Are you experiencing the covid blues
Have you been experiencing difficulty in any of the following activities without being depressed or sad: Taking a shower, dressing, self-grooming, cooking, brushing one's teeth, exercising, getting out of bed, preparing meals, doing chores, returning calls, shopping, parenting, meeting work demands, or decision-making?
You may very likely be experiencing what psychiatrists call “psychomotor retardation” or motor fatigue. While it can be a symptom of depression, it can also exist alone, as it has been during the pandemic. This “emotional lockdown fatigue” we’re all feeling is caused by a depletion of oxytocin. Oxytocin primes the motor system which is why we feel fatigued when it declines.
What can we do to increase oxytocin during lockdown fatigue? First, oxytocin is not so much the “love drug” (which is dopamine), but the “imitation” chemical. Our brains, and especially the mirror neuron network, love to imitate. Imitation helps us feel in-synch with others. We fall “in-like” and “in-love” by being in-synch with others. Therefore, try to do things that involve imitation and watch motor fatigue, or “psychomotor retardation,” decline and energy and happiness become restored.
Things to do to reduce motor fatigue involving imitation are as follows:
Board games, playing sports, talking and/or walking together
Watching videos of sewing, cooking, yoga, dance, exercise, painting, guitar lesson, etc.
while doing the same activities simultaneously
Casual and sexual touch
Doing the chores together
Smiling at others
Insurance and Reports
Insurance
Dr. Rider takes Blue Cross, Tricare, United Healthcare, Humana, and Aetna. Cigna and UNUM clients will have to file their own claims. He does NOT take Medicare, Magellan, or Ambetter.
Reports
We do not conduct neuropsychology or forensic testing. We do not write ESA letters. We also do not fill out disability forms as this detracts from the therapeutic process.
Populations served
We currently see adults only (18 up) unless referred by another health professional or for ADD testing.