Treatments / Services

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Most Common Treatments

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Millions of people around the world suffer from some form of depression. If you have been diagnosed with depression, you will find excellent treatment options exists to help you feel better. There are individual treatment options including medications and psychotherapy or the two can be combined to assist you with feeling better during day-to-day life.

Talking it Out

One of the best treatment options available today is talking to a therapist. With a therapist, you have the option to meet as many times as needed to discuss what you are dealing with on a regular basis. Work on key issues to be able to change your way of thinking, continuing therapy for many years if needed.

For behavioral changes, cognitive behavioral therapy may be the right choice for you. The therapist will be able to evaluate any behaviors that are detrimental to your health and how they play a role in your depression diagnosis. The unhealthy patterns can be broken to begin a more positive lifestyle.

When focusing on relationships and how you are affected by other people in regards to your depression, the therapy type should be interpersonal therapy. If you have specific problems, problem-solving therapy can be used to help you find solutions. Many times, individuals who suffer from depression will find they are subject to all treatment types over time as new things come up in life.

Meditation Treatments

Instead of going with medicinal treatments, therapists may recommend techniques such as meditation to help you clear your mind and focus on the positive. Meditation methods used each day can help you to begin a new outlook on life, letting go of any negativity. Other methods such as deep breathing or countdown techniques can be used when you feel anxious or stressed due to depression.

Medicines for Depression

Another treatment option is medicine. Antidepressants can be used to help make changes in the brain to result in a more positive attitude. Individuals react to antidepressants in different ways. One option might help one person feel less anxious or down while the medicine may have no effect on others. You may find that you have to try several alternatives before finding the right medication for your specific needs. Always consult your therapist if you feel that medication is not working so you can try something different for better results.

Alternative Methods for Treatment

Every therapist is different and will offer a variety of options to try and treat your condition. Alternative treatment options can include acupuncture or hypnosis. These have not been proven to be more effective than the traditional treatment options but are an alternative that can be tried. With acupuncture, pressure points are used to treat depression while hypnosis tries to change the mind to react differently to certain behaviors.

Mood disorder is a type of mental and psychological disorder that dramatically lowers and elevates a person’s mood. For a person with mania, change of emotions can be limitless. It can start from a depressive to an ecstatic state in a matter of minutes. Just in the U.S. alone, an estimated number of 20.9 million adults are suffering from this mental disorder.

 

Types of mood disorder

Mood disorder is categorized as a severe case of psychological illness in which it has two major types:

  1. Dysthymic disorder—this is a less severe form of anxiety and depression. Though it may not cause much trouble in the person’s daily activities, still the ability to think and decide can be a problem. Though considered less serious, people with dysthymia may also suffer from major and lengthy depression. Minor depression can last for only two weeks, but for major depression, it can go on for years until he gets treated.

 

Two forms of depression that can be life-threatening to both the patient as well as other people are psychotic depression and postpartum depression. Another form of depression is the seasonal affective depression in which the person gets easily affected by a change of weather.

 

  1. Bipolar disorder—this form of mood disorder is highly dangerous and devastating not just to the patient but to other people surrounding him. A person with bipolar disorder changes mood and energy level rapidly and unexpectedly. One moment he will be extremely happy and the next thing you know it; he will be under major depression.

 

Mood disorder: Its causes

Pinpointing the root cause of mood disorder can be untraceable. Medical practitioners are yet to discover the causes; however, these disorders are surely influenced by genetic, psychological, and environmental factors. Studies also show that the brains of people with mental disorders differ gravely to the brain of a healthy person. These illnesses can also be hereditary. In most cases, people suffering from a mood disorder have relatives who are also afflicted with the disease.

 

Signs and symptoms of a person with mood disorder

People with a mood disorder constantly changes behavior and mood. However, for the most part, these are utterly signs of depression. Warning signs include:t assistance in dealing with mood disorders.

  1.  Overindulgence in food
  2.  Loss of appetite
  3.  Inability to sleep
  4.  Excessive sleeping
  5.  Fatigue
  6.  High energy
  7.  Bodily pains and crampsealing with mood disorders.
  8.  Digestive problems
  9.  Problems with breathing
  10.  Inability to concentrate, decide, and remember details
  11.  Excessive imagination
  12.  Rapid speech
  13.  Sudden obsessive compulsiveness
  14.  Rapid change of ideas and get assistance in dealing with mood disorders.

