Helping People With...
You may try to ignore or stop your obsessions, but that only increases your distress and anxiety. Ultimately, you feel driven to perform compulsive acts to try to ease your stress. Despite efforts to ignore or get rid of bothersome thoughts or urges, they keep coming back. This leads to more ritualistic behavior — the vicious cycle of OCD.
LDepression is a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest. It affects how you feel, think and behave and can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems. You may have trouble doing normal day-to-day activities, and sometimes you may feel as if life isn’t worth living. More than just a bout of the blues, depression isn’t a weakness and you can’t simply “snap out” of it. Depression may require long-term treatment. But don’t get discouraged. Most people with depression feel better with medication, psychotherapy or both.
It’s normal to feel anxious from time to time, especially if your life is stressful. However, excessive, ongoing anxiety and worry that are difficult to control and interfere with day-to-day activities may be a sign of generalized anxiety disorder. Living with generalized anxiety disorder can be a long-term challenge.Generalized anxiety disorder improves with psychotherapy or medications. Making lifestyle changes, learning coping skills and using relaxation techniques also can help.
Depression is a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest. It affects how you feel, think and behave and can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems. You may have trouble doing normal day-to-day activities, and sometimes you may feel as if life isn’t worth living. More than just a bout of the blues, depression isn’t a weakness and you can’t simply “snap out” of it. Depression may require long-term treatment. But don’t get discouraged. Most people with depression feel better with medication, psychotherapy or both.
If you have a mood disorder, your general emotional state or mood is distorted or inconsistent with your circumstances and interferes with your ability to function. You may be extremely sad, empty or irritable (depressed), or you may have periods of depression alternating with being excessively happy (mania). Anxiety disorders can also affect your mood and often occur along with depression. </p><p>Some examples of mood disorders include major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder and seasonal affective disorder. For most people, mood disorders can be successfully treated with medications and talk therapy (psychotherapy).
Substance abuse allows us to run from our feelings. If alcohol or drugs were the real problem, then simply getting off those substances would resolve the issue. The problem with addiction or substance abuse is that when drugs and alcohol are removed, the real issues a person has been running from will begin to surface. If you have a chemical dependency on drugs or alcohol, whether you are currently addicted, or fear that you will become an addict, our therapists will work with you to help you overcome dependencies and become self-sufficient. Your therapist may also work closely with your family or those closest to you, as substance abuse inevitably affects the loved ones of the chemically dependent person.
Trauma is different for everyone, but two of the more common reactions are overwhelming negative emotions (not able to stop crying), or you might feel numb and unable to experience pleasure or pain. After trauma has sunk in, you might even feel guilty or ashamed. You may feel bad about surviving if others didn’t, or you might think you didn’t react the way you think you should’ve. That’s normal, but if those feelings linger for more than a few weeks, you should look for help. </p><p>Both children and adults can behave in unexpected ways after a trauma.Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), a form of talk therapy that helps you identify negative thoughts and replace them with healthier, more realistic ones, can be especially helpful. The first step is to acknowledge that you’ve gone through trauma and accept that your emotions might be affected. After that, reach out to a therapist. They will be able to provide resources that can help you feel better and avoid more serious problems like clinical depression.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition that’s triggered by a terrifying event — either experiencing it or witnessing it. Symptoms may include flashbacks, nightmares and severe anxiety, as well as uncontrollable thoughts about the event. Most people who go through traumatic events may have temporary difficulty adjusting and coping, but with time and good self-care, they usually get better. If the symptoms get worse, last for months or even years, and interfere with your day-to-day functioning, you may have PTSD. Getting effective treatment after PTSD symptoms develop can be critical to reduce symptoms and improve function.
Many adults with ADHD aren’t aware they have it — they just know that everyday tasks can be a challenge. Adults with ADHD may find it difficult to focus and prioritize, leading to missed deadlines and forgotten meetings or social plans. The inability to control impulses can range from impatience waiting in line or driving in traffic to mood swings and outbursts of anger. Adult ADHD can lead to unstable relationships, poor work or school performance, low self-esteem, and other problems.
Accessing therapy can be difficult for people with autism spectrum disorder because of language, social and communication difficulties, but talk therapy, with some modification, can help.The field of adapting Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to this specialist population has grown fast in recent years and CBT may be helpful in treating clients with autism spectrum disorder.</p><p> Clients may struggle with bright lights, loud noises, unpredictability or busy social settings. Our therapists will make sure that clients are shielded from any of these discomforts, so that therapeutic work can be successful. Once a client (and parent, in the case of children) is settled in the therapy room, a whole host of new challenges arise.Some people have difficulty making eye contact or talking to adults. It’s about thinking of ways around that which is important. Having a clear structure and timetable is most helpful. Breaking up verbal activities with non-verbal ones, gives children a break and the therapist a chance to talk to their parent.