Anyone taking opioid medications is at risk of addiction, since there’s no way to predict who will develop dependence. About three-quarters of drug overdose deaths in the country result from the use of opioids. While short-term use can be beneficial for pain management, even then there’s a risk of addiction due to the powerful way that opioids affect your brain’s reward centers.

While that’s part of the pain relief process these drugs offer, a void can open when you discontinue their use, creating cravings for the effects of the missing opioid. Your body may be producing fewer endorphins, your natural reward center stimulators. You’re now under the control of the opioid drug.

Premier Psychiatry specializes in medication-assisted treatment (MAT) of opioid addiction using Suboxone® Therapy, a drug preparation that uses a combination of two medications to ease the transition away from the opioid to which you’re addicted. Suboxone reduces the risk of fatal overdoses by half while easing the symptoms of opioid withdrawal. Here’s how Suboxone can help you make the break from opioids.

Suboxone basics

A combination of buprenorphine and naloxone, Suboxone is one of the most-used medications for treating opioid addiction. As an opioid antagonist, Suboxone works in an opposite way than the problem opioids, which are instead agonists to your body.

An opioid drug like heroin, morphine, or oxycodone, activates receptors in your brain that block pain and release pleasure-mimicking endorphins. Buprenorphine is also a partial opioid agonist, so you retain the opioid pain relief value, while naloxone blocks the effects that encourage dependence and addiction, making it easier to resist cravings while it reduces symptoms of opioid withdrawal.

Developed expressly for fighting opioid addiction, Suboxone has a dependency risk that’s much lower than other MATs, including methadone. Side effects of Suboxone are more mild and tend to be physical rather than psychological.

Part of an addiction treatment program

Unfortunately, simply taking Suboxone as a pill or under-the-tongue film isn’t all it takes to break an opioid addiction. Suboxone is a strong medication that’s used as part of a MAT program that includes substance abuse counseling, primary health care, and behavioral and psychological counseling.

Every patient’s treatment is different, and while Suboxone is a powerful addiction breaker, some people don’t respond to medication assistance in any useful way. Most need a combination approach to successfully navigate the opioid recovery journey.

Key to success is working with doctors and therapists you can trust, making it easier to be open and honest about your addiction and recovery. Reach out to the team at Premier Psychiatry to start or continue your opioid treatment plan. You can reach our offices by phone or online so book your consultation now.

Heart-racing anxiety is clearly an experience most people would like to minimize. It’s a natural part of the human condition that we all feel occasionally. When you have anxiety attacks every day, something is wrong.

Sometimes, there are physical reasons for feeling anxious, including hyperthyroidism and other endocrine system issues, low blood sugar, and some heart conditions. When these aren’t in play, you may be experiencing generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), a psychological condition that produces frequent episodes that may affect you daily.

Dr. Pradeep Thapar and the team at Premier Psychiatry specialize in treating anxiety and related disorders in Orland Park, Oak Lawn, Lombard, & Downers Grove, Illinois. Customizing treatment to the unique needs of every patient, our caregivers blend psychotherapy techniques and medications to help you gain control over your days again.

Signs of GAD

The way you experience anxiety may be similar to others, but it’s likely your collection of symptoms and their intensity will be unique to you. Signs of GAD often include:

• Feelings of anxiety that are out of proportion with outcome of the events over which you worry
• You have trouble managing uncertainty about certain things
• Overthinking unlikely events, usually toward multiple worst-case scenarios
• Feelings of danger about normally non-threatening situations
• Fear of making wrong decisions
• You’re unable to relax
• Feelings of being on edge without reason
• Mood changes and feelings of irritability

Anxiety often causes physical symptoms, too. These can include:

• Muscle tension and related aching
• Insomnia
• Feelings of nervousness
• You can be startled easily
• Intestinal or stomach issues, such as nausea or diarrhea
• Physical tics, like trembling or twitching
• Perspiration
• Fatigue

The frequency of your anxiety attacks and their symptoms is another factor in a GAD diagnosis. Daily anxiety episodes suggest that you may have GAD.

We can help

Successful treatment plans for GAD generally include a mix of medications and therapies. Naturally, the precise combination considers your condition, personality, and response to treatment.

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is often beneficial for anxiety treatment, since it provides you with practical ways to redirect your mental energies to get past the thoughts that consume you when GAD hits. In some cases, CBT is effective enough on its own to reduce your anxiety symptoms to manageable levels.