Effects of mood disorder

Mood disorder can damage relationships and affect the ability of a person to function at work and at home. Because he is unable to focus even on a simple task, he could not work on his duties well and effectively. Aggression is a major sign of a person with mania, leading couples and families to separate. People with mood disorder also have a hard time figuring out a solution to a problem; making him consider committing suicide. This is why it’s imperative you find someone who is used to treating this condition and get assistance in dealing with mood disorders

Feeling your heart beating fast, your breathing accelerate, and your palms become sweaty are just a few of the symptoms of anxiety. When you suffer from anxiety, it can be difficult to socialize, go out and shop or just walk outside of the house. Treatment for anxiety can help you be able to live a quality life, being able to work as well as go about daily tasks such as shopping or socializing. The success of treatment will vary based on your level of anxiety as well as the treatment type used. There are several treatment options that can assist you in starting on the path to feeling calm and safe.

Therapy Methods

There are several therapy methods that can be used by a professional therapist to help you deal with anxiety. Cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, is a lasting treatment that is very effective. This treatment option focuses on identifying the issue behind your anxiety, understanding your thinking then making changes to think in a different way, along with behavioral patterns. Benefits of this therapy type can usually be seen within three to four months.

An additional option that can be used for treatment is exposure therapy. This is a form of CBT that will help to reduce the fear and anxiety response you feel due to certain activities or objects. You will be gradually exposed to the object or situation that causes this response and learn how to become less sensitive over a period of time. This type of therapy is proven to be effective on such issues as phobias or obsessive compulsive disorder.

Medication

A safe and effective way to treat anxiety that is commonly used is with medication. Medication is often used at the same time as therapy takes place to see results quickly. Medication can be used for a short time or for a longer term, depending on your individual treatment needs. The medical conditions you have as well as how severe your symptoms will be a dependent factor on what type of medication your therapist will try for your anxiety. It can take time to find the right medicine to affect your individual needs, so be patient if you have to try multiple options.

Alternative Therapy Solutions

If you are not comfortable with taking medication or you want to try a different method to solve your anxiety issues, consider alternative therapy. This can include stress techniques, relaxation methods, acupuncture, yoga or meditation. You can try all of these options to see which helps you relax best when you are having an anxiety attack or feel your anxiety levels rising. Most of these techniques can be completed at home and can help you learn how to control your breathing which will assist you when an anxiety attack occurs.

Talk with a therapist about what you are going through and have an evaluation completed. Learn how to recognize what type of anxiety you are having to find the appropriate treatment to feel better.

Anyone can be a victim of substance abuse. Be it a child, an adult, the rich and famous, and the poverty-stricken. Once a person has been vulnerable to the calls of illegal drugs, it will be start of a miserable condition that affects not only the user, but also the people closest to him.

When and why a person starts to take illegal drugs?

There are many factors that can be considered why people, though prohibited and harmful, still contaminate their body with opium, heroin, marijuana, and other forms of controlled substances. Below are just a few:

  1. Not getting any happiness from what you are doing. Everyone is motivated to do things for just one reason—the hope of getting happiness from the results of his actions.You eat, make money, have sex, develop relationships, and wake up in the morning in the pursuit of happiness. But if these things are not met, you will feel hopelessness, helplessness, and powerlessness. You will feel utter loneliness, really. There is no other way to remove these unwanted feelings than to take addictive drugs. Because at some point, you will believe that happiness can be felt all over again if you’re high on dope.
  2. Environment. The old saying that goes, “Tell me who your friends are and I will tell you who you are,” applies to this next factor. If you are surrounded with people who take illegal drugs, sooner or later, you will also have to experience it as well.
  3. Media and advertising. You won’t know something unless you hear and see it. You won’t be craving for something that doesn’t ignite your desire. You can’t be addicted to something that you have not felt before. You won’t be missing something that you don’t know of yet. Media and advertising play a crucial role in the wellbeing, behavior, and the ability of a person to decide. Media and advertising are also the ones that introduces us to these controlled substances, be it in commercials or movies.

