How many times have you predicted the way you will feel about something in the future and been right? For example, think about something you really want to get. If you’re a fashionista, perhaps it’s buying a new pair of the trendiest shoes. If you’re really into music, maybe it’s buying tickets to a concert you’ve been wanting to see. As you anticipate such things to come, you may feel really pumped up about them, believing they will make you feel just as happy when you get them as you do right now by simply thinking about them.
This type of projection is called affective forecasting. The term affect refers to emotions. People commonly predict how they will feel when they acquire, achieve, do, or otherwise enhance their life. This makes sense in many ways and motivates us to be driven toward whatever the thing is that we want. What’s interesting though is that once you get what you wanted you aren’t going to feel quite as happy as you thought you would. The opposite is also true. A future event that you are not looking forward to because you’re sure it’s going to make you feel terrible, ends up being only moderately unpleasant.
We Unintentionally Exaggerate
The big problem with predicting how you’ll feel in the future is that you are projecting emotions based on how you feel in the present. Quite often those emotions are exaggerated, and most of the time they end up being off the mark. Since our lives are multi-faceted and influenced by many things at once, it’s very difficult to know exactly how you will feel down the road. Not to say that desiring things is necessarily bad, rather it is the emotional power we mistakenly assign to the feelings about them that is misleading and can subsequently diminish our satisfaction quotient.
We’re usually pretty good at being able to predict in advance whether an event or situation is likely to be good or unpleasant. However, we’re not very skilled at accurately predicting what the intensity of our emotions will be nor how long they will last. This is due to impact bias which is our tendency to overestimate how good or bad something in the future will make us feel.
One of the contributing factors for this kind of bias is the knack we have for focusing on a singular positive aspect of what it is to come while underestimating the concurrent demands of other things like responsibilities at home or work. For example, you and a group of friends plan a long weekend getaway. The excitement and joy you have about the fun you’ll have together overrides your thoughts about any negative implications, such as the cost of the trip or returning home on a red-eye flight.
It’s Not as Bad—or as Good—as You Predict
Aside from very stressful situations such as the death of a loved one or divorce, when we think about something bad happening in the future—like not getting a highly coveted job offer—we tend to overestimate how awful we will feel. This is because we accommodate rather quickly to changes in our circumstances. Through processes like reasoning, positive beliefs, and attribution to external forces, our psychological immune system helps us to recover from disappointing or otherwise negative events. In unconscious ways it helps us to adapt, so we’re likely to justify the loss by convincing ourselves that:
A better job is waiting
It’s God’s will
The boss is probably a jerk
Or by other means of rationalization that decrease our negative feelings.
So, what we initially predicted to be feeling really horrible, isn’t quite so terrible after all.
We make similar unconscious accommodations with positive events too. For instance, today you might be projecting a sense of happiness for when you acquire or achieve something you really want. However, once it actually happens, it becomes integrated into your life, and though it’s still positive, the intensity of those predicted positive emotions starts to diminish and wear off surprisingly quickly. So, while the outcome is still a good one, your degree of happiness or satisfaction did not increase as much as you had anticipated it would.
3 Ways to Be More Realistic About Your Future Feelings
Although it can be challenging, it’s important to practice being more accurate in predicting how you will feel in the future because it can have a significant bearing on important decisions you make. If you’re considering a relocation, career change, getting married, or any life-changing event, be aware of the natural human tendency to be incorrect about how you will ultimately feel.
To help guide you, here are 3 things you can do:
Be sure you consider the pros and cons of things you desire so you can be more realistic about the emotional impact of your choices.
To help temper miscalculations, talking to others and getting objective perspectives about how the things you want—or what you want to avoid—will likely make you feel when the future arrives.
Don’t rush important decisions. Write down your thoughts in a journal over a period of time to help you stay in a more cognitive frame of mind, rather than letting your emotions dictate your decisions because emotions naturally fluctuate.
If you’re suffering with symptoms of anxiety, depression, or other mental health problems, at Amen Clinics, we’re here for you. We offer in-clinic brain scanning and appointments, as well as mental telehealth, remote clinical evaluations, and video therapy for adults, children, and couples. Find out more by speaking to a specialist today at 888-288-9834 or visit our contact page here. Although clinical cases of patients with alternate personalities were documented and treated by physicians and psychoanalysts in the early 1900s, dissociative identity disorder (DID) was not officially recognized as a distinct psychiatric condition until 1980. By that time, the 3rd edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III) was published and the impact of trauma on brain development and psychological functioning had become more widely recognized. Despite the skeptics who supported unsubstantiated myths about DID as a true diagnosis—including that it was a fad disorder, extremely uncommon, or caused by suggestion—we know today that it is a very real and often misunderstood mental health condition. In an effort to bring more awareness to this condition, actress AnnaLynne McCord chose to speak openly publicly about her own DID diagnosis and allowed her visit to Amen Clinics to be filmed.
DID used to be called multiple personality disorder and is found in approximately 1% of the population. While there are other possible contributing causes of DID, such as war and natural disasters, it is estimated that 90% of cases are brought on by extreme physical, emotional, or childhood sexual abuse.
Dissociative Identity Disorder Evolves as a Coping Mechanism
For example, a young child who is the target of repeated sexual abuse by a parent may project the experience onto someone else inside her mind as though it isn’t happening to her real self. Dissociating from the experience occurs unconsciously to help her get through the trauma while blocking out the horror of it. Her young brain cannot process nor accept what is happening, yet she must find a way to survive without being overwhelmed by the emotions and shame that threaten to engulf her. In an appropriately developmental way, her brain creates an alternate identity that gives her a way to cope.
