Anxiety Disorder

Moderate drinking before trauma leads to more flashbacks

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:15:00 +0000

People who have drunk a moderate amount of alcohol before a traumatic event report more flashbacks than those who have had no alcohol, according to new research at UCL (University College London) (see also University College London ).

The results may give new insight into why some individuals develop post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after a traumatic event and others do not.

Published online today in the journal Biological Psychiatry, researchers also found that those who drank a large amount of alcohol before a traumatic event did not report an increase in the number of flashbacks.

"Many people who experience a personally traumatic event such as rape or a road traffic accident have consumed alcohol beforehand. For the first time, this research gives us an idea of how being under the influence of alcohol might contribute to our wellbeing later on," said James Bisby, from UCL's Department of Clinical, Educational & Health Psychology, who...

People with disorder fill life with anxiety, stuff [The Ottawa Herald, Kan.]

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 19:31:00 +0000

Mar. 9--[Editor's note: The following tells the story of Faith, a woman with an obsessive compulsive disorder known as hoarding. "Faith" is not the woman's real name, which is being withheld because of medical privacy reasons.]

She almost kept walking.

Faith was headed back to her car after a shopping trip when she heard a man making fun of her car.

"That is the dirtiest car I've ever seen," the man said.

The back of Faith's car is filled nearly to the top with papers, blankets, a dog crate, boxes, bags and more. The front passenger's seat also is packed, with newspapers overflowing onto the dashboard.

Faith was embarrassed to approach her car in the parking lot. She didn't want the man to see her, but he did.

"Why don't you clean your car?" he asked.

It's not that easy.

Profile of a hoarder

Faith is a hoarder. Her car, home and two storage sheds are stuffed with...

MENTAL HEALTH FALLOUT: Stress of job loss can trigger wide range of reactions, from anxiety to ...

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 15:07:00 +0000

Mar. 7--Losing a job can be emotional, but those who are unemployed may face a host of anxiety-producing situations on top of being out of work.

These include the frustration of not being able to find another job, having to pay the same number of bills with less income, losing identity and struggling to feel valuable, and dealing with the stigma of being unemployed -- all of which can lead to serious mental issues.

Molly McCoy Brack, director of the Agora Crisis Center on the University of New Mexico's campus, says the center's help line volunteers have been receiving more calls about unemployment and related problems since the recession hit.

The center got 10,000 calls last year -- 1,000 more calls than in 2008.

Many of them deal with anxiety and depression as well as self-esteem issues.

"Anxiety is huge with people just worrying about what's going to happen. Then depression comes, then physical...

Distraction help kids overcome needle fear

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 05:12:00 +0000

Distracting a child can make it easier when administering vaccines for school, flu shots or blood tests, a U.S. professor of psychiatry suggests.

Dr. Deborah Wiebe of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas advises having a child blow soap bubbles or count backward as fast as possible while getting vaccinated. However, adults have to be careful of one distraction in particular that could turn negative -- displaying fear themselves.

"For children, having parents there for support and distraction usually helps," Wiebe says in a statement. "That holds true as long as the adults are not modeling fear."

Negative experiences with needles or shots can lead to needle phobia, which is a much less common and more severe problem. Needle phobia can require a more systematic intervention by a behavioral specialist, Wiebe says.

"Luckily, most kids won't ever reach this phase of needle fear," Wiebe says.

Same-sex marriage ban increases anxiety

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 05:09:00 +0000

U.S. researchers found an increase in psychiatric disorders among the lesbian, gay, bisexual population living in states that ban same-sex marriage.

Senior author Deborah Hasin, a professor of clinical epidemiology at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University, and colleagues at the New York state Psychiatric Institute and Harvard University analyzed data from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions.

Participants were initially interviewed from 2001-2002 and again during 2004-2005, at which time participants' sexual orientation was assessed.

Institutional discrimination is characterized by societal-level conditions that limit opportunities and access to resources by socially-disadvantaged groups, Hasin said.

The researchers examined whether lesbian, gay and bisexual individuals living in states that instituted constitutional amendments banning gay marriage in 2004 and 2005 elections showed evidence of increased rates of psychiatric disorders between 2001-2002 and 2004-2005, the study authors said.

Among study participants living in the states banning same-sex marriage, the prevalence of...

Think like a marathon runner to reduce work stress

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 05:01:00 +0000

Washington, March 4 (ANI): A marathon mindset, i.e. starting slow but picking up pace, can help people reduce their stress load and perform better at work, researchers have pointed out.

