Transvestic fetishism is having a sexual or erotic interest in cross-dressing. It differs from cross-dressing for entertainment or other purposes that do not involve sexual arousal and is categorized as a paraphilia in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association. (Sexual arousal in response to donning sex-typical clothing is homeovestism.) Transvestic fetishism...
Schizophreniform disorder is a mental disorder diagnosed when symptoms of schizophrenia are present for a significant portion of the time within a one-month period, but signs of disruption are not present for the full six months required for the diagnosis of schizophrenia. The symptoms of both disorders can include delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, disorganized or catatonic...
Delusional disorder is an uncommon psychiatric condition in which patients present with circumscribed symptoms of non-bizarre delusions, but with the absence of prominent hallucinations and no thought disorder, mood disorder, or significant flattening of affect. For the diagnosis to be made, auditory and visual hallucinations cannot be prominent, though olfactory or tactile hallucinations...
Freaky Phobias, part deux Hello, people- I hope everyone had a great weekend! Last week, I introduced the subject of phobias, and we’ll continue that discussion today. Fear is an important evolutionary tool, allowing humans to survive dangerous encounters and develop appropriate responses to hazardous situations. But when fear becomes debilitating, when it becomes a greater threat than the...
N-acetyl Cysteine… New Miracle for Bipolar? Hello, people… hope everyone is well! In last week’s blog, I introduced you to N-acetyl cysteine, or NAC, an amino acid supplement that’s garnering some serious attention in shrinky circles, as it has shown major potential to help treat multiple psych conditions. Recall from last week that NAC is most renowned for its ability to replenish levels of the...
The Dark Side of OCD Hello, people… hope everyone had an awesome weekend! Was it perfect? Because last week, we talked about POCD, perfectionism OCD. This subtype is pretty self explanatory; it’s the obsession with being perfect. Perfectionism is a little unusual, as it can exist outside of OCD, underlie many OCD subtypes, and be a subtype all on its own. In people with stereotypical OCD,...
by Mark G. Agresti, M.D. Panic Disorder is a condition that can affect anyone including residents of West Palm Beach. Panic disorder is an anxiety disorder characterized by recurring severe panic attacks. It may also include significant behavioral change lasting at least a month and of ongoing worry about the implications or concern about having other attacks. The latter are called anticipatory...
The Dark Side of OCD Hello, people~ welcome back to the blog! The last few installments, we’ve been talking about some of the more unusual subtypes or presentations of OCD. Last week, I told you about POCD, pedophilia OCD. This is a devastating harm based subtype that causes people to worry that they might be attracted to children, and could potentially act on that attraction. To reiterate,...
Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a personality disorder described as a prolonged disturbance of personality function in a person (generally over the age of eighteen years, although it is also found in adolescents), characterized by depth and variability of moods. The disorder typically involves unusual levels of instability in mood; black and white thinking, or splitting; the disorder...
Kratom: Panacea or Poison? What is Kratom? Kratom (scientific name: Mitragyna speciosa) is a tropical evergreen tree in the coffee family that is native to the jungles of Southeast Asia; specifically found in Thailand, Myanmar, and Malaysia. It is also found in Papua New Guinea. Other names for kratom include thang, kakuam, thom, ketum, and biak. Whatever it’s called and wherever it may be...
