By Evelyn Goodman, Psy.D, LMFT, Anxiety Topic Expert Contributor

Click here to contact Evelyn and/or see her GoodTherapy.org Profile

Recovery from an anxiety disorder (and/or depression) usually happens in stages. I mean complete recovery, not only the reduction of symptoms. The first stage is learning how to cope with anxiety or panic attacks. This is achieved by learning and practicing breathing techniques, relaxation and calming exercises, and effective and supportive self-talk. One learns how to not be afraid of, and controlled by, the anxiety and panic. Life-style changes, such as diet and exercise, as well as stress-management strategies that include time management, limit-setting, assertive communication and the appropriate expression of emotions, especially anger, are also anxiety coping skills. Learning how to desensitize to avoidance patterns is part of the learning process for those people with phobias due to the fear of anxiety or panic attacks. Understanding how one developed the anxiety condition is also a necessary step to working one’s way out of the cycle of anxiety because it helps make sense of the problem and points to the areas of emotional vulnerability that
triggered the anxiety in the first place. Read the rest of this entry

A GoodTherapy.org News Headline

The symptoms of the so-called “Swine Flu” have been amply detailed among various media in recent months and weeks, but anxiety isn’t typically listed. However, many students may be feeling anxious about their chances of contracting the virus, and about what effects absenteeism might have on their grades and other measures of performance. Recently,a counselor at Kansas State University has called for widespread attention to the potential for mental health difficulties among students in relation to the flu, and has worked to ensure that teachers do not require medical permission notes for sick students or enact other potentially panic-inducing measures. It is hoped that with the right care and understanding, students can quickly and healthily return to focusing on their mental well-being along with their exams.

© Copyright 2009 by http://www.GoodTherapy.org Therapist St. Louis Bureau - All Rights Reserved.

By Becki A. Hein, MS, LPC, Anxiety Topic Expert Contributor

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You’re worried about money. You’re afraid you’ll catch the flu. You can’t sleep because you can’t stop fretting about… your children, your family, your job or lack thereof, the country/government, terrorists, the stock market, pollution, and on and on. Feeling overwhelmed? Anxious? Then it’s time to get back in the driver’s seat of your own mind! There are things you can do to take control and calm yourself. Did you ever notice that all your worries, no matter what you’re worried about, are about something that hasn’t happened yet? Something you made up in your mind. Anxiety is all about the future. But the only way the future exists is as a thought in your brain. When you are anxious, you are actually fantasizing the worst about some imaginary event and feeling actual fear about it. From a logical standpoint, that doesn’t make much sense does it? Sure, some of the things you are worried about may happen, but you’re using valuable energy to be scared about them. Energy that could be better spent planning, preparing, or paying attention to what’s going on around you right now. Read the rest of this entry

By Evelyn Goodman, Psy.D, LMFT, Anxiety Topic Expert Contributor

Click here to contact Evelyn and/or see her GoodTherapy.org Profile

What causes someone to develop an anxiety disorder? This question is one asked by many people struggling with an anxiety disorder, be it panic, phobias, social anxiety or any of the various manifestations of severe anxiety conditions. Someone with social anxiety might start to sweat and shake and be unable to concentrate when meeting someone new. Another person with agoraphobia might want to avoid driving a certain distance from home since that’s the circumstance of the first panic attack. However the anxiety manifests it is helpful, and part of the healing process, to understand the variables that contributes to the making of an anxiety disorder.

The development of an anxiety disorder can be looked at from a “bio-psycho-social” perspective. The “bio” is one’s genetic inheritance or inborn temperament. What one inherits is a predisposition toward anxiety, not a specific gene that predicts one will be anxious. However, temperament can be seen very early in childhood. Some babies are very sensitive to change, easily upset, extremely uncomfortable with people they don’t know well, or quiet and introverted. Read the rest of this entry

