Can Apps Actually Help You With Anxiety?
Anxiety: there’s an app for that…well, actually there are several! In today’s day and age, there seems to be an app for everything. Need a taxi? There’s an app! Ordering groceries? There’s an app. Dating? Guess what! Another app. It’s no wonder that apps are now attempting to tackle our mental health and anxiety. But do they work?
Yes* (you’ll notice the asterisk there). Not all apps are created equal! Headspace, Calm, and Moodkit can do wonders for our anxiety and mental health. However, it is important to know when to use these apps and when to speak to a professional. According to a 2018 study, mental health apps may help improve monitoring and management of various mental health conditions. Further research showed that the ease of use, and accessibility, allowed for increased engagement with treatment plans.
I view apps as a supplement you may take, like vitamin C. Vitamins don’t replace the food that we eat, just like these apps are not designed to replace professional help from therapists. Apps are wonderful at introducing people to concepts, like anxiety, and even acting as helpful tools to utilize on your mental health journey. An app is very different from having a mental health professional in your corner. Apps are designed be very broad in order to cast a wide enough net to connect with the most amount of people. Oftentimes, apps can feel so broad, that some parts may not resonate with us. Others may feel as though the focus is so narrow, that we may not be able to relate to how it’s trying to help our mental health and anxiety.
This is where mental health professionals come in. We have the unique ability to take our experience and professional knowledge and funnel it in such a way that speaks to you and your anxiety directly. While these apps are helpful, they don’t replace being able to process our thoughts and feelings out loud with a trained professional. If you or a loved one are struggling with anxiety, it may be time to seek professional help. Niyyah Counseling is here to help! Our therapists are trained to help guide you through the various anxieties that life throws at us. Click here to find your new therapist today! Click Here To Find Your Therapist
If you enjoyed this blog, you can even schedule with me directly. You can find my page here. I specialize in helping my clients on their own unique journey with anxiety. While chronic anxiety can often feel like a lifelong sentence, therapy can help guide you through a variety of techniques to address and reduce your anxiety symptoms! By utilizing an eclectic approach that pulls from scientific and evidence-based practices, therapy can help guide you from a fear of “what if” to an actualization of what can be!
Coping With Anxiety About Returning Diseases Like Polio By Connor Cohen, LMSW
In 2022 it can certainly feel like another day, another problem or another thing to be worried about. Each day as we turn on the news there seems to be more and more to worry about. Global pandemics, climate change, inflation, recession the list seems to go on and on. And now the news says that polio is on the rise.
No one would blame you if you're worried about polio, the name alone elicits a response with the images of small children needing assistance to walk and visions of the iron lung helping keep people alive in the 1950's. While these are potential outcomes of polio, they don't quite tell the whole story. According to the CDC "About 1 out of 4 people (or 25 out of 100) with poliovirus infection will have flu-like symptoms." CDC (2022). These symptoms include sore throat, fever, tiredness, nausea, headache, and stomach pain. Also according to the CDC, those stereotypical symptoms of polio are rarer than some may think. "A smaller proportion of people with poliovirus infection will develop other, more serious symptoms that affect the brain and spinal cord" (CDC 2022). The most recent statistics as of the writing of this blog are as follows, meningitis occurs in about 5 out of 100 and paralysis occurs in about 1 out of 200 people to 1 in 2000 people, depending on virus type.
So what can we do if we're still anxious and worried about polio?
Step one is to get informed. It may sound cliche but knowledge is in fact power and oftentimes the more we can understand the situation the less we tend to fear it.
Step two: Talk to your loved ones or doctor about your medical records. If you were born after 1955 there's a good chance that you've already been vaccinated against polio. If you have not received the vaccine, start up a conversation with your health care professional about obtaining the vaccine.
Step three: Now that you have gathered the needed information and potentially made a plan to get vaccinated, it can be helpful to unplug from the news. This doesn't mean sticking our head in the sand and avoiding completely. What it means is being purposeful with the news that we are taking in. A helpful tip would be to pick a specific news source that you trust and select a time that you would like to view each day. In today's day and age it can be so easy to become overwhelmed by the massive amount of news so by limiting our intake strategically, we can still be informed and limit our feelings of being overwhelmed.
