The University of Melbourne Psychology Clinic
Some common psychological complaints, and clinical treatments:
- agoraphobia
- anxiety disorders
- cognitive behaviour therapy
- coping with physical illness
- depression
- generalised anxiety disorder
- mood disorders
- panic disorder
- obsessive-compulsive disorder
- phobias
- social phobia
- sleep disorder
- stress
Agoraphobia
Agoraphobia is a fear of being in places or situations from which it may be difficult or embarrassing to get away, or the fear that help might be unavailable if needed.
People with agoraphobia most commonly experience fear in a cluster of situations: in supermarkets and department stores, crowded places of all kinds, confined spaces, public transport, lifts, freeways and heights. People experiencing agoraphobia may find comfort in the company of a safe person or object. This may be a spouse, friend, pet or medicine carried with them.
Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety disorders are a group of illnesses, each characterised by persistent feelings of high anxiety. There are feelings of continual or extreme discomfort and tension, with the fear of panic attacks, usually without discernible cause. People are likely to be diagnosed with an anxiety disorder when their level of anxiety and feelings of panic are so extreme that they significantly interfere with daily life and stop them doing what they want to do. Anxiety disorders affect the way the person thinks, feels and behaves and, if not treated, cause considerable suffering and distress. Anxiety disorders are common and affect one in 20 people at any given time. Effective treatments currently include cognitive behaviour therapy and/or medication.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) is based on the idea that some of the problems related to mental illness occur because of the way people react to, think about and perceive things. CBT is a relatively short term, focused approach to the treatment of many types of emotional, behavioural and psychiatric problems. It is a collaborative and individualised program that helps individuals to identify unhelpful thoughts and behaviours and learn or relearn healthier skills and habits. CBT is one of the most established and researched psychological therapies for emotional, psychological and psychiatric dysfunction. For many problems such as anxiety and depression, CBT is as effective as medication and can also enhance the effects of medication.
Coping with Physical Illness
Physical illness is stressful. Stress can affect a person's recovery and the way they cope with the illness and its treatment. Chronic physical illnesses such as diabetes, cardiac problems and renal failure can change the way a person lives, sees themselves and relates to others. The person may not only need to learn how to adjust to life with the physical effects of the illness. They may need to learn how to cope with negative feelings, maintain confidence and a positive self image, maintain social relationships when faced with an uncertain medical future and avoid social isolation. There are things to do which help the person come to terms with the new direction their life has taken.
Depression
The word 'depression' is often used to describe the feelings of sadness which all of us experience at some stage of our lives. It is also a term used to describe a form of mental illness called clinical depression. Clinical depression can develop in people who have coped well with life, who are good at their work and happy in family and social relationships. They become low-spirited, lose their enjoyment of life and suffer disturbed sleep patterns. They lose their appetite, lack concentration and energy and may lose weight. Feelings of guilt are also common. Sometimes their feelings of hopelessness and despair can lead to thoughts of suicide. Professional assessment and treatment is always necessary and in severe cases, hospitalisation may be required initially.
Generalised Anxiety Disorder
People with this disorder worry constantly about harm affecting themselves or loved ones, for example, financial disaster, their health, work or personal relationships. The irrational worry is accompanied by a feeling of constant apprehension.
Mood Disorders
Mood disorders refer to a group of illnesses characterised by excessive or long-term depressed mood or periods of mania that affects the person's life. Clinical depression is one example of a mood disorder. Another example of a mood disorder is bipolar disorder. A person with bipolar mood disorder experiences depressive episodes alternating with periods of mania involving extreme happiness, over-activity, rapid speech, a total lack of inhibition and, in more serious instances, delusions of grandeur.
Panic Disorder
People with this disorder experience extreme panic attacks in situations where most people would not be afraid. The attacks are accompanied by all the unpleasant physical symptoms of anxiety, with a fear that the attack will lead to death or a total loss of control. It is because of this that some people start to experience a fear of going outside and being in places where help is not at hand.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
This disorder involves constant unwanted thoughts, and often results in the performance of elaborate rituals in an attempt to control or banish the persistent thoughts. The rituals are usually time consuming and seriously interfere with everyday life. For example, people may be constantly driven to wash their hands or continually return home to check that the door is locked or the oven is turned off.
People with this disorder are often acutely embarrassed and keep it a secret, even from their families.
Phobias
Everyone has some irrational fears, but phobias are intense fears about particular objects or situations which interfere in our lives. These might include fear of heights, water, dogs, closed spaces, snakes or spiders. Someone with a specific phobia is fine when the feared object is not present. However, when faced with the feared object or situation, the person can become highly anxious and experience a panic attack.
People affected by phobias can go to great lengths to avoid situations which would force them to confront the object or situation which they fear.
Social Phobia
People with social phobia fear that others will judge everything they do in a negative way. They believe they are permanently flawed and worthless if any sign of poor performance is detected. They cope by trying to do everything perfectly, limiting what they do in front of others, especially eating, drinking, speaking or writing, or they withdraw gradually from contact with others.
Sleep Problems
Sleep can be disturbed in many ways. The most common sleep disorder in adults is insomnia. Insomnia refers to difficulties in getting to sleep, staying asleep or in the quality of sleep. Over one third of people experience insomnia from time to time, but only around five per cent need treatment for the condition. The concept of 'a good sleep' differs widely from person to person. While the average night's sleep for an adult is around seven or eight hours, some people only need four, while others like up to 10 hours or more. What seems like insomnia to one person might be considered a good sleep by another. Transient or short term insomnia can be caused by stressful episodes, depression, jet lag, change in sleeping environments, some acute medical illnesses and stimulant medications. Insomnia is usually helped when the sufferer learns and practices relaxation techniques and sleep hygiene habits. Some of the more severe sleep disorders need to be treated at a sleep disorder clinic.
Stress
Stress is expressed in many ways - including how we feel (anxiety, depression, tension or anger), the way we think (poor concentration, forgetfulness, indecisiveness, apathy or hopelessness) and how we behave (excessive drinking and smoking, insomnia, accident proneness, weight problems). When we feel under stress, our heartbeat, breathing rate and blood pressure all go up. The longer we feel stressed, the greater the demand on our body. Prolonged stress can lead to or exacerbate a range of physiological complications and psychological difficulties.
Definitions amended from VicHealth, Better Health Victoria and The Australian Association for Cognitive Behaviour Therapy