Sunday Inspiration. Post By David Joel Miller.
Temptation.
Some temptations are worth giving in to.
Photo courtesy of Pixabay.com
Some temptations are worth giving in to.
Wanted to share some inspirational quotes with you. Today seemed like a good time to do this. If any of these quotes strike a chord with you please share them.
By David Joel Miller, MS, Licensed Therapist & Licensed Counselor.
What is Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder?
Photo courtesy of Pixabay.com
Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder F34.8 was added to the new DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) partially because way too many children were getting diagnoses of Bipolar Disorder. Most of these children grew up and never had an episode of mania or hypomania, the one thing that is required for a Bipolar Diagnosis.
The research supports the idea that a particular type of childhood depression was not getting the treatment it deserved. As a result, a lot of children were getting diagnoses they should not have had. Bipolar is only one of these possible incorrect diagnoses.
Some of the prominent symptoms of Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD) are temper tantrums and chronic irritability. These symptoms are quite different from the pressured uncontrollable behavior seen in Bipolar. DMDD has also been misdiagnosed as several other psychiatric disorders in the past.
One reason this has been getting noticed is that children who have a particular group of symptoms now recognized as DMDD rarely grow up to have Bipolar Disorder or behavioral disorders. What they develop as they grow are significant levels of depression and anxiety.
DMDD shares some characteristics with other forms of Depression. In both DMDD and the other depressions, there are mood issues, sadness, feeling empty, or being chronically irritable. These mood issues result in changes to the body, physical symptoms, as well as changes in thinking and behavior. The result is that the person with DMDD or depression can’t function well even when they want to. DMDD is now found in the DSM chapter on depression. For many with adult depression, their issues all started in childhood with DMDD.
What are the symptoms of Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD?)
Children with Disruptive Mood Dysregulation can’t respond to frustration appropriately. The result of this lack of frustration tolerance is frequent temper tantrums or outbursts. These outbursts may be expressed verbally, or behaviorally. The defining characteristic of these temper outbursts is that they are excessive for the child’s developmental stage.
Even when this child is not having temper tantrums they are almost always in an angry or irritable mood. This angry irritable mood should be something that others can readily see by observing the child.
DMDD is only diagnosed if the symptoms first appear between the age of 6 and 18. The expectation is that the symptoms of depression seen with DMDD are inconsistent with the person’s developmental level. This is an issue of not being able to regulate your emotions.
Before age six we expect young or school-age children to have difficulty regulating emotions and to react with sadness, irritability, or temper tantrums when frustrated. Young children may become frustrated and not able to exercise self-control no matter what the encouragement or punishment they receive.
Even if this disorder does not get recognized and diagnosed until later teen years the child must have had these symptoms before age ten. This separates DMDD from things that may be typical of adolescents during the teenage years.
On average, a child with DMDD should be having three or more episodes of mood dysregulation per week. This separates out the child who has occasional difficulties in response to a stressor from those who just can’t regulate emotions and are triggered more easily than they should be given their age.
These temper outbursts and mood dysregulation should go on most of the time for a year or more. This is no passing phase. Even if there are brief periods when the irritable angry mood is not present these periods of better mood should not last for more than three months.
For us to think this child’s issue is a disorder we would expect the symptoms to appear in more than one setting, school, home, organized activates, and so forth. In at least one of these settings, probably more, the outbursts are expected to be severe.
For a small group of children, there will be symptoms of mania or hypomania. If that is present then yes Bipolar Disorder is more appropriate and they are likely to develop more severe bipolar symptoms over time. Early treatment for childhood Bipolar Disorder can reduce the severity and impact of the disease but only if we are getting the diagnosis correctly.
One other difference between Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD) and Bipolar is the way symptoms fluctuate. DMDD fluctuates in response to frustration. Bipolar symptoms come and go as a function of time.
DMDD has a lot of co-morbidity with other disorders. Children with DMDD are at increased risk of abusing a substance and developing a substance use disorder (SUD.) And yes, we see SUD in elementary school children.
Because girls tend to internalize problems, while boys externalize, there is likely to be a bias in the diagnosis of Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD.) Only time will tell if this turns out to be another label for young boys.
Symptoms of Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD) are likely to change as the child grows and matures. It will be interesting to see if children who receive the DMDD diagnosis go on to experience Major Depression or some other adult mental health issues. Hopefully, treatment for this disorder while the child is young can prevent lifelong problems.
As with the other things we are calling a mental illness DMDD needs to interfere with the child’s ability to go to school, their relationships, and enjoyable activities or cause them personal distress. Otherwise, they may have the issues but not get the diagnoses. If the only time this happens is when under the influence of drugs or medicines or because of some other physical or medical problem these symptoms need to be more than the situation would warrant. Other issues may need treating first, then if the child still has symptoms they could get this diagnosis.
