Sometimes we all skip out on things we don’t like. How is that relevant to anxiety? Very! Learn why avoidance may be the most important thing you’re overlooking to improve your anxiety.
We all try to get more of the things we like and less of the things we don’t. People of any age do this, and so do animals — it’s universal.
[Read more…]Several effective treatment options exist for people suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). A medical treatment called stellate ganglion block (SGB) is one of the newest options. SGB is an injection administered by a doctor or other healthcare professional into the neck. It works by affecting the nerves near the voicebox.
[Read more…]Negative reinforcement plays an important role in anxiety and related problems. Obsessive-compulsive disorder, social anxiety, panic attacks, and other related disorders can all be worsened by it. So what is negative reinforcement?
Barriers to mental health treatment abound in the United States. The nature of these barriers is varied. Some involve people seeking but unable to obtain services. Others involve a failure to seek services. In combination, these obstacles result in a large proportion of those in need of mental healthcare not getting it.
For example, a 2008 study examined mental health problems in a large sample of military members who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. The study found that only around half of those veterans with depression and PTSD sought help for these problems. Unfortunately, the corresponding statistics for non-veterans are no better. Why is that?
[Read more…]The recent suicides of Lorna Breen, a New York doctor of emergency medicine and Bronx EMT John Mondello have drawn attention to the emotional impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare workers. Hopefully their deaths do not portend a mental health crisis for the healthcare workers who provided care during the worst of the outbreak. Read on to explore the factors that may have affected these two tragic heroes, and to learn how PTSD and depression are concerns for healthcare workers caring for COVID-19 patients.
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