Artwork by Robert Mickelsen
Check out the new article by Ryan Rivera, “Adult Separation Anxiety Disorder: Its Roots and Branches – Ryan Rivera!”
Adult Separation Anxiety Disorder affects almost 7 percent of the American people. Yet it was unheard of only 15 years ago.
Adult Separation Anxiety Disorder sufferers experience extreme anxiety and fear when separated from major attachment figures; avoidance of being alone; and fears that harm will befall those close to them.
Because the diagnosis is so new, there is no standard way to treat Adult Separation Anxiety Disorder. Sadly, it is hardly mentioned in the standard diagnostic manuals that mental health care professionals use.
This two-part post accompanies the posting of the reference article on Adult Separation Anxiety Disorder. The current post is the second of two. The two posts are a short version of the reference article, which has full information about the disorder. The information in today’s post falls under the following headings:
- How does Adult Separation Anxiety Disorder affect your life?
- Adult Separation Anxiety Disorder and other mental disorders
- What is the treatment for Adult Separation Anxiety Disorder?
Yesterday’s post, part 1, had these headings:
- Just what is Adult Separation Anxiety Disorder?
- How many people have Adult Separation Anxiety Disorder?
- What are the diagnostic criteria for Adult Separation Anxiety Disorder?
[Read the entire article...]
Tagged as:
Adult Separation Anxiety Disorder,
Anxiety,
Anxiety Disorder
Artwork by Cristine Cambrea
Check out the new article by Ryan Rivera, “Adult Separation Anxiety Disorder: Its Roots and Branches – Ryan Rivera!”
Adult Separation Anxiety Disorder (ASAD) did not exist 15 years ago, at least as far as the psychiatric community was concerned.
Separation Anxiety Disorder is well recognized as a psychiatric disorder of childhood, but it is rarely diagnosed in adults. Yet the core symptoms of Separation Anxiety — excessive and often disabling distress when faced with actual or perceived separation from major attachment figures — may persist or even arise during adulthood.
A recent study led by Katherine Shear found that the adult lifetime estimate for ASAD was a conservative 6.6 percent of the American population. That’s 20,207,408 adults who will suffer with ASAD in their lifetimes! In contrast, only 4.1 percent of children will have childhood Separation Anxiety Disorder.
This two-part post accompanies the posting of the reference article on Adult Separation Anxiety Disorder. The current post is the first of two. The two posts are a short version of the reference article, which has full information about the disorder. The information in this post falls under the following headings:
- Just what is Adult Separation Anxiety Disorder?
- How many people have Adult Separation Anxiety Disorder?
- What are the diagnostic criteria for Adult Separation Anxiety Disorder?
Tomorrow’s post continues with these headings:
- How does Adult Separation Anxiety Disorder affect your life?
- Adult Separation Anxiety Disorder and other mental disorders
- What is the treatment for Adult Separation Anxiety Disorder?
[Read the entire article...]
Tagged as:
Adult Separation Anxiety Disorder,
Anxiety,
Anxiety Disorder
Acne can cause Anxiety and can lead to Anxiety Disorders and depression.
Up to 60 percent of acne sufferers show significant levels of Anxiety. Some researchers even think that acne can cause these mental disorders. It is certain that stress can cause acne and exacerbate existing Anxiety Disorders and depression.
What is not apparent is how many suicides are attributable to acne. Thirty-five percent of teenagers with bad acne have suicidal thoughts, and more than 10 percent have tried to kill themselves. The numbers are not available for adult suicide ideation and attempts, but there is reason to believe that they are similar.
The first post in this series described how acne affects the lives of both adolescents and adults. This post discusses the interrelation of acne and the Anxiety Disorders and stress, as well as getting help. The headings are:
- Acne and Anxiety
- Acne and stress
- Warning signs that your mental condition is getting out of control
- Get help
The first part of this series details how acne can affect people psychologically and emotionally under the following headings:
- How many people have acne?
- How acne affects your life
- Acne and quality of life
- Adult acne
[Read the entire article...]
Tagged as:
Acne,
Anxiety,
Anxiety Disorder,
Depression,
SAD - Social Phobia
Acne would seem to be a strange topic for a blog on the Anxiety Disorders.
But acne is one of the leading causes of Anxiety among adolescents and adults. A recent study published in the British Journal of Dermatology found that acne sufferers experienced social, psychological, and emotional consequences at the same level of those with chronic health problems, such as epilepsy, diabetes, and arthritis.
