Social and Emotional Wellness: Behavioral Health

Millions of Americans--more than 16 percent of teens and adults--live with some type of anxiety disorder. Anxiety disorders are a group of disorders that include panic disorder, agoraphobia, general anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder, among others. Once viewed as worrywarts, people with anxiety disorders are now taken seriously. According to recent studies quoted in USA TODAY, the Nation's No.1 Newspaper, anxiety disorders can lead to higher blood pressure and heart rates, less effective immune systems, surges of stress hormones that strain the heart, more depression, and perhaps even shorter life spans.In this book, you will read case studies of people living with anxiety disorders and how they handle their conditions. You'll learn about the causes, symptoms, and diagnosis of anxiety disorders and will discover coping strategies and treatments. These facts will give you the information you need to recognize and understand anxiety disorders and to reach out for help. Identifying anxiety disorders in yourself, a friend, or a family member is the first step toward effectively managing your condition.

When terrorists attacked the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, Cassie McCauley watched in horror from her classroom on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River. Her heart pounded faster and faster as she saw billowing clouds of dark gray smoke pour from the landmark buildings. When the first tower collapsed, she began feeling light-headed. By the time the second tower fell in on itself, Cassie was so nauseated and dizzy she had to sit down. Along with millions of people across North America and around the world, Cassie grieved for the families who lost relatives and friends. But she never anticipated the changes September 11 would cause in her own life. Soon she found herself unable to go to school and barely able to function. Cassie was experiencing an anxiety disorder.

If you feel anxious most of the time, you're not alone. There is no one in the world who doesn't feel anxious at some time. And it is even more common to feel anxious during adolescence, because so many changes are taking place in your body, your mind, and your emotions. The good news is that there are a lot of effective techniques you can use, both on your own and with the help of a counselor, to reduce your feelings of anxiety and learn how to keep them from taking over your life. This workbook offers a set of simple activities you can do to make it happen. The Anxiety Workbook for Teens will show you how to deal with the day-to-day challenges of anxiety. It will help you develop a positive self-image and recognize your anxious thoughts. The workbook also includes resources for seeking additional help and support if you decide you need it. What are you waiting for? Don't spend another minute paralyzed by anxiety. Anxiety is a common and very treatable condition. Working through the activities in this book will give you many ideas on how to both prevent and handle your anxiety. Some of the activities may seem unusual at first. You may be asked to try doing things that are very new to you. They are tools, intended for you to carry with you and use over and over throughout your life. The more you practice using them, the better you will become at managing anxiety. If you ready to change your life for the better and get your anxiety under control, this workbook can help you start today.

For many years, people who suffered from depression or bipolar disorder were stigmatized for their problems. However, today most scientists believe that these illnesses are caused by chemical imbalances in the brain and can be corrected with medication and talk therapy. In an accessible, easy-to-read format, Depression and Bipolar Disorder provides students with the basic facts, including the causes and treatments, to help students better understand the various problems associated with these mental disorders.

A century ago, people with symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) were sometimes institutionalized of life or treated with frightening operations such as frontal lobotomies. In the twentieth century, psychoanalysis and other types of therapies began to offer more treatment options. In this book, you will read about: Lauren, a high school student whose OCD robbed her of friends, her social life, job, and future, leaving her too ashamed to reach out for help. Jacob, an eight-year-old who suffered a head injury and awoke from his coma with an all-consuming need to do everything seven times. Sal, a dependable, well-balanced husband and father whose sudden compulsion to bring home paper and trash changed his entire life. Laura, whose undiagnosed OCD led her to be placed in a school for children with intellectual disabilities. Emma, whose frightening thoughts about hurting her baby sister drove her to pray for hours every day and to go to confession many times a week. Annaliese, a nurse who was accidentally poked by a patient's needle a decade ago and has remained convinced ever since that she has AIDS. Through these stories and the factual material accompanying them, you will learn about the huge ramifications OCD has on individuals' lives as well as the types of treatments available to help. With the discovery of psychiatric drugs, doctors now have more ways than ever to treat, and in some cases altogether relieve, the symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder explains how psychiatric drugs and other forms of therapy are making a difference in the lives of many people with symptoms of OCD. Book jacket.

