Anxiety 2 Calm

Anxiety and Anger

2008-05-03T06:58:00.001-07:00

I have become interested in the idea that much of what we suffer as anxiety or depression is unresolved anger. Some people are of the opinion that we are carrying around "Toxic" levels of anger, from our past and present, which are making us feel anxious.

There is a whole therapy dedicated to this belief, which is called "redirecting self therapy". The therapy involves releasing anger form the past by punching pillows (or other activities) while holding a scene or a picture of a past abuser in your mind. There are a few web-sites that wax lyrical about this therapy, but it is a bit hard to find success stories. It is true though, that people tend not to publish so much good news online.

Certainly, it might be worth looking at your anxiety, depression and a host of other symptoms as repressed anger.

The big question is this: So, I've got repressed anger and I feel anxious and bad a lot of the time. I may or may not know the things that made me angry in the past. What can I do about it?

Well, the answer is, to feel the anger! To let it come to the surface and acknowledge it. I like to write down my anger, sometimes express it as a letter to the person who made me angry. At other times I say it out loud. Sometimes I think it while I rip up old newspapers. The Internet is fairly awash with ways to let anger out. I think the key is maybe not how you release anger, but when you release it.

I recently had a situation where someone I was fond of didn't want to spend time with me. I felt anxious due to being rejected. I thought it meant she didn't like me and didn't want to be with me. As I was in need of some company I really felt quite bad about this, and when I say bad I mean rather depressed and anxious and worried. I had a kind of empty feeling. So what I did was to look at what had happened as anger, instead of anxiety or depression. I tried to think of why I might be angry and the answer was obvious. The person didn't want to see me. I wrote it down: How dare you reject me! Do you think you are better than me? Who are you to do this to me? I made sacrifices to spend time with you... etc etc. It might sound whacky but soon I felt much better, I felt that I had accessed what I had actually been feeling, and I felt better about myself!

So, anger is something that is worth thinking about if anxiety and depression and panic are problems in your life!

del.icio.us Tags: anger,anxiety,depression,panic attacks,redirecting self therapy

'My Depression Is Getting Out Of Control'

2008-04-30T09:13:00.001-07:00

By Michael Cohen, founder of the Bioenergy Healing Research Foundation

Sarah* experiences depression with extreme emotional patterns including: sadness, tearful outbursts, low confidence, anxiety, distress, mugginess, irrationality...hormone imbalance, lethargy, tightness in chest, indigestion, stomach cramps, diarrhoea and shortness of breath.

Sarah says, “I am experiencing the depression and the other symptoms for an average of 1 in every 3 weeks. It [the depression] is getting to the point of being out of control”.

At 34 years-old Sarah finds herself losing the ability to function in a rational and able way, both in her work and social life. The irrationality, a key symptom to her ‘depression’, is one of the most destructive elements, affecting her sanity and ability to see a way out of her black hole.

For 7 years Sarah has been suffering with severe depression. Having been prescribed with Prozac she found herself stuck and unable to move forward. She decided that she needed a different approach to tackle her ‘depression’ head on, and sought treatment with me at the Bioenergy Healing Research Foundation’s Clinic in Central London.

What transpired for Sarah is a revelation on one level and a total relief on another. Most amazing for her was that she did not have to do any work…no talking about her problems, the depression, the trigger or the solution!

Moving beyond the ‘illness’

Sarah’s case history reveals that the Bioenergy Healing Treatment had the ability to rewire her brain in such a way that it was like pressing some master reset buttons. This had a major affect on her perception.

After all it was her perception that was so distorted, that it brought about her symptoms and needless to say the irrationality.

Research and treatment here at the Bioenergy Healing Research Foundation have led to a heightened level of successful results on a wide range of clients with debilitating and difficult symptoms.

Michelle* flew all the way from New Zealand to come for treatment after experiencing 30 years of depression. It was so ingrained in her that she couldn’t see beyond it. A `few months after treatment she sent an email to say ‘”That the results from your treatment Michael is 100% positive”

Cases like Michelle’s helps you to appreciate that there is nothing permanent about what you think, know or experience. It’s just how your brain is currently configured. And on the basis that you haven’t had any surgery that has caused any permanent change, then it is possible for the brain to be re-wired.

Our cutting edge approach here at the Bioenergy Healing Research Foundation has seen 12-year-old William* transform from being a very quiet, subdued and as his mum said “solemn” little boy to 7 months down the line being awarded a scholarship to a public school.

For William, all his shifts and improvements occur at a pace that his body’s system could cope with. Therefore, there were no major dips or steps backward. Improvements were continuous, consistent and sustained.

Post treatment, when I visited his home having not seen him for 2 months, it was like meeting a new person. He was communicative, expressive and most importantly he was alive with energy and vibrancy.

When William came for treatment his mother was not looking for a miracle cure; just hopeful that he would gain some improvements to make home and school life more enjoyable. She had no idea that she would see her boy’s life transform in such a way.

How Bioenergy Healing Can Re-wire the Brain

The Bioenergy Healing techniques uses non-invasive hands-on / off techniques that are able to work with the client’s electromagnetic circuitry system. This holistic yet scientific approach of working with this circuitry system encompasses and accesses every cell in the body as well as the mind.

The dynamic aspect to the effectiveness of the technique is the way it can pinpoint the areas in the brain (neurons) and the body’s neurological connections that are either not switched-on or need to be defragmentated (re-organised). This approach brings order to the way the mind works and how it connects to the physical body.