Adults have acne, too, on into their 30′s and 40′s and beyond. And they are more likely than adolescents to feel that acne negatively affects their lives, regardless of how severe their acne is. This may be because there is a greater social stigma for adults with acne. It can lead to clinical Anxiety Disorders, depression, unemployment, and social isolation.
This post is part of a two-part series. Today’s post details who can have acne and how it affects their life under the following headings:
- How many people have acne?
- How acne affects your life
- Acne and quality of life
- Adult acne
Tomorrow’s post goes into the interaction of Anxiety, stress, and suicide, as well as getting help:
- Acne and Anxiety
- Acne and stress
- Warning signs that your mental condition is getting out of control
- Get help
[Read the entire article...]
Tagged as:
Acne,
Anxiety,
Anxiety Disorder,
Depression,
SAD - Social Phobia
Rich Presta is the author of today’s guest post. Rich is the creator of The Driving Fear Program, which is used by people and clinicians worldwide to tame the fear of driving.
I was walking through my local mega-bookstore a couple days ago; you know the one, with the coffee shop and bakery, 124,748 different magazines to pick from, and an elevator to get to the nonfiction section….
I was there to see if any interesting books had come out on anxiety, panic attacks, or phobias.
I was looking everything over, and you know what word was on virtually all of them? I’m telling you, it kept leaping off the covers and poking me in the eye…
Relax
Here’s just a small sample of some titles I saw on one shelf:
“The Relaxation Response”
“Simply Relax”
“1,001 Ways to Relax”
“365 Ways to Relax”
“Relax and Renew”
“Learn to Relax”
Well that seems glaringly obvious enough doesn’t it?
I mean, when you’re having a panic attack or feeling anxious, you should relax, right? Everybody knows that.
Well….maybe not.
Perhaps relaxing is the LAST thing you need to be doing.
[Read the entire article...]
Tagged as:
Anxiety Disorder,
Driving Fear,
Guest Post,
Relax
A new study has found a significant link between asthma and Anxiety Disorders, particularly Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Other research has shown a positive link between Anxiety Disorders and asthma, but this is the first to focus on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and to take into account genetic, demographic, and environmental factors. The research was published in the second issue for November 2007 of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, from the American Thoracic Society.
Although the link was proven, the causes of the relationship between asthma and the Anxiety Disorders is not known. There are common risk factors with both asthma and the Anxiety Disorders, but how they operate is unknown, nor is whether the asthma comes first or the Anxiety Disorder comes first.
This post discusses this new research and its implications under the following headings:
- How was the research conducted?
- What the research discovered
- What are the Anxiety Disorders most closely associated with asthma?
- What are the reasons behind the link between asthma and Anxiety Disorders?
- Summary: More questions than answers
[Read the entire article...]
Tagged as:
Anxiety Disorder,
Asthma,
Panic Disorder,
PTSD - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
The diagnosis of Anxiety Disorders in older adults is made all the more difficult because the stigma of mental illness makes it hard for elders to talk about them.
And it’s not helped along by the fact that, until recently, Anxiety Disorders in older adults was little-studied and were treated with dismissal and veiled ageism. However, research is accelerating in the treatment of older adults, and there are some very effective therapies becoming available.
Still, diagnosis of Anxiety Disorders in older adults is difficult at best, because it takes a great deal of sensitivity and experience to ask the right questions. Family and friends are very important in the diagnosis, since they can see the changes in moods, behavior, and habits that a physician cannot see.
This post is the second in a two-part series on the Anxiety Disorders in older adults. Yesterday’s post addressed how many older adults have Anxiety Disorder, how it is strongly linked with depression, and the risk factors. This post covers the following topics:
- Why are Anxiety Disorders so hard to diagnose in older adults?
- Overview of treatment of Anxiety Disorders in older adults
- Medications for Anxiety Disorders in older adults
- Therapy for Anxiety Disorders in older adults
- Asking the right questions to diagnose Anxiety
- Worried about an aging parent or loved one?
[Read the entire article...]
Tagged as:
Anxiety Disorder,
Elderly,
Elders,
GAD - General Anxiety Disorder,
OCD - Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder,
Older Adults,
Panic Disorder
Anxiety Disorders in older adults is a huge problem that has been ignored, causing a great deal of unnecessary suffering.
