Life With a Mental Health Concern
From Leonard Holmes, former About.com Guide
Everyday Stress
No matter who you are or what you're dealing with, stress is likely a constant in your life. Use the links below to begin exploring how to manage and reduce the stress you currently experience on a day-to-day basis.
- Reduce Stress in College Life
- Relieve Back to School Anxiety
- Deal with Test Anxiety
- Deal with Stress at Work
- Handle a Difficult Co-Worker
- Handle Techno-Frustration
- Minimize Summer Stress
- Turn a Bad Day Around
- Cope with a Crisis or Disaster
- Manage Holiday Stress
- Reduce the Stress of Traveling with Kids
- Make Smart Money Choices to Reduce Stress
- Manage Road Rage
- Hone Your Deep Breathing Technique
- Learn Basic Meditation
- Set Up A Home Spa
- Use Visualization to Reduce Stress
- Begin Journaling
- Let Go of Toxic Relationships
- Learn Self Hypnosis
Coping by Condition
Certain mental disorders often create handicaps that may follow you throughout your life. The articles listed below will help to illustrate what you can expect as you cope with your diagnosis and provide potential solutions to common problems.
- Living with ADD
- Going Through College with Autism
- Living with BPD
- Living with Depression
- Coping with GAD
- Living with OCD
- Vacationing with OCD
- Going to College with OCD
- Living with Panic Disorder
- Living with a Phobia
- Coping with PTSD Triggers
- Living with SAD
- Social Anxiety Disorder and College
- Living with Schizophrenia
Finding Support
You'll find that a support system is essential to help you get through difficult periods. Whether you decide to attend a meeting, reach out to online support groups, or strengthen your connections with family and friends, the links below can help you get a system in help you stay strong.
- How to Build a Support Network
- How to Create Social Support in Your Life
- ADD Organizations and Support Groups
- Recovery Support Groups for Addicts and Alcoholics
- Find a Meeting for Alcoholics
- Internet Support for Bipolar Disorder
- Find Support for BPD
- Support Groups for Depression
- Find Eating Disorder Support Groups
- Phobia and Anxiety Support
- Finding Social Support for PTSD
Connect with Others
You'll find a built-in support system on About.com. Use the links below to access condition-specific community forums where you can ask questions, seek a sympathetic ear and strong shoulder, and lend a hand to others in need.
- ADD/ADHD Forums
- Addictions Forums
- Alcoholism Forums
- Autism Forums
- Bipolar Disorder Forums
- BPD Forums
- Depression Forums
- Eating Disorder Forums
- OCD Forums
- Panic Disorder Forums
- Phobia Forums
- PTSD Forums
- Social Anxiety Disorder Forums
- Stress Management Forums
Work Life Issues
Many mental health disorders have an effect on your work life. These resources will help you target areas you may have difficulty with, highlight positives, and assist you in deciding when and how to share your diagnosis with coworkers and employers.
- Telling Coworkers About Your ADD
- Improve Performance at Work with ADD
- Autistic Traits: A Plus for Many Careers
- 5 Ways Anxiety Can Be Helpful
- Deciding to Disclose GAD to Your Employer
- Anxiety and Career Decision Making
- Find Satisfaction At Your Current Job
- Telling Your Employer You Have SAD
- Managing SAD at Work
Relationships
The way we relate to other people, be they friends, family, or romantic interests, is essential to the way we live. These links can help you learn how to share your disorder with someone close to you, interact in social situations, and solve common problems caused by mental health disorders.
- Parenting with ADD
- Dating and ADD
- How to Tell Others About Bipolar Disorder
- Marriage and Manic Depression: Making it Work
- Bipolars and Internet Relationships
- BPD and Relationships
- Should You Tell Others You Have BPD?
- How Anxiety Can Cause Relationship Problems
- OCD and Romantic Relationships
- Help Family and Friends Understand Panic Disorder
- To Tell or Not To Tell?
- Tips to Deal with Dating Anxiety
- How to Tell Friends and Family About a Phobia
- Where to Meet People When You Have SAD
- Managing Social Anxiety at Weddings
- How to Ask Someone on a Date
- Common Stress-Related Marriage Problems
Legal Issues
If you're worried about how your mental health disorder diagnosis and behavior can affect you ability to provide for yourself and your family, these links can help you begin to understand your rights as an employee and individual under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Family Medical Leave Act.
