Guest guest Posted April 10, 2004 Report Share Posted April 10, 2004 Hang in there, Jill! We're all here for you. Hope you get some relief soon. Janet South Carolina-USA ----Original Message Follows---- From: " Jill " <jrdef@...> Reply-Scoliosis Treatment Scoliosis Treatment Subject: High anxiety Date: Sat, 10 Apr 2004 04:03:54 -0000 Hello, I'm new to this group. I have been seeking out information on what's going on with Harrington Rod patients, as I read about the Flat-back Syndrom last year and am now facing a possible problem. You know the story about the frog that doesn't realize he's boiling because the heat turns up so slowly? That's me and back pain. I have always had a little since my two surgeries--one in '79 of two sets of rods and one in '85 after a rod popped out of place, leaving just two small ones in my lower back--but it's been getting worse. I tell myself all kinds of things, from " it's the 3 pounds I gained on vacation " to " I haven't been to the gym " and then, " I worked out too hard at the gym " , and so on. And if I haven't gained any weight and only do the treadmill lightly, then it's walking barefoot on the tile or my time of the month. It's never my scoliosis surgery. I just don't go there because it's too frightening for me. But my DH noticed that my lower back doesn't look normal and after i looked, he's right. There's a dip and a slight bulge that wasn't there before. That's exactly how my Dad realized there was a problem in '85. I didn't even realize. Of course, now that I suspect a problem, my back is just KILLING me. :/ I have an appointment with my GP Tuesday, who will know nothing about my problem, but will hopefully send me for x-rays. If a rod popped, even I could tell by looking at it. (A specialist is too expensive when you have a deductible, esp right off the bat) But if there is a problem, I will seek out a specialist and hope that all I need is a removal procedure and nothing more. If flat-back hasn't started, I'm hoping that this will be the case. I would so love to be rid of this steel cage! I want to ride a roller-coaster again! But, yeah, I'm anxious and I have a lot of questions, as I know very little about my disease and the procedure that has saved me, yet haunts me now. Both of my parents are gone and my surgeon has retired. So I feel like I'm on my own with this. Hopefully, with all of you out there, I won't feel that way. Jill _________________________________________________________________ Get rid of annoying pop-up ads with the new MSN Toolbar – FREE! http://toolbar.msn.com/go/onm00200414ave/direct/01/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 4, 2008 Report Share Posted March 4, 2008 I don't really have experience of acute anxiety Keri but I do suffer with mild anxiety, spent the morning of my driving test in the bathroom and never thought I would be able to leave it long enough to take the test LOL - that was 34 years ago and it gets no better. I understand that your anxiety is far worse than these sort of things but I can highly recommend Bach Rescue Remedy - if you know you are going to be going into a stressful situation especially. You are absolutely right, Kava Kava was banned because ONE woman died who had liver disease and was taking it, they blamed her death on Kava Kava - shame they don't ban drugs that kill thousands isn't it. You can of course order Kava kava from the US. Luv nne She mentioned 5-HTP and kava kava - I think the latter has been banned. Has anyone had any experience of acute anxiety and supplements/other support please? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 4, 2008 Report Share Posted March 4, 2008 Hi Keri - I used Kava Kava a few years ago and it did have a very calming effect on me - but i had a rotten reaction to it, came out in a very nasty itchy rash especially on my face (I looked awful!). So pros and cons. Have you tried some sort of meditation/relaxation/ self hypnosis cd/tape? My experience with kava kava made me wary of it Im afraid but others have found it helpful without the side effects. Gill > Had a 1 1/2 hours with the psychiatric nurse at the surgery this am > and she feels that I have always had anxiety, stemming from a very > traumatic childhood. I then used food to numb. She can see that as > the start of my adrenal exhaustion and she validated the saliva > cortisol tests I had done in October. She feels the NHS is very > limited in its approach/treatment and believes I am completely on > the right track seeing Dr Peatfield at the end of March and having > my weekly counselling. > > She discussed anti depressants, both citalopran and amitryptilline > and said that the former could alleviate some anxiety and the latter > would be more likely to sedate. However, if I could 'cope' with the > anxiety and keep feeling the feelings, I would work through all of > this and hopefully get the support of Dr Peatfield - just another 3 > 1/2 weeks to go. Then later there would be possibility of cognitive > behaviour therapy and an anxiety group. > > She mentioned 5-HTP and kava kava - I think the latter has been > banned. Has anyone had any experience of acute anxiety and > supplements/other support please? > > I know my anxiety levels have increased sharply in the last few > weeks. > > luv keri > > > > Messages are not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always consult with a suitably qualified practitioner before changing medication. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 4, 2008 Report Share Posted March 4, 2008 Have > you tried some sort of meditation/relaxation/ self hypnosis cd/tape? My > experience with kava kava made me wary of it Im afraid but others have found > it helpful without the side effects. I used to meditate quite happily, back in Jan/Feb last year but as soon as I started to become 'wired' or spaced out, I find it very difficult to close my eyes. Yes, thanks, the tapes are a good idea - I will see what the library has to offer. luv keri (the insomniac - after 4 am) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 5, 2008 Report Share Posted March 5, 2008 Hi keri, Yes I have been there. I would suggest getting a copy of jefferies "Safe Uses of Cortisol" and reading it before you see Dr Peatfield - then you will not be afraid if/when he directs you in that direction. I used to use kava kava - I found it good, also homeopathic gelsemium, also arsen alb, and aconite (this one only lasts 15mins, but is good for panics). Iherb.com sells kava kava in many forms & you can read the warnings, it suited me fine. I have something else recommended for anxiety etc which is recommended by Cutler (amalgam replacement & chelation person - website noamalgam.com) which is called Life Extension Forskolin 10mg, which also came from iherb,but I cannot remember how many he said to take. St s Wort I also find good for depression - take 3 capsules first thing & none later in the day as this can make things worse. Anxiety is one of the symptoms of mercury poisoning. Have you got amalgam fillings? Personally I would imagine you will soon be on hc and if so your anxiety will be greatly diminished/virtually gone. If you are already on armour you will need to start hc VERY slowly, you could get a dump, & this is extremely unpleasant, particularly if you are already anxious - been there too. Val She mentioned 5-HTP and kava kava - I think the latter has been banned. Has anyone had any experience of acute anxiety and supplements/other support please?I know my anxiety levels have increased sharply in the last few weeks.luv keri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 5, 2008 Report Share Posted March 5, 2008 I would suggest getting a copy of jefferies " Safe Uses of Cortisol " and reading it before you see Dr Peatfield - then you will not be afraid if/when he directs you in that direction. Thank you, good idea. Think I am heading that way as I have been treating my adrenals for a whole year now and absolutely no difference .... > >> > Anxiety is one of the symptoms of mercury poisoning. Have you got amalgam fillings? Had them removed in 2005! .. If you are already on armour you will need to start hc VERY slowly, you could get a dump, & this is extremely unpleasant, particularly if you are already anxious - been there too. > >No I started the armour a week or so ago but anxiety increased (only on 1/4 of a grain) so it was suggested I keep supporting the adrenals prior to seeing Dr P at the end of the month. luv keri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 5, 2008 Report Share Posted March 5, 2008 Hi Keri I understand how you must feel. I have had anxiety most of my life too - from about 6 years old. I started to notice how anxious I was feeling at about 16 when I developed a stutter for about 3 years. I have never reacted well to stress - I started having panic attacks at 17. Every major trauma took about 2-3 years to recover from. The doctors were useless. They lost interest because I did not want antidepressants. The last major trauma was when my partner died of heart attack in my kitchen. I spent three years having panic attacks - even waking up in the middle of the night with them. My whole life was a mess. I managed to cope by taking St 's Wort, Rescue Remedy and hypnotherapy and trying to hide my stress from my son and friends. I finally found Dr Peatfeild (and tpa) - he agreed that I had long term stress as well as T4-T3 conversion problem. I started taking Nutri Adrenal. Slowly I am begining to feel 'normal'. So many wasted years - but at least - with the help of Dr P and this forum - I am getting myself better. B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 5, 2008 Report Share Posted March 5, 2008 > I would suggest getting a copy of jefferies " Safe Uses of Cortisol " and reading it before you see Dr Peatfield just looked it up on Amazon, its over £65 - was shocked - is there a particular reason??? luv keri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 5, 2008 Report Share Posted March 5, 2008 > >> > I understand how you must feel. I have had anxiety most of my life > too - from about 6 years old. I started to notice how anxious I was > feeling at about 16 when I developed a stutter for about 3 years. I > have never reacted well to stress - I started having panic attacks at > 17. Every major trauma took about 2-3 years to recover from. The > doctors were useless. They lost interest because I did not want > antidepressants. The last major trauma was when my partner died of > heart attack in my kitchen. I spent three years having panic > attacks - even waking up in the middle of the night with them. My > whole life was a mess. I managed to cope by taking St 