Author page: Cat Outwin

Understanding Trichotillomania – Hair Pulling

Understanding Trichotillomania – Hair Pulling

Trichotillomania falls under the category of obsessive-compulsive and related disorders. The act of hair pulling provides a sense of relief, but it’s often followed by guilt, shame, and distress. Individuals with trichotillomania may focus on hair from the scalp, eyebrows, eyelashes, or other body areas. The best outcomes for trichotillomania treatment result from psychotherapy. The most common method of psychotherapy, CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) is…

Post Menopause Anxiety

Post Menopause Anxiety

Can menopause cause panic attacks and anxiety ?According to the Cleveland Clinic it can for some women. Menopause is not the same for every woman, but it is not the norm to suffer from ongoing panic attacks or chronic anxiety. Estrogen can act as an anti-depressant so when you go through menopause and your estrogen levels drop, you may be…

Try Havening Therapy – it’s a new psycho-sensory therapy

Try Havening Therapy – it’s a new psycho-sensory therapy

Havening is a new psycho-sensory therapy developed by the Ruden Brothers and popularized in part by hypnotist Paul McKenna; it relies on “amygdala depotentiation” that has the power to treat everything from work-related stress,  phobias, post-traumatic stress and anxiety, depression and fears. The Havening Technique is an alternative therapy that uses touch, eye movements, and other sensory inputs to reduce stress,…

Therapy for Panic Attacks and Panic Disorder

Therapy for Panic Attacks and Panic Disorder

A panic attack is a sudden episode of intense anxiety and/or fear with physical symptoms such as dizziness, shortness of breath, heart racing, trembling, sweating and chest pain caused by the hormone adrenaline flooding your bloodstream up to 2 ½ times the normal amount. Sometimes panic attacks can occur without warning with no obvious environmental or situational triggers associated with…

Don’t Fight the Panic

Don’t Fight the Panic

A panic attack can be frightening, overwhelming and a very uncomfortable experience but it is ABSOLUTELY NOT DANGEROUS. It is an extremely natural bodily response to perceived danger. It serves us well sometimes and keeps us alive sometimes – think – don’t step in front of that bus ! don’t get in a relationship with that abusive person ! However…

Sleep-Related Rhythmic Movement Disorder

Sleep-Related Rhythmic Movement Disorder

What is it ? Sleep-Related Rhythmic Movement Disorder (SRRMD) is the strong urge to move, rhythmically before you fall asleep, during transitioning from sleep to wakefulnesss i.e. several times a night during the lighter stages of sleep, and often on wakening. It can manifest as head rolling, head banging, body rocking and body rolling. An episode usually lasts up to 15…

Do you find making eye contact very very awkward ?

Do you find making eye contact very very awkward ?

Do you find making eye contact very very awkward ? When you are at work, with family, friends or interacting with strangers, does the thought of making eye contact fill you with dread, almost to the point that you would rather not have that interaction at all, than to feel those uncomfortable feelings ? Those uncomfortable feelings have been described…

Attracted to the Unavailable

Attracted to the Unavailable

Attracted to the Unavailable: Why and and How to Overcome This Self-Sabotaging Pattern Why are we attracted to the emotionally unavailable? What can we do about it? This problem is presented to me so much in my practice that I wanted to write about ways to end this self-sabotaging pattern. If we fall for someone who initially seems available and…