Tag: treatment

What the heck is anxiety?

by Rychel L. Johnson, LCPC, posted in anxiety, mental health counseling, therapy, Uncategorized

What is anxiety?

The term “anxiety” is thrown about loosely as a “catch-all” descriptor for quite a few feelings: fear, apprehension, worry, panic, etc.  As humans, we demand a lot from our brains–to maintain bodily function, to make significant life decisions, to process information, and to alert us to danger. Genetics, environment, and life’s circumstances combine to determine vulnerability to anxiety and may contribute to the activation of anxiety symptoms under pressure.

Is anxiety harmful?

Not always. As humans we must innately feel alarmed or alerted to potential risks in our environment–a complete lack of worry or fearfulness could be linked with a lack of awareness and as a result, a lack of survival skills. An anxiety-prone individual has the added advantage of generally being sensitive, more empathetic, and in general more attuned to his or her own emotions.  In athletic or academic performance an “ideal” or “optimum” level of anxiety can be key to peak performance, as the individual is alert and ready to take action.

Is anxiety damaging if I don’t do anything about it?

Perhaps. It is commonly known that repeating a behavior will cause that behavior to eventually become a habit. For example, a person who starts a new routine of taking his vitamins with breakfast may over time adapt this ritual into a daily habit. Anxiety-prone individuals may develop the tendency to think automatic, detrimental thoughts (e.g. “I’m going to fail this test” even though the person studied). Also, a person with heightened anxiety or sensitivity may learn over time to react to potential triggers in a manner that is harmful to his or her ability to function optimally and/or enjoy relationships.

How to reduce anxiety

Re-framing thoughts is a concept derived from a variety of therapy techniques (particularly from a treatment modality like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or CBT). People prone to anxiety seem to struggle to see options outside of their automatic negative thoughts. To re-frame an automatic negative thought, try this re-framing technique:

  • Instead of “I’m going to fail at_______”  try  “I’m having the thought that___________” [e.g. I didn’t prepare enough for this test and I could get a bad grade]”

Anxiety types: cognitive distortions

Anxiety can be categorized into a few more specific descriptions or faulty ways of thinking; one or a combination of the following may apply:

  1. Discounting or ignoring the positive: focusing primarily on the negative events or pieces of a situation, thoughts may crowd out the “light” or positive pieces of a circumstance.
  2. Black and white reasoning: rather than see a “gray area” or simply view a situation as complicated, this anxiety-ridden reasoning style is “all or nothing”.
  3. Catastrophic thinking: everything is viewed as a disaster, even if it’s a controllable circumstance (e.g. car runs out of gas, and becomes the end of the world rather than a fixable inconvenience).
  4. Perfectionist thinking: anxiety symptoms sometimes fuel the false belief (particularly for high achievers) that anything done less than perfect is not worth doing (e.g. “If I can’t get an A on my paper what’s the point?”)
  5. Emotional reactivity (or emotional reasoning): this subcategory is relevant when emotions tend to take over in the heat of the moment and an individual reacts in anger, sadness, or by acting out–beliefs about a set of circumstances may lack reason or rationality.

Can my anxiety symptoms go away? 

Yes, over time and with intention, anxiety symptoms and worry can decrease. A goal in the context of therapy may be to reduce the impact of anxiety on an individual’s daily life. Another goal would be to develop coping skills to reduce the impact of situational anxiety or panic.  A therapy client will work with the therapist to develop a set of “tools” unique to his or her needs to reduce the intensity, duration, and frequency of anxiety symptoms.

Still have questions about anxiety or how therapy can help? 

Please feel free to contact me with questions or about how we can work together to manage your own anxiety and stress.

Bibliography:
Willard, C. (n.d.). Mindfulness for teen anxiety: A workbook for overcoming anxiety at home, at school, and everywhere else.

Gluten free Chocolate Chip Sunny Buddies

by Rychel L. Johnson, LCPC, posted in happiness, health, nutrition

Earlier this year I decided I would try the infamous elimination eating approach, the Whole30. I could write at length about my experience over those 30 days, but that’s another post. The instructions involved temporarily cutting out common dietary irritants–dairy (no biggie for me), added sugar (nooooo), and gluten (meh).

