Psychiatric Services

Fort Payne Psychiatric Services

Limestone Behavioral Health Services, Inc. is a premier provider of psychiatric services throughout the Fort Payne area. We offer assistance to people of all ages for a broad spectrum of mental health conditions, including severe mental illness (SMI). Our goal is to provide our patients with the tools they need to prosper. Following are some of the conditions we treat with state-of-the-art Fort Payne psychiatric services.

ADD/ADHD in Alabama

Symptoms of ADHD include:

• Lack of organizational skills in tasks and activities
• Avoidance or dislike of tasks that require mental effort over a long period of time
• Losing necessary items, such as keys, eyeglasses, mobile phones, regularly
• Being easily distracted
• Forgetting activities that are performed daily
• Making careless mistakes in schoolwork or work activities
• Failing to follow through on instructions

Adjustment Disorders in Alabama

An adjustment disorder occurs when you experience an exaggerated response to a stressful situation or event. Instead of being able to move forward after the event, you continue to have a reaction that is more magnified than would have been expected. Adjustment disorder symptoms vary from person to person, but typical symptoms that require Fort Payne psychiatric services include:

• Feelings of nervousness or anxiety
• Thoughts of suicide
• Inability to sleep and/or eat
• Withdrawal from those closest to you
• Inability to concentrate
• Bouts of crying
• Avoiding regular activities, such as going to work

Autism in Alabama

The rate of autism is increasing exponentially and with it the need for services that cater to those suffering from the core deficits caused by the disorder. Autism varies from person to person, but some characteristics are typical, including:

• Inability to look someone in the eyes or hold eye contact for any length of time
• Repetitive behaviors, such as tapping or rocking from side to side
• Repeating the same words or phrases over and over
• Exhibiting echolalia, which is the repetition of spoken words heard from another without having any real meaning
• Inability to speak, or late development of speech
• Inappropriate response to social situations

Mood Disorders in Alabama

A mood disorder is a mental health condition that affects your emotional well-being over an extended period of time. People suffering from mood disorders may experience the following symptoms:

• Issues with eating, ranging from not enough to eating too much
• Changes in weight
• Feelings of worthlessness, sadness, hopelessness, guilt, and being inadequate
• No longer having any interest in preferred activities
• Problems with personal relationships
• Inability to focus or concentrate
• Lack of feelings, or feeling “empty”
• Feelings of anxiety or indecisiveness
• Being overly sensitive and afraid of rejection, failure
• Feelings of aggression and extreme irritability

Two of the most common mood disorders are major (clinical) depression and bipolar (manic-depressive) disorder.

Major Depression

It is normal and expected that you would feel sadness and grief after a traumatic event, such as losing a job or the death of someone close to you. However, when you have these feelings long after the event happens, or you have these feelings without any triggering event, you may be experiencing major depression. This category of major depression includes persistent depressive disorder, seasonal affective disorder, postpartum depression, and psychotic depression.

Bipolar Disorder

BiPolar is characterized by rapid fluctuations in mood. A person with Bipolar Disorder can experience episodes in an intense emotional state, followed by bouts of fatigue. These episodes can last from days to weeks. Manic and depressive episodes can cause difficulty in living a typical life, working or attending school, and having normal, healthy relationships.

ODD

Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) is a mental health disorder typically experienced by children. Children with ODD are unusually hostile, defiant, and uncooperative towards their parents, other authority figures, and peers. Treatment can include a variety of therapies and medications. Symptoms of ODD include:

• Being argumentative, questioning authority, and refusing to obey rules
• Refusal to comply with requests made by an authority figure
• Intentionally upsetting and annoying peers and authority figures
• Being vindictive and seeking ways to revenge for a perceived injustice
• Being constantly angry, unkind, and harsh towards others

PTSD in Alabama

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric disorder that occurs when you have witnessed or experienced a traumatic event. Common causes include being in a war or combat, going through a natural disaster, experiencing a severe accident, or being sexually assaulted. PTSD causes you to have disturbing thoughts and feelings that are often experienced long after the event that caused the PTSD occurred. Strong negative reactions to common sights and sounds and flashbacks are often part of the symptoms experienced by a person with PTSD. For you to receive an official PTSD diagnosis, the symptoms must persist for more than a month and cause significant problems in your everyday life.

OCD

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a condition wherein you experience negative, unwanted, repetitive thoughts and fears that drive you to do something repeatedly. While many people have negative thoughts and a particular way of doing things, people with OCD have extremely rigid behaviors that interrupt daily living. If you have OCD and you are unable to complete your behaviors, you become extremely distressed. You feel that the behavior must be completed, and you cannot stop yourself from engaging in it. Examples include handwashing, cleaning, keeping things organized in a certain way, and repeatedly checking things.

Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a brain disorder where you perceive the world around you in a way that is not normal. Untreated schizophrenia can be chronic and disabling and affect every aspect of your life. Our Fort Payne psychiatric services team can provide you with treatment that helps you live a better life while dealing with the symptoms of schizophrenia:

• Delusions: a belief in something that is not real. Examples include believing you are being followed, or that someone famous is in love with you.
• Hallucinations: Seeing or hearing things that aren’t really there. While all of the senses may be affected by hallucinations, the most typical is hearing voices that are not real.

Personality Disorders

When you have a personality disorder, you have unusually rigid and unhealthy long-term thought patterns, affecting how you behave and function. You often think others cause the problems you face because the way you think seems normal and natural to you. These types of disorders vary in expression from person to person, but they generally cause you to have problems in your relationships and work. Personality disorders may be a product of your genes or your environment or a combination of both. Treatment typically involves therapy and medication.

Conduct Disorder in Alabama

Conduct disorder occurs in teens and children. It is a long-lasting, serious emotional and behavioral disorder. If you suffer from conduct disorder, your behavior is disruptive to your daily living and the daily living of those closest to you. You often engage in violent, disruptive behaviors that are not considered normal but instead are very antisocial. Fort Payne psychiatric services and medication can be very helpful treatments for conduct disorder.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a condition where you are consistently and excessively worried about different matters to the point that it interferes with your daily living activities. When you have GAD, you are often unable to control these thoughts, although there is no real reason for your concern. Symptoms of GAD last for over six months, and they cause you to feel as if you have no control, which is why many people with GAD try to make plans or take action to feel as if they are in charge of something. Physical symptoms of GAD may include:

• Nausea
• Stomach pain
• Nervousness
• Diarrhea
• Irritability
• Malaise
• Fatigue
• Muscle twitches
• Sweating

Premier Fort Payne Psychiatric Services

If you have a mental illness, the first step to healing is reaching out to the experienced professionals at Limestone. We provide customized therapies utilizing the best scientifically-based services available. You may reach us by calling 256-979-1777 or via our contact page. We look forward to working with you at our Fort Payne psychiatric services office.