CLOSED to new questions AMA with Cynthia Stocker on 7cups Online Therapy works with Depression and Anxiety
Happy New Year! My name is soulsings, the ambassador liaison with 7cups therapy program. I am thrilled to introduce a new AMA therapy thread that can help you better understand how 7cups online therapy can help with Anxiety and Depression issues that you experience in your life. Cynthia Stocker, a licensed therapist that provides online therapy services for 7 Cups, can explain how 7cups online therapy can help you cope with different challenges in your life. See her bio at the end of this post!
This format gives you 3 days to ask your question and give Cynthia 3 days to answer your questions you may have about finding therapy options for depression and anxiety. Cynthia is also available to sign up for therapy if you are feeling like you might benefit from online therapy. So you can start asking questions anytime after this post goes up and Cynthia will start answering them on Tuesday.
So if you have your questions ready, feel free to post them now. Cynthia will answer them as quickly as she can. Remember this is a 3 day thread, so get your questions in early. Cynthia will answer questions in the order received from Tuesday to Thursday so the sooner you post your question, the sooner you will get a reply.
Sometimes people ask the same or similar questions, so please read through this thread pages before submitting your questions so you can benefit from all the answers presented here and we can limit duplicate questions from happening.
Thanks for participating in this thread. I look forward to your questions and Cynthia's answers.
bio for Cynthia: I have worked in the field for about 30 years and I have experience with anxiety, PTSD, depression, OCD, relationship issues, communication issues, parenting problems, work/life issues, assertive issues, ADHD, learning disabilities and much more.
I live in the beautiful state of Idaho where my husband and I enjoy backcountry horse trips, white water rafting, hiking scuba diving and international travel. Some fun facts about me; I am a licensed falconer, I learned to swim at 30 and now I am PADI certified, and I went skydiving for the first time at the age of 54!
In addition to working with 7 Cups clients, I maintain a private practice in a tiny isolated rural town, where I completed domestic violence assessments for the court as well as attending to my face to face clients. I offer traditional therapy as well as Equine and Canine therapy. These are wonderful mechanisms for change!
Cynthia Stocker, here is my link for therapy
With PTSD ( due to a specific event ) how do you know if your tx (treatment) is appropriate?
Also , how long do nightmares on median last? Weeks....months.....years?
@95969 Thank you so much for reaching out. It is really pretty hard to say when a person who suffer's from PTSD will no longer experice symptoms. That is because so many factors are at play. This can included the length of time people experinced trauma, how a person internalized the trauma, how long a person waited to seek trauma and even the type of treatment they recieve. Knowing if yours is right for you may depend on how long you have been recieving help and if you are noticing any changes. Frequently folks want change to happen quickly and that makes sense. They have been suffering for a long time. However, change typically takes place in small changes and those must be acknowledged.
"Getting better" means different things for different people. For some people; fewer symptoms means they are better, for some no symptoms means they are better.
There are many different treatment options for PTSD. For many people, these treatments can get rid of symptoms altogether. Others find they have fewer symptoms or feel that their symptoms are less intense.
You will have to take a look at what feels right to you. Purhaps adding something to the therapy you already utilize would help? Some less traditional ones like equine therapy or even EMDR would effective. In the end there is no median time frame. It can take years some times. Be patient, and look for small changes to celebrate
@95969 Hi,I don't know if it would be of interest to you,there is a trauma forum here a 7cups.
If you are coping with depression and anxiety for a long period of time but still feeling the effects of these challenges, how do you think online therapy can help me?
@windsong4444
Good morning and thank you for your question; First I think it would be important to ask if you have ever participated in therapy of any kind?
Therapy in general is a useful tool because it helps; Pinpoint life events that contribute to their depression and help them find ways to change, accept or adapt to those situations. Set realistic goals for the future. Identify distorted thought processes or unhelpful behaviors that contribute to feelings of hopelessness and helplessness. Develop skills to cope with symptoms and problems, and identify or prevent future episodes of depression and anxiety. I dont know your personal circumstances so I will speak in generalities about online therapy;
Online therapy offers access to mental health information to people in rural or remote areas. Those who live in such areas simply might not have access to any other form of mental health treatment because there are limited or no mental health practices in their geographic area. E-therapy gives these individuals access to treatment that they might not have otherwise.
Individuals who are unable to leave their home for various reasons, such as physical or mental illness, may find online therapy a useful alternative to traditional psychotherapy settings.
Online therapy is usually fairly affordable and convenient. Since you will be attending therapy sessions online in the comfort of your own home, you can often schedule your therapy sessions for times that are the most convenient for you.
It is like a journal; you can write any time you want to. When you have a thought you go in and post it and when your therapist is available, they come in and answer. This is different than in person where you have to wait a week or even more until your appointment. If you are like me I forget what I was thinking lol.
