effects, which is why it is sometimes used to treat insomnia.

Analgesics (Painkillers)

A number of analgesic drugs can also affect serotonin levels in the body. These medications are often used to treat pain, but they are also sometimes misused and can lead to dependence and addiction. Some painkillers that act on serotonin include:

Antibiotic/Antiretroviral Medications

Some antibiotics and antiretroviral medications may also affect serotonin. This can potentially lead to drug interactions when people are taking other medications such as SSRIs or MAOIs. Because of these risks, you should always tell your healthcare provider about other medications, drugs, or supplements you are currently taking.

• Zyvox (linezolid): Zyvox is an antibiotic that is sometimes prescribed to treat serious bacterial infections. In addition to inhibiting bacterial growth, this medication also affects serotonin. This effect can be more pronounced when Zyvox is combined with other serotonin medications.
• Norvir (ritonavir): Norvir is an antiviral medication that is used to treat HIV infection. When combined with other medications, it works to slow the progress of the disease. 

Herbal Drugs/Dietary Supplements

It is important to be aware that some herbal medicines and dietary supplements can have an effect on serotonin levels.

St. John’s Wort

St. John’s wort (hypericum perforatum) is a type of flowering plant that is sometimes used as an herbal remedy, particularly to relieve symptoms of depression. It is also used for other conditions including anxiety, premenstrual syndrome (PMS), menopause symptoms, smoking cessation, and seasonal affective disorder. 

Researchers are not entirely sure of exactly how St. John’s wort works to elevate mood, but it is believed to increase neurotransmitter levels in the brain, including serotonin.

Ginseng

Ginseng is a root that is often used as an herbal supplement. Purported benefits include improved immunity, energy, and cognition. Ginseng acts on serotonin and other transmitters and also affects hormones, receptors, and signaling molecules.

Research suggests that ginseng is associated with interactions with some psychotropic medications, including SSRI and SNRI antidepressants.

Other Drugs That Affect Serotonin

There are also a number of other substances that can affect serotonin levels in the body.

Amphetamines

Amphetamine stimulants are often prescribed to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). These medications can also increase serotonin levels.

While usually not enough to present a risk when taken as prescribed, stimulant medications such as Adderall may increase the risk of serotonin toxicity if they are misused or combined with other serotonin medications. 

Cocaine

Cocaine blocks the reuptake of serotonin. This can be potentially risky if people use cocaine while they are taking antidepressants, triptans, or other medications that also increase serotonin levels.

LSD

Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) is a hallucinogenic drug that affects thinking and moods. These effects are the result of the impact of the drug on serotonin. The drug binds to certain receptors in the brain and changes how the brain responds to serotonin.

Combining antidepressant medications and LSD has the potential to produce unwanted effects associated with serotonin toxicity.

Potential Serotonin Drug Interactions

Taking one or more medications that impact serotonin levels can be potentially dangerous. It can lead to a condition known as serotonin syndrome, where high serotonin levels in the brain cause symptoms such as:

• Agitation
• Anxiety
• Blood pressure changes
• Confusion
• Diarrhea
• Increased heart rate
• Insomnia
• Muscle rigidity
• Tremors
• Vomiting

If you experience any of these symptoms and are taking medication, seek medical attention. Healthcare professionals can help identify if serotonin syndrome exists and, if it does, prescribe the necessary treatment.

An estimated 4.4% of adult Americans experience bipolar disorder at some point in their lives. If you’re one of them, you may feel like you’re on an emotional roller coaster, with highs and lows that are hard to control. But you also might be hesitant to treat your bipolar disorder with medication because of its potential side effects, leading you to wonder how to ‘fix’ bipolar disorder without meds.

Unfortunately, bipolar disorder has no cure, but it can be effectively managed with treatment. While medication is often an essential part of this treatment plan, taking prescription drugs isn’t the only way to help ease bipolar disorder symptoms. There are several non-medicinal things you can also do to help manage your bipolar disorder.

Mental Health Activities for Bipolar Disorder

If you are living with bipolar disorder, you may find that there certain mental health therapies and activities can help improve your mood, cognition, and overall functioning. Some options backed by research include:

Art Therapy

Art therapy can be a creative and therapeutic way for someone with bipolar disorder to express their emotions while also being low-risk and high-benefit.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) helps identify and change negative thoughts and behavior patterns. It can reduce the risk of bipolar disorder relapse, improve depression symptoms and mania severity, and promote healthier psychosocial function.