By Becki A. Hein, MS, LPC, Anxiety Topic Expert Contributor

Click here to contact Becki and/or see her GoodTherapy.org Profile

One of the most common requests I get from clients in my psychotherapy practice is “Please help me get rid of this anxiety!” I then get to explain the Bad news and the Good news. The Bad news is that you are not going to get rid of your anxiety. In fact, it would be harmful to not be able to feel anxious. Anxiety and fear come with being alive. Anxiety can be useful when it causes you to be extra alert or careful, such as when you are walking to your car in a dark parking lot or when you are taking a test. Human beings were designed to feel anxious when faced with danger or a challenge. The fight or flight response is triggered causing adrenaline and other chemicals to increase heart rate, blood pressure, and respiration, narrow our focus of attention, and enable us to do what we need to do to stay alive. However, human beings were not designed to be chronically anxious. Recent studies have shown that chronic anxiety plays a major part in either causing or exacerbating several physical illnesses, including heart disease, gastrointestinal disorders, and chronic respiratory disorders. Therefore, it is a good thing to learn to manage your anxiety. That brings us to the Good news. Read the rest of this entry

By Arthur Becker-Weidman, Ph.D., Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy Topic Expert Contributor

Click here to contact Arthur and/or see his GoodTherapy.org Profile

In this first article here I will describe what Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy is. Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy began as a family-therapy approach, grounded in attachment theory, for the treatment of children with disorders of attachment. It has developed over the past decade into a broader approach for treatment and has been found to be an evidence-based, effective, and empirically validated treatment.

Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy has as its central therapeutic mechanism the maintenance of a contingent, collaborative, sensitive, reflective and affectively attuned relationship between therapist and child, between caregiver and child, and between therapist and caregiver. Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy focuses on and relies upon the intersubjective sharing and joint development and organization of emotional experience. Intersubjectivity refers to shared emotion (also called attunement), shared attention, and shared intention. Read the rest of this entry

A GoodTherapy.org News Headline

With the expected release of the DSM-V slated for 2012, there has been some deliberation within the mental health communities over whether to jointly classify childhood depression and anxiety issues. The extant version of the DSM classifies these concerns in a distinct manner, one which is recommended to be upheld by a recent study to be published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. The study examined symptoms of depression and anxiety among secondary school children over the course of a five-year period, and found that though the issues are often related, they are justifiably distinct and should be classified and treated as such.

© Copyright 2009 by http://www.GoodTherapy.org Therapist Philadelphia Bureau - All Rights Reserved.

A GoodTherapy.org News Headline

While many have fond memories of childhood at school, most people can recall a few experiences that were less than joyous. Sometimes, children may experience difficulties at school that differ greatly than those experienced by their parents, and some may find themselves experiencing great anxiety and dread as a new school year approaches. In response to nervousness about returning to school, suggest Canadian mental health professionals, families should embrace the change, helping to make the transition from summer break more smooth, and looking for any signs of considerable mental or emotional difficulty after the first few weeks have settled any initial anxiety.

© Copyright 2009 by http://www.GoodTherapy.org Therapist Santa Barbara Bureau - All Rights Reserved.

A GoodTherapy.org News Headline

Working through a mental health difficulty can be personally challenging for the self, but most people who confront such concerns also encounter issues within their families. In extreme cases, some people may become separated from their loved ones, as is the case of many women in Los Angeles with criminal backgrounds and indications of mental health concerns. But the rate of reunification is distinctly on the rise in the city, as women with feelings of depression, anxiety, and other issues are receiving assistance from programs aimed at meeting the needs of local families torn apart by conflict and a misuse or absence of effective treatment.

© Copyright 2009 by http://www.GoodTherapy.org Therapist Simi Valley Bureau - All Rights Reserved.

A GoodTherapy.org News Headline

Issues with rising obesity rates in combination with a growing percentage of people who report feelings of depression and anxiety have been considerable causes for concern in recent years, and analyzing popular trends and shifts in lifestyles may hold the key to understanding how and why the prevalence of basic physical and mental health concerns are changing. Seeking to examine the links between different media usage types and typical physical and mental health issues, the Centers for Disease Control along with two university teams have conducted a study with telling results. Some of the most striking data to emerge from the report has been the associations between adult video game playing and symptoms of physical and mental concerns; females who played video games reported higher rates of depression and poorer physical health, while males exhibited an increase in BMI in groups that participated in gaming. Fostering more balanced lifestyles may lead to an enjoyment of both leisure and personal prosperity.

© Copyright 2009 by http://www.GoodTherapy.org Therapist Coral Gables Bureau - All Rights Reserved.