Inside the Evolving Issue of Addiction

Written by admin on October 19, 2018. Posted in In the News.

CAST Centers very own Dr. Cecelia Mylett and Robert Oppenheimer were interviewed as alumni of the University of Southern California, Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work. Please read excerpts of their insight about the evolving issues of addiction below:

At CAST “is we treat the whole person. Where they are, what got them here and what they want to change. People are coming in here in pain, shame and suffering that they may not be aware of, but they know it’s affecting their lives and loved ones.”

Because some individuals seeking help from CAST come from affluent backgrounds, they may have used substances for quite a while before being confronted about the problem, according to Robert Oppenheimer, MSW ’92, a clinical therapist at CAST. “The nature of addiction,” Oppenheimer said, “is a lot of secrecy.”

To read the entire article, please visit the USC website.

Reframing Negative Thoughts

Written by admin on July 13, 2018. Posted in In the News.

40 Things to Stop Believing About Yourself After 40. CAST Centers Dr. Mylett gives us one tip to frame negative thoughts:

“Thoughts like this one are a feeling, not a fact, says Cecelia Mylett, Psy.D, LCSW, Clinical Director at CAST Centers. Acknowledging the feeling behind it—loneliness, depression, frustration—can help you recognize what your brain is really saying and not get bogged down in self-doubt.”

To read the full article, go to Reader’s Digest.

How to Find Out if You’re Depressed: Take the Test

Written by admin on May 23, 2018. Posted in Videos.

<br />

How to Find Out if You’re Depressed: Take the Test. Life is full of experiences, both good and bad. It’s normal—even expected—to feel unhappy or sad sometimes. The death of a loved one, the end of a relationship, losing a job—all can cause stress and sadness. Many people find a way to carry on after these events, but for some, the negative feelings don’t go away.

How to Find Out if You’re Depressed?

Depression, even in the most severe cases, is treatable. There is an effective treatment for mild, moderate, and severe depression. Even with known effective treatments for depression, many people go untreated. Barriers to receiving appropriate care are a lack of resources, a lack of trained healthcare providers, and the stigma associated with mental health disorders. However, CAST Centers offers depression treatment in Los Angeles, California to give hope to those who struggle.

Some signs of depression

Depression affects people in different ways, and there are many symptoms of major depression:

Deep, persistent sadness
Loss of interest or pleasure in activities one once enjoyed
Feelings of shame, guilt, hopelessness, worthlessness, and anger
Difficulty focusing on work and other tasks
Difficulty making decisions

Types of depression

People can become depressed for both physical and mental reasons . Depending on the cause of depression, it can manifest in different ways:

Major Depression– This is what most people think of when they hear “depression.” It’s when a person feels depressed most or all of the time.
Bipolar Disorder– This causes periods of alternating depression and mania.
Seasonal Affective Disorder– Triggered by conditions of low sunlight, it’s more common in winter, when there are fewer daylight hours.
Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder–This disorder occurs at the start of a menstrual period.
Postpartum Depression– Triggered by hormonal changes that occur after giving birth.
Psychotic Depression– This condition causes delusions and paranoia as well as depression.
Situational Depression– Occurs in response to a life event, such as the death of a loved one.

How to Find Out if You’re Depressed: Take the Test

Follow Us on Social Media

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Subscribe to Our Youtube

Dr. Phil Introduces CAST Centers Clinical Director, Dr. Cecelia Mylett

Written by admin on May 22, 2018. Posted in Dr. Phil, Videos.

<br />

Follow Us on Social Media

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Subscribe to Our Youtube

What is Deipnophobia?

Written by admin on February 21, 2018. Posted in In the News.

Earlier this month, our very own Dr. Cecelia Mylett was quoted in Women’s Health Magazine on the topic of deipnophobia. It is not a word or a phobia we hear too often, even in a professional clinical setting. However, just because we do not hear about, does not mean the phenomena does not exist. What is deipnophobia? What is its association with other phobias?

Defining the Undefined

The DSM-5 provides clinicians the criteria for diagnosing mental disorders. Mental disorders have a range running from substance use disorder to depression, from anxiety to PTSD. However, the DSM-5 does not describe deipnophobia specifically.

What people are describing in the term deipnophobia is the fear of dining or dinner conversations. So, if it is not explicitly defined in the DSM-5, how does one diagnose or describe deipnophobia?

Using the DSM-5, deipnophobia would be classified broadly under Anxiety Disorders. More specifically, the differential diagnosis may either be Social Anxiety Disorder (Social Phobia) or Specific Phobia. If the situation is feared because of negative evaluation by others, it would be considered a Social Anxiety Disorder. Otherwise, deipnophobia would be a related to a Specific Phobia.

Symptoms and Manifestations

Symptoms appear consistent with anxiety symptoms, which include avoiding the situation, fearfulness of being criticized, embarrassment, racing heart, sweating, nausea, and feeling trapped, to name a few.

Although deipnophobia is associated with dinner, mealtime, or eating, it is not the actually eating that is the phobia. Rather it is the fear associated with social interactions during mealtime. Individuals experiencing this type of specific fear may intentionally avoid dinner or other mealtime social gathering altogether.

Managing Deipnophobia

Embrace your deipnophobia, don’t ignore it. It is your brain’s response to a perceived threat, which is the flight or fight response. But when you embrace it, focus your thoughts to the “present”. You can say to yourself, “I’m okay right now, in this moment, I am okay.” Take a deep breathe, pause, and exhale.

Shift your focus to the present moment. Focus on what is going well, such as “the food great.” We all have anxious feelings. Decide what is a real threat, or a perceived threat, and move forward.

‘I Have A Severe Phobia—Here’s What It’s Like’

Written by admin on February 8, 2018. Posted in In the News.

Dr. Cecelia Mylett was quoted in Women’s Health regarding how certain conditions, like deipnophobia, are considered either social anxiety or a phobia.

“If the situation (in this case, dining with others) is feared because of negative evaluation by others, it would be considered a social anxiety disorder,” says Cecelia Mylett, Psy.D., clinical director of CAST Centers, a mental health and substance use disorder treatment center in West Hollywood. “Otherwise, deipnophobia would be considered a specific phobia—a significant fear of a certain object or situation.”

To read the full article, please see Women’s Health.

Tag: Dr. Cecelia Mylett

Inside the Evolving Issue of Addiction

Reframing Negative Thoughts