Journaling

Journaling can help you track your moods and identify triggers for your symptoms. The two main types of journaling used in psychotherapy are expressive writing (writing down your innermost thoughts and feelings) and gratitude journaling (writing down things you are thankful for).

Problem-Solving

Doing problem-solving exercises can help you learn how to deal effectively with stressful situations. One study of 30 years of research noted that when part of family-focused therapy, learning problem-solving skills can help speed recovery from mood episodes and reduce bipolar symptom severity.

Relaxation Techniques

Relaxation techniques such as yoga, meditation, and deep breathing can help reduce stress and promote feelings of calmness and well-being. People with bipolar disorder have a higher risk of being exposed to trauma and developing post-trauma symptoms. Relaxation techniques can help reduce post-trauma effects, such as by reducing nightmare frequency and severity.

Lifestyle Changes for Bipolar Disorder

In addition to engaging in positive mental health practices like the ones mentioned above, making lifestyle changes can help you better manage your bipolar disorder. Some lifestyle changes that may be beneficial include:

• Sticking to a routine: Creating a daily routine and sticking to it can help to stabilize your moods. Try to wake up and go to bed at the same time each day, eat regular meals, and schedule regular times for exercise and relaxation.
• Eating a healthy diet: Eating a healthy, balanced diet can help improve your overall mood and energy levels. Include plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean protein in your diet.
• Exercising regularly: Exercise provides many mental health benefits. It can help improve your mood, sleep, and energy levels, for instance. A moderate amount of exercise is the best way to start—aim for 30 minutes of exercise most days of the week.
• Avoiding alcohol and drugs: Alcohol and drugs can worsen bipolar symptoms. If you are struggling with substance abuse, it is important to seek professional help.
• Managing stress: Stress can trigger bipolar symptoms. Stress also leads to inflammation, further contributing to bipolar disorder. Learning how to manage stress through relaxation techniques, exercise, and healthy coping mechanisms can help prevent episodes of mania or depression.

Managing a Manic Episode

If you are experiencing a manic episode, there are a few things that you can do. Below are some actions you can take “in the moment” to help manage a manic episode:

• Remove yourself from the situation: If you are in a situation that triggers your symptoms, it may be helpful to remove yourself from the situation.
• Practice relaxation techniques: Relaxation techniques such as deep breathing and progressive muscle relaxation can help reduce stress and promote feelings of calmness.
• Engage in physical activity: Physical activity can help release endorphins, among other benefits, which can improve your mood. Activities to consider doing include aerobic exercise, yoga, and Tai Chi.
• Talk to someone you trust: Talking to a friend or family member about what you are experiencing can help reduce feelings of isolation and loneliness. In addition, it is common in a manic episode to not be able to assess your behavior accurately. Using a trusted loved one’s input can be important.
• Identify your triggers: If you can identify what triggers your manic episode, you can try to avoid these triggers in the future.

Potential Risks of Not Taking Your Bipolar Medication

If you have bipolar disorder and don’t take your medication, you may be at risk of developing serious complications. Below are some of the potential risks associated with not taking medication for bipolar disorder:

You May Experience More Severe Symptoms

If you don’t take your medication for bipolar disorder, you may experience more severe symptoms. This can lead to a greater risk of hospitalizations or an increased risk of suicide attempts.

Your Symptoms May Be More Difficult to Manage

Without medication, your symptoms may be more difficult to manage. This can make it harder to live a normal, productive life. In addition, there is some evidence that untreated mood episodes may become harder to treat over time.

You May Be at a Higher Risk for Substance Abuse

If you don’t take medication for bipolar disorder, you may also be at a higher risk for substance abuse. This is to some degree because people with bipolar disorder often self-medicate with alcohol or drugs.

Your Relationships May Suffer

Bipolar disorder can put a significant strain on your relationships. If you don’t take your medication for the condition, you may find it hard to maintain healthy relationships with the people in your life. This can also worsen outcomes because having a solid support system in your life is important to manage your condition.

Medications for Bipolar Disorder

While the above strategies can help you cope with some symptoms of bipolar disorder, medication is often an essential part of the long-term management of this mental health condition.

