Anxiety Disorders
Everyone is anxious from time to time. Anxiety can even be useful when it alerts us to danger. But for some individuals, anxiety can become so severe that it interferes with daily activities like school, work or sleep. It can disrupt relationships and detract from the quality of life. Over time it can lead to health concerns. The exact cause of anxiety disorders isn’t fully understood. Anxiety disorders may involve a chemical imbalance of brain chemicals (neurotransmitters) such as dopamine, norepinephrine and/or serotonin. Traumatic events can trigger anxiety disorders in individuals who are already prone to anxiety. Genetics can also contribute to the possibility of developing an anxiety disorder. If you feel you are so anxious that it compromises the quality of your life, you may need to seek professional medical assistance. For more information on Anxiety Disorders, go to www.nimh.nih.gov.
Eating Disorders
Eating disorders are real, treatable medical illnesses with complex underlying psychological and biological causes. They frequently co-exist with other psychiatric disorders such as depression, substance abuse, or anxiety disorders. Individuals with eating disorders may also suffer from a variety of physical complications, including heart conditions or kidney failure, which can be potentially life-threatening. It is important to know that help is available and recovery is possible. Please see www.somethingfishy.org and www.nationaleatingdisorders.org for additional information.
Grief Issues
Loss is an inevitable part of every life. When this loss is severe, we experience the emotion of grief, particularly when we experience important relationships which are either significantly interrupted or ended. There is no specific timeline on how long grief will last because the grieving process is different for each person. Some may experience feelings of sadness and grief, yet continue on with a productive life, while others become enmeshed in grief and need help learning to move on. Some may experience a deep sense of guilt or may become overwhelmed with memories of a loved one. Others may find themselves detaching from day-to-day activities of life.
Sometimes the support of family and friends may seem insufficient to work through the loss, and sometimes it may seem, or actually be the case, that no one is around to understand the depth of pain involved. Talking with a professional therapist who does not have the emotional involvement that family or friends do, can be an advantage in learning to work through bereavement. Because a counselor may have a more objective viewpoint, a counselor can sometimes help to restore a sense of stability and functioning during a grieving process.
If you find yourself dealing with grief issues, consider the following:
- Accept the reality of the death/loss both mentally and emotionally.
- Feel the pain and express it to yourself and to others.
- Examine every aspect of the relationship, including both the good and the bad aspects.
- Adapt to the challenges of living your current life by accepting one challenge at a time.
- Revise assumptions about your life and look for new ways to experience the world around you.
If you experience difficulty with activities once previously enjoyed and find it difficult to move on from a longstanding grief issue, it may be helpful to speak to a professional grief counselor.
Life Coach
When life is challenging it can be helpful to receive additional encouragement, guidance and direction to get from where you are to where you want to be. Life Coaching offers specific support needed to move confidently toward a positive future, in a relatively concise period of time. Working with a life coach can help you create your best vision for what is possible in your life, career and in relationships. Life coaching can help you . . .
- Gain clarity about personal values, talents and goals
- Create meaningful personal and professional direction
- Upgrade goals and take practical action to increase life satisfaction
- Stay energized, focused and effective
- Live a life full of inspiration and purpose
Life coaching is about results. It is a powerful, practical process that accelerates both your personal and professional life. Success can be yours!
Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder is a mental disorder, characterized by intrusive thoughts, and/or repetitive behaviors which produce anxiety. Symptoms can be alienating and time-consuming, and often cause severe emotional and economic loss. Within the mental health community, CBT is regarded as the preferred treatment modality for this diagnosis. Please refer to www.adaa.org for additional information.
PANDAS
PANDAS is a medical condition resulting from damage to a specific area of the brain called the basal ganglia, resulting in compulsive and impulsive behaviors. The damage is caused by antibodies produced by the body in response to streptococcal infections. This syndrome was given the acronym PANDAS, which stands for Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections. A growing body of research indicates that some children may have a susceptibility to developing OCD, trichotillomania, eating disorders or tic disorders following strep throat infections. While this may seem impossible to believe at first, there are children who are currently being tested and treated for this at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Strep leads to the onset of compulsive disorders through an autoimmune reaction, in which the antibodies produced in the body to combat strep bacteria mistakenly attack the basal gangli. Certain proteins found on the cell walls of streptococcus bacteria are similar to those on the walls of brain cells in the basal ganglia. PANDAS usually occurs in children ranging in age from three to puberty. The following guidelines have been established to better aid in diagnosing possible cases of PANDAS.
- 1. Having symptoms of classic OCD and/or other compulsive disorders.
- Onset of symptoms between the ages of three and puberty.
- Symptoms that wax and wane in severity.
- The presence of a strep infection as evidenced by positive throat culture (group A B-hemolytic strep) and/or high levels of antistreptococcal antibody titer (indicated through anti-DNAase B and antistreptococcal titer blood tests) with at least two separate OCD/tic symptom episodes.
- There exists an association with neurological abnormalities, such as hyperactivity, restlessness or repetitious movements or actions.
There is usually a sudden onset of unusual behaviors which are accompanied by separation anxiety and marked changes in personality and mood. There is much that is unknown about PANDAS, and further study is desperately needed.
Tourette Syndrome
Tourette Syndrome (TS) is a neurological disorder which involves unusual motor movements (tics) or vocalizations. These movements or sounds can range from mild to severe. They may vary in type, frequency and severity over time. Usually stress, anxiety, illness, fatigue or excitement will tend to make the symptoms of TS worsen. Signs and symptoms of TS usually begin in childhood, typically showing up between ages 7 and 10. Males are about three to four times more likely than females to develop TS. Sometimes it is possible for children to outgrow TS after adolescence and adults with TS usually learn how to control or minimize TS.
Science has not yet found the exact cause of TS, but it appears that TS is a complex factor, probably caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors.
Psychotherapy can be helpful for individuals with TS. Although psychological problems do not cause TS, such problems can result from living life with TS. Therapy can help individuals to cope better with the disorder and deal with the secondary social and emotional problems that sometimes occur. In addition, specific behavioral treatments such as awareness training and competing response training, have been found to be helpful.
Trichotillomania (TTM)
Trichotillomania is the compulsive urge to pull one’s hair, resulting in noticeable hair loss. Individuals with this disorder characteristically experience a tension before pulling and a relief or gratification after pulling, though this is not always true for everyone. Body Focused Repetitive Behaviors (BFRBs) such as extreme nail biting and skin picking are also associated with TTM. A growing consensus exists among hair pullers, as well as care-givers, that the name “trichotillomania” is misleading and incorrectly implies that hair pullers are manic or psychotic. For more information, please refer to www.trich.org