Experts at Tel Aviv University have come up with tips to help keep the energy tanks full while working.

Dr. Danit Ein-Gar of the University's Recanati Graduate School of Business Administration and her co-author Dr. Yael Steinhart of Haifa University found that people with high-levels of self-control tend to burn out the fastest.

Dr. Ein-Gar said: "They tend to invest all their energy at once and are then left with insufficient resources for additional tasks."

But those who thought like marathon runners were better able maintain their energy levels and avoided burning themselves out, unlike a sprinter who gave all his effort at once, the boffins observed.

Dr. Ein-Gar added: "The world may be multi-tasking at a frenetic pace but in thinking like a...

Pre-trauma alcohol may be linked to PTSD

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 02:50:00 +0000

British researchers say moderate drinking before trauma may lead to more flashbacks.

Researchers at the University College London suggest people drinking a moderate amount of alcohol before a traumatic event report more flashbacks than those having no alcohol.

The researchers, led by James Bisby, had nearly 50 participants consume either alcohol or a placebo drink, perform a virtual reality task and watch a video of serious road accidents. The researchers observed a link between consuming alcohol and a reduction in contextual memory, but not in memories stored as "visual snapshots."

Bisby and colleagues said the study, published in Biological Psychiatry, may give...

Avatar Technology Cures Phobias While Immersed in EON Icube Solution at the Babes-Bolyai ...

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 19:31:00 +0000

IRVINE, CA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 03/03/10 -- EON Reality, Inc., the world's leading interactive 3D software provider, today announced that the inauguration of the futuristic building named Avalon (Advanced Virtual Applications Laboratories of Napocensis) and the new EON Icube that took place at the Babes-Bolyai University's Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, was a successful event attended by hundreds, including local and national media. An immersive 3D environment, similar to the technology used in the movie Avatar, will be of service in psychotherapy sessions and advanced research activities at the University Clinic.

Fears of heights, post traumatic stress or the fear of public speaking are symptoms that are being treated in the virtual EON Icube environment. The cost for a therapy session is between 16 to 26 dollars. Phobias can be treated through gradual and repeated exposure of the stimuli that produces fear. When it comes...

Data from Department of Veterans Affairs provide new insights into traumatic brain injury

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 17:21:00 +0000

Current study results from the report, 'Symptom validity test performance in U.S. veterans referred for evaluation of mild TBI,' have been published. "The current study examined Medical Symptom Validity Test (MSVT) performance in U.S. veterans referred for evaluation of mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) after scoring positive on the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) TBI screening measures. Fifty-eight percent of the sample scored below the MSVT cut scores on subtests more sensitive to effort than to neurological insult," researchers in the United States report (see also Traumatic Brain Injury ).

"There were no differences among those who did and those who did not pass the MSVT as a function of gender, age, education, ethnicity, previous posttraumatic stress disorder or substance use disorder diagnoses, or Personality Assessment Inventory validity scales designed to measure negative impression management. A higher number of those who were service connected and previously diagnosed with a depressive condition failed the...

ValueOptions'® 'Anxiety Scale': Unemployment, Anxiety Ride Together to New Heights

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 17:21:00 +0000

With Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke testifying to a Senate committee today that unemployment will remain high, expect something else to stick around: Unemployment's sidekick, anxiety (see also ValueOptions ).

Behavioral health care leader ValueOptions=AE released a report showing that the working public's anxiety has marched upward in lock-step with the unemployment rate.

ValueOptions=AE, which operates EAP programs for many Fortune 500 companies, noticed that once unemployment hit 8 percent in Feb. of last year, more than 50 percent of its EAP members reported moderate or severe anxiety. And to have access to an EAP, a person would have to have a job or be a family member.

"This shows that people are worried about losing their jobs, even if they have a good one," said Rich Paul, vice president of Health and Performance Solutions. "This is a vivid reminder to employers that anxiety levels are remaining high."

Before May 2008, this "anxiety...

Research on post-traumatic stress disorders clinical trial discussed by scientists at Mental ...

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 17:21:00 +0000

Researchers detail in 'Meta-analysis of dropout rates in SSRIs versus placebo in randomized clinical trials of PTSD,' new data in post-traumatic stress disorders. According to recent research from Israel, "Meta-analysis was conducted to examine dropout predictors and differences between SSRIs and placebo in randomized clinical trials (RCTs) of PTSD. Studies systematically located were SSRI versus placebo double blind RCTs of PTSD DSM diagnosis published between 1991 and 2008."

