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In Our Dreams

Dreams are inextricably connected to sleep in our collective memory and culture. Dreams are known as a source of inspiration, evidence of memory, even religion and tradition. We dream during REM sleep, one of the stages of sleep. “REM” means rapid eye movement, with which we “watch” our dreams.

But why do we dream? What biological purpose do dreams serve? Generally, science’s best answer is that dreams help us sort, analyze, and store information. Our dreams are a sort of byproduct of our information processing

Most Recent Updates to the DSM-5

The DSM-5 stands for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, and the 5 stands for the 5th edition. This book has served as the main reference volume on mental health conditions since its creation in 1952 and has been heavily modified since as our understanding of science progresses. It is written and published by the American Psychiatric Association (APA). Today, we want to look at the most recent set of revisions to the DSM, published last spring.

Unspecified mood disorder

The Stages of Sleep

Today, we’re going to take another look at how sleep works: the stages of sleep. Sleep isn’t just a period of unconsciousness that lets us rest our muscles. The brain does a lot during sleep. We even have an ideal schedule that our brain has made for us.

Keeping these elements of sleep in balance is important for one’s health in every way. There are four stages of sleep, and they are supposed to cycle multiple times during the night (or day, depending on

How to Help a Partner Who Is Depressed

It is a hard thing to watch someone you love suffer. When the sufferer is your spouse or someone you are in a romantic relationship with, you are both in a unique state of difficulty. You might not know how to help, but the important thing is to try your best depending on what you know about that person.

First, how do you recognize depression in a partner? Depression manifests differently in people. Some common signs are:

− Withdrawal, from

 What Is Dissociation? 

According to the American Psychological Association (APA), dissociation is “a defense mechanism in which conflicting impulses are kept apart or threatening ideas and feelings are separated from the rest of the psyche.” A strange, confusing definition for a strange, confusing phenomenon, yet so many people experience it. Sadly, societal stigma and fear prevent some from asking for help. 

Dissociation can involve: 

− Memory loss, including what happened during conversations, periods of time, events, information, and people 

− Memories mixing with others 

− A feeling of blankness, unable to seize on anything 

− A

 Latest News on TMS 

One of our favorite things about transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is that it is, in the realm of medical advancements, a brand-new type of treatment. We use NeuroStar equipment to administer TMS and keep a close eye on developments so that we can continue to offer the best treatments possible for depression, anxiety, and a variety of other mental disorders. We have some exciting things to report about the state of research on TMS. 

TMS has been a means of treating chronic pain and treatment resistant depression for

 What Does the Brain Do During Sleep? 

When we sleep, we are mostly unaware of what goes on. We might wake up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, and sometimes we dream, but for most of us, that’s it. But what does our brain do? It doesn’t go completely offline, but it doesn’t act like it does when we’re awake either. 

Why do we need to sleep? We spend about a quarter to a third of our lives asleep, so it must serve some kind of purpose. Many

 The Role of Vitamins in Mental Health 

Vitamins are often mentioned when talking about taking care of one’s health. We’re encouraged to eat foods with certain vitamins and sometimes take supplements. The purpose of ingesting vitamins varies according to the vitamin and how it interacts with the human body. But how does that work for the brain and mental health? The brain is just another part of the body, and when there is a vitamin deficiency, it will not function at full capacity. 

The B vitamins play an important role in one’s

 Rochester Holistic Psychiatry Introduces Spravato 

Rochester Holistic Psychiatry is now offering the medication Spravato. We are pleased to announce this development and excited that we can stay on the forefront of mental health care by embracing new treatments as they are approved for safe use. 

According to Tiffany Farchione, M.D., “There has been a long-standing need for additional effective treatments for treatment-resistant depression, a serious and life-threatening condition. Controlled clinical trials that studied the safety and efficacy of this drug, along with careful review through the FDA’s drug approval process including a

 Mental Health Goals for 2023 

Don’t set resolutions, set goals. Why? A goal can be broken down into steps to make it actionable. A goal can evolve. When we think of a resolution, it seems like something big and monolithic that must be lived by right now. This will also help us get better at parsing out the steps of a goal. There’s often something that needs to be done before the first step we thought of before, or some steps need to be moved around. A resolution is