Wellness Posts by Scott Paris

American (mostly adult) prevalence estimates by disorder

2011-02-28T08:00:00Z

Wellness.com - American (mostly adult) prevalence estimates by disorder by Scott Paris

Mental disorders are common with about 1 in 4 American adults having a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year. Four of the ten leading causes of disability are mental disorders: major depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Many people suffer from more than one mental disorder at a given time.

Each year Americans suffer from mental illness
60 million Depressions
40 million Sleep Disorders
19 million Anxiety disorders
11 million Dysthymic disorders
06 million Specific phobias
05 million Social phobias
05 million Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders
05 million Eating disorders
03 million Agoraphobias
03 million Obsessive Compulsive Disorders
03 million Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorders
02 million Bipolar disorders
02 million Panic disorders
02 million Schizophrenias

Each year millions find help for depression, relationship crises, parenting issues, emotional distress, careers, substance use, loss, and numerous disorders.

If you are hurting inside, or your life just doesn't seem to be working at its absolute best, talking with friends or family members can sometimes help you feel a little better for a while. But even the most well-meaning friend can't provide therapy. Therapy is a treatment process that uses specialized techniques of caring that have been designed to offer effective, long-lasting help for people suffering from a wide range of difficulties, such as emotional distress, anxiety, marital strife, fears, a significant loss, or a clinical disorder. Counseling, psychotherapy, and psychopharmacotherapies are common methods used to treat disorders and can help fulfill aspirations for personal growth or self-improvement.

An unhealthy misconception about therapy is that seeing a therapist or medication provider is a sign of weakness. In fact, quite the opposite is true. Recognizing the need for help and seeking professional therapy is a sign of both strength and your determination to live a productive and meaningful life! Working together, you and your therapist will identify your goals (what you want to have happen) and agree on how you will know when you are making progress. Therapy has one clear and definite purpose: that something of positive value and constructive usefulness will come out of it for you, and that clinical symptoms will come under control.

Services are designed to focus on the primary needs and concerns of the community, providing the latest care in an inviting environment. This is a wonderful and respectable place to be!

Anxiety

2011-02-28T08:00:00Z

Wellness.com - Anxiety by Scott Paris

Anxiety disorders, which have some symptoms in common with major depression and sleep dysfunctions, develop from a complex set of factors, including genetics, brain chemistry, personality, and life events. Over 20 million adult Americans suffer from anxiety disorders, which are treatable, yet only about one-third receive any treatment.

Anxiety disorders can often be effectively controlled with psychotherapy and medications. Psycho-social treatments used in the treatment of anxiety disorders include cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), exposure therapy, anxiety management and relaxation therapies, and other psychotherapies. Drugs used to treat anxiety disorders include selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), tricyclic antidepressants, benzodiazepines, beta blockers, and monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) to name a few, including newer atypicals. Combination therapies are often utilized for best results. Misdiagnosis and under-treatment of anxiety disorders costs the nation billions of dollars annually.

Anxiety disorders cost the U.S. more than $42 billion a year, according to "The Economic Burden of Anxiety Disorders," a study commissioned by the ADAA and based on data gathered by the association and published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. More than $22.84 billion is associated with the repeated use of healthcare services, as those with anxiety disorders seek relief for symptoms that mimic physical illnesses. People with an untreated anxiety disorder are three-to-five times more likely to go to the doctor and six times more likely to be hospitalized for psychiatric disorders than non-sufferers.

Not all anxiety is alike, and significant disorders are many:

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD): GAD is characterized by excessive, unrealistic worry that lasts six months or more; in adults, the anxiety may focus on issues such as health, money, or career. In addition to chronic worry, GAD symptoms include trembling, muscular aches, insomnia, abdominal upsets, dizziness, and irritability.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD): In OCD, individuals are plagued by persistent, recurring thoughts (obsessions) that reflect exaggerated anxiety or fears; typical obsessions include worry about being contaminated or fears of behaving improperly or acting violently. The obsessions may lead an individual to perform a ritual or routine (compulsions) such as washing hands, repeating phrases or hoarding to relieve the anxiety caused by the obsession.

Panic Disorder: People with panic disorder suffer severe attacks of panic-which may make them feel like they are having a heart attack or are going crazy for no apparent reason. Symptoms include heart palpitations, chest pain or discomfort, sweating, trembling, tingling sensations, feeling of choking, fear of dying, fear of losing control, and feelings of unreality. Panic disorder often occurs with agoraphobia, in which people are afraid of having a panic attack in a place from which escape would be difficult, so they avoid these places.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): PTSD can follow an exposure to a traumatic event such as a sexual or physical assault, witnessing a death, the unexpected death of a loved one, or natural disaster. There are three main symptoms associated with PTSD: "reliving" of the traumatic event (such as flashbacks and nightmares); avoidance behaviors (such as avoiding places related to the trauma) and emotional numbing (detachment from others); and physiological arousal such difficulty sleeping, irritability or poor concentration.

Social Anxiety Disorder (Social Phobia): Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) is characterized by extreme anxiety about being judged by others or behaving in a way that might cause embarrassment or ridicule. This intense anxiety may lead to avoidance behavior. Physical symptoms associated with this disorder include heart palpitations, faintness, blushing and profuse sweating.

Specific phobias: People with specific phobias suffer from an intense fear reaction to a specific object or situation (such as spiders, dogs, or heights); the level of fear is usually inappropriate to the situation, and is recognized by the sufferer as being irrational. This inordinate fear can lead to the avoidance of common, everyday situations.

Coping With Anger & More

2011-02-28T08:00:00Z

Wellness.com - Coping With Anger & More by Scott Paris

Feeling hurt is not the same as being angry. Mental health requires neurochemical and metaphysical balance, being genuine, and taking appropriate individual responsibility.

One out of five Americans has an anger management problem. Anger is nature's way of empowering us to "ward off" our perception of an attack or threat. Emotions can also be disingenuous or contrived to control others or avoid real issues. Mismanaged anger and rage is the major cause of conflict in our personal and professional lives. Domestic abuse, road rage, workplace violence, divorce, and addiction are just a few examples of what happens when anger is mismanaged.

Anger usually begins with some emotional hurt, threat or frustration. Adrenaline pumps and heart rate and blood pressure surges as one feels insulted and threatened and tempted to vent wrath - one way that people manage the feeling of being hurt and insulted: usually by loud, cruel, threatening words or physical violence. The problem is not when we are irritated by an insult, which is manageable, but the taking it out on others.

Uncontrolled anger has no place in a family because, to be healthy, a family should be oriented toward love, growth, and support, not revenge and hostility. It is also unhealthy in any business or organization. Although some people claim differently, domestic violence, and workplace violence, is not so much a political problem as it is a psychological problem rooted in an unwillingness to take responsibility for one's own life or situation. Granted, there are some persons, male and female, who out of frustration and misplaced anger will attack anyone, including children, pets, or others without provocation. With or without an external stimulus, anger and violence becomes a sly dance.

There are even some people so good at subtle provocation that they always come off looking like innocent victims. It is a dirty business overall. However, healthy communication is direct, immediate, and clear, and it is a good model for learning healthy assertiveness that respects both emotions and facts.