The Anxiety Report

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy comes up a lot in the research pages, so I decided to do a little Googling, and came up with some decent resources to help find a definition. At first I was inclined to poo-poo the idea altogether, because in the past while I was in the midst of a massive attack that had nothing to do with my state of mind, I was told, you can make it stop right now by changing the way you think.

You can imagine how unhelpful I found that answer. It turns out, that was the dark side, the bright side is that even for those of us who are attacked by GABA misfiring in our bodies, and have anxiety attacks or panic attacks, we have developed a whole system of messed up thinking as a result.

An example. Joe loves to go to the library. One day Joe walks in and an attack suddenly comes on him. First he is convinced that everyone in the library knows what it happening to him, and are sneering at him. He leaves the library in a panic, goes home, and decides Everyone in town knows I’m crazy.

The leaps in logic Joe took to come to that dramatic decision are mind boggling. First of all, chances are not one person noticed Joe, even during his anxiety attack. Second, he is the one that decided everyone knew and was laughing at him, no one said anything to him, at all. He based all of it on a thought he had while having an anxiety attack. Admittedly, that is not hard to imagine. But breaking that train of thought for Joe, later when he does seek help, is going to be difficult.

Once the doctors get Joe on a medication which helps the GABA part of Joe’s life, the therapist can begin to help Joe understand that most of what he thought was built upon 1 + 3 = 34687598. It didn’t make any sense. It was irrational thinking. For that I recommend David Burns excellent book The Feeling Good Handbook.

Tags: Anxiety, News, Self Help, Self Help Books, Uncategorized by Stephen
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Imagine that, I have taken the Anti-Anxiety gospel even further afield than this meek little site. No more meek and little, I need to get the word out that you MAY have a full life, without anxiety, without obsessive Compulsive disorder, of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (which is hitting high levels amongst our men and women in the military), Panic Attacks, Generalized Anxiety, and Social Anxiety/Agoraphobia.

That getting help part is hard for people to grasp. It hasn’t always been easy for me to grasp either, but until you get a grip on it, you’re floating in the wind.  That is no way to live your life.  And you know it.

We are stopped because of what others think.  Get over to my Squidoo lens.

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It is no great surprise to find in our first article, “Feeling Anxious? It Could Be That Those Anti-Anxiety Pills Don’t Work.” And that doesn’t do much for creating a sense of security when taking ones morning dosage. What makes it even worse is that “physicians have no way of knowing whether a patient will be in one of the non-responsive 50 percent when they prescribe the drug.” You have to read the small article if for no other reason than to giggle at how important marijuana, yes the dreaded Pot, has become in anxiety research. Makes one wonder.

Let’s not quibble with the good doctors whom I do believe to be doing their best, even if they are working in the dark sometimes, and move directly to famous poets with mental illness. We should always bear in mind that a sober Hemingway never wrote a word. His routine down in Cuba was to drink until rather late in the evening, then go back to his hotel and write until dawn.  Also, that Coleridge became a laudanum addict.

Alicia Sparks, whom is featured here regularly, wrote this informative piece “Meet Famous Poets Who Lived With Mental Illness.” It’s encouraging actually to those of us who write, and deal with our own mental problems. Perhaps if we were all cured, literature, dance, film, and all the rest would cease to be. We’d all wear burlap, listen to drones, and read non fiction for the rest of our lives.

Tags: Anxiety, News, articles by Stephen
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In the past few days I’ve had people tell me, “there are more important things than anxiety.”  Pardon me while I vomit on your feet.

Let’s see. Paula Deen, whom we all love as everyone’s fav country cook on FoodTV was agoraphobic for several years of her life.  What would FoodTV be without Paula Deen?  Or for that matter, the world would be impoverished by not having her humor and delightful view of life.

That’s just one.  I think the people who say there are more important things than anxiety, have never been struck down by a four day, ass-ripping anxiety attack, or embarrassed beyond all comprehension by a panic attack in public!  Oh, those are important to those of us who have endured them, you can bet on that.

