AboutPatricia A. Schafer, Ph.D. Expertise I received my Ph.D. from Kent State,in Ohio in Counseling.I specialize in various forms of depression and Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) and forms of addictions such as substance abuse,eating disorders and gambling. My licenses are: Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor -Supervisor(LPCC-S) and Licensed Professional Chemical Dependency Counselor (LICDC) My experience includes counseling substance abusers, families of alcoholics/drug addictions, and codependency issues. I also specialize in social phobia; stress; anxieties; women`s issues; grief and adjustments to life changes. Some therapeutic techniques used are: CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy), DBT (Dialectical Behaviorial Therapy)REBT (Rational Emotive), SFT (Solution Focused) and 12-Step, etc. If you live in the Cleveland area, you can contact me at my office for an appointment at: 440-349-4521. I accept insurance and EAP programs.
Experience Twelve years experience as a professional clinical counselor; 30 years member of Al-Anon.
Organizations ACA, OCA, OMHCA, NBCC
Publications Experiences of prejudice among individuals in African American and Caucasian Interracial Marriages: A Q-methodological Study (Doctoral Dissertation - December 2008;
Wilsnack and Beckman's book: Alcohol Problems in Women (1984). Alcohol use and marital violence: Female and Male Differences in reactions to alcohol(pages 260-279.
Education/Credentials Ph.D. in Counseling - Kent State
MS in Counseling - John Carroll University
BS in Psychology - University of Pittsburgh
Awards and Honors Previous president of NCOCA (North Central Ohio Counseling Association); previous president of Chi Sigma Iota. Two years VISTA volunteer on Navajo reservation in Inscription House and Shonto.
Question Pat
I am a 50 year old guy, no other health issues besides hypertension for which I am being treated.
I dont feel depressed at all, in fact I am quite content. However, I lack motivation to to anything besides work and watch tv.
I used to enjoy going out with my wife, going golfing and to ball games with my friends, and my hobbies of stamp collecting and reading. None of those interest me now. I have tried to get back into all that stuff but just cant.
Other than working, the only thing I still enjoy doing is my regular runs and workouts. However, I can only do that three times a week now as my body needs more time to recover.
Along the same time I started feeling this way, I began to not need as much sleep. I used to sleep soundly at least 8 hours a night and enjoyed sleeping in on my days off.
Now I am up at the crack of dawn every day-I seem to need less sleep.
I asked my doctor if my prescription medication for hypertension (Avalide) could be causing it and he said probably not.
For instance, today I am off work and could be doing lots of stuff, but I am moping around the house. I am not sad or depressed-just cant get up to do anything.
Could it be low testosterone or something like that or male menopause?
Thanks for any thoughts!
Answer Hi Van: Lack of motivation and having times of not feeling like doing anything around the house, or moping, can be minor depression. Here is a very good website to educate yourself about different forms of depression and also you can scroll through and take the self inventory to see see if you have from minor to severe depression. Also, look at the questions it asks because these can be signs of depression. This is an excellent website and will help you answer your own questions.
tp://www.psycom.net/depression.central.html
If you score above mild depression, you may want to take it to your doctor to get some medication to help you through this period. Also, have you had a loss lately like the death of a close friend, or loss of a job, or a close friend or relative moved away. Think about what is going on in your life now.
There is a book about male depression called "I don't want to talk about it". It is written by Terrence Real. He suffered a serious depression and wrote about it. You don't have it as bad as he did, but it is very good reading and your library might have it. You will learn what signs to look for. Terrence brings out that many middle aged men do get depression. Is it a form of male menopause? I don't know.
Also, on allexperts.com, there is a family physician, Dr. Ackerman or Auckerman (not sure of the spelling) but he may be able to give you some other insight into this.