How to get out of substance abuse

When you find yourself imprisoned in the shackles of illegal drugs, be brave and decide to get out of it. This is the very first step. Your conscious decision that you want to be free from the slavery of drugs is what you need to effectively turn your back on these addictive substances.

After making the decision to end substance abuse, the next thing you have to do is to recognize that you need help. Without external forces to stop you from taking drugs, you will find it hard to escape from the demands. These external helps can be your family, a spiritual teacher, or a professional counselor.

Once you get help, immediately take on the necessary steps on how to get out of substance abuse. The journey to getting clean can be long and tough, but the success all depends on your commitment to change. Be willing and committed. The world is equipped with everything you need to change. You just need to get your feet on it.

Most people often shrug off other people’s stubbornness and hyperactivity. While most of them may be correct in their assumption, there are some instances that they are not. A person who is easily distracted, does not follow instructions, is extremely noisy and oftentimes, does not stay put in one place, you may want to talk to him because he might have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or ADHD.

Behavioral disorder can affect anyone of all age levels. Studies also show that males are three times more prone to acquiring the disorder than females, but experts have yet to discover the reason behind this.

Signs of ADHD include inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. People with this kind of behavioral condition have difficulty paying attention and have a high tendency to daydream. Staying interested in work and in business is also a challenge for them because they have concentration issues, which make it a little difficult to handle duties. Getting themselves to work on time is also a struggle.

People with ADHD act without thinking. This impulsiveness often results in outbursts of answers even when they are not asked. Because of this, they also have a high tendency to interrupt others. ADHD patients are also prone to talk excessively.

Causes of ADHD

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), studies show that ADHD is a condition that is greatly related to an individual’s genes. But aside from this, risk factors and possible causes of ADHD include the following:

  • brain injury
  • exposures to harmful chemicals
  • premature delivery
  • low weight at birth
  • the mother’s use of alcohol and tobacco during pregnancy

Symptoms in adults also include anxiety, low self-esteem, unorganized, and impulsive. They also tend to experience mood swings, which often lead to problems at work and in their relationships.

In some cases, ADHD is diagnosed after the patient has already reached adulthood when in fact the disorder had already manifested in his younger years. This is why it is important that there is someone who will remain vigilant and closely observant of the behavior of the person with ADHD.

Diagnosis

There is no single test that can determine when a patient has ADHD. Doctors diagnose a patient with this behavioral disorder after conducting several tests that would single out each and every symptom of ADHD. One of these tests is an overall medical exam that would test the person’s vision and hearing to rule out any disease that would affect his attention span. Then the doctors would investigate the person’s behavior in work or business and at home by interviewing his family and friends.

Treatment

ADHD is a disorder that cannot be fixed by medications. In fact, according to the CDC, ADHD is best treated with a combination of drugs and behavior therapy. ADHD patients should undergo behavioral therapy during his first treatment. However, the CDC warned that there is no single treatment for a person with ADHD, which is why it is important to monitor the patient closely.

Sleep is something that can make you feel better. While it does miracles in improving a person’s mood, sleep is also essential to achieve total health. It rejuvenates the body and mind, and has quite a lot of benefits, including:

  • The improvement of person’s memory. Sleep works better than any brain supplement in making you a better learner. In fact, according to Dr. David Rapoport of the New York University Sleep Disorder Program, people are able to learn new things faster and better after getting enough sleep.
  • The treatment of inflammation in the body. According to a study conducted in 2010, sleep is found to be associated with a person’s blood pressure levels important factor in cardiovascular diseases like stroke and hypertension that is linked to inflammation. The study shows that more C-reactive protein, a substance linked to a person’s risk at having a heart attack, is produced when a person slept for only six hours or less.
  • The improvement in an athletes’ performance. A study from the Stanford University discovered that football players who slept as much as 10 hours for seven to eight straight weeks performed better, with more stamina and less daytime fatigue.

Unfortunately, every once in awhile people tend to experience difficulties in sleeping which are known as sleep disturbances. Sleep disturbances per se are not considered illnesses or disorders. Instead, they are signs that a person is dealing with a physical, spiritual, or mental problem.

