Ask the Psychiatrist: Is Tax Day the Only Thing That’s Causing You Stress? – Baptist Health South Florida

Are you experiencing anxiety about Tax Day? asks Rachel Rohaidy, M.D., referring to the upcoming May 17th IRS deadline for filing your taxes. Dr. Rohaidy, a board certified psychiatrist at Baptist Health Primary Care and medical director of The Recovery Village at Baptist Health, says that what youre actually feeling is the anxiety that comes from fear of the unknown and the inability to be resilient in your reactions.

As a psychiatrist, Dr. Rohaidy believes in the practice of positive psychiatry and positive psychology to enable patients to develop the skills they need to cope with anxiety, alleviate suffering and increase their wellbeing.

Positive psychiatry believes people can learn to control response to stress by practicing mindfulness, Dr. Rohaidy says. One of the easiest ways to practice mindfulness is to sit with your emotions and recognize them. Feelings of anger, sadness and frustration that increase stress can actually be reduced over time.

When helping patients learn how to get through stressful times, whether its preparing and paying ones taxes or dealing with a difficult situation at home or work, Dr. Rohaidy says she likes to emphasize three important elements of positive psychiatry and positive psychology: resilience, optimism and social engagement.

According to Dr. Rohaidy, the job of a mental health professional is incomplete if all they focus on is the problem by just prescribing medicine. Medication, she cautions, is not the answer for everyone.

Resilience and social engagement are better treatment options, notes Dr. Rohaidy, who says that using positive psychiatry and positive psychology everyday can help you not only with your emotional wellbeing but can help you maintain good health as well.

Theyve also been proven to lead to greater longevity and improved outcomes when coping with illnesses such as cancer or chronic conditions like rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis, hypertension, diabetes and cardiovascular disease, she says.

Being resilient is the capacity to respond to adversity in a healthy way, says Dr. Rohaidy. More than just responding to setbacks, its a mindset that can be used to develop mental flexibility and optimism, which she says are essential components of resilience.

Studies show the impact of creating a healthy mindset, Dr. Rohaidy adds. Over time, this practice lowers depression, reduces suicides and helps in the reduction of substance abuse in people involved in trauma.

Dr. Rohaidy identifies the essentials of resilience, which include:

Being positive takes work, according to Dr. Rohaidy, and its something you have to work on every single day. Become more self-aware and think about how you process things, she says. Be willing to learn new tasks on the road to becoming more resilient.

So, if Tax Day or some other situation in your life is weighing heavily on you, think positively. Instead of dreading having to file your taxes or worrying about how much you owe this year, be thankful you have a steady job that provides taxable income, Dr. Rohaidy says. Not everyone can say that.

Tags: Baptist Health Primary Care, Rachel V.F. Rohaidy M.D., resilience, Stress, Tax Day, The Recovery Village at Baptist Health

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Ask the Psychiatrist: Is Tax Day the Only Thing That's Causing You Stress? - Baptist Health South Florida