A key aspect to the success of Bioenergy Healing treatment is NOT having to go down the cognitive route, nor determine which issue is to be dealt with first based on the severity of the symptom or what the textbook says.

I use a unique Bioenergy Healing technique to scan your body with my eyes. It is precise and specific and enables me to pinpoint the primary points in your body on that day, without referring to your past. Moving beyond the textbook enables you to be treated individually and according to how your symptoms resonate in your body and mind. This approach has led to the heightened level of results at the Bioenergy Healing Research Foundation.

Once the primary point is located, I use hands-on techniques to activate the point sending a message to the brain to release the point that is blocked. Then I use hands-off techniques to release the memory pattern on a psychological level as well as on the cellular level.

Put together, the Bioenergy Healing techniques cause a shift in your perception releasing the trigger that was the root cause of the symptom with respect to the mind as well as bringing order to the cells on a physical level. All without having to address the whys, when’s and how’s.

The results speak for themselves!

To read more about treatment, training, research and case studies at the Bioenergy Healing Research Foundation visit www.bioenergyhealing.org.uk or email info@bioenergyhealing.org.uk or telephone 0845 4561336.

Authors Biography

Michael Cohen

Founder of the Bioenergy Healing Research Foundation

Founder of RaphaYad Bioenergy Healing Technique

Michael Cohen, founder of the Bioenergy Healing Research Foundation is an acknowledged expert in the field of Bioenergy Healing. His Bioenergy Healing Clinic in London W1 specialises in treating debilitating, difficult and long-term symptoms.

Michael’s ongoing exploratory and experimental approach to his work is at the cutting edge of Bio-energy medicine and healing treatment. Most importantly they have led to the extraordinary high level of results and his work continues to push the boundaries of human: rehabilitation, development and potential.

Contact

Bioenergy Healing Research Foundation, London

Tel: 0845 456 1336

Email: info@bioenergyhealing.org.uk

Web: www.bioenergyhealing.org.uk

Complementary Medical Association

British Complementary Medical Association

*The clients names have been replaced in order to protect her privacy. Should you wish her case history to be verified please contact the administration office.

del.icio.us Tags: bioenergy,depression

anxiety, panic and phobias - what worked for me

2008-04-17T10:16:00.001-07:00

As in my last post, I am going to continue on the theme of what treatments actually work, and if any of the magical, instantaneous, easy cures actually work.

As I have talked about before, the only common remedies for anxiety, panic and phobias that have any scientific backing are the drug therapies (Citalopram / Celexa, fluoxetine / Prozac, Xanax and Valium etc) and CBT. There is also a decent body of evidence supporting the use of MBSR (Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction). The reason given for the lack of data on other forms of treatment is that proper experimentation is very expensive. This is indeed true.

To try and get round this, I am devising my own experiment. Which I cannot say is really scientific, but I think it is interesting any way. I am going to use a popular search engine to look for personal recommendations. I want to see what has worked for who, how they went about it and what they said about it.

Why am I doing this? Good question...

It struck me the other day that there is a lot of hot air and hubris surrounding alternative healthcare. I was watching a BBC documentary about addictions and they featured two therapies that interested me: EMDR and TFT.

I have seen both of them on documentaries before, usually on either diet or anxiety programmes. Interestingly they almost always fails. There are notable exceptions, but for the most part the people they show on the programme do not get over their problems. And the therapist is left telling the camera how much he believes in the therapy, and how such failures are unusual. In fact for all the hype surrounding these therapies, and all the claims of the therapists, there never seems to be anyone around who will put their hand up and say "yes, it cured me!".

Is it in fact possible that these therapies are absolutely worthless - especially when you bare in mind how many people are successfully treated by the placebo effect! These treatments can be a good way, or at least are perceived to be a good way, to make money. And the therapists, blinded by charismatic gurus, can be lead to believe that something works when it doesn't. For example, when TFT or EFT doesn't work the therapists and experts are quick to blame toxicity. Toxicity occurs when a chemical such as soap powder causes the treatment to be blocked in some way. As most people can't or won't go through the rigours of removing all potential toxins it is an easy get out from the situation for the therapist.

I once read an interview with a woman who had been at the forefront of an energy therapy that involved tapping. She said that she suddenly noticed that what they had recorded as an 85% plus success rate was in fact much closer to 30%, it was just that they repeatedly removed results from their statistics that didn't make the therapy look successful. There was nothing malicious in this, she argues, they were just so caught up in the whole thing that they were certain it worked, and wanted to prove it.

So. I am going to google three phrases:

"EMDR worked for me"

"EFT worked for me"

"Hypnosis worked for me"

The quotation marks are important, they will ensure that only pages which contain exactly those phrases will be returned. There is no mention of anxiety, panic or phobias here. That is deliberate. I am trying to see if they work. I don't care if I find they work for quitting smoking or anything else. I am going on the assumption that if they work, then they work across the board. It's a dangerous assumption, but I warned you this wouldn't be perfect.

Results:

"EMDR worked for me" got 6 returns.

"EFT worked for me" got 70 returns.

"Hypnosis worked for me" got 514 returns.

