The Worst Advice for Alleviating Anxiety —And What Actually Helps
Anxiety is a common emotion. Everyone experiences it. Which is why everyone assumes they know how to deal with it. Which means that when someone is struggling with anxiety—excessive anxiety or worries that won’t go away—they may get an assortment of advice.
But this advice may not be helpful. In fact, it might even amplify their anxiety.
We asked clinicians who specialize in anxiety to share the worst kinds of advice for anxiety—which you’ll find below, along with what actually does help.
Look on the bright side. When you’re anxious and riddled with worries, well-meaning friends and family may suggest you r...
Source: Psych Central - November 14, 2017 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Margarita Tartakovsky, M.S. Tags: Anxiety Disorders Family General Relationships & Love Self-Help anxiety advice Anxiety Disorder anxiety issues anxiety struggles anxiety-provoking situations Excessive Anxiety Fears Worries Source Type: news
How EMDR Therapy Heals Trauma and Addiction
Life experiences, either negative or positive, have a significant impact on our thoughts, beliefs, and behaviors. Adverse life experiences such as abuse, neglect, violence, or emotional distress may have serious consequences later in life, such as mental illness or addiction.
In treating individuals who suffer from addiction, it is important to address any co-occurring trauma, PTSD, or related symptoms within the setting of a drug and alcohol rehab facility because, in most instances, these traumatic events or experiences play a role in the person’s addictive behaviors. Therefore, the addiction cannot be fully overcome w...
Source: Psych Central - November 13, 2017 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Kelsey Brown Tags: Abuse Addictions PTSD Substance Abuse Trauma Treatment Addiction Recovery EMDR Eye Movement Desensitization And Reprocessing Source Type: news
Exploring the History & Treatment of PTSD: An Interview with Dr. Paula P. Schnurr
As we celebrate Veterans Day (and Remembrance Day in Canada) and honoring military veterans, many of us think back to World War I but also many other wars throughout history. I recalled the 1980s, when Iran was engaged in an almost decade-long war with Iraq, and millions were killed or injured on both sides. In the West, the older generations may recall World War II and the Vietnam War, while the younger ones remember the more recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. We think of the millions who have fought, who have come back with injuries, and those who died serving their countries. But the numbers we rarely think about: How...
Source: Psych Central - November 11, 2017 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Arash Emamzadeh Tags: Interview Medications PTSD Trauma Treatment Combat Trauma Posttraumatic Stress Disorder PSTD Traumatic Experiences veterans Veterans day Source Type: news
The Benefits of Alternative Therapies
This article will take a look at two additional therapy practices that have been widely used by the U.S. and abroad.
Specifically designed for trauma, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) works when a therapist leads a patient through a series of lateral eye movements while the patient focuses on traumatic memories. The goal is to reprocess these memories in an adaptive way — eliminating emotional distress and reducing physiological arousal.
Francine Shapiro, PhD, discovered the effects of EMDR by understanding “dual awareness”. When engaging in bilateral stimulation with memory, the ex...
Source: Psych Central - November 7, 2017 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Rebecca Lee Tags: Addictions Anxiety Cognitive-Behavioral Depression Eating Disorders Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Psychology Psychotherapy PTSD Trauma Treatment Cbt Cognitive Behavioral Therapy EMDR Eye Movement Desensitization And Reprocessin Source Type: news
Growing Up with a Psychotic Mother
I was ten when my mother had her first psychotic break. It was May. I was looking forward to lazy summer days at the pool, an art camp, a stack of Babysitters Club books, and daydreaming about my first crush, a boy with a splay of freckles and a mop of dark hair.
Instead, I was forced to grow up too soon.
This meant wearing deodorant and shaving my arm pits.
It also meant seeing my mother in a state of complete psychosis, one in which she thought maybe she had killed the postman or the neighbor girl.
“I didn’t. Mean. Tokillthepostman.” Her words were all wrong, strung together in a series of hiccups and stretched...
