Anxiety Archives

How to Recognize if Your Friend Is Suicidal

Written by Rachel Firster on October 26, 2022. Posted in Anxiety, Depression, Step-By-Step Guides.

Did you know that depression is at an all-time high in the United States? It’s true, and more alarmingly, suicide is the 12th leading cause of death in America. Though, it is important to keep in mind that suicide is preventable in many cases. Most importantly, a suicidal individual needs proper help before its too late.

In order to prevent suicide from occuring with a friend or a loved one, it is important that you understand the warning signs first. Let’s talk about the signs and struggles of suicide ideation that you may notice in a suicidal person.

Warning Signs Of A Suicidal Person

They have become very withdrawn and apathetic towards major problems.

One of the most common warning signs of suicide deals with the person’s behavior. If they have been struggling with depression or grief for a long time and then suddenly become calmer than usual, this can be a warning sign of suicide. Either way, depression, long periods of sadness, and moodiness are all major risk factors for suicide.

If you notice that the person in question starts to withdraw from others by choosing to be alone and avoiding friends and family, this can be a cause for concern. Many people considering death by suicide often experience a deepening sense of apathy toward the world around them, if this is the case encourage your loved one to seek professional help and remind them how much you care about their wellbeing.

It’s also worth noting that people experiencing suicidal thoughts may engage in dangerous behavior such as driving too fast or increasing their use of drugs and alcohol. If you notice these suicide symptoms, it may be worth confronting your friend about their thoughts and offer caring support.

They threaten suicide.

Suicidal threats should be taken seriously no matter the circumstance. Suicidal threats are actually found to be one of the most common signs of suicide in teens. Regardless of the situation, you should always take someone seriously if they express suicidal thoughts or explicitly say, “I feel suicidal.”

On a similar note, if the person references not being around in the future, this too can be a sign that an individual is experiencing suicidal ideation.

They mention that they feel like a burden.

Many suicidal people feel overwhelmed with hopelessness and despair. This often makes them feel that they’re a burden to people around them. Any time that you hear people mention that they feel like a burden, it’s time to hit the pause button and provide your support.

This is a frequent symptom of suicide ideation, so reach out to your friend if this happens and make sure they’re directed to the necessary resources.

Your friend started to give away a lot of their personal possessions, mentions final wishes, and more.

One of the most alarming signs of suicide deals with the person doing “prep work” for the end of their life. This can include doing things like giving away beloved items, mentioning final wishes in passing, making a will, or writing suicide notes.

If there are a lot of signs of post-mortem preparations, you should ask what’s going on and offer your support. If you notice a friend writing a suicide note, then it’s time to get them help they need.

They self-harm.

Self-harm is one of the most serious signs of suicide potential that you can find. More specifically, it is a sign of suicidal ideation that has turned towards suicidal actions. This means that the person has suicidal tendencies and may be far closer to killing themself than you think.

While some people who engage in self-harm may be suicidal, not everyone who self-harms does so with fatal intent. Most people who self-harm are not suicidal but there is a noteworthy correlation between these two different behaviors.

How You Can Help a Loved One in Need

Your friend is going through a major mental crisis right now, and it’s one that should not be ignored. They need your help as well as the help of a qualified professional. Now is a good time to do the following:

Remove objects or weapons that could be used in suicide attempt
Call a crisis hotline and encourage your loved one to do the same
Don’t leave them alone if their behavior is becoming highly concerning

If your friend is showing signs of suicide, don’t hesitate to ask if they are contemplating suicide and encourage them to seek the help of a professional. If your friend is in imminent danger of harming themselves, call 911 immediately.

This blog post is meant to be educational in nature and does not replace the advice of a medical professional. See full disclaimer.

file cabinet containing files titled mental health, psychiatry, disorders, bipolar, depression, and anxiety

Myths About Mental Illness

Written by Rachel Firster on September 14, 2022. Posted in Anxiety, Depression, Mental Health Maintenance.

Mental illness is not a single condition, rather it is a broad term used to describe a variety of mental health conditions that affect people’s mood, thinking, behavior, and emotions. A mental illness diagnosis is essentially an indication of poor mental health. Mental illnesses include, but are not limited to:

Depression
Anxiety
Bipolar Disorder
Schizophrenia
Psychosis
Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD)
Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

Depression and anxiety (as well as other mental illnesses) are serious medical conditions that affect millions of people every year. One of the challenges that survivors and their allies tend to face today is misrepresentation, as well as misinformation and myths associated with mental illness. Knowing the truth about mental illness will help you understand what it really is and how best to support friends or family members who are struggling with their mental health.

Myth 1: People with mental illnesses are violent and unpredictable.

Popular media portrayals of people suffering from mental illness have included ideas that these individuals are both violent and unpredictable. These mental health myths have led to fear and discrimination against people with various mental illnesses. The truth is, most people living with mental health conditions are not violent or dangerous at all. Although certain conditions can induce anger, those suffering from a mental illness are not any more likely to be violent than anybody else.

Myth 2: Mental illness is just laziness or weakness of character.

One of the most common misconceptions about mental illness is that people suffering from these conditions are just lazy or weak minded. Though, mental illnesses are not flaws in one’s character – they are illnesses and should be treated as such. Living with a mental illness does not mean that you cannot function, however, it may require some more effort and adaptiveness to live an independent and healthy lifestyle. It’s important to remember that no one chooses to become ill any more than they choose the color of their skin, so it is inappropriate to judge someone based on their mental health.

Myth 3: People with mental illness can totally control their emotions and choose to feel the way they do.

This is a dangerous myth about mental illness that leads many people to blame themselves or others for their symptoms. By placing blame on those living with a mental health condition, we end up stigmatizing the condition itself and alienating those who are living with it. This, in turn, causes many individuals to hesitate when it’s time to seek help. The fact is that mental illnesses like depression are often caused by an imbalance of chemicals in your brain, and these chemicals are out of your control. With that being said, people suffering from a mental illness have little to no control over their thoughts, feelings, or emotions.

Myth 4: Mental illness means serious dysfunction and disability.

While it’s true that some people with mental illnesses have difficulty functioning in day-to-day life, most individuals living with mental illnesses are capable of living very normal lives. In fact, if properly managed and treated, many people living with mental illnesses can become asymptomatic. While it’s true that some people who experience mental health problems have symptoms that are mild and manageable; others may deal with severe and disabling conditions.

Myth 5: If a person really wanted to, he or she could get better on their own.

One of the many myths associated with mental illness is that the condition will simply get better or go away over time. Though, mental health conditions are just as serious physical health conditions and should be treated properly by a professional. Mental health is a serious issue. It’s not something to be taken lightly and it’s not something that can be “fixed” simply by wishing it away. There are many different types of therapy available to those suffering from mental illness, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), and even Ketamine Therapy. These therapies help patients understand their symptoms better and teach them how to cope with their condition more effectively to prevent relapse or worsening symptoms. Medication is another common tool used in treating mental illness; however, it may take some time to find the medication that works best for you and your mental health condition.

