“Ask Dr Neuman” Advice Column
Why do people do self-destructive things? Even when those things feel bad? We all know men and women who do self-destructive things—the same things—over and over again. The list of these behaviors seems inexhaustible and extends into every aspect of life: work,...
V An odd suicide When I was a senior psychiatry resident, it was common practice for the psychiatric attending physicians to ask the residents to cover their patients for them when they went on vacation. It was a reasonable arrangement. The psychiatrist would know...
The Treatment of an Exaggerated Fear Often, those who have particular fears, such as the fear of cancer or of a panic attack, have other fears also. Generalized Anxiety Disorder is not so much a particular illness as it is a description of someone who is fearful of...
Banning LGBT individuals, the “Shy Bladder Syndrome,” and other stuff. Bathrooms are a matter of some significance in psychiatry. Some men, and a smaller number of women, feel uncomfortable in public bathrooms. They urinate with difficulty in the presence of others...
Chicken Phobias and other matters of concern A demand for quick thinking. The Anxiety and Phobia Clinic that I direct has seen over four thousand patients during the forty-three years of its existence. There are individuals with a specific phobia, such as snakes or...
Start off with this idea: certain fears are reasonable, others are exaggerated. In both cases it is a sensible strategy to confront those fears. When a fear is justified, confronting it may suggest some way of lessening the risk. Someone who is afraid of developing...
Avoiding banalities Patients come to psychotherapists with the expectation that they will learn something in their encounters that will help them in some way to deal with problems that they have been unable to manage by themselves. Therapists are supposed to be expert...
2. Try to get panicky! In a way this is what you have been doing all along. By entering into phobic situations, getting panicky, and remaining to deal with those feelings, you counter the basic causes of the phobia: the fear of being overwhelmed and the urge to...
1. Do not avoid any places or set of circumstances because of the phobia. A panic attack will not incapacitate you no matter what you are doing, no matter where you happen to be. A very few endeavors will suffer from extreme anxiety-a musical performance or an...
One of the elements of agoraphobia is the fear of becoming panicky while in a situation from which it is impossible to escape. It is the fear of being trapped; but when someone speaks of being trapped, it is not always clear exactly what is meant. Sometimes the...
Since I put up a post describing pure obsessions, a considerable number of readers have written to ask me if I know of a treatment center in their area. Usually, I do not. I recommend contacting The Obsessive-Compulsive Foundation. They know of trained therapists in...
With some regularity I read about psychological experts, or some quasi-therapeutic organizations, who have recommended to their members or readers that they tell themselves something or other: “Everyday I’m getting better in every way,” or “I can do this” or “I’m...