Alternate Personalities
In cases of DID, a person will have a core personality and at least one “alter,” although it’s not unusual for someone to have several. The alters have specific personality traits and may be of different ages or genders and have attitudes, behaviors, capabilities, and mannerisms that differ from the core personality. Although there are varying reasons for switching from one personality to another, stress or reminders of the abuse and trauma are common triggers. Again, this is an unconscious process that serves the need to be protected from the past traumatic experiences a person was subjected to.
Common Symptoms of Dissociative Identity Disorder
Although symptoms often begin in childhood, research has found that it can take 6 to 12 years after seeking treatment for DID to be properly diagnosed. Aside from a practitioner’s potential lack of knowledge about the disorder, another reason for this is because people with DID—as with other trauma-based disorders—often have a number of co-occurring conditions, including:
The overt symptoms of these conditions may often be the focus of treatment, while other symptoms that are clinically consistent with the diagnosis of DID may be overlooked or not recognized. These include:
Dissociation and switching personalities
Gaps in memory about everyday events, including personal information
Memory lapses about the traumatic events
Feeling disconnected to reality and/or their body
Diagnosis and Treatment of Dissociative Identity Disorder
In cases where DID is suspected but not confirmed, a psychotherapist or psychiatrist can utilize reliable clinical assessment tools, such as the Structured Clinical Interview for Dissociative Disorders (SCID-D) or the Dissociative Disorders Interview Schedule (DDIS) to obtain additional diagnostic information.
Some people with DID may initially be reluctant to talk to their doctor or psychotherapist about their alternate personalities. While embarrassment or shame may inhibit them from disclosing this information, another reason may be that doing so gets too close to the traumatic memories, which by virtue of their alters, they have had some degree of protection. It’s understandable. A very common reaction in therapy for those who have endured trauma is a tendency to try and minimize or skirt around certain issues or feelings, because of the sense of overwhelm they engender.
Healing from Dissociative Identity Disorder is Possible
With an experienced practitioner, a person suffering from DID can begin the healing process, but it must be appropriately paced and not rushed. Helping the patient to develop greater emotional stability and a sense of psychological and physical safety is the first step. Once that has been attained, then the process of working through the painful traumatic experiences can begin. Over time, as those memories are assimilated and better managed, learning how to live and cope in the present—without dissociation and splitting—can be practiced and achieved.
Dissociative identity disorder, emotional trauma, and other mental health problems can be treated. During this time of uncertainty, your mental well-being is more important than ever. At Amen Clinics, we’re here for you. We offer in-clinic brain scanning and appointments, as well as mental telehealth, remote clinical evaluations, and video therapy for adults, children, and couples. Find out more by speaking to a specialist today at 888-288-9834 or visit our contact page here. At the beginning of 2020, Brenda and Craig, both in their mid-60s, were loving life as empty nesters, and the world seemed wide open with possibilities. The couple started taking road trips—something they couldn’t do when their kids were living at home and had to be shuttled to their sports events and school activities.
When COVID-19 began spreading across the globe, they didn’t really feel much concern. In their midwestern town, they didn’t know anybody who had gotten sick, so they continued road tripping. A few months into the pandemic, however, they started getting frantic calls from their youngest daughter Rachelle, 32, who was a New York City attorney living on her own in a Manhattan apartment. She had gotten laid off and was anxious about the spike in COVID-19 cases and deaths in her area. She felt stressed about her dwindling finances, lack of job prospects, and aching loneliness.
On one of those phone calls, Rachelle blurted out, “I can’t take it anymore! I’m moving back home!”
Brenda and Craig were thrilled to have their daughter move back home and welcomed her with open arms, but the new living situation wasn’t as smooth as they anticipated. And it was equally trying for their daughter. Understandably, their youngest child felt bad about losing her job, her apartment, and her independence. Brenda and Craig also felt like they’d lost their freedom too. And Rachelle fell back into old patterns, expecting her mom to do everything for her—the laundry, cooking, and cleaning—which made Brenda resentful.
Craig was concerned about his daughter’s behavior. She watched the news or scrolled the internet for pandemic information 24/7, which just ramped up her anxiety. He thought she was overreacting and suspected that her constant handwashing and sanitizing might be a sign of obsessive compulsive disorder. Their mismatched anxiety levels created a lot of tension that led to arguments.
That’s when Brenda and Craig reached out to Amen Clinics for help. They’re not alone. A growing number of families have been coming to the clinics for help coping with the stress of adult children moving back home. You may be struggling with the same situation whether you’re the parent or the adult child.
RECORD NUMBERS OF ADULTS MOVING BACK IN WITH PARENTS
Since the pandemic hit in 2020, millions of Americans have made a major change they didn’t anticipate—moving back home with their parents. According to the Pew Research Center, show that by July 2020, 26.6 million 18- to 29-year-olds were living with their folks, an increase of 2.6 million since February of that same year. It’s the highest percentage of young adults living with their parents since the Great Depression.
The Gen Z crowd, Millennials, and Gen Xers are discovering that life with the ’rents comes with a host of stressors and new struggles. And on the flip side, the Baby Boomers who are welcoming them back home are facing their own set of challenges. A loss of independence, unresolved issues from the past, and a lack of privacy are just some of the factors that can make you bristle, regardless of whether you’re the adult child or the parent. Feelings of anxiety, depression, and worry about the pandemic, finances, and health can compound the stresses and make you feel like you’re living in a pressure cooker.