Step four: Take some time to relax. Life in 2022 tends to be more on the stressful side. While taking time away from the news, practice self care! That could be physical exercise, eating well or a nice book that you've been meaning to read.
Step five: Engage with your feelings and examine how you feel. Anxiety can make it feel like life is overwhelming and life can certainly present us with reasons to feel anxious. If you or a loved one are struggling with anxiety, it may be time to seek professional help. Niyyah Counseling is here to help! Our therapists are trained to help guide you through the various anxieties that life throws at us. Click here to find your new therapist today! Click Here To Find Your Therapist
If you enjoyed this blog, you can even schedule with me directly. You can find my page here. I specialize in helping my clients on their own unique journey with anxiety. While chronic anxiety can often feel like a lifelong sentence, therapy can help guide you through a variety of techniques to address and reduce your anxiety symptoms! By utilizing an eclectic approach that pulls from scientific and evidence-based practices, therapy can help guide you from a fear of “what if” to an actualization of what can be!
Coping with Anxiety About the Predicted Recession
Money. It’s pretty important. We sell things for it, we trade hours of our time for it. It is used to secure food and water, it is used to house our loved ones. Our society is run on money. So it’s no wonder that we would feel an emotional response to money. Money is often said to be the root of all evil, but could it also be a root of anxiety?
With all of the importance we tend to place on money, it’s no wonder that it takes up a lot of space in our collective consciousness. We can often find ourselves worrying about not having enough money, worrying about our next paycheck, worrying about our bills that come due each month time and time again. But what if our anxiety is broader than our own personal accounts?
What if we find ourselves worried about a recession? The state of the economy can be the cause of a lot of stress and anxiety even if we don’t work on wall street. A recession can bring about concerns of our wellbeing and create a general sense of uneasiness. Here are some steps to help cope with anxiety about a predicted recession.
Step 1: Remember that recessions are cyclical.
While recessions can be scary. They are completely natural. On average a recession occurs in the United States every 6 or so years.
Step 2: Examine your fears.
Talk about your fears, such as “I’m worried about a recession,” and then ask yourself, “Then what would happen?” Continue on from there, so if the answer to the first question was “I may lose my job,” ask yourself “Then what would happen?” Keep running all the scenarios from there. The more we understand our fears, the more we can create a plan to address them.
Step 3: Make a plan
Anxiety lives and dwells in the what-if. Anxiety grows with the unknown. So naturally, a great way to reduce anxiety can be to create a plan so that the unknown becomes known.
Anxiety is difficult, and let’s face it, in today’s day and age a lot of our anxiety tends to be justified and make sense. It is completely normal to worry about your financial future, but it is also completely normal to seek out help.
If you or a loved one are struggling with anxiety during these times of economic uncertainty, Niyyah Counseling can help! Our therapists can help guide you through your anxious thoughts and teach you strategies to reduce the impact of those anxious thoughts.
Responding to comments that challenge Women’s rights by Kathleen Chandler, LMSW, PMH-C
Well, here we are. Our worst fears have come true. Now what?
First, do not even worry about commenting back to anyone who challenges the basic rights of Women- or any civil rights for that matter. We have more important things to do! You do not need to waste a single second of your precious time engaging that person.
Here is what I invite you to do instead:
Take a moment to check in with yourself. How are you holding up? Let yourself feel your full range of human emotions. Grieve. Seethe. Let the shock set in. Cry. Yell. Feel. Feel. Feel. Notice where you are holding any feelings or tension in your body. Breathe. Are you doing alright? Self-soothe as often as you need to! Call a friend. Connect with someone you love. Process together. Do what works for you! But whatever you do…don’t let yourself succumb to hopelessness. We can’t give into despair; we have work to do!
