Areas of intervention
Depression
Depression is one of the most common problems that people suffer in nowadays society. It is estimated that about half of all men and three quarters of all women have had an episode of depression sometime during their life. Many people do not ask for or receive the assistance that could ease the discomfort. Part of the problem is that often people do not know what kind of help is available and how they can benefit from it.
Anxiety
Although uncomfortable, anxiety is a normal and healthy adaptive response that arises when the alarm system is activated (the brain associated with fear or alarm situations). In fact, we are all equipped with this essential self-protection mechanism, but sometimes the system becomes hypersensitive or hyperreactive to certain stimuli or particular situations. This happens when we experience anxiety in a non-adaptive way (i.e., when there is no real danger requiring immediate protection of ourselves), thus becoming counterproductive for ourselves.
Health Anxiety
Taking care of our bodies and experiencing reasonable concerns about health, are appropriate behaviours since they are already being used to prevent different illnesses. What happens is that when there is an exorbitant concern about an illness or if actually suffering it, it does not justify such a concern, we are then talking about health anxiety. The symptoms are expressed in small physical sensations, often vague and imprecise but the concern itself generates a lot of anxiety as these sensations tend to be interpreted as symptoms of a serious illness.
Social Anxiety
Social phobia is a persistent and intense fear to act in a humiliating or embarrassing way in the presence of others, to the extent of interfering in both their personal and professional life.
People with this disorder think that people judge them negatively.
This fear may also reflect the feeling of being inferior, different or unacceptable, and this is usually accompanied by thoughts like “if people knew how I really am, they would reject me.“
Panic
Anyone who is caught in a situation that threatens his/her life is likely to experience a panic reaction. Symptoms of panic consist of a shallow and rapid breathing (hyperventilation), increased heart rate (tachycardia or palpitations) and intense anxiety.
This occurs when the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) is activated and the body is flooded with adrenaline.
Phobia
When faced with a real threat to our health, the immediate adaptive responses at our disposal are fight or flee. This is due to the activation of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS), basically our core alarm system, to protect us from danger. Phobias occur when the brain’s alarm system makes an inadequate connection with what would be objectively considered a minor threat or a low probability of harm from a given situation (e.g. walking down the street, being in an elevator, social interaction, going to the dentist).
Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) consists of a combination of obsessions (ideas, thoughts, images o absurd and annoying impulses that come up involuntarily together with unpleasant emotions like fear or guilt that lead the person to act compulsively to try and lower their worries or anxieties provoked by the obsession. The compulsions, also called rituals, are normally repetitive actions, but sometimes they are thinking patterns to which they resort to getting rid of the disturbing obsessions.
Stress Management
In the treatment of stress, the therapist helps the patient identify and develop ways to reduce stress and cope better with a distressing situation. Different people react differently to the same kind of circumstances, so we know that people tend to experience situations according to the way they perceive or interpret this situation.
Chronic pain and fatigue
Chronic pain is a long term pain that the professionals have not succeeded in alleviating or treating the cause (if it was ever known). Therefore, talking about chronic pain does not mean a malignant pain but more like back pain, rheumatoid arthritis or headaches.
The Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) is characterized by a persistent or recurrent fatigue, muscle and bond pain, sleeping disorders and subjective cognitive deterioration. The symptoms are neither caused by an ongoing effort nor improved by just resting, which turns it into a substantial diminishing of the levels of activity. There is considerable overlapping between CFS and fibromyalgia.
Insomnia
Insomnia is one of the most common sleeping problems among adults. In fact, it is a very widespread problem and the most common complaint after pain. It is a subjective experience of inadequate sleep, characterized by difficulties for falling asleep and staying asleep, waking up early or not being able to get a sound sleep. These difficulties are associated with daytime consequences such as difficulties in functioning, fatigue and drowsiness.
Get in touch
Phone:
(+34) 93 393 31 54
cristinaruizcoloma@gmail.com
Address:
CETRE MÈDIC TEKNON
Consultorios Vilana – Desp 154
C/ Vilana s/n
08017 Barcelona