Anxiety disorders are the most common and pervasive mental illness in the United States, affecting around 40 million adults — almost one in five people. Characterized by constant, overwhelming feelings of worry and fear, these disorders disrupt people’s ability to function at work or school, interfere with personal and professional relationships, and affect their quality of life.
In the 1994 science fiction film Star Trek: Generations, retired ship engineer Montgomery “Scotty” Scott asks former Captain James T. Kirk if he finds retirement lonely. To this, Kirk replies, “You know, I’m glad you’re an engineer. With tact like that, you’d make a lousy psychiatrist!”
In a way, this shows why your best friend can never take the place of a licensed therapist.
A new environment. Challenging classes and workloads. Bad teachers. Inconsiderate roommates. Low grades. For many college students, these words are enough to trigger nightmares. They’re also some of the reasons why depression is common in this group.
According to the Center for Collegiate Mental Health, one in five university students are struggling with depression, a mood disorder characterized by persistent feelings of sadness and loss of interest.
As adults, it has been many years since we had the privilege of a 3 month hiatus like our children do during the summer. We may even be envious of their extended sweatpants wearing, video game playing, carefree days. Meanwhile we remain chugging away at our habitual work day routines, clutching our coffee through crusty sleep deprived eyes.
When you decide to look for a psychotherapist to talk with, chances are good you’re already not feeling your strongest. Maybe you’ve called Meridian because someone in your life recommended it, or you’re feeling angry and don’t know why, or you’re not sure what to do with your life, or you’re sad.
Psychotropic medications help manage mental health conditions like bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders, depression, and schizophrenia. A treatment plan that combines psychotherapy and psychotropic drugs helps those who are diagnosed with a condition to better manage their mental health and live a productive life.
Being diagnosed with depression, anxiety, and other mental health conditions can change your life. Mental disorders are not just an emotional but also an economic burden, which pertains to direct healthcare costs and indirect costs like lost income and out-of-pocket spending on healthcare.
Antidepressant medications relieve the symptoms of moderate, severe, and chronic depression. Depression is caused by chemical imbalances in the brain (e.g., serotonin) and antidepressants work by increasing the availability of these chemicals.
Nevertheless, there are those who doubt their efficacy, partly because of myths surrounding antidepressants.
Insight in therapy is more than being self aware. It is using that awareness to create a new relationship to one’s emotions. Maybe you have found yourself to be like the many people who have thought “I am aware of my issues but that doesn’t change anything?” Recognizing a pattern in which you may repeatedly respond to a problematic situation in an unconstructive manner is not enough.
There are those who believe that life today is more stressful than in the past, while there are those who believe that life in the past was even more so. There is clearly no simple answer as to which belief is accurate, but one thing is certain: experiencing stress is normal.