's Wort, > Rescue Remedy and hypnotherapy and trying to hide my stress from my > son and friends. > > I finally found Dr Peatfeild (and tpa) - he agreed that I had long > term stress as well as T4-T3 conversion problem. I started taking > Nutri Adrenal. Slowly I am begining to feel 'normal'. So many wasted > years - but at least - with the help of Dr P and this forum - I am > getting myself better. > Thanks , you have been through so much, very brave. I think I have the same anxiety fromm a similar age but used food or alcohol to get rid of the anxiety and now it's really in the open. I think like you I have a T4 T3 conversion problem but with high antibodies. Interesting Dr P did it with NAE. So glad you are feeling normal. I had a terrible night last night so I got up at 3.45 am and used the energy to do what I'm not able to in the day - don't think it's a good idea but SO frustrated .... I am having acupuncture at the moment and have a session this pm. My life seems to revolve around my health at the moment and that's all I spend my money on (well my savings ....). luv keri > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 5, 2008 Report Share Posted March 5, 2008 Don't forget everybody, that if you are ordering any books (or anything else for that matter) from Amazon, if you order it from our website www.tpa-uk.or.guk then we get a small percentage of the cost. Luv - Sheila Hi keri, Yes I have been there. I would suggest getting a copy of jefferies "Safe Uses of Cortisol" and reading it before you see Dr Peatfield - then you will not be afraid if/when he directs you in that direction. I used to use kava kava - I found it good, also homeopathic gelsemium, also arsen alb, and aconite (this one only lasts 15mins, but is good for panics). Iherb.com sells kava kava in many forms & you can read the warnings, it suited me fine. I have something else recommended for anxiety etc which is recommended by Cutler (amalgam replacement & chelation person - website noamalgam.com) which is called Life Extension Forskolin 10mg, which also came from iherb,but I cannot remember how many he said to take. St s Wort I also find good for depression - take 3 capsules first thing & none later in the day as this can make things worse. Anxiety is one of the symptoms of mercury poisoning. Have you got amalgam fillings? Personally I would imagine you will soon be on hc and if so your anxiety will be greatly diminished/virtually gone. If you are already on armour you will need to start hc VERY slowly, you could get a dump, & this is extremely unpleasant, particularly if you are already anxious - been there too. Val She mentioned 5-HTP and kava kava - I think the latter has been banned. Has anyone had any experience of acute anxiety and supplements/other support please?I know my anxiety levels have increased sharply in the last few weeks.luv keri No virus found in this incoming message.Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.516 / Virus Database: 269.21.4/1310 - Release Date: 04/03/2008 08:35 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 5, 2008 Report Share Posted March 5, 2008 Hi Keri, Are you still chelating safely? If not you will probably still have mercury problems. I suggest looking at frequent-dose-chelation group for this. I too had mine removed in 2005 & I am just about to go back to chelating as I have not done any lately as I hate having to wake up during the night for it, but to get better I know I have to go back to it. Val >> > Anxiety is one of the symptoms of mercury poisoning. Have you got amalgam fillings?Had them removed in 2005!luv keri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 5, 2008 Report Share Posted March 5, 2008 You can buy it direct from the publisher for much cheaper. http://www.ccthomas.com/details.cfm?P_ISBN13=9780398075002 When I ordered mine they said they were waiting for a new print run in a few weeks, but it came within about a week, despite me going for the cheapest shipping cost. I remember speaking to them so I must have phoned them, but I got the phone number from this website, I am sure. Yes 0012177898980 Val I would suggest getting a copy of jefferies "Safe Uses of Cortisol" and reading it before you see Dr Peatfield just looked it up on Amazon, its over £65 - was shocked - is there a particular reason???luv keri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 5, 2008 Report Share Posted March 5, 2008 > > You can buy it direct from the publisher for much cheaper. > http://www.ccthomas.com/details.cfm?P_ISBN13=9780398075002 > > When I ordered mine they said they were waiting for a new print run in a few weeks, but it came within about a week, despite me going for the cheapest shipping cost. I remember speaking to them so I must have phoned them, but I got the phone number from this website, I am sure. > > Yes 0012177898980 Thank you. Next question, will I understand it??? (with my wooley brain). luv keri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 5, 2008 Report Share Posted March 5, 2008 > Are you still chelating safely? If not you will probably still have mercury problems. I suggest looking at frequent-dose-chelation group for this. I too had mine removed in 2005 & I am just about to go back to chelating as I have not done any lately as I hate having to wake up during the night for it, but to get better