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An example of obsessive-compulsive disorder is excessive, repeated handwashing to ward off infection.The person usually recognizes that the behavior is excessive or unreasonable.
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The symptoms of OCD should not be confused with the ability to focus on detail or to check one's work that is sometimes labeled "compulsive" in everyday life. This type of attentiveness is an important factor in academic achievement and in doing ...
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Although there are marked similarities between cases, no two people experience this anxiety disorder in exactly the same way. In one common form of obsessive-compulsive disorder(OCD), an exaggerated fear of contamination(the obsession) leads to wa...
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Research suggests that the tendency to develop obsessive-compulsive disorder is inherited. There are several theories behind the cause of OCD.
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While no one knows for sure, research suggests that the tendency to develop obsessive-compulsive disorder is inherited. There are several theories behind the cause of OCD.
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The source of this uneasiness is not always known or recognized, which can add to the distress you feel.Anxiety; Feeling uptight; Stress; Tension; Jitters; Apprehension.Stress is a normal part of life. In small quantities, stress is good-- it can ...
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Anxiety is a bodily response to a perceived threat or danger. It is triggered by a combination of biochemical changes in the body, the patient''s personal history and memory, and the social situation.It is important to distinguish between anxiety a...
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Systematic desensitization is a technique used to treat phobias and other extreme or erroneous fears based on principles of behavior modification.Systematic desensitization is used to help the client cope with phobias and other fears, and to induc...
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This report features up-to-date information on the signs, causes, and treatments of many common phobias and anxiety disorders.
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Anxiety is familiar to everyone due to the many stresses and complexities of modern life.
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Anxiety is a multisystem response to a perceived threat or danger. It reflects a combination of biochemical changes in the body, the patient''s personal history and memory, and the social situation.
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Everybody experiences fear at some time or another. Fear is a powerful emotion that arises in situations that are interpreted as dangerous. The purpose of fear is to alert you to take protective action—usually to fight, flee, or seek assistance. For example, if you were hiking in the woods and encountered a snake, you would naturally interpret this situation as dangerous which would produce the emotion of fear, which, in turn, would motivate some self-preserving behavior—probably an attempt to escape. If, however, you recognize that the snake is harmless, your interpretation of the situation as dangerous and the ensuing emotion of fear would have been erroneous. Notice how important the cognitive act of interpretation is in experiencing fear.
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Unlike the relatively mild, brief anxiety caused by a stressful event such as a business presentation or a first date, anxiety disorders are chronic, relentless, and can grow progressively worse if not treated.
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Anxiety is a multisystem response to a perceived threat or danger. It reflects a combination of biochemical changes in the body, the patient''s personal history and memory, and the social situation at hand.
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Anxiety disorders are a group of disorders that can affect adults, adolescents and children. They overwhelm people with chronic feelings of anxiety and fear.
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This guide is designed to help you learn about anxiety disorders. Knowing more, you may feel more comfortable talking with a health professional about your experience and your symptoms.
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Anxiety is a condition of persistent and uncontrollable nervousness, stress, and worry that is triggered by anticipation of future events, memories of past events, or ruminations over day-to-day events, both trivial and major, with disproportionat...
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Some researchers believe anxiety is synonymous with fear, occurring in varying degrees and in situations in which people feel threatened by some danger. Others describe anxiety as an unpleasant emotion caused by unidentifiable dangers or dangers t...
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You may suffer from generalized anxiety disorder if you go through the day worried, tense or anxious about your family, health or work, even when you know there are no signs of trouble.
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Anxiety—feeling frightened, tense, uneasy—is a normal response to a threat. Anxiety can disrupt your life, but it's nothing to be ashamed of. Don't suffer in silence. Anxiety disorders are covered by most health plans. Check what's covered under your plan. Then ask your doctor or another mental health professional for help.
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Discussion of the effect of anxiety disorders on children and how they can be treated.
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Despite their age, benzodiazepines still provide unique benefits and are unlikely to be entirely superseded by newer medications. Includes a comparison chart of newer and older drugs for insomnia, anxiety, and depression.
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When I get nervous, I get a tic that affects the left side of my face, including my eye. What can I do about this? Is there anything I can take for it?
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You have to give a presentation next week. Just thinking about it makes your heart race. Your throat gets tight, and you can hardly breathe. Sometimes, you even feel faint. Speaking in front of a group makes most people nervous, but your fear is beyond reason. This is nothing to be ashamed of. You may have an anxiety disorder known as social phobia. Talk to your doctor or mental health professional. They can offer treatment and support.
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There is evidence that certain herbs and supplements may be effective in treating certain types of anxiety disorders.
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It is common to feel stress or anxiety when you have cancer. Anxiety can be a vague or uneasy feeling of distress. There are many things that can bring on these feelings, such as trips to your doctor's office, treatments for your cancer, or fears about your cancer.
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Separation anxiety is common in children, but most grow out of it. However, in a small percentage of children (and more rarely, in adults) it becomes a disorder. Typical treatment methods include cognitive and behavioral therapy.
