“Ask Dr Neuman” Advice Column
Freud made popular the idea that various objects, by virtue of their appearance and function, could stand symbolically for other objects, usually sexual. When a woman dreamed about cleaning her house, for instance, she might be expressing feelings she had about her...
Diagnosing Alcoholism at an Early Stage An important clue Alcoholism is defined usually as the abuse of alcohol to the extent that it interferes with physical health and with the social aspects of life, including work. It is compulsive and potentially addictive. It...
The treatment of a worry In order for human beings to manage their lives, they have to accommodate to constantly changing circumstances. They have to adapt to the demands of daily life. So constant is this process that it goes unnoticed unless something goes wrong....
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...
Remnants of a Phobia For a panic disorder to disappear entirely, only two things need to be learned: that it is possible to escape from all those places where phobics typically feel trapped, including stuck elevators, and that the panic attack, no matter how extreme,...
I no longer worry about the possibility of dying prematurely.
The benefits of being really old I ran into an old friend of mine who was commenting—complaining really—about all those lost years. I told him I had discovered an advantage in getting older. When I was 70 or 75, I used to look in the mirror and see an old man; but now...
If you are the sort of person who is inclined to worry. Nowadays young men and women are likely to settle down at a later age than they used to. For that reason it is rare—and probably not particularly desirable—that someone you have become seriously attached to has...
Mr. Louie Gohmert, who is a Republican congressman from Texas, spoke on the floor of the House of Representatives recently about the dire situation in Texas resulting from thousands of children streaming into Texas from Mexico unaccompanied by anyone and...
Confronting the final challenges. The process of recovering from a panic disorder and agoraphobia is straightforward, but difficult. The affected individual has to experience panic attacks over and over again, purposely, and then remain in the threatening situation...
Mitral Valve Prolapse Mitral valve prolapse is a condition which is supposed to occur frequently in the presence of panic disorder. Since it is a heart condition, patients told they have this condition have one more thing to worry about. Uncommonly, in the company of...
The treatment of panic disorder is not easy, but it is straightforward. The affected individual has to learn not only to deal with the phobic situations that are almost always a consequence of a panic disorder, but also how to deal with the panic attack itself. This...