Treatments | Fabio Villa

An approach focused on personalized solutions for anxiety, depression, distressed relationships

There never yet has been a man who became powerful without knowledge. A man by his own strength alone cannot successfully combat a tiger, but by his intelligence, he can devise means to entrap him.

Zhang Zhidong

Axiety

Anxiety

Anxiety is a state of mind characterized by negative and pervasive emotions such as tension, worry, a sense of threat. It is a problem of medical as well as psychological competence.

The anxious person is the victim of such feelings, which she cannot control, with severe consequences on her daily functioning and quality of life. Anxiety is an exhausting condition, it can affect long-term projects and relationships.

Anxiety Disorders are among the most frequent psychic conditions: about 10% of the general population is affected, often in association with depression. Furthermore, the anxious sensations are accompanied by a response of the body (increased heart rate, blood pressure, muscle tension…) with possible complications.

Several studies show a greater predisposition of anxious subjects to headache, heart problems etc. Sometimes, however, it is somatic health conditions that cause anxious states (typically hormonal problems), for which a medical check-up is necessary.

There are several types of Anxiety, including:

a 'generalized' type
one linked to social situations called Social Phobia
Specific Phobias (unmotivated, irrational and invasive fear of a specific object)
Panic Attack Disorder, where anxiety is so intense that it causes confusion and dizziness, transient disorientation, bizarre body sensations
Post-Traumatic States

The anxious person may consider these manifestations unchangeable because they are part of her way of being. I often hear people say 'That's how I am, I can't help it'. On the contrary, the scientific literature and clinical practice demonstrate an important efficacy of therapies in reducing symptoms, preventing harmful consequences and improving the patient's quality of life.

CBT (TCC) psychotherapy , based on a practical, collaborative and empathic approach, is scientifically effective. Pharmacological therapy, typically with serotonergic molecules, may be associated in some cases. These products do not cause addiction, while the calming drugs (benzodiazepines) often prescribed to relieve the symptoms do not solve the underlying problem and risk worsening it with addiction to the treatment.

An expert and early follow-up allows the anxious patient to improve his quality of life and greatly reduce the risk of complications.

Dépression

Depression

Sadness is an adequate response to a difficult situation such as a bereavement, a separation. In these cases, suffering has no impact, if not for a few weeks, on the ability to lead our life. A psychological counseling can help its elaboration to make us return sooner and better to our loved ones and our occupations.

In contrast, depression is a neurological disorder that affects our view of reality, causing a low mood, a loss of interest and motivation in activities that were previously considered fulfilling, sleep disturbances, as well as a series of physical modifications (weight loss , fatigue...) and cognitive ones (loss of ability to concentrate, memory problems ...). Sometimes there is a real detachment from reality with constant ideas of guilt and doom, or a desire to end one's life.

True Depression can be the other side of a Bipolar Disorder, which sees the alternation of depressive and so-called 'manic' states, with euphoric mood, constant insomnia, hyperactivity, irritability, unmotivated expenditure of large amounts of money and sometimes a detachment from reality.

Treatment of Depression and Bipolar Disorder is complex but effective. A combination of pharmacological therapy, not always essential, and psychotherapy has largely demonstrated important results. Those drugs are not addictive, unlike the anxiolytics (tranquillizers) commonly used to relieve symptoms. Our goal is to resolve the depressive episode and prevent new imbalances.

Depression can be associated with personality traits, or ways of seeing reality present since the adolescence, which cause suffering (typically the belief of not being able enough, of not being loved...). The defense mechanisms developed over the course of life are no longer sufficient, which exacerbates the disease. An expert treatment takes these aspects into consideration; their correction can lead to a real rebirth.

In this sense, the depressive episode can be considered an opportunity to get to know oneself better and to permanently improve one's vital impulse, through the empathic and collaborative approach that characterizes Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (TCC or CBT).

Sleep disorders

Stress management

Sleep is a fundamental activity for the body and mind. During sleep we recover our energies, we reorganize our memory, hormones that are essential for maintaining the body are secreted.

Sleep disorders are extremely widespread and complex, and have repercussions on all these aspects. Some studies report that 40% of the population is dissatisfied with the quality or quantity of their sleep. How we sleep gives a representative idea of our state of somatic and mental health.

Poor sleep leads to be tired, irritable during the day, often with problems of concentration. There are purely neurological or somatic causes at the base (typically sleep apneas), and numerous conditions such as stress, anxiety, depression that must be wisely investigated by the specialist.

Unfortunately, the drugs that are often used to relieve insomnia result in addiction. The specialist has a wide range of pharmacological and behavioral strategies at his disposal to improve this very important aspect of life.

Stress means effort, from the Anglo-Saxon adaptation of old French 'estrece' (oppression). Under stress we implement numerous responses of the body and mind to cope with the challenging situation. For example, if the answer is functional, we are able to better focus our attention during an exam or a meeting, our physical performance improves during a contest...

In contemporary life we are subjected to various forms of stress, even for long periods. Our abilities are often called into question, and the psychophysical changes induced by stress can negatively affect our resources. Disturbances in memory and concentration, sleep, anxiety and depressive symptoms, and even weakening of the body can be the consequence of protracted stress. The endocrine (hormonal) function changes, also altering the body's ability to defend itself from viruses and bacteria. Autoimmune manifestations are not uncommon.

Knowing how to manage stress is, at least in part, a talent that can be acquired with a targeted coaching. The behavioral and cognitive techniques that are used in Depression and Anxiety Disorders help in this project.

Sexual medicine

According to studies, between 5 and 40% of the population reports sexual disturbances. This tells us that they are very frequent, but the causes are multiple, different from case to case, and the dimension of the problem is subjective, intimate.

Taking care of one's sexuality means taking care of the health of one's body and mind. These disorders often reveal hormonal, neurological, vascular imbalances. They are almost always accompanied by psychic suffering that can be expressed as performance anxiety, reduced self-esteem and a sense of inadequacy, depression, difficulty in living relationships. At other times it is precisely the psychic suffering that negatively affects sexuality.

In women, the most common causes of requesting sexologist help are dyspareunia (pain during intercourse), vulvodynia and vaginismus (respectively pain of indeterminate origin in the genital sphere and pain during penetration), psychosexual changes during and after pregnancy or in menopause, or following a disease. For men, the most frequent problems are typically erection and ejaculation disorders.

The sexologist doctor is familiar with the investigation and treatment of the organic causes of such conditions, and also takes care of them from a psychosexual point of view, collaborating with specialized gynecologists, andrologists, urologists, physiotherapists. The integrated approach is essential.

Relationship & couples

Couples, like families, can go through times of crisis due to multiple factors. No couple can be called "normal", there is no true and loving couple without adversity or doubts. On the contrary, the crisis, although painful and energy consuming, can be a fundamental moment for better understanding each other.

Every relationship is the result of a dynamic balance between the people who create it. They change over their lives and the balance often needs to be restored. These changes are part of the natural course of things, but can be particularly difficult.

We say that in couple therapy there are three protagonists: the two who constitute it and the couple itself. Stress and difficulties can make problems to emerge, and the mutual feeling of lack of recognition pushes the two sides of the couple further and further apart, relying on the lack of communication, the unspoken. Reuniting and re-establishing means better understanding each other.

If you decide to start couple (or family) therapy you will take the first step to understanding yourself, thanks to the mediation of the therapist. Sharing your own feelings, your needs, and trying to reconstruct their change over time, can allow you to seek a more functional, fulfilling and enriching balance for your couple, your family, and yourself.

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