FYI These “What is” sometimes “What are” posts are my efforts to explain terms commonly used in Mental Health, Clinical Counseling, Substance Use Disorder Counseling, Psychology, Life Coaching, and related disciplines in a plain language way. Many are based on the new DSM-5; some of the older posts were based on the DSM-IV-TR, both published by the APA. For the more technical versions please consult the DSM or other appropriate references.
Staying connected with David Joel Miller
Seven David Joel Miller Books are available now!
My newest book is now available. It was my opportunity to try on a new genre. I’ve been working on this book for several years, but now seem like the right time to publish it.
Story Bureau is a thrilling Dystopian Post-Apocalyptic adventure in the Surviving the Apocalypse series.
Baldwin struggles to survive life in a post-apocalyptic world where the government controls everything.
As society collapses and his family gets plunged into poverty, Baldwin takes a job in the capital city, working for a government agency called the Story Bureau. He discovers the Story Bureau is not a benign news outlet but a sinister government plot to manipulate society.
Bumps on the Road of Life. Whether you struggle with anxiety, depression, low motivation, or addiction, you can recover. Bumps on the Road of Life is the story of how people get off track and how to get your life out of the ditch.
Dark Family Secrets: Doris wants to get her life back, but small-town prejudice could shatter her dreams.
Casino Robbery Arthur Mitchell escapes the trauma of watching his girlfriend die. But the killers know he’s a witness and want him dead.
Planned Accidents The second Arthur Mitchell and Plutus mystery.
Letters from the Dead: The third in the Arthur Mitchell mystery series.
What would you do if you found a letter to a detective describing a crime and you knew the writer and detective were dead, and you could be next?
Sasquatch. Three things about us, you should know. One, we have seen the past. Two, we’re trapped there. Three, I don’t know if we’ll ever get back to our own time.
For these and my upcoming books; please visit my Author Page – David Joel Miller
Want the latest blog posts as they publish? Subscribe to this blog.
For videos, see: Counselorssoapbox YouTube Video Channel
By David Joel Miller, MS, Licensed Therapist & Licensed Counselor.
Bath salts.
Photo courtesy of Pixabay.com
There is a growing tidal wave of use and abuse of Bath Salts. These are not the kind of Bath Salts you would ever put in water and soak in. Bath Salts are also sold under a number of other names including Plant Food, Water Pipe Cleaner as well as a host of brand and product names.
These products made use of a loophole in the laws of the U. S. and other countries, which exempted chemicals from regulation as drugs if they were “Not for Human Consumption.” These drugs were imported without restriction because of being labeled for uses other than human consumption. Here in the U. S. they were then repackaged in small amounts and sold in small stores. While labeled “not for human consumption” it has always been clear that users were buying these packages to consume them.
The primary ingredients in many of these products are amphetamine-like chemicals in the Cathinone Family. Cathinones are synthetic versions of a drug originally found in the Khat plant from north-eastern Africa. Before becoming popular as drugs of abuse these drugs were primarily used to kill insects hence the name “plant food.” The name “bath salts” is reported to come from the way these drugs are often packaged to look like bath salts.
Bath Salts can be consumed by snorting, swallowing, smoking, or injecting. Other possible routes of administration are sure to be attempted.
The use of Bath Salts has resulted in a significant number of admissions to hospital emergency rooms. Symptoms of Bath Salt intoxication include a number of serious symptoms including agitation, violent behaviors, heart palpitations, and psychotic symptoms. There are reports of these symptoms, particularity psychosis, lasting long after the drugs have been metabolized. At high doses, these drugs can be fatal.
The Synthetic Drug Abuse Act of 2012 was intended to reduce the problems with Bath Salts. Some particular ingredients have been made illegal. Unfortunately, this is a very large family of synthetic chemicals and many have never been tested. As fast as one chemical has been tested, found to be harmful to humans and banned, other chemicals have been substituted.
More and more synthetic chemicals are being sold and experimented with by drug users. The line between Bath Salts, Synthetic Cannabinoids, and other research chemicals has become fuzzy. New formulations are appearing so rapidly they are now being referred to as NPS (New Psychoactive Substances.) Expect Bath Salts of new formulations and other synthetics to become an increasing problem.
For more on these topics see: Drug Use, Abuse and Addiction Recovery What is
Terms and their meaning can differ with the profession using them. The literature from the Rehab or AOD (Alcohol and Other Drug) field may be very different from that in the mental health field. There is still a large gap between recovery programs and AOD professionals and the terms and descriptions used in the DSM.
FYI These “What is” sometimes “What are” posts are my efforts to explain terms commonly used in Mental Health, Clinical Counseling, Substance Use Disorder Counseling, Psychology, Life Coaching, and related disciplines in a plain language way. Many are based on the new DSM-5; some of the older posts were based on the DSM-IV-TR, both published by the APA. For the more technical versions please consult the DSM or other appropriate references.
