Treatment

This blog was originally posted on Ten Percent Happier on April 22, 2022 and is reprinted here with permission

Pregnancy and childbirth can be a joyous time in a woman’s life but can also be a challenging one. Besides the physical changes that occur during pregnancy and postpartum, about 20% of women may experience mental health challenges.

Our growing understanding of the relationship between racism and health has enormous implications broadly and in relation to minoritized women. Black and Brown womanhood often results in the exposure to multiple oppressive and traumatic experiences uniquely dependent on the intersection among racism, sexism, and violence. 
Many mental health professionals are now conducting patient visits virtually. I am one of the only psychologists left in my building who has stayed behind to continue in-person work while abiding by COVID protocols. Since our practice specializes in refractory OCD spectrum disorders and anxiety disorders a lot of the work done at our outpatient clinic requires in-vivo exposures, which cannot be replicated on Zoom.
Addressing health inequity requires a collaborative effort between many levels of the health care system (i.e., patient, community, provider, hospital, government). However, behavioral health providers and researchers can implement strategies that promote health equity at their level of care.
While it’s pretty common to have periods of feeling down, sad, or blue, especially this time of year, sometimes it’s more serious than that. Depression is real, and it’s important to recognize it and get proper treatment.
There is an area of social anxiety that is practically a universal experience for girls and women, yet rarely gets discussed: non-touch unwanted sexual attention.Such experiences happen to all people of all ages, and between all genders. For girls, the incidence is particularly alarming. From puberty to age 18, more than 90% of girls experience such unwanted encounters. 
In BDD, people are tormented by obsessive thoughts associated with a part or parts of their physical appearance being flawed in some way, yet these flaws tend not to be noticeable to anyone but themselves.
Marina Sarris
Thanks to research, we know more about depression in children and adults with autism than we used to. Whereas scientists have studied the rates of depression, risk factors, and ways to diagnose it in people on the spectrum, we know far less about how treatments traditionally used on the general population work for those with autism.
ADAA Member Amanda Baker, PhD, Daniella Levine, BA, and Donald J. Robinaugh, PhD author this blog post: Anxiety takes many shapes. Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) allows us a glimpse into the real-world experience of living with anxiety disorders.