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The Facts About Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Check out The Facts about Generalized Anxiety Disorder authored by Dr. Jeff and Dr. Tanya and now available in a great informational website hosted by Squidoo.com. Below is a sneak preview of the website's Table of Contents:

 

• MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia: Generalized Anxiety Disorder
• The Definitiion of Generalized Anxiety Disorder
• Introduction to Generalized Anxiety Disorder
• The Twenty-One Signs and Symptoms of Generalized Anxiety Disorder
• Introduction to the Medication Treatment of Anxiety Disorders
• Introduction to Psychotherapy for Anxiety Disorders
• Patient Resource Guide on Generalized Anxiety and Anxiety Disorders
• How to Get Help for Anxiety Disorders
• References and Resources on Anxiety Disorders
• Clinical Trials for Generalized Anxiety Disorder
• YouTube Video on the Definition of Generalized Anxiety Disorder
• YouTube Video on Understanding Generalized Anxiety Disorder
• YouTube Video on the Symptoms of Generalized Anxiety Disorder
• YouTube Video on Treating Generalized Anxiety Disorder
• YouTube Video on Overcoming Generalized Anxiety Disorder
• The Faces of Anxiety
• Scenes of Serenity for Mental Health and Wellness
• Great Books from Amazon on Generalized Anxiety Disorder
• Add to Amazon's List of Great Books on Generalized Anxiety Disorder
• The Best Tweets from Twitter on Generalized Anxiety Disorder
• Best Google Blog Posts on Generalized Anxiety Disorder
• Best Google Blog Posts on The Treatment of Generalized Anxiety Disorder
• Dr. Jeff's and Dr. Tanya's Psychiatric Weblog on Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Other Psychiatric Conditions
• Follow Dr. Speller on Twitter
• Dr. Jeffrey Speller's Bio
• Dr. Tanya Korkosz's Bio
• Other Featured Lens by Dr. Speller and Dr. Korkosz
• About Psychopharmacology Associates of New England
• Google Map of Psychopharmacology Associates of New England
• Reader Feedback

Other Great Informational Websites Created by Dr. Speller and Dr. Korkosz:

• Stress and the Human Brain
• Early Life Stress and the Immune System

Sources: See blogposts in Psychiatric Disorders: General and Psychiatric Disorders: Anxiety

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Dr. Jeffrey Speller

Dr. Tanya Korkosz

Psychopharmacology Associates of New England

www.psychopharmassociates.com

Do Antidepressants Help Anxious Older Adults?

Mental health professionals have long debated the usefulness of prescribing antidepressants in older anxious adults. A article published in Medical News Today January 21, 2009, “Anxious Older Adults May Benefit From Antidepressants,” examines this issue.The article reports on a study published in the Jan. 21, 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. The researchers studied “…177 people over the age of 60. Average age was about 73. Half received the SSRI drug escitalopram, and the rest took an inactive placebo. Participants took one pill per day. If their symptoms didn't improve after four weeks, a second pill was added. In patients receiving the drug, taking two pills increased the dosage from 10 mg. to 20 mg. The higher dose more effectively reduced anxiety.” The results were interesting. “After 12 weeks of treatment, 68 percent of patients taking escitalopram had improved. About 51 percent of those taking the placebo showed improvement.” All the patients met the criteria for the diagnosis of Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), “a condition of chronic, difficult-to-control worry. Associated symptoms include insomnia, fatigue, muscle tension and irritability….A person with Generalized Anxiety Disorder spends, on average, about 40 hours a week worrying..They worry about very real things, but the inability to put those worries out of their minds makes the condition disabling." The researchers note that many of these older patients are prescribed by their Primary Care Physician a strong sedative like Xanax, Valium, Klonopin, or Ativan for their symptoms. Unfortunately, many of these medications have significant side effects in the elderly including confusion and imbalance making them at risk for falls and other mishaps. Clinical experience shows that long term use of these agents can cause significant cognitive impairment in the long run. The researchers also noted another interesting finding from the study. “…that escitalopram helped some patients lower blood pressure…if their blood pressure was normal, it stayed the same. If they had high blood pressure, it got better." An initial side effect of antidepressants in this population was fatigue and sleepiness but that resolved within a few weeks on the medication. One question that was not addressed by this study was the positive impact of targeted cognitive behavioral therapy for these symptoms either alone or in combination with medication. The answer to that question will have to await further study.

