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Bulimia Nervosa: Eating Disorders

GalleryJudy Gurfein Leave a comment

Bulimia Nervosa: Eating Disorders

By: Isabella Favuzza

Many people have critiques when observing their appearance in the mirror. However, these critiques may transform into unhealthy and even life-threatening obsessions. Some may hyper-focus on their bodyweight and only see flaws looking back when staring into the mirror. These harsh judgments can lead to dieting, purging, and/or restriction. Bulimia nervosa involves binge eating and purging those unwanted calories. Binge eating is the overconsumption of food, even when one is uncomfortably full. Some feel the uncontrollable need to eat as a coping mechanism for life’s stressors, complex situations, etc. Those who binge-eat typically feel embarrassed or ashamed of their eating habits and attempt to reduce their caloric intake through unhealthy mechanisms. The purging state rids the body of overconsumption through voluntary vomiting, dieting pills, misusing laxatives, etc.

Bulimia nervosa is a complex mental illness that cannot be easily overcome. Those with bulimia nervosa live in fear of gaining weight, despite their involuntary cravings to eat. Purging through laxatives, dieting pills, and excessive vomiting can be potentially fatal. Psychological treatments can help reduce bulimic symptoms through cognitive-behavioral therapy. This form of therapy encourages healthy eating patterns and nutrition training to establish a well-balanced diet. Psychological intervention is designed to enable bulimics to regain control of their lives by managing cravings and stress, providing well-balanced nutrition, and instilling emotional stability.

If you or someone you know is struggling with an eating disorder, please contact our psychotherapy offices in New York or New Jersey to talk to one of our licensed professional psychologists, psychiatrists, psychiatric nurse practitioners, or psychotherapists at Arista Counseling & Psychotherapy. Contact our Paramus, NJ or Manhattan, NY offices respectively, at (201) 368-3700 or (212) 722-1920 to set up an appointment. For more information, please visit http://www.counselingpsychotherapynjny.com/

Source:

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/bulimia/symptoms-causes/syc-20353615

Child Therapy: Behavioral Issues

GalleryJudy Gurfein Leave a comment

Child Therapy: Behavioral Issues

By: Isabella Favuzza

Many assume that children are naïve; however, they are quite receptive to social cues and environmental issues. Children typically sense unpleasant emotions from surrounding adults and internalize these feelings due to an inability to discuss complex situations. Children who experience these larger-than-life moments for their age may resort to behavioral defiance. There are numerous environmental stressors that lead to behavioral outbursts, such as divorce, separation, lack of friends, etc. These stressors may cause aggression, lack of empathy, refusal to adjust behavior, school disruptions, lack of social opportunities, or self-injury. A psychologist assists children challenged with complex obstacles and channels these undesirable emotions into positive, constructive thoughts.

Behavioral therapy identifies unwanted behaviors and enables children to understand said behaviors and their root causes. Children can understand complex issues in latent terms and cope with or adjust their actions to make healthy choices. There are various types of therapeutic techniques to communicate these feelings and provide greater insight. Play therapy involves toys that engage the child while acting out distressing situations. During exposure therapy, the psychologist discusses troublesome triggers and explores solutions if or when a child encounters them. Clinical reconstruction enables children to transform negative, destructive thoughts into positive emotions through therapeutic exercises. Ultimately, behavioral therapy utilizes reinforcement of pleasant actions, trigger identification, and therapeutic techniques to prevent outbursts while modeling proper behavior.

If you or your child is struggling with behavioral issues or mental health please contact our psychotherapy offices in New York or New Jersey to talk to one of our licensed professional psychologists, psychiatrists, psychiatric nurse practitioners, or psychotherapists at Arista Counseling & Psychotherapy. Contact our Paramus, NJ or Manhattan, NY offices respectively, at (201) 368-3700 or (212) 722-1920 to set up an appointment. For more information, please visit http://www.counselingpsychotherapynjny.com/

Source:

https://www.lumierechild.com/blog/does-your-child-need-behavioral-therapy

Depression During The Holidays

GalleryJudy Gurfein Leave a comment

Depression during the Holidays

By: Diane Ulloa

Social isolation is one of the biggest predictors of depression and social media has made it so you can watch all your friends and family celebrate from thousands of miles away. According to the American Psychological Association around 38% of people surveyed said their stress unfortunately increased during the holiday season which can lead to physical illness, depression, anxiety, and substance misuse. It is very common to experience depression or anxiety during the holiday season due to the loss of a family member. Stress also accompanies buying gifts, alongside with social anxiety that comes with extended family reunions. People battling with anxiety or depression can feel overwhelmed when they are met with the unrealistic expectations of the holiday season and with financial burdens that may come during this time.

