This little tidbit appearing in the Start-Telegram from Ft. Worth, Texas, annoyed me. You be the judge. Somehow I am not impressed with that, why did they bother to print it? Was it filler space for the Women’s Section? Was it to tell us watch out in case we get stuck worrying about one thing?
Anxiety to me, and I suspect to anyone that reads here, is not as easy as not worrying so much. My anxiety had nothing to do with worry. Did yours?
About 20% had previously been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. But only 13% met the criteria, says Mark Zimmerman, MD, associate professor of psychiatry and human behavior at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University in Providence.
“In about half of patients previously diagnosed with bipolar disorder, we couldn’t confirm the diagnosis,” he tells WebMD.
Why is this happening? How did it get so far?
Patients with anxiety , agitation, irritability, and restlessness that does not persist are sometimes misdiagnosed with bipolar disorder, Zimmerman says.
I wonder if that could be because only therapists see us now, Psychiatrists have been turned into Diagnosis and Prescription writing machines, with expensive degrees.
That’s all the news for today, but I want to ask a question: do insurance and and functionaries decide what treatments and drugs are right for us, or do the Physician’s do it?
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.
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?
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!
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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
Part of the original purpose of The Anxiety Report was to have a section for the people who live with others who have a disorder. What I had not thought about, and now have to seriously consider, are those who are also caregivers. I was a caregiver to my father until he died.
There is a new link list on the side bar for Caregivers.
News
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Have you ever felt like cleaning up your house helped your mood? Well, according to “Tidying the House Soothes Mental Distress” By Crystal Phend, Staff Writer, MedPage Today.
The benefits of physical activity in general could be by reducing biological stress reactivity, “given that heightened responsiveness to daily stressors is a risk factor for psychological morbidity,” they said. Exercise might also improve biological risk factors such as dyslipidemia, glucose intolerance, inflammation, and vascular dysfunction, “which have been related to mental health disorders such as depression and dementia.”
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Next item on today’s agenda is “Time on the Farm Helps Psychiatric Patients,” By Crystal Phend, Staff Writer, MedPage Today. it’s rather in the spirit of the first article, isn’t it? The article was too interesting for me to pass up. So here it is for you.
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Here is yet another story of a young girl starving herself. This epidemic amongst young women is totally unacceptable in civilized society. That we have allowed this image of skinny is glamorous to develop is a societal sin. “Skinny Sweepstakes” By: Hara Estroff Marano.
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Research
Research is difficult to tackle for anyone who is not educated in the upper regions of psychology, medicine, psychiatry and pharmacology. However, your humble webmaster will spend the remainder of his day deciphering, summarizing, and posting.
It takes a while to get into the swing of things, especially when first starting. Stay with me!
Since this article appears in MedScape Today, I am encouraged by the attention scientist are now giving to the alternative forms of healing. Yoga is not just good for the body, it is good for mental health as well.
Not everyone is going to rush out and sign up for Yoga classes, but it might not hurt for a few of us to do just that.
Anything we can do to make life easier with, or without medications, we should do. Don’t just close your mind to the possibility of Yoga, or Tai Chi, helping with our mental health.
Andrea Gordon’s article for the Toronto Star, is one that I think should wake us all up to the true danger of teen depression. We’re all used to the sullen teenager period that all adolescents go through, but this article isn’t about a period or a phase, it’s about suicide.
The parents of teens who commit suicide suffer something similar to those who loose a teen to a serial killer who tortures them to death. In both cases, torture unto death was involved. I have no science to back that up, but anything that drives a teenager to take their own life has got to be torture.
A survey last year by Kinark found 38 per cent of 1,500 parents would be too embarrassed to admit their child or teen had an illness like depression or anxiety.
So, out of that number, which is horribly large, their child needing medication for depression or anxiety was a stigma, a cause of shame. Didn’t I just talk about this in a post not long ago? The stigma of mental illness. I wonder if they would feel that way if their child had cancer? No, because then they’d be out there beating a drum calling attention to cancer research.
When it comes to mental health issues no one wants to talk about it. So I’ll end this post with this quote.
Ellen Ostofsky of the Mood Disorders Association of Ontario said stigma is still huge and that fewer than half of the 20 per cent of Canadians with a mental illness will end up seeking treatment.
Health warnings and controversy over antidepressants and teens “is a muddy, muddy issue,” she said. And rather than making decisions based on news reports, parents must raise these questions with a professional and consider the needs of their own child, she said.
“It is so important to be vigilant and watch your loved one,” she said, particularly if they have started or changed medication.