When therapy alone isn’t enough, we may prescribe medications to alter some of the chemical pathways in your brain. Both antidepressant and anti-anxiety medications prove helpful in reducing anxiety reactions. Generally, we start with low doses of the safest drugs, changing these until we arrive at a level that works for you.

We’re here to help you through your anxiety condition. Contact Premier Psychiatry by phone or online to schedule a consultation. There’s no need to feel anxious on a daily basis, so book your visit today to find the relief you need.

 

Of the nearly 9 million Americans being treated for major depressive disorder (MDD), over 30% fail to respond to conventional antidepressant medications. Called treatment-resistant depression (TRD), this condition provides a challenge for patients and caregivers alike.

Approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2008 for TRD, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) provides an alternate, drug surgery-free therapy that helps some patients with depression find relief. The team at Premier Psychiatry in Orland Park, Illinois, offers TMS to their patients with MDD.

Treatment-resistant depression

For most people suffering from MDD, a combination of medication and psychotherapy helps to ease the symptoms and lift the burden of depression. Sometimes, it may take time to find the right drug and the most effective dosage. For some, these therapies produce little to no result.

TRD accounts for much of the medical expenses and lost work time for patients being treated for depression. Therapies beyond antidepressant medications and counseling become necessary for patients with TRD.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation

The brain and nerves run on tiny, synchronized electrical signals. As we know from heart pacemakers and spinal cord stimulators, it’s possible to alter the performance of nerve tissue using controlled artificial signals. This is useful for regulating heartbeats and disrupting nerve signals.

The brain is a much more sensitive part of your body. Instead of using direct electrical signals to trigger a response, transcranial magnetic stimulation uses magnetic fields to influence the natural electrical activity in your brain. TMS is noninvasive. All the apparatus remains outside your body.

TMS uses a magnetic field that switches on and off using a variety of pulse patterns tuned to different frequencies and strengths to alter electrical conditions through the skin to treat certain mental health conditions when they won’t respond to conventional treatments.

Am I a candidate for TMS?

TMS has FDA approval for use with four conditions. These are:

• Major depressive disorder
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
• Quitting smoking
• Migraine headaches

In addition, research is ongoing into other applications for TMS. The procedure may prove useful to treat many other conditions, including:

• Alzheimer’s disease
• Addictions
• Bipolar disorder
• Chronic pain
• Complications of stroke
• Eating disorders
• Fibromyalgia
• Parkinson’s disease
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Tinnitus

As well as its primary use as an alternative treatment for TRD, TMS is also an alternative to electroconvulsive therapy for patients who can’t undergo that procedure or when it proves ineffective.

When TMS can’t be used

TMS isn’t suitable for everyone. Any metallic or electrical implant into the skull affects the applied magnetic field producing unpredictable results. These include metal plates, cochlear implants, or other hearing-related implants. If you have epilepsy or a history of seizures, TMS could, in rare cases, trigger additional seizures.

The best way to learn if TMS is right for you is in consultation with our team at Premier Psychiatry. Contact our office by phone or online to schedule your visit today.

Whether it stems from an intense event or a long pattern of experiences, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has an uncanny ability to bring the past back into focus in upsetting and anxiety-inducing flashbacks.

The team at Premier Psychiatry specialize in PTSD and trauma counseling, so they know how unpredictable flashbacks can be. While psychotherapy and medication can help to control the symptoms of PTSD, managing the response to flashbacks is usually a self care event, since these happen suddenly and often unexpectedly.

Staying on top of treatment can help reduce flashback episodes. When they do occur, these strategies may help you get over the moment.

Understand the event

In the moment when they occur, flashbacks can bring your day to a halt. As you re-experience the events that caused your trauma, you’re not in a good place to process your condition logically, as anxiety and stress consume your thoughts.

Understanding what a flashback is, how it’s triggered, and the patterns that typically affect you can give you grounding in the moment, when the flashback starts.

The flashback

With PTSD, a traumatic memory can be so dominant that you are no longer aware of the current moment, a state called dissociation. It can be complete or partial. Your experience of the memory may be so intense it’s as though you are reliving the event at a level that’s close to the original trauma. Flashbacks often start because of a trigger.

Knowing your triggers

The easiest flashback to cope with is the one that doesn’t happen. You can sidestep some flashbacks when you know what triggers them. This may be knowledge you gain from experience. Psychotherapy can also help you identify predictable triggers.

Recognizing dissociation

A flashback may be prefaced by symptoms of dissociation. You may be able to learn these early warning signs to help reduce or prevent the flashback event. Reviewing what you felt before a flashback could assist in future recognition.

