A health professional can provide a diagnosis and individualized treatment plan for social anxiety disorder. Both cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and medication are scientifically proven effective treatments. Your therapist should be able to discuss how long it will take for you to begin to experience relief.
Drawing on his own long-standing battle with anxiety, Scott Stossel, author of My Age of Anxiety: Fear, Hope, Dread, and the Search for Peace of Mind, presents the history and efforts to understand an affliction that is pervasive yet often misunderstood. Watch his conversation with talk show host Mimi Geerges.
Many people have trouble sleeping at times. But it's more likely after you have experienced an accident, war, assault, disaster, or other traumatic event. Trouble sleeping and nightmares are two symptoms of PTSD.
You may find you are sleeping too little, or too much, or having nightmares. If these symptoms don't go away, get worse over time, or interfere with your daily life, it might be time to see a doctor.
Sleep Issues:
Sleep disturbances are reported in over 70% of individuals with PTSD.
Posttraumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, is diagnosed after a person experiences symptoms for at least one month following a traumatic event. The disorder is characterized by three main types of symptoms:
People often jokingly point to odd habits or tidiness as signs of obsessive-compulsive disorder, or OCD. But the truth is OCD is a very real disorder that affects more than 2 million Americans, and there is a big difference between maintaining a morning routine or keeping a clean home and living with the disorder.
Ten years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks many people continue to struggle with symptoms of anxiety, stress and even posttraumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.
Most children with OCD are diagnosed around age 10, although the disorder can strike children as young as 2 or 3. Boys are more likely to develop OCD before puberty, while girls tend to develop it during adolescence. Unlike adults, children do not always realize that their obsessions and compulsions are excessive.
Funding for this video provided by a grant from the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP)
Since the terrorist attacks of 9/11, most adults have accepted that we live in a new era of trying times. Tornadoes, hurricanes, and other natural disasters, as well as explosions, and other traumatic events threaten our sense of safety and security, and they occur around the world on any given day. Adults often struggle with the effects of trauma, even though they understand them. But children react differently based on their personality, age, and circumstances.
Anticipating the arrival of a hurricane, tornado, blizzard, or any severe storm strikes fear and anxiety in the people in its path for good reason. Natural disasters disrupt lives in significant ways, including creating physical and mental health problems and major economic challenges. And the never-ending news about a storm’s arrival may increase your anxiety, stress, and fear.
I have learned that anxiety and depression go hand-in-hand, and there is no shame in having either — although it’s tough for many people to get their arms around that concept. When I struggled with both in my last couple years as the Texas Rangers’ baseball play-by-play announcer, the few people in whom I confided expressed genuine shock. “Depressed? About what? You’ve got a great job! Legions of adoring fans! A wonderful family!