The website Sleep Disorder Guide revealed that sleep disturbances which often manifest in the form of insomnia or sleeplessness indicate physical ailments, spiritual one-sidedness and mental imbalance. The site explained that in order to keep yourself healthy, you should maintain a balance. This means having too little or too much of something is not good, even if it is sleeping.

 

Samples of Sleep Disturbances

Sleep disturbances can come from both inside and outside of your body. Among most common examples of things that influence your sleep from the outside include environmental details such as light, noise, room temperature, the texture of your mattress, and the like.

Having to sleep in a place where there is a sudden change in altitude such as planes also disturb one’s sleep. When a person sleeps in a different bed or in a house other than his own it also affects his ability to sleep deeply. The timing of sleep can also be considered a great factor especially in children who were not given a specific bedtime.

Inner disturbances, on the other hand, affect a person’s sleep from inside his or her body. The best example of these is medications. Sleeping pills in particular hinder the body from achieving its natural sleep cycle because it forces the mind to rest. Substances with amphetamines such as psycho-stimulants and appetite suppressors also fall under this category.

 

Parasomnia

One important term you should know about when studying about sleep disturbances is parasomnia. This term is used for irregular sleeping conditions such as sleepwalking, night terrors, nightly teeth grinding, nightly bedwetting, and periodic myoclonic episodes or cramp-like jerks during sleep.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental illness that causes repeated unwanted thoughts or sensations (obsessions) or the urge to do something over and over again (compulsions). Some people can have both obsessions and compulsions.
OCD isn’t about habits like biting your nails or thinking negative thoughts. An obsessive thought might be that certain numbers or colors are “good” or “bad.” A compulsive habit might be to wash your hands seven times after touching something that could be dirty. Although you may not want to think or do these things, you feel powerless to stop.

Everyone has habits or thoughts that repeat sometimes. People with OCD have thoughts or actions that:
• Take up at least an hour a day
• Are beyond your control
• Aren’t enjoyable
• Interfere with work, your social life, or another part of life
OCD Types and Symptoms
OCD comes in many forms, but most cases fall into at least one of four general categories:

• Checking, such as locks, alarm systems, ovens, or light switches, or thinking you have a medical condition like pregnancy or schizophrenia
• Contamination, a fear of things that might be dirty or a compulsion to clean. Mental contamination involves feeling like you’ve been treated like dirt.
• Symmetry and ordering, the need to have things lined up in a certain way
• Ruminations and intrusive thoughts, an obsession with a line of thought. Some of these thoughts might be violent or disturbing.

Obsessions and Compulsions
Many people who have OCD know that their thoughts and habits don’t make sense. They don’t do them because they enjoy them, but because they can’t quit. And if they stop, they feel so bad that they start again.
Obsessive thoughts can include:
• Worries about yourself or other people getting hurt
• Constant awareness of blinking, breathing, or other body sensations
• Suspicion that a partner is unfaithful, with no reason to believe it

Compulsive habits can include:
• Doing tasks in a specific order every time or a certain “good” number of times
• Needing to count things, like steps or bottles
• Fear of touching doorknobs, using public toilets, or shaking hands
OCD Causes and Risk Factors
Doctors aren’t sure why some people have OCD. Stress can make symptoms worse.
It’s a bit more common in women than in men. Symptoms often appear in teens or young adults.
OCD risk factors include:
• A parent, sibling, or child with OCD
• Physical differences in certain parts of your brain
• Depression, anxiety, or tics
• Experience with trauma
• A history of physical or sexual abuse as a child
Sometimes, a child might have OCD after a streptococcal infection. This is called pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associated with streptococcal infections, or PANDAS.

OCD Diagnosis
Your doctor may do a physical exam and blood tests to make sure something else isn’t causing your symptoms. They will also talk with you about your feelings, thoughts, and habits.

OCD Treatment
There’s no cure for OCD. But you may be able to manage how your symptoms affect your life through medicine, therapy, or a combination of treatments.