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Research suggests that for patients who are starting treatment for depression, their type of attachment anxiety should be taken into consideration as a factor in determining the best course of treatment.
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An obsession is an unwelcome, uncontrollable, and persistent idea, thought, image, or emotion that a person.cannot help thinking even though it creates significant distress or anxiety.Obsessive ideas seem unnatural or alien to those who have them,...
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What separates obsessive-compulsive disorder from more common behaviors? A description of OCD and common treatment methods.
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Aphasia is condition characterized by either partial or total loss of the ability to communicate verbally or using written words. A person with aphasia may have difficulty speaking, reading, writing, recognizing the names of objects, or understand...
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Detailed information on aphasia, including cause, diagnosis, types, and treatment
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Aphasia is a communication disorder that occurs after language has been developed, usually in adulthood. Not simply a speech disorder, aphasia can affect the ability to comprehend the speech of others, as well as the ability to read and write.
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Aphasia occurs when a part of the brain that processes language is damaged. Most people who have a stroke or a brain injury are tested for aphasia. A speech therapist (an expert trained in speech rehabilitation) will work closely with the patient. The main goal of speech therapy is to help the patient communicate. During rehabilitation (rehab) the therapist works to find and increase a patient's strengths. The therapist also tries to improve understanding between patient and family.
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Aphasia is a loss of language skills. It may occur if the brain is damaged. This usually happens after a stroke. People with aphasia may not be able to express their thoughts (expressive aphasia) or understand others (receptive aphasia).
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Aphasia is an impairment of spoken language understanding and expression associated with brain damage.Neurologic etiologies that affect the left cerebral cortex can lead to aphasia(sometimes termed dysphasia). Aphasia is a language disturbance aff...
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A condition, caused by neurological damage or disease, in which a person''s previous capacity to understand or express language is impaired.In aphasia, the ability to understand language and to translate thoughts into words has been impaired by inj...
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Fidgeting is usually used to describe someone who is seen as not being able to sit still. Fidgety people move in their seats constantly, move their hands and feet and appear to be in perpetual motion.
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Compulsive shoppers generally are people prone toward low self-esteem, anxiety and depression, as well as fantasizing, perfectionism and lack of sufficient social contacts, one expert says.
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Panic attacks, the hallmark of panic disorder, are discrete episodes of intense anxiety. Panic attacks can also be experienced by people with specific phobia, social phobia, or by people who have used or consumed certain substances, such as cocain...
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A sudden surge of terror hits out of nowhere. Your heart pounds. You feel like you're going crazy. What you're feeling is a panic attack. It could happen anywhere—the grocery store, the mall, your car. During a panic attack, the body misinterprets an ordinary situation as an awful, terrifying event. Caused by a misfiring of chemicals in the brain, panic attacks are common. Fortunately, they are also treatable.
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If you're having panic attacks, don't be afraid to get help. The attacks are real, and the feelings you're having are not your fault. Treatment for panic attacks is covered by most health insurance plans. Check what's covered under your plan. Then see your doctor or other mental health professional for evaluation and treatment.
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To aid in the treatment of hypochondria and panic disorder, researchers are focusing in on the study of anxiety sensitivity, or a tendency to exaggerate reactions to anxiety itself.
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If you keep thinking about the problem and don't take action, you worry. If you take appropriate action, that's concern.
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Worrying becomes a problem when you get fixated on the worry, dwell on the imagined danger and allow this fearfulness to escalate into paralyzing anxiety.
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At 86, I'm still competitively racing frostbite dinghies. I've noticed that my heartbeat becomes irregular during the races and for hours afterward. It feels like a weak beat after every two normal heartbeats. Is this a normal exercise reaction?
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Excessive worrying can have negative effects on both physical and mental health. Sometimes medications can help, but in some cases behavioral therapy is more effective.
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A Harvard Medical School physician answers your question about pulsing at the temples.
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To an educated observer, a perfectionist orientation is usually evident by the preschool years, though it may not cause problems until the college years. The perfectionist orientation has two components: impossibly high standards, and the behavior...
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Striving for perfection often leads to frustration, procrastination and stress-related symptoms, such as anxiety, anger and depression. And because perfectionists can be hard on others when they fail to measure up, perfectionism can also lead to loneliness.
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Research into perfectionism suggests that the behavior may arise as a coping mechanism in response to a form of ill treatment by others known as indirect aggression.
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The alienated adolescent has been a familiar cultural figure since James Dean''s movies in the 1950s. The alienation often associated with the adolescent quest for identity commonly involves a distrust of adults, a rejection of their values, and a ...
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A Harvard Medical School doctor talks about the obsessive-compulsive phenomenon of hoarding.
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Compulsive hoarding can create an unsafe living environment, especially if the hoarder is an older person. While the behavior is difficult to treat, options are available.
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Chronic motor tic disorder involves quick, uncontrollable movements or vocal outbursts(but not both).Chronic vocal tic disorder; Tic- chronic motor tic disorder.About 1 to 2% of the population has chronic motor tic disorder. The condition is more ...
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