Staying connected with David Joel Miller
Seven David Joel Miller Books are available now!
My newest book is now available. It was my opportunity to try on a new genre. I’ve been working on this book for several years, but now seem like the right time to publish it.
Story Bureau is a thrilling Dystopian Post-Apocalyptic adventure in the Surviving the Apocalypse series.
Baldwin struggles to survive life in a post-apocalyptic world where the government controls everything.
As society collapses and his family gets plunged into poverty, Baldwin takes a job in the capital city, working for a government agency called the Story Bureau. He discovers the Story Bureau is not a benign news outlet but a sinister government plot to manipulate society.
Bumps on the Road of Life. Whether you struggle with anxiety, depression, low motivation, or addiction, you can recover. Bumps on the Road of Life is the story of how people get off track and how to get your life out of the ditch.
Dark Family Secrets: Doris wants to get her life back, but small-town prejudice could shatter her dreams.
Casino Robbery Arthur Mitchell escapes the trauma of watching his girlfriend die. But the killers know he’s a witness and want him dead.
Planned Accidents The second Arthur Mitchell and Plutus mystery.
Letters from the Dead: The third in the Arthur Mitchell mystery series.
What would you do if you found a letter to a detective describing a crime and you knew the writer and detective were dead, and you could be next?
Sasquatch. Three things about us, you should know. One, we have seen the past. Two, we’re trapped there. Three, I don’t know if we’ll ever get back to our own time.
For these and my upcoming books; please visit my Author Page – David Joel Miller
Want the latest blog posts as they publish? Subscribe to this blog.
For videos, see: Counselorssoapbox YouTube Video Channel
By David Joel Miller, MS, Licensed Therapist & Licensed Counselor.
Balance.
Photo courtesy of Pixabay.com
It is easy to get stressed out. Getting ahead is getting more and more difficult. People tell me all the time that they are overwhelmed and that they just can’t keep up anymore. In the quest to be successful at work or competitive activities, one of the first things to suffer is your work-life balance.
Trying to be and do more results in relationships that get neglected. In extreme cases, people find they have neglected self-care and their physical and mental health have suffered. If you find your life has gotten way out of balance here are some tips on how to get that out of balance life back in balance.
The first step in a balanced life is to review the things on your plate and decide which are really necessary. There are plenty of things you could do but just because you can, does not mean you should.
There are times you can cut corners and squeeze a little more out, but giving up sleep time in the quest for success is a really bad idea. You can only get so many miles out of an unmaintained vehicle and the human body will not function well without adequate rest. Try cutting corners on sleep and you will find you will begin to make really bad decisions.
Having a daily schedule all written out helps you chart a course for your day just like a road map will help you get to your destination. Writing out your day’s schedule will point to the times you have more to do than you could possibly be accomplished. A schedule can also help you see that you need to be across town two minutes after you started a meeting with your boss. Use the schedule to even out the workflow.
Reviewing that daily schedule at the end of the day may help you spot where you filled time with a water cooler session or a video game binge. It is those diversions that drag on and on which rob your day of a lot of potentially productive hours.
You can’t run your car on an empty tank nor can you run your body on substandard nutrition. Rushing through meals results in eating fewer healthy foods and more of those over-processed ones.
If you are too busy to learn a new skill then you are far too busy. Invest in your body and mind and they will still be serviceable when you reach the rewards of your life. Do you want to be one of those people who worked hard to have enough in retirement and find you are too sick to enjoy it? If you work yourself to death someone else can enjoy the fruits of your efforts.
Humans are social creatures. You need positive supportive people in your life. Investing in friendships and socializing for the sake of enjoyment are not wastes of productive time. Having a good social life is the asset that will get you through those tough times in life.
Life gets off-kilter rapidly when you throw yourself at a task that is too big to complete all at once and you stay with it beyond the point of making progress. An occasional all-night work binge may be part of life in this millennium but if taking on huge tasks and wearing yourself out in the process is your modus operandi try breaking that task up into smaller sub-tasks and doing one of these tasks each day.
One of the biggest time sucks and a waste of energy is time spent on complaining about what is, should be, and so on. Do not squander time saying something should not have happened or looking for whose fault it was.
Invest your energy in accepting the current situation as it exists and then focus on how to change it. Hint here. The solution probably consists of changing you and what you do rather than in trying to change other’s behavior to suit you.
Ever had a fifteen-minute task take four hours? Work can expand to fill the time allotted. So can diversions. Set limits and if you are not done in the allotted time move on down your list. When you create your plan for the next day or revise today’s, try being more realistic about how much time this supposed fifteen-minute task will take.
