What does the addict see....what does the addict feel....

No end in sight, lonliness

What do they need...hope....love...understanding...boundaries...treatment

We all struggle...

I recently read a book called “The Art of Racing in the Rain” by Garth Stein.  This is the fictional story of a family who struggles; and how they handle their fears and overcome adversity, as told through the eyes of a very wise family dog.  You may be reading this newsletter thinking “why would she be writing about a fictional dog book in this type of publication?”  As you know the Carolina Performance newsletter provides interesting factual information about anxiety, stress reduction, athletic performance and general life improvement.  I found this book, and this dog, to be very adept at addressing these areas in life that are daily struggles for many of us.  I have taken the liberty of quoting a few lines from the book to illustrate this.

One of my favorite quotes; which I believe relates to my practice in mental health is as follows:   "Could Denny have possibly appreciated the subjective nature of loneliness, which is something that exists only in the mind, not in the world, and, like a virus, is unable to survive without a willing host?" Upon reading this, I noticed that the word loneliness can be replaced with almost any concern; sadness, fear, rejection, failure, worthlessness, lack of self-esteem or any other struggle created in the mind.  These harmful feelings are like viruses to our soul, but only if we allow them to be.  These are the very issues that bring people to my office for help.  They want to be heard so they are not lonely, feel successful so they don’t feel like failures, and feel powerful so they do not feel fear.  We must learn to not be the “host” so these negative feelings will decrease, hopefully to the point where they cease to exist.  It is true that we sometimes need a little help in finding our way to a place free from self-persecution, but this place is there is there, inside our minds, waiting to be set free.

Darcee Ruble, LPC, LCAS

Carolina Performance

darceeruble@gmail.com

Anxiety

Hi everybody!  I want to provide some useful information on this blog from time to time.  As I have never really engaged in blogging please feel free to provide feedback, ask questions and give me ideas!  I need all the help I can get! :-)  My hope is that you will find the information informative and useful.  Please feel free to pass it on!  I will try to put some funny stuff from time to time since humor truly is a cure most things when we  reach for it!  Today the topic is anxiety.  Many of my blogs will be in the form of series.

I have been working with adults and teens who struggle with anxiety for years.  Over this time I have also noticed that more young children are presenting with symptoms of anxiety.  Anxiety can range from mild, causing very little disturbance in daily functioning to extremely debilitating, resulting in severe life limitations.  Symptoms can include: feeling nervous, feeling powerless,  a sense of impending danger, panic or doom, difficulty concentrating or hyper focus on the "problem or fear".  Physical symptoms are increased heart rate, hyperventilation, sweating, trembling, feeling tired or weak.   Panic attacks can have more acute symptoms such as increased heart rate, changed vision, feeling as if you are having a heart attack etc.

It is also important to note that anxiety can be pervasive or selective.  There are many types of anxiety:  separation anxiety (often associated with children but also seen in adults), selective mutism, specific phobias, social anxiety (often noted as a reason for first use of alcohol or drugs to alleviate symptoms), panic attacks (severe and most debilitating at the moment, can appear to happen for "no apparent reason"), agoraphobia, generalized anxiety, substance or medication induced anxiety and anxiety due to a medical condition.

Many people choose to treat anxiety with medications such as benzodiazepines.  Some examples are Xanax, Clonopin and Valium.  These medications are extremely effective at numbing the symptoms of anxiety but are alsoextremely addictive and can cause additional problems.  I will cover this in later topics.  They should only be used as needed and under the supervision of a psychiatrist.   I would strongly recommend therapy in any treatment program for anxiety as it is proven very beneficial in the control of anxiety symptoms.  Whereas medication will numb symptoms therapy actually teaches you to overcome the symptoms and with time and practice eliminate them in most cases.  Carolina Performance, which is located in North Raleigh, has an excellent and varied staff to  help you learn more about how to treat anxiety and live a healthier happier life as a result.