Source: Psych Central - November 6, 2017 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Leslie A. Lindsay Tags: Bipolar Depression Essays Family General Personal Stories Psychology Bipolar Disorder delusions hallucinations Hospitalization involuntary hospitalization Manic Depression Manic Episode Psychosis psychotic mania Source Type: news
Murmurings of a Mad Man: One Man ’ s Mental Health Journey through Creativity
If one has ever been in a psychiatric hospital they are more than aware of the nemesis demon known as ‘boredom’. If one has never been locked up, I don’t believe that a person can really relate. Despite the various groups, listening to the stereo, talking to fellow patients, meals and the most precious visiting hours, one cannot escape the overwhelming dullness that comes to haunt from time to time. Might I make a suggestion that worked for me?
Creativity comes from the Creator; you see the similarity of duplicated letters. I believe that every single human being on planet Earth possesses some form of artistic talent...
Source: Psych Central - November 4, 2017 Category: Psychiatry Authors: John Kaniecki Tags: Bipolar Creativity Personal Stories Treatment creative outlet Hospitalization Inpatient Treatment Success Stories writing Source Type: news
Addiction and the “ Why Can ’ t They Stop? ” Enigma
Why can’t they stop?
This is perhaps the most elusive question posed when it comes to addiction. The answer is just as elusive — fleeting, incomprehensible, and illusory, like a ghost amidst shadows in the night. When we ask the question, we are baffled as to why those addicted to particular substances or behaviors continue to use or engage — regardless of the negative physical, psychological, and social effects. We cannot seem to intricately understand why some people decide to walk right off the cantilever of life — falling into a seemingly inescapable abyss. The question is definitely not an easy one...
Source: Psych Central - November 3, 2017 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Wycliff Matanda, MA Tags: Addictions Alcoholism Binge Eating Eating Disorders Grief and Loss Health Insurance Loneliness Psychology Psychotherapy Substance Abuse Treatment Addiction Recovery Alcohol Abuse Coping Skills Self Medication Source Type: news
7 Ways Family Members Re-victimize Sexual Abuse Survivors
Twenty years ago when I first disclosed to my family that I had been sexually abused by my brother as a child, I never would have guessed it would mark the beginning of a long, confusing struggle that would leave me feeling misunderstood, dismissed and even punished for choosing to address my abuse and its effects.
The response from my family did not start out this way. Initially, my mother said the words I needed to hear: she believed me, she was pained for both her children, and she was sorry. My brother acknowledged the truth and even apologized. But as I continued to heal and explore the abuse further, my family membe...
Source: Psych Central - November 2, 2017 Category: Psychiatry Authors: MIranda Pacchiana, MSW Tags: Abuse Dreams Family Personal Stories PTSD Self-Esteem Sleep Trauma Child Sex Abuse Denial invalidation Molestation revictimization Sexual Abuse Trauma History Traumatic Childhood Source Type: news
How to Cope with Emotional Body Issues: Bloat, Belly Fat and More
“You are more than your thoughts, your body, or your feelings. You are a swirling vortex of limitless potential who is here to shake things up and create something new that the universe has never seen.” – Richard Bartlett
It’s always tough to look in the mirror and dislike what you see. Whether you’re unhappy with how you look because of unsightly and uncomfortable bloat, belly fat that just won’t go away no matter how much you exercise, flabby arms, cellulite on your legs, a nose that’s too long, wide or misshapen, Rosacea, acne, breasts too small or too large or any other emotional body issue or body image,...
Source: Psych Central - November 1, 2017 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Suzanne Kane Tags: Addictions Diet & Nutrition Eating Disorders Healthy Living Self-Esteem belly fat bloat Body Acceptance Body Dissatisfaction Body Dysmorphia dieting Source Type: news
Ketamine Infusions: They Didn ’t Help Me But They Could Help You
Ketamine infusions are one of the latest treatments available for treatment resistant depression. There are many hospitals and research centers offering free or fee for service treatments in order to gather data to support FDA approval as well as insurance approval.
My personal experience involves having ketamine infusions at one of the best psychiatric and research-based hospitals in the country. They are collecting every bit of data involving what happens to the patient prior to each treatment, during the infusion as well as post-treatment. I always felt in good hands and felt grateful to be receiving the treatment at a...