Next, we get logical. We problem solve. We do the things we know work. We get involved in the fight. The following actions are a better use of your time:
We don’t need to start from the ground up. There are so many organizations already in place. Join them! Donate, Volunteer, Organize, Vote.
https://www.plannedparenthoodaction.org/
https://www.prochoiceamerica.org/about/state-chapters/
Lastly, you may be feeling like you don’t have value. I want to remind you of your worth and right to make your own choices regarding your body and life. I’ll leave you with these statements from our valued and trusted organizations around the world, as a reminder that this is not normal, or okay, and we are not alone in this fight.
The World Health Organization states, “Abortion is health care. Removing barriers to abortion protects women’s lives, health, and human rights”.
The United Nations states, “What has happened in the United States is a monumental setback for the rule of law and for gender equality. With the stroke of a pen and without sound legal reasoning, the US Supreme Court has stripped women and girls in the United States of legal protections necessary to ensure their ability to live with dignity. The decision to continue a pregnancy or terminate it must fundamentally and primarily be a woman’s decision as it will shape her whole future personal life and family life. The right of a woman to make autonomous decisions about her own body and reproductive functions is at the very core of her fundamental right to equality, non-discrimination, health, and privacy,”
The ACLU states, “The ability to decide whether and when to have children is essential to allowing people to control their own lives and futures. For many, having access to affordable abortion care opens the door to fulfilling educational and career goals, better parenting, staying true to gender identities, and other critical parts of life that everyone should have the ability to choose for themselves. No politician should make those decisions for us”.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists states, “Abortion is Essential Health Care”.
If you are feeling overwhelmed by the systems and people in your life telling you that you’re worth-less-than-a-fetus, the mental health professionals at Niyyah Counseling are here for you!
We offer free 15-minute consultations! Reach out today!
Can Games Help Mental Health?
Games offer us a chance to explore new worlds and open our perspectives to new realities. Whether they are video games, board games, or other traditional tabletop games, they can be used for more than just fun and a good time. We can actually learn a lot from these games. These games can allow us to practice skills that maybe we don't utilize often in our everyday life. Skills like communication, assertiveness, strategy, problem solving and critical thinking. Can games even help us with mental health issues? I would argue yes. Let's take DnD for example. On the surface this role-playing game from 1974 is about having a good time with a group of friends and weaving tales and stories about grand adventures over large pizza and some soda. But what if we dig a little deeper? It is there that we find all these wonderful skills or utilizing the play the game. Skills like communication to talk with your friends about the best strategy, critical thinking to plan the best way to attack the problem at hand, creativity to create your character and the world that it lives in. Now you might be asking yourself how exactly does this help with mental illness? Well let's take anxiety and depression. Individuals with anxiety and depression often have trouble with putting themselves out there. Anxiety will tell a person that it is not safe to speak up and depression will tell a person and they are not wanted when they speak up. But by playing this game individuals with anxiety can practice speaking up, they can practice building an ideal hero that is brave, courageous and speaks their mind. The individual with depression gets an opportunity to be a part of something bigger than themselves, it may not sound like much, but these quests and journeys can bring about a sense of meaning and belonging. This person and depression who was once very much isolated now has a group that they belong to, a social circle that lifts each other up. So it's never really just a game, it is the chance to build skills and relationships. It is an opportunity to safely face challenges and struggles. It is a way that people can learn and they can be resilient and persevere. It is a lesson and no matter how big and scary the monster is in that cave, you can put up a fight, you can gain experience, and you can win. These games also teach how to lose. Losing is never comfortable but it is an important lesson. In a lot of these games losing just means we have to go back to the drawing board and learn from our loss. With these games we can use experience win or lose to better ourselves, to better our characters. These games are more than just a game, they allow us to experience aspects of life without danger. If you or a loved one struggle with mental illness, maybe part of the journey is about a roll of the dice.
Does Depression Ever Go Away Completely? By Amanda Young LCSW
Depression can affect people in a way that we have never seen coming. Many people do not know what
depression is and if it will ever go away. Below, I will define what depression is, risk factors and
treatment. I will also answer the question, “Does depression ever go away completely?
