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As you may realize as you read the articles on this
site, the underlying core issue for many problems
resides with irrational thinking styles. That, of
course, is the basic premise of cognitive-behavioral
therapy (CBT). We develop styles of thinking based
upon our learning experiences, our parents'
thinking, and societal/community beliefs and
expectations.
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When
I ask clients what they do for daily relaxation I
usually get responses such as:
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After experiencing severe heart
palpitations and shortness of
breath while driving, Diane
rushed to the emergency room of
the nearest hospital. Extensive
tests showed no physical
abnormalities or problems. She
was told she had a panic attack
and was given an anti-anxiety
medication. As a result of the
panic attack, she quit driving
by herself because she became
fearful of having another panic
attack and losing control while
driving. Whenever she would
attempt to drive by herself, she
would have a panic attack. Her
family physician explained to
her that Panic Disorder was a
chemical imbalance and that
medication helps to regulate the
chemicals in the brain. An
anti-depressant was prescribed
in addition to the anti-anxiety
medication. Diane found that she
began to feel less anxious with
the medications, but that she
was still avoiding the driving
due to her fear of having a
panic attack. Additionally, she
became concerned about needing
to be on the medication for a
long time and wondered if any
other treatment could help.
READ MORE...
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A serious problem exists with
the public's understanding of
depression. The problem occurs
because of the clinical term
"Major Depression" and the
general use of the word
"depression." One of the
definitions in the
Merriam-Webster dictionary
indicates that depression is "a
state of feeling sad."
Therefore, the general public
typically defines "depression"
interchangeably with "sadness"
as in "I'm so depressed today."
The tendency, then, is to assume
that clinical depression is just
extreme sadness or the inability
to handle normal stress and
sadness of life.
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Listening
to the weather forecast one
frigid day, I realized how much
we are influenced by the
catastrophic thinking of the
media. The weatherman reported,
"The weather has brought more
misery to the St. Louis
area." Certainly, the weather
was causing problems that day.
An ice storm caused car doors
and locks to be frozen so that
people had a great deal of
trouble getting into their
cars. However, I thought,
unless someone was in the middle
of nowhere with no cell phone
and they were unable to open
their car door because of the
ice, this was not "misery."
Instead, I would call it an
"inconvenience." Most of us
walked out to our cars to find
that we couldn't open the door,
went back inside a warm house or
office, and found some solution
to our problem.
READ MORE...
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Most of the time parents and
spouses of individuals with
depressive or anxiety disorders
truly want to assist in the
treatment. However, sometimes
their efforts may interfere due
to lack of understanding or due
to fears and their own internal
pressure to make the situation
better. So often family members
may have their own irrational
thinking that might influence
the person with the disorder.
Therefore, if you have a loved
one with anxiety or depression,
you may need to examine your
behavior to prevent interference
with their improvement. The
following is a list of ways that
family members interfere with
treatment and some ways to
change these behaviors.
READ MORE...
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Janine
is a 38-year-old married woman
with two young children. She
obsesses continuously about
whether her house is neat and
clean enough. She frequently
stays up until three in the
morning scrubbing and
straightening. In addition,
Janine is painfully shy and has
few friends. She worries about
what other people think of her
and is terribly afraid of
rejection. Some of her neighbors
get together with their children
to play in a nearby park or each
other’s homes, but Janine never
joins them.