"Fourteen RCTs (n=2815) met the inclusion criteria with an average duration of 10.8 weeks. Dropout rates were: 331 of 1111 (29.8%) among placebo arm and 513 of 1704 (30.3%) among SSRI participants. Random effects modeling showed that the dropout rates of SSRIs and placebo did not differ (OR=1.05, 95% CI=0.82-1.34), although favored SSRIs among civilian traumas (OR=2.52, 95% CI=1.11-5.7). Mixed effects modeling showed dropout was predicted by mixed trauma in the placebo arms, and duration and mean dose across treatments. With the...

Remuda Ranch Programs for Eating and Anxiety Disorders Sponsors Special Screening of 'Teen ...

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 16:50:00 +0000

PHOENIX, March 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Remuda Ranch Programs for Eating and Anxiety Disorders (http://www.remudaranch.com ) is sponsoring a special screening of Teen Truth: An Inside Look At Body Image during the BEDA 2010 National Conference in Baltimore (http://www.bedaonline.com ) at 7 p.m. on March 5, 2010 at the Renaissance Baltimore Harborplace Hotel.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090604/CG27861LOGO)

Binge eating disorder affects more than 15 million people and is the most common eating disorder in the U.S. Millions of sufferers are currently unaware that binge eating is treatable and many of those sufferers are teens. The film, Teen Truth: An Inside Look at Body Image chronicles the real struggles of three teenagers with body image issues, including eating disorders, obesity and performance enhancement drug use.

"Just like those who struggle with anorexia and bulimia, body image and self-esteem are critical issues for individuals with binge eating disorder," said Chevese Turner, CEO and founder of...

New Audio Program Designed to Help Children Overcome Anxiety & Fear

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 08:00:00 +0000

Developed by Psychologist David Russ and Licensed Professional Counselor Christopher McCarthy, two clinical therapists who have over 30 years of experience between them, Turnaround: Turning Fear Into Freedom™ is a major innovation in the treatment ofchild anxiety . It is the first program of its kind specifically designed to address children directly through creative media and written materials. It utilizes the best known and innovative approaches to treating childhood anxiety, panic attacks, perfectionism, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), separation anxiety and social phobia.

Charlotte, NC (Vocus) March 2, 2010 -- Informed Therapy Resources (ITR) announces its upcoming release of a powerful audio program designed for children who struggle with anxiety and depression titled Turnaround: Turning Fear Into Freedom™.

Licensed Psychologist Dr. David Russ and Licensed Professional Counselor Christopher McCarthy of ITR partnered together to create a comprehensive, creative audio program that speaks directly to children who struggle with various forms of anxiety. The...

Veterans and Suicide; Senate Hearing on March 3, 2010; NAMI Veteran to Testify

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 20:58:00 +0000

WASHINGTON, March 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following is being issued by the National Alliance on Mental Illness:

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100216/NAMILOGO )

WHAT: Senate Veterans Committee will hold an oversight hearing on mental health care and suicide prevention for veterans

WHEN: Wednesday, March 3, 9:30 a.m.

WHERE: Russell Senate Office Building, Room 418

U.S. Senate

Washington, D.C.

WHO: Clarence Jordan, national board member of NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness)

He is a former Navy commander and combat pilot, currently director of recovery and resiliency services for ValueOptions Behavioral Health Services, the nation's second-largest behavioral health company.

He is from Memphis and a member of the senior leadership team for medical services that serve members of TennCare, the Medicaid population of Tennessee.

A chronicle of Jordan's battle with depression appeared in the June 2007 issue of Heart & Soul magazine.

Other witnesses

Dr. David Rudd – Dean of Psychology at University of Utah
Dr. Gerald Cross – Acting Principal Deputy...

NL woman wants workers' comp for post-traumatic stress after colleague's murder [The Day, New ...

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 15:32:00 +0000

Mar. 1--Margaret Hansen is sitting, attentive and still, in the hearing of the Labor Committee, as a crush of reporters, cameras and curious lawmakers lean in to hear the horrifying story of the police officer and the deadly chimpanzee.

And, when the officer's testimony is finished, and the swarm of bodies has followed him and his fellow officers out into the hallway for a press conference, Hansen is still in her seat alone, waiting.

