Posted by LucidDreamer on December 31, 2012, at 3:04:32
In reply to What happens if anxiety disorder is unmedicated?, posted by Prefect on December 12, 2012, at 21:03:42
> Lately going through my relapse I've been giving something a lot of hard thought. Heck, I go through an insane amount of panic and anxiety through out the day, and I'm so good at it by now no one at work even notices. My wife forgets I'm going through a relapse, because I still drive everywhere and do everything while quietly freaking out next to her. I can have a quiet panic attack at work and even find a window of opportunity to respond a something a coworker asks.
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> This got me wondering what would happen if I just gradually went off my 75 mg /day Luvox all together (which has lost its effectiveness anyway) and put up with the panic and anxiety everyday, had a quiet little panic attack or two a day like I am these days, and like I've been doing for the past 4 months. What would happen?
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> Wouldn't my head at some point desesitize? Or would it get worse? I keep getting conflicting messages when I try to research this, one school says exposure will desensitize me, the other says untreated anxiety can get progressively worse. But can it, if I'm not succombing to avoidance behavior? How can my brain maintain this for good? Wouldn't I get desensitized?You know that is such a good question, I'm glad you asked it. First of all, it depends how bad the anxiety is. Some people's anxiety is mild enough to be treated without medications by means of self-awareness, mental discipline, behavioral therapy, etc. Now the question of is the level of my anxiety mild enough for me to not have to treat it with meds, is something only the individual can find out. One would have to take a risk, safely get off the meds they're on (that is numbing their anxiety), and try to live their daily lives in that native state. Depending on how bad your anxiety is, you have to show ALOT of courage and mental strengh, to face your day to day anxiety, and not let it slowly kill you. For someone to want to try this, it is CRUCIAL that they are otherwise in good health. Meaning hormones are normal, you're not over stressed, etc. Again whether or not it is possible to leave your anxiety unmedicated, depends on the severity of each individual case. I can't stress enough how much of an impact your day to day environment and lifestyle have on whether you're gonna make it or not. If one's anxiety is simply too severe, things will SLOWLY start to fall apart. Your energy levels will gradually decrease, you will become moody, agitated all the time and will eventually fall into depression, if the severe anxiety is not carefully and properly dealt with. If you relapse like that and leave your anxiety untreated, over time you will suffer the consequences of chronic stress with elevated cortisol levels, alongside the anxiety itself, depression ( which will as everyone knows make the anxiety worse), and you could possibly devolope anhedonia due to all the madness you will be in. But if one is careful and listens to all the signs and uses good judgement, that will not happen. Because either your anxiety will be maintainable to the point where the quality of life has not been diminished, and you're able to function, or you see that you can't handle all the pain, and you go back on a psychiatric medication. Either way, you will only know if you take a leap of faith and and show courage. And as far as desensitization goes, there are a few factors involved. You have to utilize exposure therapy, and face a portion of your anxiety, each time facing various scenarios that trigger a panic/anxiety response. If you utilize great discipline you will be able to desensitize your anxiety to the extent that it won't bother you that much (depending on the severity) and is controllable. The key is to treat the anxiety one step at a time, piece by piece, rather than expose yourself to it entirely, and hope your mind will desensitize. I hope with or without meds you find a way to control your anxiety and not let it control you. Best of luck.
poster:LucidDreamer
thread:1032930
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20121217/msgs/1034262.html