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Depression
Everyone knows what it feels like to get the blues once in a while. But depression is a serious illness that is more severe than a bad day and lasts much longer. Symptoms of depression stop a person from being able to function and enjoy daily activities for weeks or months at a time. It can happen to anyone, and it isn't something that people can control by force of will or "snap out of it."
Some common symptoms of depression include:
We don't yet know what causes depression, but it's thought that it is a combination of genetic, biological, environmental, and social influences. Because of this, the most effective treatments for depression combine medication with psychotherapy. Therapy, especially cognitive-behavioral therapy, can be extremely helpful in resolving the negative thoughts and feelings that come with depression. It gives patients new tools that they can use themselves to cope when their depression is making them feel down.
Some of the common medications used to treat depression include antidepressants such as SSRI's (Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft) or atypical antidepressants (Cymbalta, Wellbutrin). It's important to remember that these medications have different effects on everybody, and no one medication works right for everyone. Patients may have to try a couple before finding the one that works just right for them. If the first medication they try doesn't work, they should talk to their doctor about trying something else. In extreme cases where medication is not enough, electro-convulsive therapy and hospitalization may be the answer to keeping a severely depressed person safe.
Depression is a difficult illness to deal with, but it is more common than believed and there are many people who can help. With the right treatment, individuals with depression can get back to fully enjoying life again.
Eating Disorders
Eating disorders are mental and physical illnesses that impact behavior, emotions, and thoughts about eating, food, body appearance, and weight. These disorders are characterized by preoccupations with food and physical size, resulting in dramatic lifestyle changes and adverse health effects. In the past, eating disorders were often diagnosed using BMI (body mass index), or by assessing someone's weight. Eating disorders specialists now recognize that eating disorders may occur in people of all sizes. The most common eating disorders are anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge-eating disorder (BED).
Anorexia nervosa, frequently referred to as anorexia, is a disorder where people severely restrict the types and quantity of food they eat. Those with anorexia have an extreme fear of eating and gaining weight and may repeatedly weigh themselves or engage in harmful behaviors such as excessive exercise or starvation. Those with anorexia often find themselves preoccupied with food, but unable to consume a healthy amount of it. This results in symptoms such as abnormally low BMI, vitamin deficiency, fatigue, fainting, and amenorrhea (lack of menstruation in women). Anorexia may cause bluish discoloration of the hands, brittle and falling out hair, yellowish skin, and lanugo (fine, downy hair). Left untreated, anorexia can lead to organ failure, brain damage, and even death.
Bulimia nervosa, typically called bulimia, is a disorder where people binge (eat large quantities of food) and purge the food that they just consumed by vomiting, laxative abuse, fasting, or excessive exercise. This behavior is usually motivated by a feeling of powerlessness over eating and a fear of weight gain or desire for weight loss. Bulimia can occur in underweight, normal weight, and overweight people. Symptoms of bulimia include acid reflux, intestinal distress, dehydration from purging, amenorrhea, and dental erosion from vomiting. Some people with bulimia have swollen parotid glands (salivary glands near the cheeks) and red scars and marks on the backs of their knuckles. Electrolyte imbalance from bulimia can be particularly severe and may lead to heart attack or stroke.
Binge eating disorder (BED) is the most common eating disorder. People with BED feel that they are unable to control the amount of food they eat and may continue to binge after reaching a point of fullness. BED binges (consuming large amounts of food) are often accompanied by feelings of sadness, guilt, and shame. Symptoms of BED include obesity, acid reflux, weight gain, and dissatisfaction with one's body. People with BED tend to experience cycles of negative emotions and binges. Binges or BED episodes can be provoked by stress, boredom, restrictive dieting, depression, and other triggers.
Other common eating disorders include:
Many people with eating disorders do not consciously develop them, and have difficulty seeking treatment. For this reason, it's important to detect and treat eating disorders as early as possible. Treatment for eating disorders can vary from therapy visits to inpatient treatment, depending on the disorder and its severity. Treatment aims to not only restore physical health and correct negative behaviors, but to also promote psychological well-being and self-confidence.
Family Issues
The famed writer Leo Tolstoy once wrote, "All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." Family issues are problems that occur amongst members of an immediate, extended, or adopted family. Many forms of family issues exist and can vary in intensity and in duration. Nearly every family will experience a negative family issue at some point.
Each family member can be affected by an issue in an individual and unique way, typically depending on age, maturity, and involvement. This means that family issues are often inequitable, with one or more family members bearing a disproportionate weight of the problem. A frequent example is parental divorce. While both parents may appreciate the immediate relief, divorce can rapidly threaten a developing child's sense of stability and self-confidence. Similarly, a mother who is subject to domestic abuse may conceal the issue in order to shield her children from her distress. In some cases, family issues are generational; a father may cause residual guilt or disagreements from his childhood to carry forward to his own son. While each family's experience is unique, common family issues can include:
Some family issues are inevitable – such as retirement and minor lifestyle disagreements – while others can be unexpected and dramatic. Unsafe household environments, abuse, and neglect can lead to severe trauma and intervention by social services or law enforcement.
Most common family issues can be addressed through therapy with one or more family members. Family therapy involves sessions led by a licensed mental health therapist. These sessions often include family discussion, resolution strategies, and other activities to promote family harmony. Another form of treatment for family issues is couples counseling, in which a couples counselor can help spouses communicate and employ problem-solving techniques to improve the strength of their relationship. For children, specialized child therapy can help children and adolescents manage and overcome family issues with age-appropriate methods.
Some people find individual therapy or counseling beneficial in resolving family issues, especially for those who are unable to attend family therapy with other family members. Therapists may encourage the creation of family boundaries. At an extreme, therapy may cause an adult to come to the conclusion that communication with a narcissistic parent must stop in order to preserve mental health and wellbeing.
She is certified by the ICBCH.
Board Certification: ICBCH
Sharyn R. Rose, MSW, ACCH, MEd does not have any reviews yet, be the first to leave a review of Sharyn R. Rose, MSW, ACCH, MEd here: Leave a Review
Clinical interests for Ms. Sharyn Rose include depression, eclectic therapy, and phobias. She has an open panel in Somerville, MA according to DocSpot.