By dispelling some of the stigma and misconceptions about mental illness, those living with mental health conditions are more likely to reach out for the support they need and the resources they deserve to live a healthy and happy lifestyle. There’s no shame in seeking help for your mental health; it’s not something you can just “get over” by trying harder or ignoring it. The sooner you seek help, the sooner you’ll start feeling better—and that’s what matters most!

This blog post is meant to be educational in nature and does not replace the advice of a medical professional. See full disclaimer.

The Different Types of OCD and How To Treat Them

Written by Rachel Firster on August 24, 2022. Posted in Anxiety, Mental Health Maintenance.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental illness that affects as many as one in 40 adults and one in 100 children. Someone who suffers from this illness might have regular thoughts or fears that interfere with their daily life.

While obsessive-compulsive disorder can be difficult to diagnose, it’s important to recognize the different types of obsessions and compulsions so you can get proper treatment if needed.

Obsessions: Obsessions are recurrent, unwanted ideas, images or impulses that cause anxiety or distress; these thoughts are unwarranted and not connected to any life event or situation (for example, concerns about contamination).
Compulsions: Compulsions refer to repetitive behaviors performed in response to an obsession; these behaviors bring temporary relief from discomfort caused by obsessions but they don’t actually reduce stress levels (for example, cleaning rituals).

It’s often a misunderstood condition, and many people don’t recognize the extent to which it can impact lives. But there are ways to get help alleviate symptoms of OCD with professional treatment and therapy. Here’s what you should know about the types of obsessive-compulsive disorder:

Checking

Checking is one of the many types of compulsions in OCD and can take many forms. Examples of checking include checking the locks on doors or windows; making sure that an appliance or light is turned off; checking to be sure you did not leave something burning on the stove; repeatedly washing your hands until they feel “just right.” Checking can help relieve anxiety or doubt by providing reassurance that something has been done properly or thoroughly.

Contamination / Mental Contamination

The fear of getting sick from germs is one of the different types of OCD obsessions, especially in children. It’s easy to understand why this phobia would be so prevalent: it’s hard to avoid getting sick when you’re exposed to sanitation-resistant bacteria and viruses all the time. The feeling of internal or mental dirtiness is called mental contamination. This type of OCD is usually characterized by the internal feeling of filth or dirtiness without experiencing any physical contamination and often leads to obsessive thoughts about harming oneself or others.

Intolerance of Uncertainty

People with intolerance of uncertainty often have difficulty making decisions and tend to avoid them, which can lead to problems in planning and organizing. They may also worry about the future, the past, or even the present. For example, someone who is overwhelmed with doubt about whether they should flip a coin will be unable to make any decision as a result. This can prevent someone suffering with OCD from doing things that seem simple to the average person, such as daily rituals like getting out of bed in the morning or brushing your teeth.

Hoarding

Hoarding is a form of obsessive-compulsive disorder that involves the accumulation of items, often of little value. Hoarding can result in unsafe living conditions and may be a symptom of other mental health issues. A person who hoards may also be reluctant to throw away possessions because they feel it will make them miss important memories or experiences associated with those items. In reality, this just means that your home is too full for you to live comfortably and safely as well as maintain good relationships with others close to you.

Violent or Disturbing Thoughts

Some people suffering with OCD may have thoughts about harming themselves or others, while others may be concerned about committing a crime. Thoughts like these are considered very common in the general population and do not mean someone has any desire to act on them. In fact, most people suffering from types of OCD find these kinds of thoughts both intrusive and disturbing, and have no desire to actually act them out.

Counting Rituals

Counting rituals are one of the more common types of OCD. People with counting rituals may have to count things repeatedly, or they may have to count things in multiples of 3 or 4. Some people with counting rituals may have to count things in multiples of 5 or 6.

Repeating What Is Said or Done

Repetitive behaviors are a common symptom of OCD. You might constantly check the stove to make sure it’s turned off, or you might wash your hands until they are red and raw. These repetitive behaviors can be as simple as touching something or counting things repeatedly—or they can be more complex. These compulsions usually start out as small rituals that go largely unnoticed, but over time they become so ingrained in your daily life that you feel like you have no control over them at all. You may not even realize how much time you spend on these types of compulsions until someone points it out to you.

Hiding and Organizing

Many people with OCD have a compulsion to hide, organize or collect things in an effort to prevent harm from coming to them or others. For example, someone with this form of OCD might hoard food because they believe that if they don’t store it properly then food poisoning will result. People may also have repetitive thoughts about symmetry and order, such as an obsession with arranging items on desks or tables perfectly straight.

If you have OCD, you’ll usually try to avoid situations that trigger your symptoms. For example, if you have a fear of germs and contamination, you might avoid touching doorknobs at work or school because you feel that it might make your hands dirty. If this happens often enough, your avoidant behavior can become a problem in itself—in other words, it can become part of your OCD symptoms.

Although trying not to think about something is hard work and may seem impossible at first glance, there are some things that can help:

Try distracting yourself with other activities like listening to music or watching TV when an intrusive thought comes up. This might be easier said than done but give it a shot!
Talk to a mental health professional and explore possible treatment options available to you.

If you have intrusive thoughts or are experiencing different types of obsessions and compulsions, it’s important to talk with a doctor about them. With proper treatment, you can learn how to manage your symptoms and get on with your life.

This blog post is meant to be educational in nature and does not replace the advice of a medical professional. See full disclaimer.

two people sitting in a room and talking about mental health

Is BPD An Attention-Seeking Disorder?

Written by W. Nate Upshaw M.D. on November 4, 2021. Posted in Anxiety, Depression.

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is much more than an extreme attention-seeking disorder. It’s a genuine psychological disorder with many symptoms, some of which involve attention-seeking behaviors. Like all mental health disorders, BPD causes significant problems that prevent a person from having a satisfying life. For this reason, among others, people with BPD are often seen in a less sympathetic light by others.

BPD impairs all areas of life, particularly interpersonal relationships. It’s a wide-ranging condition that involves an inability to control one’s behavior and emotions, highly volatile and unstable relationships, and problems with self-image. People with BPD usually have other mental health issues, like depression and anxiety.

What is Attention-Seeking Behavior?

Attention-seeking is common in children and younger adolescents, but in adults, attention-seeking behavior is troublesome and indicative of poor coping skills. In adults with BPD.

Attention-seeking involves behaviors such as:

Bragging and embellishing one’s accomplishments, or making up accomplishments.
Saying inflammatory or rude things to provoke a reaction—even if it’s a negative or hostile reaction.
Annoying others deliberately or starting fights.
Pretending to not know how to carry out a task.
Constantly bringing conversations back around to themselves.
Often posting one’s troubles on social media, particularly exaggerating their severity.
Self-harming behavior or suicide attempts.
Inappropriate flirting, inappropriate sexual displays.
Manipulating others to get attention.

Why Do Borderlines Need Attention?

Attention-seeking is a prominent aspect of BPD, but it’s only one symptom of borderline personality disorder in adolescents and adults. Attention-seeking in BPD is often dramatic and disruptive and originates from a deep need to be validated constantly.

