Conditions
Depression
This affects 1 in 4 of us. It is a distressing and painful emotional problem. If you have Depression you maybe lacking energy, unable to experience enjoyment like you normally would and you feel sad and tearful constantly
You might experience the following:
• Tiredness or loss of energy
• Feel agitation/irritability
• A decrease or increase in appetite.
• Difficulty with sleeping or sleeping excessively
• Reduced self esteem and self confidence
• Hold a bleak and pessimistic view of the future
• Suicidal thoughts or/and attempts
If you are not currently suffering from Depression and have remained well but fear a relapse then try the CBT.
For more information regarding Quayside CBT Clinics for Depression contact charlieparkerart@aol.com or phone 0777 643 5094.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
In our everyday lives, any of us can have an experience that is overwhelming, frightening, and beyond our control. We could find ourselves in a car crash, the victim of an assault, or see an accident. Police, fire brigade or ambulance workers are more likely to have such experiences - they often have to deal with horrifying scenes. Soldiers may be shot or blown up, and see friends killed or injured.
Most people, in time, get over experiences like this without needing help. In some people, though, traumatic experiences set off a reaction that can last for many months or years. This is called Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD for short.
Many people feel grief-stricken, depressed, anxious, guilty and angry after a traumatic experience. As well as these understandable emotional reactions, there are three main types of symptoms produced by such an experience:
1. Flashbacks & Nightmares
You find yourself re-living the event, again and again. This can happen both as a "flashback" in the day, and as nightmares when you are asleep. These can be so realistic that it feels as though you are living through the experience all over again. You see it in your mind, but may also feel the emotions and physical sensations of what happened - fear, sweating, smells, sounds, pain
Ordinary things can trigger off flashbacks. For instance, if you had a car crash in the rain, a rainy day might start a flashback.
2. Avoidance & Numbing
It can be just too upsetting to re-live your experience over and over again. So you distract yourself. You keep your mind busy by losing yourself in a hobby, working very hard, or spending your time absorbed in crossword or jigsaw puzzles. You avoid places and people that remind you of the trauma, and try not to talk about it.
You may deal with the pain of your feelings by trying to feel nothing at all - by becoming emotionally numb. You communicate less with other people, who then find it hard to live or work with you.
3. Being "On Guard"
You find that you stay alert all the time, as if you are looking out for danger. You can't relax. This is called "hyper vigilance". You feel anxious and find it hard to sleep. Other people will notice that you are jumpy and irritable.
If it is less that 6 weeks since the traumatic event and these experiences are slowly improving, they may be part of the normal process of adjustment If it is more than 6 weeks since the event, and these experiences don't seem to be getting better, it is worth talking it over with your doctor.
For more information regarding Quayside CBT Clinics for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder contact
charlieparkerart@aol.com or phone
0777 643 5094.
Anxiety
Health care professionals divide Anxiety into three main types: general Anxiety, Phobia and panic disorder. If there's a particularly difficult situation at work or at home, the stress that this creates can spill over into other areas of life - and create Anxiety. Similarly, a person who's experienced a very frightening and traumatic situation may also carry the fear over to their everyday life. This is known as post-traumatic stress disorder. In general, Anxiety's emotional turmoil appears to have a life of its own. Some psychiatrists sometimes call this 'free-floating Anxiety'. Unlike phobia and panic, with general anxiety it's not always clear to the anxious person exactly what it is they feel so anxious about.
They're just aware of feeling anxious all the time. When there's no identifiable cause, the person often becomes anxious about feeling anxious all the time, and the problem starts to feed off itself.
These mental symptoms lead to, and are supported by, physical symptoms. These can include:
• Excessive thirst
• Stomach upsets
• Passing wind
• Loose bowel movements
• Frequent urinating
• Failure to respond to sexual stimulation
• Periods of intense pounding heart
• Periods of feeling winded
• Muscle aches
• hHeadaches
• Pins and needles
• Tremors
• Painful or no periods
The relationship of physical and mental symptoms can create a vicious cycle that can be triggered by a symptom at any point. In Panic Disorder with or without Agoraphobia, the cycle develops quickly to a crisis. With Generalised Anxiety Disorder, people often manage to keep things under control and the cycle continues. The effort of keeping things under control is itself very stressful - and so fuels the proble. This is how some people come to feel anxious about their anxiety, making the problem even more intense.
Health Anxiety
This is an obsessive problem and is defined as having an excessive preoccupation with having a serious disease or illness. Individuals who suffer from this condition will consult medicals professionals constantly in order to receive relief and ensure that they do not have the feared condition. This condition can be severely disabling and can reduce quality of life.
Social Anxiety
Social anxiety/Shyness is a type of phobia also known as social phobia. Sufferers are terrified of social situations and have a number of negative thinking predictions that is believed will be or come true at events such as parties, public speaking or meetings. They may go to great lengths to avoid these situations. The symptoms of Social Phobia are similar to those listed in the Anxiety Section. There are also a host of Safety Behaviours which are a huge part of the problem. These are ‘props’ needed in order to stay in the feared situation and are used to reduce the Anxiety in the short term. This actually reinforces the problem and makes it worse. Avoidance of social situations is common, which can affect relationships and work progress.
For more information regarding Quayside CBT Clinics for Anxiety contact charlieparkerart@aol.com or phone 0777 643 5094.
