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A Lift From the Doldrums

NY Press — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 18:56:08 +0000

By Kristine Keller

How Seasonal Affective Disorder could put a damper on the holiday spirit

Like the planets orbit the sun, our lives spin around the seasons. These subdivisions of the year do more than signal us when it’s time to whip out our Mackage coats and begin fireside chats with friends over which artist sings the best “Baby It’s Cold” rendition. They inform us that time is passing and events are moving forward, as is the natural order of things. As New Yorkers, we have an internal hourglass that marks the passing of time until the sand has run out, signaling our earmuffs and legwarmers that winter has arrived! Not one to be late to the party, winter arrives on cue and sashays down Sullivan Street in all her glory while dusting off her snowy skin and casting an opalescent sheen over downtown’s cobblestone streets and awnings.

The red cups brimming with spices and peppermint have returned to ye faithful Starbucks, Broadway has become the mecca for ambling tourists hiding behind maps in search of NYC tchotchkes, and Christmas-tree vendors pepper the once-subdued streets from Nolita to Soho. It’s hard to imagine a downtown without a winter, just as it would be impossible to imagine the harbor without the Statue of Liberty. But for some, winter doesn’t evoke the same jubilation, and getting through the season can feel like navigating a dark labyrinth of gloom and despair.

Those severely impacted by winter’s shorter days and long frigid nights might be at risk for Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). Recognized by the Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 4th Edition (DSM-IV), SAD is described as a subtype of a major depressive episode. During winter’s reign, our brains produce increased levels of the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin. For those affected by SAD, one theory is that a biochemical imbalance of melatonin could lead to a shift in one’s internal hourglass, causing unhealthy behaviors that require medical intervention.

Typical symptoms of SAD include depressed mood, lethargy, lack of interest in activities, social withdrawal and a craving for sweets and carbohydrates. Those affected also spend inordinate amounts of time sleeping and have difficulty leaving their beds. As a result of weight gain and decreased interest in sex and physical contact, SAD sufferers also experience feelings of misery, shame, hopelessness and loss of self-esteem. These symptoms usually occur like clockwork beginning in November or December, peaking during January and February, and dissipating by March or April, depending on how quickly sunlight returns from hibernation. Though anyone can suffer from SAD, an overwhelming majority are young adults and women.

The key to diagnosing SAD is a recurrence of these deleterious symptoms during two successive winters followed by a routine remission in the spring. And while those who suffer from SAD may experience these symptoms at an extreme, there might be a greater number of people at risk for a milder assortment of SAD symptoms categorized as the “winter blues.” For the less-extreme blues, individuals might experience the decreased energy, increased appetite and feelings of sleepiness without feelings of depression and anxiety.

A season that should be welcomed with Bryant Park ice-skating arms thus becomes a dismal march through gray days, but there is some relief. Clinicians and those who have previously been affected by SAD now know when to expect the onset, how long it will last and how to treat it head-on. Special lamps are just one method that has proven helpful. And for downtowners in need of a quick Vitamin D pick-me-up, I suggest long runs along the glistening Hudson River or an idyllic Washington Square Park walk. Though anyone in cold northern cities can feel winter’s burn, downtown New Yorkers are lucky in that we’re surrounded by environmental therapy. Here’s to a healthy and happy winter for all.

COUCH TALK

admin — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 21:42:19 +0000

In a recent interview, Woody Allen, perhaps the world’s most famous neurotic, wondered aloud whether he could have achieved artistic success without regular psychoanalysis.
“People would say to me, oh, it’s just a crutch,” Allen told Adam Moss in New York magazine. “And I would say, yes. It’s a crutch, and exactly what I need in this point in my life is a crutch.”
Author and researcher Richard Florida recently pegged the nation’s epicenter of neurotic personalities at New York City. We need not forget, then, that it was once a great New York pastime to have one’s problems doted over by a psychoanalyst, seated cross-legged in a sexy position of authority.
With the profusion of psychopharmaceuticals, however, this practice fell to the wayside. It was a perfectly reasonable question to ask: Why should I go through such trouble to uncover trauma or detangle my complexes with a therapist I may not even have sexual chemistry with? Instead, using a method far less invasive than old-fashioned lobotomy, they could simply affect their brain chemistry and live in dreamy psychological stasis.
But give talk a chance, New Yorkers. Before you swallow the blue pill and say good-bye to your problems forever, spend some quality time with them. New York is, after all, still a bastion of psychotherapy—as well as neurosis.
“You do have people that just want to see their psychopharmacolgist and get prescribed medication,” says Kristene Doyle, director of clinical services at the Albert Ellis Institute, a world-renowned psychotherapy institute located in the Upper East Side. “But in terms of more long-term effects, coming in to have psychotherapy plus medication, you have an additive effect.”
To help in that pursuit, here’s a roundup of local psychotherapeutic centers, each of them approaching your psyche from a different perspective. If you’re not ready to hit the (pill) bottle yet—or if the drugs simply aren’t working—consider giving one of these organizations a call.