BPD’s attention-seeking originates from the traumas they create. It’s not a character flaw on the part of the sufferer, and although sufferers from BPD are aware of their behavior and its effects on others, they lack the insight and ability to change their ways of behaving.

Symptoms of BPD

BPD can begin in childhood, although it typically emerges during adolescence. Typical symptoms include:

A consistent pattern of intense, unstable relationships, often idealizing the desired person, then believing that person is victimizing them, planning to leave them, or is cruel to them.
Extreme and unrelenting fears of abandonment. These fears often lead the individual to take drastic steps to avoid rejection.
Risky, impulsive behaviors, such as promiscuity, drug abuse, binging, and overspending. People with BPD may sabotage themselves when they’re succeeding, such as doing well at work or cheating on a loyal partner.
Self-injuring behaviors, suicidal threats, especially in response to rejection.
Chronic feelings of emptiness.
Abrupt changes in one’s self-image and identity. Values and goals may change rapidly and individuals lack a set of core beliefs beyond staving off abandonment.
Suicidal threats or behavior or self-injury, often in response to a spiking fear of separation.
Intense anger or rage with no appropriate cause. Sarcasm, extreme negativity, and physical fighting are common.
Rapid and extreme mood shifts.

Manipulative behaviors are plentiful and complex in borderline personalities. Borderlines tend to categorize people in their lives as victims, rescuers, or persecutors, with them typically in the victim role. They manipulate people to rescue them by portraying themselves as the victim of unfair treatment—when they’ve in reality experienced no such treatment. People with BPD most often create disagreements with someone they designate as a persecutor, who is usually innocent of wrong-doing.

Borderline individuals have a profoundly unstable view of reality and other people, seeing situations and individuals in terms of stark black and white. A person they idealize as their best friend, the most kind and caring friend or family member imaginable, can within hours become their most despised enemy.

BPD’s Causes

BPD’s causes are not completely understood, but there are many consistencies in the family histories and experiences of people with BPD.

Genetic inheritance. Studies of fraternal and identical twins raised separately indicate that there is a much higher likelihood of close relatives having BPD, regardless of how or by whom they were raised.
Neurological conditions. Brain scans of people with BPD show unusually high levels of activity in the amygdala.
Traumatic childhood. Many people with the disorder report being sexually or physically abused or neglected during childhood. Further, children who were not abused but were separated from their caregivers traumatically, in situations such as being orphaned or entering the foster care system, also have an increased incidence of borderline personality disorder.

BPD’s Effects and Concurrent Disorders

Complications of BPD are serious. The disorder interferes with a person’s ability to have good relationships of any sort with others. Other harmful issues include:

Trouble holding a job or establishing a career
Legal issues, including jail or prison sentences, from aggressive or violent acting out
Inability to get a good education
Constant stress in relationships
Stress from conflict with others
Physical issues related to self-injuring behavior
Conflict-filled relationships, marital stress or divorce
Abusive intimate relationships
Self-injury, such as cutting or burning, and frequent hospitalizations

The incidence of people with BPD to have another psychological disorder is high compared to the normative population. Common co-occurring disorders include:

Histrionic Personality Disorder (HPD)
Anxiety Disorders
Depression
Eating Disorders
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Substance abuse disorder
Alcohol abuse disorder

Treating Borderline Personality Disorder

People with BPD can benefit from psychotherapy (talking therapy). Medication can be useful, but only in conjunction with individual and family psychotherapy. One mode of therapy, dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), is particularly useful for treating BPD.

Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) helps people redirect their attention to the present moment, a core feature of mindfulness. DBT also teaches people concrete skills to manage their emotions, particularly how to soothe and still anger, fear, and paranoia. For those with BPD, learning how to control intense, overwhelming feelings and irrational beliefs also sets the stage for learning helpful new coping skills.

New Approaches to Treating the Symptoms of BPD

TMS is an FDA-approved treatment for depression, in which a physician or clinician uses a magnetic pulse to gently stimulate the areas of the brain that are responsible for mood and emotional control. It’s a rapid, non-invasive treatment that’s carried out in a clinic, requires no hospitalization, and has no systemic side-effects. It requires no sedation and is medication-free.

Studies have shown that the symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder may improve when treated with TMS.

This blog post is meant to be educational in nature and does not replace the advice of a medical professional. See full disclaimer.

Works Cited

Borderline personality disorder. National Alliance on Mental Illness. https://www.nami.org/Learn-More/Mental-Health-Conditions/Borderline-Personality-Disorder/Overview. Accessed August 24th, 2021.

Herman, J. L., Perry, J. C., & Van der Kolk, B. A. (1989). Childhood trauma in borderline personality disorder. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 146(4), 490–495. https://doi.org/10.1176/ajp.146.4.490

Mattocks, N. (2019, October 11). Borderline personality disorder myths and facts. NAMI. Accessed September 23, 2021, from https://www.nami.org/Blogs/NAMI-Blog/October-2019/Borderline-Personality-Disorder-Myths-and-Facts.

Reyes-López, J., Ricardo-Garcell, J., Armas-Castañeda, G., García-Anaya, M., Arango-De Montis, I., González-Olvera, J. J., & Pellicer, F. (2018). Clinical improvement in patients with borderline personality disorder after treatment with repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation: preliminary results. Revista brasileira de psiquiatria (Sao Paulo, Brazil : 1999), 40(1), 97–104. https://doi.org/10.1590/1516-4446-2016-2112

Skoglund, C., Tiger, A., Rück, C. et al. Familial risk and heritability of diagnosed borderline personality disorder: a register study of the Swedish population. Mol Psychiatry 26, 999–1008 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-019-0442-0

Young JQ. Chapter 26. Personality Disorders. In: Feldman MD, Christensen JF. eds. Behavioral Medicine: A Guide for Clinical Practice, 3e. New York: McGraw-Hill; 2008. Accessed September 24th, 2021.

girl with psychosis seeing double of herself

Are You Experiencing Psychosis?

Written by W. Nate Upshaw M.D. on July 30, 2021. Posted in Anxiety, Depression, Mental Health Maintenance.

Psychosis is a psychological condition in which a person loses touch with reality. Psychosis isn’t an illness of its own; rather, it’s a syndrome made of symptoms of an underlying disorder. The symptoms of psychosis and the conditions causing it both require treatment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEnEohiBqO0

Psychosis isn’t uncommon. About 3 percent of all Americans will experience at least one psychotic episode in their lifetimes. An episode of psychosis can be caused by a medical disorder, mental illness, drug abuse, or toxic chemicals. Psychosis can be acute, a single event, or can be chronic, coming and going for years. Psychosis is always a serious condition that disrupts a person’s ability to live a satisfying life.

Identifying Psychosis

These are some of the most common early warning signs that psychosis is developing.