Source: Psych Central - October 31, 2017 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Risa Sugarman Tags: Depression Medications Psychiatry Treatment Depressive Episode experimental treatment ketamine Major Depressive Disorder Mood Disorder Treatment Resistant Depression Source Type: news
Is It True: What Doesn ’t Kill You Makes You Stronger?
“That which does not kill us makes us stronger.” – Friedrich Nietzsche
In a therapy session, a client made the oft used statement that he had come to believe was true. I questioned his perception as I wondered whether he needed to go through the traumas of his youth to get to the place he was at present. He looked at me, puzzled and said that it had taught him to be more compassionate and empathetic.
As much as we might want to use deductive reasoning to understand and, in some cases, validate an outcome, do we, at times, seek out challenges to make what happened to us acceptable?
Consider the life of a...
Source: Psych Central - October 28, 2017 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Edie Weinstein, MSW, LSW Tags: Grief and Loss Memory and Perception Personal Stories PTSD Trauma Coping Skills Personal Growth Resilience strength Source Type: news
Halloween and the Anxious Child: 7 Tips to Reduce Stress
Here comes Halloween. Grocery stores, big box stores, even the local hardware store, are festooned with pumpkins, life sized figures of skeletons and witches and graveyards. It’s all in fun, right? Right. But not for the anxious child.
An anxious child already seems to have nerve endings too close to the surface. Generally nervous about new experiences and the unfamiliar, Halloween presents an additional challenge. For some anxious children, Halloween is the monster under the bed writ huge! Things that go “bump in the night” are not at all entertaining. What’s a parent to do?
If you have a child under the age of 7,...
Source: Psych Central - October 24, 2017 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Marie Hartwell-Walker, Ed.D. Tags: Anxiety Children and Teens Family Parenting anxiety. worry Anxious Children Child safety Halloween Safety Plan Source Type: news
Book Review: The Body Remembers, Volume Two
Years ago, a friend of mine told me about a case that still haunted him. It involved a little girl who had been sexually abused whose parents felt she should tell all on the witness stand so that she could recover. When her testimony began, she started screaming and could not stop.
Often people come to therapy thinking they must relive the trauma in order to come to grips with it, and want to begin telling the story in detail almost as soon as they sit down. As Babette Rothschild points out in The Body Remembers, Volume Two, when clients do that, they can become overwhelmed and re-traumatized and unlikely to return to...
Source: Psych Central - October 24, 2017 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Stan Rockwell, PsyD Tags: Abuse Book Reviews Domestic Violence Psychotherapy PTSD Trauma Treatment Source Type: news
Book Review: Heal Your Mind, Heal Your Life
Occasional negative thoughts are a common feature of the human experience. While they can sometimes be justified, purposeful, and helpful in identifying pain and avoiding dangerous situations, they can also be irrational, keeping us trapped in a downward spiral of fear, avoidance, and eventually depression and anxiety. To change how we feel, says Corinne Coe in her new book, Heal Your Mind, Heal Your Life, we have to start with how we think.
“Based on my clinical experience in treating people with mental illness, the key to overcoming psychological conditions such as depression and anxiety is to treat at the cognition l...
Source: Psych Central - October 11, 2017 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Claire Nana Tags: Anxiety Book Reviews Depression General Happiness Healthy Living Memory and Perception Mindfulness Self-Help Source Type: news
I ’ ve Been Seeing a Therapist for Years, So Why Am I Not Getting Better?
The answer: We need to address what’s happening inside the office as well as stigma.
During the creation of the documentary Going Sane I interviewed Cindy Bulik. She is perhaps the most important researcher on anorexia today. She lives between UNC where she is a distinguished Professor of Eating Disorders and Sweden where she is a professor at the Karolinska Institute. Her current research is exploring genetic influences on anorexia and by the end of our interview she asked if my entire family would be willing to give a sample of blood for the study.
She is not the single-minded professor oblivious to social customs tha...
Source: Psych Central - October 10, 2017 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Josh Sabey Tags: Disabilities Disorders Editorials Essays Medications Motivation and Inspiration Policy and Advocacy Psychology Psychotherapy Suicide Treatment Child Development child therapy Clinical Outcome evidence-based practices evidence Source Type: news