How can you cope with the issues that arise from suddenly living in a multigenerational household? As Brenda, Craig, and their daughter learned at Amen Clinics, one of the best ways to improve relationships is with a communication strategy psychiatrists call RELATING. Here’s how to put it into action.
RELATING FOR A STRESS-LESS LIFE
R for Responsibility
This is the ability to respond to any situation. In all your dealings with the people living in your household, ask yourself what you can do to respond in a healthy, positive way.
E for Empathy
Having the ability to feel what others are feeling enhances relationships. Before blurting out something that may be hurtful to others, take a breath and think about where they are coming from and what they may be feeling. If you or your family members are struggling with anxiety, depression, ADD/ADHD, drug or alcohol problems, or other mental health issues, keep that in mind and encourage them to seek treatment if necessary.
L for Listening
Being a good listener and having effective communication skills is so important in getting along with family members, especially when you’re all living under the same roof. Put down your phone and actively listen to what others are saying.
A for Assertiveness
Expressing thoughts in a firm yet reasonable way is one of the keys to creating healthy boundaries at home. Firm doesn’t mean being aggressive or yelling. Be firm while also being kind, calm, and clear.
T for Time
To strengthen your relationships at home, you need to devote actual physical time to it. In these unprecedented times, however, you may find you have too much time together. If this is the case, find ways to get some alone time by taking a walk outside or scheduling quiet time for reading or meditating. Create a family schedule where you can note your “me time,” and be sure to respect others’ self-care time.
I for Inquiry
Questioning and correcting negative thoughts and thinking patterns regarding your family members is critical to creating a less stressful living situation. If your mind is filled with a lot of ANTs (automatic negative thoughts)—such as mind-reading ANTs (assuming you know what others are thinking without asking them), fortune-telling ANTs (predicting the worst), or blaming ANTs (blaming others for your situation)—it’s time to rethink your thinking.
N for Noticing
Make an effort to notice what you like about family members more than what you don’t like about them. When you direct your mind to look for the positive, it will help create a happier environment.
G Is for Grace and forgiveness
If you have trouble getting over past hurts or unresolved issues, find healthy ways to move forward. Giving grace and forgiving others isn’t about letting them get away with something, it is more about helping you heal and feel better.
Family issues, anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues can’t wait. During these uncertain times, your mental well-being is more important than ever and waiting until life gets back to “normal” is likely to make your symptoms worsen over time. At Amen Clinics, we’re here for you. We offer in-clinic brain scanning and appointments, as well as mental telehealth, remote clinical evaluations, and video therapy for adults, children, and couples. Find out more by speaking to a specialist today at 888-288-9834or visit our contact page here. As scientists and researchers continue their ongoing work into the impact of the COVID-19 crisis, it has become blatantly clear that mental health problems are rising in the United States and around the world. This increase is not only in people with pre-existing mental illness or some of those who already survived the virus, but the psychological distress has also impacted a number of people who had never before been diagnosed with a psychiatric condition.
This news is almost enough to make anyone anxious or depressed!
Since the start of the pandemic, The National Center for Health Statistics is one of the institutions that has been tracking this information using the Household Pulse Survey. As of April 2021, results from their data collection show that 35% of U.S. adults have reported having symptoms of anxiety or depression every day or nearly half the days. From a comparison perspective, from January to June 2019 only 11% of people reported having the same symptoms. Another survey, a poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation, reported that as of March 2021, 47% of people continue to have adverse mental health problems from pandemic-related stress and anxiety.
These distressing statistics may have you wondering if this is simply the new normal and if you should just resign yourself to a life filled with angst. The answer is a resounding NO!
Pandemic Causes of Psychological Distress
Just when it seemed like we were starting to get ahead, certain states have cases surging again as more contagious variants proliferate. This, of course, may extend some of the struggles many people have been trying to manage for the past year, such as:
Grief for people and activities that were lost or missed in the past year
Fear of getting COVID-19 or that a loved one could get it
Continued uncertainty about the future
It appears that younger adults, particularly women—and especially those with children at home—are struggling more with worry and stress during the pandemic. Aside from the concerns listed above, their normally higher need for social interactions with peers may be making them more vulnerable, because our time spent with others can often help buffer mental health symptoms. Getting together with friends, going to a gym, attending religious services, and community events have all been curbed to some extent in most places.
With these normal outlets unavailable to many people right now, it is no wonder that rates of mental illness have been growing. Are you concerned about yourself or a loved one?
Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression
While everyone has a bad day on occasion, when the following symptoms occur regularly, it could be an indication that anxiety or depressive disorder has developed.
Common Symptoms of Anxiety
3 Lifestyle Strategies to Manage Stress, Worries, and Depressed Mood
To further support your mental health, the following 3 lifestyle strategies can help improve your symptoms and bring more balance into your brain and body even in the wake of a pandemic:
Pay attention to your automatic negative thoughts (ANTs) because they are likely adding to your distress. Notice if you tend to think in terms of always or never, or if you predict the worst outcome for everything. You can learn to manage these ANTs by doing some reality testing using a simple technique borrowed from Byron Katie:
Start by identifying what the negative or stressful thought is, then ask yourself the following questions about it:
Is this thought true?
Can I absolutely know that it’s true?
How do I feel when I believe this thought?
How would I feel if I didn’t have this thought?
Then turn around your thought to its opposite and see if it isn’t actually truer than your original thought. Use a journal to write down each ANT and your answers to the questions. By practicing this, you can reduce the control they have over how you feel each day.