You’re sure you’re being spied on or followed.
You think there might be a conspiracy to harm you.
Your thoughts seem disjointed and it’s harder to form a clear thought.
Your daily, familiar environment feels threatening or strange.
You’ve felt like your thoughts were not your own, or that your thoughts were being controlled.
You’ve been going off-topic and rambling to an unusual degree when trying to speak with others.
You hear distant hissing, clapping, or whispering that’s not due to your environment or a disorder like tinnitus.
You’re hearing voices or seeing things you can’t be sure are real.
You question whether or not you’re real.
You feel unusually mistrustful of people you normally feel comfortable with.

Some of the early warning signs of psychosis are the same as those of other psychological disorders. People experiencing psychosis for the first time usually know something’s wrong, but many won’t seek help for fear of being stigmatized or judged.

Early Psychosis

First-episode psychosis, also called early psychosis, is a person’s first episode of feeling disconnected, or losing touch with reality. Some of the early warning signs of psychosis include:

Withdrawal from family and friends
An unusual drop in grades or work performance

Marked decline in personal hygiene
Withdrawal from others, unusual self-isolating behavior
Seeing or hearing things that aren’t real (hallucinations)

Strong belief in bizarre things that are untrue (a belief the individual is being watched or spied on is common)
Increased paranoia, fear that others mean to harm them
Strong, inappropriate emotions or having no feelings at all

The hallmark symptoms of psychosis are hallucinations and delusions. Hallucinations involve hearing, feeling, or seeing things that aren’t present. These hallucinations are usually negative; that is, they seem harmful, hurtful, or dangerous.

Auditory hallucinations often involve hearing voices. These “voices” may denigrate or insult the person, or even give the person instructions to carry out actions.
Visual hallucinations may look extremely detailed and fully formed or might only look like colored dots or spheres.

Delusions are powerfully held beliefs or ideas that are patently false and irrational. A person suffering from a delusion will insist that it is true even when presented with overwhelming evidence that it is not. Common delusions in psychosis are:

Paranoid or persecutory. A person believes others are planning to harm them, plotting against them, or conspiring against them. Delusions of betrayal by a loved one are also common.
Thought control. The individual believes an outside entity is controlling their thoughts, even their behaviors, or that others can hear their thoughts.
Grandiosity. Delusions of grandeur involve a person thinking they’re uniquely chosen for a mission, supremely unique, on a mission from God, or even believing they are god themselves.

Psychosis deeply affects the way a person interprets information from the environment. In time, it distorts our internal narratives, which are the stories we tell ourselves that helps us frame the world and our place in it.

Causes of Psychosis

Psychosis is sometimes a part of disorders like depression and bipolar disorder. Extreme trauma can also lead to psychosis, which is common to a class of psychological disorders, fittingly called the psychotic disorders.

Exposure to toxic chemicals can lead to psychosis, as can drug abuse, but psychosis is most commonly found in schizophrenia and related disorders. In fact, psychosis is a distinguishing feature of schizophrenia.

Treatment of Psychosis

The acute phase of psychosis must be treated first. A person can’t get any benefit from other modes of treatment when they are actively psychotic. Medication therapy is ideal for stabilizing acute psychosis.

Over the last twenty years many new antipsychotics have been developed that are more effective and have fewer side-effects than the antipsychotics of the 20th century. These include:

Vraylar (cariprazine)
Latuda (lurasidone)
Risperdal (risperidone)
Zyprexa (olanzapine)
Seroquel (quetiapine)
Invega (2009)

Treating psychosis as close to its onset as possible is the best approach to recovery. As is the case for many psychological disorders, a combination of medication and psychotherapy is the most effective treatment approach that produces long-term remission of psychosis.

Psychotherapy for Psychosis

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a useful type of therapy that examines how a person’s thoughts and feelings about situations molds our reactions and behaviors. A form of CBT, CBT for psychosis (CBTp) has been developed to help people de-escalate the fear and anxiety that comes from hallucinations.

The goal of CBTp isn’t to teach a person how to determine what’s real or not—after all, if a person were able to determine that, they wouldn’t be psychotic. CBTp helps people identify hallucinations as part of their disorder and not something to be acted on or feared.

An Effective Depression Treatment: TMS Therapy

Newer and highly effective treatments for psychological disorders are becoming available. One such treatment for depression and depression related anxiety is TMS Therapy, also known as, Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS). This form of treatment uses magnetic fields to precisely stimulate areas of the brain that are responsible for a person’s mood. TMS is FDA-approved for the treatment of Major Depression Disorder, produces no systemic side effects and is a medication-free treatment. TMS is eligible for coverage by most major health insurers, such as Medicare and Tri-Care.

This blog post is meant to be educational in nature and does not replace the advice of a medical professional. See full disclaimer.

Works Cited

Kiran C, Chaudhury S. Understanding delusions. Ind Psychiatry J. 2009;18(1):3-18. doi:10.4103/0972-6748.57851

Loewy, Rachel L., et al. (2011). Psychosis risk screening with the Prodromal Questionnaire—Brief Version (PQ-B). Schizophrenia research 12(1) pp. 42-46.

Miller, C. (2019, September 30). How does cbt help people with psychosis? Retrieved July 25, 2021, from https://childmind.org/article/cbt-help-people-psychosis/

The National Alliance on Mental Health: Psychosis. (2021, July 14). Retrieved July 14, 2021, from https://www.nami.org/About-Mental-Illness/Mental-Health-Conditions/Psychosis

World Health Organization: Schizophrenia. (2019, October 4). Retrieved July 24, 2021, from https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/schizophrenia

bipolar disorder spelled out on a board with photos representing bipolar disorder around it

Experiencing Bipolar Disorder?

Written by W. Nate Upshaw M.D. on July 6, 2021. Posted in Anxiety, Depression.

Bipolar disorder is a common, serious psychological disorder experienced by about 6 million American adults every year. Formerly called manic depression, bipolar disorder has two groups of symptoms: mania and depression. In between these poles, or phases of bipolar disorder, people typically have a normal mood (euthymia). Depression in bipolar disorder is the same as that experienced by people with major depression. It’s the manic phase that differentiates bipolar disorder from major depression.

Bipolar Disorder: The Highs and the Lows

For a diagnosis of bipolar disorder to be made, a person must have significant symptoms of depression that have at least once alternated with a condition called mania, or its milder form, hypomania. A person doesn’t have to have alternating cycles of depression and mania, although some people do. Just one manic episode is enough for a mental health professional to diagnose bipolar I disorder, also called bipolar type I.

Symptoms of Bipolar Mania

A person having a manic episode feels intensely happy, even euphoric. They may become dangerously impulsive, energetic, and unable to control themselves. People in a manic episode often believe themselves to be capable of any feat and may become psychotic.

Other symptoms of mania include:

pressured speech (a person can’t get their words out fast enough)
many new ideas emerging all at once
high levels of enthusiasm
inability to sleep, sometimes for days at a time
elevated, even overwhelming levels of energy
leaping from one idea to another (flight of ideas)
delusions
unusually risky behavior, like promiscuity, overspending, gambling
flashes of irritability, anger, outbursts that look like rage
making impulsive, life-altering decisions, like quitting one’s job, with no planning
grandiosity

Hypomania, a milder form of bipolar mania, isn’t as extreme as full-blown mania, but it still constitutes a debilitating part of bipolar disorder. This combination of depression alternating with hypomania is called bipolar II disorder.