Creating a specific goal and planning the steps to get you there is not a waste of time. Having clear goals can give your project and your life a focus. Developing a clear plan with periodic review points can keep you headed in the right direction. Good plans also prevent leaving out steps and then having to start the project all over again.
Make lists. Make lots of lists. Do what is most important to them and ignore the maybe’s. A list of materials needed can help you avoid having to stop partway through because you are out of “stuff.” Lists that include rest and relaxation can keep you from being the machine that breaks down unexpectedly.
A lot of time can get flushed away on all the things that you could be doing and result in little or no time for the big major jobs that were the real heart of the project. Let someone else do the optional tasks or delete them from your list altogether.
Was this post helpful? You might also want to check out these other counselorssoapbox posts. Life Hacks Self-improvement Success
Staying connected with David Joel Miller
Seven David Joel Miller Books are available now!
My newest book is now available. It was my opportunity to try on a new genre. I’ve been working on this book for several years, but now seem like the right time to publish it.
Story Bureau is a thrilling Dystopian Post-Apocalyptic adventure in the Surviving the Apocalypse series.
Baldwin struggles to survive life in a post-apocalyptic world where the government controls everything.
As society collapses and his family gets plunged into poverty, Baldwin takes a job in the capital city, working for a government agency called the Story Bureau. He discovers the Story Bureau is not a benign news outlet but a sinister government plot to manipulate society.
Bumps on the Road of Life. Whether you struggle with anxiety, depression, low motivation, or addiction, you can recover. Bumps on the Road of Life is the story of how people get off track and how to get your life out of the ditch.
Dark Family Secrets: Doris wants to get her life back, but small-town prejudice could shatter her dreams.
Casino Robbery Arthur Mitchell escapes the trauma of watching his girlfriend die. But the killers know he’s a witness and want him dead.
Planned Accidents The second Arthur Mitchell and Plutus mystery.
Letters from the Dead: The third in the Arthur Mitchell mystery series.
What would you do if you found a letter to a detective describing a crime and you knew the writer and detective were dead, and you could be next?
Sasquatch. Three things about us, you should know. One, we have seen the past. Two, we’re trapped there. Three, I don’t know if we’ll ever get back to our own time.
For these and my upcoming books; please visit my Author Page – David Joel Miller
Want the latest blog posts as they publish? Subscribe to this blog.
For videos, see: Counselorssoapbox YouTube Video Channel
Sunday Inspiration. Post By David Joel Miller.
Self-Esteem
Do something you can brag about.
Photo courtesy of Pixabay.com
For better self-esteem do better things.
Do something you can brag about.
Wanted to share some inspirational quotes with you. Today seemed like a good time to do this. If any of these quotes strike a chord with you please share them.
By David Joel Miller, MS, Licensed Therapist & Licensed Counselor.
Sleep Walking.
Photo courtesy of Pixabay.com
Turns out that people can do a number of things while mostly asleep. Sleep Walking (Was DSM-IV 307.46 Now DSM-5 F51.3) and Sleep Terrors (DSM-IV 307.47 now DSM-5 F51.4)) use to be considered separate disorders. In the New DSM-5, they have been combined into one category, Non-Rapid Eye Movement Sleep Arousal Disorders. Despite now being one disorder with subtypes they get coded with two different numbers. (DSM is a registered trademark of the APA.) In the new lists, ICD-9, ICD-10, and oh my ICD-11, these numbers may all keep changing, sorry about that.
The Sleep Walking part also covers some other behaviors that can take place while the person is mostly asleep. It is also possible to engage in Sleep Eating and Sleep Sex. Sex while mostly asleep has also been called sexsomnia. Sleep Eating and Sleep Sex are specifiers added to the Sleep Walking diagnosis. These specifiers do not get their own numbers.
For someone to get this diagnosis these things must happen repeatedly not just occasionally.
And yes these things are considered real diseases not just excuses for things people do that may bother others.
Sleepwalking along with sleep eating and sleep sex are all things people do early in the sleep cycle before REM sleep, hence the name Non-Rapid Eye Movement Sleep Arousal Disorders.
One characteristic of Sleepwalkers is the blank look on their faces. Other clues that this person is not awake and is functioning on autopilot are the difficulty you will have in waking the sleepwalker up.
There was a belief that you should never wake someone up who was sleepwalking. I see no evidence that this is particularly harmful other than the sudden jolt that comes from waking up in a place other than where you went to bed. On the other hand as hard as it is to wake sleepwalkers most of us will elect to just lead them back to bed and try to get them in the correct posture for sleep.
Sleepwalkers are also unresponsive to efforts to communicate with them. You can talk to them all you want but they just keep wandering around. Picture the actors you see in those zombie movies and you have a close approximation to the characteristic sleep-walker.
