Children’s Center for Psychiatry, Psychology, Related Services

The fear of vomiting, officially known as emetophobia, is a phobia that affects millions of people. And, the good news is that help is available.

Research has shown that Cognitive Behavioral Therapy has longer-lasting, more sustainable effects on insomnia and depression. This is because it teaches you a skill set that you can use for the rest of your life.

Resilience training can be used to minimize negative thoughts and help you learn ways to bounce back effectively from life’s setbacks.

Even though many people greet the new year with excitement, there are also many who find themselves suffering from the post-holiday blues. Here are some tips to help you beat depression after the holidays.

Loneliness is an emotion that can be difficult to pin down because it often means different things to different people. It can be a perception of isolation because we feel that we aren’t being heard and valued. It can be caused by feeling that there is no one we can turn to for emotional support. Also, in many instances, a lonely person is actually physically alone through the loss of a spouse or loved one. Regardless of how we define loneliness, however, researchers have concluded that feeling so alone can affect not just our mental and emotional well being, but our physical health, as well. And, they are finding that loneliness can be as contagious as a virus.

We’ve all had “those days” at work or at home – days when we feel exhausted, irritable, or out of sorts and when nothing seems to go our way. Conversely, we’ve all also experienced days when we are chock full of energy, when we feel like we can take on the world, when ideas seems to flow effortlessly, and we feel joyful and optimistic. For most of us, those feelings of the “blues” or of being happy will ebb and flow from one day to another and they don’t really change our daily lives. But, for people with bipolar disorder (also known as manic depression), the swings between emotional highs and lows are chronic and can fluctuate broadly from extreme euphoria, overconfidence, and boundless energy, to the other end of the spectrum and despair, anger, and deep depression. People can also experience a mixture of the two extremes.

These days, children often have stressors that come at them from all directions. Schools are sending more homework and projects home with children, kids are busy after school with extra-curricular sports and activities, and there are video games, social media, and cell phones all competing for their attention. In addition, they may have to deal with being picked on at school or may be coping with the pressures of divorcing parents or the arrival of a new sibling in the home. With all that kids have to contend with, it’s no wonder that children who engage in mindfulness exercises tend to be happier kids who are more able to self-regulate and calm themselves during periods of stress.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a fairly new therapy that helps specifically in the treatment of trauma recovery and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). PTSD is a disorder that often develops after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal – one in which intense physical harm occurred or was threatened. PTSD can also result after someone has witnessed an event that is disturbing, distressing, or dangerous. Sufferers of this disorder have persistent, frightening thoughts and memories of their ordeal.

The symptoms of physician burnout bear a strong resemblance to those typically seen in other stress disorders, but there are also distinct differences. Dr. Dike Drummond, author of the blog, “The Happy MD“, hits the nail on the head by identifying that physician burnout occurs when stress is present and a doctor is unable to recover from it in their free time. He pinpoints three distinct burnout symptoms:

Welcoming a new family member into your household is an exciting and joyous event. There is so much anticipation about the new baby and women often go through their pregnancy daydreaming about happy things: who will the baby will look like, what will their first words be? Understandably, the knowledge that you’re going to have a baby can also give rise to a certain level of concern and anxiety – there will be sleepless nights, adjustments in your daily life, and possible financial concerns to face.