She waits with a handbag stuffed with workers' compensation denials and written testimony and the sort of photographs that no newspaper will publish, ready to ask the legislators to recognize the trauma of her memory for what she says it is: a wound.

It has been nearly 12 years since Hansen's friend and co-worker, Donna Millette-Fridge, was murdered near the intersection of Golden and Green streets in downtown New London, slashed and stabbed again and again by a...

DEPRIVED: Doctors work to help those with PTSD get a better night's rest [Albuquerque Journal, N.M.]

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 15:16:00 +0000

Mar. 1--Susan Smith still feels sleepy most of the time. The South Valley resident naps once or twice a day. She nods off at around 7 p.m. and then wakes up several times in the night.

"I still am sleepy during the day," she says. "I get really drained. I'm like an old lady by the end of the day. But I am a lot better than I was."

Since July 2008 she has used a Bi-level Positive Airway Pressure device, or BiPap, that provides a steady air supply at night to control her sleep apnea. She also gets help with nightmares that have plagued her for years.

Smith, 57, suffers from posttraumatic stress disorder following an assault as a young adult. She is one of many people fighting the debilitating symptoms of both PTSD and sleep problems like nightmares and insomnia, according to Dr. Barry Krakow, medical director of Maimonides Sleep...

ValueOptions'(R) 'Anxiety Scale': Unemployment, Anxiety Ride Together to New Heights

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 19:23:00 +0000

NORFOLK, Va., Feb. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- With Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke testifying to a Senate committee today that unemployment will remain high, expect something else to stick around: Unemployment's sidekick, anxiety.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090106/PH55551LOGO )

Behavioral health care leader ValueOptions® today released a report showing that the working public's anxiety has marched upward in lock-step with the unemployment rate.

ValueOptions®, which operates EAP programs for many Fortune 500 companies, noticed that once unemployment hit 8 percent in Feb. of last year, more than 50 percent of its EAP members reported moderate or severe anxiety. And to have access to an EAP, a person would have to have a job or be a family member.

New Approaches to Teen Therapy Bring Results

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 08:01:00 +0000

When help is needed for a troubled teen and things feel like they are falling apart at home, psychotherapeutic interventions provide families with a growing array of options.

(PRWEB) February 25, 2010 -- When help is needed for a troubled teen and things feel like they are falling apart at home, psychotherapeutic interventions provide families with a growing array of options.

There was a time when parents turned to their own elders, their religious community, and extended family for assistance, but today’s parents are not as closely tied to support systems, and the help they seek is often within the professional community.

Only about half of American children and teenagers with certain mental disorders receive professional services and only about a third of youth with an anxiety disorder receive treatment, according to the NHANES survey (2001-04) published in Pediatrics and funded in part by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).*

Perhaps one...

PTSD is focus of seminar Thursday [The Fayetteville Observer, N.C.]

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 20:09:00 +0000

Feb. 23--As a licensed professional counselor in Lillington, Molly VanDuser receives anywhere from one to six referrals a day for military families suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Substance abuse, nightmares and withdrawal are some of the symptoms facing troops as they rack up combat deployment after combat deployment.

But PTSD can be cured, said VanDuser, who will speak at the seminar, "PTSD and the Military Family," at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Cumberland County Headquarters Library.

The seminar, sponsored by the Mental Health Association of North Carolina, Cumberland County chapter, will offer information and empathy for families affected by the disorder, VanDuser said.

About 90 percent of VanDuser's clients suffer from PTSD, and many are either soldiers or the spouses of soldiers.

VanDuser said military spouses also suffer from PTSD, as well as compassion fatigue -- self-destructive behaviors that occur when a caregiver focuses on others and neglects themselves.

VanDuser said she will give a...

CCA Names Angel Martin as Senior Manager of Critical Incident Stress Management

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 13:00:00 +0000

New position is one of the first of its kind in corrections

Nashville, TN (Vocus) February 16, 2010 -- CCA recently named Angel Martin senior manager, Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM). In her new position, Martin heads CCA’s CISM team, a volunteer group of employees from across the company who assist colleagues exposed to trauma. Martin previously headed the CISM team while serving as assistant warden at CCA’s Winn Correctional Center and has now assumed full-time responsibility for developing the team, deciding when to deploy it, and providing resources to employees.

