Dab Pen
A dab pen is an electronic device used to consume “dabs”, concentrated amounts of cannabis that can be inhaled in vapor form. Dab pens are basically vapes that expedite the consumption of cannabis instead of nicotine. In recent years, dab pens have grown in popularity as one of the most popular ways to consume cannabis, especially in younger generations, and around one-third of youth under 18 who vape report using them for cannabis smoking.
Dab pens have gained a reputation for being a much safer method of smoking cannabis than traditional methods, while being less addictive than nicotine. However, there have been cases where overuse of cannabis vapes such as dab pens has led to lung injury. This is concerning because self-regulating cannabis intake is difficult with dab pens; this, coupled with the healthy reputation of cannabis vapes, makes dab pens very easy to overuse.
DBT
Dialectical behavioral therapy, or DBT for short, is a type of talk therapy that helps people become grounded in reality and strive for change within their lives. It is based on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and is particularly helpful for people with difficulty regulating their emotions. For this reason, it is often recommended to people struggling with borderline personality disorder, depression, anxiety, or some types of eating disorders.
DBT is built on four core principles: mindfulness, acceptance & distress tolerance, emotional regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness. Therapists who specialize in DBT use these core tenets to help their patients challenge unhelpful thought patterns and put things into perspective. The hope is to give them the skills they need to deal with stressful situations on their own without slipping into negative self-thought.
Delusion
Delusions are unchanging false beliefs based on incorrect or misguided perceptions of reality. People with delusions are prone to resisting evidence contrary to their false beliefs, and will often fabricate reasons for why their delusions are true. Most of the time, people have non-bizarre delusions, or false beliefs that are grounded in reality, such as feeling the presence of a perceived stalker or having an incurable illness. Bizarre delusions are those that are outright or virtually impossible with no basis in reality.
Delusional disorder is a mental disorder that causes people to experience delusions. There are many types of delusional disorders, categorized by the kinds of delusions they induce. Two of the most common delusional disorders are grandiose and persecutory. Grandiose delusional disorder causes those afflicted with it to believe that they are more powerful, knowledgeable, or well-known than they actually are, while persecutory delusion disorders induce feelings of being watched, followed, or mistreated by an unseen third party.
Dementia
Dementia is a group of symptoms that relate to the loss of cognitive abilities, such as memory, logic and reasoning, to the point where it affects everyday activities. Dementia becomes more common in adults as they get older, with one-third of people over 85 experiencing dementia in the United States. Dementia is not a single disease, but a result of the neurons in the brain losing connections with each other, which manifest as the general decline of cognitive abilities.
There are many types of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, that share similar symptoms of declining memory and thinking abilities. Someone with dementia may experience difficulty with navigating familiar environments, trouble keeping track of daily tasks, issues with handling money, etc. Dementia may also cause a shift in personality as the cognitive decline worsens. While there is currently no single cause of dementia, a healthy lifestyle has been proven to reduce risk factors related to the development of dementia.