Symptoms of Bipolar Depression

Remember, for a person to be diagnosed with bipolar they must have experienced one episode of mania, with longer episodes of depression. Bipolar depression is quite similar to that experienced by people living with major depression. It involves the following symptoms:

Feelings of deep sadness that are present most of the time
Loss of pleasure in activities you used to enjoy or the inability to feel pleasure at all (anhedonia)
Feelings of emotional numbness
Lack of energy, persistent fatigue
Sleep problems (too much or too little sleep)
Difficulty concentrating, problems with memory, decreased ability to concentrate, or an inability to make decisions
Feelings of guilt and hopelessness
Preoccupation with death
Withdrawing from friends, family, and/or social situations

Bipolar disorder usually develops in a person’s early 20s, although it can affect teenagers. It’s vital to take action after a person’s first manic episode, as the earlier a person gets treatment, the better their mental health recovery will be.

I’m Bipolar—Now What? Living with Bipolar Disorder

While dealing with bipolar disorder can be challenging, this disorder responds well to proper treatment and is a manageable condition. Getting started with treatment is essential, as over 80 percent of all people with bipolar experience severe and disruptive symptoms. Managing bipolar disorder requires a combination of treatment approaches and lifestyle changes. Lifestyle changes alone won’t help bipolar disorder, as the causes are in part rooted in a person’s unique biology.

The most effective way of coping with bipolar disorder requires psychotherapy combined with medication. Great strides have been made in the last 20 years in developing medications that treat bipolar disorder without the side effects of lithium, the 20th century medication of choice for bipolar disorder.

Medication

Treating bipolar disorder with medication can be tricky, as antidepressants can trigger mania. Typically, bipolar disorder is treated with a mood-stabilizing medication. Lithium carbonate is exceptionally effective as a mood stabilizer but requires regular blood tests to ensure its levels are just right. It also has a narrow range of effectiveness, which can make getting the correct amount challenging.

Newer medications, like topiramate, lamotrigine, and divalproex sodium, have proven to be effective with fewer side-effects. Medication for bipolar disorder must be taken consistently to work correctly.

Therapy

Talk therapy, also called psychotherapy, helps a person deal with the issues that come from living with bipolar disorder. Common and effective types of talk therapy include:

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT). CBT is helpful in identifying and changing habitual patterns of thinking that contribute to poor outcomes in a person’s lives. Automatic thoughts and judgements often keep a person from adapting to difficult situations, which is where CBT can be exceptionally effective.
Interpersonal and Social Rhythm Therapy (IPSRT). IPRST helps people understand how disruptions to the natural rhythms of life, like the sleeping and waking cycle, can make bipolar disorder worse. Its goal is to stabilize personal and social rhythms, which make a person more resilient.

Social Support

Social support is an essential part of recovery from bipolar disorder. Online forums for bipolar disorder, bipolar blogs, and bipolar support groups can all provide contact with others living with bipolar disorder. Connecting with people who are coping with similar situations can help you form a stronger support system while providing support for them as well.

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) for Bipolar Disorder

If you’re living with bipolar disorder and looking for treatment, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a newer treatment approach. TMS uses high-powered magnetic fields to precisely stimulate areas of the brain that are responsible for a person’s mood. TMS is FDA-approved for the treatment of Major Depression Disorder, produces no systemic side effects and is a medication-free treatment. TMS is eligible for coverage by most private health insurers, as well as Medicare and Tri-Care.

This blog post is meant to be educational in nature and does not replace the advice of a medical professional. See full disclaimer.

Works Cited

Agarkar, S., Mahgoub, N., & Young, R. C. (2011). Use of transcranial magnetic stimulation in bipolar disorder. The Journal of neuropsychiatry and clinical neurosciences. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4102108/.

Bipolar disorder. (2018, January 31). https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/bipolar-disorder/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20355961. Retrieved July 18th, 2021

Bipolar Disorder: Age of Onset. National Alliance on Mental Illness. (n.d.). https://www.nami.org/About-Mental-Illness/Mental-Health-Conditions/Bipolar-Disorder. Retrieved July 18th, 2021

Butler, M. (2018, August). Treatment for Bipolar Disorder in Adults. Treatment for Bipolar Disorder in Adults: A Systematic Review [Internet]. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/books/NBK532193/table/ch2.tab1/.

Hurley, K. (2020, November 24). Bipolar Disorder and Depression: Understanding the Difference. Psycom.net – Mental Health Treatment Resource Since 1996. https://www.psycom.net/depression.central.bipolar.depression.html#:~:text=Bipolar%20disorder%20is%20easily%20confused,disorder%20includes%20symptoms%20of%20mania.

Miklowitz DJ, Otto MW, Frank E, et al. Psychosocial Treatments for Bipolar Depression: A 1-Year Randomized Trial From the Systematic Treatment Enhancement Program. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2007;64(4):419–426. doi:10.1001/archpsyc.64.4.419 https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/210013

Miklowitz , D. J. (2019, April 12). Different Types of Therapy for Bipolar Disorder. NAMI. https://www.nami.org/Blogs/NAMI-Blog/April-2019/Different-Types-of-Therapy-for-Bipolar-Disorder.

NAMI (2021, June 28). What Is Mania, and What Does It Mean to Have a Manic Episode? Here’s What Experts Say. What Is Mania, and What Does It Mean to Have a Manic Episode? https://www.nami.org/Press-Media/In-The-News/2021/What-Is-Mania-and-What-Does-It-Mean-to-Have-a-Manic-Episode-Here-s-What-Experts-Say?feed=In-the-news.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2017, November 17). Bipolar Disorder: Statistics about Bipolar Disorder. National Institute of Mental Health. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/bipolar-disorder. Retrieved July 18th, 2021

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Bipolar Disorder. National Institute of Mental Health. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/bipolar-disorder/index.shtml. Retrieved July 18th, 2021

What are hypomania and mania? Mind. (n.d.). https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/hypomania-and-mania/about-hypomania-and-mania/. Retrieved July 24th, 2021

How to Get Time Off Work for Stress and Anxiety

Written by W. Nate Upshaw M.D. on June 20, 2021. Posted in Anxiety, Work Life Balance.

In our current work culture, it’s difficult, frowned upon, or even not allowed, to call off work for being sick. And, when we think “sick”, we tend to initially think of physical illness such as a cold, flu, or injury. But when it comes to mental health, depending upon your employer and circumstances, taking off work may not even seem like an option. Fortunately, there has been progress in having mental health conversations in the workplace, and policies are adapting to reflect that. Taking time off of work due to depression and anxiety may feel difficult, but is very possible and necessary.

Feeling Too Depressed To Go To Work?

