Anxiety is a great attention-grabber. It keeps the mind overloaded with scary what if scenarios. These scenarios range in severity from "Man, I hope that doesn't happen," to "Oh my God if that happens again I'm dead." That's why it's easy for people to become obsessed with their anxiety related problems. They get stuck on the 'what if's.' A horrible mix of anticipation and fantasy keeps otherwise sane people scurrying about the internet looking for answers. The issue with this, of course, is that anxious people end up problem focused.
The Problem With Modern Psychotherapy
Over the past 100 years clinicians and researchers have worked hard to improve what we call psychotherapy. Many of those improvements have led to standardization and improved outcomes. Nowadays, everything is "evidenced based" which is, of course, a good thing. Yet there remains a huge problem in mental health, and it isn't the hundreds of models of therapy that are now available. Rather, it's the large proportion of people delivering these interventions that suck at their job. Now, to be fair, there are many talented people providing mental
The Link Between Personality and High Anxiety
Usually I write an introduction for my podcast episodes. But today is different. I spent a good chunk of time researching and thinking about this topic because it explains a lot about why some people become anxious in the face of life. If you've ever wondered why you became an anxious person then you need to listen to this podcast.
Paul Earns His Master’s Degree
Finally, I've done it. I earned my master's degree in counseling psychology. To be honest the whole thing was a little anticlimactic. I was expecting to feel something "big", but I don't. That being said, I am relieved. I can't remember the last T.V. show I followed or football game I watched all the way through. That part was getting old. You know what though? I didn't learn anything new about anxiety disorders or symptoms; it seems that I had that down. I did, however, learn tons about the brain, human behavior, communication, et
Is Talk Therapy Worth It?
Recently I found myself on a website that had a lot of comments about how talk therapy was a waste of time and money. Well, consider this a response to all those people. Now, for starters, it's true that I am biased. I mean, I am a grad student learning to become a psychotherapist after all. Just keeping it honest. I also lived with severe anxiety and depression for over 10 years, so it isn't like I don't know what it's like to need or undergo therapy myself-- been there, done that. So, here's the thing: Talk therapy works. And it