Anxiety and Distractibility Are Not Symptoms to Be Medicated: Stanford Psychiatrist Anna Lembke

For more information, including links to the scientific evidence base for the statements in this video, as well as further resources: /

Anna Lembke’s book provides much more detail about the topic discussed here. “Drug Dealer, MD: How Doctors Were Duped, Patients Got Hooked, and Why It’s So Hard to Stop”: G

Anna Lembke’s biography at Stanford University: O

A Forbes article describes how anxiety is a helpful, adaptive human response: b

An article in Scientific American about how ADHD is a helpful, adaptive human response: /

Mad in America provides a thorough overview of the diagnosis of ADHD, the way stimulant medications act on the brain, and provides links to research studies regarding the risks and benefits of the drugs. It can be found here: /

Allen Frances, MD, who chaired the task force for creation of the DSM-IV (the bible of psychiatry), wrote a feature article criticizing the diagnosis of ADHD and the overuse of stimulant medications for HuffPost: 5

Examples of stimulant medications include: Ritalin (methylphenidate), Concerta (extended release methylphenidate), Adderall (amphetamine), Strattera (atomoxitine hcl), Vyvanse (lisdexamfetamine), and Dexedrine (dextroamphetamine).

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Note: This video does not constitute medical advice. Stopping psychiatric drugs, especially abruptly, can be dangerous, as withdrawal effects may be severe, disabling or even life-threatening.

Music: m

Video edited by Daniel Mackler

https://medbusiness.net/anxiety-and-distractibility-are-not-symptoms-to-be-medicated-stanford-psychiatrist-anna-lembke/

This is a story about a young girl who explores the cause underlying her nail biting habits. The video introduces Body Focused Repetitive Behaviours (BFRBs) as a reason for nail biting. This story outlines several examples of BFRBs, their causes, and treatments. This video is intended for educational purposes only and is based on scientific research.

This video was created by McMaster students Jordan Chin, Saba Bhatti, and Viktoriya Bilyk in collaboration with the McMaster Demystifying Medicine Program

Copyright McMaster University 2022

SUBSCRIBE AND FOLLOW US FOR MORE CONTENT: Youtube: @Demystifying Medicine Twitter: @McMasterDMS- Website: .

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For support with BFRBs visit /

Where to find information:

● For prevalence rates (mild and pathological) see: Houghton et al. (2018)

● For clinical case prevalence see: Hyles et al. (2009)

● For self-harm continuum and self injurious behaviours see: Mathew et al. (2020)

● For genetic evidence see: Redden et al. (2016)

● For SUD and ADHD comorbidity see: Redden et al. (2016)

● For daily functioning with BFRBs see: Flessner et al. (2015)

● For OCD-related content see: Tolin et al. (2018)

● For emotional correlates see: Redden et al (2016); Roberts et al. (2013); Roberts et al.

(2015)

● For dermatology and BFRBs see: Sampaio & Grant (2018)

● For choice between physician and psychologist see: Houghton et al 2018

● For psychological treatments see: Reddy et al. (2020); Woods & Houghton (2016); Nakel (2015)

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References:

Alexander, J. R., Houghton, D. C., Bauer, C. C., Lench, H. C., & Woods, D. W. (2018). Emotion regulation deficits in persons with body-focused repetitive behavior disorders. Journal of Affective Disorders, 227, 463-470. Chamberlain, S. R., & Odlaug, B. L. (2014). Body focused repetitive behaviors (BFRBs) and personality features. Current Behavioral Neuroscience Reports, 1(1), 27-32.

Flessner, C. A., Francazio, S., Murphy, Y. E., & Brennan, E. (2015). An examination of executive functioning in young adults exhibiting body-focused repetitive behaviors. The Journal of nervous and mental disease, 203(7), 555-558.

Hayes, S. L., Storch, E. A., & Berlanga, L. (2009). Skin picking behaviors: An examination of the prevalence and severity in a community sample. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 23(3), 314-319.

Houghton, D. C., Alexander, J. R., Bauer, C. C., & Woods, D. W. (2018). Body-focused repetitive behaviors: More prevalent than once thought?. Psychiatry research, 270, 389-393.

Mathew, A. S., Davine, T., Snorrason, I., Houghton, D. C., Woods, D. W., & Lee, H. J. (2020). Body-focused repetitive behaviors and non-suicidal self-injury: A comparison of clinical characteristics and symptom features. Journal of psychiatric research.

Nakell, S. (2015). A healing herd: benefits of a psychodynamic group approach in treating body-focused repetitive behaviors. International Journal of Group Psychotherapy, 65(2), 295-306.

Redden, S. A., Leppink, E. W., & Grant, J. E. (2016). Body focused repetitive behavior disorders: Significance of family history. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 66, 187-192.

Reddy, Y. J., Sudhir, P. M., Manjula, M., Arumugham, S. S., & Narayanaswamy, J. C. (2020). Clinical Practice Guidelines for Cognitive-Behavioral Therapies in Anxiety Disorders and Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders. Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 62(Suppl 2), S230.

Roberts, S., O'Connor, K., & Bélanger, C. (2013). Emotion regulation and other psychological models for body-focused repetitive behaviors. Clinical Psychology Review, 33(6), 745-762.

Roberts, S., O'Connor, K., Aardema, F., & Bélanger, C. (2015). The impact of emotions on body-Focused repetitive behaviors: Evidence from a non-treatment-seeking sample. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 46, 189-197.

Sampaio, D. G., & Grant, J. E. (2018). Body-focused repetitive behaviors and the dermatology patient. Clinics in dermatology, 36(6), 723-727

Selles, R. R., Ariza, V. L. B., McBride, N. M., Dammann, J., Whiteside, S., & Storch, E. A. (2018). Initial psychometrics, outcomes, and correlates of the Repetitive Body Focused Behavior Scale: examination in a sample of youth with anxiety and/or obsessive-compulsive disorder. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 81, 10-17. Tolin, D. F., Gilliam, C., Wootton, B. M., Bowe, W., Bragdon, L. B., Davis, E., ... & Hallion, L. S. (2018). Psychometric properties of a structured diagnostic interview for DSM-5 anxiety, mood, and obsessive-compulsive and related disorders. Assessment, 25(1), 3-13.

Woods, D. W., & Houghton, D. C. (2016). Evidence-based psychosocial treatments for pediatric body-focused repetitive behavior disorders. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 45(3), 227-240.