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is the most common form of depression and can ebb and flow
throughout a person's lifetime. Symptoms typically associated with MDD include:
-Depressed mood or feeling sad
-Loss of interest in activities you once enjoyed
-Significant changes in your weight or appetite
-Sleep issues
-Feeling tired or fatigued
-Feeling worthless or guilty
-Thoughts of death or suicide
-Increased feelings of agitation
-Trouble thinking, concentrating, or making decisions
Symptoms of depression must be present for at least two weeks and interfere with your functioning. When
depression has been present for two years or more, persistent depressive disorder, formerly known as
dysthymia may be the right diagnosis.
There are risk factors that play a role in depression such as genetics, environmental factors, personality
factors and biochemistry, which puts a person at more risk to develop depression. Biochemistry is
differences in certain chemicals in the brain that may contribute to symptoms of depression and genetics
is when depression can run in families. Personality means people with low self-esteem, who are easily
overwhelmed by stress, or who are generally pessimistic appear to be more likely to experience
depression. Environmental factors are continuous exposure to violence, neglect, abuse or poverty may
make some people more vulnerable to depression.
In addition, depression can occur as a result from everyday stressors such as work, school, family,
divorce, death and unforeseen lifestyle changes. Depression also can be a result of a health condition such
as postpartum, thyroid or brain injury.
So to answer the question above, depression does not go away but it can be reduced to where you are no
longer experiencing symptoms daily. Depression does not have a cure but it can be managed where it is no
longer affecting your ability to function. Depression can be inhibited with psychotherapy (talk therapy),
lifestyle changes such as exercise, healthy eating and at times medication. Depression can be in remission
for a few days, weeks, years or even months but learning your triggers and being open to change can help
your depression from becoming worse. Niyyah Counseling Pllc has a variety of therapists that are readily
available to speak with you. If you feel you need to talk to someone to gain more insight please feel free to
book a free 15 minute consultation with one of our staff by clicking the link
https://www.niyyahcounselingpllc.com/our-team.
How To Manage Dating Anxiety By Connor Cohen, LMSW
Dating can be scary. There's a lot of pressure nowadays to date and hopefully find the right person. We can definitely feel overwhelmed. Anxiety can pop up in the dating scene any number of ways. Maybe we worry if this person sitting across from us at the table likes us, or maybe we worry about saying the wrong thing or not knowing what the right thing is to say. Maybe we are worried about how we look and how this person thinks about us. Or maybe we are worried that we won't find someone, maybe anxiety lives in us in such a way our worry is that all of our friends are coupling up and finding their loved ones, creating families, and moving on in life. Maybe our dating anxiety is about feeling left behind so we feel this immense pressure internally to find someone. Maybe that pressure is external, maybe our anxieties are rooted from family members asking "when are you going to find someone?" "When will you finally settle down?". There can be a lot of different pressures with dating both internal and external. So how do we cope with this anxiety of dating?
I would say that step one is to focus on you. Really look inward and examine what it is you want. What do you want out of a relationship, what do you want out of a partner? Asking yourself key questions can help us figure out which way to go and what exactly we're looking for. Questions like, what is a good partner? What is a healthy relationship?
Step two is simple on paper but often forgotten about. Step two is to remember that you and any person you decide to date are human. With dating and trying to find a wife or a husband or even just a long-term partner, it is easy to get caught up in this idea that we have to be perfect. It's easy to fall into the trap of “I have to be perfect for this person to love me”. When we chase perfection we forget our humanity. To be human is to be imperfect.
Step 3 is also difficult at times. And that's to be open and honest. Open honesty is not only for prospective partners but ourselves. Not only do we owe it to them to be honest, we owe it to ourselves. If you're not clicking with an individual, be honest, if you are intimidated by an upcoming date, again be honest. A lot of anxiety lives in the feeling that we can't let other people see our anxiety, it will scare them away. But by being honest about our feelings, we can gain back a sense of control over our emotions and feelings and ultimately our anxiety.
Overall dating can be scary, it can cause a lot of anxiety. At the end of the day one key thing to remember is that if you want a relationship to work, you're going to want your partner to see the real you. So always remember to be yourself. If you are a loved one struggling with anxiety we are here to help. Your friendly neighborhood therapist can help guide you through these anxieties.
