rebecca stanwyck
WELCOME COUNSELING CONSULTING ARTICLES ABOUT ME LOCATION & FEES  


Phone 510.881.2540



Castro Valley office
and mailing address:

21700 Redwood Rd, #B
Castro Valley, CA 94546

Pleasanton office:
5820 Stoneridge Mall Rd, #219
Pleasanton, CA 94588

CA License #LCS12569

 



Articles - Anxiety, Depression & Other Disorders

If you're reading this, chances are you're either dealing with some kind of anxiety or depression yourself, or concerned about someone who is. I don't want to bore you with a lot of statistics, but consider this:

  • One out of five people will experience a severe clinical depression at some point in their lives.
  • An estimated 10% of the U.S. population suffers from panic attacks, phobias or other anxiety disorders each year.
  • More than a third of us will experience at least one panic attack in our lifetime.

Add all of the people who have mild to moderate depression, or some form of bipolar disorder, plus everyone affected by someone else's depression or anxiety (friends, spouses, kids, coworkers), and we're talking about a major issue. Yet as common as these problems are, most people don't really understand much about them. So keep reading!

My approach to treating these problems is based on Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT), though I'm not a strict CBT therapist. I use CBT because I've found that it works, at least for most people most of the time. Its basic premise, that you can change your mood and feelings by changing your thoughts and behavior, has been proven to be one of the most effective ways to treat both anxiety and depression.

Because these are "whole body" disorders, the best treatment practices address sleep, nutrition and exercise habits. Medication can be a useful tool in treating some of the most distressing symptoms, but is rarely a complete solution. Recent neuroscience research has demonstrated that mind-body practices like meditation, yoga, and Tai Chi can not only relieve symptoms of stress, anxiety and depression, but may also be able to prevent their re-occurrence.

I've included Adult Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) here because it tends to occur in people with bipolar or unipolar depression.

Complimentary Therapies for Mood Disorders

Understanding and Overcoming Depression

Anxiety and Panic Attacks

Social Anxiety

Bipolar Disorder

Winter Blues

Attention Deficit Disorder in Adults

 

 


Helpful links and resources for anxiety, depression, bipolar & adult ADD

A good place to start is the National Mental Health Information Center:  call (800) 789-2647 or check out their website at  http://mentalhealth.samhsa.gov

Most of the books I recommend to clients are available through New Harbinger Publishers in Oakland. You can check out the following titles, and order by phone (800) 748-6273 or online, at http://www.newharbinger.com 

  • Thoughts and Feelings: Taking Control of Your Moods and Your Life
  • The "10 Simple Solutions. . . " series: includes titles for panic, shyness, adult ADD
  • The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook
  • The Depression Workbook, and Living Without Depression & Manic Depression

Find information and links to local support groups for Depression and Bipolar at  http://www.dbsalliance.org

The Attention Deficit Disorder Association's website is http://www.add.org


© 2005 – 2011, Rebecca A. Stanwyck, LCSW. All rights reserved