LifeStance Insights
Our team of expert clinicians give their perspectives across a range of subjects, touching on current topics, family and loved one issues, mental health struggles and the comprehensive services that can help you live a better life.
FEATURED STORY
Lexapro for Anxiety: A Psychiatrist Explains How It Works and What to Expect
About 6.8 million U.S. adults live with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), and fewer than half receive treatment for it. When medication is part of a care plan, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are the most commonly prescribed class, and Lexapro (escitalopram) is one of the most widely used SSRIs for anxiety. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Lexapro for two conditions, major depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder, and psychiatrists also prescribe it off-label for related conditions like social anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
Here's how Lexapro works for anxiety, how it compares with other options, what to expect once you start, and how it fits into a broader treatment plan.
How Lexapro Works for Anxiety
Lexapro is the brand name for escitalopram, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, or SSRI. SSRIs are the most prescribed class...
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Self-Help & Wellness
How to Relax on Vacation When Your Trip Feels Anything But
A vacation is supposed to be relaxing, right? You take time off from work and your daily schedule to go off on an adventure with your partner, family, or friends. That’s what a vacation is at its core. But vacations can also contain bumps and surprises that impact your mental well-being. According to a Gallup survey, the majority of Americans don’t return from vacation feeling rested and relaxed.
At times, I have been one of these people. There are certain vacations where I’ve come back feeling tranquil and inspired, but then there are others where I’ve returned feeling drained. Here's what I've learned about why that happens, and what helps me avoid it.
How Can Vacations Be Stressful?
There are lots of factors that can contribute to a vacation feeling anything but a vacation. If you go with a big group or extended family, all those dynamics and decisions can make you feel burned out. Traveling itself can be stressful, wi...
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How to Relax on Vacation When Your Trip Feels Anything But
A vacation is supposed to be relaxing, right? You take time off from work and your daily schedule to go off on an adventure with your partner, family, or friends. That’s what a vacation is at its core. But vacations can also contain bumps and surprises that impact your mental well-being. According to a Gallup survey, the majority of Americans don’t return from vacation feeling rested and relaxed.
At times, I have been one of these people. There are certain vacations where I’ve come back feeling tranquil and inspired, but then there are others where I’ve returned feeling drained. Here's what I've learned about why that happens, and what helps me avoid it.
How Can Vacations Be Stressful?
There are lots of factors that can contribute to a vacation feeling anything but a vacation. If you go with a big group or extended family, all those dynamics and decisions can make you feel burned out. Traveling itself can be stressful, wi...
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Self-Help & Wellness
Vagus Nerve Exercises That Worked for Me
Lately, there’s been a lot of talk about the vagus nerve in the wellness world. TikTokers sharing how to “reset your vagus nerve,” biohackers raving about the benefits of improving your vagal tone. It made me wonder: Is all the hype about the vagus nerve just another viral wellness trend, or is it rooted in real science?
So, I did what I always do when something keeps appearing in my feed: I went down a research rabbit hole, tried a few of the techniques myself, and came out the other side with some answers. Here’s what I learned about how to harness the magic of the vagus nerve, and the simple vagus nerve exercises that actually made a difference for me.
What Is the Vagus Nerve?
I’m an etymology nerd, so I loved discovering that the word “vagus” derives from the Latin for “wandering” or “straying.” And wander, it does. As the longest cranial nerve, the vagus nerve runs from the brain, through the neck and chest, and into...
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Vagus Nerve Exercises That Worked for Me
Lately, there’s been a lot of talk about the vagus nerve in the wellness world. TikTokers sharing how to “reset your vagus nerve,” biohackers raving about the benefits of improving your vagal tone. It made me wonder: Is all the hype about the vagus nerve just another viral wellness trend, or is it rooted in real science?
So, I did what I always do when something keeps appearing in my feed: I went down a research rabbit hole, tried a few of the techniques myself, and came out the other side with some answers. Here’s what I learned about how to harness the magic of the vagus nerve, and the simple vagus nerve exercises that actually made a difference for me.
What Is the Vagus Nerve?
I’m an etymology nerd, so I loved discovering that the word “vagus” derives from the Latin for “wandering” or “straying.” And wander, it does. As the longest cranial nerve, the vagus nerve runs from the brain, through the neck and chest, and into...