Interesting results. It is also worth looking at the quality of the results. Quite a few came from sites which are obviously trying to sell a certain cure - "it worked for me - send me $100 and it can work for you too!". But there are some people out there who were helped by these three therapies. More than just the placebo effect?? Who can say without proper science!

del.icio.us Tags: anxiety,panic attack,phobias,panic,emdr,eft,hypnosis,experiment,scientific,emperical,evidence,proof.

The truth about phobia and anxiety treatments

2008-04-14T11:38:00.001-07:00

I am trying to compile a small list of common treatments for anxiety and phobias which actually work. Easy, you might say, just look on Google or in a book shop. Problem is, there is a lot of rubbish out there and it's really hard to tell what's good and what's bad, and more importantly where an anxiety or phobia sufferer might best look for help.

There are two provisos that I want to make clear at the start of this post:

Firstly, I accept that no one treatment in any field however scientifically backed or esoteric works for everyone. If such a treatment did work for everyone then there would be no need for this list and everyone would be cured!

Secondly when I judge what works I want to see real evidence. I don't want to know about conventional wisdom, I don't care if it has been used for centuries, and I don't care hoe many people therapists or treatment inventors claim to have healed!

CBT

I won't say too much about CBT here because I have talked about it in general terms in the article CBT and criticized it a bit in this article: CBT - The Great Con. I will just summarize my thoughts here. CBT is good for things you can practice a lot and can make yourself do even though it is uncomfortable at first. It is bad for things you can't get into the habit of doing regularly or bring yourself to do in the first place. If you are really stuck then this won't necessarily get you going!

Hypnosis

Hypnosis is a common treatment usually offered privately. It is very hard to measure because there are many different types and many different practitioners. I have been trying to find some studies that prove hypnosis is a valid treatment for anxiety or phobias, but I can't really find any. If anyone can find some, I will edit this!

Psychoanalysis

It seems psychoanalysis might be good for general anxiety levels, but like CBT it is maybe not so good for getting you passed blocks that actually stop you doing something. Freud himself is said to have said that psychoanalysis does not remove a phobia so much as put the patient in a position from which they can face it (i.e overcoming it through behaviourism). Psychoanalysis is hard to measure because something which takes so long can't be isolated from other potentially important factors. It is not unusual for anxiety to come and go over time anyway.

Energy Therapies

By Energy Therapies I mean EFT, TFT and other meridian or tapping therapies such as TAT. They have been popular for almost two decades now but there is still very little research to support them. Advocates of these therapies claim that they work but the research that would prove this is too expensive to conduct. This is indeed true, drug companies can conduct extensive research into drugs because their end product will be protected by patent laws etc. The only hope is for university studies...which I have not been able to find! The exception is the oft-sited ENERGY PSYCHOLOGY
Theory, Indications, Evidence by Joaquín Andrade, M.D. and David Feinstein, Ph.D.

This study is very positive and makes EFT look like a really good approach. It has been criticized for not being double-blind but the statistics are interesting. For more info check out http://www.emotional-freedom.com/tapping-works.htm and http://www.innersource.net/energy_psych/epi_research.htm

I will add to this list as time goes on! Please also let me know your thoughts and ideas!

del.icio.us Tags: anxiety,phobias,treatment,eft,energy therapy,psychoanalysis,hypnosis,list

Anxiety and Anger

2008-04-05T11:55:00.001-07:00

Can there be a link between anxiety and anger? Recently, the UK's Mental Health Foundation released a report entitled "Boiling Point" which describes how anger, if left untreated, can lead to other health problems, including mental health problems such as depression. I will argue that anxiety should be on that list as well.

The charity's chief executive described anger as "the elephant in the room". It is massively under diagnosed and under treated. Interestingly, in the UK, anger only tends to get treated because of a court order when someone has become so angry they commit a crime, or because the individual has sought private and/or alternative therapy. Very few people are being treated for anger having presented at their GP's surgery with it.

So what about anxiety and anger? Is there a relationship? The statistical answer is that we don't yet know. There has been some research into the effects of anger, mostly by looking at the lives of people with anger versus people without. Some very interesting conclusions have been drawn, including that those people who have anger have a higher risk of heart disease, strokes, self-harming and also depression.

Depression is the item there that I find the most interesting. It is my theory that people are like an over-filled bottle, and when the pressure gets to high the cracks begin to show - in the weakest place. Different reasons probably effect why different people have different weaknesses. It could be that people have minor genetic bents towards anxiety, or anorexia, either way. What I am saying is that repressed anger, or anger which goes unmanaged, could possibly manifest as anxiety. It seems to me that what can manifest as anxiety can also manifest as depression. I have experienced both myself.

It's just a theory and hopefully there will be more research done into the connection between anxiety and anger.

What can be done about it? There are of course anger management classes to be had in every major town or city across the western world, and of course the plethora of alternative and complimentary therapies. I will do what I often do at this point, and say that whether you are suffering from anxiety, anger or indeed depression, why not try Mindfulness Meditation.

del.icio.us Tags: anxiety,anger,depression,mindfulness meditation,boiling over,link

Stress Hardiness - beat anxiety?

2008-03-25T11:49:00.001-07:00

I recently read about a concept called Stress Hardiness, which was first coined by Susanne Kobasa. To cut a long story short stress, in whatever form it enters your life, is a contributing factor to anxiety. If we can control our stress levels and respond to stress more appropriately then we can start to control our anxiety levels more. Note that I don't use "beat stress" here. That is because stress is in our lives and makes us move and act, without any stressors for a length of time life is pretty dull.