A mental health professional can help find the best medication for you. Medications that are commonly used to treat bipolar disorder include:

• Mood stabilizers: Mood stabilizers such as lithium, which is available under the brand names Eskalith and Lithobid, can help stabilize your moods and prevent episodes of mania or depression.
• Antipsychotics: Antipsychotic medications such as Seroquel (quetiapine) and Zyprexa (olanzapine) can help treat psychotic symptoms and mania.
• Antidepressants: Antidepressant medications such as Prozac (fluoxetine) and Zoloft (sertraline) can be used to treat depression, although these need to be used with caution as they can potentially trigger mania or worsen mood cycling.
• Anti-anxiety medications: Anti-anxiety medications such as Ativan (lorazepam) and Xanax (alprazolam) can be used to treat anxiety and sleep issues.
• Anticonvulsants: These medications are used to treat seizure disorders, but they can also be helpful in the treatment of bipolar disorder. Types of anticonvulsants that are FDA-approved to treat bipolar disorder include Depakote (divalproex sodium), Tegretol (carbamazepine), and Lamictal (lamotrigine).

Can Bipolar Disorder Go Away Naturally?

Bipolar disorder is a chronic, lifelong condition. However, with proper management, people with bipolar disorder can live healthy and productive lives.

Bipolar medication is necessary to manage mood swings and prevent a relapse of symptoms. Even if you are not currently experiencing mood swings associated with bipolar disorder, not getting the proper treatment increases your risk of complications when mania or depressive symptoms do occur.

If you are not currently taking medication for bipolar disorder, it is important to seek professional help. A mental health professional can help create a bipolar disorder treatment plan that is right for you.

Jean Piaget was a Swiss psychologist and genetic epistemologist. You may have heard of Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, for which he is famous. This theory looks at how children develop intellectually throughout the course of childhood.

Overview of Piaget’s Life and Work

Prior to Piaget’s theory, children were often thought of simply as mini-adults. Instead, Piaget suggested that the way children think is fundamentally different from the way that adults think.

Piaget’s theory had a tremendous influence on the emergence of developmental psychology as a distinctive subfield within psychology and contributed greatly to the field of education. He is also credited as a pioneer of the constructivist theory, which suggests that people actively construct their knowledge of the world based on the interaction between their ideas and experiences.

In a 2002 survey of 1,725 American Psychological Society members, Piaget was named the second most influential psychologist of the 20th century.

Biography of Piaget’s Life

Jean Piaget was born in Switzerland on August 9, 1896, and began showing an interest in the natural sciences at a very early age.

Early Life

By the time he was 11, Piaget had already started his career as a researcher by writing a short paper on an albino sparrow.

Piaget continued to study the natural sciences and received his doctorate in zoology from the University of Neuchâtel in 1918. During this time, he published two essays that provided a foundation for his future thoughts and theories.

While his early career consisted of work in the natural sciences, during the 1920s he began to move toward work as a psychologist.

Personal Life

Piaget married Valentine Châtenay in 1923 and the couple went on to have three children. Piaget’s observations of his own children served as the basis for many of his later theories.

Later Years

In 1925, Piaget returned to the University of Neuchâtel as a professor of psychology, sociology, and philosophy. From 1929 to 1967, he served as the Director of the International Bureau of Education in Geneva. He also taught at the University of Geneva.

Piaget founded the International Center for Genetic Epistemology in 1955. He died in 1980 and was buried in Geneva.

Piaget’s Career and Theories

Piaget had several ideas or theories about cognitive development throughout his career.

Intellectual Development

Piaget developed an interest in psychoanalysis and spent a year working at a boys’ institution created by Alfred Binet. Binet is known as the developer of the world’s first intelligence test, and Piaget took part in scoring these assessments.

Roots of Knowledge

Piaget identified himself as a genetic epistemologist. In his paper Genetic Epistemology, Piaget explained, “What the genetic epistemology proposes is discovering the roots of the different varieties of knowledge, since its elementary forms, following to the next levels, including also the scientific knowledge.”

His early work with Binet’s intelligence tests led Piaget to conclude that children think differently than adults. While this is a widely accepted notion today, it was considered revolutionary at the time. It was this observation that inspired his interest in understanding how knowledge grows throughout childhood.

Schemas

Piaget suggested that children sort the knowledge they acquire through their experiences and interactions into groupings known as schemas. When new information is acquired, it can either be assimilated into existing schemas or accommodated through revising an existing schema or creating an entirely new category of information.

Stages of Cognitive Development

Today, Jean Piaget is best known for his research on children’s cognitive development. Piaget studied the intellectual development of his own three children and created a theory that described the stages that children pass through in the development of intelligence and formal thought processes.

