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Agoraphobia typically presents as overwhelming anxiety that is irrational and inappropriate for the circumstances—usually when the person attempts to leave home or even thinks of doing so. This article discusses the specific symptoms and signs of agoraphobia that clinicians use to diagnose the disorder. What Is Agoraphobia? Agoraphobia—derived from the Latin “fear of the marketplace”—is a type of anxiety disorder. It arises from an acute, persistent fear of being somewhere that’s difficult or impossible to escape from or of experiencing an embarrassing event in a public place....

You are about to adopt a baby and you want to breastfeed him? Wonderful! It is not only possible, it is fairly easy and the chances are you will produce a significant amount of milk. It is not complicated, but it is different from breastfeeding a baby with whom you have been pregnant for 9 months. Breastfeeding and Breast Milk There are really two objectives involved in nursing an adopted baby....

Mushrooms are a funny food. Neither a fruit nor a vegetable (and technically classified as a fungus), mushrooms are a staple in the healthy diets of most adults, thanks to their versatility and their nutritional benefits. But when you scan the baby food aisle at the grocery store, this delicious and good-for-you food is typically nowhere to be seen. “Mushrooms aren’t really considered a common food for babies to eat. That said, the goal is to get baby used to eating what parents eat by around 1 year of age,” says pediatrician Tanya Altmann, MD, author and editor-in-chief of several best-selling American Academy of Pediatrics’ parenting books including Baby and Toddler Basics and Your Baby’s First Year....

Cocaine is a highly addictive drug that can heighten activity in the body, including heart rate, blood pressure, alertness, and energy. The most commonly used form of the drug is a white powder which is found in the leaves of the Erythroxylon Coca plant and has been used in South America for hundreds of years. It was first introduced in the United States in the 1880s as a surgical anesthetic. In the early 1900s, cocaine was the active ingredient in many of the tonics and elixirs that were marketed at the time to treat a variety of conditions and illnesses before its side effects and addictive properties were fully understood....

Experiencing cramps early in your pregnancy can naturally lead to anxiety and worry that something is wrong. You might wonder if the cramping is from normal uterine stretching and growth or a sign of an impending miscarriage. Also, because there are numerous causes of cramping and your body changes so rapidly in pregnancy, the answer to what’s going on isn’t always obvious. Even though cramps can sometimes indicate problems, mild and transient cramping early in pregnancy is usually normal and not a sign of miscarriage....

In operant conditioning, a fixed-interval schedule is a schedule of reinforcement where the first response is rewarded only after a specified amount of time has elapsed. This schedule causes high amounts of responding near the end of the interval but much slower responding immediately after the delivery of the reinforcer. As you may remember, operant conditioning relies on either reinforcement or punishment to strengthen or weaken a response. This process of learning involves forming an association with behavior and the consequences of that behavior....

If you start each morning dreading going to work, it can take a serious toll on your happiness and well-being. Even people who love their jobs get bored, frustrated, or dissatisfied with aspects of their work from time to time. In other cases, people can experience burnout or dissatisfaction with their work culture. What can you do if you’re unhappy with your job? The obvious solution is to consider changing jobs, but this isn’t always an option....

Subscribe Now: Apple Podcasts / Spotify / Google Podcasts Every Monday on The Verywell Mind Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Amy Morin, LCSW, interviews experts, authors, entrepreneurs, athletes, musicians, and other inspirational people about the strategies that help them think, feel, and do their best in life. Meet Danielle Walker When Danielle Walker was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, physicians told her that her illness could be well-managed with medication. But, Danielle’s symptoms didn’t go away....

Do you remember the last time you experienced a lucky coincidence — a time when you found a very specific thing that you needed, exactly when you needed it? We all experience serendipitous coincidences on a regular basis but are sometimes too stressed and busy to notice them or take advantage of the opportunities that they provide. Believers in the Law of Attraction maintain that these coincidences and lucky opportunities are always available to us, and the more we take advantage of them, the more often they will present themselves....

It’s common to occasionally have a low breast milk supply and/or to wonder if you’re making enough breast milk. If you suspect your milk supply might be low, please speak with a lactation consultant or your doctor before making any adjustments to your routine. They can help you understand what is normal for you and your baby and to determine if you do need to take steps to increase your breast milk supply....

