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The world today is fast paced, with often hectic and stressful schedules. Use of technology with smart phones, Wi-Fi tablets, Skype, and interactive video conferencing have transformed the way we live our lives and impact on how we connect personally, socially and professionally with others. The American Journal of Psychiatry reports Video Psychiatry, also called Tele-psychiatry, has become an accepted option in this high-tech world we live in. It may be a good option for you!

Ease of Access for Video Psychiatry

The availability to access video psychiatry sessions is more than a convenience and viable option to receiving needed mental health services – live video psychiatry sessions bring mental health services to those who are unable to travel due to medical, physical or emotional limitations, to those who are out of town, who have family or work obligations that make it difficult to schedule a workable time to come into the office.

Technology and Security of Video Sessions

Video psychiatric sessions can be set up from anywhere there is a Wi-Fi connection. Smart phones, laptops and computers can all be utilized for a session. The application used during set up of your session is secure and meets the federal government HIPAA requirements keeping your medical and personal privacy information safe.

Starting Video Mental Health Sessions

Dr. Hege, a leader in expanding his psychiatric practice to meet the needs and lifestyles of his patients, offers video psychiatric sessions. To receive this therapy option the doctor does require an initial in-office evaluation to determine what treatment plan will be most effective for you. While video sessions may be able to be arranged to begin by the second visit, some medical or psychological issues may require additional in-office visits — or may not be eligible. Be sure to ask about video sessions if this is something that interests you.

Georgia Video Psychiatry Appointments

Call Dr. Hege for a confidential appointment and evaluation of your needs. Weekend and evening appointments available. See if video psychiatry sessions are the right fit for you and your lifestyle.

Parenting can often be stressful and for those with an anxiety disorder it can be even more difficult to deal with anxiety-causing situations in a calm and rational manner. With evidence showing children can learn anxious behavior from their parents it is important for parents to learn and model coping strategies instead of “passing on” learned anxiety.

Learned Anxiety and Risk Factors

Stress and anxiety is having an unprecedented impact not only on adult mental, emotional and physical health, parental anxiety is also affecting the children. With children often looking to their parents reactions to different situations and events, a consistently anxious parent may pass on those emotions and feelings to their child. The development of anxious behavior in children may be a combination of genetic risk factors and learned behaviors.

Mirror Neurons Reflect Back Anxiety

In humans, part of our brain is equipped with the ability to recognize and understand the emotions that others express around us. The term “mirror neurons” refers to this ability to reflect back the emotions we see and is the reason that for example an infant will smile back at us when we smile at them. Mirror neurons however respond to all kinds of expressed emotion, including, anxious behaviors. Stressful parenting is often contagious – when your own anxiety neurons are firing, your child’s anxiety neurons are firing too.

Strategies of Change

Working with a mental health professional experienced in the successful treatment of parenting with an anxiety disorder can help you effectively manage your own issues which in turn will help your children manage their own learned anxiety and stress. Passing your anxiety disorder onto your children is not inevitable. Management of your anxiety disorder will help your children learn how to effectively cope with situations of uncertainty, doubt, or anxiety.

Find a Doctor to Help Manage Anxiety

End your struggle with anxiety, stress, and finding daily life difficult to find calm and peace. Call Dr. Hege for a confidential appointment. Convenient weeknight and weekend appointments are available.

While it remains unclear as to the impact and chaos a parent with ADHD has on the rest of the family, it has been shown that children with a parent with ADHD have higher rates of mental health issues and greater incidences of co-morbidities than those with a non-ADHD parent. In addition the general day to day routines of the family and of the marital relationship is also impaired when one of the parents has ADHD.

Heredity and ADHD Chaos

A recent research study published in Human Genetics suggest that ADHD is “highly heritable.” While scientists are not clear as to what causes ADHD, it is believed that anything from genes, brain injury, toxic exposure, and other medical issues contribute to the disorder. The study findings report that because ADHD may be from the influence of many factors which combine to cause the disorder in the presence of unfavorable environmental conditions – like a chaotic household where one parent with ADHD impacts the learned behaviors of the children.