Beating anxiety come, in part, from controlling how we react to stress.

Most of us don't like stress. But some lucky blighters seem to positively thrive on it. Some people manage to use stress to promote them to great heights! Others tend to go the opposite direction, being reduced to fear, panic, insomnia and of course anxiety.

So why is it that some people apparently like stress, while others can't stand it. Well, like so much of life (and even more of mental health) it comes down to attitude.

Kobasa found that there are three attitudes that help people thrive from stress:

1. Number one is "Commitment". That means that it's ok for some things in life to cause you stress, but they need to be things you are committed to. A job you love can still be stressful, but when a job you hate is stressful you are very unhappy. In fact, we all go through immense amounts of stress for things we love: childbirth and pregnancy, bank holiday traffic, exercise programmes. These things that cause us stress but that we don't mind so catastrophically (and if you give it a few minutes thought I am sure you can identify your own in your life) are good signs, now you can tell yourself that you can take stress, instead of constantly reinforcing the idea that you can't.

2. Number two is "control". The more control you have in a situation the more stress you can take. Of course you can't control the whole lot, or everyone, but you can control some parts of situations and willfully decide to relinquish control of the other parts, this is also strangely empowering.

3. Number three is "challenge". That basically means you need to be able to see the problem you are tackling as an opportunity to grow and find out new things. If you see struggles in that light they become easier to deal with.

For anxiety sufferers the key is to try and reassess the stress in your life using those criteria, and starting with the smallest trying to reengage with that area of stress and this time, control it!

del.icio.us Tags: stress hardiness,stress and exercise,anxiety,panic attack,insomnia,control,commitment,challenge

Morning Pages - anxiety aid?

2008-03-19T14:32:00.001-07:00

I have always secretly harboured ambitions of becoming a writer. In fact when I was younger I wrote three novels....sadly none of them were published and maybe it's easy to see why. How is this linked to anxiety? Keep reading, you'll see.

Over the past few years I have dreamt of once again becoming a writer. But I found that I had no motivation and few ideas, or at least the ideas I had seemed to evaporate when they were put down on paper. Elsewhere on anxiety2calm I have blogged about Art Therapy, a form of psychotherapy where art (usually visual art) is used to let the subconscious communicate. This can be helpful in untangling problems such as misunderstood motivations and ambivalence that would otherwise manifest as anxiety. I have tried it and I can vouch that it was extremely helpful.

It was while talking to an Art Therapist that I discovered the book The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron available in both the UK and USA. It is basically a book about unblocking creativity, but I think some of the exercises in it are equally helpful for unblocking aspects of yourself that are causing anxiety. The main aspect of the book, or at least one of them, is this idea of "morning pages". The details are in the book but basically you write freestyle, three pages each morning before you do anything. You can write about anything you want and the only real rule is that you write without stopping. You do tend to find that recurring themes come up and that these can guide you and educate you as to blockages in your life. I must admit I found it helpful as both a writer and someone who is prone to anxiety or depression. It felt good and was worth the struggle.

I recommend writing down all your worries big and small, setting aside some time every day. I know it's hard to find time, but make time! It will be worth it. Try it for two months, I don't think you will look back!

del.icio.us Tags: anxiety,art therapy,morning pages,the artists way,julia cameron,depression,therapy

Financial Anxiety

2008-03-16T15:23:00.001-07:00

The credit crunch, insolvency, debt, Bear Stearns, repossession, inflation, sub-prime. All of these words are enough to cause palpitations in even the toughest! As the western world deals with a financial crisis, many normal people are feeling the squeeze and what is worse, it is causing them anxiety and stress.

And I don't just mean worry, financial anxiety is very real and it can actually hinder people from making the decisions and thinking about the things they need to change.

Financial anxiety is in fact like any other kind of anxiety. Our primeval protections mechanisms are kicking in exactly when we don't need them, exactly when a cool calm head is the order of the day. This is typical of anxiety and all the normal advice for anxiety including mindfulness meditation is the order of the day.

But wait, don't fly headlong into therapy or start to spend money on get rich quick schemes are get over anxiety programmes. Instead, try and combat what your body is riling against. Often anxiety is about a lack of control, and in financial anxiety it is likely to be the same. After all, you feel that your house, your security, your life is in the hands of faceless suits in London or Washington, managers at mortgage companies and banking staff.

Your best bet is to take as much control as you can, and that means doing something not nothing. Open every line of communication you can. Seek advice from support groups like the Citizens Advice Bureau in the UK or the various debt advice agencies available in the USA (check with your local library or town hall). Become an expert, ask questions on forums, read books. And don't be afraid to ask for pay raises and look for new jobs.

The best things will come to those who are striving for them in this environment. But of course you must beware of vagabonds - vultures always prey on the desperate.

Actually, if it all goes wrong financially it doesn't mean it is the end of your life. The old sayings are true, money is not happiness, you can still go on to be happy and get back on your feet financially, if you start to live and love more mindfully.

What's more, in the course of your life financial worries will probably come and go.

del.icio.us Tags: financial anxiety,anxiety,credit crunch,insolvency,debt,Bear Stearns,repossession,inflation,sub-prime,money,finance,stress

Citalopram withdrawal question

2008-03-11T14:50:00.001-07:00

I just received a comment on one of my blog posts entitled Coming Off Citalopram. It raises a very pertinent question that I shall endeavour to answer.