The Bottom Line: The results of these studies suggests that antidepressants may be helpful in the treatment of anxiety in the elderly.

Reference: Original Article

Resources:

Great Youtube Video on Depression in Older Adults: 

Great Informational Websites Created by Dr. Speller and Dr. Korkosz:

• Stress and the Human Brain
• Early Life Stress and the Immune System

Sources: See blogposts in Psychiatric Disorders: General and Psychiatric Disorders: Aging

Additional Resources:

• For related articles on the Web, click on: “Sphere: Related Content” located at the bottom of this blog post.
• For related books or blog posts with related content in Dr. Jeff’s and Dr. Tanya’s Blog type in the keywords into “Google Search” located in the sidebar.
• For more books with related content, type in the keywords into “Amazon Search” on the Amazon banner located in the side bar.

Dr. Jeffrey Speller

Dr. Tanya Korkosz

Psychopharmacology Associates of New England

www.psychopharmassociates.com

Can You Improve Your Mood and Serious Mental Illness With Physical Activity?

Mental health professionals have long wondered about the relationship between mood and physical activity. An article published in Medical News Today January 15, 2009, "Improving Mood And Serious Mental Illness With Physical Activity,"examines this issue.The article reports on a study published in the November 2008 issue of the International Journal of Social Psychiatry. The study involved “…11 people from the U.S.and 12 people from Serbia.”The results were interesting. “…even meager levels of physical activity can improve the mood of people with serious mental illnesses (SMI) such as bipolar disorder, major depression and schizophrenia.” The researchers found “ …a positive association between physical activity level and positive mood when low to moderate levels of physical activity are considered…Physical activity interventions that require lower levels of exertion might be more conducive to improving transitory mood, or the ups and downs people with SMI experience throughout the day." The study points to the conclusion that even modest physical activity show be part of the daily treatment plan for this patient population. Modest physical activity includes “…most forms of sustained movement, such as house cleaning, gardening, walking for transportation or formal exercise.”

The Bottom Line: Even modest physical activity has a beneficial effect on mood in individuals with serious mental illness.

Reference: Original Article

Resources:

Great Youtube Video on Exercise and Depression:

Great Informational Websites Created by Dr. Speller and Dr. Korkosz:

• Stress and the Human Brain
• Early Life Stress and the Immune System

Sources: See blogposts in Psychiatric Disorders: General

Additional Resources:

• For related articles on the Web, click on: “Sphere: Related Content” located at the bottom of this blog post.
• For related books or blog posts with related content in Dr. Jeff’s and Dr. Tanya’s Blog type in the keywords into “Google Search” located in the sidebar.
• For more books with related content, type in the keywords into “Amazon Search” on the Amazon banner located in the side bar.

Dr. Jeffrey Speller

Dr. Tanya Korkosz

Psychopharmacology Associates of New England

www.psychopharmassociates.com

How Can Parents Best Help Their Depressed Adolescents?

