Call it performance anxiety, stage fright, whatever — for many artists, it’s a challenge they must grapple with every time they face an audience. Wright says his primary approach to treating performance anxiety is through “cognitive behavior therapy,” where he helps a patient understand “the thoughts that are going on inside their heads,” and then “come up with a more rational or reasonable assessment of the risk” involved with performing. O’Brien, in a career of almost 50 years, makes a distinction between most musicians — who essentially are themselves in front of an audience — and actors, who inhabit characters while on stage. O’Brien tells a story she heard about how Laurence Olivier — generally regarded as the 20th century’s greatest stage actor — suffered potentially debilitating pre-performance anxiety. read more

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After decades of living with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the Vietnam veteran has sought help for his symptoms and encourages other people do the same. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, PTSD is an anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which grave physical harm occurred or was threatened. Symptoms, she said, are both physical and psychological and include severe panic attacks, anxiety, nightmares, flashbacks (recurrent and vivid recollection of a traumatic experience, sometimes with hallucinations) and avoidance of particular people, places, smells, sounds or objects that trigger flashbacks. Today, thanks to group therapy and antidepressant medication, Stade has a new lease on life one he hopes other veterans struggling with PTSD can achieve also. Individuals suffering from PTSD may receive help via group therapy and medication like Stade, or cognitive behavioral therapy, desensitizing to certain triggers and developing better coping skills. read more

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It seems that at many school committee meetings throughout the past several months the term “school phobia” has come up – often generating whispers from audience members. Jim Pinel, director of children’s services at East Bay Mental Health Center in East Providence, recently offered some insight on the phrase. Pinel gave the example of one 16-year-old girl from East Providence who is responsible for putting her two younger brothers and sisters on the school bus and therefore cannot catch her own bus in time. East Bay Mental Health Center has a staff of 35 people who service about 600 children at a given time from East Providence, Barrington, Bristol and Warren. read more

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