Mental Health

Jewels Wonders How To Use Her OCD Wisely

Dr. Dale Archer — Sun, 05 May 2013 06:00:00 GMT

Jewels was diagnosed with OCD and has been prescribed medication as well as talk therapy. She doesn't feel either is working. Her problems include of picking and biting her cuticles and constantly touching her scalp while pulling and twirling her hair.

Laurie Says Schizophrenia Is Being One With The Spirit World

Dr. Dale Archer — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 06:00:00 GMT

Laurie hears voices and has many out of body experiences, but keeps it to herself. She nourishes these experiences, and says if doctors knew about it they would label her as schizophrenic.

Karlo's ADD Has Him Concerned About His Future

Dr. Dale Archer — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 06:00:00 GMT

Karlos has always been hyperactive, but it wasn't until 8th grade that he was diagnosed with ADHD. Now he's reading my book 'Better Than Normal' and although he's seeing a glimmer of hope, he still doesn't know what to focus on in life in order to bring about success.

Briara Is Successful, Despite The Voices In Her Head

Dr. Dale Archer — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 06:00:00 GMT

Briara was an only child, and grew up entertaining herself. She enjoyed her little tea parties with her stuffed animals -- each with it's own voice. Now she's a grown woman, and she hears voices in her head.

Jenny's Schizophrenic Brother Won't Take His Meds

Dr. Dale Archer — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 06:00:00 GMT

Jenny's brother has been plagued by a gang who has made threats against him. It got so bad his mom sold her home to get away from the gangs, but they followed, threatening to kill him. Turns out, it's all in his head.

Christina's Marriage Is Over If Something Isn't Done Soon

Dr. Dale Archer — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 06:00:00 GMT

Christina has been married to a man she has known for four years. She loves him dearly, but his mood swings are affecting the family. He's happy and energetic for 3 to 5 days, and then he's angry, tired and does nothing but sleep.

Leonardo Overcame Munchausen by Proxy

Dr. Dale Archer — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 06:00:00 GMT

Leonardo shares his new book, detailing how he overcame Munchausen by Proxy (do you know what this is?), child abuse and the subsequent PTSD. Not only did he overcome his past, but he even became a doctor to help others.

The Odds Of Developing Schizophrenia

Dr. Dale Archer — Sat, 29 Dec 2012 06:00:00 GMT

Marissa's husband has an identical twin was diagnosed with schizophrenia. She wonders what the statistics are for children to become schizophrenic if they're born to a father who is not schizophrenic, but whose identical brother is?

Is Caroline's Asperger's Syndrome Ruling Her Life?

Dr. Dale Archer — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 06:00:00 GMT

Caroline has Asperger's Syndrome. At work she has customer after customer coming to her, asking questions even though she's obviously busy and there's other staff members nearby. This is beyond annoying for her.

Grace's Childhood Dictates The Low Self Esteem She Feels Today

Dr. Dale Archer — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 06:00:00 GMT

Grace grew up listening to verbal abuse from family members. Now 52, she wants to overcome her low self-esteem, but doesn't know how. She slouches, talks quietly and fears others getting angry with her. She's tried reading self-help books, but nothing seems to work.

Alice Asks How To Help Her Delusional Friend

Dr. Dale Archer — Sat, 08 Dec 2012 06:00:00 GMT

Alice is concerned about her friend who sees a dark shadow called "Jimmy". He follows her around, leaving only after she cuts herself with a sharp blade. She sees a counselor, but has not told him or anyone else about this dark, evil figure.

Dr. Adam Blatner Shares His Views On 'Better Than Normal'

Dr. Dale Archer — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 06:00:00 GMT

Adam Blatner, M.D. shares his thoughts and comments on 'Better Than Normal'. He agrees that all of our traits, strengths and weaknesses lie on a continuum and are not good or bad -- rather they make up who we are.

Maullika Asks About Career Paths For The OCD Trait

Dr. Dale Archer — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 06:00:00 GMT

Maullika questions what, besides perfectionism, determines the OCD trait, and what are the best employment choices?

