General Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
Generalized anxiety disorder is characterized by excessive and unreasonable worrying about everyday life events, such as finances and health. To qualify as generalized anxiety, the fears must be irrational and interfere with everyday life. Symptoms include excessive, ongoing and uncontrollable worry for most days over at least 6 months and:
Sleep disturbances
Being easily startled
Difficulty concentrating
Frequent restroom use
Muscle tension

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Obsessive-compulsive disorder is characterized by intrusive thoughts that produce uneasiness, apprehension, fear, or worry (obsessions) that cause an individual to feel the need to engage in acts called compulsions for relief (ie. excessive washing or cleaning, repeated checking, aversion to particular numbers, and nervous rituals). The following are other symptoms that may be seen with OCD:
Dry skin from excessive hand washing
Distress when items are not organized a certain way
Doubts about whether safety measures were taken, such as turning off stove or locking doors
Fear of contamination when interacting with objects and people
Avoidance of situations that trigger obsessions or symptoms of compulsions
Checking items repeatedly, such as door locks
Counting in certain patterns
Excessive cleaning and bathing

Panic Disorder
Panic disorder is characterized by sudden and repeated attacks of unexpected and overwhelming fear. The attacks last several minutes and are characterized by a fear of disaster or of losing control even when there is no real danger. Other symptoms include:
Worrying about the onset of another attack
Avoidance of places where prior attacks occurred
Physical symptoms during attacks, such as: dizziness, tingling, numbness, racing heart, sweating, weakness; and chest or stomach pain

Social Anxiety
Social anxiety is a discomfort or a fear when a person is in social interactions that involve a concern about being judged or evaluated by others. It is characterized by an intense fear of what others are thinking (specifically fear of embarrassment, criticism, or rejection), which results in an individual feeling insecure, and that they are not good enough for other people. Symptoms include:
Fear of judgment
Difficultly making eye contact
Fear of others noticing the anxiety
Avoidance of social situations
Physical symptoms include: blushing, sweating, upset stomach, nausea, rapid heartbeat, shaky voice, muscle tension, diarrhea, confusion and trembling

My practice utilizes Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to treat various forms of anxiety. CBT techniques teaches patients to recognize negative behaviors and thoughts and replace them with positive ones. Examples of these techniques include flooding, grounding and thought stopping.

Book Recommendations

Eating Disorders:
When Food is Love—–Geneen Roth
Fat is a Family Affiar—–Judi Hollis
Food for Love—– Janet Greesen
Binge No More—–Joyce Nash
Love to Eat- Hate to Eat—–Elyse Fitzpatrick

Codependent No More—–Melody Beattie
Beyond Codependency—–Melody Beattie
Facing Codependency—- Pia Mellody

The 5 Love Languages—– Gary Chapman
The Seven Principles for Making a Marriage Work—-John Gottman
Surviving Infidelity—–R. Subotnik and G. Harris
Boundaries in Marriage—–Henry Cloud John Townsend

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