Individuals often speak of feeling depressed. Indeed, it is common to feel periodic sadness due to life’s disappointments. Clinical depression, on the other hand, is quite different from those times when we experience unhappiness or despair. Clinical depression is a serious disease caused by a brain disorder, and its effects on the individual’s ability to perform in daily situations is profound....
January 6, 2018 THE RIGHT APPROACH TO THE OPIOD CRISIS As a practicing doctor with certification in psychiatry and having worked in Palm Beach County for the past 25 years, my views on the current opioid epidemic are the result of my daily contact with addicts, their families, the medical community, law enforcement and the judicial system. My work has taken me from the E.R. to the inpatient...
General anxiety disorder (GAD) is among the most usual types of anxiety disorders, and it is a condition that is defined by continuously worrying, in addition to feeling panicky about nothing worse than ordinary and simple daily occurrences. The worry, which to a logical person is wholly unjustified is so severe that it will considerably degrade the quality of life of the sufferer. It is...
Anxiety disorders affect 40 million adults in the United States, making it the most common mental health condition in the country. Untreated anxiety can affect every facet of life, making it difficult to relax, to achieve success in a work environment, to have fulfilling hobbies, and to maintain close relationships with family and friends. While there is no cure for anxiety, there are ways to...
As an addiction specialist, I see patients abusing substances of all kinds. Today I’d like to talk about alcohol. It is so ingrained and accepted in our society. Pop culture would have you believe that you can’t have any fun or lead a fulfilling life without alcohol. During nearly every commercial break on television, there is an advertisement for alcohol, full of smiling people having the time...
(And by ‘Might Be’ I mean ‘Are’) The “Opioid Crisis” is all over the news these days, thanks to cheap heroin cut with fentanyl and heaven-knows-what-else that’s filling up morgue drawers throughout the country. If you think the numbers of overdose deaths are staggering now, medical examiners would be up to their elbows in bodies without Narcan, a drug that scrubs opioids off of the brain’s...
Dr. Mark Agresti, West Palm Beach Mental Illness, Drug & Alcohol Detox Specialist — Psychiatrist, talks about a highly difficult and sad topic — Suicide. In the United States, 30000 people commit suicide annually. Dr. Agresti covers statistics of commonalities among suicide victims. He discusses depression symptoms, mental illness victims, addiction victims’ symptoms, and victims given a...
Dealing with an anxiety attack is essential and must not be taken for granted. Many people who struggle with anxiety think that the issue will solve itself and will not need any follow up. Treating an anxiety attack is of utmost importance to decrease any development of psychological issues which could be detrimental to the person’s wellness, both mentally and physically. In many cases where...
So I’m at the carwash. My car was a little dirty, and I like to keep it clean, preserve that new car scent. I’m no stranger to this place and I know my mission is the inside-out wash and hand wax. Actually, my mission is to manage to sit through it; I’ve been exiled to the waiting area for two hours. Two freaking hours! It’s a Saturday…don’t all these people have better things to do? As I sit...
I’ve been a psychiatrist in Palm Beach, Florida for the past 30 plus years. Being that Palm Beach is all about beautiful people and seeing and being seen, I have a constant stream of patients worrying about their their image. Botox, fillers, face lifts, tummy tucks…the list goes on and on, but there’s only so much a plastic surgeon can do, especially when it comes to the appearance of the body....