#1 New York Times Bestseller The groundbreaking work that poses one of the most provocative questions of a generation: what is happening to the selves of adolescent girls? As a therapist, Mary Pipher was becoming frustrated with the growing problems among adolescent girls. Why were so many of them turning to therapy in the first place? Why had these lovely and promising human beings fallen prey to depression, eating disorders, suicide attempts, and crushingly low self-esteem? The answer hit a nerve with Pipher, with parents, and with the girls themselves. Crashing and burning in a “developmental Bermuda Triangle,” they were coming of age in a media-saturated culture preoccupied with unrealistic ideals of beauty and images of dehumanized sex, a culture rife with addictions and sexually transmitted diseases. They were losing their resiliency and optimism in a “girl-poisoning” culture that propagated values at odds with those necessary to survive.    Told in the brave, fearless, and honest voices of the girls themselves who are emerging from the chaos of adolescence, Reviving Ophelia is a call to arms, offering important tactics, empathy, and strength, and urging a change where young hearts can flourish again, and rediscover and reengage their sense of self.

A New York Times Bestseller From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Shopaholic series comes a terrific blend of comedy, romance, and psychological recovery in a contemporary YA novel sure to inspire and entertain.   An anxiety disorder disrupts fourteen-year-old Audrey's daily life. She has been making slow but steady progress with Dr. Sarah, but when Audrey meets Linus, her brother's gaming teammate, she is energized. She connects with him. Audrey can talk through her fears with Linus in a way she's never been able to do with anyone before. As their friendship deepens and her recovery gains momentum, a sweet romantic connection develops, one that helps not just Audrey but also her entire family.

Teen and adult fans of All The Bright Places, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, and Everything, Everything will adore this quirky story of coming-of-age, coming out, friendship, love...and agoraphobia. Sixteen-year-old Solomon is agoraphobic. He hasn't left the house in three years, which is fine by him. Ambitious Lisa desperately wants to get into the second-best psychology program for college (she's being realistic). But how can she prove she deserves a spot there? Solomon is the answer. Determined to "fix" Sol, Lisa thrusts herself into his life, sitting through Star Trek marathons with him and introducing him to her charming boyfriend Clark. Soon, all three teens are far closer than they thought they'd be, and when their walls fall down, their friendships threaten to collapse, as well.  Highly Illogical Behavior showcases the different ways we hide ourselves from the world--and how love, tragedy, and the need for connection may be the only things to bring us back into the light.

After the sudden collapse of her family, Mim Malone is dragged from her home in northern Ohio to the "wastelands" of Mississippi, where she lives in a medicated milieu with her dad and new stepmom. Before the dust has a chance to settle, she learns her mother is sick back in Cleveland.   So she ditches her new life and hops aboard a northbound Greyhound bus to her real home and her real mother, meeting a quirky cast of fellow travelers along the way. But when her thousand-mile journey takes a few turns she could never see coming, Mim must confront her own demons, redefining her notions of love, loyalty, and what it means to be sane.   Told in an unforgettable, kaleidoscopic voice, Mosquitoland is a modern American odyssey, as hilarious as it is heartbreaking.

Sixteen-year-old Aza never intended to pursue the mystery of fugitive billionaire Russell Pickett, but there's a hundred-thousand-dollar reward at stake and her Best and Most Fearless Friend, Daisy, is eager to investigate. So together, they navigate the short distance and broad divides that separate them from Russell Pickett's son, Davis.     Aza is trying. She is trying to be a good daughter, a good friend, a good student, and maybe even a good detective, while also living within the ever-tightening spiral of her own thoughts.    In his long-awaited return, John Green, the acclaimed, award-winning author of Looking for Alaska and The Fault in Our Stars, shares Aza's story with shattering, unflinching clarity in this brilliant novel of love, resilience, and the power of lifelong friendship.