What is Parental Burnout? By Kathleen Chandler, LMSW, PMH-C
Parental burnout is the emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual exhaustion from the ongoing demands and chronic stress of parenting. A lot of parents are feeling burnout right now! It is, after all, an incredibly overwhelming and challenging time to be a parent in the USA; two plus years of a pandemic, gun violence, formula shortages, natural disasters, war, and partisan politics. If you are feeling stressed, overwhelmed, and burned out right now; allow yourself permission to feel that way. You are not alone!
We are not our best selves when we are feeling overwhelmed and stressed out. As parents, it is important for us to practice self-soothing. First, because it is in your best interest; nobody feels good when they are overstimulated and overburdened. Second, because we want to model self-soothing for our children. We are our children’s calm; we need to be able to help them soothe.
Are you able to call a friend to vent? Can you schedule time away from your children to re-energize? Some of us have more support than others; don’t be afraid to ask for help from those you do have in your circle.
Many people cope by scrolling, overworking, shopping, or drinking alcohol. These are ways we escape having to feel. However, those coping strategies most often leave us feeling worse and they are not sustainable. Before you snap and yell at your child, go inward, toward yourself, and practice self-soothing.
If you are unable to use your support system and schedule some time away, you can use TIPP to help self-regulate:
Temperature: Cooling your body down can emotionally "cool" you down too. Place an Ice cube on the back of your neck or run cold water over your wrists.
Intense Exercise: Increased oxygen and endorphins help decrease stress chemicals. Go run up and down your stairs several times!
Deep Breathing: Increased oxygen activates our parasympathetic (calming) nervous system. Practice Square Breathing: Inhale for four, hold for four, exhale for four, hold for four. Repeat as necessary.
Paired Muscle Relaxation: The body responds to stress with muscle tension. PMR helps release the tension and thus reduces stress in the body.
If you are feeling inundated with chronic stress and constantly triggered, I encourage you to reach out to a therapist at Niyyah Counseling today! All our therapists are qualified to help you meet your mental health goals. Click here to check out our therapists: https://www.niyyahcounselingpllc.com/our-team. Feel free to reach out and interview our therapists to find the right fit for you! We offer free 15-minute consultations for your convenience.
Warning Signs of Depression in Adolescence By Amanda Young LCSW
Adolescence is a difficult time for teenagers and parents. Teenagers Often times, teenagers go through a lot of changes with their bodies, emotionally and mentally but not certain how they are feeling. Teenagers are seen as moody individuals which can be seen as normal due to puberty. They are sometimes snippy in their responses, pulling away from their parents, rebellious, a poor attitude and can be completely isolative/or shut down. Sometimes mood changes can be a normal part of adolescence but mood changes can be a precursor of depression.
The two types of depression that are often diagnosed in teenagers. Major depressive disorders and Persistent Depressive Disorder which was formerly known as Dysthymia. Major depressive disorder is when a child has symptoms of depression for more than two weeks, Persistent Depressive Disorder is milder but can last for more than 2 years. Depression can cause sadness, feelings of emptiness, lack of interest and enjoyment, lack of motivation, low energy, isolation and problems with concentration, it can have a negative impact on relationships and school. This in turn, can cause low self esteem which can further bring their mood down.
It is normal for teenagers to have ups and downs but depression is a serious mental health issue that can lead to other serious issues. Untreated depression can be devastating to a teen’s emotional, mental and physical health. Changes in teenagers might get overlooked or passed off as a teenager being a teenager but when it starts to impact their level of functioning or daily routines then it should be a red flag. Missed signs of depression can mirror normal behavior during teenage years, so it can be pretty difficult to decipher between what is actually a warning sign of depression opposed to normal development.
Some warning signs to watch out for are:
-Changes in mood and emotions- extreme sadness, feelings of hopelessness, anger or irritability, restlessness, agitation, feelings of worthlessness
-Changes in behavior- use of drugs, poor school performance, risky behaviors, eating and disinterested things they found interesting, tech addiction, isolation and sleep disturbances.
-Physical changes-weight gain or loss, complaints about aches and pains, inability to rest.
