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Anxiety
Anxiety is a normal part of everyday life. Who
hasn’t been nervous on the first day of a new job or when speaking in front of a
group of people? In general these forms of anxiety are not harmful.
Sometimes
anxiety becomes so overwhelming that it interferes with your life. It can cut
down your performance, lower your productivity and damage your relationships at
work and at home. When it reaches this level it may be a symptom of an anxiety
disorder. There are several different types of anxiety disorder. Dr. Sheila can
diagnose which one you’re suffering from.
Although
about 25% of the American adult population will experienced an anxiety disorder
at some time during their life, it is one of the most successfully treated
psychological problems. Treatment often includes medication coupled with
psychotherapy.
If you or
anyone you know has any of these symptoms, you may be suffering from anxiety:
dizziness, trembling, sweating, racing heart, a choking sensation, chest pain, a
dry mouth, clammy hands, and jitteriness.
Call Dr. Sheila at 310-828-8004 for a free consultation.
Depression
Most
people come into therapy because of a mood disorder such as depression.
Fortunately, it is highly treatable and patients usually respond well to
psychotherapy.
There are
many symptoms of depression, some of which may sound familiar. They include:
feeling sad or empty, anger or irritability, tearfulness, diminished interest or
pleasure in daily activities, weight gain or loss, increase or decrease in
appetite, insomnia, agitation, restlessness, lethargy, fatigue, loss of energy,
feeling worthless; diminished ability to think or concentrate, indecisiveness,
and suicidal thoughts.
However,
the reason you’re experiencing these symptoms may not always be immediately
obvious to you. You may need the help of an insightful psychologist to uncover
the underlying causes and deal with them.
Probably
the most widely-known mood disorder is Bipolar Disorder (also known as
Manic-Depression). A depression that lasts more than two years is called
Dysthymia.
If you
believe that you or someone you know may be depressed, please call Dr. Sheila at
310-828-8004 for a free assessment.
Eating Disorders
An eating
disorder is a medical issue. To be diagnosed with an eating disorder, you have
to meet very specific criteria. It is different from Emotional Overeating (see
below for more details on Emotional Overeating).
There are
two eating disorders that are recognized by the American Psychiatric
Association: both have clearly-defined physical manifestations.
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Anorexia (self-imposed
starvation): you keep a dangerously low weight by radically restricting the
quantity of food you eat.
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Bulimia (binge eating
and purging): you eat much more than you need and then get rid of the food by
forcing yourself to vomit, or by taking diuretics or laxatives to purge the food
from your body.
Both of
these disorders are life-threatening. If you suspect that you may be suffering
from an eating disorder, you need to seek immediate professional attention.
Don’t wait. Your life is at risk.
Call Dr. Sheila at 310-828-8004.
Dr. Sheila
is an excellent resource for treatment of eating disorders. She can also provide
useful information on eating disorders for you and your family.
Emotional Overeating
Emotional
Overeating, also known as Compulsive Overeating, is a common problem that
plagues a lot of people. It occurs when you eat for reasons other than physical
hunger.
This
usually happens when you are experiencing a feeling that’s uncomfortable (such
as fear, boredom, anger) and you want it to disappear. Eating is an easy way to
stuff the feeling back down. In this way, you don’t feel the feeling any more,
but you don’t deal with it either. However turning feelings inside like this can
lead to other physical, mental and emotional problems.
Psychotherapy is the primary tool that people use to make peace with their
feelings and end Emotional Overeating once and for all.
Dr. Sheila
runs several groups that specifically focus on Emotional Overeating. It’s
especially helpful to work out your issues around food in a group setting
because you don’t feel that you’re the only one in the world with this problem.
“It can be
very comforting to know that you are not the only person who sits home alone on
a Saturday bight with a pizza pie and gallon of ice cream because you are
lonely.” Dr. Sheila.
You can
find a list of Dr. Sheila’s current groups here
or call her at
310-828-8004 for more information.
For a
step-by-step program that you can work through on your own, see Dr. Sheila’s
book Do You Use Food to Cope? A Comprehensive 15-Week
Program for Overcoming Emotional Overeating.
Money
Therapy
Money is a
taboo subject. Have you ever noticed how people are more willing to talk about
politics and sex than money? And how often they redirect the conversation when
the topic of money comes up?
But you
can’t escape money because you have to deal with it every day. Without a healthy
relationship with money, your life is more difficult, fraught with conflict, and
burdened with pain.
Through
therapy, you learn to understand your relationship with money and the underlying
issues that form that relationship. For example, do you hold thoughts of poverty
or prosperity? Are you comfortable asking for a raise or do you feel you don’t
deserve it? These attitudes determine how money flows in your life.
Therapy
can heal these damaging underlying issues and build positive, constructive
skills that lead you to high financial self-esteem and prosperity thinking.
“I help my
patients go within, find their own answers to questions, and make their own
choices on how to move forward.” Dr. Sheila
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