You see, the problem is that if it can’t be seen externally, you know, like a broken arm, then it simply can’t be real.  Cancer eats you alive, so it can be seen.  Anxiety, panic, social anxiety, those cannot be seen, so they must simply be something we’re just too weak to deal with.  Rather like the wilting violets of old.  Personally, I think that’s just wrong.

An example, I had to have two vertebrae in my neck fused.  My right arm had taken to jumping around on its own, and misbehaving in general, so they had to go in and fix my neck so it wouldn’t just sever the nerve.  Well, until the day of the surgery, everyone was giving me the “uh huh, sure” look when I said, I don’t dare lift that with my right arm.

After the surgery.  Oh my, then they couldn’t fall all over me fast enough.  Why?  because I had on a hard plastic neck brace and could barely walk.  It could be seen.  If seen, then it must be real.  Not seen, well, they’re making it up.

If you have read The Anxiety Report, then you are by now detecting a distinct change in tone.  I am not here to fight for cancer patients, or for manic-depressive patients, or for the paralyzed, or any other medical condition known to humanity.  I am here to put the reality of anxiety and its cost to society right in the spot light.

Tags: Anxiety, Uncategorized by Stephen
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I am continuously amazed by the statements made by those who work for Captain Obvious. First, let’s begin with this little tidbit. It seems that

New Orleans residents who lost their homes in Hurricane Katrina were over five times more likely to experience serious psychological distress a year after the disaster than those who did not.

I’m sorry, did I forget to mention that’s just one of the findings presented at the annual meeting of Population Association of America in New Orleans. The article really is worth reading, in case you didn’t click the link before, do it now. Now one last block quote, I can’t resist it.

Blacks reported substantially higher rates of serious psychological distress than whites, Sastry and Van Landingham reported. Almost one-third of blacks were found to have a high degree of distress, compared to just six percent of whites. Those with higher incomes and more education were much less likely to experience serious psychological distress.

Really?  I do wonder why that might be the case?  Could it be the the “blacks” feel fairly certain that no one really gives a flying flip about what happens to them?  And chances are, they aren’t in that lucky group of higher incomes and more education.

How about this?  Stop with the number counting and pointing out the obvious and do something substantial to help these people?

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Warning: Author Approaches

Since The Anxiety Report has come online I have made every effort to remain detached from what I read and write on this site.  I find that is seriously against my grain.  I don’t care about something enough to detach from it, I shouldn’t be writing about it at all.  I am no crusader, but I am tired of the general pablum that gets fed to us, the public and the patient’s of anxiety disorders, that we’re supposed to take seriously.

Sometimes I feel like all I’m reading is advertisements for Pharmaceutical companies.  Anxiety is big business and never think otherwise.  From therapists to drug companies, money is made off the anxiety disorder business.

In every post up until today I have felt like I was doing nothing more than being an obedient servant of Sicko Inc., an advertising firm.  The deeper I dig the more this all looks like the same material rehashed again and again.

Now here’s the kicker.  It’s not the doctors fault.  They do the work and write up their papers in language it is taking me a long time to decipher, but they are honestly trying to get to the bottom of these disorders.  And, in some instances it isn’t the pharmaceutical company either, because some really do want to make a drug that truly helps.

So now you want me to tell you where the fault lies, and that is something I can’t do.  Why?  Because I’m not the one paying for various studies, such as are people who lost their houses more depressed than those who did not.  I am disgusted in a way by this study.  It is insulting to the people who were studied, and to the intelligence of everyone who stops to think about it.  Are there not better uses for resources at the University of Michigan where the study was conducted?  I praise the people who did the study, because at least they were doing something.  I blame those who couldn’t imagine whether or not the loss of your property, your whole life accumulation of things, and maybe grandma drowning in her attack, might make you depressed!