The four stages of Piaget’s theory are as follows:

• Sensorimotor stage: The first stage of development lasts from birth to approximately age 2. At this point in development, children know the world primarily through their senses and movements.
• Preoperational stage: The second stage of development lasts from the ages of 2 to 7 and is characterized by the development of language and the emergence of symbolic play.
• Concrete operational stage: The third stage of cognitive development lasts from the age of 7 to approximately age 11. At this point, logical thought emerges, but children still struggle with abstract and theoretical thinking.
• Formal operational stage: In the fourth and final stage of cognitive development, lasting from age 12 and into adulthood, children become much more adept at abstract thought and deductive reasoning.

Piaget’s Contributions to Psychology

Piaget contributed to psychology in various ways. He provided support for the idea that children think differently than adults and his research identified several important milestones in the mental development of children. His work also generated interest in cognitive and developmental psychology.

Piaget’s theories are widely studied today by students of both psychology and education. In the case of the latter, he once said, “The principle goal of education in the schools should be creating men and women who are capable of doing new things, not simply repeating what other generations have done.”

Piaget’s Influence on Psychology

Piaget’s theories continue to be studied in the areas of psychology, sociology, education, and genetics. His work contributed to our understanding of the cognitive development of children. Piaget helped demonstrate that childhood is a unique and important period of human development.

In their 2005 text, “The Science of False Memory,” authors C.J. Brainerd and V.F. Reyna wrote of Piaget’s influence: “In the course of a long and hugely prolific career, he contributed important scholarly work to fields as diverse as the philosophy of science, linguistics, education, sociology, and evolutionary biology. Above all, however, he was the developmental psychologist of the 20th century.

For two decades, from the early 1960s to the early 1980s, Piagetian theory and Piaget’s research findings dominated developmental psychology worldwide, much as Freud’s ideas had dominated abnormal psychology a generation before. Almost single-handedly, he shifted the focus of developmental research away from its traditional concerns with social and emotional development and toward cognitive development.”

Influence on Psychologists

Piaget’s work influenced other notable psychologists including Howard Gardner and Robert Sternberg.

• Howard Gardner: Gardner developed the theory of multiple intelligences in the 1970s and 1980s. Unlike Piaget, Gardner believed that there are various types of intelligence vs. a single type of intelligence of which people have greater or lesser amounts. Gardner cited Piaget as greatly influencing his work, as he sought to prove Piaget’s theory wrong.
• Robert Sternberg: Similar to Gardner, Sternberg’s work uses classical theories of intelligence like Piaget’s, but contradicts them. Sternberg is best-known for his triarchic theory of intelligence in which he posits there are three types of intelligence: practical, creative, and analytical. According to Sternberg, IQ tests only measure analytic intelligence, which doesn’t give a complete picture of someone’s intelligence.

Influence on Education

Piaget’s work continues to influence education. He advocated for the following principles, which are still often used in classrooms:

• Discovery learning: This emphasizes the idea that children should be given the freedom to explore and discover new information on their own. A learning environment should also provide courses such as music, dance, and art.
• Problem-solving: Piaget believed that children should be taught by solving problems; in addition, teachers should pay attention to how a child arrives at a correct answer.
• Stage-based teaching: Since each child falls into a different stage of cognitive development (and children progress through the stages in their own time), Piaget believed it was important that the learning environment reflects which stage a child is in.

Jean Piaget Quotes

Here is a selection of some of Jean Piaget’s most famous quotes.

On Genetic Epistemology

“What the genetic epistemology proposes is discovering the roots of the different varieties of knowledge, since its elementary forms, following to the next levels, including also the scientific knowledge.”

“The fundamental hypothesis of genetic epistemology is that there is a parallelism between the progress made in the logical and rational organization of knowledge and the corresponding formative psychological processes. With that hypothesis, the most fruitful, most obvious field of study would be the reconstituting of human history—the history of human thinking in prehistoric man. Unfortunately, we are not very well informed in the psychology of primitive man, but there are children all around us, and it is in studying children that we have the best chance of studying the development of logical knowledge, physical knowledge, and so forth.”

On Cognitive Development

“Knowing reality means constructing systems of transformations that correspond, more or less adequately, to reality. They are more or less isomorphic to transformations of reality. The transformational structures of which knowledge consists are not copies of the transformations in reality; they are simply possible isomorphic models among which experience can enable us to choose. Knowledge, then, is a system of transformations that become progressively adequate.”

On Education

“Children have real understanding only of that which they invent themselves, and each time that we try to teach them something too quickly, we keep them from reinventing it themselves.”

On Intelligence

“Furthermore, intelligence itself does not consist of an isolated and sharply differentiated class of cognitive processes. It is not, properly speaking, one form of structuring among others; it is the form of equilibrium towards which all the structures arise out of perception, habit and elementary sensorimotor mechanisms tend.”