Mental Health Archives - Fifth Avenue Psychiatry

The Transition from College Drinking to Professional Life

PSYCHIATRY NYC September 12, 2023

A common issue that occurs in our practice deals with the difficulties of transitioning from drinking behaviors in college to drinking behaviors in young adult/professional life. In college, there is an emphasis on partying, drinking socially, and using substances as a reward for working hard during the week in classes. This type of behavior has created a “work hard, play hard” mentality that has impacted the professional executives we work with in therapy. Research shows that frequent binge drinking between ages 18 and 25 years old appears to be a major risk factor for alcohol dependence in adulthood (Tavolacci, et al. 2019). In this article, our Manhattan addiction professionals will highlight some thoughts and behaviors that people develop in college,

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Mental Health Struggles and Management Among Dentists

PSYCHIATRY NYC June 15, 2023

A Silent Epidemic: Mental Health Struggles in the Field of Dentistry In the healthcare profession, mental health issues, especially those concerning substance abuse, are rarely discussed. In fact, dentists and oral surgeons may often shy away from admitting to mental health concerns and seeking professional help for fear that careers may be at stake. Studies dating back to the 1980s note dissatisfaction, anxiety, and depression among male and female dentists and oral surgeons. Dentistry and oral surgery are professional fields riddled with stress and the requirement for perfection. Research shows also that dentists and oral surgeons face higher rates of suicide than other executive and health industry professionals in the United States. Stress or burnout in the dental and oral

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3 Signs a Person is Self-Medicating: Substance Use and Mental Illness

PSYCHIATRY NYC February 28, 2023

Substance Use and Mental Health: Why People Self-Medicate Self-medication refers to the use of drugs or alcohol as an attempt to manage issues related to mental health. According to the 2018 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), about 20.3 million Americans aged 12 or over have a substance use disorder. There is no doubt that that number has skyrocketed over the last five years due to ease of gain and the pandemic. Most individuals who use substances to self-medicate use them to cope with or alleviate the symptoms of their mental health struggles. Some use drugs to reduce symptoms, while others use alcohol, food, or even exercise. 3 Signs of Self-Medication If you notice changes in behaviors or

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Anxiety and Alcohol Use

PSYCHIATRY NYC September 8, 2021

By Ronnit Nazarian, Psy. D A common theme that I have found while speaking with patients who overdrink has been that they also experience an underlying anxiety disorder. Moreover, they have mentioned having difficulty finding something that helps them disconnect from their stress and anxiety that works as well as having a drink. To most people looking in from the outside, a person who experiences anxiety and a person who experiences drinking problems are often viewed as two separate individuals. Contrary to common belief, however, research shows that approximately 50% of individuals who experience alcohol problems also meet the criteria for one or more anxiety disorders.1 Alcohol use and anxiety are strongly linked and often called co-morbid disorders that interact

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The Effects of the Pandemic Lockdowns: Substance Use, Depression, Anxiety, Attention and Concentration

PSYCHIATRY NYC March 20, 2021

Written by Britt Gottlich, Psy D As we begin to see an end in sight for the pandemic, I’ve spent time reflecting on my time as a psychologist for the past year. While the pandemic may be ending and places are starting to open up and as we return to a sense of normalcy, I can’t help but wonder what aspects of the pandemic will stick long-term and how I can use what I have learned over the past year to help prepare. Attention and Concentration While Working from Home During the Pandemic The two biggest complaints people have reported have been difficulty with attention/concentration and social isolation. Having to work from home, and quarantine, completely changed our lives in regard

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Coping Mechanisms Against Depression and Anxiety During the COVID -19 Pandemic

PSYCHIATRY NYC June 1, 2020

Written by Olga Megwinoff, MD I did not want to write about anything related to the pandemic given that we are already so saturated by news and information related to it. However, I have realized it’s unavoidable. This pandemic and the ensuing quarantine have changed everything about the world as we know it. Most aspects of our personal, familial and social lives have been upended. Therefore, regardless of what I feel, I think that the most useful thing I can do is to write about coping mechanisms for how to endure social distancing and the fear. I want to focus on what we can do to help each other and ourselves as we are starting week 11 of social distancing

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Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Addiction

PSYCHIATRY NYC November 21, 2019

By Britt Gottlich, Psy.D. I often meet with people who say they are unsure of whether they have experienced trauma or not. So, what is trauma? Most people define trauma based on how trauma is portrayed in the media. But, in reality, it is a very subjective experience. Something that may be traumatic for one person may not be traumatic for another. The American Psychological Association defines trauma as “an emotional response to a terrible event like an accident, rape or natural disaster.” The way I like to understand trauma is based on an individual’s interpretation of the event. As children, we live under the assumption that “good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people.”

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The Lawyer: The Partyer and the Alcoholic

samuel glazer August 15, 2019

It’s a tired popular media trope: the attorney, burdened by the stresses of work, pours a glass of bourbon at the end of a long day. Maybe he is waiting for a verdict to come in after an impassioned speech in front of a jury, maybe she is prepping for a long day at the Supreme Court ahead. Alcohol as a coping mechanism in pop culture is as old as television itself.

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Why Financial Execs Can’t Manage Stress, Leading to Addiction Treatment

PSYCHIATRY NYC July 29, 2019

The world of financial executives has long been the subject of fascination. The Wolf of Wall Street, a movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio based on a memoir by Jordan Belfort of the same name, tells a compelling story of a financial executive’s meteoric rise and equally spectacular fall.

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Co-Occurring Substance Use and Mental Health Disorders

PSYCHIATRY NYC July 12, 2019

A person struggling with a substance use disorder (SUD) may experience significant barriers to recovery that may range from social support to lack of quality treatment options. One common barrier is a lack of dual diagnosis treatment when necessary. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) states that a third of substance use admissions in 2017 involved a co-occurring mental health disorder. When a person suffers from two behavioral health conditions simultaneously, failure to effectively address them both with evidence-based treatment could affect the recovery process. Here’s how dual diagnosis treatment can help.

Category: Mental Health