We know that anxiety, stress, and depression can cause just as much distress as physical ailments. And, quite often, our workplace can be a major contributing factor to stress and anxiety. Over the last year, if you transitioned to working from home, survived a global pandemic, and navigated financial crises, you probably experienced stress! Stress usually is most often caused by an external trigger, such as a work deadline, large events, discrimination, ailing health of a loved one, etc. While stress may be alleviated when the stressor is over, it can still bring about mental and physical symptoms, such as irritability, anger, fatigue, muscle pain, digestive troubles, and difficulty sleeping. It can also lead to anxiety or other mood problems if persistent.

Anxiety is more often experienced as a persistent and excessive worry, despite relief of the stressor. Anxiety can also manifest in multiple ways, including nervousness, restlessness, tension, having a sense of impending doom, increased heart rate, rapid breathing, sweating, trembling, feeling weak or tired, difficulty concentrating, trouble sleeping, and gastrointestinal problems. It’s clear that if we experience even a few of these symptoms, it can absolutely have an impact on our work and wellness as a whole. So, if you’re feeling too depressed to go to work or too anxious to go to work, it is well within reason to take the day off.

Getting Signed Off Work For Depression

In case you’re wondering how to call in sick for depression or anxiety, it may first be helpful to review your employer’s policies around sick leave, and to determine if you are eligible for Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). FMLA provides some employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave, and protects your job status and health benefits, per year. According to the FMLA, employers must provide an eligible employee with up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave each year for the following events: the birth and care of a newborn child of an employee, for placement with the employee of a child for adoption or foster care, to care for an immediate family member with a serious health condition, or to take medical leave when the employee is unable to work because of a serious health condition. This last requirement is where you may be eligible for FMLA and how you can get time off work for stress and anxiety.

Anxiety, stress, or depression leave from work may require multiple days off, which is where FMLA may come in handy. This may be enough time to seek more intensive treatment if needed or time to relax and seek support. However, if you are thinking “can I get a sick note for anxiety”, the answer is yes. First, be familiar with your company or employer’s policy for sick days. Every workplace is different. You may only need to tell your employer that you can’t make it in today, or may be required to provide a letter or note from a medical or mental health professional. It can be difficult to share about anxiety, stress, and depression, but you may or may not need a note in order to take the day off. Ideally, you would be able to go into as much or as little detail as you want about how you are feeling and your reasoning for having the day off. Most likely, you may be asked to name how your mental health concerns are impacting your work.

If you regularly see a therapist or a doctor, you can consult with them regarding taking time off. It is possible your doctor or therapist will give you a sick note for depression, stress, or anxiety. Once again, some employers may require this. However, it is important to note that your doctor cannot discuss your health with your employer without your written and documented consent. Due to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or better known as HIPAA, your health care providers are not allowed to share information with your employer, or anyone else for that matter, without your consent. If you want your providers to discuss your situation with an employer, you will be asked to sign a release of information (ROI) to have this exchange of information. You may be asked by your employer to voluntarily provide documentation from a therapist or doctor to support a sick day due to anxiety or stress.

Can You Work With Severe Depression

Coping with anxiety, stress, or depression and going to work can feel like an impossible task. While the world is starting to see how our mental health is just as important as our physical health, we still need to be our own biggest advocate. Considering the workplace may be some of the biggest sources of stress and anxiety, it is even more important to consider calling out of work for depression, anxiety, or stress to support our mental health in the long run. While not everyone has the ability to take time off, explore with your employer, therapist, or healthcare provider (if that feels safe to do so) other ways that you can address your mental health in order to feel more present and productive at work.

Treating Depression Related Anxiety With No Side Effects

If you’ve just been diagnosed with depression and anxiety and are concerned about the many side effects of medications, consider treatment via Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS). This is an FDA cleared non-invasive treatment that uses targeted magnetic pulses to stimulate areas of the brain that affect mood, which helps you get back to your best life quickly and with no recorded systemic side effects. Among the many treatment options out there, TMS therapy is an excellent solution that is covered by most major insurance companies. The best part is there are no recorded systemic side effects from TMS therapy, making it an excellent solution for those who fear the side effects of medications.

This blog post is meant to be educational in nature and does not replace the advice of a medical professional. See full disclaimer.

Works Cited

American Psychological Association. (2020, September 21). What’s the difference between stress and anxiety? Retrieved June 22, 2021, from https://www.apa.org/topics/stress/anxiety-difference.

Department of Health and Human Services. (2020, November 2). Employers and Health Information in the Workplace. Retrieved June 22, 2021, from https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-individuals/employers-health-information-workplace/index.html.

U.S. Department of Labor. (n.d.). Family and Medical Leave (FMLA) | U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved June 22, 2021, from https://www.dol.gov/general/topic/benefits-leave/fmla.

woman with OCD organizing paperclips by color

Everything You Must Know About OCD: Treatment, Causes, and History

Written by W. Nate Upshaw M.D. on June 2, 2021. Posted in Anxiety, Depression, Mental Health Maintenance.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a psychological disorder affecting around 2.3 percent of American adults. A member of the anxiety disorder group of disorders, OCD is known for causing intrusive, distressing thoughts (obsessions), which force the sufferer to carry out ritualized behaviors (compulsions) to alleviate the intolerable anxiety that arises from the obsessions.

Signs and Symptoms of OCD

OCD has three primary components: obsessions, compulsions, and anxiety. Intrusive anxiety is the driving force behind OCD. Let’s take a look at obsessions first.

Obsessions may include:

Harm. Worry and fear that they may cause serious or lethal harm to others, or even cause a disaster.
Sexual thoughts. These thoughts may include inappropriate or taboo sexual behaviors.
Religious themes. People may fear they are spiritually lacking, sinning, or otherwise offending God
Loss of control. Fear of acting on an impulse to harm oneself or others.
Contamination. These are intrusive thoughts of being dirty or “unclean,” and contaminated by germs or other materials that are harmful or offensive.
Magical Thinking/Superstition. A fear that a failure to perform certain gestures or other behaviors will lead to harm to oneself or others, or that actions must be performed in a precise, particular sequence in order to prevent harm to oneself or others.

Compulsions

For a behavior to be considered compulsive in the context of OCD, it must be performed to reduce the anxiety related to a specific obsessive thought. OCD-type compulsions are time-consuming, repetitious, frequent, and can be ritualistic. The following are some of the more typical compulsions.

Handwashing, showering, or bathing. Washers fear contamination or fear that they will contaminate others.
Counting. The counting compulsion is exactly what it sounds like. Sufferers feel compelled to count objects in their environment. Usually, a specific type of object or even geometric shapes is the target of counters.
Checking. Checkers need to check on locked doors, windows, and items such as stoves, to make sure they’re off, or locked before leaving home or going to bed. The person usually has a precise number of times to check and a certain order or way to perform the checking, as well.
Arranging. Arrangers feel compelled to straighten or order items in their environment to fit their standards of symmetry (or asymmetry). This goes far beyond mere tidiness.
Hoarding. People who hoard feel an uncontrollable drive to hang on to items, even though they’re useless or even harmful.
Self-monitoring. Self-monitors may check their bodies for signs of illness or disease dozens—or hundreds of times a day.
Repeating, tapping, or touching. For some, completing the same action repeatedly. Either tapping in a particular sequence, repeating certain phrases, or touching things in their surroundings temporarily relieves overwhelming anxiety.

