Extinguishing Anxiety featured on "Psych Central:"
http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2011/07/11/i-am-so-not-sorry-an-exercise-in-exposure-therapy/
Extinguishing Anxiety featured on "Beyond Blue:"
http://blog.beliefnet.com/beyondblue/2011/05/extinguishing-anxiety-know-your-triggers.html
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South Bend Tribune Article published Dec 6, 2010
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Event details |
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Goldstein
& Associates, a group of mental health professionals, is hosting a
workshop, “Making Merry: How to Keep Anxiety and Worry from Spoiling
Your Holidays,” at 7 p.m. Thursday at 107 N. Eddy St.
The group
is offering a two-for-one deal. The cost to attend is $25 for the first
person and free for the second. Seating is limited to about 30 people.
Call 574-246-1036
or visit www.goldsteingroup.org for more information. |
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Rein in holiday stress
‘Making Merry’ workshop offers pointers
By KEVIN ALLEN
Tribune Staff Writer
SOUTH BEND -- Do holiday travel, family gatherings and shopping for
gifts torment you during what is supposed to be the most wonderful time
of the year?
If so, here’s a deal.
Goldstein &
Associates, a newly formed group of mental health professionals, has a
two-for-one special Thursday on a workshop titled “Making Merry: How to
Keep Anxiety and Worry from Spoiling Your Holidays.”
Holiday
sales are usually aimed at the flocks of shoppers who fill stores after
Thanksgiving. In this case, the targets are those who can’t bear the
thought of going to the mall during any time of the year, let alone the
busy holidays.
People can sign up for the workshop for $25 and bring a friend for free.
Dr.
Catherine Pittman, a Saint Mary’s College professor and clinical
psychologist, said the workshop is designed for people who have anxiety
disorders that cause them stress year-round but are especially
exacerbated by the holidays.
“Whereas some people think the best
time of the year is the holidays, for some people, this time of the year
is the hardest of all,” she said. “Therapists are usually most busy
during the holidays.”
Pittman said the demands associated with
holidays have grown as people have moved away from their families and
retail areas have shifted from neighborhoods to large, regional shopping
destinations.
“It used to be that we didn’t travel as much for
the holidays. Our families were more centrally located; your grandma
lived up the street,” she said.
“Now the holidays require going
into crowded places like the mall. You don’t have those corner stores
where you can just go down and pick something up,” she added. “Just the
nature of the holiday demands have changed to require more interaction
with a lot of people.”
Elizabeth Karle, the collection management
supervisor at Cushwa-Leighton Library at Saint Mary’s and the co-author
with Pittman of “Extinguishing Anxiety: Whole Brain Strategies to
Relieve Fear and Stress,” said people with anxiety disorders can
overcome their fears if they confront them.
Karle knows all about it.
She
has battled agoraphobia, which is the fear of being in places where it
might be difficult or embarrassing to leave. “It can be very limiting,”
she said, “because you really don’t want to venture too far from home or
out of a comfort zone.”
At one point in her life, about 20 years
ago, Karle said she was afraid to even to walk to the end of her
driveway to pick up the mail.
“The single most lasting way to
make the change is to try to face the fear,” she said, “but in
controlled situations so you have a positive outcome.”
Some
people might worry there is a stigma attached to revealing their anxiety
disorder, but Karle said keeping it secret from friends and family
members can add stress.
“Personally, I’ve found when I try to
hide it or make excuses for why I’m not going somewhere, that has been
more stressful for me than admitting to someone that I might not be able
to do such and such,” she said. “Most people will be understanding and
offer you a ride or at least be compassionate about your situation. I’ve
found most people are not judgmental.”
Dr. Mitchell Goldstein, a
psychiatrist, and the 12 other professionals in the group have
practiced either individually or with other organizations for several
years in the South Bend area. They opened their new office last week in a
historic home at 107 N. Eddy St.
Goldstein said the group chose the home because it has a large meeting room conducive to hosting workshops.
Pittman,
who has 20 years of experience, will lead the workshop Thursday. She
said Goldstein & Associates doesn’t expect to make much money on the
event, but that’s not the reason the group is organizing it. It’s more
of a way to celebrate the opening of the new office and help people
through the holidays, she said.
Karle said, “I would just
encourage people to try and take positive steps to get over their
anxieties and their fears. They really do limit life. There’s so much to
enjoy about life that ideally you shouldn’t let your fears hold you
back.”
IN Michiana magazine:
"Fear Effect" by Lynn Marie Helvey, September 20, 2009
In anticipation of Halloween - a holiday that celebrates scaring
people - IN Michiana magazine interviewed psychology professor Catherine
Pittman about fear and anxiety. The article introduces the new book
Pittman co-wrote with librarian Elizabeth Karle called Extinguishing Anxiety: Whole Brain Strategies to relieve fear and
stress.
Click here for the pdf.
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WSBT-TVThis
time of year we all feel the stresses associated with the holidays,
like what presents to buy and when to find time to write greeting
cards. But for the 15 million Americans who suffer from social anxiety,
anxiety associated with the holidays is very real. Saint Mary's
psychology professor Catherine Pittman spoke with WSBT's Jim Pinkerton
about ways to control anxiety during the holidays and beyond.
Go to http://www.wsbt.com/results?searchType=gen&keywords=pittman&submit=Search+wsbt.com and click on "Interview: holiday stress."
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