Ride The Lifetrain w/Chuckie

Hey Fellow passengers on an “Almost” weekly basis you can come here to the Doctor’s office to follow our (The Doc and I) almost weekly “quick” chat.  Feel free to leave a comment or question…or better yet go to her site:

APPLESOFGOLD.COM
(click)

Below our weekly interview/chat you will find Dr. Hayman’s Bio and contact information.  If you “ever” need someone to talk to please seek her out on her site, there is no cost to ask a question or two.  While there, tell her your conductor sent you!

This week’s interview:

CHUCKIE: You just published a website called Apples of Gold. What is the focus of your site?
DR. DEE: The website (applesofgold.info) is designed to provide free psychological consultation to people who may need some guidance on issues in their lives, and who may not be ready to actually go see a therapist face to face. Or they have questions that really don’t NEED an appointment with a psychologist, to have answered. The site also provides positive lifestyle encouragement so that readers will be encouraged to life more healthy lives.

CHUCKIE: Did you just say free?
Dr. DEE: Yes, free.

CHUCKIE: May God bless you…

CHUCKIE: Why did you call it “Apples of Gold”?
DR. DEE: That comes from Proverbs 25:11, which says that a word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver. I am hoping that the advice and counsel on lifestyle, as well as the personal advice and counsel I may provide to those requesting my service, will be wise and in harmony with the teachings of scripture.

CHUCKIE: When you talk about “positive lifestyle encouragement”, what exactly do you mean?
DR. DEE: Well, the body and the mind are in close sympathy with one another, and what impacts the one, impacts the other. So  I advocate the use of the eight natural remedies, in order to bring the body, the mind, and the spirit into harmony. An easy way to remember the eight natural remedies is through the acronym “NEWSTART”. That’s not something I developed, but I agree with it. The remedies are: Nutrition, exercise, water, sunshine, temperance (moderation), fresh air, rest, and trust in God. If we take care to incorporate all these things into our lives, we will tend toward better physical, mental, and spiritual health.

CHUCKIE: What can people write to you about?
DR. DEE: People can ask about anything that has to do with mental health, relationships, spirituality, and even some physical concerns. I wont always have the answers, and I am careful to make that clear when I respond to a writer. However, I can usually point them in the right direction.

CHUCKIE: Is this like online therapy?
DR. DEE: No, its not. There are some issues that only require someone professional providing an educated response, and those are the issues best suited for my site. Online therapy is available on some sites, and it can be helpful for some issues, but it really isn’t appropriate for other issues. For instance, when someone is suicidal, they may want to share some things online, but really they need someone face to face who can assess them properly for risk, and take steps to prevent them from taking their own life, if possible. I don’t collect contact information other than an email address, so would have to encourage someone in that state to call the suicide crisis lines, and I provide those numbers on my site.

CHUCKIE: What kinds of things have people written about, then?
DR. DEE: I have had people write about relationship problems, sexual orientation concerns, and depression is another big one. The most difficult issue I have had to address was a woman who had dissociative identity disorder, what we used to call multiple personality disorder.  That is an issue that must be addressed face to face over a long period of time, so my task with her was to build up enough trust so that she would listen to my encouragement that she get into a therapist. And sometimes that is the best service I can provide, because overcoming the hesitation to actually get into therapy is huge for many people.

CHUCKIE: You mentioned depression. The holidays are coming up, and I bet the number of depressed people writing you will increase.  Why does that happen?
DR. DEE: Depression is really a multifaceted issue with many causes, but holidays do tend to be a time when more people become depressed. That happens for many reasons. First, holidays are usually associated with family, and if a person happens to be single, for instance, the holidays can be difficult. Family get togethers are usually a time when pressures are placed on the single to “find someone and get married”. Other people become depressed because they have lost loved ones either through death, divorce, or breakups, and so the holidays point up that loss. Then there is Seasonal Affective Disorder, which is a form of depression that arises because of the shortness of the days during the winder months. The lack of sunshine actually contributes to changes in the brain which lead to depression in some people.