Choose more nutritious foods and eat at regular intervals. This helps to stabilize your blood sugar and properly fuel your brain and body, which in turn can support your mental health.
Include foods like these:
Plenty of fresh greens, vegetables, and fruit—especially berries
High-quality protein
Healthy fats like nuts, seeds, avocados, and fish that are high in omega-3s, such as salmon, tuna, and mackerel
And stay away from these:
Sugar and other simple carbs: They increase inflammation and make you crave and eat more of them. This causes your blood sugar to rise and plummet which worsens depressive symptoms and anxiety.
Alcohol: Although the momentary escape from your worries or low mood may seem tempting, alcohol is a depressant and can exacerbate your symptoms.
Too much caffeine: Used in moderation—especially green tea—it can be helpful, but too much can make symptoms worse, particularly if you have anxiety. Caffeine blocks the adenosine receptors in the brain, thereby decreasing your ability to relax.
Exercise regularly in any way you can. Whether it’s walking—even just around the block, hiking, jogging, swimming, biking, yoga, or lifting weights at the gym, exercise is a natural antidepressant and anti-anxiety treatment. It boosts chemicals in the brain that reduce pain and stress and lift your mood.
We must continue navigating the persistent challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic—at least for the foreseeable future. Therefore, by reaching out for help when you need it and incorporating healthy lifestyle strategies like these, you can start to reduce your symptoms and build more resilience as you move forward during these unpredictable times. It’s up to you to create your own version of the new normal.
Anxiety, depression, and other mental health problems can’t wait. During this time of uncertainty, your mental well-being is more important than ever. At Amen Clinics, we’re here for you. We offer in-clinic brain scanning and appointments, as well as mental telehealth, remote clinical evaluations, and video therapy for adults, children, and couples. Find out more by speaking to a specialist today at 888-288-9834 or visit our contact page here. Are your days filled with Zoom meetings for work, video chats with family and friends, web appointments with doctors, online conferences with your kids’ teachers, and more? All that video conferencing is leaving people stressed, anxious, depressed, and exhausted. This new phenomenon has become so prevalent, it’s earned the nickname “Zoom fatigue,” and you’re probably one of the millions of Americans suffering from it.
5 REASONS WHY YOUR BRAIN HATES ZOOM
In a 2021 study involving 10,591 people, researchers from Sweden and Stanford University confirmed what we’ve all felt—video conferencing is draining. The team of scientists reveals that Zoom fatigue is more pronounced in women than men, and they point to 5 specific brain-related reasons why video calls are so exhausting.
1. Mirror anxiety
Anyone who has used Zoom has come face-to-face (or rather, face-to-screen) with their own image—either in one of those little boxes or full-screen—and it can cause something referred to as “mirror anxiety.” Scientific evidence shows that self-focused attention can heighten vulnerability to negative affect and has been associated with increased anxiety and depression.
2. Feeling physically trapped
When you’re in an in-person meeting, you’re free to move about—lean in, stand up, stretch, and more. On Zoom, however, you’re basically locked into one position, so your head and shoulders fit within the eye of your webcam. Physical restriction diminishes creative thinking and cognitive performance. For some people, this may feel like a virtual form of claustrophobia.
3. Hyper gaze
In the 2021 study, the researchers suggest that hyper gaze—having all those virtual eyeballs constantly staring at you—is anxiety-provoking. During in-person meetings, people may glance at you from time to time, but in video conferencing the direct eye gaze never stops. And when it’s a one-on-one meeting, the person’s head can take up the whole screen as if they’re standing less than 2 feet away. In real life, getting up close like this might seem confrontational or too intimate. Either way, it’s a stress inducer.
4. Cognitive load of interpreting nonverbal cues
When all you’re seeing on screen are people’s heads and shoulders, you miss out on critical nonverbal cues that your brain typically processes. In a real-life meeting setting, you would notice people’s body language, such as emphasizing a point with hand gestures, crossing their arms, tapping their toes nervously, and so on. Without these clues, your brain has to work overtime to grasp the underlying intent and meaning of what is being said.
5. Cognitive load of producing nonverbal cues
On the flip side, you may feel the need to overemphasize your own nonverbal cues in response to others or while you’re speaking. You may consciously think about making exaggerated hand gestures so others can see them. This places a greater demand on brainpower.
As anyone who has been on Zoom knows, these aren’t the only reasons why video conferencing can be so exhausting. Add in tech glitches, having to deal with distracting background noise, and getting no feedback or delayed feedback while talking, and it’s easy to see why it’s so stressful.
6 WAYS TO REDUCE ZOOM STRESS AND ANXIETY
In the wake of the pandemic and the shift to remote working, it looks like Zoom and other video conferencing platforms are here to stay. Understanding the possibility of Zoom fatigue and making a few adjustments in your daily usage could be helpful for you.
1. Hide self-view.
If you have trouble with mirror anxiety, some video conferencing platforms offer an option to hide yourself, which allows others to see but prevents you from seeing yourself. If you’re really struggling with anxiety about video conferencing, it may be time to seek professional help.
2. Go wireless.
To minimize the size of your own face on the screen, use a wireless keyboard, which allows you to sit farther away from your webcam. This may help reduce self-consciousness.
3. Take mini-breaks.
Looking away from your computer screen for several seconds or briefly opening a document or your calendar to block all those faces for a brief moment can give your brain a short respite.
4. Get up…or down.
Consider a standing desk that you could move up or down during calls so you can have some ability to alternate from sitting to standing to alleviate feelings of being trapped.