Research on older adults’ Anxiety Disorders lags behind that of other mental conditions, such as depression and Alzheimer’s. Until a few years ago, Anxiety Disorders were believed to decline with age. But now experts are beginning to recognize that Anxiety is as common in the old as in the young, although how and when it appears is distinctly different in older adults.
Sadly, because of the lack of information on Anxiety Disorders in older adults, especially in how to diagnose them, many go undiagnosed and untreated. James Maddux and Barbara Winstead state: 1
[I]n comparison to other diagnoses (e.g. depression) less is known about the etiology [causes], including clinical characteristics, course, treatment, and prognosis of anxiety disorders in late life. … Because anxiety disorders are difficult to diagnose in older adults, they are often undiagnosed.
Yet, late-life Anxiety Disorders are what Keri-Leigh Cassidy and Neil Rector call a “sleeping geriatric giant.” Anxiety Disorders are twice as prevalent as dementia among older adults, and 4 to 8 times more prevalent than major depressive disorders, causing significant impact on the quality of life, morbidity, and mortality of older adults.2
The annual U.S. health care costs due to late-life Anxiety Disorders in 1990 was estimated to be $42.3 billion. The numbers are surely higher now, and likely to go higher yet as the Baby Boomer generation grows older.3
This post is the first in a two-part series on the Anxiety Disorders in older adults. Tomorrow’s post addresses the diagnosis and treatment of Anxiety Disorders, and gives some tips on how to tell if your parent or loved one is suffering from them. This post covers the following topics:
- How prevalent are Anxiety Disorders in older adults?
- What are the most common Anxiety Disorders in older adults?
- Anxiety Disorders in older adults are strongly linked with depression
- What are the risk factors for Anxiety Disorders in older adults?
[Read the entire article...]
Tagged as:
Agoraphobia,
Anxiety Disorder,
Elderly,
Elders,
GAD - General Anxiety Disorder,
OCD - Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder,
Panic Disorder,
SAD - Social Phobia,
Specific Phobias
Why are there so many names for phobias? Why can’t we just agree on one for each?
If you have the fear of newness or novelty, you get to choose among 8 terms: Cainophobia, Cainotophobia, Cenophobia, Centophobia, Kainolophobia, Kainophobia, Kainotophobia, and Neophobia. The fear of being touched has 6 names to describe it, and the fear of odors has 7!
Regrettably, the fellow on the right has only two terms to describe his fear of needles: Aichmophobia and Belonephobia. Maybe we could come up with a couple of others: stickophobia or ouchaphobia. Or if you’re classically trained: neraphobia, from the Latin root “nere,” or nemaphobia from the Greek “nema, ” both meaning “needle.”
Today’s post is a lighthearted look at all the multiple names given to phobias, complete with a cartoon. The topic is explored under the headings:
- What are phobias, anyway?
- Why are there so many names for the same phobia?
- A big old list: Multiple names for the same phobia
[Read the entire article...]
Tagged as:
Anxiety,
Anxiety Disorder,
Panic Attack,
Phobias,
Specific Phobias
Where Have You Been? Inquiring Minds Want to Know!
by Mike Nichols on March 13, 2009 · 13 comments
However, I feel that I owe it to my readers to let you know why there have been no new posts in over two months, and what I’m doing about it.
The primary focus of this blog is the Anxiety Disorders, obviously. The blog’s genesis arose from my own struggles with multiple Anxiety Disorders, with the hope that I could help someone else.
But if you read the “About Me” or the “My Story” tabs, you will learn that I also have bipolar disorder with rapid cycling. Dealing with my underlying bipolar disorder can be challenging, to say the least.
I have been in a depressive cycle for over 2 months, and it has been very difficult to perform the basic functions in my life, much less write blog articles. Though I have good medication that prevents me from going into the deepest depression, I still could not focus or concentrate enough to write. My therapist and I are working on ways for me to continue with this blog when I am depressed, and I believe we have made good progress.
While I’m not out of the woods yet, my bipolar disorder is beginning to cycle away from the depression. In addition, I have learned some things that will help me write, no matter what mood I happen to be in at the time.
I am working on new articles now, and I expect to resume posting very soon. I definitely am not abandoning this blog — let’s just say I’ve had a long time-out!
Tagged as: Anxiety Disorder, Bipolar
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