I just read your blog. I came off Citalopram about 10 days ago after having been taking them for about6 years. Mood wise things have been good. I have addressed the original root of the problem and had positive help via hypnosis. The only side effects I am experiencing is what I can only describe as a sudden "fizzy" feeling in the head and lips which comes and goes. This feels odd but is manageable. I am curious to know if this is something that you have experienced?

Firstly I am glad the reader says they have used their time on Citalopram to deal with the background causes of the problems they had been experiencing. Too many people see SSRI's as a solution in themselves, which is unwise especially given the recent claims about the true efficacy (or lack of efficacy!) of SSRI medications.

As for the strange sensations that you are feeling in your head and lips I would say this is quite normal. I must add that I am saying that only on the basis of what you have told me, on my own experiences and a "straw poll" of other users or ex-users of Citalopram. In my own case I felt a tingle running up my arms and legs and sometimes in my head. This seemed to coincide with actions like walking or other movements. It was irritating but didn't bother me too much and passed quickly. It was greatly helped by reducing my dose very very slowly. In fact if I didn't make big jumps and took time to scrape off fractions of a pill then I didn't feel any withdrawal effects at all. Many people that have had similar experiences to yours have called their funny sensations brain zaps, or tingling, or fuzziness, or indeed fizzing!

My understanding is that Cold Turkey withdrawal can be harsh, and I don't recommend it! It is quite a good idea to follow your doctor's advice for withdrawal, although I must admit that I did it much slower than mine suggested.

For more info on Citalopram and other SSRI's follow this link.

del.icio.us Tags: citalopram,withdrawal,coming off,side effects,tingling,fuzziness,brain zaps,fizzing

Genes and mood - happiness and anxiety?

2008-03-05T10:29:00.001-08:00

Gene's do not control our mood. That is the message I took from a BBC report of an Edinburgh University study which has looked at mood in siblings and identical twins. The story is called Genes 'play key happiness role', but don't let that confuse you. For ages, for some reason, journalists and writers have been trying to persuade us that we are genetically programmed in certain ways. I don't know why they are obsessed with this but I guess it makes a good story. It is, it looks increasingly likely, untrue. For further info on the causes of anxiety click here.

People who are trying to get over mood disorders like anxiety might find it very depressing to be told that they are genetically programmed that way. It would then suggest that there is no way to get over the anxiety unless some sinister new medicine can be devised which switched off the "anxiety gene". No such anxiety gene exists and what this study shows is that at least 50% of your mood is governed by non-genetic factors. That gives everyone (unless their brain has biological impairments or trauma) the chance of having a stable mental life. Or, to be more realistic, we all have the chance to have an unstable mental life - ups and downs, fears and worries are the human condition. Our failure to recognise that is a much more important cause of anxiety and depression.

So how does this help you? Well, if you are suffering from anxiety or other mood disorders like depression or panic disorder then you can rest in the knowledge that you are not totally hard wired in this way. You may have a propensity for certain feelings and you might have to adjust to ways of dealing with this propensity. But it does not control you and is not your totality. It's just the difference between being blonde or being brunette. Some sat blondes have more fun. I say, it might be true as a generalisation, but on an individual level it depends on the attitude (not hair colour) of the brunette. I think you know what I mean...without recourse to genetic modification of our minds we can pretty much be who we want to be.

Here's the link to the BBC article.

Social Phobia - normal human experience or mental illness?

2008-03-04T05:23:00.001-08:00

Social Phobia - which is basically severe and acute shyness - is an incredibly common phenomena. But is there any real point in labelling severe shyness as a mental illness? Does it in fact make it more ingrained in the psyche?

Some people would argue that if you give someone a label and a stigmata that says "you have social phobia" it is a bit like telling them they have cancer, no matter how they were feeling before, they suddenly feel a lot worse. Why? Because conditions tend to feel permanent. Emotions are always transitory. Even if you think you always feel depressed, or stressed, actually there are times when you don't and times when those emotions are present only to a slight extent. But conditions feel permanent so it may not be helpful to tell people they "have" something rather than "are feeling" something.

On the other hand, if there is no label and no recognisable condition, then people who suffer from acute shyness are repeatedly told to "just get over it". Labels like these, although not perfect, give people the chance to be taken seriously by the medical and psychological profession.

The crux of the matter is that we need to be sure that a problem is persistent before we use the label. Almost all psychological problems can come and then go quickly of their own accord. But when problems are persistent then a label allows people to feel recognised and for treatments to be considered.

It is also important however that people recognise what the specific symptoms of their problem are. Too many labels are catch-alls designed to simplify psychological thinking but doing no such thing. If definitions are kept specific then it will also be possible to see when effective treatment has made them an ex-sufferer.

We all feel shy sometimes but for those of us for which it is a way of life there must be proper support from the psychological establishment.

del.icio.us Tags: social phobia,labels,psychology,stigma,mental illness

Anti Depressants don't work

2008-02-26T09:20:00.001-08:00

Well, the shocking (or maybe not) news of the day for anxiety and depression sufferers is that antidepressant drugs of the SSRI (Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitor) class don't actually work.

Scientists today revealed a study that looked at many other studies including some that, under extremely dubious auspices, have never been published before. What did they find exactly? That antidepressants like Prozac and Citalopram don't work any better than a placebo pill (normally a sugar pill; always with absolutely no medical value).