5. Change your view.
If all those eyeballs staring back at you creeps you out, try “speaker view” instead of “gallery view.” By contrast, if seeing one person’s face full-screen in speaker view is alarming to you, switch to the gallery view. Or you may find that switching back and forth from speaker to gallery view may give your brain a break.
6. Create a routine.
To reduce the stress and anxiety associated with video conferencing, stretch or practice deep breathing before and after video conference calls. This can help calm your mind and body.
Feelings of stress and anxiety can’t wait. During these uncertain times, your mental well-being is more important than ever, and waiting until life gets back to “normal” is likely to make your symptoms worsen over time. At Amen Clinics, we’re here for you. We offer in-clinic brain scanning and appointments, as well as mental telehealth, remote clinical evaluations, and video therapy for adults, children, and couples. Find out more by speaking to a specialist today at 888-288-9834or visit our contact page here. Before her thought processes and behavior changed, Chris was a loving wife, mother, and grandmother. Although she was always considered a bit on the eccentric side, she and her family members were very close.
As the days of the 2020 lockdown persisted during a year of political vitriol, Chris became obsessed with the TV news and spent countless hours each day watching it. She developed an increasing disdain and fear of the sitting president and began to believe he had brainwashed her daughter into supporting him. In Chris’s mind, there was no other plausible explanation for why her daughter would have changed from one political party to another.
Chris’s obsession led her to handwrite a “manifesto” for the incoming president regarding the brainwashing along with other delusional concerns and sent it to the news station. She felt certain her revelations would become a breaking story on the news. Of course, this did not happen.
Her odd and increasingly paranoid behavior along with the nonsensical ramblings in the “manifesto” were clear signs to her family that Chris had become psychiatrically impaired in some way, but they did not understand what was happening. Prior to this time, Chris had no reported mental health history and had been sober for 47 years.
Of note, BrPsy is not specific to the pandemic. It is included among the psychotic disorders listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Psychiatric Disorders, 5th Edition(DSM-5).
Prevalence and Symptoms of Brief Psychotic Disorder
Approximately 9% of first-onset psychosis cases are diagnosed as BrPsy. This condition is twice as common in women as it is in men. It can occur almost anytime throughout a lifespan, although on average, first episodes are more common during the mid-30s. It is quite possible for someone who has had one such episode to have more during their life.
The diagnostic criteria for a brief psychotic episode include one or more of the following symptoms:
Delusions – Beliefs a person develops that are inconsistent with reality and are tightly held despite contrary evidence related to those beliefs
Hallucinations – Hearing (usually voices) or seeing things that others cannot, or having strange sensory perceptions
Incoherent, derailed, or disorganized speech
Severely disorganized or catatonic behavior
What separates BrPsy from other psychotic disorders is the course of the episode. Usually, there is a quick onset of symptoms that resolve within a month. Nonetheless, the symptoms are very intense and distressing and can cause significant impairment in functioning, as well as an increased risk for suicide. Often, patients will require treatment with antipsychotics and/or other medications to get their symptoms under control. Many may need to be hospitalized for a period of time until they become stable, but once the episode has fully resolved, they return to their normal level of functioning.
COVID-19 and Psychosis: A Growing Concern Around the World
As more case studies are published about the mental health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is evident that Chris’s case is not an isolated one. Very stressful situations, such as traumatic experiences or loss, are known to be triggers for brief psychotic disorder. This is consistent with what many health care professionals believe is the underlying cause for many of the cases in the past 12 months—chronic emotional and psychological stressors related to the pandemic.
The medical journal, Schizophrenia Bulletin, described 6 cases of patients with a first psychotic episode that happened during the lockdown in Italy. Among them was an otherwise healthy 73-year-old man who became delusional and believed he had been infected with COVID-19 by his wife (although he hadn’t) and was the world’s sole survivor. He threatened to commit suicide by jumping out of a window. With appropriate treatment in the hospital, his symptoms were in remission after 25 days.
Vulnerability to Brief Psychotic Episodes
Certainly, most people who have been under a lot of duress since the start of the pandemic will not have a psychotic break; however, there are some who are more vulnerable, including those who have these disorders or traits:
Unusual perceptual experiences, such as feeling out-of-body at times
A tendency for odd or eccentric behavior
Suspiciousness and/or paranoia
Even though there have been adjustments made to the initial social distancing restrictions, it is more important than ever to maintain good practices of self-care, including stress and anxiety management. Be sure you are doing these 3 basic things to take care of yourself:
Eat a healthy, balanced diet that is low in sugar and processed food
Take time each day to get some exercise
Focus on the things you can control, instead of the things you can’t
Incorporating simple brain-healthy strategies like these to improve your daily habits can help reduce your risk of developing mental and physical health problems now and in the foreseeable future.
Psychotic disorders and other mental health issues can’t wait. During these uncertain times, your mental well-being is more important than ever and waiting until life gets back to “normal” is likely to make your symptoms worsen over time. At Amen Clinics, we’re here for you. We offer in-clinic brain scanning and appointments, as well as mental telehealth, remote clinical evaluations, and video therapy for adults, children, and couples. Find out more by speaking to a specialist today at 888-288-9834 or visit our contact page here. What was once thought to be primarily a respiratory illness, COVID-19 has proven to be a formidable foe for the brain as well. While most people recover from the virus within a few weeks, some simply do not. Even months after being infected and getting over the initial symptoms, many people have reported ongoing problems with memory, fatigue, brain fog, and other neurological symptoms, collectively referred to by Amen Clinics as “COVID-Brain.”
