Anxiety and depression, panic and agoraphobia

Reminds me of one of my fave Ted talks by one of my fave neu.sci.

http://www.ted.com/talks/vilayanur_ramachandran_on_your_mind.html

Actually, my favorite talk is by Ramachandran describing a split brain patient with one hemisphere that believed in God and the other that was an atheist Fascinating stuff.

 

I remember reading about that awhile back. Do you have a YouTube linko?

Nvm, I found it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFJPtVRlI64

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFJPtVRlI64

 

He should have asked him which hemisphere controls his penis. That could make for some mixed up sex life!

 

A man's penis is controlled by his entire brain. All day, every day.

 

So imagine if a particluar man has the type of split brain Ramachandran talks about when he describes his patient. Up? Down? Yes? No? Him? Her? Them? All day long (no pun intended).

 

Men have 3 hemispheres. The third one is a long (pardon the pun) way from the other two.

 

I'm sure women have the same type of brain. Most are just reluctant to admit it.

 

Wow. Okay. I just meant that situations that used to just put me into problem solving mode, or were even neutral, before my vertigo attacks... Now it doesn't take much to create in me what feels like a huge ridiculous neurochemical soup ( no appetite, doom, chest constriction, buzzy on edge feeling) that is very difficult to control. So something has changed in my body besides my thoughts. What I'm trying to figure out is whether some of this is now med side effects or still depression/anxiety, what is going to help me get better, or whether I'm stuck with this and should just check out of life early. (I'm not looking for debates- just support and personal experiences/observations.)

 

Sorry you're feeling so crappy,but as I said before, it could be the combo of meds, etc. Some ADs ruin people, while others work wonders. Same with the benzos.

 

I did answer this a few posts above. Have you consulted an endocrinologist, a cardiologist and your OB/GYN to make sure other organs/functions/hormones are at optimal levels?

Your symptoms could very well be side effects of medication that are adding layers to what you might be experiencing as far as anxiety/depression are concerned.

If you have generalized anxiety disorder, drugs like benzos make it worse.

Several antidepressants also make generalized anxiety disorder worse. I think buspirone is recommended for GAD. Ask your psychiatrist/MD about that.

ECT is the last stop for severe depression that won't budge despite medications, psychotherapy, lifestyle changes. Have you looked into that?

 

You've mentioned checking out twice now. If that's weighing heavily on your mind, you may want to admit yourself into a controlled environment.

Depression can last a long time or it could suddenly stop, or both. A friend was in deep depression for 3 years and then woke up one day feeling 100% fine. Been 10 years now without a hitch. Don't lose hope.

 

Buspar is only meant for short-term use. The long-term side effects are unknown. Also, the GAD community almost never reports a successful experience with buspar.

Why are benzos bad for GAD? Other than the addiction, of course...

 

Right.

If GAD is a chronic disorder, long term use of benzodiazepines is not recommended. Paxil works better but then again there are horror stories about Paxil too.

Anne...GAD can be a comorbid condition so make sure you don't have anything else going on with your health. Personally, I was shattered on all fronts my first two years with MM/MAV. It's been a long road to freedom so there is hope.

 

Paxil is pure evil.

Pot has been shown to help with anxiety. Worth a try.

 

Medical Marijuana is legal in NJ.

 

That is true not what I was thinking but never-the- less true.

 

You guys may have read this already, but still pertinent here.

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2011/07/the-brain-on-trial/8520/1/

 

Yeah. I had posted it in the casual convo thread some time ago. It's fascinating. It changes one's outlook on many issues that have been categorized as "mental health."

As you know, NS is still in its early steps so it's going to be a long time before we can find causes or cures for a whole bunch of disorders.

 

What I was trying to explain earlier is that in my schooling and experiences with dealing with depression in clients, not all depression is chemical. For some depressive disorders are chemical however, there are some clients who do not have a genetic predisposition or a chemical imbalance that causes depression. However after suffering a sudden and tragic death of a loved one, witnessing traumatic event, etc. these events can cause depression and or depressive moods and if left untreated with conventional therapy including medication and perhaps some form of counseling and/or if treatment is not sought than the depression or depressive mood can manifest into a chemical unbalance or imbalance. But the origin of depression was not chemical.

It has been several years since inside the university or work related field and I believe you are well versed and more knowledgeable but what I wrote above has been my experience and what was taught to me. I am not referencing anxiety disorders as that was not my field.

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