Ranjan Patel

Please seek out therapy with a cognitive behavior therapist, where the therapist can help you counter/rebut these negatively spiraling thoughts. You will learn to work with your mind in ways that are more constructive for you, and where you will have more control over what and how and when you feel. It's actually very easy to learn this, especially with some mindfulness techniques. Good luck to you!

Yes, psychotherapy would definitely help you. Please make an appointment with a psychiatrist for a consultation and also with a psychologist or therapist for therapy. The psychiatrist will evaluate whether you need medication, and the therapist/psychologist would teach you skills to cope with the stressors of life. Please don't suffer needlessly--it's very hard to live as you are, with such debilitating depression, and there's no need to go on like this, not when we have wonderfully effective treatments for it. Though it's fine for you to also talk to your friends and family (which is good because it reduces your sense of isolation), friends and family is not a substitute for professional mental health care. If you have insurance, you can visit their website and locate mental health psychiatrists and therapists on your list who are accepting new patients. And this platform, Find A Top Doc.com is an excellent resource for locating the appropriate doctor. I wish you best of luck!

While your mother's grief is natural, it sounds like she would do well with some intervention. It would be excellent for her to see a psychologist who can help sort and explore her grief, locate support groups in her area, and decrease her loneliness/isolation. Please help an appropriate therapist in her area, either through her insurance providers or through this platform. Though grief is a natural and normal process, it's important for her grief to not immobilize her; we want her bereavement to remain at a point where she is functional, and if she's not, to intervene so it doesn't become "complicated" grief.

Yes, definitely--a psychologist/therapist can help with "relaxation therapy," which takes many forms, e.g. biofeedback, meditation exercises, mindfulness training, etc. You can learn skills which will help you modulate and manage stress hormones in your body and your physiological reactions to stress and environmental pressure, which your mind mediates. Please consult with a therapist to help you learn these skills--it's likely to be a short term treatment, which may not take longer than 8 sessions. Good luck to you!

I'm so sorry that you were seriously bullied; nobody understand the harsh effects it can have, and how it lingers long after into adulthood. It seems like your childhood experiences of having been bullied left some traumatic memories, which on some level, though you might not be consciously aware of it, has left a painful residue. Your dreams/nightmares is the way your unconscious mind is trying to express and resolve the pain. Please please seek therapy with a therapist, who can help you sort out and explore the trauma. Your nightmares will resolve as you begin to release the old hurts and fears. This is a painful, but necessary process, and I hope you will step forward to this challenge. Though it will be hard to do this, it is infinitely easier than the pain you have already lived through in being bullied. You are a not only a survivor, but a thriver. You're a testimony to the resiliency of our human spirit. Please seek help. Interview several therapists over the phone until you find someone who you 'mesh' well with and who you feel "gets it.' You will not regret it. Wind at your back ... I wish you well :-)

It would be wise to have her see a therapist--she's been through a trauma and is understandably scared to drive gain. A therapist can help her slowly work to resolve the memories of the accident, as well as slowly induct her into the driving role again, with gradual simulated and/or real exercises designed as desensitizing her to the stimuli that's she's afraid of. Please have her begin therapy ASAP!

It's important for your brother to see a physician and also a psychologist/therapist. His doctor can do a physical and run some tests, checking for iron levels, etc. He may have an issue called "pagophagia," where iron deficiency should be ruled out. Or this may be a symptom of anxiety where it's a form of self-soothing. Either way, it needs to be investigated medically and psychologically. Good luck to you and what a great sibling, you are, btw, that you're reaching out with caring on his behalf!

Yes, definitely--a psychologist can teach your mother many different types of exercises where she can learn to cognitively and emotionally cope with and manage her chronic pain more effectively. With cognitive, behavioral, and mindfulness exercises as well as placing her pain in a larger context, she can learn to live a more fulfilling life.

Yes, please consult with a child psychologist and/or child psychiatrist--he/she will evaluate your son and prescribe a course of treatment for him. This may or may not include medications along with play therapy on a regular basis. There are many hopeful options. I wish you both well!

Your husband needs to see his physician for a thorough physical and blood work-up, just to make sure he's physiologically healthy. Also, for him to go into individual therapy for "anger management." It would also be good for you to go into your own individual therapy, because it's hurtful and difficult for you to be in a relationship with your husband whom you never know when he'll have a rageful, violent episode--this can lead you to feel anxious and apprehensive, on high alert. It also would help for you both to be in couples therapy in order to work on how optimally to interact with each other, learn better communication strategies, etc. Good luck to you--and please follow through with these suggestions. I do not want for his behavior to escalate, which if steps are not take to address his behavior, there's potential for you and/or him to get hurt. I wish you the best :-)

Yes, psychoanalysis can definitely help ferret out deeper, underlying reasons. Though analysis is a wonderful route to explore layers of yourself, it is a lengthy and costly process. If you want an equally effective, quicker approach, psychotherapy is also a terrific alternative. You can dissect what's going on in your psyche, such that your 'sleep mind space' is brimming with residue from your waking life. Even a few visits with a therapist whom you like and trust, will go a long way in helping you sort out your dream activity. Good luck!

