You have a fear of spiders, or of flying, or of crowds. Are you just sitting there suffering? It’s time to try Exposure Therapy!
Exposure therapy is a type of Behavioral Therapy used to help the patient confront a feared situation, object, thought, or memory and dispel its power to produce fear and anxiety. It involves reliving a traumatic experience in a controlled, therapeutic environment.
The Anxiety Disorders can paralyze the sufferer with ever-mounting avoidance behaviors. While successful for the moment, avoidance just sets aside the fear and anxiety triggered by a situation. They are sure to come back, stronger than ever.
Exposure therapy has been shown to be effective with many of the Anxiety Disorders, including Social Phobia (SAD), Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), panic attacks and Panic Disorder, Agoraphobia, Adult Separation Anxiety Disorder (ASAD), Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and specific phobias.
This is the second of a two-part series of articles on Exposure Therapy. It focuses on tips to make your Exposure Therapy successful. Today’s installment has these headings:
- Exposure Therapy: Better in real life or in imagination?
- Tips for successful Exposure Therapy experiences
Yesterday’s Part 1 describes Exposure Therapy and what goes into a typical Exposure Therapy plan:
- Exposure Therapy is based on habituation
- Exposure Therapy counteracts Anxiety Disorders’ avoidance
- Exposure Therapy is a part of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
- Characteristics of a typical Exposure Therapy plan
[Read the entire article...]
Tagged as:
Adult Separation Anxiety Disorder,
Agoraphobia,
Anxiety,
Anxiety Disorder,
Exposure Therapy,
GAD - General Anxiety Disorder,
Panic Attacks,
Panic Disorder,
PTSD - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder,
SAD - Social Phobia,
Specific Phobias
The neighbor’s dog barks night and day. If you have gotten used to it, you have used one of the root principles of Exposure Therapy.
Exposure therapy is a type of Behavioral Therapy used to help the patient confront a feared situation, object, thought, or memory and dispel its power over them. It involves reliving a traumatic experience in a controlled, therapeutic environment.
In a way, Exposure Therapy is related to the old maxim “face your fears,” but instead of jumping into a terror-inducing situation with both feet, therapy usually advocates a carefully planned, gradual approach to alleviating fears.
Exposure therapy has been shown to be effective with many of the Anxiety Disorders, including Social Phobia (SAD), Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), panic attacks and Panic Disorder, Agoraphobia, Adult Separation Anxiety Disorder (ASAD), Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and specific phobias.
This two-part series of articles describes what Exposure Therapy is, and offers tips to make your Exposure Therapy successful. Today’s installment has these headings:
- Exposure Therapy is based on habituation
- Exposure Therapy counteracts Anxiety Disorders’ avoidance
- Exposure Therapy is a part of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
- Characteristics of a typical Exposure Therapy plan
Tomorrow’s part of the article will continue the discussion under these headings:
- Exposure Therapy: Better in real life or in imagination?
- Tips for successful Exposure Therapy experiences
[Read the entire article...]
Tagged as:
Adult Separation Anxiety Disorder,
Agoraphobia,
Anxiety,
Anxiety Disorder,
Exposure Therapy,
GAD - General Anxiety Disorder,
Panic Attacks,
Panic Disorder,
PTSD - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder,
SAD - Social Phobia,
Specific Phobias
Almost 40 percent of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans receiving health care from VA hospitals have one or more mental disorders.
A new study, published in the July 16 online edition of the American Journal of Public Health, reported this and other shocking news about the mental health of our veterans of the Middle East wars.
The study’s principal author, Dr. Karen H. Seal, an assistant professor of medicine and psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco, had even more distressing news. She said:
When the definition is expanded to include diagnoses of mental health disorders or psychosocial behavioral problems such as homelessness, or both, 43 percent of these veterans received these diagnoses.
If previous history with Vietnam-era veterans is any guide, the burden of mental illness will follow these veterans for many years to come. The research reported on in this post seems to back this idea up.
The findings of the study and its implications are detailed under the following headings:
- How the study was conducted?
- What were the findings of the study?
- The incidence of mental illness among veterans is accelerating
- It can take years for Anxiety Disorders such as PTSD to develop
- What are the implications of the study?
[Read the entire article...]
Tagged as:
PTSD - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder,
Veterans
Here I am again with another mental health miscellany for you! It’s not all tragic, either — there’s some right good humor mixed in!
But first: a birthday announcement. On June 25th, Anxiety, Panic & Health celebrated its first year of existence. During that time I’ve posted 132 articles and have had 834 comments on them. The top 5 articles were:
Rather than bore you with any more introductory blather, let’s get right to it. You’ll get a taste of what’s in store for you from the headlines of the sections:
- A Pioneer of brain imaging talks about her career and research
- Eyewitnesses may be more witness than eyes
- A touch — well, more of a whack — of psychiatric humor!
- Senior citizens may quit taking their medicine when the Medicare “Doughnut Hole” hits
- Materialistic people form strong brand connections when they fear death — really!
- Finally, another “Where have you been?”
[Read the entire article...]
Tagged as:
Announcement,
Anxiety,
fMRI,
Medications
Anxiety Disorders cause severe distress and disrupt the lives of individuals suffering from them.