Understanding how ADD/ADHD impacts behavior and relationships in group settings are important if your child is about to enter a new social environment for the first time. Your children may be enrolled in new after-school or weekend activities — baseball, chorus, drama, soccer — for the upcoming school year, for example. This means that other adults who may not be aware of your child’s ADD/ADHD will be providing supervision and guidance....

There has been ample research done on the connections between human health and the natural world. A recent study published in The Lancet Planetary Health focused on the ways that air pollution has the potential to negatively impact and exacerbate neurological disorders. Key Takeaways Both prolonged and short-term exposure to air pollution can have an impact on many chronic health conditions.Recent data suggest a major connection between air pollution and neurological disorders....

Most of us don’t like to think about “power” when we think about relationships. Intimate relationships involve sharing and cooperation — but it takes two to share and cooperate. What if one partner doesn’t want to? Whoever wants less of a relationship has more power. The most obvious example of this principle is divorce. It just takes one person to end a relationship. It doesn’t matter how much the other partner wants the marriage to work....

Netflix’s four-part limited docuseries How to Change Your Mind, based on the book of the same name by Michael Pollan, covers the history and promise of psychedelics. Divided into episodes on LSD, psilocybin, MDMA, and mescaline, Pollan serves as the series’ narrator and the figure that connects each episode. Mind in the Media is an ongoing series discussing mental health and psychological topics in popular movies and television The show, which boasts Oscar-winning documentarian Alex Gibney as one of its executive producers, presents psychedelics as a potential game changer in the treatment of mental illnesses such as anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder....

Ovidrel (choriogonadotropin alfa injection) is a fertility drug used to enhance and trigger ovulation. Ovidrel is a type of injectable medication that’s also known as a “trigger shot.” It may be used by itself or along with other fertility drugs. Ovidrel may be used in a cycle with timed sexual intercourse, intrauterine insemination (IUI), or in vitro fertilization (IVF) to improve the odds of pregnancy with each cycle. Learn more about using Ovidrel trigger shots for fertility treatments, including possible side effects and success rates....

Preemies require special care that’s personalized for each newborn. One common aspect of this care, however, is that preemies typically can’t wear clothing at first due to their delicate skin and other issues. When parents can finally start dressing their little ones in adorable preemie clothes, it tends to be celebrated as a momentous milestone in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Clothing is avoided for most preemies because it may interfere with temperature regulation and access to any needed intravenous lines, says Karleen Sigvartsen, BSN, RNC-NIC, a neonatal intensive care unit nurse at Children’s Hospital Colorado....

Headlines about a rise in cases of mpox around the world and in the U.S. can be scary. If you’re a parent, you may be wondering what this news means for you and your children. At this point, experts agree the risk of mpox to the vast majority of people is low. Still, it’s understandable parents would be concerned about mpox, and want to know what the risks are to their children—now or in the future....

Stinging nettle (Urtica dioica), also known as common nettle, is a dark, leafy green plant that is high in iron and considered to be very nutritious. For generations, women have used this herb after childbirth to treat anemia and as a ​galactagogue to help make more breast milk. It is also taken to treat prostate problems, urinary issues, gout, allergies, and hay fever. Stinging Nettle and Breastfeeding Stinging nettle is believed to stimulate milk production and increase the supply of breast milk in breastfeeding mothers....

It’s no secret that the pandemic has resulted in a dramatic decline in the country’s collective mental health. There’s no shortage of research on or coverage of the topic, and it’s something we can observe in our own lives. Key Takeaways A new study suggests that Covid-19 infection is linked to an increase in mental health risks.While there are key limitations to the study, it’s crucial to address mental health challenges for survivors of Covid-19....

Thinking of taking a break from trying to conceive? Then you probably should. Even though you may feel like you can’t stop, or like it’d just be easier to continue than take a break. You should speak to your doctor, first, of course. (More on that below.) However, if the doctor approves, and you can get past the initial anxiety of deciding to stop, the experience can be healing. Trying to conceive can be emotionally exhausting....