That sweaty, gut-clenching, suffocating, racing-heart feeling … … That dull, never-ending sense that something’s wrong. What is it? Anxiety. And it affects millions of young North Americans today. When anxiety has you in its grip, it can seem impossible to rationalize your way out of it. From phobias to compulsiveness to post traumatic stress disorder, Freaking Out chronicles the many guises of excessive anxiety in teens’ lives and the havoc it can wreak. The 13 true stories in this collection span the anxiety spectrum, from heightened adolescent angst to full-blown disorders, exploring anxiety’s run amuck power to take over your thoughts. The triggers for the teens in this book range from the stress of getting into college, to the loss of a parent, to day-to-day social encounters. Their stories explore the different ways they each learned to unshackle themselves from the weight of overwhelming worry. In “Nowhere to Hide,” Caroline suffers debilitating panic attacks brought on in part by extreme shyness. In “Exiled,” Alana’s treatment at the hand of bullies makes her anxiety even worse. In “The Enemy Next Door” Noah grapples with the paralyzing, unexplained fear of dogs that has caused him anxiety since childhood. And in “War Story,” Hamid, alone in a new country, must confront his post traumatic stress disorder. Including an afterword and resources section written by a adolescent psychologist Stacie Isenberg of The Ross Center in Washington, DC., Freaking Out offers young people a vivid understanding of what anxiety feels like, positive tools to minimize its effects, and the reassurance that they can live a full and rewarding life even if they find themselves in its grip.

How do you know if you're on the verge of a nervous breakdown? For seventeen-year-old Stacy Black, it all begins with the smashing of a window. After putting her fist through the glass, she checks into a mental hospital. Stacy hates it there but despite herself slowly realizes she has to face the reasons for her depression to stop from self-destructing. Based on the author's experiences,How I Made it to Eighteen is a frank portrait of what it's like to struggle with self-esteem, body image issues, drug addiction, and anxiety. How I Made It to Eighteen is a 2011 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

Stupid. Fat. Freak. These are the labels Melissa Binstock bestowed upon herself. Diagnosed with six different disorders by the age of eleven, Melissa was drowning in medications, treatments, and isolation. Feeling defined and controlled by Tourette syndrome, dyslexia, ADHD, OCD, anxiety disorder, and anorexia, Melissa spent her teenage years emotionally empty, socially stunted, and filled with confusion and self-hatred. How must it feel to live with so many life-altering disorders simultaneously and what wisdom can be found through living such a tortured existence? In this brutally honest account of her quest for love, acceptance, and the physical and emotional nourishment she desperately needed, Melissa Binstock takes you on a journey through the complex world of neurological and emotional disorders. You will be mesmerized and inspired as she shares her struggles to refeed her starving mind, body, and soul in her quest to become fully nourished.  

Helping teens deal with depression. "Once you've been through it and you're able to get out of it, then you can handle pretty much anything." - Caroline, age 19 Written to be read by teens themselves, My Kind of Sad lays out the facts on moodiness, depression, and the stresses of teenaged life. From the factors affecting how kids feel to the signs of serious depression, the book explores youth-specific mental health issues and offers teens expert advice on how to find help for themselves or help a friend in need. To help kids differentiate between general worries and something more serious, the topics include: reactive depression (a mood) vs. clinical depression (a mood disorder) bipolar disorder anxiety disorders (panic attacks, posttraumatic stress disorder) disordered eating (how food affects mood) vs. eating disorders (diseases that can kill) self-mutilation (cutting) suicide and warning signs treatment options Along with constructive guidance from professionals and stats from the latest studies, the book shares thoughts and feelings from teens who have experienced different forms of depression. Complete with pages of resources to help learn more, My Kind of Sad is a valuable ally in the battle against hopelessness.