That leaves a lot of people with red faces. The drug companies have been pushing these pills for decades with very thorough marketing campaigns. Doctors have bee prescribing them as if they are going out of fashion and online pharmacies have been flogging them to anyone who will pay. What's worse is that clinical guidance bodies, such as NICE (National Institute for Clinical Excellence) in the UK and the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) in the USA have listed SSRI's as at least an important part of the treatment of choice for anxiety, depression, panic disorder and GAD etc for years. They now would seem to have egg on their faces.

But what of the most important people in all of this? The patient? Well, firstly the advice has to be don't do anything rash. Even if these pills have no medical value stopping them cold turkey can be very dangerous and very unpleasant. Don't make any changes until you have spoken to your doctor.

The second thing is to remember science is always wrong! And I don't mean to sound like one of those terrible pop-psychologists on US TV and just claim my theories are correct. What I am saying is that scientific research has been mixed over the years. Some studies have been good and some studies have been bad. Many people, and I include myself in this category, have been helped immensely by taking SSRI antidepressants (or at least we think we have, which more or less amounts to the same thing!). My personal feeling is that when taking antidepressants my sleep improved immensely, and I was much less anxious in situations that used to provoke anxiety and in daily life. If a placebo pill can do that with no side effects then great, buy I suspect it can't. I believe that antidepressants don't work for plenty of people, but do work for some, and can be well worth a trial. Remembering of course that they are not a long term solution.

Click here for Celexa / Citalopram user ratings.
Click here for Escitalopram / Lexapro / Cipralex user ratings.
Click here for Prozac / fluoxetine user ratings.
Drugs for Anxiety
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Celexa, citalopram - a personal experience

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Using an elevator to overcome anxiety

2008-02-16T11:55:00.001-08:00

Many people have lift or elevator anxiety. They panic when they enter, or think about entering an elevator. For the purpose of this blog I will refer to elevators as "lifts" as I am English and lift is the English word.

Lifts commonly cause phobias for various reasons. On the one hand they can aggravate claustrophobia. The small enclosed space is the nearest most of us get to prison. Often the walls are metal and the doors are several inches thick. Not much hope of getting out of there, we think, if the lift gets stuck.

Lifts also go beyond claustrophobia. Lifts do not leave us fully in control, which is often where the anxious mind wants us to be. And lifts are obviously associated with tall buildings, hospitals and work. So there are many possible subconscious considerations to a lift phobia.

Worst of all, lifts are easy to avoid, and evasion is the arch enemy of a phobia sufferer.

But a lift is also a gift. There are a few reasons why lifts are so great for helping you overcome anxiety and phobia issues.

Although they appear scary to some, lifts are incredibly safe! It is basically impossible for a lift to plummet to the ground, the chances are millions against.

Lifts are easy to find, there is more than likely one in your local shopping centre you can use.

Lifts give you a very short dose of what you are afraid of. You can go on a lift for as little as twenty seconds.

As time goes by you can stay in lifts for longer, getting used to not being able to see out, not being able to get a reference point from which to orientate yourself.

And will they lift get stuck? The chances are very remote, but if you do get stuck what is the worst that can happen?

Assuming the lift you use is in a building used by others, people will be aware of the problem strait away. People will be called and restarting the lift rarely takes long. You might think that you would die if you got stuck in a lift, but you would be wrong. In fact you would probably have a panic attack, but after some short time the panic would give way to reasonable concern and boredom.

So don't delay, start using elevators or lifts to get a feel for surrendering control!

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Cognitive Behaviour Therapy - the truth?

2008-02-09T05:47:00.001-08:00

The more I research therapies used to treat anxiety and depression the more cynical I get. I recently was told about an excellent article by a UK Art Therapist which looked at the official guidelines for using CBT (Cognitive Behaviour Therapy) to treat anxiety and depression.

In the UK, a public body called the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) gives out guidelines for the use of prescription medication, surgical procedures and other non-medical treatments such as therapy. For some time the overwhelming opinion of NICE has reportedly been that CBT is the treatment of choice for anxiety and depression (with drug therapies also playing a major role).

The essayist, Malcolm Learmonth, describes how NICE guidelines come in two parts: the full report which hardly anyone reads, and an abridged version. It seems that the two are actually quite different, with the abridged version making a much better case for CBT as a valid treatment than the evidence in the full version would suggest is plausible.

It is worth following the link above to read the article.

Why then would NICE be "bigging up" this therapy if it is not in fact much good? Well, let's not say it's useless. For sure it does help some people. The problem is that it seems not to be the panacea that it has been allowed to be seen us. There may well be a time and a place for it, but NICE seem to want to say that it is really the only therapy worth using for anxiety and depression. This is not the case and other therapies are starting to become more popular as professionals and patients see shortcomings and disappointment from CBT. This causes problems in itself. All over the place alternative therapies, often expensive ones, pop up and promise the world. Many hours and pounds are wasted on them and the charlatan founders get rich. That is why we need NICE.

But we need NICE to be able to separate the wheat from the chaff, not just flog one therapy. It may well be that CBT is cost-effective, but patients and providers need to know what is clinically effective.

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Relaxation Techniques

2008-02-02T14:13:00.001-08:00

Being able to relax the mind and the body is very important for people who suffer from anxiety and panic attacks. If you can master the art of relaxation then you have (almost) won the battle.

There are a few points to remember when it comes to relaxation.