Nancy Rates "Better Than Normal"

Dr. Dale Archer — Sun, 11 Nov 2012 06:00:00 GMT

Nancy studied personality disorders as an undergraduate psychology minor and reviews my book, 'Better Than Normal'. She rates her own personality traits and shows how this understanding can better your life by using her own life as an example. Are you, "Better Than Normal"?

Ellen Won't Go To A Psychiatrist Because She Does Not Want A Diagnosis

Dr. Dale Archer — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 02:00:00 GMT

Ellen, 19, was diagnosed by her GP as having depression a year ago. Now she's having severe mood swings. Her boyfriend says she has a mental illness but it's ok, because she can control it. But, she feels like her mind is slipping away.

'Better Than Normal' Taught Evita How She's Different

Dr. Dale Archer — Sun, 28 Oct 2012 06:00:00 GMT

Evita is from Hong Kong and after reading my book, 'Better Than Normal', she's now in tune to her inner traits and personality strengths, and looking forward to becoming better than normal, herself.

Mahesh Doesn't Know Why His Mother Is So Sad And Hopeless

Dr. Dale Archer — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 06:00:00 GMT

Mahesh's mother was treated by a psychiatrist a couple of months ago. Now she's depressed, hopeless, feels inadequate, has a loss of interest and is unable to make decisions.

Tasha Has Suddenly Becomes Shy Again

Dr. Dale Archer — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 06:00:00 GMT

Tasha is 36 and used to be shy. Teased in school, she didn't have many friends and was often teased. When she turned 20 things began to look up, as she lost some of her shyness. Now she's going to college, and all of her classes require presentations, which she finds very scary.

Ned Cannot Look People In The Eye

Dr. Dale Archer — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 06:00:00 GMT

Ned's life has become very uncomfortable. He cannot maintain eye contact with others, and instead looks at their bodies, to the side or on the ground -- but mostly at their bodies. It's gone from bad to worse, and he's not sure what's going on.

Lauren Has Mood Swings And Is Paranoid

Dr. Dale Archer — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 06:00:00 GMT

Lauren was overweight, felt very depressed, and was crying all the time. Her mom took her to their GP, who didn't do anything. She lost the weight and made friends, but the mood swings continued. She confided in a teacher that she was sexually abused as a child. Her parents were told, they were sad, but then life quickly returned to normal. But, she now continues with the mood swings, and she's also paranoid about meeting new people and freezes in fear when she hears people talk or laugh behind her.

Yanxia's Sister Thinks Her Father-In-Law Is Trying To Poison Her

Dr. Dale Archer — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 06:00:00 GMT

Yanxia is concerned about her little sister, who lives in China. Lately she insists her father-in-law is trying to poison her and her 16 year old daughter, as well as bugging her house so he can listen to conversations. It's not only the in-laws; she's also worried about her daughter's grades when she takes her college entrance exam -- in a year and a half. These delusions are becoming alarming, and all her sister wants to talk about is the father-in-law and how she can prepare her daughter to make high marks for college. Is there a link between the two?

Vimal Doesn't Want Medication For Bipolar Disorder

Dr. Dale Archer — Sun, 09 Sep 2012 06:00:00 GMT

Vimal is 70 and diagnosed with depression. He got his hands on my book while he was in the US and is thrilled, because he does not want to take medication. His son, a neurologist in Canada, says he needs the meds. What do you think?

Kat Is Concerned Because She Scored High On Many Traits

Dr. Dale Archer — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 06:00:00 GMT

Kat is concerned because she scored high on all the personality traits listed in my book 'Better Than Normal'. Now she's wondering if she needs tips on managing so many high scoring traits. Thoughts?

Wendy's Husband Has Monthly Mood Swings

Dr. Dale Archer — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 06:00:00 GMT

Wendy has been married to her husband for 11 years, and he continually has mood swings. He'll be fine for a month, then he's hostile and angry for about a week. He's fine with the kids, but she bears the brunt of his anger. He also gets in verbal altercations at work and threatens to quit. She wonders what's going on. Do you know?

Lisa Wonders If She Will Ever Overcome Her BPD

Dr. Dale Archer — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 21:34:08 GMT

Lisa has struggled with drug and alcohol addiction and Borderline Personality Disorder for over 50 years. Battling relapses, she wants change but is afraid of leaving her comfort zone. Do you have words of support for her?