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS)
If you feel fatigue and it is not easily remedied and lasts for 6 months, this could point to CFS. There is a combination of factors such as prolonged stressful situations which can create reactions that is often miss-diagnosed as Depression.
Have I got it? There are no tests for CFS but a doctor will base their decision on the following:
• Fatigue is a principal symptom
• It had a definite onset, and it is not life long
• It is severe, disabling and affects mental and physical functioning
• It has been present for at least 6 months and for 50 percent of the time.
For more information regarding Quayside CBT Clinics for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome contact charlieparkerart@aol.com or phone 0777 643 5094.
Physical Pain Management
Pain is a complicated process that involves an intricate interplay between a number of important chemicals found naturally in the brain and spinal cord. In general, these chemicals, called neurotransmitters, transmit nerve impulses from one cell to another. There are many different neurotransmitters in the human body; some play a role in human disease and, in the case of Pain, act in various combinations to produce painful sensations in the body. Some chemicals govern mild pain sensations; others control intense or severe Pain.
So if the Pain is involved in a disability or learning to live with a condition, CBT does not promise to take the Pain away but they can reduce the salience of it. Developing awareness of CBT solutions may prove the effective step to aid resilience and overcome your current difficulties.
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
It can be useful to look separately at obsessions and then compulsions. With obsessions, the symptoms include bursts of:
• Words
• Ideas
• Indecision
• Images
• Doubts
The person experiencing them recognises that these thought patterns come from within their own mind and wants to stop them, but is unable to. The obsessions can be of a quite distressing nature - sexual, violent or blasphemous - and in conflict with the person's own moral beliefs. Compulsions are often the actions resulting from the obsession, and one of the few ways that the person can deal with the thoughts and keep the anxiety or discomfort away. Failure to complete the compulsion often results in severe anxiety or panic - but continuing to try to live with the rituals often leads to depression. Many people live with the OCD for years before seeking treatment. The kinds of compulsions that people experience are:
• Rituals - doing things in a certain order or a set number of times
• Cleaning
• Checking tasks that have already been completed
• Needing cutlery or furniture, and so on, to be arranged in a certain way.
For more information regarding Quayside CBT Clinics for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder contact charlieparkerart@aol.com or phone 0777 643 5094.
Overcoming Stress
Signs of stress can affect 3 main areas: cognitive, emotional, physical or behavioral. Signs include poor judgment, a general negative outlook, excessive worrying, moodiness, irritability, agitation, inability to relax, feeling lonely, isolated or depressed, aches and pains, diarrhea or constipation, nausea, dizziness, chest pain, rapid heartbeat, eating too much or not enough, sleeping too much or not enough, social withdrawal, procrastination or neglect of responsibilities, increased alcohol, nicotine or drug consumption, and nervous habits such as pacing about, nail-biting, Skin picking and neck pains.
Impact upon disease. Chronic stress has been shown and proven in research to significantly affect many of the body's immune systems, as can an individual's perceptions of, and reactions to, stress. The term psychoneuroimmunology is used to describe the interactions between the mental state, nervous and immune systems, as well as research on the interconnections of these systems. Immune system changes can create more vulnerability to infection, and have been observed to increase the potential for an outbreak of psoriasis for people with that skin disorder. Stress can speed up deterioation of a physical problem like Multiply Sclerosis, which if treated with Cognitive Behaviour Therapy may slow down the deterioation and aid quality of life.
For more information regarding Quayside CBT Clinics for Overcoming Stress contact charlieparkerart@aol.com or phone 0777 643 5094.
Anger Management
Anger is a normal process that has allowed humans to evolve and adapt. It isn't a bad thing in itself, but problems occur if it isn't managed in the right way. Anger is also a mixture of both emotional and physical changes. A big surge of energy goes through your body as chemicals, such as adrenaline, are released. Once the cause of the Anger is resolved, you may still have to deal with the physical effects - all that energy has to go somewhere.
Unhealthy Anger
This can be taken out on another person, such as a partner, or an object - by punching a wall, for example. This last option can lead down the road to self-harm. The other alternative is to suppress the energy until the next time you're Angry. This may mean you release so much pent-up emotion that you overreact to the situation. Realising this can lead to feelings of shame or frustration when you reflect on your actions. Just letting your anger go in an uncontrolled fashion can quickly lead from verbal aggression to physical abuse - don't forget the other person is probably feeling angry with you too.
For more information regarding Quayside CBT Clinics for Anger Management contact charlieparkerart@aol.com or phone 0777 643 5094.
Social Anxiety
Social anxiety/Shyness is a type of phobia also known as social phobia. Sufferers are terrified of social situations and have a number of negative thinking predictions that is believed will be or come true at events such as parties, public speaking or meetings. They may go to great lengths to avoid these situations
The symptoms of Social Phobia are similar to those listed in the Anxiety Section. There are also a host of Safety Behaviours which are a huge part of the problem. These are ‘props’ needed in order to stay in the feared situation and are used to reduce the Anxiety in the short term. This actually reinforces the problem and makes it worse. Avoidance of social situations is common, which can affect relationships and work progress. Many people misuse alcohol and become depressed as a result of their problem.
For more information and to book a confidential appointment you will need to contact us online or telephone: 0777 643 5094.
Office Location: Quayside CBT Ltd., Durham, DH1
e-mail:
charlieparkerart@aol.com
Link
