Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: anxiety attacks
From: hoyt@isus.UUCP (Hoyt A. Stearns jr.)
Date: 27 Jul 92 02:04:21 GMT
Organization: International Society of Unified Science

In article <1992Jul21.131340.2043@newstand.syr.edu> mdkline@rodan.acs.syr.edu (Mark D. Kline) writes:
>In article <1992Jul20.223802.25337@infonode.ingr.com> haefner@infonode.ingr.com (Mark W. Haefner) writes:
>>In article <92202.130231EWN1@psuvm.psu.edu> <EWN1@psuvm.psu.edu> writes:
>>>A friend of mine (grad. student) has been having problems with anxiety
>>>attacks for several years now.  She feels nervous and anxious all the
>>>time and has problems getting to sleep.  Can anyone out there share
>>>anecdotal information about how they've dealt with this problem?  My
>>>friend is on a limited budget, so professional counseling would probably
>>>be too expensive for her.  Thanks in advance.
>>>*************************************************************************
>>> Ellen Newman                     | You can name your own salary here --
>>> LCS - Library Computing Services | I call mine Fred.
>>> ewn1@psuvm.psu.edu               |       - taken from a Ziggy cartoon
>>> ************************************************************************
>>
>>Hello,
>>
>>tell your friend that the best thing to do for starters is to see a 
>>doctor and have her problem checked out and diagnosed as anxiety.
>>He/she can then prescribe medicine that at least can help lessen the 
>>effect of the attacks. I'm at that point now and am considering 
>>alternative treatments that may eliminate the problem at the root.
>>
>>Can anyone else give Ellen's friend some additional advice?
>
>
>Panic disorder is an eminently treatable problem.  Medication can completely
>abolish the episodes of panic for many people.  Behavioral therapy can
>oftentimes help people get control over their anxiety.
>Some psychotherapists believe that panic attacks are related to repressed 
>sadism -- but I don't buy that approach myself.
>In my opinion, there is no "root cause" in a psychological sense.
>For many people with panic disorder, its like having an oversensitive
>smoke detector in the head that goes off screaming EMERGENCY EMERGENCY
>when there is none.  Get some medication to tone down that smoke detector,
>overcome the psychological side effects of having had such awful anxiety,
>and you're back in business.
>
>Dr. David Barlow at SUNY Albany has devised a really terrific
>behavioral program which people can do on their own called "Mastering
>Anxiety and Panic." Dr. David Sheehan's book "_The Anxiety Disease_"
>describes the physiology.  The student health service at the university
>should be able to provide info on public or sliding scale clinics where
>help may be available for less.  
>
>Panic disorder is something which can get worse and become disabling if
>untreated, yet is completely "curable" for the majority of patients. 
>"Clinical depression" and feeling of hopelessness/futility are often
>part of the syndrome.  
>
>--
>=================================================================
>mark kline                                mdkline@mailbox.syr.edu
>suny health science center, syracuse      voice: (315) 422-1050
>================= courtesy of syracuse university ================


-- 
Hoyt A. Stearns jr.|hoyt@          | International Society of Unified Science|
4131 E. Cannon Dr. |isus.tnet.com  | Advancing Dewey B. Larson's Reciprocal  |
Phoenix, AZ. 85028 |ncar!enuucp!   | System- a unified physical theory.      |
voice_602_996_1717 telesys!isus!hoyt The Universe in two postulates!_________|