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Mood Disorders
Postpartum Psychosis: Understanding the Illness Behind the Headlines
When a mother harms her children during a psychiatric crisis, the headlines almost always reach for the same word: monster. The courtroom, though, keeps arriving at a different answer. Two of the most widely covered maternal tragedies in American history, separated by more than two decades, have turned on a rare and often misunderstood condition that can seize a new mother within days of giving birth and convince her that the unthinkable is the only way to protect her child. That condition is postpartum psychosis, and understanding it is the difference between recognizing a medical emergency and mistaking it for a moral failing.
The recent murder trial of Lindsay Clancy, a former labor and delivery nurse accused of killing her three young children in Massachusetts, has pulled this condition back into national view, echoing the Andrea Yates case from 2001 that first forced the country to confront it. Both stories are devastating, but they also carry a lesson that can save lives: the warning signs are recognizable, and with fast treatment, the majority of affected mothers can achieve recovery....
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Postpartum Psychosis: Understanding the Illness Behind the Headlines
When a mother harms her children during a psychiatric crisis, the headlines almost always reach for the same word: monster. The courtroom, though, keeps arriving at a different answer. Two of the most widely covered maternal tragedies in American history, separated by more than two decades, have turned on a rare and often misunderstood condition that can seize a new mother within days of giving birth and convince her that the unthinkable is the only way to protect her child. That condition is postpartum psychosis, and understanding it is the difference between recognizing a medical emergency and mistaking it for a moral failing.
The recent murder trial of Lindsay Clancy, a former labor and delivery nurse accused of killing her three young children in Massachusetts, has pulled this condition back into national view, echoing the Andrea Yates case from 2001 that first forced the country to confront it. Both stories are devastating, but they also carry a lesson that can save lives: the warning signs are recognizable, and with fast treatment, the majority of affected mothers can achieve recovery....
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Self-Help & Wellness
Coloring Apps for Mental Health: 10 Therapist-Informed Picks
Coloring isn’t just for kids, and it’s far from a new idea for grown-ups looking to settle their minds. Adults have reached for colored pencils to unwind for a long time, and the size of the habit shows how mainstream it has become. Estimates of the global adult coloring book market vary widely with how the category is defined, ranging from around $150 million to roughly $1.8 billion today, with projections of about $3.2 billion by 2034. Much of that momentum is credited to demand for stress relief and mindfulness practices, and North America holds the largest regional share.
As phones and tablets became the device always within reach, the coloring-book craze spilled into the app stores, and today plenty of people do their coloring on a screen, whether tapping in a mandala on the train or filling a digital page before bed. What follows is a therapist's view of why coloring can be so settling, what research suggests, and ten coloring apps that may be worth a spot on your home screen.
Why Coloring Calms the Mind...
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Coloring Apps for Mental Health: 10 Therapist-Informed Picks
Coloring isn’t just for kids, and it’s far from a new idea for grown-ups looking to settle their minds. Adults have reached for colored pencils to unwind for a long time, and the size of the habit shows how mainstream it has become. Estimates of the global adult coloring book market vary widely with how the category is defined, ranging from around $150 million to roughly $1.8 billion today, with projections of about $3.2 billion by 2034. Much of that momentum is credited to demand for stress relief and mindfulness practices, and North America holds the largest regional share.
As phones and tablets became the device always within reach, the coloring-book craze spilled into the app stores, and today plenty of people do their coloring on a screen, whether tapping in a mandala on the train or filling a digital page before bed. What follows is a therapist's view of why coloring can be so settling, what research suggests, and ten coloring apps that may be worth a spot on your home screen.
Why Coloring Calms the Mind...
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Diagnosing (Testing & Evaluation)
What an Online ADHD Quiz Can and Can’t Tell You
Type “ADHD test” into a search bar and millions of results appear in under a second, many promising an answer in just a few minutes. The pull is easy to understand. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common neurodevelopmental conditions, and an estimated 7 million U.S. children aged 3 to 17 have been diagnosed with it, with millions of adults recognizing the same patterns in themselves. The catch is that the quick answer most quizzes appear to offer is not the answer people actually need. A high score on a free ADHD test can be a useful nudge toward help, but it is not a diagnosis, and treating it like one can send a person down the wrong path entirely.
What Is an ADHD Test?