I know I have to go back to it. Interesting, I did some work post removal but stopped it all when I got all the hypo t symptoms. Couldn't face any more 'green' stuff - can't remember what it was but the thought made me sick. What are you using? I NEVER got up in the night!!! luv keri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 6, 2008 Report Share Posted March 6, 2008 Hi Keri, I did the same, but seem to recall ordering over the net- I’m a bit funny about making phone calls when I’m not on top form. My copy is available for borrowing through the website Subject: Re:High Anxiety You can buy it direct from the publisher for much cheaper. http://www.ccthomas.com/details.cfm?P_ISBN13=9780398075002 When I ordered mine they said they were waiting for a new print run in a few weeks, but it came within about a week, despite me going for the cheapest shipping cost. I remember speaking to them so I must have phoned them, but I got the phone number from this website, I am sure. Yes 0012177898980 Val I would suggest getting a copy of jefferies " Safe Uses of Cortisol " and reading it before you see Dr Peatfield just looked it up on Amazon, its over £65 - was shocked - is there a particular reason??? luv keri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 6, 2008 Report Share Posted March 6, 2008 > .. My copy is > available for borrowing through the website . > > Thanks , could I borrow it please? How do I go about it ? luv keri > > > > > > > Subject: Re:High Anxiety > > > > You can buy it direct from the publisher for much cheaper. > > http://www.ccthomas.com/details.cfm?P_ISBN13=9780398075002 > > > > When I ordered mine they said they were waiting for a new print run in a few > weeks, but it came within about a week, despite me going for the cheapest > shipping cost. I remember speaking to them so I must have phoned them, but > I got the phone number from this website, I am sure. > > > > Yes 0012177898980 > > > > Val > > I would suggest getting a copy of jefferies " Safe Uses of Cortisol " > and reading it before you see Dr Peatfield > > just looked it up on Amazon, its over £65 - was shocked - is there a > particular reason??? > > luv keri > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 6, 2008 Report Share Posted March 6, 2008 Go to our FILES from the Home Page of this forum and scroll down until you see TPA-UK Lending Library. Scroll through the list of books and when you find the book you want, click on the email address of the person you want to borrow the book from. Write to them asking for their full name and Home Address so that you can send them stamps to the value of £2.00 to send the book to you. I have it written to send stamps to the value of £1.50 but prices have gone up since then. Try not to borrow the book for too long because other's may be waiting. Hope that helps Luv - Sheila >. My copy is> available for borrowing through the website .> > Thanks , could I borrow it please? How do I go about it ?luv keri > > > > > > > Subject: Re:High Anxiety> > > > You can buy it direct from the publisher for much cheaper.> > http://www.ccthomas.com/details.cfm?P_ISBN13=9780398075002> > > > When I ordered mine they said they were waiting for a new print run in a few> weeks, but it came within about a week, despite me going for the cheapest> shipping cost. I remember speaking to them so I must have phoned them, but> I got the phone number from this website, I am sure.> > > > Yes 0012177898980> > > > Val> > I would suggest getting a copy of jefferies "Safe Uses of Cortisol" > and reading it before you see Dr Peatfield > > just looked it up on Amazon, its over £65 - was shocked - is there a > particular reason???> > luv keri> No virus found in this incoming message.Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.516 / Virus Database: 269.21.4/1310 - Release Date: 04/03/2008 08:35 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 6, 2008 Report Share Posted March 6, 2008 Hi Keri Night times were the worst for me too. I used to take Rescue Remedy before I went to bed. I put some into a small bottle of mineral water and put it on my bedside table - to take when I woke up in the night. I also had a small bottle of mineral water with Rescue Remedy in it with me during the day. I found that listening to BBC world service on the radio at night sometimes bored me back to sleep. I now have a Rescue Remedy spray and pastilles in my bag - just in case. I used to think that I was so alone in my anxiety - as though I was a failure in some way. It is good to know there are others like me and I am not being a silly woman. People on this forum will give you so much encouragement that you will eventually ovecome your anxiety. B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 7, 2008 Report Share Posted March 7, 2008 > > Night times were the worst for me too. > > > I now have a Rescue Remedy spray and pastilles in my bag - just in case. > > I used to think that I was so alone in my anxiety - as though I was a > failure in some way. It is good to know there are others like me and I > am not being a silly woman. People on this forum will give you so much > encouragement that you will eventually ovecome your anxiety. > Thanks . I found some Rescue Remedy spray for night time in Boots yesterday which is alcohol free - new on the market. I can't tolerate any alcohol. Just 