“Gluten intolerance” is a phrase we millenials like to toss around, seemingly for fun or for irony (*cough* you do you *cough*) and often without any legitimate basis in actual food intolerance testing. Whatever. It happens, and so do legit gluten intolerance and celiac disease. I’m grateful I don’t have to arrange my eating lifestyle to accommodate a serious condition like celiac disease; however, I found value in avoiding gluten for a month. My digestion definitely improved, and my energy levels felt more consistent. For the purpose of my mental health research, I gained wisdom about the impact of my 30 day gluten-free trial on my moods–I was overall less emotionally reactive (moods were more stable) and I noticed a decrease in my anxiety. Good enough, you know?

While desserts of any kind were forbidden for the duration of the Whole30 (again, whole other post!), I have experimented with several gluten free treats–including these little buddies. I noticed I could eat a couple without wanting to take a nap, which is occasionally how I feel after eating traditional cookies containing grains.

(***Note: These cookies are freaking delicious and with the option for non-dairy if you use vegan-certified chocolate chips. Gluten free or not, give them a try! They also turn slightly green after baking, due to tinting from sunflower seed butter. Your friends may think you’re trying to get them high. I live in Kansas, so I have no comment).

20170918_214531_001.jpg

Ingredients:

1 cup almond flour

1/4 cup coconut flour (I recommend Bob’s Red Mill brand for any grain free flour I’ve tried thus far: LINK)

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 cup coconut oil (melted)

1 egg

1/3 cup maple syrup

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 T. sunflower seed butter (could also use almond or cashew butter)

1/2 cup chocolate chips (let’s be honest, I stirred in at least 3/4 cup. And taste-tested a handful more, #sorrynotsorry)

Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Blend the almond and coconut flours with the baking soda and baking powder, set aside. In a second bowl whisk coconut oil, egg, maple syrup, and vanilla thoroughly, then pour wet ingredients into dry mixture and stir completely. Add sunflower seed butter until combined, then fold in chocolate chips. Scoop onto lightly greased cookie sheet and bake 11-12 minutes.

Enjoy!

~RLJ

***Disclaimer: Always consult nutrition pros and do your own research about dietary intolerances and links between mental health and food. I do not claim to be able to diagnose food intolerances and allergies. And while I am licensed to diagnose and treat mental illness, I am unable to do so outside the setting of my therapy practice.

Personality Styles vs Disorders, part 1

by Rychel L. Johnson, LCPC, posted in mental health counseling, personality

Diagnosis of mental disorders can be helpful in providing a systematic way to better understand an individual and select treatment approaches specifically tailored to meet his or her needs. In the context of managed care, an accurate mental health diagnosis is necessary to justify the provision of services by insurance companies over the short or long term. A diagnosis creates uniformity among clinicians and medical providers working with a particular patient, ideally increasing the likelihood that treatment will occur on a continuum.

But diagnosing an individual is a complicated process–despite the continual revision and updating of the classification processes for diagnosis (DSM-5, ICD-10, etc), there exists room for error or misinterpretation of symptoms. As a clinician with diagnostic capabilities I encounter clients who have received a mental health diagnosis that they allow to define them. Not to mention, each person in the world was created uniquely and it’s impossible to utilize a carbon-copy/tailor-made treatment approach for one person that would be 100% appropriate for another.

From the beginning of my career I’ve enjoyed utilizing Personality Style inventories as a tool for understanding clients (as well as loved ones). Below is an image from New Personality Self-Portrait, Why You Think, Work, Love, and Act the Way You Do by John M. Oldham and Lois B. Morris. This text was used in a graduate course I took years back. The link I’ve included in this paragraph directs readers to a personality inventory that takes a few minutes to complete.

The Personality Style/Personality Disorder Continuum chart illustrates the notion that personality style exists on one end of a spectrum, and a corresponding personality disorder exists on the extreme end of the same spectrum. For example, an individual with a style of Vigilant may be watchful and aware of his or her surroundings; however, hyper-vigilance may indicate disordered functioning, in this case Paranoid Personality Disorder traits.

New Doc 12

 

Please stay tuned for additional information about each of the personality styles and how each can be used in treatment and to better understand how we function in relationships.

 

Oldham, J. M., Morris, L. B., & Oldham, J. M. (1995). The new personality self-portrait: Why you think, work, love, and act the way you do. New York: Bantam Books.