You can go back and read over what you wrote. This is vital to change. You can were you were a few weeks ago and the changes you have made so that your goals can be adjusted. I hope this helps :-)
Questions:
1. Is it true that depression can be a symptom of ADHD?
2. How do you know if your depression is chronic depression on its own or if it's a symptom of something else?
3. If someone is opposed to long-term medication, what alterntives for depression treatment would you recommend? (CBT etc)
4. How would you describe impact of depression for a common person whoo either isn't familiar or maybe doesn't understand? to explain why things are so hard for depressed folks
5. If there was one thing you absolutely want people to know/understand about depression, what would it be?
Thanks and sorry if too many questions!
@wontwakewontsleep
Good morning, great question. Yes it is true. You see ADHD is what can be called a co-occurring disorder or Dual diagnosis. It is used to describe two or more conditions that are occurring simultaneously. While dual diagnosis is often used with regards to mental illness and substance abuse, it can refer to any combination of physical conditions occurring in the same person. Many times we find a person who has been diagnosed with ADHD has another diagnosis as well.
Dysthymia, sometimes referred to as mild, chronic depression, is less severe and has fewer symptoms than major depression. With dysthymia, the depression symptoms can linger for a long period of time, often two years or longer. Those who suffer from dysthymia can also experience periods of major depression--sometimes called "double depression." In modern diagnostic classification systems, dysthymia and chronic depression are now both referred to as ‘persistent depressive disorders.
In terms of if you should take medication or not, I am not a prescriber so I would have to defer that question to a conversation you have with a trusted prescriber.
In terms of question 4 that is because of something called Anhedonia. This is the inability to feel pleasure. It's a common symptom of depression as well as other mental health disorders. Most people understand what pleasure feels like. They expect certain things in life to make them happy. But when you have anhedonia you just dont have the will or desire in the same way. Your energy for things you once enjoyed or things you need to do is gone. It makes want to say home, isolate and just makes engaging even harder.
In terms of your last question it would be about the anhedonia, but also not to be afraid of taking medication and seeking help if you need to. I think many people are very worried about seeking help. And frankly mental health medication has a really bad stereotype. You see with medications for mental health we should look at it this way. We seek to replace something the body doesnt make on its own. Much like a type II diabetic. Some type II diabetics get by with diet and exercise changes and never need medication. Some need medication and have to change their diet. Some need medication for a while. But we would never tell one type II diabetic that they were weak or wrong for taking medication because we would be replacing something their body didnt make. Does that make sense? I hope it helps.
@CynthiaStockerLCSWLICSW
Thank you so much for taking the time to thoroughly answer all of my questions. I really appreciate the information and your time. The comparison to diabetes is especially astute. Thanks again.
What are some tips you have for dealing with extreme social anxiety?
@shadowfantom
Thank you for reaching out. Of course therapy helps. And there is a really good self help manual called "Managing Social Anxiety " Its helpful to engage in deep breathing before an anxiety-provoking social situation. But practice this technique every day. This way it becomes second nature, and you dont hyperfocus on deep breathing and miss an entire conversation. Here is a great link https://psychcentral.com/lib/learning-deep-breathing/
You can also
Create an exposure hierarchy.
An exposure hierarchy is a list — akin to a ladder — where you write down situations that cause you anxiety, in order of severity. Then you perform the easiest behavior, and keep moving up the list.
To create your own hierarchy, list 10 anxiety-provoking situations, and rate them on a 100-point scale (zero being no anxiety; 100 being severe anxiety). Your list might start with asking a stranger for directions and end with joining Toastmasters.
The Google Books preview of the social anxiety book is one place to get started on coping with social anxiety. You may also want to fill out the the fear and avoidance hierarchy worksheet to help you get started.
Additionally, this helpful worksheet offers and exerse that might help. I hope this helps!
How do you recommend breaking the loneliness cycle causing my depression when anxiety keeps me from reaching out?
@Sumar2
Good morning and thank you for being so brave by asking this question. I want to tell you that I could go on and on about this but the reality is there is a really nicely worded link written by Psychology Today that explains what is called "the trap of loneliness". So I will post this link. If that doesn't answer your question please feel free to come back with follow ups https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-squeaky-wheel/201309/why-loneliness-is-trap-and-how-break-free
I too struggle with social anxiety and I read this article before. Volunteering was a strategy I tried but it never helped me make any friends or feel better about myself. I tried all kinds of different volunteer activities over the course of many years but it was never helpful. The only other suggestion in this article is compiling a list of friends and contacts you've lost touch with and reach out to them. What if you have no contacts? What if yuo've never had a friend?
Therapy is not an option for me as I can only speak openly like this anonymously, but while I have this opportunity to speak to a professional like you, what would you recommend?
@FrozenGhost Good evening and so nice to meet you. I am very glad you are reaching out. One of the things that I think may be helpful would be working with someone here at 7cups. Like you mentioned being able to work in and anonymous way could really be benefical. I don't know your circumstance nor do I know how your social anxiety has evolved. It sound quite compacted. I think you may have more success with a therapist who would be able to take a history and try to understand the origin of your symptoms as well as how they have evolved over time. In that way they could work with you to tailor a treatment plan to your needs. Does this make sense?
Which would be the best form of therapy for treating ADHD? Can the forgetfulness, lack of attention, concentration, procastination and sleeplessness associated with it could be reversed? Can meds cure this condition?