Tags: Anxiety, News, Uncategorized, articles by Stephen
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CBS News and PTSD

Not two acronyms you would expect to find next to one another, but this morning on the CBS website was posted an FYI: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Learn About Symptoms, Treatments, Warning Signs And Where Those At Risk Can Get Help and a good article it is. The article provides a surprising amount of information about the condition, as well as signs to watch for, especially for soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. A series of questions are answered about the condition. A link is also provided to United States Department of Veteran Affairs, National Center for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. More and more of our soldiers are returning from war, having faced things that have changed their lives forever. You don’t have to lose an arm or a leg to be traumatized. Just seeing your friend loose an arm is enough to mark you.

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Jazz Pharmaceuticals and Luvox CR

A press release from Jazz Pharmaceuticals

announced today that Once-A-Day LUVOX(R) CR (fluvoxamine maleate) Extended-Release Capsules is now available at pharmacies throughout the United States. LUVOX CR was recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of social anxiety disorder (SAD) and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) in adult patients. SAD and OCD are two difficult-to-treat, under diagnosed and under treated anxiety disorders.

Now when I did some internet research each page started out with a list of warnings. But don’t be alarmed because all antidepressant and almost all psychiatric medications carry some type of risk. We do not live in a risk free world, and that includes or medications. I do think it is unfair of some sites to post the WARNINGS first before anyone can read what the medication is, and what it does.

However, further research turned up a couple of worrisome things. First was this one from The Carlat Psychiatry Blog.

It has very little going for it. Its half-life is about 15 hours, and it causes more drug-drug interactions than any other SSRI. Before, Luvox was a pretty useless drug; come next year, we’ll have a pretty useless drug that lasts even longer than the original.

That is not encouraging as the writer is a psychiatrist. And this less than encouraging opening page. But, go to this page, it is a research page, and read the conclusion. Lastly, make your own decision based on MedMaster Patient Drug Information

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Brain Cells Inc.

Apparently this Phase II study for BCI-540, is ready to start. A few things you might want to read: From Medical News Today , and from The Scientist.com.

It seems to me that if someone comes out with something new, then someone else is going to oppose it for some reason. Also, this is listed as a clinical trial, and I tend to trust their view more than others, but this study is still recruiting people.

Tags: Research, articles by Stephen
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Every time I try to do something today it goes wrong. I’m not going to complain about it, but most of the sources I use for Anxiety related articles are rehashing what’s already been up for two or three days now.

I did find this somewhat disturbing article about the flu “Seasonal Flu Starts in Asia and Migrates Throughout World”

The flu arrives in Europe and North America six to nine months after the viruses infect Asia, and finally ends its travels in South America after another six to nine months, the researchers reported in the April 18 issue of Science.

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Caffeine Has Its Perks
Use moderate amounts of java and smooth the bumps in life.

Without doubt this is my favorite article of the day. Coffee, since it’s appearance in the 17th century, no one can get enough of it. The stock market had it’s start in London coffee houses. They were considered quite sinful, in fact, Johann Sebastian Bach wrote “The Coffee Cantata,” about a girl trying to express to her father how much her daily coffee meant to her.

After several hours of hard work, a busy brain has its own mechanism for recharging; it seeks a rest. It triggers a release of adenosine, a neurotransmitter that, like a key opening a lock, attaches to special receptors on the surface of nerve cells throughout brain and body. Once the chemical has opened the lock and delivered its payload to the brain cell, the connection causes drowsiness, promoting sleep.

Now you see! It’s more than a caffeine addiction (who said that) it’s the best way to combat the evil adenosine.

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Treatment Effects of Narrative Exposure Therapy is a study begin conducted by University of Bergen
Norwegian Center for Violence and Traumatic Stress Studies. You might wonder what Narrative Exposure Therapy is so here’s a page that can explain it far better than I. It’s a long article but there are two drawings by children, one from Kosovo, and the other from Africa. Both are blood curdling.