These episodes of sleepwalking happening in Non-REM sleep come without memories. This is described as having an “amnesia” for the events that happened during the sleepwalking.
The full diagnostic criteria are in the DSM-5. As with most other disorders, this one does not get used if the cause of this event is drugs or medications or if it seems to be caused by some other medical or psychological condition.
Sleep Walking Disorder is separate from Nightmares for several reasons. Nightmares and Bad dreams happen later in the sleep cycle predominantly during REM sleep. People remember what happened during nightmares and bad dreams. Nightmares often are connected to real-life events as in PTSD. Sleepwalking just happens out of nowhere.
FYI These “What is” sometimes “What are” posts are my efforts to explain terms commonly used in Mental Health, Clinical Counseling, Substance Use Disorder Counseling, Psychology, Life Coaching, and related disciplines in a plain language way. Many are based on the new DSM-5, some of the older posts were based on the DSM-IV-TR, both published by the APA. For the more technical versions please consult the DSM or other appropriate references.
You might want to take a look at other posts on Sleep Dreams and Nightmares
More “What is” posts will be found at What is.
Staying connected with David Joel Miller
Seven David Joel Miller Books are available now!
My newest book is now available. It was my opportunity to try on a new genre. I’ve been working on this book for several years, but now seem like the right time to publish it.
Story Bureau is a thrilling Dystopian Post-Apocalyptic adventure in the Surviving the Apocalypse series.
Baldwin struggles to survive life in a post-apocalyptic world where the government controls everything.
As society collapses and his family gets plunged into poverty, Baldwin takes a job in the capital city, working for a government agency called the Story Bureau. He discovers the Story Bureau is not a benign news outlet but a sinister government plot to manipulate society.
Bumps on the Road of Life. Whether you struggle with anxiety, depression, low motivation, or addiction, you can recover. Bumps on the Road of Life is the story of how people get off track and how to get your life out of the ditch.
Dark Family Secrets: Doris wants to get her life back, but small-town prejudice could shatter her dreams.
Casino Robbery Arthur Mitchell escapes the trauma of watching his girlfriend die. But the killers know he’s a witness and want him dead.
Planned Accidents The second Arthur Mitchell and Plutus mystery.
Letters from the Dead: The third in the Arthur Mitchell mystery series.
What would you do if you found a letter to a detective describing a crime and you knew the writer and detective were dead, and you could be next?
Sasquatch. Three things about us, you should know. One, we have seen the past. Two, we’re trapped there. Three, I don’t know if we’ll ever get back to our own time.
For these and my upcoming books; please visit my Author Page – David Joel Miller
Want the latest blog posts as they publish? Subscribe to this blog.
For videos, see: Counselorssoapbox YouTube Video Channel
By David Joel Miller, MS, Licensed Therapist & Licensed Counselor.
Binge drinking.
Photo courtesy of Pixabay.com
Some people have one drink after dinner each night. Other people save them up and have all seven on Friday night. Drinking seven drinks on Friday night is not the equivalent of one drink a day. The negative consequences, psychically, mentally, and legally, increase rapidly as the blood alcohol content rises on any one drinking occasion, a practice called binge drinking.
Binge drinking is defined as having five or more drinks on one drinking occasion for a man. For a woman, because of her reduced metabolism of alcohol in the stomach, four drinks on one occasion is considered binge drinking. That one “drinking occasion” could be over a short period of time, like drinking shots, or it might entail a more measure drinking like doing in most of a six-pack over the course of the afternoon.
Lots of people resisted the idea that they could be an “alcoholic” because they did not drink every day. The newer way of thinking about this is that it is not what you drink or how often you drink but what happens when you drink that defines an alcohol use disorder. If when you drink you end up drunk or you drink excessively, then you have an alcohol use disorder.
If you only drink occasionally, but when you do drink you consume a lot, you are a binge drinker and at risk for a great many alcohol-related problems.
Among drinkers between 12 and 25, those whose typical pattern was to binge drink when they drank, they were also much more likely to use multiple other drugs. This pattern of drug use, called Poly-Substance use, is extra risky and correlates with a lot of complications physically, mentally, and legally.
In treatment programs, there has been a tendency to separate drug users from the people who have legal consequences because they drove drunk. Rarely is a drunk driving case a driving problem despite all our efforts to treat DUI’s as if the problem was the driving after drinking.
There are a lot of misconceptions about who drinks, how often they drink, and how much the average American drinks. Half of all Americans have not had a drink in the last month. Ten percent of our population consumes half of all the alcohol. Those who binge drink can hide the existence of an alcohol use disorder for a long time by concentrating that drinking in occasional drinking binges.
