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All About Imposter Syndrome: Definition, Health Effects, and Coping

Leave a Comment / Anxiety News, Anxiety Resources, Anxiety Self-Help, Fear in the News, Fear News, fear resources, Fear Self-Help, News /

Source: APA PsycPORT™: Psychology Newswire In 1978, two psychologists defined something called “impostor phenomenon” as an experience of feeling like an intellectual phony. The phenomenon is marked by persistent self-doubt and, often, a fear of being exposed as a fraud or imposter—even though, in reality, you’ve been successful in the very field where you feel […]

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Angst bewältigen: Früchte des Muts – SPIEGEL Coaching Podcast

Leave a Comment / Angst in den Nachrichten, Angst und Angsterkrankung, Angstbewältigung, Anxiety News, Anxiety Treatment, Fear News, Fear Treatment, News /

Angst hindert Menschen oft daran, Dinge zu tun, die ihnen wichtig sind und die sie mögen. Mit einer Checkliste finden Sie die nötige Motivation, Situationen trotz Angst zu meistern.

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The hell of somniphobia: ‘On a bad night I get zero to two hours’ sleep’

Leave a Comment / Anxiety and Sleep, Anxiety and Sleep / Insomnia, Anxiety News, News, Stress News /

The fear of falling asleep can have many causes, from trauma to sleep apnea, and the effects are debilitating. But there are effective treatmentsWhen Elizabeth Johnson tries to fall asleep, anxiety often takes over. After going to bed, she starts to relax, but feels as though she is losing control. “Instead of continuing,” she says, “I get a sense of panic, a shot of adrenaline and I’m fully awake again.” She is describing what it is like to have somniphobia – the fear of falling asleep. “Then I have to do the whole process of trying to sleep again, or give up for the night.”Johnson, 38, from Kansas, has had trouble sleeping and staying asleep since she was seven. It started out as insomnia and a fear of not sleeping, progressing by 12 to a fear of sleep itself. As a young child, she recalls, it was a case of, “When you get to a place where you can mentally fall asleep, you’re scared that it’s not going to happen this time. Or you’re scared that you’re going to have nightmares. And then, later, there was another layer of being afraid to fall asleep: because you’re no longer aware of what’s going on, so you’re not safe.” Continue reading…

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Condition openness is associated with better mental health in individuals with an intersex/differences of sex development condition: structural equation modeling of European multicenter data

Leave a Comment / Anxiety Research, Anxiety Resources, Anxiety Treatment, Communication Research, Depression Research, News, Psychiatry Research, Psychotherapy Research, Social Anxiety Research /

Background
Openness on one’s health condition or (stigmatized) identity generally improves mental health. Intersex or differences of sex development (DSD) conditions have long been kept concealed and high levels of (internalizing) mental health problems are reported. This study examines the effects of condition openness on anxiety and depression and the role of mediating concepts in this population.

Methods
Cross-sectional data of individuals of 16 years and older with an intersex/DSD condition was collected in 14 specialized European clinics as part of the dsd-LIFE study. Patient-reported measures were taken on openness and shame (Coping with DSD), self-esteem (Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale), satisfaction with care (CSQ4), anxiety and depression (HADS). Scores were compared per clinical group and data were analyzed via structural equation modeling (SEM) to calculate prediction and mediation models.

Results
Data of 903 individuals were included in this study (Turner syndrome (n = 284), 46, XY DSD (n = 233), CAH (n = 206) and Klinefelter syndrome (n = 180)). Participants were moderately open on their condition. High levels of both anxiety and depression were observed across the sample. In SEM analysis, the tested models predicted 25% of openness, 31% of anxiety and 48% of depression. More condition openness directly predicted lower anxiety and depression symptoms, as well as indirectly through increased self-esteem, self-satisfaction and satisfaction with social support.

Conclusions
Condition openness is associated with lower anxiety and depression in individuals with an intersex/DSD condition. Healthcare may provide the necessary knowledge and skills to employ one’s optimal level of self-disclosure in order to improve mental health.

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Mechanisms of cognitive-behavioral therapy effects on symptoms of body dysmorphic disorder: a network intervention analysis

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Background
Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is a severe and undertreated condition. Although cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is the first-line psychosocial treatment for this common disorder, how the intervention works is insufficiently understood. Specific pathways have been hypothesized, but only one small study has examined the precise nature of treatment effects of CBT, and no prior study has examined the effects of supportive psychotherapy (SPT).

Methods
This study re-examined a large trial (n = 120) comparing CBT to SPT for BDD. Network intervention analyses were used to explore symptom-level data across time. We computed mixed graphical models at multiple time points to examine relative differences in direct and indirect effects of the two interventions.

Results
In the resulting networks, CBT and SPT appeared to differentially target certain symptoms. The largest differences included CBT increasing efforts to disengage from and restructure unhelpful thoughts and resist BDD rituals, while SPT was directly related to improvement in BDD-related insight. Additionally, the time course of differences aligned with the intended targets of CBT; cognitive effects emerged first and behavioral effects second, paralleling cognitive restructuring in earlier sessions and the emphasis on exposure and ritual prevention in later sessions. Differences in favor of CBT were most consistent for behavioral targets.

Conclusions
CBT and SPT primarily affected different symptoms. To improve patient care, the field needs a better understanding of how and when BDD treatments and treatment components succeed. Considering patient experiences at the symptom level and over time can aid in refining or reorganizing treatments to better fit patient needs.

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