'talking' about the anxiety makes me feel better. I am just shocked that the psychiatric nurse said I have had it since age 7. It makes me want to cry for the life I haven't had. No use though, I need to think about today and the future. I will be fit and healthy I know and then I can help others like you all. much luv keri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 7, 2008 Report Share Posted March 7, 2008 Hi Keri, Send me your address and £2.38 to cover postage. You can send me your address privately through email online via the website. I do have a paypal account if you want to pay me that way. > My copy is > available for borrowing through the website . > > Thanks , could I borrow it please? How do I go about it ? luv keri > > > > > > > Subject: Re:High Anxiety > > > > You can buy it direct from the publisher for much cheaper. > > http://www.ccthomas.com/details.cfm?P_ISBN13=9780398075002 > > > > When I ordered mine they said they were waiting for a new print run in a few > weeks, but it came within about a week, despite me going for the cheapest > shipping cost. I remember speaking to them so I must have phoned them, but > I got the phone number from this website, I am sure. > > > > Yes 0012177898980 > > > > Val > > I would suggest getting a copy of jefferies " Safe Uses of Cortisol " > and reading it before you see Dr Peatfield > > just looked it up on Amazon, its over £65 - was shocked - is there a > particular reason??? > > luv keri > Messages are not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always consult with a suitably qualified practitioner before changing medication. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 8, 2008 Report Share Posted March 8, 2008 > > Hi Keri, > Send me your address and £2.38 to cover postage. You can send me > your address privately through email online via the website. I do have a > paypal account if you want to pay me that way. Let the other lady borrow it first as I'm so slow at the moment. Thanks anyway. luv keri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 2, 2008 Report Share Posted April 2, 2008 http://www.dailystaregypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=12735 High anxiety By Lane First Published: March 27, 2008 The United States has reached a point where almost half its population is described as being in some way mentally ill, and nearly a quarter of its citizens — 67.5 million — have taken anti-depressants. These eye-popping statistics have sparked a widespread, sometimes rancorous debate about whether people are taking far more medication than is needed for problems that may not even be mental disorders. Studies indicate that 40 percent of all patients fall short of the diagnoses that doctors and psychiatrists give them, yet 200 million prescriptions are still written annually in the US to treat depression and anxiety. Those who defend such widespread use of prescription drugs insist that a significant part of the population is under-treated and, by inference, under-medicated. Those opposed to such rampant use of drugs note that diagnostic rates for bipolar disorder, in particular, have skyrocketed by 4,000 percent and that overmedication is impossible without over-diagnosis. To help settle this long-standing dispute, I studied why the number of recognized psychiatric disorders has ballooned so dramatically in recent decades. In 1980, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders added 112 new mental disorders to its third edition ( DSM-III ). Fifty-eight more disorders appeared in the revised third (1987) and fourth (1994) editions. With over a million copies in print, the manual is known as the bible of American psychiatry; certainly it is an invoked chapter and verse in schools, prisons, courts, and by mental-health professionals around the world. The addition of even one new diagnostic code has serious practical consequences. What, then, was the rationale for adding so many in 1980? After several requests to the American Psychiatric Association, I was granted complete access to the hundreds of unpublished memos, letters, and even votes from the period between 1973 and 1979, when the DSM-III task force debated each new and existing disorder. Some of the work was meticulous and commendable. But the overall approval process was more capricious than scientific. DSM-III grew out of meetings that many participants described as chaotic. One observer later remarked that the small amount of research drawn upon was " really a hodgepodge –scattered, inconsistent, and ambiguous. " The interest and expertise of the task force was limited to one branch of psychiatry: neuropsychiatry. That group met for four years before it occurred to members that such one-sidedness might result in bias. Incredibly, the lists of symptoms for some disorders were knocked out in minutes. The field studies used to justify their inclusion sometimes involved a single patient evaluated by the person advocating the new disease. Experts pressed for the inclusion of illnesses as questionable as " chronic undifferentiated unhappiness disorder " and " chronic complaint disorder, " whose traits included moaning about taxes, the weather, and even sports results. Social phobia (later dubbed " social anxiety disorder " ) was one of seven new anxiety disorders created in 1980. At first it struck me