-Suicidal thoughts-dwelling or talking about death is a red flag for suicide thoughts or attempts.
-Self harming behaviors-noticing that they are dressed in inappropriate clothing for the season, not showing arms or legs as often as they did, unexplainable marks or cuts on their body.
Parents during this time might not know what to do or may downplay what their child is experiencing but it is important to note that depression does not go away or clear up on its own. Depression is a complex disease that can be caused by a variety of factors, including genetics, brain chemistry and environmental factors. Depression is not something that you can treat yourself, it requires professional treatment. Parents who think something has changed should trust their gut, listen without responding or threatening their child, downplay what is going on as normal, support their child during this time and get them help.
Early treatment is important to head off long-term effects of depression. The most common treatment is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which is aimed at changing the negative thinking the teen is caught in. It teaches kids ways of noticing and changing upsetting emotions. Antidepressant medication can be added to therapy. The combination often works better than either treatment separately. Niyyah Counseling PLLC, https://www.niyyahcounselingpllc.com/our-team, has a team of therapists who offer free 15 minutes consultations to better understand your needs. If you need assistance don’t delay, call today.
What Are Co-morbid Conditions of Depression? By Kara N Bradford, BS, LCDC, LMSW
First of all, what is a co-morbid condition? A condition is considered to be co-morbid when the symptoms occur at the same time or alongside another condition. As far as mental health goes, comorbidity is a relatively new concept as the symptoms and diagnostic criteria for mental health disorders have become more defined. Depression is one of the top three most common mental health disorders in the United States; additionally, the most common to experience a co-morbid condition. So, what are some common co-morbid conditions of depression? The most common disorders to occur with depression are anxiety disorders, substance use disorders (SUD), personality disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) estimates that 60% of people who struggle with anxiety also suffer from symptoms of depression and vise-versa. Though professionals cannot definitively say why depression and anxiety are so commonly co-morbid, there are a few things that inform us as to why this happens so frequently. One of the reasons may be that due to the visible overlap in symptoms of the two conditions, it is entirely possible that they both come from the same parts of the brain and rely on the same chemical messengers, i.e. serotonin.
Recent studies have shown that one-third of people suffering from depression also have a co-morbid SUD. Additionally, this population has shown to have greater instances of death by suicide than any other comorbidity. This reason could largely be due to the fact that typically, people who struggle with SUD often isolate themselves and experience other things that increase the risk of developing depression such as job loss, strained relationships, or financial strain, due to their struggle with substances.
According to recent literature reviews, up to 90% of people who live with personality disorders–especially borderline personality disorder (BPD)–also meet criteria for depression. Being that personality disorders stem from the inability or difficulty to control mood and emotions, it is not surprising that someone living with a personality disorder may struggle with symptoms of a mood disorder, such as depression.
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-V), comorbidity of OCD and depression occurs at a rate of almost 41% of people who suffer from OCD. Additionally, people who suffer from OCD usually do not meet criteria for depression until after OCD diagnosis. Interestingly enough, researchers believe that this happens due to the stress people’s OCD symptoms cause on an individual level, but also due to the stress that may have built from problems at home or work created by their OCD symptoms.
The comorbidity of PTSD and depression is very common, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) suggests that “approximately half” of the people who struggle with PTSD also suffer from depression. Some of the reason for this is due to the fact that many of their symptoms and diagnostic criteria overlap; however, there is a great deal of research currently studying a biological component for an explanation of this as well. In the article cited above, the researchers suggest that the comorbidity of PTSD and depression is a “trauma-related phenotype.”
Now that we know the common co-morbid conditions of depression, what does it mean? It means that it is possible to experience more than one diagnosis at a time, but also that this occurrence is common, and that there are so many different approaches to treating both conditions simultaneously. Do some co-morbidities make treatment more difficult? Sure, that’s possible; however, treatment in and of itself can be difficult when treating just one disorder as well. The therapists at Niyyah Counseling PLLC describe themselves as eclectic, meaning that your treatment is individualized for you with what works for you. No two people are alike. No two experiences are alike. Reach out today and let us support you in your first steps toward recovery!