Case Study #5

Case Study #5: A 28 year old woman is a rising junior executive in her investment company. Her increasing duties require her to make periodic formal presentations to the senior management of the company. However, she becomes intensely anxious at the thought of speaking in public. When she is forced to give a presentation, she begins to feel anxious days in advance of the talk and the anxiety increases as the time for the talk approaches. She is concerned that her anxiety will become more noticeable during the talk or that she will do something to embarrass herself.

This woman suffers from Social Phobia where she has difficulty talking and performing events that involves an audience watching. Even though her job requires her to make multiple presentations, this person still becomes very nervous and frightful when talking in public. She tends to overreact, thinking that she'll say or do something that will embarrass her. The woman's fear takes over her body and mind causing her to lose focus.

I think the best way to treat this case is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) because not only does it take little time, it starts from the beginning of the problem. This therapy helps those that have Social Phobia to switch their negative thoughts to positive ideas and beliefs. Also, it teaches people to have more confident and accept themselves as well as enjoy meeting new people. Doing Cognitive Behavioral Therapy will guide the woman in Case #5 to overcome her anxiety and fear of talking in public.



http://hubpages.com/hub/How-to-Treat-Social-Phobia

Charlie's Angel announces having OCD

"I'm not scared of germs, I'm just not into other people's fluids..." -Cameron Diaz

Known for being a popular girl in Something About Mary to a princess who turns into a green ogre in Shrek to a private investigator working for Charles Townsend Agency in Charlie’s Angel, Cameron Diaz has achieved great success in the past fourteen years of her acting career. Although she’s seen as one of those people who seems to have no problems and living the "perfect" life on Hollywood’s red carpet, little did many people know that the actress suffered an anxiety disorder behind close curtains. Cameron Diaz announced publicly in May 10, 2007 that she has an Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder which affects 1 to 2 in 100 people and is prone to more women than men. By dictionary definition, OCD is a psychoneurotic disorder in which the patient is beset with obsessions or compulsions or both and suffers extreme anxiety or depression through failure to think the obsessive thoughts or perform the compelling acts. In other words, OCD is a constant obsession that one has difficulty of surpassing.

Cameron Diaz said that she “habitually rubs doorknobs so hard before opening doors to clean them that the original paint on the doorknobs fades afterwards.” Talk about girl power. She proclaimed that she washes her hands “many times” a day and uses her elbows to push open doors. She also admits being a big gemophobic, someone who has fear of dirty stuff, germs, etc. Although she has OCD, Diaz is okay with it, stating that she thinks she made “peace with it.” She's not alone because there are other celebrities with OCD such as Donald Trump, Jessica Alba, and Harrison Ford.

To me, I think that Cameron Diaz having OCD shows a lot about her; she's positive and doesn't let the disorder affect her as much as one may think. She sets an example for those who have OCD and sees it negatively that it's an okay thing to have. Instead of hiding her disorder like some people, she shows that they shouldn't feel bad and that they're not alone. She's chill :) I think that many people can relate to this because we all have some things that really bother us. Some people can't stand touching other people, or they have to hand sanitize their hands every 30 minutes, or they can't touch dirt.

http://www.disabled-world.com/artman/publish/famous-ocd.shtml

http://www.ivillage.co.uk/newspol/celeb/cfeat/articles/0,,528719_685869,00.html

http://www.answers.com/topic/cameron-diaz

http://www.officer.com/web/online/On-the-Street/Obsessive-Compulsive-Disorder/21$32979