Genetics and ADHD

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reinforces the position of the important role genetics plays in ADHD. Statistics show that up to 50% of parents of ADHD children are also adults with ADHD. While the cause of ADHD is complex and involves multiple factors, there is no evidence that social factors alone can account for the condition; however, it is important to note that parents who do not treat their ADHD may model unhealthy behaviors and coping methods onto their children so that a household in chaos feels normal to them.

Modeling ADHD Behaviors

In a household where a parent has untreated ADHD the household routine and completion of daily routines become chaotic. A child that does not have ADHD can experience symptoms of inattention, impulsivity, anxiety, and display disruptive behaviors, all learned from modeling the parent or parents with untreated ADHD. Parenting without ADHD is often difficult and stressful – parenting with ADHD often brings one’s own personal chaos into their developing children’s lives.

Help for Parents with ADHD

Get your household on track through diagnosis, treatment, and developing coping mechanisms. Call Dr. Hege, an adult ADHD specialist, for help in creating and managing a calm, supportive, and structured home environment every ADHD affected family needs.

Hopelessness, persistent sadness, and pessimism are common symptoms of depression. With an estimated 322 million people suffering from depression, it is one of the most prevalent mental health disorders in the world.

Depression Seen in Negative Light

Depression is a negative view of oneself, of the world, their life, their future. According to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only about 25% of adults who have a mental health issue feel that others in society are sympathetic toward them. It is a common statement for people who are depressed to think that no one understands them, which makes living with and struggling with how they view their diagnosis a really tough place to be.

Mood State versus Physical State

Many people consider being depressed as an issue with mood. Depression actually involves major physical symptoms which may take one longer to seek mental health services as they believe something else is wrong with them. Depressed behaviors may also be accompanied by restlessness, indigestion, nausea, headaches, joint and muscle fatigue, as well as an increase in any previous physical pains or difficulties you may already be living with. The symptoms of mood and physical symptoms are tied together and affect one’s normal life routines and behaviors.

Difficulty Imagining Ever Being Happy

A recent study published in December of 2016, conducted at McMaster University in Canada, reports those with depression tend to live in a “stuck state” which they cannot imagine ending, nor can they imagine ever being happy again. Study findings indicate that depressed adults had less ability to imagine how someone who was not depressed would feel; they tend to focus inward, often losing touch with the feelings and experiences of others. For those who cannot imagine what it would be like to not be depressed, they often lose hope and become unable to “see the light at the end of the tunnel.”

Local Psychiatrist

There is hope. Call Dr. Hege for a confidential appointment to discuss your diagnosis and treatment options.

Many people may think they have anxiety because they suffer from social anxiety, or they have difficulty making quick decisions or any decision at all. Or some may feel as though they seem to be functioning in “survival mode” in order to just get through the day. While it may be determined that they do have anxiety, in some instances, they may actually be suffering from PTSD, or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as well as one or more co-occurring disorders.

PTSD Statistics

It has been estimated that almost 8% of Americans will suffer from PTSD symptoms at some point during their life. Women are twice as likely as men to develop PTSD, with the numbers 10.4% and 5% respectively. Approximately 3.6%, or 5.2 million adults in the U.S. have PTSD during the course of a given year.

PTSD Symptoms

Three different kinds of symptoms are experienced with PTSD:

• First set of symptoms involve reliving the trauma in some way
• Second set of symptoms occur when you purposefully stay away from places or people that remind you of the trauma; you become isolated from other people or feel numb
• The third set of symptoms include feeling irritable, startling easily, or feeling on guard

Examples of PTSD Symptoms

While there are numerous symptoms reported with PTSD, following are some of the more commonly reported issues:

• Loss of confidence in trusting your own instincts
• Social anxiety
• Difficulty at times separating reality from imagination
• Waking up frequently at night; having a “fitful” sleep
• Finding yourself flip-flopping on making a decision
• Difficulty with short term memory retention
• Finding it difficult to focus on a task, conversation, idea; difficulty with following through to the end of a thought process
• Physical or mental lethargy
• Feeling hopelessness, despair, or depression
• Becoming exhausted after even small tasks; simple things become “just too hard to do”
• Making poor life choices where you feel shame instead of making choices to change the situation to the positive
• Confusion as to why you feel in a “fog” or feel “shell-shocked” by life in general
• Exhibiting addictive behaviors as a means of escape

Co-Occurring Conditions with PTSD

Those that suffer from PTSD are also commonly diagnosed with other disorders such as depression, substance abuse, anxiety, difficulties with memory or cognition, as well as other problems with mental health or physiological changes.  The disorder itself is associated with impairment of the ability to function in social or family life – it is common to see problems with relationships, family discord, difficulties in parenting, and job instability.