Binging as well as daily high levels of alcohol consumption are associated with a large number of physical health problems. While one drink a day has been touted as good for everyone but fetuses and potentially pregnant women. Unfortunately the more you drink the more the risks of illness.
Alcohol consumption is associated with an increased risk of cancers, heart disease, problems of the digestive system, a variety of liver maladies, pancreatitis, and the list goes on and on.
Current thinking is that any amount of drinking on the part of a pregnant woman can affect the fetus. Binge drinking is particularly risky for women who are or may become pregnant. One challenging aspect of this problem is that women frequently do not know they are pregnant until after some period of time has passed. Women who binge drink are at increased risk to drink heavily, engage in risky sexual behaviors, and then find out that they became pregnant during that period of heavy drinking.
Those who work in the substance use disorder field see a lot of connections between substance use and mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders. Those who focus specifically on physical or mental health issues are less likely to notice those substance use disorders, especially something like binge drinking.
In drug treatment, those who only use occasionally and even then rarely get into trouble, are at high risk of developing problems eventually if when they use they binge. A small amount of alcohol consumption increases the risk of having problems with depression. Binge drinking even one time a year can result in DUI’s or other legal issues. Even occasional polysubstance abuse can result in life-altering consequences.
If when you drink you binge, or you find you are drinking and using more than intended consider getting help, talking with a professional, before your partying becomes a life-altering or ending event.
For more on these topics see: Drug Use, Abuse and Addiction Recovery What is
Terms and their meaning can differ with the profession using them. The literature from the Rehab or AOD (Alcohol and Other Drug) field may be very different from that in the mental health field. There is still a large gap between recovery programs and AOD professionals and the terms and descriptions used in the DSM.
FYI These “What is” sometimes “What are” posts are my efforts to explain terms commonly used in Mental Health, Clinical Counseling, Substance Use Disorder Counseling, Psychology, Life Coaching, and related disciplines in a plain language way. Many are based on the new DSM-5; some of the older posts were based on the DSM-IV-TR, both published by the APA. For the more technical versions please consult the DSM or other appropriate references.
Staying connected with David Joel Miller
Seven David Joel Miller Books are available now!
My newest book is now available. It was my opportunity to try on a new genre. I’ve been working on this book for several years, but now seem like the right time to publish it.
Story Bureau is a thrilling Dystopian Post-Apocalyptic adventure in the Surviving the Apocalypse series.
Baldwin struggles to survive life in a post-apocalyptic world where the government controls everything.
As society collapses and his family gets plunged into poverty, Baldwin takes a job in the capital city, working for a government agency called the Story Bureau. He discovers the Story Bureau is not a benign news outlet but a sinister government plot to manipulate society.
Bumps on the Road of Life. Whether you struggle with anxiety, depression, low motivation, or addiction, you can recover. Bumps on the Road of Life is the story of how people get off track and how to get your life out of the ditch.
Dark Family Secrets: Doris wants to get her life back, but small-town prejudice could shatter her dreams.
Casino Robbery Arthur Mitchell escapes the trauma of watching his girlfriend die. But the killers know he’s a witness and want him dead.
Planned Accidents The second Arthur Mitchell and Plutus mystery.
Letters from the Dead: The third in the Arthur Mitchell mystery series.
What would you do if you found a letter to a detective describing a crime and you knew the writer and detective were dead, and you could be next?
Sasquatch. Three things about us, you should know. One, we have seen the past. Two, we’re trapped there. Three, I don’t know if we’ll ever get back to our own time.
For these and my upcoming books; please visit my Author Page – David Joel Miller
Want the latest blog posts as they publish? Subscribe to this blog.
For videos, see: Counselorssoapbox YouTube Video Channel
By David Joel Miller, MS, Licensed Therapist & Licensed Counselor.
Anxiety.
Photo courtesy of Pixabay.com
People who are high in anxiety are easily frightened. A great many things can scare someone with high anxiety.
Unfortunately, it is often the person who is high in anxiety who is scaring themselves. How many of these thoughts do you entertain that result in feeding your anxiety monster until he is out of control?
Lots of bad things MAY happen. Particularly in the realm of nature and the environment. That earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, and other weather phenomena may happen, does not guarantee they will.
Even in those places where these catastrophic events take place the chances that you and yours will get through unharmed are better than the chances you will be injured. Don’t waste a lot of effort considering low probability events when there are high probability events around the corner.
Does the chance something may happen, justify your using up space in your brain worrying about what may happen at some point off in the future. Eventually we humans all die but happy people live their life based on positive beliefs.
Putting doubt in your head is a proven method to increase anxiety. Ruminating about the future is a sure-fire way to crank up your anxiety. Ask repeatedly “what if” questions about the future and you will discover plenty of possibilities to go wrong.