You do actually choose whether to relax or not.
It is a skill to be learned
Relaxing the mind is better than relaxing the body

People with anxiety often project responsibility for their discomfort onto other things or people. In fact we do, inside our own bodies, choose how to feel in terms of stress, negative thinking and physical tension. Half of the battle when learning to relax is to recognise this power you have over your body. It is your body and nobody else's. The first step, and most important one, in learning to re-evaluate your relationship with your body is to practice Mindfulness Meditation. This form of meditation allows you to understand how your breathing works, how to accept your breathing and not be scared of it, and how it is actually under your control although your unconscious mind does a much better job of managing it all day every day than you would want to!

Like all the best things in life, Mindfulness Meditation is free (well, you will need to buy a book, a CD course, or join a local course - all very cheap. If you are really strapped then you could probably work it out for free by looking at web sites. Mindfulness is not rocket science).

Also, however, like the best things in life it is not something you can obtain in a flash. It is a skill to be learned and this requires commitment and practice. It does pay dividends, unlike too man of the miracle cures out there.

I would also stress that mental relaxation is the key. In fact, I think relaxation of the mind and body go together. I have often read that if you relax your body your mind will follow. I do not believe this to be true. I think that you will be able to relax your body much more easily with a relaxed mind, in fact it might well happen naturally.

Progressive relaxation can be a good way of relaxing the body. You can learn to do progressive relaxation in about 2 minutes, it's easy. It does of course require commitment!

Basically, all you have to do is to tense and release the muscles in each part of your body, starting with your toes and ending with the muscles on your head that control your wiggling ears! You should tense each muscle or muscle group for 15 seconds and then release them gently and leave them relaxed for a further 30 seconds. Each muscle group should be tensed and relaxed twice before moving on.

There is a version of this called a "Body Scan" meditation which is practised as part of mindfulness meditation. It is a passive form of meditation and is done by simply observing each part of the body (not just the muscles) in turn. Instead of sticking rigidly to 15 or 30 seconds you should take some time in exploring the sensations you can feel in that part of the body, giving it all your concentration and escorting your mind back to it gently but firmly whenever it drifts off.

When it comes to learning relaxation techniques the key words have to be acceptance, practice and commitment.

Zoloft - a personal experience

2008-01-27T02:58:00.001-08:00

I have talked a few times already on this site about how Celexa (citalopram) has been known to cause weight gain. Recently I received this interesting email from someone who has used Zoloft (sertraline). If anyone has anything else to say about their own experiences with drugs like these, particularly on the weight loss or weight gain issue, I would be interested to hear from them and happy to publish it here. Here's the mail:

"I was prescribed Zoloft two years ago for anxiety issues. It took care of my anxiety, I felt great, but I gained 18lbs! I was a mess and was very unhappy about it. It seemed to me that the Zoloft took away my ability to focus on my diet ( previously I was very strict about sugar restriction etc ). Since I weaned off of the Zoloft, for the past year, it has been extremely difficult to lose the weight.

Unfortunately, I am having a severe depressive period due to a sibling committing suicide and I have fallen into a pit of despair so my doc has just prescribed me Celexa. I am very very nervous about starting this med since I don't want to gain any more weight.

But it's a catch 22....I want to feel better, less depressed, and I need to keep my weight neutral. Am going to try the Celexa and keep in my mind that my cravings for food are probably due to the fact that I am feeling better and want to eat....and I will try to stay weight neutral."

You might also be interested to read:

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Therapy Shopping - the scams and the dangers

2008-01-19T04:28:00.001-08:00

For anxiety and depression there are endless alternative therapies on the market. They are called alternative because no doctor would ever prescribe them and I refer to them being "on the market" because they are definitely sold as a business, not prescribed on a basis of needs analysis.

Bookshops are full to the brim with self-help books on anxiety which make extremely brave claims about how effective their techniques are, and how quickly and easily they work. In our compensation culture it never ceases to amaze me how they get away with making such outlandish claims. You would have thought that trading standards officers might get involved.

But how does it work? How do therapies and their celebrity founders get so big despite the fact that they are selling completely unproven, unscientific and, more often than not, useless products to vulnerable people.

People that suffer from anxiety and depression are very easy targets. They want something badly (to recover), they are willing to part with what money they have, and they are desperate for an easy way out. In plain, they want to believe it.

When you want to believe something, or you want to check its validity you look for evidence. If you are taking a prescription medicine for anxiety or depression you do so safe in the knowledge that the drug has passed rigorous trials and had its efficacy demonstrated by research published in peer reviewed journals. Despite many opportunities alternative therapies are rarely subjected to this kind of investigation and seldom prove to have any value.

Instead, the celebrity "pioneers" of these new techniques prefer to publish books aimed at sufferers where their techniques are "proven" just by giving examples and testimonials. Although they claim the examples come from real life there is no way of knowing. Typically they go something like this: "Jane had been suffering from severe anxiety since her early twenties....after reading this book/doing this exercise/drinking this/taking that pill she hasn't had an anxiety or panic attack in two years!". But who is Jane? More often than not they claim that Jane is not a real person but an amalgamation of real people the therapist has treated. We can never prove it. And in fact, I know from personal experience that what we often tell our therapists about our progress isn't true!

Strange as it may seem I have caught myself many times exaggerating my progress to a therapist I paid good money to see on the basis that I didn't want to hurt their feelings. I should have sacked them. I think, maybe, that wanting others to be happy is a common symptom of both anxiety and panic, as is putting other people's needs ahead of our own. But in truth we should not spare our therapists blushes, under any circumstances.

I must add that this kind of qualitative data is not a bad thing per se. In fact I would like to see drug companies and scientific journals using much more of this kind of research to help qualify the statistical data they have collected. After all, knowing that for example 60% of participants' depression improved over twelve months of taking such and such a drug doesn't actually tell us much about the improvement a patient is likely to feel. Only extensive qualitative research is likely to tell us that.

There is a side to all this gimmickry which in my opinion is the worst of all. It effects not just anxiety sufferers or people with conditions like depression, panic disorder, SAD, GAD and social anxiety, but also people who are suffering from a range of serious medical conditions as well, from arthritis to HIV and cancer. Authors of these books seem to get together and swap personal testimonials. For example one "guru" describes another authors work as "a tremendous breakthrough" and in turn that author quotes heavily from the "guru's" own work in his book. The result is a merry-go-round of famous authors blowing sunshine up each other and completely artificially creating an illusion that a therapy or technique is effective and respected, even though it has NEVER been shown to work and the respect it has gained is purely commercial.

I hope someone stamps down on this kind of behaviour soon, for all our sakes!

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Cure Social Phobia?

2008-01-10T08:07:00.001-08:00

Social Phobia (sometimes called Social Anxiety Disorder) is a nasty label to be given and one which I think is counter productive. It is much better to think of yourself as someone who can be shy, even very shy, rather than someone who has a lifelong condition as an inherent part of them. Social Phobia, like all phobias is eminently treatable...dare I use the word cure? The label given to very shy or nervous people by the medical/psychological status quo might be helpful for their administration and organisation, but is not at all helpful to your condition.

So how is it treated? Well, of course there are the drug therapies and the ubiquitous CBT which I talk about elsewhere on this site and in more detail. But what of something new, which as time moves on seems to become ever more likely as a cure or at least a very useful tool in the fight against the feelings that I refuse to label Social Phobia?

There has been much talk in the media lately of online worlds where people can meet new friends, run businesses and do almost anything that can be done in the normal world. I must admit that in my opinion these secondary worlds are completely pointless and a rather sad indictment of what our societies have become. But as these worlds advance and technologies move forward it did strike me that there is a a good use for them after all - treatment of Social Phobia!

The online world technology could be harnessed to allow people who are extremely shy or feel nervous in social situations (and have therefore been classed as social phobics) to create social situations which are entirely under their control. They could then experiment with different outcomes and watch the unfolding events either through their own eyes in first person or as an outside observer.

For a long time flight simulators have been used to help people with a fear of flight bridge the gap between imagining flying and actually getting on a plane. These online worlds could make a similar experience for social situations. But they would be better because they are cheaper, can be accessed from home, are more malleable and less daunting!

Here's to the future!

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How to have a happy 2008

2008-01-01T14:31:00.001-08:00

I just wanted to very quickly quote from the UK's Guardian Newspaper which had some great advice for leading a happier life. Struck me that it would be useful for anxiety and depression sufferers, as well as anyone who is just a bit stressed out.

The advice basically came in four parts.

The first was entitles "Give yourself permission to be human" and can be summed up as allowing emotions to come out. Get over the stigma in our societies against people who show negative or too much emotion. Blocking our emotions doesn't help us, and tends to make us feel more anxious and depressed. Accept how you feel.

Secondly, one should simplify life. Don't take on too much or try to do too many things at the same time. Focus on doing fewer things with more quality. It is much more enjoyable!

Thirdly, take regular exercise. I have talked on this blog before about the benefits of exercise when it comes to anxiety and depression. Basically though, for some people it is as good as or better than taking an anti-depressant! Read more in this post on exercise, depression and stress.

Lastly, focus on positive things and make an effort each day to be grateful for what you have got. The article suggests making a list of good things which have happened each day. Seems to work for me!

Happy and peaceful 2008!

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Anxiety 2 Calm

Anxiety and Anger

'My Depression Is Getting Out Of Control'

By Michael Cohen, founder of the Bioenergy Healing Research Foundation

Moving beyond the ‘illness’

How Bioenergy Healing Can Re-wire the Brain

Authors Biography

Michael Cohen

Contact

Complementary Medical Association

British Complementary Medical Association

anxiety, panic and phobias - what worked for me

The truth about phobia and anxiety treatments

Anxiety and Anger

Stress Hardiness - beat anxiety?

Morning Pages - anxiety aid?

Financial Anxiety

Citalopram withdrawal question

Genes and mood - happiness and anxiety?

Stop your Children Inheriting Anxiety

Anxiety 2 Calm: What Causes Anxiety?

And this BBC story from 2002

Social Phobia - normal human experience or mental illness?

Anti Depressants don't work

Related Articles

Using an elevator to overcome anxiety

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy - the truth?

Relaxation Techniques

Also read:

Zoloft - a personal experience

Anxiety 2 Calm: Celexa questions answered

Citalopram / Celexa SSRI

Anxiety 2 Calm: Celexa, citalopram - a personal experience

Anxiety 2 Calm: Anxiety, Celexa and Weight Gain

Anxiety 2 Calm: Celexa and weight gain.

Therapy Shopping - the scams and the dangers

Cure Social Phobia?

Related Articles

How to have a happy 2008