by Mike Nichols on September 10, 2008 · 3 comments
Stress seems to be just another component of the modern life.
It is so common that it is treated as a joke by standup comedians, in tv sitcoms and in the print media. Here’s one for you, brought to you by one of the prominent stress reduction gurus:
- Picture yourself near a stream.
- Birds are softly chirping in the crisp, cool, mountain air.
- No one knows your secret place.
- You are in total seclusion from that hectic place called “the world”.
- The soothing sound of a gentle waterfall fills the air with a cascade of serenity.
- The water is clear.
- You can easily make out the face of the person you’re holding under the water…
Can you relate to this joke? It’s funny because you can picture being at the breaking point, with the person causing so much stress leaving the picture permanently.
But stress is no laughing matter. It can ruin your physical and mental health. It can ruin your relationships and make your life a living hell. Following are lists of signs of stress to watch out for, along with information on how stress can affect your body and mind.
[Read the entire article...]
Tagged as:
Bipolar,
Depression,
GAD - General Anxiety Disorder,
Mental Health Professionals,
OCD - Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder,
Panic Attacks,
Panic Disorder,
PTSD - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder,
SAD - Social Phobia,
Stress
Social Phobia is an Anxiety Disorder that affects up to 40 million Americans.
Also called Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD), Social Phobia, is characterized by overwhelming anxiety and excessive self-consciousness in everyday social situations. People with Social Phobia have a persistent, intense, and chronic fear of being watched and judged by others and of being embarrassed or humiliated by their own actions.
So far, there have been no medications approved by the FDA specifically for the treatment of Social Phobia. The only medications proven to be effective have been antidepressants such as Effexor and Nardil, and Benzodiazepines such as Klonopin and Xanax.
In two different studies scientists have shown that the hormone oxytocin can inhibit the feelings of Anxiety in people with Social Phobia. These people were able to socially interact much more effectively and showed greatly reduced fears, as well. These discovery may lead to a better understanding and treatment of psychiatric conditions such as Social Phobia, in which people feel distressed when meeting and interacting with others.
Predrag Petrovic, one of the authors of a Swedish study, said that,
[O]xytocin can reduce anxiety and increase the chances of social contact for people with certain types of psychiatric disorder. There are also previous studies to show that oxytocin can inhibit [fear] activity, which tells us that we should see this as an opportunity for new forms of treatment.
[Read the entire article...]
Tagged as:
Medications,
Research,
SAD - Social Phobia
I don’t make it a practice of reposting articles, but I’m doing it this time.
There is a post from July 3, 2008 entitled “8 Tips to Survive Gatherings on the Fourth” that is relevant to gatherings on Labor Day, or Thanksgiving, or Christmas, or any day that you have to go to a gathering or a party. I have updated it and present it here, hoping it will help someone.
It will be especially helpful for people with Social Phobia, Panic Disorder, and those that suffer from panic attacks.
I have to go to a wedding party soon, and you can bet that I will be using those tips myself!
[Read the entire article...]
Tagged as:
Agoraphobia,
Anxiety Disorder,
Panic Attacks,
Panic Disorder,
Parties,
SAD - Social Phobia
by Mike Nichols on August 28, 2008 · 1 comment
Anxiety is the most common mental disorder experienced by older adults.
Anxiety Disorders affect over 18 percent of people over the age of 60. As many as 7 percent of this age group have Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), a disorder characterized by uncontrollable worries about everyday things.
Despite its prevalence, Anxiety Disorders remain one of the most undiagnosed and undertreated conditions in this age group. This is due to the failure of the current model of the primary care physician as gatekeeper model.
Eric J. Lenze, M.D., assistant professor of psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, says,
Studies have shown that generalized anxiety disorder is more common in the elderly … than depression, which affects about 3 percent of seniors. Surprisingly, there is little research that has been done on this disorder in the elderly.
Due to the lack of evidence, doctors often think that this disorder is rare in the elderly or that it is a normal part of aging, so they don’t diagnose or treat anxiety in their older patients, when, in fact, anxiety is quite common in the elderly and can have a serious impact on quality of life.
[Read the entire article...]
Tagged as:
Agoraphobia,
Anxiety Disorder,
Elderly,
Elders,
GAD - General Anxiety Disorder,
OCD - Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder,
Panic Attacks,
Panic Disorder,
primary care physician,
Psychiatrist,
Psychologist,
PTSD - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder,
SAD - Social Phobia,
Specific Phobias
Dogs! Mice! Needles! Insects! Cuts! Heights!
The list goes on and on. These are all known as Specific Phobias, and they are all the butt of many jokes.
But they are not a joke to many, many people. It is estimated by the National Institute of Mental Health that 19 million Americans have some sort of Specific Phobia.
A Specific Phobia is a type of Anxiety Disorder. It is a strong, irrational fear of something that poses little or no actual danger.
There are many Specific Phobias. Acrophobia is a fear of heights. You may be able to ski the world’s tallest mountains but not be able to go above the 3rd floor of an office building. You may be able to drive a car but be unable to enter an elevator. Other common phobias involve tunnels, highway driving, water, flying, animals and blood.
What exactly are Specific Phobias? What are the causes? How are they treated? Continue reading for answers to these and other questions (and a comic bonus!).
