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Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): the link between sunlight and health

Sunlight helps to regulate the hormones serotonin and melatonin, it has also been shown to affect brain blood flow. Thus, sunlight may not only affect mood directly, but also via its effect on cognition, because cognitive impairment can underlie a depressive episode. A lack of vitamin D, which is synthetized in the presence of sunlight,

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Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental health condition where patients either have repeated intrusive thoughts, perform compulsive behaviours (rituals), or both. The attempt to suppress these thoughts or behaviours leads to heightened anxiety and tension. While patients notice that the thoughts or behaviours do not make sense, they often find it impossible to stop them.

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Therapy for Panic Attacks

A combination of psychotherapy and medication has good empirical support for its effectiveness in the therapy of panic attacks. In more severe cases of panic attacks, when it is no longer possible to leave the house, medication may be needed to make psychotherapy possible. Among the various psychotherapeutic approaches, CBT targets maladaptive thought processes and

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Trauma Therapy: EMDR and PTSD

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a multi-phasic psychotherapeutic approach often used for traumatic memories, particularly in PTSD, but also in anxiety. EMDR is believed to help in the processing of upsetting memories, thoughts, and feelings related to a trauma. By processing these experiences, PTSD symptoms are thought to decrease. EMDR is often combined

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Panic Disorder

Panic disorder is an anxiety disorder with recurring panic attacks. Panic attacks are episodes of intense anxiety and fear, often with heart palpitations, subjective difficulties of breathing, sweating, and other symptoms. They are usually associated with intense fear of imminent death or danger to the individual. Often panic attacks recede quite quickly, before any short-term

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Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

CBT focuses on the development of personal coping strategies that target solving current problems and changing unhelpful patterns in cognitions (e.g., thoughts, beliefs, and attitudes), behaviours, and emotional regulation. It is used for several mental health conditions, including anxiety and depression. CBT is based on the belief that thoughts, behaviours and emotions interact. Thus, thought

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Social Phobia

Social phobia is characterized by an excessive amount of social interactions or general fear of social situations, which can lead to avoidance of many or all social situations. The individual believes that he or she will be scrutinized by others. Exposure to social situations immediately provokes an anxiety response. Physical symptoms often include excessive blushing,

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