Mental Health Management

What is depression?

Depression is a brain disease that makes you sad, but it is different than normal sadness. Depression can make it hard for you to work, study, or do everyday tasks.

What are the symptoms of Depression?

Depressed people feel down most of the time for at least 2 weeks. They also have at least 1 of these 2 symptoms:

• No longer enjoys doing the things they used to like before.
• They feel sad, down, hopeless, or cranky most of the day, almost every day. 
• Depression can also make you:
• Loss or gain weight
• Sleep too much or too little
• Feel tired or like you have no energy.
• Feel guilty or like you are worth nothing.
• Forget things or feel confused.
• Think about death or suicide.

How is depression treated?

• Medication management in conjunction with ongoing psychotherapy
• People who have depression can take medicines that relieve depression
• People with severe depression can get better by taking medicines or talking with a counselor.

At Pace Community Medical we will support you by proving:

• Evidence-based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy techniques
• Personalized treatment plans tailored to individual needs.
• Medication management in conjunction with ongoing psychotherapy
• Coping strategies for managing stress and negative thoughts.
• Mindfulness and relaxation exercises
• Motivational support to foster positive change.
• Enhanced self-awareness and emotional regulation skills
• Addressing co-occurring conditions or triggers
• Improving self-esteem and self-confidence
• Strategies for preventing relapse.

If you think you might be depressed, make an appointment with us.

If you have thoughts of harming yourself or others, go to the emergency room or dial 9-1-1

Set an Appointment

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

Feeling anxious or nervous occasionally is normal. However, being extremely anxious or worried on most days for 6 months or longer becomes a medical problem. The disorder can make it hard to do everyday tasks. Symptoms of Generalized Anxiety Disorder

• Feels very worried or “on edge” much of the time
• trouble sleeping or forget things.
• feels very tired and have tense muscles.
• stomach aches or chest “tightness.
• Are more anxious than you think is normal.
• Get overly anxious about things that other people handle more easily.

Social Anxiety Disorders

When one feels very anxious in social gathering that often fears that they will be embarrassed in front of other people especially speaking or performing in front of many people. Anxiety can be so bad that it can keep the person from doing things they want and need to do in their lives.

Symptoms of Social anxiety disorder

• Excessive worry about being embarrassed in front of other people
• Fear that others will say bad things about them
• Avoid looking at or talking to other people.
• Physical symptoms like blushing, Sweating, trembling or have a very fast heartbeat

Panic Disorder

What is panic disorder?

Panic disorder is a condition that can make a person feel very scared and anxious for short periods of time. In some people the attacks can cause chest pain and breathing problems. The attacks happen without warning and can last several minutes to an hour.

What are the symptoms of panic disorder?

• Feel very scared and nervous.
• Chest pain
• Trouble breathing
• A fast heartbeat
• Headache
• Stomachache
• Dizziness

How is Anxiety treated?

• Meeting with a mental health counselor to talk about your feelings, relationships, and worries.
• Help to find new skills to reduce your anxiety or feel less anxious.
• Medicines can help relieve anxiety
• Some people have psychotherapy and take medicines at the same time.
• You and your doctor or nurse can decide which medicines are best for your situation.

At Pace Community Medical we will support you by proving:

• Behavior therapy to improve time management and organization skills.
• Learning strategies to enhance focus and attention.
• Executive function training for improved planning and decision-making
• Mindfulness practices to reduce impulsivity.
• Parental support and education
• Classroom accommodations and support for academic success
• Building self-esteem and self-advocacy skills
• Collaborating with teachers and schools for effective interventions
• Addressing co-existing conditions like anxiety or depression

What is ADHD?

ADHD is a condition that runs in family and can make it hard to sit still, pay attention, or make good decisions. ADHD often begins in childhood. However, some adults figure out they have ADHD after having trouble at work or with relationships. There is no cure for ADHD, but different treatments can help improve a child’s symptoms and behavior.

What are the symptoms of ADHD?

• May have one or more of the following symptoms:
• Increased activity and have trouble sitting still or playing quietly.
• Poor decision-making by interrupting others.
• Trouble paying attention, forgetful, lose things.
• have trouble initiating or finishing a project.
• Children often continue to have symptoms as teenagers or adults.

