Treatment for Those Who Need It

The Right Treatment Changes Lives

A newlywed facing her “perfect life” is consumed with fears and anxiety. See what she discovered to regain the life she’d worked hard to build.

She was not alone. Read on for two stories of life-changing treatment from mental health professionals that resulted in remarkable recoveries.

At the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, we help the psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, and other professionals who help their patients who suffer from anxiety disorders, depression, and related illnesses. Your support for ADAA enables these professionals to provide their patients with the best possible treatments. Thank you for your help to ADAA.  [1]

A "Perfect" Patient

By Kara Baskin

Back in 2006, I had it all: A loving fiancé, a coveted publishing job, a supportive network of friends and family. Behind the scenes was a different story: Over the course of my mid-twenties, I began to suffer debilitating panic attacks and intrusive cycles of thought. I worried constantly … and my fears and my panic kept me home from social events, caused me to fight with my fiancé, and led me to the emergency room with imagined heart attacks.

I could never relax...and one thing was certain: I couldn’t enjoy the “perfect” life I’d tried so hard to create. My problems culminated on my honeymoon trip to Hawaii. What should’ve been the most blissful time of my life turned out to be a complete fiasco.

First a Diagnosis, Then My Life Back
My psychiatrist gave a name to my problem: I had panic disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder (or OCD). Thanks in large part to the support I received from ADAA and by finding the proper medication and therapy, I’m also mom to an adorable two-year-old son. There is no doubt in my mind that without getting treatment when I did, I wouldn’t be a successful writer and mother. Read Kara’s full story. [2] 

Kara's symptoms are all too common. Have you or a loved one had a similar experience? Please support ADAA so we can help more people like Kara—and you. [1] 

Treating Anxiety, a Psychologist’s View

By Simon Rego, PsyD, [3]director of psychology training, Montefiore Medical Center, and assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, Albert Einstein College of Medicine 

I am proud to be involved with ADAA, an organization that actively helps people find the treatment they need to tackle their challenges and achieve their life’s goals. As a psychologist in the New York City area, I’ve treated many people who have anxiety disorders, depression, and related illnesses. Some of my patients stand out in my mind, for the severity of their initial problems or for their achieving a successful recovery — or both. This is the story of one:

Too Anxious to Talk
I treated a young man who came to the United States to attend college. He was very intelligent and had experienced great academic success, but he had always been shy and socially anxious. By the time I saw him, he was so anxious he was unable to speak to me directly. And he was in the midst of a major depressive episode.

He went to great lengths to avoid his housemates — skipping meals, leaving the house late in the morning after they had left, or coming home when they were asleep. He often used the public restroom at a local gas station because sharing the bathroom proved too great a challenge. Feeling very isolated and helpless, his life had become a prison, and he wondered whether it was worth living at all.

Treatment Gives Hope
Fortunately  he sought treatment. Much to his surprise, he discovered that generalized social anxiety disorder [4] and major depressive disorder [5] were his diagnoses, that he was not the only one with these disorders, and that highly effective treatments were available for each of them. All of this gave him hope and allowed him to progress in his treatment. In turn, this led to his growing confidence that he would be able to live life as he had always dreamed possible.

Appropriate treatment changed the life of this young man. 
Please help ADAA get necessary treatment to others like him achieve their fullest potential. [1]

Treatment, a Psychiatrist’s View

By Katharine A. Phillips, MD, director of  the Body Dysmorphic Disorder Program [6]and  Research for Adult Psychiatry and senior research scientist, Rhode Island Hospital, and professor, psychiatry and human behavior, Alpert Medical School of Brown University

My expertise as a psychiatrist is in body dysmorphic disorder, or BDD. [7]This consists of an often-secret preoccupation with nonexistent or slight defects in appearance. BDD often causes debilitating distress and impairment in daily life. Although it’s common, BDD frequently goes undiagnosed and untreated. And it may co-occur with major depression, [5] OCD, [8]and social anxiety disorder. [4]

I’ve successfully treated many adolescents. I’m grateful that ADAA helps patients like mine find appropriate treatment. Here’s how treatment helped one:

Invisible Imperfections
At age 13, “Karen” was attractive, but she became excessively preoccupied, even obsessed, with flaws visible only to her: a large nose, small breasts, and ugly hair. As a result, she avoided socializing and failed courses at school, eventually dropping out. She required constant reassurance that she looked OK (which she didn’t believe), and she checked her appearance in any kind of reflective surface for several hours each day. She destroyed photos of herself and avoided having new ones taken.

Plastic surgery on her nose didn’t help because she refocused her concern to her breasts. She was so distressed that four years later she attempted suicide.

Remarkable Turnaround
I diagnosed Karen with BDD, major depression, and social anxiety disorder. After 12 weeks of treatment, her BDD and other illnesses had notably improved. And after years of suffering, she resumed her happier, more sociable life.

Finding the right treatment really transformed Karen’s life. You can help Karen and others — women and men, boys and girls — find the treatment they need. Please make a donation to ADAA. [1]

Please Donate Now [1]
[9]

Make a donation online [9]or [9]mail your gift today. [10]
You can also donate by phone: 240-485-1030 (8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET Monday-Friday).

Donations may be made in honor of or in memory of a friend or loved one.