These “long-haulers” represent approximately 10% of those who were ill with COVID-19. Many of them were never hospitalized nor in high-risk categories for complications from the virus.
Research into the underlying mechanisms of the persistent and disruptive neurological symptoms is ongoing and will likely continue for years to come. However, there already are some strong theories about what may be causing brain dysfunction from COVID-19 infections, and the possible links to an increased risk of cognitive decline or dementia in the future.
How COVID-19 Infects Brain Cells
One of the most striking hypotheses described in a research article in the journal Alzheimer’s and Dementia is that SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, is “neurotropic.” This means that it can directly infect the tissues of the central nervous system, which includes the brain, spinal cord, and nerves.
Since the virus is airborne, it can be inhaled via the nose and enter the brain through the olfactory nerve. This nerve gives us our sense of smell, and anosmia—the loss of ability to smell—is often one of the first symptoms of COVID infection. Anosmia can also be an early symptom of Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia. It remains to be seen whether or not the damage to the olfactory system from the virus deteriorates its function in the long term. However, an October 2020 research study published in the medical journal Neurology found damage to the olfactory bulb (which connects to the olfactory nerve) in autopsy studies of those who had died from COVID-19.
Inflammation and COVID-19
Another significant concern about the long-term implications of COVID-19’s impact on the brain is the degree of inflammation it can cause. Because it is a new virus that no one had exposure to prior to 2019, humans had no defenses against it. And given its aggressive nature and potential lethality, once a person is infected with it, the immune system goes all out on the attack to fight it.
Through complex mechanisms, this results in increased inflammation as the immune system tries to defeat the invading virus. However, a consequence of this process is that, in an effort to protect the brain, the high level of inflammation can actually cause damage to the function of brain cells, including ones involved in memory.
Other possible causes of damage to the brain from COVID-19 include complications related to:
Hypoxia (lack of oxygen) due to breathing problems
Inflammation and damage to small blood vessels, similar to mini-strokes
7 Simple Ways to Lower Inflammation and Boost Your Health
Since the long-term consequences of COVID-19 are becoming increasingly recognized, if you have not been infected with it, it’s imperative that you continue to follow recommended guidelines to protect yourself from this virus. If you have had it—and particularly if you still struggle with lingering symptoms—taking measures to lower inflammation is of utmost importance.
The good news is that there are some easy changes you can make that can have a positive impact on your health. Here are 7 simple ways to decrease inflammation in your body and brain:
Increase your consumption of prebiotic foods such as apples, beans, cabbage, artichokes, asparagus, and root vegetables.
Increase probiotics in your diet either through supplements or fermented foods with live bacteria, including sauerkraut, kimchi, pickled fruits and veggies, and kombucha tea (these are often found in the produce section of the grocery store).
Boost your omega-3 fatty acid intake by eating more cold-water fish, such as salmon, mackerel, tuna, and herring, or with supplements.
Limit or avoid alcohol, sugar and refined grains, processed meats, and trans-fats (anything with partially hydrogenated or vegetable shortening on the label).
Take care of your gums! Periodontal (gum) disease can increase inflammation, so be sure to brush your teeth twice a day and floss daily.
Practice stress management with mindfulness, meditation, or prayer.
Engage in some form of exercise every day, but don’t overdo it, because that can actually increase inflammation.
It is widely believed among researchers that uncontrolled inflammation in the brain—regardless of the cause—is a significant risk for developing dementia. Taking the appropriate steps to protect your health, can make a big difference for optimal functioning of your brain now and in the future.
COVID-Brain and memory problems are real and can’t wait. During these uncertain times, your mental well-being is more important than ever!At Amen Clinics, we’re here for you. We offer in-clinic brain scanning and appointments, as well as mental telehealth, remote clinical evaluations, and video therapy for adults, children, and couples. Find out more by speaking to a specialist today at 888-288-9834 or visit our contact page here. Traumatic experiences can be devastating to those who are exposed to them. They can lead to significant mental health problems and changes in how a person functions and copes—even long after the trauma has passed. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Complex PTSD (CPTSD) are 2 types of diagnoses people may be given, based on symptoms that result from significant emotional and/or physical trauma.
Generally speaking, PTSD can develop after a single traumatic event that is life-threatening—or perceived to be—by the person who experiences it. Common examples of such situations include:
This condition may also be diagnosed in people who have survived other types of horrific situations, such as having been:
A prisoner of war
Subjected to torture
Kidnapped
Living in a war-torn area
A victim of human trafficking
Abused by a domestic partner over an extended period of time
Symptoms in PTSD and Complex PTSD
Right now, the most current version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-V) does not separate PTSD from CPTSD in its classifications; however, the ICD-11 (International Classification of Diseases) identifies these as 2 separate conditions. While both PTSD and CPTSD share some of the same symptoms, there are specific characteristics in complex PTSD that are not seen in regular PTSD.
To be diagnosed with PTSD, a person must have significant problems in functioning due to the following core symptoms that last for at least several weeks:
Have nightmares or flashbacks during which the fear of the traumatic event is vividly re-experienced
Avoidance of activities, situations—or even thoughts and memories—of the traumatic event
Being in a state of hypervigilance or being easily startled because of an ongoing perceived sense of threat (even though the traumatic event has passed)
A person with PTSD can also have other symptoms, such as sleep problems, difficulty with, concentration and memory, anger issues, depressive symptoms, and even suicidal thoughts.
