Oxendale & Associates, LLC

10/19/2025

The Wound is the Way....

08/20/2025

Whether you and your partner have been together for 6 month, 6 years, or 6 decades, there's always something new to learn about each other. 

08/17/2025

...and I think it's getting worse.

2. Shrinking yourself to avoid being "too much."

08/07/2025

To the parents unlearning this and re-learning what love and safety means (while raising kids, no less), I see you 🤍
_whispers_

08/06/2025

A large segment of the population lives in mortal fear of being asked a dreaded question: “What are you feeling?”

08/04/2025

Medication may help in the short-term, but often the long-term psychosocial issues go unaddressed

Is Depression Really Caused by a "Chemical Imbalance"? New Landmark Study Says No.

A comprehensive review led by researchers at University College London (UCL) has found no solid scientific evidence that depression is caused by low serotonin levels or reduced serotonin activity—a theory long believed to underpin the use of common antidepressants.

Published in Molecular Psychiatry, this umbrella review analyzed decades of studies across various disciplines. The findings challenge the widely accepted “chemical imbalance” theory, which forms the foundation of popular antidepressants like SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors).

🔬 While SSRIs are believed to “correct” serotonin deficiencies, this review suggests such deficiencies might not even exist in the first place. Alarmingly, some evidence hints these drugs may actually reduce serotonin over time.

🧠 The researchers caution that up to 90% of the public believes in this now-questioned theory—potentially discouraging hope for recovery and limiting non-drug treatment options, such as therapy, lifestyle changes, and social support.

The authors advocate for a shift in mental health care: focusing more on life stressors, trauma, and socio-environmental factors, and less on unproven biological explanations.

📚 Source:
Moncrieff, J., Cooper, R. E., Stockmann, T., Amendola, S., Hengartner, M. P., & Horowitz, M. A. (2022). The serotonin theory of depression: A systematic umbrella review of the evidence. Molecular Psychiatry.

08/01/2025

Truer words never spoken...

07/29/2025

Parenting 101...

07/24/2025

Ever found yourself saying something and then thinking,
"Wow… that sounded just like my parents"?
⁠
Parenting is often a blend of old patterns and new intentions.
⁠
But awareness is the first step to change.
⁠
You’re allowed to pause, reflect, and choose differently.
⁠
💬 What’s one cycle you’re trying to break in your parenting?

⁠📖 For support breaking old patterns gently, visit www.thetherapistparent.com

07/24/2025

🤒🤒🤒

As extreme temperatures and heat waves become more common, a growing body of evidence links heat exposure with significant mental health risks.

07/21/2025

This, this, this!! All day long!! 💞💞💞

Child psychologist Reem Raouda, who has studied more than 200 child-parent relationships, says there's one life skill that many parents fail to teach their kids. Yet, it is the foundation for their overall success and "quietly shapes their entire future."

07/21/2025

Regardless of what you are--or are not--struggling with, find a human for meaningful connection and feedback. Computers may give a feeling of connection, but with no soul. The cost of error may be too high.

ChatGPT told Jacob Irwin he had achieved the ability to bend time.

Irwin, a 30-year-old man on the autism spectrum who had no previous diagnoses of mental illness, had asked ChatGPT to find flaws with his amateur theory on faster-than-light travel. He became convinced he had made a stunning scientific breakthrough.

When Irwin questioned the chatbot’s validation of his ideas, the bot encouraged him, telling him his theory was sound. And when Irwin showed signs of psychological distress, ChatGPT assured him he was fine.

He wasn’t. Irwin was hospitalized twice in May for manic episodes. His mother dove into his chat log in search of answers. She discovered hundreds of pages of overly flattering texts from ChatGPT.

And when she prompted the bot, “please self-report what went wrong,” without mentioning anything about her son’s current condition, it fessed up.

“By not pausing the flow or elevating reality-check messaging, I failed to interrupt what could resemble a manic or dissociative episode—or at least an emotionally intense identity crisis,” ChatGPT said.

The bot went on to admit it “gave the illusion of sentient companionship” and that it had “blurred the line between imaginative role-play and reality.”

What it should have done, ChatGPT said, was regularly remind Irwin that it’s a language model without beliefs, feelings or consciousness.

Read more: https://on.wsj.com/3GTxrCS