as a serious condition. By the 1990's experts were calling it " the disorder of the decade, " insisting that as many as one in five Americans suffers from it. Yet the complete story turned out to be rather more complicated. For starters, the specialist who in the 1960's originally recognized social anxiety (London-based Isaac Marks, a renowned expert on fear and panic) strongly resisted its inclusion in DSM-III as a separate disease category. The list of common behaviors associated with the disorder gave him pause: fear of eating alone in restaurants, avoidance of public toilets, and concern about trembling hands. By the time a revised task force added dislike of public speaking in 1987, the disorder seemed sufficiently elastic to include virtually everyone on the planet. To counter the impression that it was turning common fears into treatable conditions, DSM-IV added a clause stipulating that social anxiety behaviors had to be " impairing " before a diagnosis was possible. But who was holding the prescribers to such standards? Doubtless, their understanding of impairment was looser than that of the task force. After all, despite the impairment clause, the anxiety disorder mushroomed; by 2000, it was the third most common psychiatric disorder in America, behind only depression and alcoholism. Over-medication would affect fewer Americans if we could rein in such clear examples of over-diagnosis. We would have to set the thresholds for psychiatric diagnosis a lot higher, resurrecting the distinction between chronic illness and mild suffering. But there is fierce resistance to this by those who say they are fighting grave mental disorders, for which medication is the only viable treatment. Failure to reform psychiatry will be disastrous for public health. Consider that apathy, excessive shopping, and overuse of the internet are all serious contenders for inclusion in the next edition of the DSM, due to appear in 2012. If the history of psychiatry is any guide, a new class of medication will soon be touted to treat them. Sanity must prevail: if everyone is mentally ill, then no one is. Lane, Professor of English at Northwestern University, is the author of Shyness: How Normal Behavior Became a Sickness. This commentary is published by DAILY NEWS EGYPT in collaboration with Project Syndicate (www.project-syndicate.org). 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Guest guest Posted April 2, 2008 Report Share Posted April 2, 2008 http://www.dailystaregypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=12735 High anxiety By Lane First Published: March 27, 2008 The United States has reached a point where almost half its population is described as being in some way mentally ill, and nearly a quarter of its citizens — 67.5 million — have taken anti-depressants. These eye-popping statistics have sparked a widespread, sometimes rancorous debate about whether people are taking far more medication than is needed for problems that may not even be mental disorders. Studies indicate that 40 percent of all patients fall short of the diagnoses that doctors and psychiatrists give them, yet 200 million prescriptions are still written annually in the US to treat depression and anxiety. Those who defend such widespread use of prescription drugs insist that a significant part of the population is under-treated and, by inference, under-medicated. Those opposed to such rampant use of drugs note that diagnostic rates for bipolar disorder, in particular, have skyrocketed by 4,000 percent and that overmedication is impossible without over-diagnosis. To help settle this long-standing dispute, I studied why the number of recognized psychiatric disorders has ballooned so dramatically in recent decades. In 1980, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders added 112 new mental disorders to its third edition ( DSM-III ). Fifty-eight more disorders appeared in the revised third (1987) and fourth (1994) editions. With over a million copies in print, the manual is known as the bible of American psychiatry; certainly it is an invoked chapter and verse in schools, prisons, courts, and by mental-health professionals around the world. The addition of even one new diagnostic code has serious practical consequences. What, then, was the rationale for adding so many in 1980? After several requests to the American Psychiatric Association, I was granted complete access to the hundreds of unpublished memos, letters, and even votes from the period between 1973 and 1979, when the DSM-III task force debated each new and existing disorder. Some of the work was meticulous and commendable. But the overall approval process was more capricious than scientific. DSM-III grew out of meetings that many participants described as chaotic. One observer later remarked that the small amount of research drawn upon was " really a hodgepodge –scattered, inconsistent, and ambiguous. " The interest and expertise of the task force was limited to one branch of psychiatry: neuropsychiatry. That group met for four years before it occurred to members that such one-sidedness might result in bias. Incredibly, the lists of symptoms for some disorders were knocked out in minutes. The field studies used to justify their inclusion sometimes involved a single patient evaluated by the person advocating the new disease. Experts