Jeromy Hrabovecky

Answers to patient questions

• Stress management

  I need a method of coping with anxiety and stress. I come to the point where the brain cannot find the way out and I start having physical problems with stomach issues. I know that everything is connected and I need advice how to deal with it.
  • Stress and anxiety can indeed be rather overwhelming experiences. The causes can be related to a variety of factors. Understanding the root cause or causes can be useful in determining how to calm and defuse their triggers. Often stress is subtly tucked in the guise of pressures, but in fact is due, in most cases, to resistance or opposition to such pressures. The friction that is created from going against the pressure is what brings on the feeling of stress. Prolonged and heightened states of stress lead to a lowered threshold for triggering the internal alert systems or an anxiety response. This dynamic creates a feedback loop where anxiet...y is increased by unresolved stress and stress begins triggering anxiety. This vicious circle decreases one's ability to adequately determine stressors and anxiogenic factors, thus rendering much in our environments both stressors and anxiety inducers. A good portion of the work on stress and anxiety can be both cognitive-behavioral based as well as somatic based. My suggestion would be to explore what happens in the body, the mind, their meanings, the origins and learn how to let the body process these experiences. This integration could help in reducing the anxious response to stress and decrease the impact of the stress trigger-response mechanism. I hope this helps. Read more

    Jeromy Hrabovecky
• ADHD

  Diagnosed ADHD single mother, GP stopped ADHD meds 2 months ago, life fell apart. What should I do?
  • Hello. ADHD is a complex profile. I hesitate to call it a disorder because while there are some significant issues that can arise, the issues are more indicative of a maladaptive society for neurodivergent individuals. There are a plethora of strategies to put in place to aid in adapting daily life. I will admit that these measures are rather idealistic, require a lot of work, patience and resources, but they do exist. The key is taking the time to find the right measures that can work for you and your particular situation. That being said, medication can be very helpful during the transition period so as to help maintain balance and morale. ...The downside to medications (particularly without psychological or neuropsychological support) is that they can become a crutch, leading to unwanted side effects, built up tolerance and even addiction. I'm not sure why your GP stopped the medications, it could be worth exploring with your GP (searching for alternative treatments) or maybe even considering another GP or psychiatrist (though I know it is rather difficult currently to get an appointment). "Life fell apart" is a rather big topic. Without having more details than that, I can only say, it would be useful to revisit the medication decision with your GP (or otherwise) and try to work in collaboration with a psychologist/neuropsychologist on the specifics of what actually has "fallen apart." Be sure that, if this is your approach, you should really try to have the GP and therapist be in communication with one another, just for treatment strategies. It will give you a more collaborative plan that you can not only be included in on, but also help in directing it a bit. For the therapy portion, I would suggest something with CBT or solutions focused therapy. Coaching could even be useful. These approaches will help identify what exactly is problematic, how it has "fallen apart", what specifically you could do and set in motion specific plans to work towards reaching this goal. That being said, with the ADHD profile, it will take a lot of dynamic effort to aid in creating concrete plans and carrying them out. It would be useful to find people who have experience with this population (for both the GP and the therapist). I hope this helps. I wish you all the best. Read more

    Jeromy Hrabovecky