It is common to feel nervous in some social situations. Many people feel anxious going on a date, interviewing for a job, or giving a presentation. However, in contrast to shyness or nervousness, social anxiety disorder is characterized by significant fear, worry, and avoidance of social interactions that interferes with school, work, relationships, and other activities.

In most of Western society, men are often expected to be “strong and in control” (Mental Health Foundation, 2), and while this is not a bad thing, it can make it more difficult for men to access the help they need. Because of the stigma around men’s mental health as well as being culturally conditioned to keep most observations around one’s feelings internally, “men may also be more likely to use potentially harmful coping methods such as drugs or alcohol and less like to talk to family or friends” (Mental Health Foundation, 2).

It can be a struggle for people of all ages to step away from screens, and limits on screen time can be a frequent source of conflict between parents and their children. Why is it so hard for us to step away from screens? It boils down to neurotransmitters, especially dopamine. Dopamine is commonly thought of as a reward neurotransmitter.

One of the most common things I hear from parents when they bring their child into the office for treatment of selective mutism is: “I hadn’t even heard of this!” or “We’ve had them in speech therapy this whole time, even though they speak perfectly at home!” This is largely due to a misunderstanding of selective mutism and a lack of overall awareness of the disorder. Many caregivers as well as healthcare and school professionals haven’t heard of selective mutism and attribute a lack of speaking to the fact that a child is “shy.”

Parenting an adolescent comes with a unique set of challenges. Many of the pressures that teens are dealing with today are new. Social media and the competitiveness of college acceptance, along with the lasting effects of the pandemic, all contribute to the pressures facing adolescents. Add on additional struggles with general anxiety, OCD, social anxiety, testing anxiety, and parenting can feel overwhelming. Below are some suggestions to help guide you through this stage:

Austin Anxiety and OCD Specialists provides exposure and response prevention for clients experiencing OCD and phobias throughout the Round Rock, Cedar Park, and Austin area. Exposure and Response and Prevention (ERP) is typically used alongside another therapeutic modality (e.g., Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) in the treatment of OCD, phobias, anxiety, and eating disorders.

In every family, there will be times when children refuse to cooperate and argue with

their parents, resulting in conflict. Parenting during these times can be frustrating and tiring,

especially when you are not sure how to respond to your child’s behavior. Luckily, there are

some specific parenting strategies that have been shown through research to be effective in

fostering a strong parent-child relationship and increasing cooperation in children.

Teens are experiencing higher levels of anxiety than before the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to what is being referred to as a “mental health crisis.” Many children and teens with anxiety set high expectations for themselves, and this leads to increased anxiety. While many parents do set high expectations for their children, it’s not uncommon for parents to report that their teens are harder on themselves than anyone else.

“Do you think I’m going to be okay?”

That’s a real text (or at least a variation of one) that I sent to my mom, every day (sometimes multiple times per day) throughout the entirety of my college career. I was deep in an anxiety spiral that I had no real insight into, beyond that creeping feeling of “something is wrong.” At the time, I had no inkling that there could be a version of life where anxiety didn’t have such a strong impact on me.

Is Therapy Right for You?

It seems that therapy has become somewhat of a social media trend. Which, while wonderful, may lead to those who are not yet ready for therapy deciding, after a few sessions, that therapy is not for them. So, how does someone figure out if they are ready to begin their therapy journey?

When you hear the phrase “mental health treatment”, what do you picture? Is it a therapist’s office in a high-rise building? Maybe it is a large healthcare facility. Maybe it is a center on a ranch in another state. Mental health treatment can look like a lot of different things! In the same way we need individually tailored approaches to treatment, we also need different levels of care to accommodate varied levels of mental health concerns. Below are some of the most common levels of care currently in place for mental health treatment.

Emetophobia is an excessive fear of vomiting. Emetophobia is often classified as a Specific Phobia, however, there is also thought that it could be considered under the umbrella of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

We can probably say with quite a bit of confidence that none of us really like vomit. The difference between individuals with and without emetophobia is that those with emetophobia truly fear vomit and the act of vomiting.

When anxiety and depression find their way into your world, whether personally, with a family member or dear friend, they have a way of getting us stuck, and pull us from the things we care most about. It’s as if you are frozen, clinging to a boulder, afraid to look around, wanting to go upward, and unsure of the next step. In Acceptance and Commitment therapy, or ACT, this “stuckness” is called psychological inflexibility.

Spring is here – and by every way of its arrival, so is testing season in schools. Testing can bring up anxiety in any child, and as a parent, it is difficult to know how to best support your child. Testing anxiety, which is also considered performance anxiety, involves the fear of being judged as inadequate, as well as the fear of underperforming or making a mistake and of failure and/or rejection.

Children with anxious temperaments or those who worry about making mistakes or performing in general are particularly susceptible to feeling test anxiety. Usually when a child thinks that they aren’t going to do well on a test, then they tend to feel more anxious going in.

It’s a familiar scene: you pick your teen up from school and try asking about their day, but their face is buried in their smartphone, and you get grunts or, at best, one-word answers. You know that the lure of their friends is partly to blame, and the internet is where everyone congregates. After all, you’re a hip parent who follows Chrissy Teigen and your favorite HGTV stars on Instagram! You’ve also heard of the dangers of the internet, cyberbullying, and internet addiction—and you just miss connecting with your teen!

When I first start talking to parents about SPACE, I often introduce the concept by saying that responding supportively to a child’s anxious emotions is as paradoxical as riding a bike backwards. But unlike riding a bike backwards, SPACE can be extremely effective and get us where we need to go. SPACE, standing for “Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions”, is a parent-based treatment program targeted to treat children’s anxiety. That is to say, your child never has to step foot into a therapist’s office in order for SPACE to have a positive impact on the family system and on your child’s anxiety.

With the COVID-19 pandemic winding down in some areas of the world, I had the opportunity to travel to Denver, Colorado for this year’s Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) Conference in March. I was so happy to be back among other clinicians and researchers to learn about the treatment of anxious and depressive symptoms. Here are a few of the lessons I learned on this trip:

Relaxation relies on paradoxical processes. What this means is that it is challenging to “try to relax.” We have all been in a situation where someone tells us to calm down, and we react with anger and irritation. Trying to suppress our emotions, numb or not feel them, may work to get rid of unwanted feelings. However, numbing, avoiding, and suppressing emotions can dull our emotional experience and affect how we interpret what is going on in our lives and interact with others. Psychotherapy can help teach us proven techniques to lower our stress levels and anxiety without getting rid of emotions.

Although the Thanksgiving holiday is behind us, continuing the practice of gratitude has mental health benefits for all of us. Gratitude may be especially helpful for kids and teens who suffer from symptoms of anxiety and depression, given its ability to improve symptoms associated with both of these categories of mental health disorders. Here are a few ways that gratitude can be helpful for kids and teens:

School Avoidance and School-Related Anxiety: What to Look For

The school year is in full swing and many students have settled into their classrooms and friendships. However, some parents are still noticing school-avoidant behavior and continue to wonder about the worries and fears that attending school might bring. Consider these questions when thinking about your student’s school avoidance: