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As the years go on, life continues to shift. There are new rhythms, slower mornings, and sometimes quieter days. But aging is not a pause—it’s a transition. And like all transitions, it comes with emotional challenges as well as opportunities for renewal. From my perspective as a psychiatrist, one of the most overlooked truths is this: feeling well remains entirely possible, no matter the stage of life. Emotional Challenges That Quietly Surface As people grow older, they often face emotional…

What Is Depression? A Psychiatrist’s Perspective Depression is more than just feeling sad—it is a complex, multifaceted mental health condition that affects mood, thought patterns, and physical well-being. As a psychiatrist, I often describe depression as a “whole-body illness” that impacts how you think, feel, and function in daily life. It’s one of the most common mental disorders globally, but also one of the most misunderstood. Clinical vs. Situational Depression It’s important to differentiate between clinical depression (major depressive disorder)…

New York City is a place of paradoxes—fast-paced yet isolating, opportunity-rich yet relentlessly demanding. For many, it is a city of dreams; for others, it is a pressure cooker. From the vantage point of a psychiatrist, NYC presents a unique environment where anxiety disorders not only thrive but often evolve in distinct ways. Anxiety in the City That Never Sleeps Anxiety is the most common mental health disorder in the United States, and in NYC, its prevalence seems amplified. While…

Suicide…… so so sad … avoidable and preventable.  Clearly a result of untreated psychiatric / medical illness. The painful and lingering feelings of hopelessness, worthlessness combined with chronic feelings of emptiness, a void that cannot be filled…feeling defeated and rejected, ”no one can help me; no one can understand me” … The desperation that one feels stuck with no way out!   The way out from this painful darkness is by recognizing that we developed an illness and need professional…

The medical field is an evolving science that enables us to feel better and live longer, with a more satisfying life. We may believe that irritability, feeling worried, not being able to sleep, feeling overwhelmed on a constant basis is expected and that it is going to go away. But often those feeling can be symptoms of depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder etc. that needs to be addressed and treated. We tend to overlook that the brain is an organ similar…

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Meet Dr. Wachtel

Meet Dr. Amanda Itzkoff
Dr. Wachtel trained in New York City at the Beth Israel Medical Center Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Residency in Psychiatry. Read More

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