To combat these obstacles, which get in the way of family fun, one can set realistic expectations of the holiday parties, and realistic expectations of one’s own self. You can do this by taking these steps:

  1. Pace yourself: Do not take on more responsibilities than you can handle and this can also be for food and drinking.
  2. Live and enjoy the present: don’t set yourself up for disappointment by comparing the good ol’ days of the past with the present.
  3. Try to find holiday activities that won’t strain your pockets: going on a drive to look at the beautiful lights in a nearby neighborhood, window shopping, and watching good holiday movies.
  4. Make time for yourself, and make time to take your mental health into account. Surrounding yourself with caring people that can understand your daily battles can be very beneficial.
  5. Be careful not to overspend: overspending can lead to depression or anxiety later on down the road.
  6. If you are lonely, try volunteering time to help others, this could be volunteering at your local place of worship or perhaps at a homeless shelter.

If you or someone you know is struggling with their mental health, or has seasonal depression please contact our psychotherapy offices in New York or New Jersey to talk to one of our licensed professional psychologists, psychiatrists, psychiatric nurse practitioners, or psychotherapists at Arista Counseling & Psychotherapy. Contact our Paramus, NJ or Manhattan, NY offices respectively, at (201) 368-3700 or (212) 722-1920 to set up an appointment. For more information, please visit http://www.counselingpsychotherapynjny.com/

Sources: https://www.webmd.com/depression/holiday-depression-stress

Burnout in College Students (Part 1)

GalleryJudy Gurfein Leave a comment

Tatyana A. Reed

With school coming into full swing, before we can even get that deep, it’s time to look at burnout, particularly in students. Have you ever taken on way too many tasks and at the last minute realized it’s causing an overwhelming feeling of exhaustion and being stressed out? Or have you ever been so busy you feel like nothing is going to get done correctly or done at all? If you have felt like this, nine times out of ten you were experiencing burnout.

According to pyschologytoday.com burnout is “a state of emotional, mental, and often physical exhaustion brought on by prolonged or repeated stress.” Burnout is not a widely talked about topic unless the causes have been detrimental to an individual. In this article, we will talk about the symptoms, affects, and how to avoid burnout.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN STRESS AND BURNOUT

Before we can talk about the signs of burnout, we first have to understand that there is a difference between burnout and stress. David Ballard, member of the American Psychological Association, describes burnout as “an extended period of time where someone experiences exhaustion and a lack of interest in things, resulting in a decline in their job [academic] performance.”

SIGNS OF BURNOUT

Here are just some of the early indicators of college burnout according to collegeinfogeek.com:

  • Constant exhaustion
  • Lack of motivation
  • Constant frustration
  • Grades beginning to decline
  • Struggling to pay attention
  • Disengagement from friends and colleagues

WHAT MAY BE CAUSING YOUR BURNOUT 

A study conducted by University of South Maine in 2006 had 354 students answer questions that helped look at why burnout may be happening to college students. Here are the four most prevalent answers:

  • 13% said it was due to lack of motivation on their personal part
  • 25% attributed it to issues caused by their part time job ( finance and lack of time) and due to family issues
  • 5% said it was caused by a professor
  • And the most prevalent answer was because of having too many assignments on their plate

 

If you or someone you know is dealing with burnout, please contact our psychotherapy offices in New York or New Jersey to talk to one of our licensed professional psychologists, psychiatrists, psychiatric nurse practitioners, or psychotherapists at Arista Counseling & Psychotherapy. Contact our Paramus, NJ or Manhattan, NY offices respectively, at (201) 368-3700 or (212) 722-1920 to set up an appointment. For more information, please visit http://www.counselingpsychotherapynjny.com/.

 

References:

Harrison, Mike. “Avoid College Burnout.” Great Lakes Christian College, 22 Jan. 2018, http://www.glcc.edu/avoid-college-burnout/ (PHOTO)

Jerry, Lisa M. “10 Signs you’re Burning Out — And What To Do About It.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 3 Jan. 2018, http://www.forbes.com/sites/learnvest/2013/04/01/10-signs-youre-burning-out-and-what-to-do-about-it/.

Stephanie Cushman & Richard West (2006) Precursors to College Student Burnout: Developing a Typology of Understanding, Qualitative Research Reports in Communication, 7:1, 23-31, DOI: 10.1080/17459430600964638

Vaiana, Dominic. “Burnout in College: What Causes It and How to Avoid It.” College Info Geek, 5 Mar. 2019, collegeinfogeek.com/student-burnout/