CHUCKIE: How can a person tell if they are depressed? What are the symptoms?
DR. DEE: Major depression requires at least five of the following symptoms: sadness (but in men and in children that may look more like irritability than sadness), low self-esteem, changes in eating or weight (either increasing or decreasing), changes in sleep (either too much or not enough), thoughts of death or suicide, lack of motivation, loss of pleasure in anything, you may move more slowly or more quickly (psychomotor retardation or agitation), problems with concentration, feelings of guilt that are unreasonable. Some people can become so deeply depressed that they actually begin to hear or see things that others don’t hear or see, or they become delusional.  And those who are depressed form the highest percentage of those who commit suicide, although not every depressed person becomes suicidal.

CHUCKIE: So depression is really very serious. How is it treated?
DR. DEE: The most effective treatment for depression is cognitive behavioral work. Basically you have to work on your thinking, and work on your behavior. This can be done with a therapist, but many people can do well getting a good self-help book such as The Cognitive Behavioral Workbook for Depression: a Step by Step Approach by William Knaus,  Control Your Depression by Peter Lewinsohn, or my favorite, Depression: The Way Out, by Neil Nedley, MD. That last book advocates the use of the 8 natural remedies for bringing the life back into balance. Medications are also necessary to help some people manage their depression, and these can be obtained from a primary care doctor or a psychiatrist. Sometimes, a combination of medication management, therapy, and lifestyle change is necessary, and in severe cases, sometimes hospitalization is needed. But it’s the most common mental health disorder, and usually responds well to treatment.

CHUCKIE: Well Doc, thank you so much for hopping the train today…you know I love you gurl.  Will you come back soon?
Dr. DEE: Love you big guy…Thanks for having me.  …and yes I would love to hop the train again sometime soon.

All Aboard, The LifeTrain!!!

www.ApplesOfGold.info

Introducing Dr. Diedra Hayman, Ph.D

Fellow passengers if you have been anywhere near a TV or a newspaper over the past months you cannot help but see how the “D” word is affecting our society.  Life pressures, unemployment, and the war (The Father of Jesus bless the families impacted at Fort Hood).

Given this escalation of sadness and despair I decided to do a series [again] on Depression.  In support of this topic and as a community  service to my fellow passengers we are going to stop at a station called ” www.applesofgold.info “.

But first, let me introduce you to one of my MANY best-est frains, Dr. Diedra Hayman.  I want to put forth her professional information so that you will appreciate more the resource available at today’s station stop which again is, applesofgold.info.  I also want to tell you how she has helped me to work through some of my own life impacting events such as divorce and loss of family to name a few.   “WOT!!!” you thought I was perfect and without issues?   Well, actually if you’ve been a regular on the train you know your humble conductor is not without issues. But, I gotz frains!  And one of my best listening Frains [we really are friends] is Dr. Dee, so allow me to introduce her so that perhaps she will one day be your Frain.

Dr. Diedra Hayman completed her doctoral studies in Counseling Psychology in 1998 at the University of Florida. Her APA-approved predoctoral internship was completed at the University Counseling Center at Virginia Tech. After teaching various forms of psychology at the college level for 6 years, Dr. Hayman was accepted into a prestigious postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC), where she gained valuable experience in clinical practice with pediatric patients and their families in a medical setting. She also received training in family therapy techniques from some of the finest, most noted family therapists in the country. She is currently a Licensed Clinical Psychologist in Indiana and Missouri, where she currently practices.

Prior to participation in the URMC fellowship, Dr. Hayman provided online psychological consultation for three years on a site she created called Apples of Gold Online. She has assisted many people from all walks of life, and with many concerns. Dr. Hayman has clinical experience, interest, and training in post trauma issues (sexual assault/abuse recovery, tragedy aftermath, sudden death of loved ones), psychological aspects of medical conditions (cancer, HIV/AIDS, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, pain management), depression, anxiety, stress, relationship issues, and sexual orientation issues, among other things.

Dr. Hayman works from a biosychosocialspiritual orientation. This means that she takes into account a person’s physical, emotional, social (including relevant family history), and spiritual status in order to assist with presenting concerns. She believes that every concern a person experiences is impacted to a greater or lesser extent, by all these factors, and her suggestions may address any or all of them in order to help someone reach their stated goals.