ADAA Mental Health Blogs for the Public
Everyone’s skin crawls when they hear nails on a chalkboard (remember chalkboards?). But if your body reacts with extreme discomfort at the sound of everyday noises, like chewing, slurping coughing and tapping, you might be suffering from Misophonia, literally translated as “the hatred of sounds.” Although not recognized as a genuine disorder, the symptoms are genuine for those who suffer. Negative emotions, thoughts and physical reactions are triggered by specific sounds and they can be overwhelming.
One of the key issues that consumers ask us about is how to identify warning signs in adolescents regarding anxiety and how to raise the issue with their adolescents.
Children of anxious parents are more at risk for developing anxiety disorders. This is because they will have both a genetic predisposition to developing an anxiety disorder and their environment may emphasize hyper vigilance to risk cues. It is important to emphasize that being at risk for developing an anxiety disorder does not mean with certainty that they will develop one. Creating an emotionally healthy environment where children learn to tackle their fears can prevent the development of an anxiety disorder.
Social Media outlets like Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram have become a behemoth daily presence in our lives. Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg recently reported there are an astonishing 1.23 billion daily log-ons to the social media giant per day, representing an 18% increase in the last year (as of September, 2016). CEO Evan Spiegel’s app Snapchat offers users an experience where video, photo and text messages are live for only 24 hours- allowing for an instant and fleeting connection between people.
Step 1: See Through OCD’s Scare Tactics
Whether my patients have OCD, social anxiety, a phobia, panic, or are just generally anxious about life, they come into treatment wanting to be free of the uncomfortable feelings associated with anxiety. To rid themselves of their anxiety they have tried meditation, relaxation, yoga, different psychotherapies and medication, but overall they don’t feel a whole lot better. They ask me, “Why am I so anxious?” and “How do I get rid of this anxiety?” And I respond: “You need to allow yourself to be anxious and you don’t need to know why you are anxious.” I know it sounds counterintuitive.
