Dr. Tatyana Mestechkina

"Have you ever had an uninvited thought creep into your head that was so irrational, anxiety-inducing, or disturbing you wanted to shake your head until it fell out? And, when you least expect it, does that same negative thought reinvade your brain and psyche you out? If so, you are by no means alone. You’re simply coping with what mental health experts refer to as intrusive thoughts. https://www.shondaland.com//coping-with-intrusive-though/

https://www.nytimes.com//pare/quarantine-brain-memory.html "It turns out that many aspects of our pandemic lives could lead to impaired executive functioning, which is a fancy way of describing the mental processes that allow us to plan, organize and remember instructions. A lot of things need to function well for our memory to work ideally, said Marie Eckerström, a neuropsychologist at the Sahlgrenska Memory Clinic in Gothenburg, Sweden, who studies cognitive impairment...." "Parental burnout is a distinct psychological phenomenon that’s beyond regular stress and exhaustion to get that diagnosis you need to feel so exhausted by your parental role that you cannot function, you need to feel disconnected emotionally from your children, and this needs to be a marked change in behavior for you. Though she hasn’t seen studies on it specifically, Dr. Mikolajczak said that she thinks it’s likely that parental burnout causes memory impairments. Work-related burnout has been associated with memory problems."

Check out my new article on Made of Millions Foundation about common myths in OCD treatment. https://www.madeofmillions.com//ocd-treatment-myths-debunk

https://www.nytimes.com//e/youth-mental-health-covid.html

Often, avoiding things makes them seem even scarier and more threatening than they are. Avoiding can also increase anticipatory anxiety. Making a mood-independent choice and breaking the cycle of avoidance can be very empowering and enlightening.

Feeling discomfort is often part of the package deal of growth and living a values-driven life. Instead of looking for a shortcut or the way out of discomfort, you can learn to build tolerance for it and let it be with you as you do the things that are important to you.