Integrative Psychiatry Updates

 Mental - Physical - Spiritual Health 

Remembering the Holocaust

MEMORY IS SHORT FOR SOME PEOPLE FOR PAST TRAGEDIES.

Facts can become an inconvenient truth. Claims of not knowing and denial of the truth, happen when individuals or groups devolve to ignorance, hatred, and violence. The anecdote is for more intense education and accurate teaching of history to avoid the repeat of any societal drift towards division, atrocities, and war.

Several poignant poems by a Holocaust survivor and family member are shared to personalize this tragic part of our collective history and its relevance for today.

AUTISM SPECTRUM TRAITS  (AST)

are common in our population and may contribute to unique advantages or disadvantages. There now is better recognition and awareness of autistic traits. Current scientific evidence supports that there is a predominant genetic origin of AST.

Autism Spectrum refers to the varied presentation of individuals that may have unique strengths but also challenges with difficulties in social skills, communication, motor coordination, repetitious movements or behaviors, and early-life developmental issues.

Individuals with milder autistic spectrum characteristics that may have social difficulties and unique interests, but without language problems or intellectual disability, have been referred to in the past as Asperger Syndrome. 

A discussion then follows about

• autism spectrum conditions
• Asperger traits
• early recognition and interventions
• assessment of adaptive functioning
• associated issues as anxiety and co-occurring problems

Question:

I have frequent severe brief periods of severe anxiety or panic, with shortness of breath, my heart pounding, the feeling that I'm going to lose my mind or worse, and like I have to flee from where I am - it happened the other day when I was at store and I had to leave. 

*The above question is a composite of many inquiries and not that of any actual or specific person.

Response:

If severe or continuing consult with a mental health provider as there is help and no need to continue to suffer from these episodes or allowing it to continue, especially if it interferes with your daily life or sleep.

Often severe intense periods of anxiety or panic attacks are triggered by some environmental cue, as a loud sound or some type of recognition of something that triggers a reminder of some past traumatic or frightening event. This, in turn, can trigger a "fight or flight response" with the release of the excitatory and stimulating hormone called adrenaline. All of this can happen so fast in the nervous system, that the panic attack may feel like it came "out of the blue".

Traditional physicians sometime will just use medications as tranquilizing or antidepressant medication. A mental health professional familiar with the holistic treatment of anxiety and panic would help to identify some of the roots of the bodies fear response, train you in deep relaxation, mindfulness, stress reduction, yoga and more. Optimizing lifestyle, exercise, sleep and helping you to deal better with current troubling issues - stress reduction..

There also is more specialized help if there is evidence of other conditions as PTSD or depression. Today there are available more integrative and depth approaches that have grown out of transpersonal, experiential, and humanistic therapies and body-centered trauma therapy work. Examples would be the Spiritual Emergence Work and Holotropic Breathwork.

see Dr. Parks prior articles: "Help for Anxiety and Panic" and  "Best Treatment for Anxiety and Panic"