For men, more than half with PTSD also have problems with alcohol; the most common co-occurring issues for men in order are depression, conduct disorder, and substance abuse.

For women, just under half of those with PTSD experience depression; the next most common co-occurring mental health issues are specific fears, anxiety, problems related to alcohol.

PTSD Psychiatric Care

PTSD is not just a “veteran’s ailment.” PTSD can occur across every socio-economic status and life stage. Call Dr. Hege for a confidential appointment at one of his convenient weekend and weeknight office hours for a comprehensive evaluation that addresses your primary and co-occurring issues.

For women living with ADHD it is an ongoing challenge, not only through the monthly hormonal changes, but through the various life stages as well. With fluctuating hormone levels, ADHD symptoms can be exacerbated, mood swings or depression can occur, or the effect ADHD medication normally has can become ineffective.

Hormonal Changes a Life-Long ADHD Challenge

Finding the right knowledgeable psychiatrist is a choice that can impact you for a life-time. With the average age for initial diagnosis of women with ADHD at 36 to 38 years of age, it is critical for a treatment plan to take into account the hormonal changes that will be occurring over the next 20 to 30 years.

Estrogen and ADHD

For a woman with ADHD it is important to work with a mental health professional who is aware of the interaction between ADHD symptoms and estrogen levels. Looking at a woman’s monthly menstrual cycle, estrogen is at higher levels during the first two weeks and progesterone is higher during the last two weeks.

Estrogen may help ADHD medications work while progesterone may interfere with the effectiveness of those same medications. Due to the changing estrogen levels, the beginning two weeks of the menstrual cycle typically present with less complaints of bothersome symptoms. When the level of estrogen drops and progesterone increases during the last two weeks of the monthly cycle, increased complaints of exasperated symptoms and non-effective medication are often voiced.

Perimenopause and ADHD

Approximately 10 years before the onset of menopause a woman will go through perimenopause. During this extended time period of hormonal changes, the estrogen produced in the body slowly decreases until at the onset of menopause it has decreased by about 65%.

Perimenopause Symptoms Mimic & Worsen ADHD

The following list of symptoms experienced during perimenopause mimic those of ADHD as well as making any original symptoms of ADHD worse. It is thought that many women are diagnosed with ADHD around the time of these life-changes when the symptoms of ADHD combined with the symptoms of perimenopause, and then menopause, send them looking for help.

• Mood swings
• Irritability
• Memory lapses
• Forgetfulness
• Depression
• Fatigue
• Difficulty with mental clarity
• Trouble with word recall or retrieval
• Difficulty sleeping

Hormonal Changes Continue into Menopause

The depression and cognitive deficits that occur with decreasing levels of estrogen as a woman enters menopause often bring a woman with ADHD to have difficulty with coping with daily life situations. Many women, beginning in their late 30s, often seek help for the first time when hormonal changes combine with ADHD symptoms. Others who have already been diagnosed with ADHD often find themselves with worsening symptoms that become overwhelming.

ADHD Treatment during Hormonal Changes

If you feel life changes are making you feel out of control and unable to cope with even normal daily routines, you may have undiagnosed ADHD. Help is available. For new diagnoses or for treatment adjustments during the years of hormonal changes, call Dr. Hege and regain control over your life once again.

Addiction to nicotine is a difficult dependence to give up, and many smokers find themselves trying to quit smoking and kick the habit over and over again. Working with a knowledgeable mental health professional who can prescribe medication to not only help you quit, but help you manage withdrawal symptoms may be the only way you can finally succeed and break the hold nicotine has on your life.