History of OCD

Written records of OCD-like behavior date back to the 7th century AD. From the 18th through the late 19th centuries, obsessive-compulsive disorder was considered part of “neurotic melancholia.” Sigmund Freud believed OCD was a result of conflict between the ID and superego, but by the late 20th century, researchers developed a concept of OCD rooted in neurobiology and cognitive learning theory.

The Causes of OCD

Researchers believe that OCD may be caused by errors in the way certain areas of the brain respond to serotonin, a chemical brain cells use to communicate with each other. This leads to a person being unable to adequately regulate their behavior in relation to error-checking behavior. OCD can also be caused by stressful early childhood experiences and often runs in families.

Worried About OCD? You Must Know…

There’s no such thing as a person being “a little obsessive-compulsive.” For a diagnosis of obsessive-compulsive disorder to be made, a person’s condition must be severe enough to present a threat to their ability to live life in a pleasing or satisfactory fashion. OCD is a serious impediment to a person having a manageable life.
OCD produces debilitating levels of anxiety. Unmanageable anxiety is the emotional force that creates and sustains OCD.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder isn’t controllable without professional treatment. A person can’t just “snap out of it.”
Both obsessions and compulsions are unpleasant, unwanted, and involuntary. If a person with OCD attempts to resist performing a compulsive behavior, their anxiety will escalate out of control.
Most people with OCD understand that their behavior is irrational, but that doesn’t alleviate the condition.
The cycle of obsession, anxiety, and compulsive behavior is exhausting and a significant impediment to a pleasing, fulfilling life.

Treatment for OCD

As with most other psychological disorders, OCD has no cure and will not go away on its own, but there are exceptionally effective treatments out there. Treatment for OCD typically centers on psychotherapy and medication, however newer treatments, like transcranial magnetic stimulation, are also finding success in alleviating OCD.

This blog post is meant to be educational in nature and does not replace the advice of a medical professional. See full disclaimer.

Works Cited

Attiullah, N., Eisen, J., & Rasmussen, S. (2005, June 29). Clinical features of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Psychiatric Clinics of North America. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0193953X05701751.

Eisen, J., Coles, M. E., Shea, M. T., Pagano, M., Stout, R., & Yen, S. (2006, June 1). Clarifying The Convergence Between Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder Criteria And Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Journal of Personality Disorders. https://guilfordjournals.com/doi/abs/10.1521/pedi.2006.20.3.294.

Hanna, G., Himle, J., Curtis, G., & Gillespie , B. (2005, April 5). A family study of obsessive-compulsive disorder with pediatric probands. American journal of medical genetics. Part B, Neuropsychiatric genetics : the official publication of the International Society of Psychiatric Genetics. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15635694/.

Murphy, D., Timpano, K., Wheaton, M., Greenberg, B., & Miguel, E. (2010, June 12). Obsessive-compulsive disorder and its related disorders: a reappraisal of obsessive-compulsive spectrum concepts. Dialogues in clinical neuroscience. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3181955/.

Norman, L., Taylor, S., Liu, Y., Radua, J., & Chye, Y. (2019). Error Processing and Inhibitory Control in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: A Meta-analysis Using Statistical Parametric Maps. Biological Psychiatry, 85(9), 713–725. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2018.11.010

Ruscio, A. M., Stein, D. J., Chiu, W. T., & Kessler, R. C. (2008, August 26). The epidemiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication. Nature News. https://www.nature.com/articles/mp200894.

Williams, M., Mugno, B., Franklin, M., & Faber, S. (2013, April 20). Symptom Dimensions in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Phenomenology and Treatment Outcomes with Exposure and Ritual Prevention. Psychopathology. https://www.karger.com/Article/FullText/348582.

a male and a female coworker celebrating together

Corporate Wellness: The Importance of Mental Health at Work

Written by W. Nate Upshaw M.D. on May 10, 2021. Posted in Anxiety, Depression, Mental Health Maintenance.

Given that 1 in 5 adults in the US report living with a mental illness, it is no surprise that these adults are tasked with dealing with their mental health in the workplace. Among many contributing factors to common mental illnesses like anxiety and depression, work environments and workloads affect mental health.

For some employees, mental illness may be a pre-existing condition. Many deal with anxiety and depression in their daily lives because of situational, genetic, lifestyle, or biological reasons. These conditions, in turn, carry over into the workplace and affect how employees show up in their workspaces, as mental illness is not something that one can just “turn off” or “leave outside the office building.” The work environment and job stressors can then compound pre-existing anxiety and/or depression. 83% of US workers suffer from work-related stress, making the impacts of stress and anxiety at work an issue that can’t be ignored.

While some employees may begin employment with mental health challenges, others may develop these challenges throughout their professional careers. Stressful, unwelcoming, fast-paced, and sometimes even toxic environments typically do not foster good mental health at work. Employees may suffer from burn-out or not feeling seen or heard by the supervisors while feeling immense pressure to perform and provide with little support.

Anxiety at work and struggling with other mental illnesses affect employees on an emotional level and negatively impact many work-related areas. Anxiety at work can lead to:

Decreased productivity and performance
Decreased engagement with one’s work
Poorer communication with coworkers
Decreased physical capability and functioning

The effects of anxiety at work and other mental health challenges at work like depression are far-reaching in the workplace. This is why many employers are starting corporate wellness programs and implementing changes that foster mental wellness.

Ways companies are investing in corporate wellness:

Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) – An EAP is a program that works to assist employees in coping with or resolving personal or mental health challenges they might be facing. These programs typically include coverage for a set number of counseling sessions with approved providers.
Changing company cultures – One way a company might invest in the mental wellness of their employees is by creating a culture of understanding and openness around mental health. This can mean HR programs taking steps to prevent burnout and build employee resiliency. It could also mean supervisors being mindful of and allowing employees to speak openly about mental health challenges.
Mental wellness days – Some companies have started allowing employees to take paid or unpaid mental health days from work. For these to be most effective, it’s important that employees feel empowered to use them before they begin to feel burnt out or severely mentally unwell. While feeling anxiety at work might be common, encouraging employees to take a step back can be helpful. These days are meant to be proactive, allowing employees to regularly take a break and engage in rest and self-care.
Improved access to mental health care – Providing good mental health coverage in insurance policies is a way to empower employees in taking their mental health into their own hands. This can allow people to proactively take care of their mental health consistently rather than reactively. Some companies may even have in-house therapists that their employees have consistent access to.

Investing in corporate wellness does not just benefit employees but also employers. By receiving proper mental health care, productivity increases, absenteeism decreases, and total medical costs decrease. Having a healthy workforce that shows up to work in a good frame of mind, ready to work benefits everyone.

Whether you are struggling with depression and/or anxiety in your daily life or struggling with depression and/or anxiety at work, there are many resources out there.

