Posted by g_g_g_unit on January 24, 2013, at 21:29:51
In reply to Re: disheartening psychiatrist appt. » g_g_g_unit, posted by prefect on January 24, 2013, at 21:03:50
> You mean you're not on any meds now whatsoever?
>No.
> Do you know if your anxiety is in response to anything or is it freefloating?
It's in response to obsessive-compulsive intrusions.
>
> I remember you mentioning you have agoraphobia. Have you tried scaring yourself straight? What I mean by that is this. I have agoraphobia. But my response to it is actually the opposite of what meds are supposed to do. I chase the panic day in and day out until it loses its effect. I go out and tell myself catastrophic thoughts in places I'm too far away from home to feel comfortable, so that I'll have a panic attack.
>
> This may sound crazy to you, but I think retreating due to agoraphobia has the same effect as the Xanax you mentioned. It keeps you calm for a while, but once the world out there starts closing back in, you get even more free floating anxiety. Meds reduce the plasticity of amygdala and fear desensitization does not take place. Meaning, the only way for you to get over your anxiety is to freak out and release cortisol until what they call fear extinction takes place (response fatigue). The whole thing's quite the journey and an adrenalene rush. People take drugs to feel the way you and I feel.Yeah, that's kind of the underlying logic behind ERP (Exposure Response Prevention, or extinction therapy) for OCD too, but the problem is it's difficult to commit to when my life is almost literally ruled -- 24/7 -- by intrusive, obsessive thoughts, hypervigilance and depression. I have no 'base' to work from.
>
> Once you use this cowboy diplomacy with your panic, get out there, what may may end up happeing is you getting your old quality of life back. The stuff that made you tick. The stuff you loved to do. I may be wrong, but maybe that would help with the depression.
>
> The meds are just a way to prolong the inevitable: Putting your game face on and sparring with the monsters inside you. Anxiety may be our friend. Should I be medicating it? I've been thinking about this stuff a lot lately.I think there are appropriate and inappropriate ways to medicate anxiety. You don't wanna kill your spark, or end up a zombie. Unfortunately, I haven't really found any appropriate ways to medicate it at this point.
poster:g_g_g_unit
thread:1036417
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20130124/msgs/1036428.html