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While the term "sexual addiction" may not be accepted in the world of psychiatry, HealthyPlace.com Medical Director, Dr. Harry Croft, says it is very real and carries hefty consequences.
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Being an addict is difficult. The desire for drugs, alcohol or cigarettes can be so powerful that the need will disrupt the ability to lead a normal life.
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The topic of Tuesday’s show, Surviving the Suicide of a Child, was quite difficult, but we hope it may prevent the tragic loss of another life by suicide. HealthyPlace.com Medical Director, Dr. Harry Croft, provided some reasons why children and teens might choose to die by suicide:
• Depression
• Loss of relationship
• Drug and alcohol abuse
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Where do you turn? How do you cope when your child commits suicide?
The transformation from childhood into teenage years should be a memorable one. The progression from grade school to middle school, then to high school brings special moments such as school dances, track meets and new friends. However, some kids have different experiences. Pain from rejection, bullying, and disappointments consume some children and cause them to end their lives by suicide.
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Living with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) can cause a sufferer a lot of agony. HealthyPlace Medical Director, Dr. Harry Croft, says OCD sufferers are paralyzed by unwanted thoughts, doubt, and fear. It’s these irrational thoughts, reports Dr. Croft, that cause repetitive actions such as checking, counting, or washing hands, just to bring them to what they feel is a "safe" place.
The true inspiration of Tuesday’s show was our guest, James Callner. He took us through his journey with OCD from the very beginning, at age 29. Now in his late fifties, he still suffers from OCD, but is proud to say that he lives in a high-functioning state.
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Have you ever experienced unwanted thoughts or felt the need to repeat an action over-and-over again until you felt safe? Have these thoughts or actions caused you anxiety, to the point of interfering with your normal activities? If so, we invite you to watch Tuesday night’s show focusing on obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
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Parenting is a tough job. Parenting a child with a mental illness is unusually tough, as we learned from Tuesday evening's HealthyPlace TV Show.
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Anyone who is raising a child knows of the challenges involved. From a very young age, all the way into teenage years, parents sometimes struggle to understand mood behaviors, actions and learning problems of their precious children.
Many parents wonder: "is there something wrong with my child?" - but they can't put their finger on the problem or they make up excuses to validate the child's behavior - "all boys are like that."
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Mental health certainly carries a lot of stigma, but think about this -- how many adults have you ever heard discuss surviving child sexual abuse? Outside of my job, the answer would be "none." No one talks about it. They mention sexual predators or child molesters, but not what life is like after being sexually abused as a child.
On Tuesday night's HealthyPlace TV Show, the discussion centered around the impact child sexual abuse has later in life. Dr. Harry Croft, Medical Director of HealthyPlace, helped us understand how sexual abuse impacts victims in their adult lives. Many child abuse survivors suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, personality disorders and many self-harm. It's frightening, but some go on to become abusers themselves.
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In today’s world, there is much discussion on the subject of sexually abused children. On a regular basis, our nightly newscasts bring us appalling stories of sexual predators and their young, innocent victims. Do you ever stop to wonder what happens to these “children” as they turn into adults themselves and try to lead a normal life? What is a normal life after you realize that you’re youth has been taken away?
On Tuesday’s show (June 16), we'll dig into a topic that is often never talked about: adult survivors of child sexual abuse. Many times, victims try to lead normal lives but encounter problems such as low self esteem, problems with relationships, trust issues, and the ability to have normal sexual relations. As a result of the sexual abuse, other disorders such as PTSD and depression occur.
Thank you for your comment. I'm sorry you're having such overwhelming experiences. That sounds hard.
I would say that when I get really wrapped up in talking to myself because of hypomania, it's similar but I don't feel like I'm in an imagined place or dreaming. That's the part that may be concerning.
If you're experiencing distress because of these experiences, you absolutely should tell your doctor -- and make it clear that it's causing your distress. It does sounds like it falls into the mild psychosis category, but that doesn't occur with cyclothymia. That only occurs in bipolar I. Of course, you may be experiencing bipolar and psychotic symptoms, just in an unusual way. (There is a category of bipolar disorder for this called "Other Specified Bipolar and Related Disorder.") https://www.healthyplace.com/bipolar-disorder/bipolar-types/what-are-the-types-of-bipolar-disorder
Experiences like that are normally treated with antipsychotics. A low dose of one of those medications may be just what you need. Antipsychotics are serious medication, though, so you want to carefully consider whether you think it's worth taking them. Thoroughly discussing your options with your doctor should help you make that decision: https://www.healthyplace.com/thought-disorders/schizophrenia-articles/antipsychotic-medications-for-treating-psychotic-illness
If you choose to go down the medication route, go slowly and continually assess along the way. There are many antipsychotics available, so it can take time to find the right one for you.
It's really good that you've recognized these issues in yourself. Now you can work on lessening them.
Good luck.
-- Natasha Tracy