Anxiety Resource Center specializes in peer support

GRAND RAPIDS — So many people have been showing up for the anxiety support group, they had to split up into two.

A big group just made everybody more anxious.

That’s how things work here at the Anxiety Resource Center — people work to make you comfortable when you feel a wreck.

Housed in a beautifully restored fire station, the former Engine House No. 6, at 312 Grandville Ave. SW, the center is a light-filled haven of calm.

There are support groups for general anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, compulsive hoarding and hair pulling/skin picking.

They offer guest speakers and panel discussions. They go on occasional outings — to the beach, a baseball game, last month to a bird sanctuary in Augusta.

Outings are tough for those with an anxiety disorder, but going out as a group is a safe way to challenge it.

Workshops are offered on meditation, knitting, drawing and tai chi. On a recent night, people were folding up their mats after a free yoga class while fresh coffee brewed for the folks arriving for the anxiety groups.

One group met downstairs, in a cozy room where the door closes, to feel safe. Others chose the loft-like upstairs, where open space made them feel comfortable.

A lending library is filled with books on anxiety disorders. There are shelves full of craft supplies, if painting or scrapbooking calms you.

Suzette Andres, 35, the center’s director, signs people in and welcomes newcomers.

Amid all the talk about health care, mental illness barely rises to a whisper. Yet in violence or in silent suffering, it often is a matter of life or death. All this year, The Press plans to challenge stigmas and myths, bringing into focus people and their problems — and hope for those who suffer. We are committed to providing tools for readers to deal with their own or loved ones’ problems. And to telling your stories. This week, we are dealing with anxiety, an everyday feeling that can become an acute problem.

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She struggled with anxiety after her second child was born, and later decided, in 2005, with some other folks, that Grand Rapids needed a place where people struggling with anxiety disorders could meet, share, and get support from each other.

“We don’t do therapy here, but we offer peer support,” Andres said. “People come here and they realize they’re not alone.

Compulsive Skin Picking – A Form of Self-Mutilation | Gamagedara

The term self-mutilation includes a variety of forms of intentional self-harm without the intention to die. It results from feelings of shame or a need to relieve tension. The harm is done to oneself, without the involvement of another person, and the damage can be severe enough for tissue damage (such as scarring) to result. But this category excludes acts that are committed with conscious suicidal intent, body decoration, spiritual enlightenment via ritual or are associated with sexual arousal. A mood state can be positive or negative, or even neither. Some people harm themselves to end a dissociative episode, to ground them and come back to reality. Self-mutilation is a way of stopping this dissociative episode. Dissociation is a process in which the mind splits off certain memories and thoughts that are too painful to keep in conscious awareness. Some people report that they feel numb during the dissociation phase and injuring themselves allows them to feel “alive.” Compulsive skin picking (CSP) should not be taken lightly. It is a form of self-mutilation and in time can be very serious. Other variations of this disorder are cutting, burning, skin-picking, hair pulling, bone-breaking, hitting, and interference with wound healing. These behaviors are repetitive, intentionally performed behaviors that cause substantial physical damage, and result in clinically significant distress or functional impairment. CSP is often classifies as an impulse control disorder under the obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) spectrum as the skin picking is often recurring, ritualistic and stress reducing. This disorder tends to run in families. As a result of constant picking, this can cause infections, bruises, bleeding, or permanent disfigurement of the person’s skin. The symptoms of self-mutilation typically include wearing long-sleeved or baggy clothing, even in hot weather, and an unusual need for privacy. People with this disorder are often hesitant to change their clothes or undress around others. Other behaviors include not wearing a bathing suit because areas of the body have been picked or wearing heavy make up to cover scabs and picked areas of the face. In most cases the individual also shows signs of depression. The behavior is often unconscious, and people with this disorder may fail to stop because they are often unaware of their actions. There is no specific disorder name for this problem in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-IV) published by the American Psychiatric Association (APA), but some researchers believe that the disorder deserves recognition as a separate diagnostic entity. Thus, skin-picking is a self-injurious behavior in which many suffers feel that they need to create pick able surfaces that will allow them to satisfy their compulsions and also relieve them of their tensions. Individuals undertake these behaviors in order to produce scabs which can then be picked. CSP can be linked to another condition called dermophagia which involves swallowing the skin or scabs that have been picked by the sufferers. Prevention of self-mutilation should focus on increasing coping mechanisms, facilitating decision-making strategies, encouraging positive relationships, and cultivating self-esteem.

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The broken mirror, understanding and treating body dysmorphic disorder

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