Joyce Boaz | MHMatters

Helping A Person Who Is Suicidal

By Joyce Boaz | Jul 29, 2009 | Depression, Suicide | 0 |

One of the most difficult situations for a family member or a friend is when someone close to them expresses statements that suggest they are suicidal. It seems confusing that people, who survived a traumatic event, or a history of traumatic events, find themselves as their own worst enemy, feeling and thinking about dying. Often people who are depressed and thinking about suicide show several of these warning signs: Noticeable changes in eating or sleeping habits Withdrawal from family or friends Fantasies about running away or dying Persistent boredom and/or difficulty concentrating Drug and/or alcohol abuse Unexplained drop in...

PTSD And Depression: The Connection

By Joyce Boaz | Feb 27, 2009 | Depression, Personality Disorders, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder | 1 |

by Janice L. Krupnick, Ph.D. Professor of Psychiatry Georgetown University School of Medicine An important consideration in understanding posttraumatic stress disorder (ptsd) is its frequent co-occurrence with other psychiatric disorders. Population-based surveys of individuals who have been diagnosed with PTSD show that these persons have rates of 62% to 92% of other types of psychological disorders. In a major study of veterans who had served in Viet Nam (Kulka et al.1990), 99% suffered from another psychiatric disorder. While disorders such as panic disorder, other anxiety disorders, and substance abuse and dependence frequently co-occur with PTSD, the disorder that most...

Dealing with Domestic Abuse: Lessons from Kathy

By Joyce Boaz | Feb 13, 2009 | Domestic Violence | 0 |

Kathy was a smart, logical and practical woman. At 27, she already owned her own home, car and successful floral business. She was awe-struck the moment she saw Kirk. He was handsome and very charming. He came into her store to buy two dozen roses for his girl-friend. “It must have been quite a fight,” Kathy joked. Little did she know how true her words were. Kirk smiled, but said nothing. However, he came back a couple of days later for more flowers. Kathy asked him how it had worked out.”We broke up.” he stated. “I am here to...

Guilt Following Traumatic Events

By Joyce Boaz | Feb 13, 2009 | Grief and Loss, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Veterans | 0 |

Dear Reader, Although inspired by the events of September 11, the following paper is a discussion of the kinds of guilt that may occur following any traumatic event. The paper includes an examination of actual culpability as well as the sense of culpability found in many trauma survivors. It offers some possible methods of dealing with guilt. Although it is difficult to speak using every one’s voice in a single paper, with Joyce Boaz’s excellent feedback, the paper has been organized and written so that it may be helpful to survivors as well as to mental health professionals. It...

Terrorism: September 11, 2001: Trauma, Grief, and Recovery

By Joyce Boaz | Feb 13, 2009 | Grief and Loss, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Trauma Disorders, Violence | 0 |

Dear Reader, When Joyce Boaz of Gift from Within requested the following article, we both hoped to find a way to assist those affected by the events of September 11. We hope that this article makes clear that it is normal to have any number of a wide range of thoughts, feelings and reactions in response to the terrorist acts of that day. In addition to the individual nature of response, people react to and recover from such experiences on different timetables. The article covers issues related to possible reactions, risk factors, intensifiers, and other issues that may arise....

Author: Joyce Boaz