pressed for the inclusion of illnesses as questionable as " chronic undifferentiated unhappiness disorder " and " chronic complaint disorder, " whose traits included moaning about taxes, the weather, and even sports results. Social phobia (later dubbed " social anxiety disorder " ) was one of seven new anxiety disorders created in 1980. At first it struck me as a serious condition. By the 1990's experts were calling it " the disorder of the decade, " insisting that as many as one in five Americans suffers from it. Yet the complete story turned out to be rather more complicated. For starters, the specialist who in the 1960's originally recognized social anxiety (London-based Isaac Marks, a renowned expert on fear and panic) strongly resisted its inclusion in DSM-III as a separate disease category. The list of common behaviors associated with the disorder gave him pause: fear of eating alone in restaurants, avoidance of public toilets, and concern about trembling hands. By the time a revised task force added dislike of public speaking in 1987, the disorder seemed sufficiently elastic to include virtually everyone on the planet. To counter the impression that it was turning common fears into treatable conditions, DSM-IV added a clause stipulating that social anxiety behaviors had to be " impairing " before a diagnosis was possible. But who was holding the prescribers to such standards? Doubtless, their understanding of impairment was looser than that of the task force. After all, despite the impairment clause, the anxiety disorder mushroomed; by 2000, it was the third most common psychiatric disorder in America, behind only depression and alcoholism. Over-medication would affect fewer Americans if we could rein in such clear examples of over-diagnosis. We would have to set the thresholds for psychiatric diagnosis a lot higher, resurrecting the distinction between chronic illness and mild suffering. But there is fierce resistance to this by those who say they are fighting grave mental disorders, for which medication is the only viable treatment. Failure to reform psychiatry will be disastrous for public health. Consider that apathy, excessive shopping, and overuse of the internet are all serious contenders for inclusion in the next edition of the DSM, due to appear in 2012. If the history of psychiatry is any guide, a new class of medication will soon be touted to treat them. Sanity must prevail: if everyone is mentally ill, then no one is. Lane, Professor of English at Northwestern University, is the author of Shyness: How Normal Behavior Became a Sickness. This commentary is published by DAILY NEWS EGYPT in collaboration with Project Syndicate (www.project-syndicate.org). 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Guest guest Posted April 2, 2008 Report Share Posted April 2, 2008 http://www.dailystaregypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=12735 High anxiety By Lane First Published: March 27, 2008 The United States has reached a point where almost half its population is described as being in some way mentally ill, and nearly a quarter of its citizens — 67.5 million — have taken anti-depressants. These eye-popping statistics have sparked a widespread, sometimes rancorous debate about whether people are taking far more medication than is needed for problems that may not even be mental disorders. Studies indicate that 40 percent of all patients fall short of the diagnoses that doctors and psychiatrists give them, yet 200 million prescriptions are still written annually in the US to treat depression and anxiety. Those who defend such widespread use of prescription drugs insist that a significant part of the population is under-treated and, by inference, under-medicated. Those opposed to such rampant use of drugs note that diagnostic rates for bipolar disorder, in particular, have skyrocketed by 4,000 percent and that overmedication is impossible without over-diagnosis. To help settle this long-standing dispute, I studied why the number of recognized psychiatric disorders has ballooned so dramatically in recent decades. In 1980, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders added 112 new mental disorders to its third edition ( DSM-III ). Fifty-eight more disorders appeared in the revised third (1987) and fourth (1994) editions. With over a million copies in print, the manual is known as the bible of American psychiatry; certainly it is an invoked chapter and verse in schools, prisons, courts, and by mental-health professionals around the world. The addition of even one new diagnostic code has serious practical consequences. What, then, was the rationale for adding so many in 1980? After several requests to the American Psychiatric Association, I was granted complete access to the hundreds of unpublished memos, letters, and even votes from the period between 1973 and 1979, when the DSM-III task force debated each new and existing disorder. Some of the work was meticulous and commendable. But the overall approval process was more capricious than scientific. DSM-III grew out of meetings that many participants described as chaotic. One observer later remarked that the small amount of research drawn upon was " really a hodgepodge –scattered, inconsistent, and ambiguous. " The interest and expertise of the task force was limited to one branch of