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Understanding Anxiety - Serotonin and CBT

14 years ago 0 +0 / -0 44

Hi Teebs, I have been reading your posts and it sounds like you have a great therapist. Thank you for your advice regarding prozac on my earlier post regarding my anxiety taking it. What your therapist said makes sence. I am finally seeing a great therapist as well and she is encouraging me to give it a shot and hopefully it will enhance all the CBT that I am doing. Thanks for that explaination!

14 years ago 0 +0 / -0 538

Feathers! hahaha...Thanks for the image of me fluttering around!Made me laugh !

I've got something big coming up in a couple of weeks having to do with elevators and heights... I'll just tease you all for now with that tidbit .. so there's no pressure on me to "succeed " or "fail" ...but I'm feeling really positive about it! I'll let you know afterwards. I'm even looking at the ads for Mexico for next year! I really think I can fly again.

You are way tooo young to be my adopted grandfater....even an uncle is pushing it...I will be 47 in a couple of weeks...

Oh...in case people read this who have a fear of elevators..I've been analysing my own fears, and when the elevator does its "lurch"..I realize now that it was the "thing " that set me off...so I've been preparing my self for it, and agreed in my mind that is just what "elevators do"... nothing to get worried about ... I told myself just "go with it" ...and its been working. And, previously, when I was forced to be in an elevator I rushed out of there so fast, obviously not breathing correctly, so I always felt "funny". Now I make sure I am not holding my breath, I am consious of how I am breathing., and I wait for a couple of seconds after the door opens before I walk, yeah, walk, not run.... ha, out.

Bye for now,

Juanita

14 years ago 0 +0 / -0 6252

Juanita

Wow elevators, you are doing good. Keep this up and you will grow feathers so you can fly next.

Congratulations. The dragons are falling like dominoes.

Here for you,

Uncle Davit.

Ps At least you didn't adopt me as a grandfather. :-)

14 years ago 0 +0 / -0 286

Hi Dawuad -

I'll share with you what my counselor shared with me, since I was super reluctant to take medication and wanted to JUST do CBT.....

She describes there as being four parts to being healthy (ie: anxiety-free) - biochemical, behavioral, social, and emotional/spiritual. I think CBT tackles the last three pretty well, and it is possible to get better by just focusing on a program like the one on this site. However, many anxious people do have a biochemical imbalance in their brain, and taking a medication can help balance this out sooner and help the CBT "take" quicker. Both my doctor and my counselor have convinced me that taking medication for a short time will help me get better sooner.

I hope that made sense!

Teebs

14 years ago 0 +0 / -0 538

Hi dawuad,

I wondered about the same thing...if my anxiety is a behaviour, how come I need a medication to increase serotinin levels?

Thanks Davit for your explanation....that makes sense. I have also heard that a lot of people with anxiety develop low-grade depression if they don't get help with the anxiety . That was me last spring ...but it turns out that my getting depressed and thinking the worst was the best thing for me.

I finally admitted that I had a problem, got a doctor.... started this program... along with taking a SSRI.(.Celexa 20 mg). Its been around 6 months now, and I am a changed person. The celexa has enabled me to be calm, I hardly worry any more...and that in turn has made me happy, this program has given me the coping skills I need to accomplish my goals...like....the last few nights at work I've taken the elevator!! It's only 2 floors, but for me this is a huge milestone. and after the first couple of times I was cool and calm. Wow! I've done almost everything I wanted to...only flying is left. Even more importantly, I am so relaxed about life now....I'm no longer on edge all the time. The constant analysing is gone. I can lay in bed in the morning and actually be at peace.

Only one down-side....I have to really watch my eating now...Does it slow down your metabolism? Or because I'm so calm and not figity( and taking elevators) ha, that I'm not burning enough calories? My pants are getting tight.

Bye for now,i'm off to exercise! Yuck!

Juanita

14 years ago 0 +0 / -0 6252

dawuad

Thinking on the worst case is common. You are not alone. I'm still here, and I'm still alive. Of course uncontrolled anxiety can lead to depression. And it is a fact that uncontrolled manic/depressants (bipolar) are more likely to commit suicide. But there are usually additional factors involved that are in common with non bipolar or depressed. Mostly finances, which is the number one cause of suicide. So there is no reason to think that you might suicide if you get depressed. That just adds to the anxiety level. You have one advantage over the type of person you fear becoming. You don't want to. You are looking for a way not to become that person. BUT. I see you being in too much hurry. I see you needing to spend more time on coping and relaxing. And you need to just do the program without looking for results. Just let them happen on their own. For now can you settle for finding ways to relax and cope. Even if it means taking medication to do it. Can you give your mind a rest from all the analizing. I'm not going anywhere, I will be here to support you when you can do this and are ready to move to the next step.

