What are anxiety disorders? An anxiety disorder is a general term to describe a subset of individualized disorders that are characterized by extreme levels of persistent anxiety that have a negative effect on your daily living. These disorders include generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, and panic disorders, to name a few.

What are the symptoms of an anxiety disorder?

●      Generalized anxiety disorder

• Excessive anxiety or worry

• Difficulty controlling your worry

• Racing thoughts

• Restlessness

• Irritability

• Difficulty with concentration

• Sleep disturbances

• Physical symptoms (nausea, muscle tension, racing heart, shortness of breath, feeling hot/cold, and etc.)

●      Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)

• Obsessions are repetitive distressing thoughts, images, or urges that a person cannot control.

• Compulsions, feeling as if you need to do a specific thing often in the hopes of alleviating or decreasing one’s anxiety

●      Panic disorder

• Disorder where a person experiences extreme, acute anxiety, known as “panic attacks”, usually for short periods of time.

• Symptoms of panic attacks include the following:
  Chest pain
  Palpitations/racing heart
  Trouble breathing/shortness of breath
  Dizziness
  Sweating
  Shaking
  Nausea and/or vomiting
  Feeling hot or cold
  Paresthesias/numbness or tingling
  Feeling as if you may lose control

What are the treatments for anxiety disorders? Treatment usually consists of a combination of therapy and medication management.

• Medication management. At Think Well, we partner with you to find a medication regimen that works best for you. For anxiety disorders, symptoms and their severity can vary greatly among individuals, so it is important we tailor your  medication regimen to your specific symptoms and concerns, with the goal of improving symptoms and minimizing side effects. It is important to continue on medications, even when feeling better, to prevent a relapse and return of symptoms.

• Psychotherapy is also recommended to help learn new ways of thinking about your anxiety, as well as developing new skills and ways to cope with your anxiety. 

What is ADHD? ADHD is a condition that makes it hard to sit still and/or concentrate and focus. The severity of these symptoms affects one’s daily functioning. ADHD begins in childhood but often is undiagnosed or untreated especially in women.

There are three types of ADHD: inattentive type, hyperactive type, and combined type (both inattentive and hyperactive type).

What are the symptoms of ADHD?

●      Inattentive symptoms

• Making careless mistakes

• Trouble paying attention to details

• Difficulty with following directions

• Difficulty with completing tasks

• Difficulty with organization

• Losing things easily

• Being easily distracted

• Forgetful

●      Hyperactive symptoms

• Run/climbs inappropriately

• Fidgets and

• Gets up from sea and

• Difficulty playing quietly

• Difficulty waiting turns

• Interrupting

●      Combined Type

• Exhibiting symptoms that are interfering with daily life from both categories

What is the treatment for ADHD? Treatment usually consists of a combination of medication management and behavioral treatment or interventions.

• Medication management. At Think Well, we partner with you to find a medication regimen that works best for you. Medications used for the treatment of ADHD are very effective at improving and controlling symptoms related to ADHD.

• Behavioral treatment and interventions can include developing skills utilizing checklists, reminders, and other organizational techniques

What is bipolar disorder? Bipolar disorder is a disorder that causes extreme changes in mood and behavior. It is characterized by mood swings ranging from extreme highs (mania/hypomania) to extreme lows (depression). Persons having family members with bipolar disorder may be predisposed to the disorder themselves.

What are the symptoms of bipolar disorder?

• Feeling much happier (grandiose) or much more down than appropriate.

• Irritability/agitation

• More active than normal

• Starting projects without finishing them

• Feeling like you don’t need to sleep

• Not sleeping/only getting a few hours of sleep and not feeling tired

• Talking quickly/pressured speech

• Flights of ideas/jumping from one topic to another

• Engaging in excessive or risky activities

What are the treatments for bipolar disorder?

• First line treatment for bipolar disorder is medication management. At Think Well, we partner with you to find a medication regimen that works best for you, improving symptoms and minimizing side effects. It is important to continue on medications, even when feeling better, to prevent a relapse and return of symptoms.

• Psychotherapy is also recommended to help learn new ways of thinking and behaving, as well as developing coping skills to manage symptoms.

What are depressive disorders? The term depressive disorder refers to several disorders with similar characteristics and symptoms, such as depressed mood, lack of pleasure and interest, and lack of motivation and energy, each of which vary in their degree of severity. 

What are the symptoms of depression?