Corporate Wellness Resources

If you feel you may be experiencing job burnout, you can find a burnout quiz and resources here.
If you are curious about taking a mental health test, you can take a mental health quiz here, along with resources on symptoms of mental illness.
If you are an employer interested in learning more about what you can do to better support your employees and promote mental wellness, you can find resources here, as well as here.

This blog post is meant to be educational in nature and does not replace the advice of a medical professional. See full disclaimer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbo9Fe896QM

Works Cited

Milenkovic, M. (2019, September 25). 42 Worrying Workplace Stress Statistics. The American Institute of Stress. https://www.stress.org/42-worrying-workplace-stress-statistics.

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. (2019, April 10). Mental Health in the Workplace. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/workplacehealthpromotion/tools-resources/workplace-health/mental-health/index.html.

woman with ptsd sitting on kitchen floor with her son

Three Ways to Help Someone With PTSD

Written by W. Nate Upshaw M.D. on May 4, 2021. Posted in Anxiety, Depression, Step-By-Step Guides.

We’re familiar with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in veterans and survivors of wartime violence, but anyone can develop PTSD from living through a harrowing experience. Outside of combat, violent assault, rape, serious car accidents, and so forth, are all causes of PTSD. As well, vicarious PTSD takes place when someone is a witness to suffering or other profoundly upsetting events, such as caregiving for a critically ill loved one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4W59NtRT2zo

Helping someone cope with PTSD requires patience and an understanding of the disorder. People with PTSD demonstrate the following symptoms:

Re-experiencing: Flashbacks are one of the most well-known symptoms of PTSD. Nightmares about the setting event, as well as hallucinations, are also common.
Avoiding: People with PTSD will attempt to avoid anything or anyone that reminds them of the traumatic event. The connection may not seem apparent to friends or family members, but for the person with PTSD, it’s significant.
Increased psychological and physiological arousal: Hyper-vigilance is another hallmark symptom of PTSD. This level of vigilance can happen on a conscious and unconscious level. It’s exhausting for the sufferer and causes problems with sleep, maintaining an even temper, outbursts of anger, irritability, an elevated pulse, and an elevated startle response.
Pessimistic mood, negative outlook. People with PTSD often feel they have no future; they may think of themselves as being “ruined” by their experiences. Feeling hopeless and unable to change their situation is also a common experience.

For a person with PTSD, the nervous system becomes, in a sense, jammed into the high-alert stage and remains stuck there. They never truly revert back from feeling like they’re in a life-or-death situation. A person with PTSD understands cognitively that they’re no longer in danger, but during a state of extreme terror or horror and fear, a person’s nervous system undergoes changes that can be hard to undo.

The good news is that PTSD is treatable and responds well to psychotherapy with a therapist trained in PTSD resolution. Because many people with PTSD also suffer from at least one of the major depressive disorders, medication may be a necessary part of treatment.

But you as a concerned loved one can also help care for a person with PTSD.

Helping Someone with PTSD

People with PTSD are usually reluctant to discuss their situation, even though they’re having significant problems. However, you can be a big help in their recovery process by listening and being present.

Listen to them and be present. A person with PTSD may need to talk about the event that traumatized them over and over. Talking about the trauma is one of the first steps to healing, and it’s a big one. It’s important to listen, even though you may get tired of hearing the same story. Remember, you don’t have to offer advice or try to solve the person’s problems. Being a sympathetic listener is all by itself helping to reduce the PTSD sufferer’s pain.

Being present is more than just being in the same location. It’s being aware of the other person and willing to listen uncritically, without judgement and with criticism. Being present also means that when you listen, you do so without getting into a “problem solving” mindset.

Involve them in socializing. People with PTSD often withdraw from others. A fear of losing control around other people is partly to blame for this social withdrawal, but avoiding certain situations or kinds of stimulation, like crowds or loud noises, is often part of it. It’s always a good idea to ask what the individual with PTSD would like to do, although you may not get a clear answer immediately. It’s important not to give up. Keep extending offers to be around others. Activities with just yourself or a few people are usually the best way to go at the beginning. Crowds of people, particularly in situations where the person with PTSD could not make a quick, unobtrusive exit, are daunting to people at the onset of their PTSD recovery.

Encourage them. A negative mindset and feeling “stuck” is a major part of PTSD. Encourage a person with PTSD by helping them find real, identifiable steps towards getting better. Wall posters with encouraging platitudes don’t count. General statements like “You’re going to be ok; you got this” tend to make the person with PTSD feel worse. These kinds of statements don’t offer help or guidance. That’s why encouragement needs to go along with concrete steps toward improving their situation. For example, helping that person get their driver’s license renewed or living room painted—tasks you can do together that are small, perhaps even seemingly trivial, is encouraging. It’s not so much the task as it is being around other people and making small steps toward goals, even if the steps are tiny.

Can TMS Therapy Help My Loved One’s PTSD?

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) causes changes in critical areas of the brain that control how we perceive threats and how we control emotions like fear and anger. Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) uses pulses of powerful magnetic fields to help the brain become more able to regulate emotion. Although TMS is not an outright cure, it helps the brain return to a more normal level of self-regulating, reducing symptoms.

TMS is non-invasive, requires no sedation, no anesthesia, and no hospitalization. Many people experience no side-effects, and the process takes less than an hour and extends for 5 days a week for 4 to 6 weeks. TMS is covered by most insurance companies, including Tricare for US veterans.

This blog post is meant to be educational in nature and does not replace the advice of a medical professional. See full disclaimer.

Works Cited

Aliev, G., Beeraka, N. M., Nikolenko, V. N., Svistunov, A. A., & Rozhnova, T. (2020). Neurophysiology and Psychopathology Underlying PTSD and Recent Insights into the PTSD Therapies—A Comprehensive Review. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 9(9), 2951. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm9092951

How PTSD Affects The Brain. BrainLine. (2019, May 7). https://www.brainline.org/article/how-ptsd-affects-brain. Accessed electronically May 3rd, 2021.

Symptoms of PTSD. Mind. (n.d.). https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd-and-complex-ptsd/symptoms/. Accessed electronically May 3rd, 2021.

VA.gov: Veterans Affairs. How Can I Help? (2018, August 10). https://www.ptsd.va.gov/family/how_help.asp. Accessed electronically May 3rd, 2021.

Warning Signs Of A Suicidal Person

They have become very withdrawn and apathetic towards major problems.

They threaten suicide.

They mention that they feel like a burden.

Your friend started to give away a lot of their personal possessions, mentions final wishes, and more.

They self-harm.

How You Can Help a Loved One in Need

Myth 1: People with mental illnesses are violent and unpredictable.

Myth 2: Mental illness is just laziness or weakness of character.

Myth 3: People with mental illness can totally control their emotions and choose to feel the way they do.

Myth 4: Mental illness means serious dysfunction and disability.

Myth 5: If a person really wanted to, he or she could get better on their own.

Checking

Contamination / Mental Contamination

Intolerance of Uncertainty

Hoarding

Violent or Disturbing Thoughts

Counting Rituals

Repeating What Is Said or Done

Hiding and Organizing

mental health tips and the latest therapy news

Get Started

Appointment Form

FAQ's

Privacy Notice