Education
Education
Research conducted by the National Institute of Mental Health has shown that anxiety disorders are the number one mental health problem among American women and are second only to alcohol and drug abuse among men. Nearly 40 million people in the U.S. alone have suffered from panic attacks, phobias or other anxiety disorders in the past year.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder is diagnosed when a person has excessive anxiety and worry occurring more days than not for at least 6 months and finds it difficult to control the worry. He/she may be feeling restless, easily fatigued, irritable, unable to concentrate and tense. Sleep disturbances are also common. Types and severity of anxiety varies and can cause significant impairment in activities of daily living if left untreated.
What are some causes of anxiety?
- Heredity
- Childhood circumstances
- Cumulative stress over time
- Significant personal loss
- Significant life change
- Stimulants and recreational drugs
- Trauma
- Anxious self-talk
- Mistaken beliefs
- Withheld feelings
…and the list goes on.
If you, someone you know or one of your patients is experiencing any form of anxiety, please know that there is help and hope.
Please call us to schedule a time to meet with a professional who can help lower stress and discuss and decrease the symptoms of anxiety.
For more information, or to make a referral, please call:
Innovations Partial Hospitalization Program
St. Luke’s Sacred Heart Campus
451 W. Chew Street, Allentown, PA
484-838-6380
Blue Mountain Partial Program
512 Bank Street, Bowmanstown, PA
484-838-6380
Behavioral Health Intake
(psychiatric evaluation or outpatient counseling)
257 Brodhead Road, Bethlehem, PA 18017
484-822-5700
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Bipolar Disorder is often not recognized as an illness, and people may suffer for years before it is properly diagnosed and treated. Like diabetes or heart disease, bipolar disorder is a long-term illness that must be carefully managed throughout a person’s life.
Bipolar Disorder patients experience unusual changes and shifts in mood. A common misconception of bipolar mood changes is that they are quick and drastic. In reality, the mood shifts are quite often gradual. An episode, whether depressive or manic, can last for weeks, months and even years. It can result in damaged relationships, poor job or school performance and even suicide. But there is good news: bipolar disorder can be treated, and people with this illness can lead full and productive lives.
Depressive episodes can include:
- Sadness
- Excessive crying
- Loss of pleasure
- Abnormal sleep
- Low energy
- Restlessness
- Difficulty concentrating
- Irritability
- Loss of Appetite or overeating
- Feelings of worthlessness or hopelessness
- Thoughts of death or suicide
Manic episodes can include:
- Inappropriate sense of euphoria
- Racing thoughts
- Extreme irritability
- Rage attacks
- Reckless behavior
- Excessive energy
- Excessive spending
- Unsafe promiscuity
- Abuse of alcohol and drugs
- Sleeping too little
- Excessive or rapid speech
To read more about Bipolar Disorder, click here.
For more information, or to make a referral, please call:
Innovations Partial Hospitalization Program
St. Luke’s Sacred Heart campus
451 W. Chew Street, Allentown, PA
484-838-6380
Blue Mountain Partial Program
512 Bank Street, Bowmanstown, PA
484-838-6380
Behavioral Health Intake
(psychiatric evaluation or outpatient counseling)
257 Brodhead Road, Bethlehem, PA
484-822-5700
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Depression goes much deeper than a passing blue mood, and people with a depressive illness cannot merely “pull themselves together” and get better.
Without treatment, symptoms can last for weeks, months or even years. However, there is hope and help for people who suffer from depression…
A depressive disorder is an illness that involves the body, mood and thoughts. It affects the way a person eats and sleeps, the way one feels about oneself and the way one thinks about things. It is not a sign of personal weakness or a condition that can be willed or wished away.
Checklist
Below is a checklist of 10 symptoms of clinical depression. If you or your patient experience five or more of these symptoms for longer than two weeks, or if the symptoms are severe enough to interfere with a daily routine, referral for mental health treatment is advised.
- Thoughts of death or suicide (require immediate mental health intervention)
- A persistent sad, anxious or “empty” mood
- Reduced appetite and weight loss or increased appetite and weight gain
- Loss of interest or pleasure in activities once enjoyed
- Restlessness or irritability
- Persistent physical symptoms that do not respond to treatment
- Difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions
- Fatigue or loss of energy
- Sleeping too little or sleeping too much
- Feeling guilty, hopeless or worthless
Outpatient psychotherapy, partial hospitalization (short-term mental health treatment five-days-a- week) and psychiatric medication management are all available right here at St. Luke’s Hospital & Health Network
For more information, or to make a referral, please call:
Innovations Partial Hospitalization Program
St. Luke’s Sacred Heart Campus
451 W. Chew Street, Allentown, PA
484-838-6380
Blue Mountain Partial Program
512 Bank Street, Bowmanstown, PA
484-838-6380
Behavioral Health Intake
(psychiatric evaluation or outpatient counseling)
257 Brodhead Road, Bethlehem PA 18017
484-822-5700
The darkest months of the year are upon us. Many of us will find it noticeably more difficult to carry out our activities of daily living over the winter months. Our daily rhythms are driven by biological functions called Circadian rhythms. Research suggests that seasonal or winter depression is often a result of an imbalance between your body’s circadian rhythms and rhythms of the environment! Secretions of the hormone melatonin appear to be particularly important in winter depression. This hormone, nicknamed the “Dracula” hormone, is secreted by the brain’s pineal gland when our surroundings are dark, but not when they are light. Most people are able to adjust to these internal changes. For those who struggle with mood changes in the winter, however, the results can feel crushing.
Here are some tips for coping with winter or seasonal depression:
- Get a thorough physical examination and level with your doctor
- Light therapy/phototherapy (exposure to extra amounts of synthetic light throughout the winter; need several hours of exposure to light 5x brighter than a well-lit office daily (talk to your doctor about how to order a phototherapy box)
- Talk to your doctor about altering melatonin levels during the day
- Avoid alcohol. Completely. (Yes, you.)
- Learn about your vulnerabilities and develop ways to manage them
- Strive to exercise regularly
- Do fun things and do them often
- Get and stay connected to others
- Learn to relax
- Be goal-oriented in important areas
- Prioritize and problem-solve
- Get support, get help. Don’t wait!
Things NOT to do when you’re depressed
- Don’t dwell on the past and tomorrow hasn’t happened yet
- Don’t compare yourself to others. “You have to do your own growing no matter how tall your daddy was.” (A. Lincoln)
- Don’t catastrophize-understand probability
- Don’t leave things unsaid or unresolved
- Don’t leave time unstructured
To schedule an appointment with a psychotherapist at St. Luke’s University Health Network call 484-822-5700.
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Just STARt the Conversation! Join podcast hosts psychotherapist Amie Allanson-Dundon and Behavioral Health Administrator Jody Missmer from St. Luke’s University Health Network’s Behavioral Health Services as they discuss timely topics in mental health. Each month, these two ladies will be keeping it real to help the community deal with issues that can affect everyone’s mental health. They want everyone to know that “We Care, We Understand and You Are Not alone”.
Click here to listen to our Podcast
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