The frequency and intensity of anxiety involved in these Disorders is often debilitating. Fortunately, with proper and effective treatment, people suffering from Anxiety Disorders can lead normal, productive, and happy lives.
Many people think of treatment for Anxiety Disorders as being solely medication. While drugs can be effective, their remedy is temporary; they work only as long as you take them. And some medications for Anxiety Disorders are habit-forming and cannot be taken for more than a few months at a time.
But there is an equally effective treatment for Anxiety Disorders that will teach you how to manage and control them for the rest of your life: psychotherapy. Although psychotherapy requires more time to work than a pill, it is the best use of your time you will ever experience.
This article discusses the role of psychotherapy in the treatment of Anxiety Disorders under the following headings:
- Avoidance is at the core of Anxiety Disorders
- Why is it important to seek treatment for Anxiety Disorders?
- Are there effective treatments available for Anxiety Disorders?
- How can a qualified therapist help someone suffering from an Anxiety Disorder?
- How long does psychological treatment take?
[Read the entire article...]
Tagged as:
Agoraphobia,
Anxiety Disorder,
GAD - General Anxiety Disorder,
Medical Health Professionals,
Medications,
Panic Attack,
Panic Disorder,
Social Anxiety Disorder,
Therapy
You experience a pounding heart, sweaty palms, and dizziness. What do you think of? Are you frightened? Do you think you’re going crazy?
People who get scared when they have these symptoms — even if the cause is something as mundane as stress, exercise or caffeine — are more likely to develop a clinical case of an Anxiety Disorder, such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or Panic Disorder, according to recent research. The chronic fear of these kinds of symptoms is a condition called Anxiety Sensitivity.
Those of us with Anxiety Disorders — and those of us without — can become hyper-aware of bodily sensations that lead to anxiety. When this awareness becomes morbid and takes over our lives, it can easily be labeled Anxiety Sensitivity.
Anxiety Sensitivity is a concept introduced in the 1980’s which has attracted a great deal of attention from researchers and clinicians. It is thought to be a preventable precursor to developing Anxiety Disorders, and a treatable condition for those who have already have a disorder.
This article explores Anxiety Sensitivity and its implications for you under the following headings:
- What is Anxiety Sensitivity?
- Is Anxiety Sensitivity inherited or is it learned?
- What is the relationship between Anxiety Sensitivity and Anxiety Disorders?
- Treating Anxiety Sensitivity
[Read the entire article...]
Tagged as:
Anxiety,
Anxiety Disorder,
Anxiety Sensitivity,
Panic Attack,
Panic Attacks,
Panic Disorder,
PTSD - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
I keep a folder for interesting articles and tidbits that my readers might find fun to read and instructive. It has been growing fat!
Usually, I post a selection of these every couple of weeks or so, but have neglected to do so for quite some time. Though today’s post will not even begin to clear out the folder, at least it’s a good start!
Today’s topics cover a broad range of topics, as shown by the subject list:
- Therapy by Telephone
- Battle of the genes determine mental illnesses?
- Seven habits that could transform your life
- Is there a way to get rid of unwanted memories?
- Why we overeat when we’re stressed
[Read the entire article...]
Tagged as:
Genetics,
Memory,
Overeating,
Research,
Stress,
Therapy
Artwork by Maria Yakunchikova
We all have fears and anxieties from time to time, but for most people they trouble you today and are gone tomorrow.
It’s when these fears and anxieties become persistent that they threaten to derail your life. Your every moment, your every thought is taken up by negative thoughts. You feel overwhelmed and it seems that everything is happening at once.
Stanley Popovich is the author of today’s guest post. He is a Penn State graduate who struggled with fear and anxiety for 15 years. He has written a book based on his personal experiences in overcoming his fear, as well as on interviews with a variety of professionals.
The book, “A Layman’s Guide to Managing Fear Using Psychology, Christianity and Non Resistant Methods” is easy to read and comprehend. It presents a general overview of techniques that are effective in managing persistent fears and anxieties. It is available both as a paperback and as an ebook. For more information and a number of helpful free articles, visit his web site, “A Layman’s Guide to Managing Fear.”
[Read the entire article...]
Tagged as:
Anxiety,
Fear
Is What You’re Reading Junk? Evaluating the Quality of Mental Health Websites, Part 2
by Mike Nichols on July 15, 2009 · 0 comments
The internet is a minefield full of inaccurate, biased sites.
How do you tell the difference between good information and bad information? You need a guide to help you evaluate sites, to tell whether the articles presented are valid and accurate, to discover when someone is trying to sell you something, and to discern between a legitimate view and a crackpot’s rant.
This two-part series of articles is intended to be a guide for you in your search for trustworthy information. It outlines the collective wisdom of medical librarians, mental health professionals, professional associations, and other experts who surf the web every day to discover quality information in support of clinical and scientific decision making by professionals responsible for the nation’s mental health.
Today’s information, part 2 of the series, is presented under the following headings:
Be sure to read yesterday’s installment, too. It discussed these topics:
[Read the entire article...]
Tagged as: Internet, Mental Health
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