Symptoms begin as normal responses to life stressors.
When symptoms become too many, or begin to interfere with daily living, it is time to seek some means of symptom reduction.
Psychotherapy has been shown to significantly reduce symptoms and to provide people with valuable tools to prevent those symptoms from interfering with life in the future.
The following symptoms are grouped based on some of the most common difficulties that people experience: Depression and Anxiety.
Depression
1. Depressed Mood
2. Diminished Interest or Pleasure
3. Significant Weight Change
4. Significant Change in Sleep
5. Excessive Fatigue/Loss of Energy
6. Feelings of Worthlessness
7. Difficulty Concentrating/Indecisiveness
8. Recurrent Thoughts of Death
Anxiety
1. Pounding or Accelerated Heartbeat
2. Sweating
3. Trembling or Shaking
4. Shortness of Breath/Smothering Sensations
5. Choking Feelings
6. Chest Pain/Discomfort
7. Nausea or Abdominal Distress
8. Dizziness, Lightheadedness, Faintness
9. Feelings of Unreality or Being Detached from Oneself
10. Fear of Losing Control or Going "Crazy"
11. Fear of Dying
12. Numbness or Tingling Sensations
13. Chills or Hot Flushes
There are several specific disturbances of the mood, including anxiety, that are associated with different combinations of the above symptoms.
Bipolar Mood Disorder contains the symptoms of both Depression and Mania, usually in alternating sequence. Below are the symptoms associated with Mania.
Mania
1. Inflated Self-Esteem or Grandiosity
2. Decreased Need for Sleep
3. Pressure to Keep Talking
4. Flight of Ideas/Racing Thoughts
5. Distractibility
6. Increase in Goal-Directed Activity
7. Excessive Involvement in High-Risk Pleasurable Activities
While you may experience some, all, or none of the above symptoms, the most useful and the most basic indicator that you may need to begin psychotherapy is the degree to which your current state deviates from your normal state.
If, for whatever reason, you do not feel like "yourself" and you cannot identify any specific reasons why, psychotherapy can greatly assist you in this process.
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