Mental health professionals have long wondered about the best parenting approach for depressed adolescents. A article published in Medical News Today January 11, 2009,"Preventing Teenage Depression By Recognizing Children's Successes In All Areas,"examines this issue. The article reports on a study titled, “"Low Academic Competence in First Grade as a Risk Factor for Depressive Cognitions and Symptoms in Middle School," recently published in the Journal of Counseling Psychology. The researchers studied “…the behaviors of 474 boys and girls in the first grade and re-examined the students when they entered middle school.” The results were interesting. “…students who struggled academically with core subjects, such as reading and math, in the first grade later showed risk factors for negative self-beliefs and depressive symptoms as they entered sixth and seventh grade.” The researchers noted that "One of the main ways children can get others to like them in school is by being good students. Children with poor academic skills may believe that they have one less method for influencing important social outcomes, which could lead to negative consequences later in life. Children's individual differences will always exist in basic academic skills, so it is necessary to explore and emphasize other assets in students, especially those with lower academic skill relative to their peers." The researchers suggest that parents celebrate their adolescent’s skills in other areas including, “…interpersonal skills, non-core academic areas, athletics and music."

The Bottom Line: Parents of depressed adolescents who struggle in school can best support their children by celebrating their child’s skills in other areas including, interpersonal skills, non-core academic areas, athletics and music.

Reference: Original Article

Great Youtube Video on Adolescent Depression:

Resources:

Great Informational Websites Created by Dr. Speller and Dr. Korkosz:

• Stress and the Human Brain
• Early Life Stress and the Immune System

Sources: See blogposts in Psychiatric Disorders: Adolescent and Young Adult

Additional Resources:

• For related articles on the Web, click on: “Sphere: Related Content” located at the bottom of this blog post.
• For related books or blog posts with related content in Dr. Jeff’s and Dr. Tanya’s Blog type in the keywords into “Google Search” located in the sidebar.
• For more books with related content, type in the keywords into “Amazon Search” on the Amazon banner located in the side bar.

Dr. Jeffrey Speller

Dr. Tanya Korkosz

Psychopharmacology Associates of New England

www.psychopharmassociates.com

Can Caffeine Cause Hallucinations?

Mental health professionals have long debated about the effect of caffeine on mental functioning. A article published in MedPage Today January 13, 2009 examines this issue.The article reports on a study published online recently in Personality and Individual Differences. The researchers surveyed, …”219 university students regarding typical caffeine intake over the prior year (including coffee, tea, chocolate, soda, energy drinks, and caffeine tablets), stress level, and psychotic symptoms using a questionnaire scale…The students averaged 141 mg of caffeine per day, similar to student populations in previous studies, the researchers noted. By comparison, a cup of instant coffee contains 45 mg of caffeine, one Starbucks coffee has 188 mg of caffeine, and Red Bull energy drink contains 80 mg of caffeine.” The results were interesting. “Not surprisingly, the students reported higher caffeine intake when their stress level increased…Higher caffeine intake also increased the likelihood of hallucination-like experiences (P0.02), which included reports of seeing things that were not there, hearing voices, and sensing the presence of dead people….caffeine intake predicted hallucinations even after controlling for age, gender, and stress levels (P0.05)….Having the equivalent of eight or more cups of instant coffee a day tripled the chance of having heard a person's voice when no one was there compared with less than a cup a day.” The results of this study raises several important issues. First, individuals with a history of psychiatric disorders should be very cautious about their use of caffeine. Second, this study suggests that the less caffeine the better in terms of mental functioning.

The Bottom Line: The results of this study suggest that large quantities of caffeine can cause hallucinations even in individuals with no prior psychiatric history.

Additional Sources of Information: 

Great Youtube Video on Tips on How To Maintain Your Mental Health

Great Informational Websites Created by Dr. Speller and Dr. Korkosz:

• Stress and the Human Brain
• Early Life Stress and the Immune System

Sources: See blogposts in Psychiatric Disorders: General and Psychiatric Disorders: Depression, Youtube

Additional Resources:

• For related articles on the Web, click on: “Sphere: Related Content” located at the bottom of this blog post.
• For related books or blog posts with related content in Dr. Jeff’s and Dr. Tanya’s Blog type in the keywords into “Google Search” located in the sidebar.
• For more books with related content, type in the keywords into “Amazon Search” on the Amazon banner located in the side bar.

Dr. Jeffrey Speller

Dr. Tanya Korkosz

Psychopharmacology Associates of New England

www.psychopharmassociates.com