Grounding

PTSD flashbacks pull you out of the moment and try to transport you to the time of the original trauma. It may feel like you’re being picked up and set down by some giant, unseen force. Grounding techniques help to secure you in place, to resist this idea of placement.

Turn to five of your senses to fix yourself in the moment and resist dissociation.

Smell

A strong fragrance or aroma can distract you from an oncoming flashback. Smells can often trigger a PTSD reaction, so shifting to another olfactory stimulant like mint or cologne may move your focus away from the flashback.

Sight

Some PTSD patients experience a fuzzy or out-of-focus quality to their vision as a flashback begins. Reconnect visually with your surroundings by taking an inventory of the things around you. “The red car, the green tree, the man in the black coat,” and so on. This could help you stay in touch with the present.

Sound

Loud music performs the same function of pulling you down, into the moment. Discordant, atonal pieces force themselves into your attention. Having a grounding playlist ready may help you redirect yourself.

Touch

Holding a hot coffee or a piece of ice can add to sensory distraction. Focus on and compare textures of nearby surfaces if temperature extremes aren’t available.

Taste

Biting into a sour lemon or lime creates a reaction that’s hard to ignore. The strong response to fresh citrus quickly dominates your perceptions, a great way to sidestep a flashback.

Work with your caregiver at Premier Psychiatry to uncover more grounding strategies. Your PTSD response likely has features that are unique to you. Book your consultation today, by phone or online.

Medically known as seasonal affective disorder (SAD), seasonal depression is a cyclical form of mental illness brought on by the short days of winter, persisting until the weather starts to change in the spring. Affecting about 5% of the adult American population, SAD usually starts before the age of 30 and tends to affect women more than men.

Many more adults suffer from a mild condition called the winter blues. While this might have them craving vacations in sunny, warm places, the blues usually don’t interfere with their ability to complete tasks at work or at home. Seasonal depression is serious enough to affect your daily living.

The depression specialists at Premier Psychiatry can help you when the symptoms of SAD invade your quality of life. Any depressive condition can interfere with your ability to fully live life. As well as treatment with our team of professionals, there are some things you can do to fight off seasonal depression. Consider these techniques to reduce the burden of colder weather and shorter days.

Enjoy the fall

The reasons why seasonal depression occurs aren’t fully understood. It’s likely to do with the effects of the change of seasons on your circadian rhythms, aspects of your body’s inner clock. This could create chemical changes in your brain, primarily with melatonin and serotonin levels, neurotransmitters that interact with your metabolism and moods. Reduced sun exposure contributes to drops in serotonin levels, a potential reason for depression.

You can minimize the impact of the transition to winter by ramping up mood-boosting activities in the fall. Enjoy time outdoors before the weather makes it a chore. Starting a new activity or hobby, taking a class, or joining a service group could all stimulate your mind in new ways. The more engaged you are both mentally and physically, the better your preparation for winter’s literal darkest days.

Light therapy

A session in front of a bright light therapy (BLT) device, 20 to 30 minutes per day, is a recognized front-line treatment for SAD. BLT units are affordable, easy to use, and widely available. Typically, a BLT session in the first hour after waking produces the best results. We’d be happy to assist you in choosing a suitable BLT device.

Dawn simulation

A type of alarm clock that uses a gradually increasing light source to wake you slowly and naturally may serve as a way to smooth out shocks to your circadian cycle. While blackout curtains may help you fall asleep more soundly, they block the gradual increase in daylight in the morning. Also, in the shortest days of winter, you may need to wake up ahead of natural sunrise. Dawn simulators have similar effects on depression as does BLT therapy.

These are just a few of many minor lifestyle tweaks that might help you avoid seasonal depression. Concentration on good nutrition and physical activity add positive benefits to mental health, and limiting your alcohol intake removes another depressive contributor. A winter getaway can help you, too.

When your efforts don’t provide sufficient relief from SAD, we’re standing by. Call our Orland Park, Illinois, office directly or request an appointment through our online booking tool. Let Premier Psychiatry help you get your winter life back on track. Schedule your consultation now.

 

Sadness and grief can last for days or even longer, with levels of intensity that vary. It’s possible you’d describe your feelings as depressed, but it may not be an episode of major depressive disorder, a clinical mood disorder that endures relentlessly.

It’s time to visit Premier Psychiatry when your feelings feel heavy and interfere with your life or cause you physical pain. It can be hard to make that initial effort for yourself or for those close to you who may be suffering from depression. The good news is that depression responds well to treatment, making that difficult first step worthwhile.