Thought exposure is the process of taking a thought that you don't want to have (a negative) and thinking of all the reasons you shouldn't have it. (positives) Journaling is so you can store those thoughts in more than one spot, doubling or trippling the abillity to bury the negative. If you get enough positives you will pull up a positive instead of a negative when something triggers you to go here. BUT. don't you just love the buts. If you try hard enough you can cut right through the positives and bring up a negative. This is where the medication can help. It slows down the tendancy to reach for the negative long enough for you to hold on to the positive. Anxiety disorders (not a disease) are conditioning, so with enough conditioning, posibly with the help of medication you can condition yourself enough to automaticly think positive and then no longer need the medication. The program takes twelve weeks average to absorbe the information. But it could take a lot longer to actually get total freedom. Patience and the belief that it will work. Look at me, I'm fine and I was far enough gone to have spent time in the psych ward.

Here for you

Davit

14 years ago 0 +0 / -0 12049

dawuad,

You have done some great research and by actually using the program slowly it will all make sense and help you progress. Working with your doctor is a great support system. Have you taken the anxiety test and given the doctor a copy? This can help you pinpoint areas that you need to look deeper into and may give a clearer picture of your situation.

Thank you Davit for you great explanation and support!

Using the exposure therapy can guide you through step by step and help you understand the thought process.

Don't hesitate to ask!

Josie, Health Educator

14 years ago 0 +0 / -0 23

Thank you Davit for all your help. This makes a lot of sense.

I have realized that most of the times I think about anxiety not in the sense of fear or being afraid of it rather thinking about the concept of anxiety and the theory of it. Basically I am constantly analyzing my thoughts and saying that this part is from this thought of anxiety, etc. I have thoughts then I analyze it. I become my on therapist.

The following goes away from this thread but it is related to understanding panic: I think that anxiety will lead to depression then when certain thoughts come to my mind - I start to think how people with depression react, etc. I know that it does not lead to death or manic depression. I seem to be afraid that anxiety will lead to depression. Is that true? I think it may but I am very scared of having depression. I also think that my anxiety will lead me to doing suicide. I read somewhere that people with anxiety have 7 times more chances of doing suicide then those with depression and also those that have no mental illness. Is that true?

With such worries and fears - how does one do exposure work on this? Whenever I start to read or hear of depression and suicide - then my anxiety starts and if not immediate physical sensations then just thinking of it for an hour or so. I have been trying to sit it through - but then I fear that if I sit it through or think about it long enough then it may happen. What are your thoughts about this?

14 years ago 0 +0 / -0 6252

dawuad

This should have been explained to you. So I will tell you how it was explained to me. You are right about anxiety being behavioral. But over time it can change the balance of chemicals in your brain or vice versa. The SSRI will correct this and put you in the frame of mind to absorb the CBT. Medication can not cure you, only control your anxiety. You may periodically need to take something and you may need to change it to something else.

Unless your SSRI is making you violently sick, stick with it. It will reduce your anxiety. The most common mistake people make is stopping it on there own or too soon. The other is that they don't need to do CBT because the SSRI or antianxiety is keeping there anxiety in check.

Sorry, no short cuts. It takes time and some times it has to be done with Medication. If you do the CBT also the chances of getting off the meds are much better. Without it the chances are slim.

As explained to me by my Therapist when I first started.

Here for you.

Davit

14 years ago 0 +0 / -0 23

I have been having anxiety for about one year now. I have read and re-read this program but I am looking at it one week at a time. I have not completed the program and I will be honest have not really followed it properly.

It is quite possible that my understanding of anxiety may not be correct, so please excuse me if my assumptions are incorrect - please do let me know of it

I read about CBT and how to challenge your thoughts. I understand that anxiety is a behavior that my mind has adjusted to. When I read about medications (I am currently on Lexapro - as instructed by psychiatrist) then I get a little confused. If it is a behavior that I can "unlearn" as this program indicates then why do people recommend medicines? Shouldn't people only focus on CBT? My psychiatrist seems to think that I need to be on Lexapro and by taking the medicine for an extended amount of time it will eventually reduce my anxiety. These medicines help increase serotonin - and my doctor states that some need the help of the medicine to help increase serotonin. If it is a behavior than why does the brain need to increase serotonin?

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Understanding Anxiety - Serotonin and CBT