According to the ICD-11, a person with complex PTSD is likely to have the same core symptoms of PTSD listed above, but in addition, has the following symptoms that are persistent and severe in nature:
Problems controlling their emotions
Believe they are worthless or a failure and inferior to others
Have feelings of profound shame and guilt related to the traumatic event that distorts their perspective of themselves and the traumatic event(s)
Have difficulty getting close to others and sustaining relationships
People with CPTSD may also have periods of amnesia about what happened and periods of dissociation (feeling removed from themselves). The combination of all of these symptoms can lead to significant problems functioning in many aspects of their lives, including personally, with family, socially, and at school or work.
Interestingly, there may be some mitigating factors that can reduce the number and degree of symptoms a person develops from a chronic traumatic situation. For example, some research has found that there may be protective factors for certain people, such as a genetic predisposition for resilience and/or familial support that may help a person to develop PTSD, rather than extra challenges associated with complex PTSD.
Complex PTSD vs. Borderline Personality Disorder
From a clinical perspective, there are some similarities between complex PTSD and borderline personality disorder (BPD), particularly with regard to emotional stability, and so a person may get diagnosed with PTSD plus BPD. However, as explained in a 2020 article published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, people with BPD have a fluctuating (good/bad) perception of themselves, whereas, with CPTSD, self-perception is typically only negative. Also, those with CPTSD tend to avoid relationships or have a difficult time maintaining them, while those with borderline personality tend to jump into relationships quickly and create a lot of instability with their partners.
Treatment for Trauma Makes a Difference
People with complex PTSD often have difficulty trusting others. Given the horror of what they must have gone through at the hands of another person (or multiple people), it is understandable. Finding a mental health professional who is skilled in working with CPTSD is very important so that some level of trust and emotional comfort can develop. When that happens, additional therapeutic modalities can be included in a person’s healing journey, such as:
EMDR: Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) has been one of the more successful treatments for PTSD. It involves less talking than other therapies and generally allows for traumatic memories to be addressed in a way that feels safer to the person working through them.
DBT: Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), which has a strong mindfulness component, can be helpful for learning to regulate emotions as well as managing stress and self-destructive behaviors, such as substance abuse or self-injury.
With the right kind of compassionate support and treatment, symptoms of complex PTSD and PTSD and really can get better over time.
PTSD and other mental health issues can’t wait. During these uncertain times, your mental well-being is more important than ever and waiting until life gets back to “normal” is likely to make your symptoms worsen over time. At Amen Clinics, we’re here for you. We offer in-clinic brain scanning and appointments, as well as mental telehealth, remote clinical evaluations, and video therapy for adults, children, and couples. Find out more by speaking to a specialist today at 888-288-9834 or visit our contact page here. Have you ever been mobbed? Have you felt targeted by a group of people at work, at school, on social media, or even in your church who spread lies about you, harassed you, or tried to oust you from the community? That’s “mobbing,” a term that has emerged to define the way individuals can develop a group mentality to relentlessly pick on one person. If you have been the target of mobbing, it can have devastating psychological consequences.
What Exactly is Mobbing?
Mobbing is actually a primitive animal group instinct. For instance, birds will surround and attack a potential predator or other threat in order to drive it away. Well, humans do this too, although not with beaks! Whether it’s at a business office, in school, in your neighborhood—or even in the military, group members will insidiously start to (non-violently) attack a particular person to push them out of the group or organization.
Mobbing can be initiated for any number of reasons. Perhaps the targeted person is seen as “different” or is perceived to be a threat to the status quo—or even because the person is envied.
The process of mobbing can include overt and/or covert psychological harassment, non-violent hostility, gossiping, undermining, making false accusations about the person—and related hurtful behavior. It’s a systematic effort by a group of people to diminish the value, contributions, or credibility of someone with the primary objective of driving that person away.
Mobbing is like getting kicked off the team, even though you know you never did anything to let the team down. Not surprisingly, those who are targeted can be left feeling defeated, isolated, and confused about what they did to deserve such treatment. It can feel devastating.
People targeted by mobbing can feel defeated, isolated, and confused about what they did to deserve such treatment. It can feel devastating.
Unfortunately, I have personal experience with the concept of mobbing. I spoke about it recently when I interviewed my friend, Dr. Loree Sutton, who is a retired Army Brigadier General and is now running for Mayor of NYC. She’d brought up the topic during our talk, and it struck a chord with me.
Mobbing is very similar to what happened to me in the early 1990s. At that time, I had begun talking with fellow psychiatrists about our work with brain SPECT imaging and the importance of looking at the brain to understand the underlying causes of patients’ symptoms. But instead of this work being received enthusiastically, many of my psychiatry colleagues belittled, criticized, isolated, and diminished me. It was a very painful time in my career.
Fortunately, our brain imaging work at Amen Clinics has already helped tens of thousands of patients. And, I have heard from many more people who have read my books or seen my public television specials who’ve said that their lives are better thanks to adopting the brain health principles I share. I remained buoyed by the support of all those we have been able to help over the decades, and that encouragement has kept me focused and charging ahead with brain imaging and my mission to end mental illness by starting a brain health revolution.
The Negative Impact of Mobbing
Although I was not deterred by what happened to me early on in my career, I know there are many people who are adversely affected by the mental and physical health consequences of mobbing. While most published research on this behavior is focused on work environments (or bird battles), mobbing can happen anywhere and to anyone.
