Psychiatry and mental health suffer heavily from stigma. As a result of that stigma, there has been a movement towards emphasizing mental health wellness, rather than psychiatric disorders. And because of the stigma associated with being labeled with psychiatric illness, psychiatric patients are now called ‘mental health clients.’ Psychiatric inpatient units have been renamed as […]
Can someone fake PTSD?
Yes, some of the PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) symptoms can be faked. However, the physical symptoms of PTSD are difficult to fake, as the physical symptoms are outside your voluntary control. The physical symptoms are manifestations of the activation of the sympathetic nervous system and the release of adrenaline, noradrenaline, and cortisol, which is […]
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Stressed out teens: are young people more stressed, and how to help them?
In a survey conducted by the American Psychological Association, teens reported similar stress levels to those in adults. Stress level was measured on a 10-point scale, and teens reported a stress level of 5.8, which is much higher than 3.9, the stress level which they reported was a normal level of stress. And compared to […]
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How Social Anxiety Disorder Develops- The Negative Cycle of Social Phobia
Social anxiety disorder, also known as social phobia, is an anxiety disorder characterized by the extreme fear of being embarrassed in public or being socially scrutinized. Because of this intense fear of social scrutiny, sufferers avoid crowded places and avoid performing in front of people. Social phobia develops from multiple factors, including situational triggers, thoughts and beliefs about the situation, […]
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How OCD Evolves- The Negative Cycle of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) is an anxiety disorder marked by recurrent, intrusive thoughts and uncontrollable rituals to decrease the distress. For a behavioral explanation of what reinforces the thought and ritual in obsessive compulsive disorder, let’s look at an example of a negative cycle of OCD: Let’s say you have OCD and are driving around a neighborhood. […]
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The Release of Cortisol During the Fight or Flight Response Occurs At The End Of What Pathway?
The release of cortisol during the fight or flight response occurs at the end of the HPA axis (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal) pathway. Fear is modulated via the amygdala, the part of the brain that is involved in the fear response, also called the fight or flight response, adrenal response, and the stress response. When the amygdala senses […]
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How to control nervousness during an interview?
I know of someone who works at an Asian grocery store who is 24 years old, and had graduated from a prestigious university with a degree in mechanical engineering. Although it has been 7 months since his graduation, he still has not submitted his resume to an engineering firm for an interview, and continues to […]
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Psychiatry fail: What we know about the current state of psychiatry
I know what you are thinking. Here’s yet another article on the failings of modern psychiatry by either an anti-psychiatry contingent (such as the Church of Scientology) or a psychiatrist who is fed up and throws out the baby with the bathwater. I am neither…I happen to be a psychiatrist who sees the beneficial effects […]
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Why you should not see a psychiatrist with less than 10 years experience
You should not see psychiatrists with less than 10 years of clinical experience after residency training. The reason is that it takes about 10 years to develop enough clinical sophistication to become a master clinician in psychiatry. Before becoming a master clinician in psychiatry, psychiatrists are limited in what they can do to help patients […]
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Can video games trigger an adrenaline response?
Yes, video games can trigger an adrenaline response. The release of adrenaline is triggered by stressors, and these include physical threat, fear, excitement, risky behaviors, bright lights, noise, and high temperatures. So the excitement from video games can trigger an adrenaline response. The adrenaline response is part of the fight or flight response, which is […]
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