For people high in anxiety any waiting is anxiety-provoking. Where someone with less anxiety might interpret the wait is a chance to relax and de-stress the anxious person will use the time to worry about what might happen, how this is not the way things are “supposed” to go. Anxious people can catastrophize about any delay in plans.
There are lots of situations in life where people might be watching you. Giving a bad talk or presentation might get you noticed in an unfavorable light.
The best remedy for that kind of unfavorable attention is to know what you are talking about and to thoroughly prepare that talk. Most of the time you will find that people are paying far less attention to you than you might wish. Even worse than doing a poor presentation, for the person who speaks a lot, is giving a good one and having no one notice.
One thing you will discover if you investigate what others think about you is that most of the time, those other people are far too preoccupied with their own lives to notice what you did or did not do.
Fuzzy directions can create immense anxiety. Planning to be on time only works if you know what is “on time” for the particular function you will be attending. What is appropriate for one situation and a group of people can be very inappropriate for another.
The best way to quiet this fear is to do your homework or ask what is the proper time or attire.
You can spend countless hours of frantic involvement with your worries as you go over every inch of your body looking for imperfections to diagnose. Stop stressing and head to the doctor. They should be able to tell you what that mark is and put your mind to rest.
You are not wrong to ask a friend about some new mark you see on their body, just do it in a gentle way knowing that the high anxiety person may anxious themselves beyond belief at your question.
Someone with high anxiety is always on the lookout for sudden unexplained events, noises, and movement. Put that person on a worksite that has random unexplained sights and sounds and by the end of the day, they are ready to become the proverbial basket case.
Worse than ending up in that sort of environment by chance is the person with high anxiety who ignores their mental health needs and takes on an unsuitable job or those anxious people who are living in a situation with those random, sight, and sound triggers.
If you are a high anxiety person you know how unnerving last-minute changes of plans can be. You have planned things out in advance to prevent unexpected occurrences and suddenly plans get changed with possible “catastrophic” results.
If you have to live or work with an anxious person, plan ahead to avoid these last-minute emergencies. Stopping for gas on the way to the appointment may be no problem for you but the high anxiety person will come unglued at the thought that you may run out of gas or that you might be late for that appointment and then they would not be seen by the doctor and their cancer would go undiagnosed and they might die as a result —- See how that anxiety train picks up speed as they ruminate about unforeseen plan changes?
There are a number of things that trigger anxiety so commonly these items made it into the most recent Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) in the section on specific phobias. While people can be specifically afraid of these things they can also be triggers for high anxiety even when the person with the fear attack is unaware of the phobia.
The list of Specific Phobias includes animals, nature, blood and surgery, close or confined places, choking, vomiting, and even costumed creatures.
If you have a person with anxiety in your life, try to avoid doing these things and triggering that person’s anxiety. If you are an anxious person, how many of these things are you creating for yourself, and are you willing to try some counseling to get past those anxiety triggers?
For more on this topic see: Anxiety
Staying connected with David Joel Miller
Seven David Joel Miller Books are available now!
My newest book is now available. It was my opportunity to try on a new genre. I’ve been working on this book for several years, but now seem like the right time to publish it.
Story Bureau is a thrilling Dystopian Post-Apocalyptic adventure in the Surviving the Apocalypse series.
Baldwin struggles to survive life in a post-apocalyptic world where the government controls everything.
As society collapses and his family gets plunged into poverty, Baldwin takes a job in the capital city, working for a government agency called the Story Bureau. He discovers the Story Bureau is not a benign news outlet but a sinister government plot to manipulate society.
Bumps on the Road of Life. Whether you struggle with anxiety, depression, low motivation, or addiction, you can recover. Bumps on the Road of Life is the story of how people get off track and how to get your life out of the ditch.
Dark Family Secrets: Doris wants to get her life back, but small-town prejudice could shatter her dreams.
Casino Robbery Arthur Mitchell escapes the trauma of watching his girlfriend die. But the killers know he’s a witness and want him dead.
Planned Accidents The second Arthur Mitchell and Plutus mystery.
Letters from the Dead: The third in the Arthur Mitchell mystery series.
What would you do if you found a letter to a detective describing a crime and you knew the writer and detective were dead, and you could be next?
Sasquatch. Three things about us, you should know. One, we have seen the past. Two, we’re trapped there. Three, I don’t know if we’ll ever get back to our own time.
For these and my upcoming books; please visit my Author Page – David Joel Miller
Want the latest blog posts as they publish? Subscribe to this blog.
For videos, see: Counselorssoapbox YouTube Video Channel
Sunday Inspiration. Post By David Joel Miller.
Building Self-esteem.
Just Be You.