In everyday language, “ADHD test” covers two very different things. The first is the online ADHD quiz: a short, self-scored questionnaire that asks how often a person experiences symptoms like losing focus, fidgeting, m...
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What an Online ADHD Quiz Can and Can’t Tell You
Type “ADHD test” into a search bar and millions of results appear in under a second, many promising an answer in just a few minutes. The pull is easy to understand. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common neurodevelopmental conditions, and an estimated 7 million U.S. children aged 3 to 17 have been diagnosed with it, with millions of adults recognizing the same patterns in themselves. The catch is that the quick answer most quizzes appear to offer is not the answer people actually need. A high score on a free ADHD test can be a useful nudge toward help, but it is not a diagnosis, and treating it like one can send a person down the wrong path entirely.
What Is an ADHD Test?
In everyday language, “ADHD test” covers two very different things. The first is the online ADHD quiz: a short, self-scored questionnaire that asks how often a person experiences symptoms like losing focus, fidgeting, m...
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Therapy
Do Mental Health Treatments Work No Matter Where You Live? What the Data Shows
Rural Americans carry a heavier mental health burden than people in big cities due to higher rates of depression and suicide, yet they’re far less likely to reach a provider who can help. That gap raises an uncomfortable question: when care is harder to reach, do mental health treatments also work less well for the people who live in underserved parts of the country?
A LifeStance Health analysis of more than 139,000 LifeStance patients points to a reassuring answer. When we looked at treatment results across every region of the U.S., including regions with large rural populations, improvement stayed remarkably consistent. The evidence suggests there's a challenge in reaching care, not benefiting from it once you’re in it.
The Rural Mental Health Gap
The prevalence of mental illness is similar in rural and urban America, but access to care is not. A 2020 review published in the Journal of Clinical and Translational Science...
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Do Mental Health Treatments Work No Matter Where You Live? What the Data Shows
Rural Americans carry a heavier mental health burden than people in big cities due to higher rates of depression and suicide, yet they’re far less likely to reach a provider who can help. That gap raises an uncomfortable question: when care is harder to reach, do mental health treatments also work less well for the people who live in underserved parts of the country?
A LifeStance Health analysis of more than 139,000 LifeStance patients points to a reassuring answer. When we looked at treatment results across every region of the U.S., including regions with large rural populations, improvement stayed remarkably consistent. The evidence suggests there's a challenge in reaching care, not benefiting from it once you’re in it.
The Rural Mental Health Gap
The prevalence of mental illness is similar in rural and urban America, but access to care is not. A 2020 review published in the Journal of Clinical and Translational Science...
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Therapy
Online EMDR Therapy: How Virtual Trauma Treatment Works and Whether It’s Effective
When Miley Cyrus opened up about using EMDR to work through anxiety and trauma, she joined a growing list of public figures — Prince Harry and Sandra Bullock among them — crediting the same unusual-sounding therapy. That visibility has helped push eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) from a niche trauma treatment into one of the most talked-about therapies today. But as demand has grown, so has a practical question: does it still work when the session happens over video, from your own living room?
The short answer is that a growing body of research suggests it does, and for many individuals, the virtual version removes the exact barriers that kept them out of the office in the first place. EMDR has spent decades earning its place as a frontline trauma and PTSD treatment, and LifeStance clinicians provide EMDR both in-office and online (if you’re new to it, LifeStance offers a full explanation of how EMDR works).
This article focuses on how the method adapts to video, what the evidence shows, and who each format fits best....
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Online EMDR Therapy: How Virtual Trauma Treatment Works and Whether It’s Effective
When Miley Cyrus opened up about using EMDR to work through anxiety and trauma, she joined a growing list of public figures — Prince Harry and Sandra Bullock among them — crediting the same unusual-sounding therapy. That visibility has helped push eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) from a niche trauma treatment into one of the most talked-about therapies today. But as demand has grown, so has a practical question: does it still work when the session happens over video, from your own living room?
The short answer is that a growing body of research suggests it does, and for many individuals, the virtual version removes the exact barriers that kept them out of the office in the first place. EMDR has spent decades earning its place as a frontline trauma and PTSD treatment, and LifeStance clinicians provide EMDR both in-office and online (if you’re new to it, LifeStance offers a full explanation of how EMDR works).
This article focuses on how the method adapts to video, what the evidence shows, and who each format fits best....
Read More
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