Although it might feel like you’re dying, you’re not. That’s just what the panic wants you to think.
Disclaimer: Because panic attacks can mimic the symptoms of several serious medical conditions, it’s important that you talk with your doctor before beginning any panic treatment program. Never begin panic treatment without first obtaining medical clearance from your physician. Panic attacks feel horrible. If you are one of the 5% of Americans suffering from recurrent panic attacks due to panic disorder, you are likely well-acquainted with the nasty constellation of physical sensations that occur during a full-blown panic attack. Panic attack symptoms are frightening and often include accelerated heart rate, sweating, trembling, choking or smothering sensations, chest pain, nausea or GI problems, dizziness, lightheadedness, feelings of unreality or detachment from one’s body, numbness or tingling sensations, chills, and hot flashes (Barlowe & Craske, 2006). These symptoms reflect activation of the body’s fight-or-flight system, which has been implicated in panic. Physical symptoms frequently co-occur...
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Parenting Kids & Teens with OCD: Don’t Feed the Reassurance Monster…and Other Quick Tips
Many excellent parents struggle with how to appropriately parent their child/teen with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Unfortunately, this process is rarely straightforward and is often counter-intuitive, which leaves many parents feeling anxious and confused. As a psychologist in Palm Beach County, Florida, I work closely with kids, teens, and parents throughout the greater Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, and Miami areas on strategies for recovering from OCD. I also run a free support group for kids/teens with OCD. Consider the following set of ground rules for parenting your child with OCD. The strategies you adopt as a parent can mean the difference between reducing your child’s symptoms or giving these symptoms room to grow. 1. Remind yourself that OCD is based on emotion rather than logic. Many parents get tripped up and frustrated by the many illogical forms that OCD takes....
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Trichotillomania: Goodbye “Trich Police”, Hello HRT
Imagine that you have a rather large blemish right in the middle of your forehead. It’s not one of those pseudo-invisible blemishes that can only be perceived by you. Rather, it’s an angry, red mark that is readily apparent to nearly all the people with whom you interact throughout the day. Most people are polite enough and don’t acknowledge it out loud, although you can sometimes feel their lingering gazes. Others are less discrete, and you’re forced to have a short conversation about it. Neither situation is welcome; in fact, you’re beginning to wish that you had just stayed at home. Now imagine that multiple times throughout the day, a well-meaning person gives you advice on skin care. At first maybe this advice is welcome, and you might even be exposed to some new ideas that you wouldn’t have...
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To tweet or not to tweet (aka, keeping private things private in the Facebook/Twitter era)
Social media tools like Facebook and Twitter are poised to revolutionize healthcare. Social media sites can be useful for quickly disseminating health-related information and giving users a place to connect around shared interests. In some cases, online support communities have supplanted the traditional support group model. In other cases, social media tools are actually being adapted for treatment purposes (e.g., anxiety treatment via social media tools). As helpful as these sites might be, however, they pose potential privacy risks for users. Users respond to these risks in very different ways. There is a category of folks who openly blog/tweet/post status updates related to their anxiety and other mental health concerns, and there are those who would much rather keep this information private. Nowhere is this more apparent than on Twitter, where you can get a virtual minute-to-minute (or, in...
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Hoarding: Treatment, symptoms, and personal impact/costs
The topic of hoarding is rarely met with disinterest. Maybe that’s because nearly all of us can relate to hoarding on one level or another. Perhaps you yourself have been touched personally by hoarding. You may have a strong emotional attachment to objects, or you may have a loved one who inexplicably continues to add to an already existing surplus of items. This surplus may be small, or it may be quickly exhausting all remaining living space. Perhaps you don’t have issues with surplus, but you consider yourself a “pack rat” or a “collector”. Maybe you have a nice collection of art or knickknacks, and you can relate to the urge to over-acquire. Perhaps you are “organizationally challenged” and have struggled with how to best categorize and store your possessions. Maybe you have difficulties with throwing out your newspapers before...
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Dr. Steven Seay is a licensed psychologist in Florida & Missouri. He is the Director of the Center for Psychological & Behavioral Science and provides treatment & therapy throughout South Florida, including Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter, West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Boynton Beach, Fort Lauderdale, & Miami.
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