Quit Smoking Statistics

If you are a smoker who wants desperately to quit smoking but have been unable to succeed on your own, you are not alone:

• 70% of smokers want to quit
• 40% of smokers will try to quit this year
• 7% of those who try to quit will actually succeed on their first try; 93% will not
• 50% of those who quit will relapse after drinking alcohol
• 5% of smokers are able to quit cold turkey

If you are one of the 93% who are unable to quit the first time, second time, or successive times, it is time to seek the professional help you need in order to become an ex-smoker.

• 90% of those who quit smoking before the age of 30 reduce their rate of death related to smoking
• 50% of those who quit before the age of 50 reduce their rate of death from smoking

Signs of Severe Smoking Dependence

Smokers who are seriously dependent on nicotine may exhibit one or more of the following signs:

• Smoking more than 1 pack of cigarettes a day
• Smoking within 5 minutes of waking up in morning or from a nap
• Continuing to smoke even when sick
• Waking up at night to have a smoke
• Smoking to help with symptoms of nicotine withdrawal

If you have even a couple of these signs of smoking dependence enlisting the aid of an addiction psychiatrist is thebest plan for success in smoking cessation.

Prescription Medications to Stop Smoking

Your psychiatrist has numerous medications available to prescribe and can provide referrals to support and adjunct services when developing your treatment plan to stop smoking, end nicotine addiction, and reduce any unpleasant withdrawal symptoms.

The medications that may be prescribed include:

• Chantix (varenicline) – this medication not only lessens the pleasure one gets from smoking by interfering with nicotine receptors in the brain; it also reduces the symptoms of nicotine withdrawal. Chantix helps you lose your craving for smoking and nicotine.

• Zyban, Wellbutrin or Aplenzin (bupropion) – the medication bupropion is known under three different brand names. It is an extended release anti-depressant that helps reduce cravings and symptoms of nicotine withdrawal.

• Nortriptyline – this is an older anti-depressant drug that helps reduce tobacco withdrawal symptoms

• Clonidine – this medication, used to treat high blood pressure has also been shown to help people quit smoking. When used as part of a smoking cessation plan it is often given in pill or skin patch form.

• Other medications and even anti-smoking vaccines are being tested in Europe and the United States but are not yet FDA approved. Your psychiatrist has access to the most effective medications and strategies for a successful program to quit smoking with the least interference from withdrawal symptoms.

Nicotine Addiction Psychiatrist

If you want to successfully quit smoking call Dr. Hege for a convenient evening or weekend appointment and begin a new life as an ex-smoker.

Reporting a sexual side effect while using psychiatric medications is a common complaint for both men and women. The severity of sexual side effects vary widely depending on the person, how they react to their medication, the specific medication prescribed, the dosage taken, and any co-existing medical disorders such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes.

Sexual Side Effects

Psychiatric medication may effect sexual function in a number of ways. The severity of sexual side effects may be minor, may ease up as your body adjusts or become a continuing issue that impacts life enjoyment. Sexual side effects include:

• Erectile problems
• Orgasm difficulties
• Problems with arousal and satisfaction
• A change in the desire for sex

Statistics of Sexual Dysfunction

Most of the research available on impaired sexual function and psychiatric medication focus primarily on depression and antidepressants. Sexual dysfunction however is also a concern for those diagnosed with anxiety disorders, mood disorders, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia to name a few. While 35% to 50% of those with untreated major depression report some type of sexual issue, those taking SSRIs (anti-depressant medication) report 30% to 40% delayed orgasm, 20% report decreased libido, and 10% of men complain of erectile function.

Impact of Psychiatric Medications on Sexual Function

The following classes of medication listed indicate some common drugs within each class that have more reported sexual side effects versus those with fewer reported sexual side effects:

Antidepressants:

• More reported side effects: Celexa (citalopram), Prozac (fluoxetine), Paxil (paroxetine), Zoloft (sertraline)
• Fewer reported sexual side effects: Wellbutrin, Aplenzin, Forfivo XL (bupropion), Cymbalta (duloxetine), Remeron (mirtazapine), Viibryd (vilazodone)

Antipsychotics:

• Increased side effects: Cozaril (clozapine), Risperdal (risperidone)
• Fewer reported effects: Abilify (aripiprazole), Zyprexa (olanzapine), Seroquel (quetiapine)

Sedatives:

• Increased sexual side effects: Valium (diazepam), Mellaril (thioridazine)
• Less reported effects: BuSpar (buspirone)

Reduce Psychiatric Sexual Side Effects

The solution is not to stop the medication you need for your mental health issues but rather to work with your psychiatrist to find an effective medication or combination of medications that work for you and reduce any sexual dysfunction that you have been experiencing.