• Feeling sad and depressed

• Irritability

• Loss of pleasure and interest in things you enjoy

• Sleep disturbances, either sleeping too much or too little

• Changes an appetite, either eating too much or too little

• Restlessness

• Feeling slowed down or subdued

• Feelings of worthlessness or guilt

• Impaired concentration

What are the treatments for depression? Treatment usually consists of a combination of therapy and medication management.

• Medication management. At Think Well we partner with you to find a medication regimen that works best for you. For individuals with depression, symptoms and their severity can vary greatly so it is important we tailor your medication regimen to your specific symptoms and concerns, with the goal of improving symptoms and minimizing side effects. It is important to continue on medications, even when feeling better, to prevent a relapse and return of symptoms

• Psychotherapy is also recommended to help learn new ways of thinking and behaving as well as developing coping skills to manage symptoms.

What is insomnia? Insomnia is a problem with sleep, difficulty either falling or staying asleep, early morning awakening, or feeling unrested upon awakening. Insomnia can either be short term, where someone has difficulty for several days or a few weeks, or chronic where sleep problems last for three months or longer.

What are the symptoms of insomnia?

• Have trouble falling or staying asleep

• Feel tired during the day

• Being forgetful

• Mood disturbances, such as being anxious, irritable, or depressed

• Lack of energy and motivation

• Lack of interest

• Worrying about lack of sleep

What is the treatment for insomnia? Treatment for insomnia depends on severity, length, and cause of insomnia.

• Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) involves working with a therapist over several sessions to better understand your insomnia, change your negative thought processes that are affecting your sleep, and developing better sleep habits “sleep hygiene.”

• Medication options are available for treating chronic insomnia, but in most cases it is recommended to try CBT-I and incorporation of good sleep hygiene practices prior to utilization of medications especially for long term treatment.

What is PTSD? PTSD is a disorder that occurs after a person is exposed to a traumatic event. This can include events such as childhood trauma, physical harm or injury, combat, sexual assault or abuse, or natural disasters. Individuals who experience PTSD often have both negative physical and psychological responses to thoughts, feelings, and memories of the event(s).

●      What are the symptoms of PTSD?

• Distressing memories, dreams, or flashbacks

• Psychological and physiological reaction to cues resembling the event/s

• Persistent avoidance of thoughts, feelings, memories, and external reminders of the event(s)

• Inability to remember important aspects of the event(s)

• Exaggerated negative emotions, beliefs, and expectations

• Diminished interest/participation and activities

• Detachment or estrangement from others

• Inability to experience positive emotions

• Irritability/anger

• Hypervigilance/exaggerated startle response

• Difficulty with concentration

• Difficulty with sleep 

What are the treatments for PTSD? Treatment usually consists of a combination of therapy and medication management.

• Medication management. At Think Well, we partner with you to find a medication regimen that works best for you. For individuals with PTSD, symptoms and their severity can vary greatly, so it is important we tailor your medication regimen to your specific symptoms and concerns, with the goal of improving symptoms and minimizing side effects. It is important to continue medications, even when feeling better, to prevent a relapse and return of symptoms.

• Trauma-focused therapy, such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), is often most effective in the treatment of PTSD. Your therapist will work with you on determining which type of therapy is best for you.

What is schizophrenia? Schizophrenia is a disorder characterized by distorted thoughts. It can cause you to hear or see things that are not there, or to believe things that are not true.

What are the symptoms of schizophrenia?

• Hallucinations, which is when you see, hear, smell, taste, or feel things that are not there or that other people do not experience.

• Delusions, which is when you believe things that are not true, such as believing that someone is out to get you when in fact they are not.

• Disorganized thoughts/speech, as well as making up words or saying things that do not make sense.

• Inability to show emotions

• Not moving or talking much

• Lack of interest and motivation in spending time with others.

What are the treatments for Schizophrenia?

• First line treatment for schizophrenia is medication management. At Think Well, we partner with you to find a medication regimen that works best for you to help reduce and control your symptoms and minimize side effects. To manage schizophrenia, you usually have to take medications for the rest of your life. It is important to continue on medications, even when feeling better, to prevent a relapse of symptoms.

• Psychotherapy can be useful for you and your family to learn ways to cope with symptoms, so that they are less disruptive and keep your symptoms from getting worse.

• Depressive disorders

• Generalized anxiety disorder

• Panic attacks

• Insomnia

• Bipolar disorder

• Postpartum depression and anxiety

• Post traumatic stress disorder Stress (PTSD)

• Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)

• Attention deficit disorders

• Schizoaffective disorder

• Schizophrenia