In 2019, a study on the psychological trauma caused by mobbing was published in the Archives of Neuropsychiatry. The researchers found that of those who had been subjected to workplace mobbing, 71% developed symptoms of PTSD and 78% had major depression. Not surprisingly, people with a history of trauma were more vulnerable to a worsening of symptoms after being targeted in this way.
Mobbing can also lead to—or worsen—anxiety and sleep problems as well as somatoform disorders (physical problems without an identifiable cause). As you can imagine, it is a very stressful situation to be in and can impact physical health as well. A study published in the Journal of Occupational Medicine and Toxicology last year found that those who were subjected to mobbing at work had a 28-57% increased risk of having cardiovascular disease!
In addition, many people also must face social challenges, such as leaving a job (because the mobbers made work so miserable), concerns about feeling welcomed at a school or church again, being able to feel emotionally safe in joining new organizations in their community—or even posting on social media.
If you’ve ever been the target of mobbing—or know someone who has—it’s really worthwhile to seek the support of a trained mental health professional who can help you process the experience and help you make sense of it, so you can go forward with greater confidence and belief in yourself.
Regardless of the cause, PTSD, anxiety, depression and other mental health issues can’t wait. During these uncertain times, your mental well-being is more important than ever and waiting until life gets back to “normal” is likely to make your symptoms worsen over time. At Amen Clinics, we’re here for you. We offer in-clinic brain scanning and appointments, as well as mental telehealth, remote clinical evaluations, and video therapy for adults, children, and couples. Find out more by speaking to a specialist today at 888-288-9834 or visit our contact page here. Recently, Dr. Daniel Amen was invited to consult on a tragic case that was presented on the Dr. Phil Show. Two years ago, at age 35, Josh was intoxicated on drugs when he stole his mother’s car and credit card. She called the police and had him arrested. In the bathroom at the jail, Josh used the laces of his shoes to hang himself.
Josh physically survived his suicide attempt, but his brain was severely damaged from anoxia—a prolonged deprivation of oxygen.
The Devastation of Anoxic Brain Injuries
The brain is the most oxygen-hungry organ in the body. It uses 20% of the body’s total oxygen and it takes only a few minutes for a complete lack of oxygen to do horrible damage to the brain. Hanging and strangulation are not the only causes of anoxic brain injuries—they can also be caused by:
The length of time that the brain goes without oxygen plays an important role in the prognosis of recovery. However, with a massive brain injury like the one Josh sustained, most people become completely incapacitated with a very limited ability for any type of recovery.
SPECT surface scan that represents a case of anoxia. Notable decreases in blood flow throughout.
Josh’s case is very sad indeed. For the past 2 years, he has been in a nursing home in a persistent vegetative state, kept alive by a feeding tube. He does not move, except through the brain stem reflexes of breathing, blinking, and coughing. His nervous system is deteriorating causing an increase in seizures, his hands are tightly balled, and his arms and legs are bent but rigid.
After reviewing the medical records and learning more about the history of this terrible situation, Dr. Amen weighed in with his thoughts, based on his decades of medical practice using brain SPECT imaging. He explained that when the brain loses oxygen, brain cells quickly begin to die. Of the 170,000 SPECT scans done at Amen Clinics, the patients with anoxic injuries who have been scanned have the most severe brain damage he has seen.
Dr. Amen also pointed out that with anoxia, the earlier interventions are done, such as hyperbaric oxygen treatment, infrared light therapy, or certain nutrients, the better the chance of reversing some of the injuries. However, in Josh’s case, Dr. Amen thinks the chance for any kind of recovery at this point is less than 1%, and that even if his brain could improve a little, Josh will never be Josh again. He would likely have a very, very low I.Q. because his brain is essentially dead.
What complicates this awful situation, even more, is that Josh’s wife, Meagan, and his mother, Kelly, disagree on how to proceed after 2 years of seeing Josh in this condition. Meagan wants to bring him home, remove the feeding tube and let him pass away. Kelly, on the other hand, refuses to allow this and holds out hope that there will be some miraculous treatment that can improve his brain function.
Even though he is still alive, Josh’s family has been grieving him in a way for nearly 2 years now. Without any resolution of the situation, they all are living with the chronic stress of unresolved grief.
Grief and Loss Dragons
In his new book, Your Brain is Always Listening, Dr. Amen writes about the inner dragons that breathe fire on our emotional brain (the amygdala). There are 13 different “Dragons from the Past” that evolve from the personal stories we tell ourselves based on our earlier experiences in life.
We all have at least a few dragons, and most people have Grief and Loss Dragons. These show up as a normal reaction to losing someone we love, something important, or an attachment to ideas of what could have been. Like all dragons, they can be tamed with the right strategies, and it starts with accepting the reality of the loss and going through the healing process.
For Josh’s family, the Grief and Loss Dragons are definitely breathing fire on everyone’s emotional brain. And sadly, these dragons can’t be tamed while he’s still alive. This drawn-out process will likely spawn Hopeless and Helpless Dragons as well as the Angry Dragons until this family can come to an agreement about what is best for Josh and for themselves.
If you are having suicidal thoughts, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
Your Brain Is Always Listening is written by psychiatrist, neuroscientist, and New York Times bestselling author Daniel G. Amen, MD. In this book, Dr. Amen equips you with powerful weapons to battle the inner dragons that are breathing fire on your brain, driving unhealthy behaviors, and robbing you of your joy and contentment. Order your copy here.If you want to join the tens of thousands of Amen Clinics patients who have already tamed their dragons and overcome their symptoms of addiction, anxiety, depression, trauma, and more, speak to a specialist today at 888-609-4318 or visit our contact page here.
