BPC Monthly Newsletter
Finding Your Way... Through Lyme Disease

Tools for Optimizing Emotional & Mental Wellness
January 2006 Issue

In this issue:
Lyme Disease
Depression & Anxiety Screenings
Healing Arts

Welcome...
At first glance you may wonder why we are featuring Lyme Disease in this month's newsletter. Unfortunately, this disease has moved into our area and more people are being infected each year. Many are finding their way to BPC with symptoms of depression, fatigue, inability to concentrate, sleep problems and chronic pain, with no idea that their psychological problems are related to an undiagnosed case of Lyme Disease.

We have included several helpful links and urge you to see your physician if you suspect you may have this problem.

Dorothy Ashma & the staff of Bloomsburg Psychological Center, LLC

Lyme Disease

Lyme Disease
Lyme Disease is spread to humans by small tics call Deer Ticks.

Symptoms often start with flu-like feelings of headache, stiff neck, fever, muscle aches, and fatigue. About 80% of patients notice a unique enlarging rash, referred to as erythema migrans (EM), days to weeks after the bite. The rash may appear within a day of the bite or as late as a month later. This rash may start as a small, reddish bump about one-half inch in diameter. It may be slightly raised or flat. It soon expands outward, often leaving a clearing in the center. It can enlarge to the size of a thumb-print or cover a persons back.

Within a few days or weeks, people may experience symptoms that include include loss of muscle tone on one or both sides of the face (called facial or "Bell's palsy), severe headaches and neck stiffness due to meningitis, shooting pains that may interfere with sleep, heart palpitations and dizziness due to changes in heartbeat, and pain that moves from joint to joint. Many of these symptoms will resolve, even without treatment.

After several months, many people will begin to experience intermittent bouts of arthritis, with severe joint pain and swelling. Large joints are most often effected, particularly the knees. Sometimes untreated patients may develop chronic neurological complaints months to years after infection. These include shooting pains, numbness or tingling in the hands or feet, and problems with concentration and short term memory.

Most cases of Lyme disease can be cured with antibiotics, especially if treatment is begun early in the course of illness. However, some people have symptoms that last months to years after treatment with antibiotics. These symptoms can include muscle and joint pains, arthritis, cognitive defects, sleep disturbance, or fatigue.

Additional Links on Lyme Disease:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/lymedisease.html

Lyme Disease Support Groups:
http://www.lymenet.org/SupportGroups/UnitedStates/Pennsylvania/

Depression Screenings

Bloomsburg Psychological Center,LLC offers free Anxiety and Depression Screenings to anyone in the community. Just call BPC at 570-387-1832 to schedule a time slot. After you fill out the screening, one of our therapists will meet with you for about 15 minutes and go over the results.

Children of Divorce, a group for children ages 6-11 years, will meet on Monday nights from 5-6:30 PM. Ronda Barto, LSW, will guide children through activities, discussions, and writing in a workbook that each child will take with them at the end of the six weeks. Call 570-387- 1832 for details.

Need extra support?
Our area is well supplied with Free Support Groups and Services that can get you connected with other people in similar situations. Our website contains a list of all of the free groups we have heard of. If you know of any that we have missed, please call us at 570-387-1832 and give us the information. Although we confirm the information with each group once a year, we suggest checking with the contact number to make sure the time or location of the meeting has not changed

Healing Arts

The Healing Arts pages on our website allow you to share poems and artwork or be inspired by what others have created.

This month we want to thank Carolann Heckman for allowing us to share her poem Safe Passage.

If you would like to contribute to our poetry or art gallery, please contact us. You can post anonymously, with a pen name, or with your own name.

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