[Read the entire article...]
Tagged as:
Agoraphobia,
Anxiety Disorder,
GAD - General Anxiety Disorder,
Panic Attacks,
SAD - Social Phobia,
Specific Phobias
Bullying among children has become a hot topic.
There are innumerable websites devoted to stopping bullying in schools. In addition, many studies have been done detailing the effects of bullying among young people.
Adult bullying doesn’t receive the same amount of press. But it has been found that the social form of bullying doesn’t stop at childhood, but continues into adulthood. The same sorts of activities associated with childhood bullying are present in adults. Social bullying actions include:
- Targeting a person’s social status to tear it down
- Damaging a person’s relationships by shunning
- Damaging a person’s reputation by spreading rumors
- Excluding a person from social activities
Both childhood and adult bullying can cause Anxiety Disorders and depression.
[Read the entire article...]
Tagged as:
Anxiety Disorder,
Bullying,
Panic Attacks,
Panic Disorder,
SAD - Social Phobia
Though I mention in my “About” page that I would write personal posts from time to time, this is the first time I’ve taken a chance on one.
You see, I am a very private person and do not like to air my struggles in public. And I feel that the things that I have been writing about here are far more important to my readers than the details of my personal battles.
This blog was started for two reasons: to give back to the community for all the help I have had over the years, and as therapy for my own self. I have studied bipolar disorder and the Anxiety Disorders deeply over the years, and believe I have something to give others. But that does not mean that I have completely conquered my own fears, or that I am personally “cured.”
As many of you know, I have bipolar disorder with ultra-radian cycling, Panic Disorder, Agoraphobia, and some symptoms of Social Phobia. My psychologist and psychiatrist decided that getting control of the bipolar disorder was the most important thing to do first, so that’s been the focus of my therapy for the past five years.
I’m happy to say that I am now feeling better bipolar-wise than I have in years. I am in the first “normal” (what is that?) phase in a decade, untroubled by either depression or mania. Knock on wood.
[Read the entire article...]
Tagged as:
Anxiety Disorder,
Panic Attacks,
Panic Disorder,
Personal,
SAD - Social Phobia
Do you treat your mental health issue with medication only?
If you do, you are part of a growing trend among mental health care providers.
This shift to the sole use of medication to treat mental health problems is detailed in a study released this month in the Archives of General Psychology. The authors find that market forces, primarily insurance reimbursements, are forcing psychiatrists to limit their time with patients to 15-minute medication maintenance visits rather than also providing psychotherapy.
The percentage of patients who received both medication and psychotherapy from their psychiatrists fell to 28.9 percent in 2004-05, from 44.4 percent in 1996-97.
The findings are expected to intensify a debate over the increased medicalization of psychiatric care. The debate is about the shifting emphasis on the biology of mental illness, as opposed to the processes of the mind addressed in psychotherapy. This debate is seen in the mental health stances of the two Presidential candidates. McCain’s plan emphasizes the use of medications over psychotherapy, while Obama’s seeks a balance between the two.
[Read the entire article...]
Tagged as:
Anxiety Disorder,
Medications,
Mental Health Professionals,
Panic Disorder,
Psychiatrist,
PTSD - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder,
SAD - Social Phobia,
Specific Phobias
Your heart is pounding, you are trembling, and you feel that you’re going to die!
Are you having a panic attack? How do you know?
And what can you do to reduce the symptoms like choking or nausea?
There’s a lot of confusion over what the symptoms a panic attack actually are. Much of this confusion can be attributed to the media’s misrepresentations of panic attacks and the lack of real knowledge by the general public. This leads to clinomorphisms in which a person will exaggerate their symptoms and call it a panic attack, when all it is is a moment of great surprise or unpleasantness.
The “real” symptoms of a panic attack are detailed in this post, along with a list of suggestions for ways to deal with it while it’s happening. They are excerpted from my full article on panic attacks found under the resources in the right sidebar.
[Read the entire article...]
Tagged as:
Anxiety Disorder,
Mental Health Professionals,
Panic Attacks,
Panic Disorder,
SAD - Social Phobia
Anxiety Disorder sufferers have long known that they are more susceptible to physical diseases.
But now a study headed by Jitender Sareen of the University of Manitoba has detailed just what Anxiety Disorders can do to you physically.
It was proven several years ago that those with Anxiety Disorders are more prone to heart problems. This new study shows that people with Anxiety Disorders also have an increased risk of developing physical ailments, particularly thyroid diseases, respiratory diseases, gastrointestinal diseases, arthritis, allergies, and migraine diseases.
Early treatment of Anxiety Disorders is essential to warding off physical diseases caused by it. Sareen said,
Right now there is a long delay between someone developing an anxiety problem and seeking appropriate treatment — usually 10- 15 years. The hope is to get people with anxiety problems to go get help earlier. The treatments are quite effective if you get at it early before you get secondary [health conditions].
[Read the entire article...]
Tagged as:
Agoraphobia,
Anxiety,
Anxiety Disorder,
GAD - General Anxiety Disorder,
OCD - Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder,
Panic Disorder,
PTSD - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder,
Research,
SAD - Social Phobia
