The sudden onset of chest pain. Difficulty breathing. Profuse sweating. Dizziness and lightheadedness. Patients describe these dreadfully uncomfortable symptoms to me in my office. They tell me that they called an ambulance the night prior and sped to the emergency room, certain that they were dying of a heart attack. After all the appropriate tests were done, the good news was that this was not a heart attack at all. It was a panic attack, one of the anxiety disorders, and it can mimic a heart attack so closely that it is often impossible to tell the difference without going to the hospital. Anyone with these symptoms must, in fact, go to the hospital to be certain they are not having a heart attack. Continue reading →

The cacophony of screams often emanating from behind locked and ominous asylum gates is a classical image from the movies. In such dramatic portraits the patients seem demonized, capable of unspeakable horrors, and so threatening that removal from society is the only viable option. In fact, prior to the introduction of medications in the 1950′s, many unfortunate patients were chained and whipped, as if they were criminals in a Continue reading →

Starting a novel in the morning, incorporating two new businesses by noon, claiming to one’s closest friends the likelihood of being the front runner for United States President in the afternoon, and spending thousands on clothes before supper are actions one equates with a wealthy and powerful Fortune 500 CEO. Such behaviors may also reflect the devastating symptoms associated with the disease known as Bipolar Disorder. Continue reading →

Vincent Van Gogh was haunted by crows over the wheat fields, ominously painting them in oils shortly before he committed suicide. Depression, which effects one out of ten men and one out of five women, was closeted in those days behind shame, ignorance, and ineffective treatments. Today, famous people such as author William Styron, 60 Minutes broadcaster Mike Wallace, and Vice Presidential Wife Tipper Gore are outspoken advocates for mental health treatment. This is because they have suffered from depression themselves and know personally how detrimental mental illness can be. Continue reading →