Please make an appointment with your PCP or internist — he/she will assess whether to refer him to a neurologist and/or psychiatrist, who will administer a series of cognitive tests and brain imaging — this is in order to pinpoint a diagnosis, e.g., it could be anything from a side effect of his meds, to a form of dementia. It is also possible that he is not actually visually “seeing” his dead relatives, but imagining them in his mind — this is not an actual hallucination, and may inform his subsequent diagnosis. A diagnosis is necessary for proper treatment. It’s also key that you take him ASAP because a baseline is important for the doctor to establish — this will help track the effectiveness of his meds and also monitor his decline or lack thereof.

Though anxiety and panic attacks occur with depression, if you notice that your panic attacks started after your anti-depressant medication, it’s possible that though the med is treating your depression, it also has a side effect. Please see your prescribing physician and report this — there are other meds that treat both anxiety and depression. Because we do not currently have a blood test to accurately predict what you will respond best to, you may need to take anti-depressants on a trial-and-error basis, until you find one that you respond to, with minimal side effects. You definitely should not have to suffer from panic attacks. If your prescribing physician is not a psychiatrist, I suggest going to one in that they have expertise with this class of medications. Also, seek out the help of a psychologist/therapist, who will help you develop skills to better manage both your depression and panic attacks.

You are right to be concerned. Being preoccupied with losing weight (especially if she’s objectively a normal weight) is a serious mental health problem—she may have anorexia and/or body dysmorphic disorder, in which her body image is distorted to the point, she obsessively controls her eating portions and quality. It’s very important that you take her to both her PCP and a psychiatrist, as well as a psychologist, especially one who specializes in food related issues. This is often a symptom of another underlying issue, which needs to be addressed and treated. If this is done, you can avoid serious health problems manifesting from being seriously underweight.

Congratulations on discovering exercise as a natural anti-depressant! Many research studies have shown that for mild depression, regular cardiovascular exercise is as effective as anti-depressants for elevating mood—an increase in endorphins, neurotransmitters such as dopamine, and adrenaline—all of these are responsible for an increase in well-being, higher locus of control, feeling more equipped and empowered, with an uplifting in mood. The key factor is to do your exercise regularly, preferably daily. If you have physical ailments of any kind, please consult your physician first.

OCD is a disease where habitual and ritualized behaviors are symptomatic. It is a manifestation of underlying anxiety and is a source of great suffering for the person who lives with OCD. Even though you feel irritated by her habits, challenging yourself to show empathy for her will help yourself and her. Encourage and support her to get professional help--she should consult a psychiatrist for medication assessment and also see a psychologist who can work with her on managing her symptoms. There are many tools and skills she can learn to cope better and live a more fulfilling life.

Yes, a psychologist can help him both with his generalized anxiety and his situational trigger of exams. We have many effective treatments for your son's situation, e.g. psychotherapy: exposure and systematic desensitization, as well as medications to reduce or eliminate his panic. Exams are a necessary part of schooling and he shouldn't have to needlessly suffer.

Though you may have a mild form of depression that is continuous, you seem to be describing an emotional upset that is borne from hormonal changes, e.g., premenstrual. Please consult with your ob/gyn for advice on dealing with this -- this is from the medical perspective. It would also be wise to see a psychologist -- you can learn ways to deal with this time of the month, helping you prepare for days when you're more likely to feel off kilter. What you're going through is a common issue that many women face, and with the proper treatment, you'll be able to manage it effectively.

It's unusual to be prescribed an "anti-psychotic" medication for OCD. Though weight gain is a very common side-effect of anti-psychotic meds, there are other meds who can achieve the same result with less weight gain--unfortunately, she will have to go through a period of trial and error with other meds, to see which one will work for her, with minimal side-effects. Please consult with the prescribing physician, who should be a psychiatrist, and report the weight gain. If her symptom is simply OCD, she can try other meds.

The best strategy is for you to consult with your gp or internist and get a physical including blood work. It’s important to rule out physiological causes. It’s also a good idea to make an appt. with a psychologist who will help you explore emotional reasons for over-eating, e.g., efforts to self soothe, etc. We distinguish between appetite and hunger, and over-eating is a complex interplay between psychological, physiological, and social cue. This is why seeing both your gp and a mental health professional is a solid, comprehensive strategy.
I wish you the best.