Stuart MacFarlane analyst Archives - Stuart MacFarlane Analyst.net

Do You Have Chronic Insomnia?

Do you have trouble falling asleep or difficulty sleeping through the night? If so, you may suffer from insomnia. According to SleepEducation.org, upwards of 35% of adults have brief symptoms of insomnia, with 10% of the population suffering from chronic insomnia disorder.

Chronic insomnia can be caused by other conditions, such as anxiety, depression, chronic stress, chronic pain, sleep apnea, or restless leg syndrome. Sleep is crucial to your health, and sleep deprivation can hinder your overall quality of life. While chronic insomnia is often an underlying cause of another medical condition, those experiencing sleep deprivation may exhibit the following symptoms:

Difficulty falling/staying asleep
Waking up frequently during the night and having difficulty falling back asleep
Waking up too early in the morning
Daytime sleepiness or fatigue
Inability to concentrate
Mood disturbance
Tension headaches
Low energy and motivation
Increased errors or accidents

Sleep deprivation can negatively impact your daily life. If you’re not getting a good night’s sleep, you may feel sluggish, unmotivated, and unable to concentrate at work. Additionally, as insomnia can impede your focus and cause sleepiness, sufferers are at risk for causing an accident. Research shows 20% of non-alcohol related car crash injuries are caused by tired drivers.

If you suffer from chronic insomnia, it’s important to seek treatment. Stuart MacFarlane, a Jungian analyst, has found psychotherapy to be an effective treatment for insomnia. With psychotherapy, you can determine the underlying reason for your insomnia and address it head on. In fact, the American College of Physicians recommends psychotherapy before taking sleeping pills. Talk to your doctor about how psychotherapy can help improve your sleep.

What Is Social Anxiety Disorder?

Do you feel overwhelmed, nervous, and overly self-conscious around others? Do you avoid places where other people are and have difficulty making friends? If so, you may be suffering from social anxiety disorder.

Also known as social phobia, social anxiety disorder is a mental condition characterized by an excessive and unreasonable fear of social situations. People with social anxiety have a fear of embarrassing themselves and being judged, ridiculed, and criticized by others. For some people, their intense anxiety in social situations can result in a panic attack— a sudden surge of overwhelming fear and anxiety that can make you feel like you’re dying or going crazy.

Social anxiety can cause you to feel great distress, such that you may choose to avoid social situations altogether. While people with social anxiety often realize their anxiety is unreasonable, it is still extremely difficult, and may feel seemingly impossible, to overcome. Without treatment, social anxiety can interfere with your relationships and daily routine, such as school or work, and impede your overall quality of life.

Those with the condition may feel anxious when interacting with others, eating and drinking in front of others, speaking in front of people, asking questions, talking on the phone, or being the center of attention. It is sometimes connected to other mental problems such as panic disorder, depression, and obsessive compulsive disorder.

In addition to feeling anxious in social situations, social anxiety disorder can cause physical symptoms, such as a pounding heart, sweating, blushing, shaking, upset stomach, muscle tension, and confusion. Children with social anxiety might also exhibit crying, tantrums, and clinging to a parent.

Fortunately, there are a variety of treatment options that can help you manage or even overcome your social anxiety, such as medication and/or therapy. Stuart MacFarlane, a Jungian analyst, is a big proponent of psychotherapy, as it helps patients discover the root of their anxiety and develop coping mechanisms to control their symptoms. Talk to your doctor about your symptoms and the best way to treat your anxiety.

Could You Benefit From Psychotherapy?

woman talking to therapist shutterstock_247411348 Everyone has experienced some stress throughout their lives and it can stem from a variety of things like work, finances and even relationships. When our body is subjected to stress, a number of things can happen like an increase in anxiety levels, energy loss and much more; it’s just an uncomfortable situation to be in but it usually subsides and we return back to normal selves. However, some of us may feel like we are excessively under a great amount of stress all the time and when that happens, it’s no longer being just stressed out, it’s a psychological issue that needs to be address. With that being said, those who consistently feel too overwhelmed to deal with their problems may need to seek professional counseling through psychotherapy to help them get out of their rut.

Did you know over a quarter of all adult Americans experience and suffer from anxiety, depression or another mental disorder in any given year? According to the National Institute of Mental Health, nearly 37% percent seek treatment through healthcare use and a little over 42% seek treatment through any service, including healthcare. While there’s still a decent chunk of people not receiving treatment, it’s important to take care of your physical wellbeing as well as your mental wellbeing and you could benefit from psychotherapy.

What Is Psychotherapy?

The American Psychological Association defines psychotherapy as, “a collaborative treatment based on the relationship between an individual and a psychologist. Grounded in dialogue, it provides a supportive environment that allows an individual to talk openly with someone who’s objective, neutral and nonjudgmental. The individual and the psychologist will work together to identify and change the thought and behavior patterns that are keeping the individual from feeling their best.”

Considering psychotherapy can help you overcome the struggles you are dealing with like depression, drug or alcohol abuse, coping with the loss of a loved one and many other issues. It’s more detrimental to your psychological health to continue on without treatment from a professional because your feelings will only progress and make it more difficult to get through the day. In fact, psychotherapy and private counseling is very effective when it comes to treating an individual and a successful psychotherapist like Stuart MacFarlane, analyst, has used analytical psychology principles to help hundreds of people manage many psychological disorders.

Are you ready to try psychotherapy to reach a better mindset?