@InfiniteThoughts2k19
Great question, First of all medications can be very helpful and I would also encourage you to see a Neurological psychologist for diagnostic testing. This is because understanding the depth of your diagnosis will be helpful in the treatment. ADHD is a spectrum disorder and this means no two people's symptoms will be exactly the same. This means your treatment should be taylored to you. With appropreate treatment you will not be cured, but you may be able to function quite well.
I am constantly Embarrased over the most random things, I fear people can read my mind, Usually if Im assigned to make a PowerPoint presentation I will make it as plain as possible to avoid any and all signs of uniqueness. Im scared of showing anything about me. I also fear people can see what Im doing on my phone even if I am alone at home.
although I do worry too much I dont experience panic attacks (which I am grateful about)
I dont know whats going on, do I have anxiety? Is it something more serious? Is it just me being shy?
if I do have a mental disorder I really need advise on being less anxious.
sorry for the long post :)
@blueast
Good morning, this sound so scary and I wish that was not happening to you. I am not able to diagnosis you so I cannot tell you what is happening to you right now. Just like a if you went to the dr with a stomach ache she would ask you many questions to try to determine how you got the stomach ache. There are so many factors involved. I would like to help you relieve your symptoms and I think the best way would be for you to start with a really good evaluation with a psychologist. This can go a long way in helping you understand what is happening, why and how to treat it.
Im constantly told by people to think positive, how do I do that when all I hear from myself and others is negative. Plus ongoing GAD, ADHD and depression. I hate hearing that thinking positive is a choice...if it were that easy (those saying it say it as if it is that easy) then why or how would there be some much depression in our society.
Most of my life I have just been in survival mode, fear and anticipation of the next crisis is how I think. From the next job, to the next health crisis...its always something. I am medicated but with so much mounting pressure right now I dont feel as if anything is helping and we have a high deductible insurance so therapy is very costly.
im reactionary to my emotions and have tried being less emotional, however I cant find how not to react when Im frustrated, sad, or anger. I cant get the think first in my mind and idk how that would even make anything better. As even when I try to process first, during discussions I still because emotional and get loud.
Thinking and feeling Id be better off on my on, so I have no emotional risks, but I know my loneliness would be utterly impossible.
Thanks
@coraton
Good morning, thank for reaching out. First I would like to address what you said here Most of my life I have just been in survival mode, fear and anticipation of the next crisis is how I think. From the next job, to the next health crisis...its always something This is what jumps out at me. How do you think about something good happening when like you say you are waiting for the next shoe to drop? I dont know you so I am going to speak in generalities. If this is not true for you please try to generalize the parts that are helpful.
When people have had to cope with trauma, fear, survival etc. they are unable to do anything or much else. Think of Maslow's hierarchy of needs. It states that until psychology and safety needs are met, a person cannot focus on anything else. You are basically telling me that for most of your life you have been only trying to deal with those two things. So, if that is case how could you cultivate the feeling safe, and seeing yourself outside of immediate needs? In order to move past this, I would encourage you to seek professional help from a therapist. Learning how to change the survival skills that you have used for so many years to coping skills which are more adaptable, will more than likely benefit you over time. I hope this helps.
@soulsings
Good morning. Thank so much for the introduction. I hope you are all enjoying the winter! It is pretty snowing here where I live! Days like these can be nice to cuddle next to fire, but they can also bring cabin fever and depression. Here is quick link for getting rid of the winter blues https://www.everydayhealth.com/depression/your-best-weapons-against-the-winter-blues.aspx
I look forward to trying to give you the answers you seek. I also just wanted to reiterate that I will be here for 3 days, and will do my best to get to as quickly as possible. Now on to your questions!
Can you tell me what the difference is between a psychiatrist and a neurological psychiatrist? Would there be a benefit to seeing a neurological psychiatrist for relief from depression and anxiety versus a psychiatrist?
@Sumar2
This is a good question so let me explain in as simply of terms as possible. Most people go to psychiatrist for testing and medication managment. You might be familiar with some kinds of psychological evaluations like the Rorschach Inkblot test or the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory – III (MCMI-III). Similarly, neuropsychological tests measure some personality or cognitive elements present in a person. So a person would see a neuropsychiatrist to understand diagnosis related to personilty disorders, and cogntive issues. Diagnosis that fall on the spectrum would be an example. Because these tests are quite expensive it really does not make sense to go to a neuropsychiatrist if it is not needed
@CynthiaStockerLCSWLICSW Nope, sorry. Neuropsychiatry is the overlap between psychiatry (which deals with mental illness) and neurology (which deals with the nervous system).
For example, some rare forms of epilepsy (a disorder of the brain, part of the nervous system) cause symptoms of depression (a mental illness). A neuropsychiatrist would be a specialist in this kind of thing. Another example might be when someone has symptoms of psychosis (a mental illness involving delusions) caused by physical brain damage resulting from an accident.
For depression and anxiety, it would be usual to see a general psychiatrist first. If some kind of disorder of the nervous system is suspected, maybe epilepsy in this case, then you'd get a referral to a neuropsychiatrist.
Charlie