How is ADHD treated?

ADHD can be treated in different ways.

Treatment can improve symptoms and help you do better at school, at work and at home

Medicines: Your Doctor can prescribe medicines to help you pay attention and concentrate better.

Behavior treatment: Improve behavior by making a checklist, using reminders and keep projects at the same place.

At Pace Community Medical we will support you by proving

• Behavior therapy to improve time management and organization skills
• Learning strategies to enhance focus and attention.
• Executive function training for improved planning and decision-making
• Mindfulness practices to reduce impulsivity
• Parental support and education
• Classroom accommodations and support for academic success
• Building self-esteem and self-advocacy skills
• Collaborating with teachers and schools for effective interventions
• Addressing co-existing conditions like anxiety or depression

If you suspect that you have ADHD, talk with a doctor, and learn ways to manage symptoms.

What is post-traumatic stress disorder?

Post-traumatic stress disorder, or “PTSD,” is a condition that can happen after experiencing trauma. A trauma is an intense event that involves serious injury or death, a chance of serious injury or death.

What are symptoms of PTSD?

• Reliving the trauma through upsetting memories, nightmares, or flashbacks.
• Feeling “numb” and avoiding certain people or places that remind them of it.
• Having intense feelings, such as anger, fear, or worry
• Getting startled easily or trouble sleeping.

At Pace Community Medical we will support you by proving

• Trauma-focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
• Exposure therapy and desensitization techniques
• Grounding exercises to manage dissociation and flashbacks.
• Addressing triggers and avoiding re-traumatization
• EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) therapy
• Developing healthy coping mechanisms for stress and anxiety
• Building a strong support network
• Improving emotional resilience and adaptive functioning
• Encouraging self-compassion and acceptance

What is bipolar disorder?

Bipolar disorder (sometimes called “manic depression”) is a brain disorder that causes extreme changes in mood and behavior (figure 1). Bipolar disorder can run in families.

What are the symptoms of bipolar disorder?

People with bipolar disorder can feel very happy for many days and then feel very sad.

When your mood is very happy, you can also:

When you feel sad for most of the day, or every day you can also:

• Loss or gain a lot of weight
• Have trouble falling asleep or sleep too much
• Feel very tired
• Not enjoy things
• Feel bad about yourself
• Think about death or hurting yourself

How is bipolar disorder treated?

Bipolar disorder is treated with medicine prescribed by your doctor.

You and your doctor will work together to find the medicine that works best for you

Medicines sometimes take a while to start working.

The medicines for bipolar disorder affect the brain. They can:

• Keep your mood even and prevent big mood changes
• Calm your mind
• Make your sadness go away

At Pace Community Medical we will support you by proving

• Psychoeducation on bipolar disorder and symptom management
• Mood tracking and identification of triggers
• Cognitive restructuring for managing mood swings
• Medication management and compliance support
• Family therapy to improve communication and support networks
• Identifying early warning signs of relapse
• Developing coping skills for stress and emotional regulation
• Enhancing social and coping skills to manage interpersonal relationships
• Promoting lifestyle adjustments to maintain stability

What is obsessive-compulsive disorder?

OCD causes you to feel like you need to do certain rituals or routines over and over.

Some people are obsessed with germs and think about them all the time. Because of this, they feel like they must wash their hands over and over.

Symptom of Obsessive-compulsive disorder

• Constant worry of harm to self or others
• Fear of dirt or germs
• Repeating thoughts
• Making lists or counting things
• Repeating a routine
• Washing hands or cleaning things over and over
• Arranging things in a certain order

How is obsessive-compulsive disorder treated?

• Your doctor may refer you to a psychologist or psychiatrist.
• You may work on learning how to deal with stress thoughts.
• You may also work on how to lower your anxiety
• Support groups may help you deal with your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.

What is borderline personality disorder (BPD)?

Borderline personality disorder is a mental disorder. People with this disorder have unstable relationships and extreme mood changes, such as sudden shifts to anger or sadness. They sometimes do things that seem extreme and can even be violent. Plus, they act without thinking about the consequences.