“CCA has recognized the value that the Critical Incident Stress Management team brings to our employees,” said Jimmy Turner, CCA vice president, Operations (Business Unit II), who founded CCA’s CISM team 10 years ago. “In her new role, Martin will be able to provide a greater level assistance to employees who need it most.”

Martin joined CCA in 1990 as the...

Chynna Phillips treated for anxiety

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 01:28:00 +0000

Chynna Phillips' manager says the U.S. singer and actress has entered a rehab facility where she is being treated for anxiety.

Phillips, 42, is best known as a member of the pop group Wilson Phillips. She is the daughter of the late Mamas and Papas singer John Phillips, the half-sister of actress Mackenzie Phillips and the wife of actor Billy Baldwin. The family made headlines late last year after Mackenzie publicly claimed she was repeatedly raped by John Phillips as an adult during the course of a decade.

Chynna Phillips' manager, Lizzie Grubman, told People.com Monday the mother of three checked into an undisclosed treatment center during the weekend.

"With the full support of her family and friends, she is looking forward to her recovery. We ask that people respect her and her family's privacy at this time," Grubman said in a statement to People.com.

Chynna Phillips released her latest album, "One Reason,"...

Aura of anxiety shadows Juarenses [El Paso Times, Texas]

Sun, 14 Feb 2010 15:29:00 +0000

Feb. 14--JUAREZ -- The nightmare is inescapable.

Adults and children are shellshocked. Their fear, anxiety, mistrust and, in some cases, desensitization to death are evident.

Mental health professionals in El Paso say the violence is having an untold psychological effect on both adults and children.

While there may yet to be a solution to the violence, experts say, there may not be a solution to the emotional and mental strain the city's residents are enduring.

If cities had feelings, Juarez would be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Garry Feldman, an El Paso psychologist, said adults may fall under denial, a defensive mechanism that makes them think the situation is not as bad as it is.

Feldman said people who suffer anxiety may have a hard time interacting with others, instead isolating themselves and creating a distance among the population in general.

"They don't tell you, 'I need psychological attention.' But they (people from Juarez) have told...

Being in stress from snowy mess is normal [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 09:44:00 +0000

Feb. 11--An early morning glance through the window, a sinking feeling in the stomach.

No, no, no, not again! Really? More snow???!!!

Again with the cumbersome boots, the bulky coat, the sigh of resignation. Again with the back-breaking shoveling, the white-knuckle driving, the unplowed streets and downed power lines.

After the weekend's historic snowstorm, who would have thought it could get worse? But it did on Wednesday. And there's no relief in sight.

All reasons enough to feel down in the dumps, or, more accurately, in the snowdrifts.

But if it's any comfort, that's a perfectly normal reaction to such perfectly abnormal weather, said Ellen Frank, distinguished professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh.

Frustration at the situation is to be expected, said Dr. Frank, whose specialty is mood disorders. "And not knowing how long we're going to be in this mess is very stress-inducing."

She said for some people, who like her have heat...

Anxiety disorder patients 'not able to control negative emotions'

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 05:01:00 +0000

Washington, Feb 11 (ANI): People with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) are less able to respond to any negative emotions they may feel, concludes a new Stanford University School of Medicine study.

The research is published online in this month's American Journal of Psychiatry.

GAD in particular is marked by extreme feelings of fear and uncertainty; people with the disorder live in a state of non-stop worry and often struggle getting through their daily lives.

"Patients experience anxiety and worry and respond excessively to emotionally negative stimuli, but it's never been clear really why," said Amit Etkin, MD, PhD, acting assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and first author of the study.

Etkin said clinical data have suggested that adult GAD patients initially register negative...

When seconds count, human psychology and cars' complexity can make it hard to steer to safety

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 05:01:00 +0000

DETROIT _ You're driving down the highway and suddenly your car starts accelerating on its own. Knuckles white, going from 60 to 90 miles an hour in a couple of seconds, you do what comes naturally _ hit the brakes. But what if the car keeps going?

There are options: Put the car in neutral, or in park, or switch off the ignition. But experts say those choices would be almost impossible for most drivers to consider when they're in a panic, because frightened people often can't remember even simple steps to protect themselves. That _ coupled with increasingly complicated gadgetry _ makes cars a dangerous place to be when you're facing an unexpected situation.

``You're stamping on the brakes and your attention is going to be focused on where you're going and steering. There's no cognitive space left to think of alternatives,'' said Dr. Boadie Dunlop, a psychiatrist and...