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Maybe They Weren’t as Drunk as You Thought

According to Psychology Today and their article “The Illusion of College Drinking,” they college kids aren’t as drunk as everyone has assumed. It seems stereotypes must have gotten in the way.

Researchers found that the image of a typical college student as a drunken frat boy is largely a myth. Moreover, when students find out that their classmates are relatively modest in their drinking habits, they cut back on their own drinking as well.

Well, DUH is all I can think of to say to that.

Researchers led by Robert Foss of the UNC Highway Safety Research Center used voluntary breathalyzer tests to measure the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of students returning at night to their living quarters. In an initial sample of over 2,000 students, the research team found that on ‘party nights,’ two out of three students hadn’t had a drop to drink. On Mondays through Wednesdays, fully 85 percent had no alcohol in their systems—findings at odds with the stereotype of beer-swilling ‘party schools.’

That should quiet some people down.

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Psychiatric Times.

Being a male, the menstrual cycles of women have largely been none of my business, all my life. Or at least that’s what I was told. IN the paper ‘The Complex Interrelationships of Menstrual Cyclicity and Anxiety Disorders: Premenstrual Exacerbation of Anxiety Disorders’ by Miki Peer, Claudio N. Soares, MD, PhD, and Meir Steiner, MD, PhD,

Premenstrual worsening is frequently reported by women with general anxiety disorder (GAD); one study reported a prevalence of 52%.3 The mechanisms by which some women experience premenstrual worsening of GAD, however, are not known. Limited evidence suggests that GAD is associated with decreased serum levels of pregnanolone sulfate,12 but changes in neurosteroid levels in women who experience premenstrual exacerbation of GAD have not, to our knowledge, been examined. Benzodiazepines are more likely to be prescribed for women with GAD than for men, and while these compounds demonstrate good efficacy in GAD treatment,1,28,29 a significant influence of the menstrual-cycle phase in treatment response has been observed.

It is a highly technical article, but it does fit in at the anxiety report.

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On a Literary Note

This comes from Alicia Sparks blog on mental health notes.  It talks about how Rowling kept her sanity by retreating into the characters of the novels.  I can understand that, writing blogs sometimes helps me retreat from the mundane world of taking meds, and disability.  Anyway, it’s always worth reading Alicia’s blog.

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From the Editor

From time to time I will write an editorial.  Hopefully,they will be readable.  The more research I read to put onto this site, the more convinced I become that I’m going to have to find someone who can help me translate into English what the heck they’re trying to say.  I’m doing my best, but I fear that’s not good enough.  At any rate, I’ll keep at it, you keep coming back to visit me.

Tags: Research by Stephen
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Children’s Mental Health Coalition Introduces Bill Of Rights For Families Living With Mental Illnesses

I was very interested in this article because when I think of the various agonies I put my family through as a teenager with serious problems.

“This Bill of Rights represents the standard of what families living with mental illnesses should expect from treatment,” said AACAP’s President, Robert Hendren, D.O. “Children do better when they receive consistent, tailored treatment. Few children receive any treatment and fewer still receive the sustained, quality care that they require.”

The fact that it is centered on children is helpful to parents, teacher, and baby sitters, but doesn’t do much for families living with someone with a variety of anxiety conditions and other possible mental illnesses. Living with an adult with anxiety disorders can be so challenging that it can end up in divorce. Just something worth thinking about, and perhaps someone will work out a Bill of Rights for the Family of Anxiety Patients.

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How Long Do I Have to Take This?

According to How long is anxiety medication needed?it all depends on what is being treated.

When I prescribe medication for a patient with a mental health problem, I’m frequently asked, “How long will I have to take this medication?” It’s a good question. But for someone with an anxiety disorder, the answer is particularly complex.

It’s one of the first questions I asked the first doctor who helped me; how long do I have to take this? He said pretty much what the last sentence of the quote says, except he added, “you’ll probably be on something the rest of your life.”