Albert Ellis Institute
45 E. 65th St. 212-535-0822,
albertellisinstitute.org
Albert Ellis’ legacy is Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy. Its main premise is that human neuroses stem from irrational beliefs (“I was abandoned, so I must be worthless.”), which they need to discover and rectify. The theory assumes that as long as you rightfully understand your reality, you’ll be happy. How optimistic. The method is also touted as a boon for highly intelligent people, according to the institute’s website, with a propensity for analytical thinking.
Besides offering treatment sessions and professional training, the institute invites New Yorkers, one Friday a month, to view a live demonstration of rational emotive behavior therapy on an audience member.

C.G. Jung Foundation for Analytical Psychology
8 E. 39th St., 212-867-8461, cgjungny.org.
“In each of us, there is another whom we do not know,” Jung observed. “He speaks to us in dreams and tells us how differently he sees us from the way we see ourselves.” If other forms of psychology seem dry or unimaginative, you might want to check out the C.G. Jung Foundation in its mid-Manhattan brownstone office. With seminar titles like “Music and the Symbolic,” “Mystery of Eleusis” and “Divine Androgyny,” visitors to the institute can delve into their dreams and understand the psychological relevance of classical myths. The foundation’s partner, the C.G. Jung Institute of New York, offers a referral service that connects the afflicted with Jungian psychologists throughout the New York City area.

The Gestalt Center for Psychotherapy and Training
220 Fifth Ave., Suite 802
212-387-9429, gestaltnyc.org.
The Gestalt Center was founded by Marilyn Rosanes-Berrett, a friend of Gestalt therapy founder Fritz Perls. Gestalt methods include objective observations of the client’s behavior and environment, without imposing a hierarchy of importance, and the development of a humanistic relationship between therapist and client that doesn’t limit those two individuals to their contextual roles. Gestalt is also known for moving beyond talk therapy into behavioral experimentation, inciting the client to try out new methods of engaging life. Baby steps into the elevator, baby steps down the hall…

A Psychotherapy Group in the Village
160 Bleecker Street, 9C East
212-673-4618 or at
am-psychotherapists-new-york-city.com
This collective unites therapists from Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens and emphasizes compassionate relationships with its clients. Being in the East Village, the group does have a seemingly arty bent. Among the mental conditions it specializes in, the group’s website lists “writer’s block” and “psychological impediments to acting.” For more information, visit or call founder Andre Moore at the number above.

MAKING THE SIMPLE THINGS EASY

admin — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 21:41:21 +0000

No problems booking that massage, right?
Dialing a telephone number has never been a stretch. Remembering to get those low-fat yogurt as well as the vinaigrette is a no brainer.
For sufferers of schizophrenia, though, even such simple tasks are a struggle. Those diagnosed with the disease endure a range of cognitive impairments that affect their concentration, memory and learning capacities, making day-to-day functioning extremely difficult. Although effective drug treatments have evolved for many of the more serious symptoms of the disease, there are currently no approved treatments for these simple cognitive deficits.
Thankfully though, a clinical study is currently underway in Brooklyn and beyond to test an innovative new treatment to improve these impairments.
“Cognitive deficits are very prevalent in schizophrenia,” explains Dr. Miranda Chakos, Principal Investigator at the SUNY Downstate Medical Center, one of 30 sites where the study is being conducted. “And they are the strongest predictor of poor functional outcome in patients.”
What makes the study’s approach unique is that the investigational drug being used supplements a patient’s medication rather than replaces it, while the measuring of results and progress during the treatment incorporates a new evaluation tool called MATRICS (Measurement and Treatment Research to Improve Cognition in Schizophrenia).
Effective treatments have emerged in the last 20 years for the more well-known psychotic symptoms of schizophrenia (delusional thinking, auditory hallucinations and disorganized behavior), although there have been various complications involving patients’ motor coordination as well as blood-monitoring issues. Chakos explains, however, that sufferers still struggle with the basic cognitive deficits of the disease as well as other symptoms like lack of motivation and social withdrawal.
“Individuals with schizophrenia [have] had persistent cognitive disabilities that have prevented them from successfully re-entering the community,” she says.
According to Chakos, 95 percent of schizophrenia patients have meaningful impairment in at least one cognitive area. Therefore, if the study and new drug are successful, it would then potentially improve the functioning and quality of life issues for up to 95 percent of patients.
It’s these issues that are of primary concern, especially considering the stigma and misinformation about the chronic brain disease that have been perpetuated through culture and pop psychology.
“One myth is that all patients with schizophrenia are alike,” Chakos explains. “In addition to the impact of gender, there are considerable differences in age, education levels, job histories, coping skills, response to stress in general and stress in particular situations.”
The disease currently affects over three million Americans, who Chakos hopes will benefit from the new treatment as soon as possible.
“The drug is in Phase 2 clinical trials and will not be introduced to the public until data from Phase 2 and Phase 3 trials are evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA),” Chakos says, explaining that the study has been defined as a high priority by both the FDA and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).
It may take several years before the drug will be available; but at this point the research team is primarily focused on seeking participants for the study, who qualify based on age, current antipsychotic medication, age when diagnosed and other variables.

For more information visit
www.cognitivestudy.com