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Stress, Depression, and Divorce  

Mixed Feelings 

Rochester Holistic Psychiatry encounters many patients that have gone through a divorce, are  currently divorcing, or are on the verge of divorce. Even if the split is not a hostile one, divorce can be  intensely stressful on all parties. Each person will have their own cocktail of emotions. When the stress  of a divorce is comorbid with a mental disorder, the effects can hit so much harder and make the  situation that much worse.  

Talk About It 

Unfortunately, there is a social stigma attached to a strained marriage

Neurotransmitter #4: Norepinephrine  

The Brain’s Messengers 

This post is number 4 of our series on neurotransmitters. We continue to explore the nature of these  fascinating substances and how our brain uses them to guide our bodies and minds. We also learn  about how imbalanced and misdirected neurotransmitters can make life painful, and what can be done  to help. Today, we’re looking at norepinephrine.  

What is Norepinephrine?  

Norepinephrine is a chemical signal made in the adrenal medulla, a portion of the adrenal glands.  Norepinephrine has a sibling, epinephrine, that also goes by the name adrenaline

OCPD: Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder 

A Shared Obsession 

Rochester Holistic Psychiatry sees many patients with OCPD or OCD. There is an important  difference between the two, and we’ll be touching on it today. Both are inhibiting to a happy,  productive life, which OCPD and OCD patients want badly.  

The World Health Organization’s (WHO) International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes  OCPD as “Anankastic Personality Disorder.” “Anankastic” is taken from the Greek “anankastikos,” an  obsessive neurosis or compulsion.  

OCPD is gauged at affecting around 2.1 to 7.9% of the population, according to Dr. Mark  Zimmerman, MD, of

TMS for Alzheimer’s Patients with Depression 

The Need for Research 

The Alzheimer’s Foundation of America defines dementia as, “A general term that describes a  group of symptoms such as loss of memory, judgment, language, complex motor skills, and other  intellectual functions caused by the permanent damage or death of the brain’s nerve cells, or neurons.”  They go on to estimate that in 2010, there were about 35.6 million people in the world living with  dementia. No one knows how many caregivers and loved ones are affected by their friend’s dementia,  but we

The Only Thing Ugly is Pain 

What is body dysmorphic disorder? The Anxiety and Depression Association of America defines  BDD as “A body-image disorder characterized by persistent and intrusive preoccupations with an  imagined or slight defect in one’s appearance.”  

We want to spend some time talking about this painful condition, as it does not receive enough  attention and many who need help do not get it. We’ll use BDD as our general term today, though  many suffer from body dysmorphia that is not diagnosed as BDD.  

It’s not just disliking your body. Most

Finding the Balance

Medication is one of the many resources we use to treat major medical depression (MDD). Medication is often an integral part of a patient’s treatment regimen. Combined with other options like group therapy, one-on-one talk therapy, behavioral therapy, etc., mental health medication offers a better quality of life to thousands every day.

It can be tough and time-consuming to find the right meds. Sometimes the dosage needs adjusting or sometimes more than one prescription is necessary. Some medications are unsuitable for a patient because of other

“Ology” or “Iatry?”

What is the difference between a psychologist and a psychiatrist?  How do the two professions overlap?  Do I need one or both?  These are questions we get often at Rochester Holistic Psychiatry.  The short answer is that psychologists and psychiatrists are an effective team to work together toward better mental health for patients.  There are differences and they also overlap.  Keep reading for the longer answer.

What Are the Differences Between Psychology and Psychiatry?

The prescription and management of medication is one of the key differences between the work of

Important Questions, Important Answers

Pursuing a new medical regimen is always a decision that should be made with care and professional input.  How do you know if transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is right for you?  TMS is a very new treatment in the world of neuromodulation, being approved by the FDA as safe for the public in 2008.  Many studies are underway to increase the range of maladies TMS can help with, but the public at large still knows little about TMS.

Why People Use TMS

TMS is currently approved by major medical

The Mind’s Messengers

As a psychiatry clinic specializing in brain stimulation and neuromodulation, we are intimately familiar with how the brain communicates with itself and the tools it uses to do so.  Neurotransmitters are essential for this process.  We’ve looked at acetylcholine, now let’s look at serotonin.

What is Serotonin?

Serotonin is one of the neurotransmitters that sends messages to and from different parts of the brain.  Think of it as a fast-moving chemical delivery service.  The name was coined by Maurice Rapport in 1948 as an easier way to say 5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT. 

What Is Brain Stimulation?

In a recent post, we discussed neuromodulation.  Today, we want to talk about brain stimulation, which is a bit like neuromodulation’s sibling.  The proper name is Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation, or NIBS.  One important difference between this and the neuromodulation techniques detailed before is the non-invasive aspect.  Brain stimulation treatments like TMS use electrodes or electromagnetic coils applied to the scalp that administer a weak current easily tolerated by the body.  No implants, no surgery.

A History of Brain Stimulation

Humanity has experimented with methods of brain stimulation via