Call Dr. Hege for a confidential appointment – there are many avenues of treatment available to help you live a full and satisfying life. Let Dr. Hege help.

In the United States, approximately 2.5 million people are addicted to opioids. Opioid addiction has become a national concern with states already using a tracking system to enable physicians to check which patient is getting narcotics and if they are “doctor shopping” for medications. In addition, over half of the states in the U.S. are now also limiting the number of days an opioid can be prescribed in an attempt to decrease the numbers of those becoming addicted to, and over-dosing from opioids.

Recent Study on Opioid Addiction 

A recent study by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published in March of 2017 provided data regarding measurable clues that indicate what your chances of becoming addicted to opioid are. The clues involve the duration of a narcotic prescription and the type of narcotic prescribed. These two clues combined give a measurable indicator of one’s chance of becoming addicted.

Duration of Narcotic Prescription Clue to Addiction

In the study by the CDC reported in their Weekly Report, the duration of a prescription gave clues on how long a person may end up using a narcotic painkiller. Results show that if an opioid is used for only one day, there is a 6% chance of still using that drug a year later. Using that medication for a period of 31 days increases the chance of developing long term opioid use to 29.9%.

Type of Opioid Prescribed Indicator of Addiction Odds

Use of long-acting or extended release opioids were an indicator of developing issues with long term use. People who received a prescription for extended release narcotics had a 27.3% chance to still be using that painkiller a year later, and a 20.5% chance of using it three years later. Comparatively, those adults who were started on a prescription using a short-acting opioid only had a 8.9% chance of addiction one year later and a 5.3% chance three years later.

Opioid Addiction Psychiatrist

Prescription and illegal opioids are commonly abused because they are so addictive. Recovery is often impossible without a good support system and medications that assist with the withdrawal symptoms.

Call Dr. Hege for a confidential appointment and start the journey back to a full life without the gnawing cravings of opioid addiction.

For those adults with ADHD, a common reported problem centers around the struggle with time management. Many with adult ADHD find themselves running late, not getting work done on time, difficulty organizing their time effectively, or just finding themselves out of sync with the rest of the world when it comes to following a routine time table.

Effects of Being Out of Sync with ADHD

Adults with ADHD may find they complete things too fast, making mistakes or leaving the task incomplete in their haste; others lose track of time or mismanage their time and find they end up being late for appointments or task completion. No matter if someone is too fast or too slow they feel a struggle to be in sync with the world around them, often feeling frustrated, anxious, ill-prepared, lagging behind or restless in the process.

Being Out of Sync Part of ADHD Experience

In the paper on adult ADHD written by Mikka Nielsen and recently published in Medical Anthropology, it was concluded that those with ADHD experience a state of desynchronization and inner restlessness with their surroundings and social connections, feeling like they are out of rhythm, out of sync, with the rest of the world.

Examples of Being Out of Sync with ADHD

Some common experiences where time management and feeling out of sync come into play include:

• Difficulty with predicting or estimating how long a task will take to complete
• Thinking about the present and not being able to plan effectively for the future
• Typically running late for appointments or meetings
• Finding yourself impatient and wanting to move on to the next thing
• Looking for short-term rewards
• Difficulty dealing with delayed gratification
• Following an atypical sleep-wake schedule

Adult ADHD Help Available

If you find yourself constantly out of sync with the clock, schedules, and appointments, or feel scattered and unsure of how to manage and organize your time in a more functional and effective manner, it may be time to seek the help of an experienced specialist. If you are feel that you are letting yourself and others down by your poor time management, or that you do not feel a sense of accomplishment in life, it is time to seek help and treatment.

Local Adult ADHD Psychiatrist

It is time for a change. End the constant struggle. Call Dr. Hege for a confidential appointment today.