Treatments include:
• Psychotherapy. Cognitive behavioral therapy can help change your thinking patterns. In a form called exposure and response prevention, your doctor will put you in a situation designed to create anxiety or set off compulsions. You’ll learn to lessen and then stop your OCD thoughts or actions.
• Relaxation. Simple things like meditation, yoga, and massage can help with stressful OCD symptoms.
• Medication. Psychiatric drugs called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors help many people control obsessions and compulsions. They might take 2 to 4 months to start working. Common ones include citalopram (Celexa), escitalopram (Lexapro), fluoxetine (Prozac), fluvoxamine, paroxetine (Paxil), and sertraline (Zoloft). If you still have symptoms, your doctor might give you antipsychotic drugs like aripiprazole (Abilify) or risperidone (Risperdal).
• Neuromodulation. In rare cases, when therapy and medication aren’t making enough of a difference, your doctor might talk to you about devices that change the electrical activity in a certain area of your brain. One kind, transcranial magnetic stimulation, is FDA-approved for OCD treatment. It uses magnetic fields to stimulate nerve cells. A more complicated procedure, deep brain stimulation, uses electrodes that are implanted in your head.
• TMS (transcranial magnetic stimulation).  The TMS unit is a non-invasive device that is held above the head to induce the magnetic field. It  targets a specific part of the brain that regulates OCD symptoms.

OCD-Related Conditions
Some separate conditions are similar to OCD. They involve obsessions with things like:
• Your looks (body dysmorphic disorder)
• Collecting, arranging, or ordering things (hoarding disorder)
• Pulling out/eating your hair(trichotillomania)
• Picking at your skin (excoriation)
• Physical illness (hypochondriasis)
• Body odor or how you smell (olfactory reference syndrome)

Autism spectrum disorder is a condition related to brain development that impacts how a person perceives and socializes with others, causing problems in social interaction and communication. The disorder also includes limited and repetitive patterns of behavior. The term "spectrum" in autism spectrum disorder refers to the wide range of symptoms and severity.
Autism spectrum disorder includes conditions that were previously considered separate — autism, Asperger's syndrome, childhood disintegrative disorder and an unspecified form of pervasive developmental disorder. Some people still use the term "Asperger's syndrome," which is generally thought to be at the mild end of autism spectrum disorder.
Autism spectrum disorder begins in early childhood and eventually causes problems functioning in society — socially, in school and at work, for example. Often children show symptoms of autism within the first year. A small number of children appear to develop normally in the first year, and then go through a period of regression between 18 and 24 months of age when they develop autism symptoms.
While there is no cure for autism spectrum disorder, intensive, early treatment can make a big difference in the lives of many children.

Symptoms
Some children show signs of autism spectrum disorder in early infancy, such as reduced eye contact, lack of response to their name or indifference to caregivers. Other children may develop normally for the first few months or years of life, but then suddenly become withdrawn or aggressive or lose language skills they've already acquired. Signs usually are seen by age 2 years.
Each child with autism spectrum disorder is likely to have a unique pattern of behavior and level of severity — from low functioning to high functioning.
Some children with autism spectrum disorder have difficulty learning, and some have signs of lower than normal intelligence. Other children with the disorder have normal to high intelligence — they learn quickly, yet have trouble communicating and applying what they know in everyday life and adjusting to social situations.
Because of the unique mixture of symptoms in each child, severity can sometimes be difficult to determine. It's generally based on the level of impairments and how they impact the ability to function.
Below are some common signs shown by people who have autism spectrum disorder.
Social communication and interaction
A child or adult with autism spectrum disorder may have problems with social interaction and communication skills, including any of these signs:
• Fails to respond to his or her name or appears not to hear you at times
• Resists cuddling and holding, and seems to prefer playing alone, retreating into his or her own world
• Has poor eye contact and lacks facial expression
• Doesn't speak or has delayed speech, or loses previous ability to say words or sentences
• Can't start a conversation or keep one going, or only starts one to make requests or label items
• Speaks with an abnormal tone or rhythm and may use a singsong voice or robot-like speech
• Repeats words or phrases verbatim, but doesn't understand how to use them
• Doesn't appear to understand simple questions or directions
• Doesn't express emotions or feelings and appears unaware of others' feelings
• Doesn't point at or bring objects to share interest
• Inappropriately approaches a social interaction by being passive, aggressive or disruptive
• Has difficulty recognizing nonverbal cues, such as interpreting other people's facial expressions, body postures or tone of voice
Patterns of behavior
A child or adult with autism spectrum disorder may have limited, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests or activities, including any of these signs:
• Performs repetitive movements, such as rocking, spinning or hand flapping
• Performs activities that could cause self-harm, such as biting or head-banging
• Develops specific routines or rituals and becomes disturbed at the slightest change
• Has problems with coordination or has odd movement patterns, such as clumsiness or walking on toes, and has odd, stiff or exaggerated body language
• Is fascinated by details of an object, such as the spinning wheels of a toy car, but doesn't understand the overall purpose or function of the object
• Is unusually sensitive to light, sound or touch, yet may be indifferent to pain or temperature
• Doesn't engage in imitative or make-believe play
• Fixates on an object or activity with abnormal intensity or focus
• Has specific food preferences, such as eating only a few foods, or refusing foods with a certain texture
As they mature, some children with autism spectrum disorder become more engaged with others and show fewer disturbances in behavior. Some, usually those with the least severe problems, eventually may lead normal or near-normal lives. Others, however, continue to have difficulty with language or social skills, and the teen years can bring worse behavioral and emotional problems.

