Although the stigma surrounding mental health is subsiding, it is still commonly believed that elite athletes must be as mentally healthy as they are physically fit. However, just as it would be ridiculous to assume that an athlete was incapable of breaking a bone or…
Does Pure-O OCD really exist? Is it possible for someone with OCD to have obsessions but not compulsions? Although there are people with OCD who do not engage in physical compulsions, these same people are likely engaging in mental compulsions such as compulsively worrying or…
What was life even like before the pandemic? In many ways, we have grown accustomed to social and physical distancing, hand sanitizing, and Zooming or video chatting. As the pandemic is nearing its end, more and more restrictions will be lifted. CNN Health recently published…
Is anxiety just another habit? Dr. Judson Brewer discusses his book Unwinding anxiety in an online interview with the Friend’s of the Semel Institute. In their discussion, he lays out how anxiety, like other habits, can be identified, better understood, and adapted into something more…
The pandemic has impacted the world of sports at every level, including elite amateur sumo wrestling. CBT SoCal’s Dr. Jason von Stietz recently met with journalist Yunyi Wang to discuss how the covid-19 has impacted his work with the U.S. national sumo wrestling team in…
As Black History Month has just wrapped up, I thought I’d offer some quick reflections on unique issues affecting mental health in the African American community. Mental health concerns like depression and anxiety can of course impact all populations. However, there are specific historical, sociological, and cultural issues…
What is the difference between stress and anxiety? According to a recent article by the American Psychological Association (APA), stress and anxiety are similar in many ways. They can both lead to similar outcomes such as insomnia, fatigue, muscle tension, and irritability among other things.…
Olympic athletes are often able to demonstrate feats of athleticism that would be impossible for the average person. Their athletic abilities could understandably lead people to believe that they must be as remarkable emotionally as they are physically. However, athletes such as Michael Phelps have…
In recent days, we have seen a new strain of COVID-19, a continued rise of COVID-19 cases, political chaos in the United States, and a violent insurrection in the Capitol building. As these events unfold, many people are asking themselves questions such as, “Am I…
This is the last article in our blog series on the crippling mental health phenomenon of panic episodes. To review, here is a brief summary of what we’ve covered in this series: Panic can present in various different ways – mental, emotional, and physiological, as…
Some people often speak about the “Mind-Body connection” as if our minds and our bodies are somehow two separate parts of how we experience life. However, the uncomfortable experience of panic symptoms is one of the clearest ways we know that mind and body are…
Much has been written and researched about Mindfulness and how helpful it can be for our general health, as well as our ability to cope with mentally distressing states, such as panic and anxiety. At its core, mindfulness is essentially a way of intentionally…