There are short term disorders where the medication can be stopped at a point where the patient feels ready to give it a go without the drugs. Dr. Kahn continues: “A specific phobia can be treated as needed, for example, just before getting on an airplane or giving a speech.”

But other anxiety disorders — for example, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder — commonly require ongoing treatment. Experience shows that when drug therapy is stopped, symptoms often recur. Only 25% of patients who stop taking antidepressants for anxiety have relief for two years or longer. Two studies found that one in four people with generalized anxiety disorder relapse within a month of going off medications. Similarly, most people with obsessive-compulsive disorder relapse within a month unless they either continue drug treatment indefinitely or undergo behavior therapy.

So for some of us, we’ll always be taking one drug or another. When you consider the return to anxiety attacks, or OCD symptoms, you realize that each day you will take your medications.

Isn’t it a small price to pay for the freedom from symptoms?

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Herschel Walker’s Battle with D.I.D. And Suicidal Thoughts: And My Own Struggle with Mental Illness

For those who do not know who Herschel Walker is check this page out. He has D.I.D. Dissociative Identity Disorder. In other words, multiple personalities.

Walker had several alternate personalities, known as alters. After retiring from the NFL, Walker dealt with memory loss, a symptom of D.I.D. Because other personalities are the ones taking action, he often cannot remember things he has said or done.

That is down right scary condition to have. I think someone of Walker’s fame and position in football history, to come out with this book at such a time is worthy of many kudos.

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While researching the research out there so I can digest, process, and post here, I have come again and again up against the phrase cognitive behavioral Therapy. So what is it? A little Googling brought a ton of answers, some of which are better than others, but that’s usual, so no whining on that score. Here are a list of links. Check em out then see what I say below.

The Widipedia

The National Alliance on Mental Illness NAMId

Now let’s have a little story about a guy named Joe. Joe is plagued by anxiety attacks which come from nowhere, last for days, and make his life a living hell. Joe loves going to the library, and one day in the library he has an anxiety attack. I’m breaking in green type to now say that Joe is in a social situation, but his thinking capacity is impaired. Joe immediately is certain that everyone around him knows that he is crazy, and are probably sneering at his weakness. That’s not true at all, no one probably even notices Joe unless he does something stupid. Joe puts his book down, doesn’t even check one out, goes straight home to his room and sits on his bed thinking “Now everyone in town knows I’m crazy.”

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is the way one finds their way out of such thinking patterns. David Burns wrote a magnificent book on the subject called The Feeling Good Handbook. (see link at bottom of post)

Joe’s original anxiety was all based in his hardwiring. It is a physical phenomenon that occurs and has something to do with our GABA receptors.

GABA acts at inhibitory synapses in the brain by binding to specific transmembrane receptors in the plasma membrane of both pre- and postsynaptic neurons. From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GABA

When Joe finally gets medication for his anxiety disorder, to life the burden of the physical symptoms, then his therapist can begin to help him unbind all those irrational assumptions he had made while in the grip of anxiety. When Joe had anxiety attacks in the past, his mind would seize upon what ever was at hand as the cause of the attack, because we are human, we need a cause. It is very hard to admit that the cause might be your own body, because everyone has taught you all your life that “it’s all in your head.”

Once the physical symptoms have stopped, then you may begin Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. To start out with CBT, instead of taking a serious medical assessment first, is lunacy. Physicians today are more alert to the reality of the anxiety disorders. There is enough research out there to show them that this can and does originate within the physical system itself, our bodies.

The Great Task

With the flow of research going all the time, what is the most important for us, the patient, to know? Another disquieting problem I have is how too get what I find to you in plain enough English that you will bother to read more than two words. That is turning out to be no easy task, but I am up for it. There was never a time that research and it’s tortures could stop me from finding out every bit, every detail about what I was looking for.

If you could give me a push by suggesting a topic, any topic, it would help. Until you do, I shall muddle my way through as much as seems relevant and then post it.Email Me

Tags: Anxiety, News, articles by Stephen
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