Athletes With Anxiety

Last week, we discussed recent news reports about professional baseball players struggling with Social Anxiety.  This week, we broaden the topic to cover athletes in numerous sports with various anxiety disorders.  Second of a two-part series.

As we noted last week and in prior posts, the past few years have seen a significant increase in the number of professional baseball players going on the disabled list due to Social Anxiety.  This trend is remarkable for numerous reasons, the most noteworthy being that the issue of mental health in baseball is being openly discussed at all.  The overall issue of mental health has long been shrouded in secrecy and shame, leading many public figures to go to great lengths in order to ensure that their mental health issues remain private.  So when professional baseball players not only acknowledge their psychological issues, but actively seek help for them, this is a sign of cultural progress. › Continue reading

Tags: Anxiety, Baseball, Clint Malarchuk, David Beckham, Earl Campbell, Football, Health, Hockey, John Madden, Mental Health, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Panic Disorder, Phobias, Ricky Williams, Soccer, Social Anxiety / Social Phobia, Sports

Phobia Treatment in Unconventional Settings

Anyone with a phobia knows what it is like to feel terrified of something that most people take for granted. Whether it be cynophobia (fear of dogs), hemophobia (fear of blood), or claustrophobia (fear of enclosed spaces), the presentation is basically the same – when faced with the event, object or situation that is the focus of their fear, the individual with the phobia is often terrified to the point of experiencing a panic attack. › Continue reading

Tags: Aerophobia, Anxiety, Arachnophobia, Claustrophobia, Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Cynophobia, Emetophobia, Health, Hemophobia, Ophidiophobia, Phobias

OCD & Anxiety: The Year 2009 in Review

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and anxiety were in the news throughout 2009.  Some news was good, some bad, and some flat-out ugly.  Here are our votes for the top stories of the year related to OCD, Social Anxiety, Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD), Trichotillomania, Phobias, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): › Continue reading

Tags: Anxiety, Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD), Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT), H1N1, Health, Howie Mandel, Latisse, National Health Care Bill, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Phobias, Social Anxiety / Social Phobia, Swine Flu, Trichotillomania, Zack Greinke

Emetophobia and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

The OCD Center of Los Angeles often receives calls from people seeking treatment for various phobias.  One of the most common phobias we treat is emetophobia – the intense fear of vomit and/or vomiting.

Most people who call us with emetophobia are initially quite surprised to learn that this problem has a name, and often equally surprised to learn that they are not the only person in the world to suffer with it. › Continue reading

Tags: Anxiety, Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Depression, Emetophobia, Fear, Health, Panic Disorder, Phobias