Everyone experiences “the blues” or increased worrying every now and then. When depression, anxiety and “moodiness” seem to cross a line in your life, and becomes ongoing, it is time to get help.
Engaging in outpatient psychotherapy will help you uncover the “why’s” and “how’s” that have contributed to your mood swings. Maybe it is situational, like a divorce, moving to a new city, starting a new school. Others with mood problems can trace this back to their family history. If you have a chemical or a genetic predisposure to an affect disorder, we can help find the right treatment for you.
Types of mood disorders include:
Major Depressive Disorder
A person has had one or more major depressive episodes.
Bipolar Disorder
(formerly manic-depression) Alternating, and sometimes rapid cycling, periods of mania and depression.
Substance/Alcohol Mood Disorders
A change in one’s mood cycle largely contributed to a substance or alcohol.
**Some mood disorders may actually include periods of psychosis or psychotic episodes where there can be a split from reality. If psychosis is a part of your diagnosis, I require my clients to work with a treatment team, including a psychiatrist who manages medications. Doing so can greatly increase stabilization**
Types of anxiety disorders include:
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Not focused on any one thing or situation. Being overly concerned about a nonspecific fear.
Social Anxiety
Intense fear of being embarrassed or humiliated in public. Many tend to handle social anxiety by avoiding the situation all together thus leading to withdrawal from social settings.
Separation Anxiety Disorder
Experiencing increased anxiety following separation from a person or place.
Panic Disorder
Brief episodes of intense apprehension. This causes physical symptoms like: shortness of breath, heart palpitations, sweating and feeling shaky.
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
Experiencing repetitive thoughts or images and urges to act on these thoughts through ritualistic behavior.
General Childhood Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety, worrying and fear in children.
Phobias
Fear and anxiety being triggered by a situation or stimuli.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Anxiety following a traumatic experience (examples include: rape, abuse, a natural disaster, a serious accident, combat).