What are the symptoms of BPD?

People with BPD often have:

• Unstable relationships
• Sudden shifts in how they see themselves or others.
• Extreme mood changes, such as sudden feelings of rage, deep sadness, or total emptiness
• Problems with risk-taking – For example, they sometimes take illegal drugs or have unsafe sex, and they can be violent with themselves or others.
• Trouble thinking clearly or logically when overcome by emotion.

How is borderline personality disorder treated?

The main treatment for borderline personality disorder is psychotherapy which helps you learn new ways of thinking and behaving, so that you have less extreme mood changes and feel more at ease. 

Many people may also benefit from medicines to help with mood changes, anger, and other symptoms.

Get help!

With thoughts of harming yourself or others, go to the emergency room or dial 9-1-1.

If you have the symptoms described above and they make it hard for you to have a normal life, talk to a doctor.

• Such as Opium, Morphine, Codeine, hydrocodone, oxycodone, heroin, fentanyl
• We offer Oral Buprenorphine, Suboxone and Naltrexone
• Sublocade and Vivitron injections
• Individual and group therapy for substance use disorders
• Medication-assisted treatment options
• Relapse prevention strategies
• Coping skills for managing cravings and triggers
• Addressing underlying psychological issues contributing to dependency
• Family support and education
• Motivational Enhancement Therapy (MET) to promote readiness for change
• Harm reduction techniques
• Support in transitioning to a substance-free lifestyle

What is alcohol use disorder?

Alcohol use disorder is basically the medical term for alcoholism or alcohol addiction. People who have alcohol addiction have 2 or more of the following problems.

What are symptoms of Alcohol?

The more of these they have, the more severe their disorder.

• Drinking more alcohol or longer time than you planned.
• You wish you could cut down on alcohol, but it is difficult.
• You spend a lot of time trying to get alcohol or recovering from being drunk.
• You crave or have a strong desire or urge to drink alcohol.
• Impairment of relationships or interactions with other people.
• You stop or cut back on important social, work, or fun activities you used to do.
• Keep drinking alcohol even in dangerous situations (such as while driving).
• Will need to drink more and more to get the same effects they used to get with less.

What treatments can help?

• Counselling.
• Join support group such as Alcoholics Anonymous
• Medicines like Vivitrol Injection, Naltrexone, Acamprosate and Disulfiram can the cravings
  • Change the way your brain responds to alcohol so that it is less fun.
  • Reduce your craving for alcohol.
  • Make you feel sick if you drink.
  • Help you feel less sick when you stop drinking.

At Pace Community Medical we will support you by proving

• Medicines like Vivitrol Injection, Naltrexone, Acamprosate and Disulfiram to reduce cravings
• Individualized treatment plans for alcohol dependency
• Motivational interviewing to encourage commitment to change.
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to address unhealthy drinking patterns.
• Support in managing withdrawal symptoms.
• Building a relapse prevention plan
• Identifying coping strategies for stress and triggers
• Family involvement and education on alcohol use disorder
• Exploring social support and sober communities
• Referral to Alcoholics Anonymous or other support groups

• Taper benzodiazepines slowly (ideally over weeks to months)
• Stimulants like Cocaine, amphetamines, caffeine, Crack and Nicotine
• We manage cravings, and possible withdrawal.
• Detoxification and withdrawal management
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for substance use disorders
• Addressing dual diagnosis or co-occurring mental health conditions
• Medication management and tapering strategies
• Motivational interviewing to strengthen the commitment to recovery
• Developing healthy coping mechanisms for stress and anxiety
• Family involvement and education
• Building a relapse prevention plan

• Hallucinogens & Dissociative Inhalants Club drugs Anabolic steroids
• Offer treatment for LSD, Ecstasy
• Comprehensive assessment and personalized treatment planning
• Motivational Enhancement Therapy to strengthen readiness for change
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to address substance use behaviors
• Harm reduction strategies to promote safer practices
• Family support and education
• Support in managing withdrawal symptoms and detoxification
• Addressing co-occurring mental health conditions
• Developing coping skills and relapse prevention techniques
• Long-term aftercare and support for sustained recovery