When to see a doctor
Babies develop at their own pace, and many don't follow exact timelines found in some parenting books. But children with autism spectrum disorder usually show some signs of delayed development before age 2 years.
If you're concerned about your child's development or you suspect that your child may have autism spectrum disorder, discuss your concerns with your doctor. The symptoms associated with the disorder can also be linked with other developmental disorders.
Signs of autism spectrum disorder often appear early in development when there are obvious delays in language skills and social interactions. Your doctor may recommend developmental tests to identify if your child has delays in cognitive, language and social skills, if your child:
• Doesn't respond with a smile or happy expression by 6 months
• Doesn't mimic sounds or facial expressions by 9 months
• Doesn't babble or coo by 12 months
• Doesn't gesture — such as point or wave — by 14 months
• Doesn't say single words by 16 months
• Doesn't play "make-believe" or pretend by 18 months
• Doesn't say two-word phrases by 24 months
• Loses language skills or social skills at any age

Medication therapy management is a close monitoring of medications in patients to confirm if he is adhering to the medication regimen, while also protecting the patient from potentially lethal drug interactions and other complications. This is notably significant for people who are taking large numbers of medications to address multiple illnesses and chronic diseases. Taking large numbers of medications is known as polypharmacy and is especially common among older people, because they are more likely to take in many medications to manage vast numbers of chronic conditions.

Aspects of medication management

There are different aspects to medication management, all of which are concentrated on making sure that the medications are utilized properly.

Keeping track of all the medications the patient is using is a significant part of medication management. Tasks in this area includes, organizing a printed list of medication descriptions, their dosage, how and the procedures they are going to be used. These lists can be kept in the patient chart and handed over to the patient to aid them in tracking the drugs they are using and to help them understand why those different medications are prescribed.

Medication monitoring is also an important aspect of medication management. These medications should commonly be taken in definite doses and at set intervals. Complications can be a result of missing a dose or the incorrect timing of such medications. Several strategies need to be employed in order for the patient to meet the specific time and doses of each drug. This includes setting reminders for patients at a specific time they need to take their drugs up to filling up pill cases and marking lids of each compartment to point out when the contents need to be taken.

Checking for adverse drug interaction is also another important aspect of medication management. It also includes explaining directions to patients on how to take their medications. This aspect includes making sure that patients on certain medications with known adverse reaction to drugs are not provided with incompatible prescriptions. This also consists of reminding patients in cases where a drug needs to be taken with food or not, and warning them of possible side effects which can interfere with their activities.

The importance of medication management

Early medication management is important because of several reasons. In most case studies done by different organizations, it has been found to significantly reduce the risk of readmission to the hospital facility, reduces the length of hospital stay and significantly reduces the risk of death. Medication management not only reduces such factors but also lowers the costs inhibited by the patient. It has a great impact on the quality of life as clinicians make an effort to keep the patients happy and healthy. It also is correlated to the patient’s well-being as they are closely monitored and managed.

There are a number of techniques and systems employed to have a good medication management. Among them are computers at the pharmacy to keep track of the patient’s prescription history to keeping a detailed patient’s record to raise compliance with drug regimen and avoid conflicting drug medications.