Dr.Greenberg

[ROmy12]

Dr.Greenberg, i'm currently in the middle of a huge dilema. I'm currently a senior and will be applying to colleges very soon this coming months. I recently moved to New York city with my family from Boston, Ma and find everything confusing, different and just extremely busy. However, I have been able to cope with the stress of moving to a new state, i'm slowly learning to adjust to it. I'm 18 and about 3 years ago i experienced my first panick attack due to early exposure to porn. At 14 i was curious and began looking for ways to know what sex was all about and came upon a site and began getting interested. Immediately i began feeling guilty, dirty and just plain disgusted with myself. I couldn't sleep at night until one day i flipped, my heart was racing and panicked. I felt like my world  was ending and began feeling depressed! However, after searching online, i found otu that i wasn't mental and that many people have been through it and it could disappear if i work on my feelings. Determeined i refused medication and began healing myself internally. I feel much better after three years, no panick attack but every now and then on the subway i begin feeling scared and feel like i'm going to lose until i get myself together. Long story short (sry for writing so long) i want to pursue pharmacy as a career, yet i'm questioning if i can do the job? I'm afraid of working with mental patients and sometimes cannot stand looking at anorexic people. Will anxiety stop my dreams? I really want to pursue it but i read that i might work at metal institutions and i'm not sure if i can handle it. Please what is your advice on this issue?

[Jason Greenberg, Ph.D.]

First of all, anxiety may not necessarily "stop" your dreams or ambitions.  Second, you mention a number of issues that bring up anxiety for most people -- sex and sexuality, choosing and pursuing a career, relocating to a new city.  However, you are bringing up enough concerns that could (I'm not saying it will definitely) impact your freedom to choose how you'd like your career to be, that it might be worth it to seek out therapy to discuss all the worries you have.  I think that one thing going in your favor is that you have been able to overcome your anxiety in the past and there's no reason why you wouldn't be able to do that again.  

As I reread your post, I think that questions that you may want to think about (and potentially talk about with a professional) include:  what is so scary about working in mental institutions?  What is so intolerable about looking at anorexic people?  What is it about riding the subway that leads you to feel like you're about to lose it?

[ROmy12]

I had a very bad experience with a psychologist i went to about 3 years ago. She was frank, rude and only cared about whether i payed or not. I'm very concerned about the state i am right now, i do not want anixety to interfere with my life, as you mentioned anxiety cannot stop my ambitions! I'm willing to buy online methods to copy with anxiety like the Linden method, what is your experience with patients used online ways to handle anxiety?

[Jason Greenberg, Ph.D.]

I'm sorry to hear that you had such a bad experience with a psychologist -- it's understandable that you would be against trying therapy again.  As far as online methods of coping with anxiety, I am not that familiar with them, though I would imagine they teach relaxation techniques in conjunction with other methods.  On the one hand, I would encourage you to try them out and see if any of them work for you, there is certainly no harm in that, and you might find that that is enough for you to manage your anxiety.  However, one reservation I have in general is that for many people, these methods don't address the cause or causes of anxiety, which often lie outside of people's awareness.  It is often helpful for people to speak to a trained professional, who can help people identify the triggers of anxiety, which then helps people come up with more effective strategies for dealing with the anxiety.

[Jaquta]

I expect the expert is right concerning self-help programs in that we lack the insight to confront our issues.  Also, I think online programs seem attractive as they help us avoid relationships which can seem threatening.
The doctor on the mental health expert forum has recently released a new program that could be helpful.  You might like to check out his website at myvirtualshrink.com.

Anxiety will only stop you achieving your dreams if you allow it too.
Also, maybe another question to ask yourself is, what aspect of these people do you see that makes you feel anxious?  Maybe you see something of them in yourself.
There are good people in mental institutes.  Some of these people are likely to be the most real people you will ever meet.
You might work at a mental institute but you also might not.  I think you should access therapy to help you address your concerns (fear, anxiety and issues).