OCD is obsessive-compulsive disorder, a mental illness under the umbrella of anxiety disorders. However, OCD is not just needing your hair to look perfect on the day of a presentation or ironing your underwear, for those who suffer from this disorder, their day to day life is functionally impaired. The individuals affected by OCD have intense feelings of obsessive thinking and compulsion that are persistent, repetitive, and require an urgent need for action. Living with OCD directly interferes with a person’s quality of life. For a person who suffers from OCD, a typical day consists of a vicious cycle filled with doubts, anxieties, and inconsolable feelings. Some common afflictions are: Fear of contamination: This can be food, water, or even the clothing you wear. Poor hygiene, Hand washing, face washing, doing laundry, doing the dishes. Ideas of personal harm: Suicide, cutting, stabbing. Ideas of harming others: This is not limited to homicide, but even harming family members, i.e. stabbing a loved one in their sleep. Ideas of physical damage: Property or personal belongings Resisting the urge to carry out a compulsion can be difficult short term, but extremely useful long-term. OCD gives a person these consistent intrusive thoughts that are…
Social anxiety is anxiety related to anticipating or around a social situation. For most, the underlying fear is of evaluation from others in social circumstances, whether it be positive or negative. When you suffer from social anxiety, your goal may be to stay as inconspicuous as possible. Unfortunately for some, they may find themselves avoiding the situations where they anticipate being anxious or use alcohol or drugs to self-medicate before entering these situations. Speaking to an anxiety counselor sooner rather than later, can decrease your risks associated with alcohol abuse, depression, loneliness, decreased occupational advancement and the increased likelihood of remaining single. If social anxiety is stopping you from doing the things you want or need to do, seek professional help today. Challenging yourself on your own is effective until it is ineffective. Lifeworks anxiety counselors are experts in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and stay up to date on all advances for a drug-free approach to dealing with your individualized needs. CBT works by focusing on your behavior and what you are thinking about the why and how of your social anxiety. An integral part of CBT is to help you practice approaching social situations and remain in them in order to learn that nothing really…
Break ups are emotionally, mentally, socially, and physically difficult. For many people, their partner becomes a center focus of their day to day life, so when that person leaves, their day to day life is significantly impacted. The first feeling you may feel is rejection, then anger or sadness or self-shame. There is a time in which these feelings come and go, it’s a natural healing process, however, if these feelings become overwhelming, then it may be a good idea to seek counseling. Overcoming the codependency in the relationship is very important to find new perspective in your life. Entering a relationship opens you up with ideas and possibilities of a future, and when there is a break up a part of the grieving process is accepting that what you wanted to happen no longer may happen with that person. The initial feelings of rejection are related to feelings of self-worth and self-love. When you seek counseling, the therapeutic process will help you recognize and then accept the way you feel about yourself affects the way you relate to people in the world. Taking a closer look at rejection and examining whether someone is a dumper or a dumpee in…
Hitting rock bottom means different things for different people. Lifeworks counselors in the DFW have spent countless hours helping and researching the many ways any one person can find their way up from rock bottom. Taking steps towards happiness is an initial step. At times, we forget what makes us happy, especially if we have not done it in a long time. Adding happiness to your life, even in small ways like a manicure or bird watching, can increase stability and predictability while decreasing chaos. The daily flow you follow is a big player in how you can break bad patterns and find positive ones to find your way up. Creating a flow that allows you to take a mental break will help promote positive thoughts. This takes time, so when you begin the therapeutic process, your counselor will set up a plan that works for you while adjusting to your needs as time passes. Throughout your days of finding your way back up, there will be issues that will arise and possibly nag at you. Some of these issues may help the therapeutic process, allowing you to see what it is you are holding on to. At this point,…