Photo courtesy of Pixabay.com
“Wanting to be someone else is a waste of who you are.” – Kurt Cobain
“Just be yourself, there is no one better.” – Taylor Swift
“One of the greatest regrets in life is being what others would want you to be, rather than being yourself.” ― Shannon L. Alder
Wanted to share some inspirational quotes with you. Today seemed like a good time to do this. If any of these quotes strike a chord with you please share them.
By David Joel Miller, MS, Licensed Therapist & Licensed Counselor.
What is Acute Stress Disorder?
Photo courtesy of Pixabay.
Most people have heard of the granddaddy of all the Trauma- and Stressor-Related Disorders, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, far fewer people have heard of the smaller member of this family, Acute Stress Disorder.
Acute Stress Disorder is a condition in which something bad happens and it knocks you for a loop but eventually, it goes away. We do not want to make the normal problems of living into a mental disorder so we only begin counting things as possible disorders when the stressor is still affecting your life at least 3 days after the incident.
A great many people experience some stressor which does not end up becoming PTSD. If you are still having symptoms a month after the event we start thinking this may become long-term and then you get the designation of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.
We want to keep normal life events out of this equation, so expected events like having an elderly person in your family die an expected death do not count as a trauma disorder, either Acute Stress Disorder or Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.
The full text of the DSM-5 includes a detailed description of how to recognize Acute Stress Disorder but here is a short description of the condition.
The DSM-5 lists 14 symptoms. I will not repeat them all here. For the full text see the DSM-5. These 14 symptoms are clustered in 5 categories. To get Acute Stress Disorder you need to have at least 9 of the 14 symptoms but they can be from any category.
1.The experience keeps coming back.
You may have nightmares, intrusive thoughts, flashbacks, spacing out and this may be triggered by either internal thoughts or external triggers.
2. This experience bums you out.
Basically, you get into and stay in a really negative mood.
3.The trauma spaces you out.
You may get overwhelmed and just “bounce” mentally. In more clinical language we would call this dissociation.
4.The result of the experience is it keeps you away from things.
You may find yourself avoiding people, places, or things that remind you of the trauma. Some people do not like to be alone or they may use drugs and alcohol to knock themselves out rather than just falling asleep.
5.You are on edge and stay that way.
This could come out as poor sleep, being irritable or angry all the time, be losing your ability to concentrate, or being easily triggered by any little thing. People in this condition are always on high alert for something that might go wrong. The door slams down the block and those with Acute Stress Disorder will jump at a sound others will not notice.
As with the other things we are calling a mental illness, this needs to interfere with your ability to work or go to school, your relationships, your enjoyable activities, or cause you personal distress. Otherwise, you may have the issues but you will not get the diagnoses if this is a preference, not a problem. If the only time this happens is when you are under the influence of drugs or medicines or because of some other physical or medical problem this problem needs to be more than your situation would warrant. These other issues need treating first, then if you still have symptoms you could get this diagnosis.
FYI These “What is” sometimes “What are” posts are my efforts to explain terms commonly used in Mental Health, Clinical Counseling, Substance Use Disorder Counseling, Psychology, Life Coaching, and related disciplines in a plain language way. Many are based on the new DSM-5; some of the older posts were based on the DSM-IV-TR, both published by the APA. For the more technical versions please consult the DSM or other appropriate references.
Staying connected with David Joel Miller
Seven David Joel Miller Books are available now!
My newest book is now available. It was my opportunity to try on a new genre. I’ve been working on this book for several years, but now seem like the right time to publish it.
Story Bureau is a thrilling Dystopian Post-Apocalyptic adventure in the Surviving the Apocalypse series.
Baldwin struggles to survive life in a post-apocalyptic world where the government controls everything.
As society collapses and his family gets plunged into poverty, Baldwin takes a job in the capital city, working for a government agency called the Story Bureau. He discovers the Story Bureau is not a benign news outlet but a sinister government plot to manipulate society.
Bumps on the Road of Life. Whether you struggle with anxiety, depression, low motivation, or addiction, you can recover. Bumps on the Road of Life is the story of how people get off track and how to get your life out of the ditch.
Dark Family Secrets: Doris wants to get her life back, but small-town prejudice could shatter her dreams.
Casino Robbery Arthur Mitchell escapes the trauma of watching his girlfriend die. But the killers know he’s a witness and want him dead.
Planned Accidents The second Arthur Mitchell and Plutus mystery.
Letters from the Dead: The third in the Arthur Mitchell mystery series.
What would you do if you found a letter to a detective describing a crime and you knew the writer and detective were dead, and you could be next?
Sasquatch. Three things about us, you should know. One, we have seen the past. Two, we’re trapped there. Three, I don’t know if we’ll ever get back to our own time.
For these and my upcoming books; please visit my Author Page – David Joel Miller
Want the latest blog posts as they publish? Subscribe to this blog.
For videos, see: Counselorssoapbox YouTube Video Channel
counselorssoapbox 