Archive for 'Anti Depressants-Sleeping Aid'
ANXIETY IN THE MIND: IRRITABILITY
Posted on December 9, 2009, under Anti Depressants-Sleeping Aid.
Anxiety commonly shows itself in irritability. We react too quickly and too much to all manner of minor frustrations. We become upset by things which would not normally disturb us. We are more sensitive to noise, and are easily irritated by it. The noises at work which we had not previously noticed become a source of irritation; and at home the noise of the children brings us to distraction. We tolerate it as long as we can, then suddenly let go. We punish the child too severely, and then immediately regret it.
If someone finds fault with what we have done, we normally take the criticism in stride. But when we are anxious, we overreact to the situation; we flare up, we say what we should not say, and then regret it. The girl in the restaurant attends to us in the usual way, but because we are tensed up we feel that she is unbearably slow. The mannerisms and quirks of our friends and relatives, which we once enjoyed, now irritate us. There soon develops an atmosphere of tension in the home. Members of the family become cautious; they are restrained, and no longer laugh arid joke openly for fear of triggering off this unnatural irritability. The anxious one senses that the others are acting differently toward him, he becomes still more on edge, and the cloud of misunderstanding deepens.
A young woman in her early thirties, extremely tense and aggressive, came to consultation on account of her intense irritability with her two young children. These were her exact words: “With her like she is how could I be relaxed?” “It is not as if I am completely ignorant. I have had experience with doctors and that makes me a bit doubtful.”
For some years her husband had been under treatment for a peptic ulcer which I thought might easily be related to his wife’s irritability.
Her state was so severe that I arranged for her admission to a hospital, but she was so irritable and aggressive that she promptly left against advice. However, she returned to me some months later, just as irritable as ever, but determined to seek help. It took her several sessions to learn to do the relaxing mental exercises. She then underwent an extraordinary change in personality; she could smile and be pleasant in a way that had not seemed possible before. She learned to cope with the children and tolerate frustration without undue irritability.
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THE NATURE OF ANXIETY: THE PHYSICAL BASIS OF ANXIETY
Posted on December 9, 2009, under Anti Depressants-Sleeping Aid.
If we are to learn to master our anxiety in an enlightened fashion, we must first know something of its nature. What is anxiety? Unfortunately there is no complete agreement among psychiatrists on this subject, but it is possible to make a number of general statements that help to define anxiety. The ideas which I offer you now are a summary of a theme which I have developed elsewhere.
The Physical Basis of Anxiety-Our brain is continually receiving a great number of nervous impulses. Some of these are conscious, but the great majority are unconscious. These impulses arise from three different areas—from our external environment, from our body itself, and from our mind.
Information concerning external environment comes to our brain through our sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. We are aware of some of these sensations, but a great deal of information of which we are not consciously aware also comes to our brain from all parts of the body. Thus the position of our limbs is being continually reported so that we can maintain our balance. The fullness of our stomach, the mobility of our bowels, and the functioning of all our other organs are likewise continually reported.
There is an even more complex stream of impulses which arise within the brain itself. At this level are our conscious thoughts, doubts and misgivings, loves and hates. Impulses come also from the unconscious activity of the mind. This includes all those problems and conflicts, worries and desires, which we can readily call to consciousness if we so desire. But beyond this mass of material which we can recall at will, there lies the unconscious itself with its memories of past experiences and all the hopes and fears which were associated with them. Although these unconscious memories are quite beyond our recall except under certain special circumstances, they have a continual effect on our mental functioning by virtue of impulses arising from them.
All these impulses—from the environment, from the body, and from the mind—have to be dealt with and integrated to allow the smooth working of the brain. If the number of impulses becomes too great the brain is unable to cope with the situation. There is in fact a level for all of us at which integration of the impulses becomes incomplete, and we experience this incomplete integration of the impulses as anxiety. The feeling of nervous tension or anxiety thus serves to warn us that all is not well in our mind.
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