Depression versus sadness

Emotions are always in flux. You may be happy about the outcome of a sporting event or time spent with friends. You could be sad because bad weather spoiled your plans or you didn’t get hired for a job that you wanted. These feelings and others come and go, as well as having varying levels of intensity.

While depression carries elements of sadness, it’s a prolonged condition that may not have a direct trigger. It’s a mental illness that interferes with your ability to function normally in your home life, social situations, and at work or school. Depression interrupts the cycle of normal emotions. Without treatment, depression can be ongoing and even increasing over time.

Signs and symptoms of depression

People experience depression in unique ways, though there are many common symptoms of the illness. These signs often include:

• Persistent feelings of emptiness or sadness
• Lost of interest in activities that once brought pleasure
• Social withdrawal
• Feelings of helplessness and hopelessness
• Changes to sleep habits, including insomnia and/or excessive sleep time
• Restlessness
• Feelings of guilt
• Weak self-esteem
• Moodiness and irritability
• Trouble with focus and concentration
• An overall sense of fatigue
• Changes in appetite, including overeating or undereating
• Unexplained chronic pain
• Headaches
• Stomachaches
• Thoughts of self-harm and suicide

The changes caused by depression are usually easy to see, in yourself and for those who are close to you. You may be aware of your negative feelings and behaviors without knowing why.

When does depression require professional help?

The simple answer is to see a mental health specialist when you first recognize the signs of depression, in yourself or in a loved one.

When depression symptoms are mild

When your work and home life don’t suffer from your negative feelings, and you have no thoughts about self-harm or suicide, it’s likely fine to wait a week or two to see if the episode passes.

When depression symptoms impact daily life

It’s time to seek help as aspects of your life begin to show signs of deterioration. It may be something as simple as a mistake at work that you wouldn’t typically wouldn’t make. You may feel aches and pains that have no obvious reason but that accompany the general joylessness you’re feeling. When you begin to dwell on suicidal thoughts, you need immediate care.

Depression responds to treatment. While your ideal solution may take trial and error, you’ll begin to feel better with treatment. Make an appointment with one of our psychiatrists, by phone or online, at Premier Psychiatry in Orland Park, Illinois. It’s never too soon to act on feelings of depression.

Millions of Americans suffer from depression, along with the feelings of sadness, helplessness, and low self-worth that go along with it. Fortunately, medication and psychotherapy can be very helpful in relieving symptoms for many people. But for others, those options aren’t effective. That’s when transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) can help.

Premier Psychiatry is a leading provider of TMS therapy for patients in Orland Park, Illinois, who are suffering from treatment-resistant depression. If traditional depression treatments haven’t been working for you, here’s what our team wants you to know about this unique, cutting-edge treatment.

TMS: How it works

TMS uses a powerful magnetic field that’s administered to your scalp without discomfort or incisions. The magnetic field is created by alternating electrical currents, similar to the technology used in MRI machines.

Waves of magnetic energy are emitted through coils that are placed on your scalp. The magnetic energy passes painlessly to the area of the brain affected by depression.

Researchers are still learning how TMS works to treat depression, but they do have several theories. TMS waves help increase activity in the areas of the brain affected by depression, including areas responsible for mood regulation. Additionally, TMS increases blood flow to the target areas of the brain and enhances nerve communication.

The effects of TMS “build up” over time. As a result, most patients benefit from a series of treatments based on their symptoms and how well they respond.

The basics of TMS treatments

We can schedule your first visit once we determine you’re a good candidate for TMS. During your treatment, you sit and relax while our team places the magnetic device against your scalp.

When treatment begins and the device begins to emit energy pulses, you may hear or feel some tapping sensations in your scalp or mild discomfort. These sensations won’t last after your treatment session. One of the bonuses of TMS therapy is that we can adjust it if you find any of the effects uncomfortable.

Afterward, it’s not uncommon to experience some tingling or minor discomfort in your scalp near where we placed the magnetic device. You might also have a mild headache right after your session but these effects are temporary.

Find out if TMS is right for you

While TMS is a safe and effective treatment for many people with treatment-resistant depression, it’s not a first-line therapy. Instead, it’s recommended when medication and psychotherapy haven’t succeeded in alleviating symptoms.

It’s also not recommended for people who have:

• Seizures or risk for seizures
• Implanted electrical devices, like pacemakers
• Cochlear implants
• Implanted metallic hardware

You can discuss these and other issues with your provider during your appointment.

If you’ve tried traditional therapies and they haven't worked for you, TMS could be the solution you’re looking for. To learn more about TMS therapy, call 708-898-4758 or book an appointment online today.