When therapist Colleen King was 19 years old, a psychiatrist told her that because of her family history—her father and brother having bipolar disorder—she shouldn’t have children. Today, King’s clients regularly tell her that people have told them they shouldn’t or can’t have loving relationships. Sadly, these are just two
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Shared by Margarita Tartakovsky, M.S., Contributing Blogger July 1, 2018
When you have ADHD you can easily feel overwhelmed and paralyzed. You may have a hard time with everything from prioritizing tasks to completing projects to managing your time to organizing your home. You also procrastinate. You’re constantly running late. Planning makes you break out in hives (figuratively). You feel
Read More Shared by Margarita Tartakovsky, M.S., Contributing Blogger June 2, 2018
Bipolar disorder is a difficult, complicated illness. And like any illness, it can naturally spill over into your relationship. As couples therapist Julia Nowland noted, “Bipolar disorder can be an emotional roller-coaster ride for the couple, with many ups and downs that mimic the disorder itself.” But this doesn’t mean
Read More Shared by Margarita Tartakovsky, M.S., Contributing Blogger May 28, 2018
In addition to therapy, medication can be an invaluable treatment for clinical depression. It may alleviate symptoms and literally save lives. Which is why having an array of medications to choose from is vital. Recently, in the U.S., three antidepressants were approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to
Read More Shared by Margarita Tartakovsky, M.S., Contributing Blogger May 21, 2018
Today, in our society dependent is a dirty word. It’s a synonym for weak, helpless, clinging, incapable, immature and inferior. Literally. Because when you look up “dependent” in a thesaurus, those are the very words you’ll find. Naturally, we don’t want to be any of those things, so we see
Read More Shared by Margarita Tartakovsky, M.S., Contributing Blogger April 26, 2018
Anxiety is frustrating. You feel like a stranger inside your own body. You feel like there are mini explosions inside your head, inside your heart. Sometimes, you shake. Sometimes, you sweat. Sometimes, the sensations are hard to describe: You simply feel off or downright terrible. Your thoughts race each other
Read More Shared by Margarita Tartakovsky, M.S., Contributing Blogger April 19, 2018
When writer Elaina J. Martin was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, she felt “less than.” “I felt like other people were better than me, less damaged than I was.” In the first few years of her diagnosis, psychotherapist Colleen King, LMFT, worried she’d never be able to function at a higher
Read More Shared by Margarita Tartakovsky, M.S., Contributing Blogger April 8, 2018
It’s hard enough to navigate social media as an adult. Many of us start feeling envious of others’ lives and experience self-doubt. Even one image can lead us to question everything from our weight to our worth, from our career choices to our day-to-day routines. We know the images are
Read More Shared by Margarita Tartakovsky, M.S., Contributing Blogger April 6, 2018
In our society, we’re constantly striving to feel positive emotions—only positive emotions. Happiness. Joy. Gratitude. Calm. Peace. We see sadness as unhealthy and wrong, so when it arises, we feel unhealthy and wrong for experiencing it. We see sadness as unproductive. We just “don’t see the point” in feeling sad,
Read More Shared by Margarita Tartakovsky, M.S., Contributing Blogger April 4, 2018
Bipolar disorder is a difficult illness. It affects everything. In addition to affecting your mood, it affects your judgment, concentration, memory, energy and sleep. It affects your relationships. It affects your everyday. It can bring about a deep, sinking despair, or jolt you into a euphoric state where your brain
Read More Shared by Margarita Tartakovsky, M.S., Contributing Blogger March 22, 2018