psychiatry: neuropsychiatry. That group met for four years before it occurred to members that such one-sidedness might result in bias. Incredibly, the lists of symptoms for some disorders were knocked out in minutes. The field studies used to justify their inclusion sometimes involved a single patient evaluated by the person advocating the new disease. Experts pressed for the inclusion of illnesses as questionable as " chronic undifferentiated unhappiness disorder " and " chronic complaint disorder, " whose traits included moaning about taxes, the weather, and even sports results. Social phobia (later dubbed " social anxiety disorder " ) was one of seven new anxiety disorders created in 1980. At first it struck me as a serious condition. By the 1990's experts were calling it " the disorder of the decade, " insisting that as many as one in five Americans suffers from it. Yet the complete story turned out to be rather more complicated. For starters, the specialist who in the 1960's originally recognized social anxiety (London-based Isaac Marks, a renowned expert on fear and panic) strongly resisted its inclusion in DSM-III as a separate disease category. The list of common behaviors associated with the disorder gave him pause: fear of eating alone in restaurants, avoidance of public toilets, and concern about trembling hands. By the time a revised task force added dislike of public speaking in 1987, the disorder seemed sufficiently elastic to include virtually everyone on the planet. To counter the impression that it was turning common fears into treatable conditions, DSM-IV added a clause stipulating that social anxiety behaviors had to be " impairing " before a diagnosis was possible. But who was holding the prescribers to such standards? Doubtless, their understanding of impairment was looser than that of the task force. After all, despite the impairment clause, the anxiety disorder mushroomed; by 2000, it was the third most common psychiatric disorder in America, behind only depression and alcoholism. Over-medication would affect fewer Americans if we could rein in such clear examples of over-diagnosis. We would have to set the thresholds for psychiatric diagnosis a lot higher, resurrecting the distinction between chronic illness and mild suffering. But there is fierce resistance to this by those who say they are fighting grave mental disorders, for which medication is the only viable treatment. Failure to reform psychiatry will be disastrous for public health. Consider that apathy, excessive shopping, and overuse of the internet are all serious contenders for inclusion in the next edition of the DSM, due to appear in 2012. If the history of psychiatry is any guide, a new class of medication will soon be touted to treat them. Sanity must prevail: if everyone is mentally ill, then no one is. Lane, Professor of English at Northwestern University, is the author of Shyness: How Normal Behavior Became a Sickness. This commentary is published by DAILY NEWS EGYPT in collaboration with Project Syndicate (www.project-syndicate.org). 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Guest guest Posted April 2, 2008 Report Share Posted April 2, 2008 http://www.dailystaregypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=12735 High anxiety By Lane First Published: March 27, 2008 The United States has reached a point where almost half its population is described as being in some way mentally ill, and nearly a quarter of its citizens — 67.5 million — have taken anti-depressants. These eye-popping statistics have sparked a widespread, sometimes rancorous debate about whether people are taking far more medication than is needed for problems that may not even be mental disorders. Studies indicate that 40 percent of all patients fall short of the diagnoses that doctors and psychiatrists give them, yet 200 million prescriptions are still written annually in the US to treat depression and anxiety. Those who defend such widespread use of prescription drugs insist that a significant part of the population is under-treated and, by inference, under-medicated. Those opposed to such rampant use of drugs note that diagnostic rates for bipolar disorder, in particular, have skyrocketed by 4,000 percent and that overmedication is impossible without over-diagnosis. To help settle this long-standing dispute, I studied why the number of recognized psychiatric disorders has ballooned so dramatically in recent decades. In 1980, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders added 112 new mental disorders to its third edition ( DSM-III ). Fifty-eight more disorders appeared in the revised third (1987) and fourth (1994) editions. With over a million copies in print, the manual is known as the bible of American psychiatry; certainly it is an invoked chapter and verse in schools, prisons, courts, and by mental-health professionals around the world. The addition of even one new diagnostic code has serious practical consequences. What, then, was the rationale for adding so many in 1980? After several requests to the American Psychiatric Association, I was granted complete access to the hundreds of unpublished memos, letters, and even votes from the period between 1973 and 1979, when the DSM-III task force debated each new and existing disorder. Some of the work was meticulous and commendable. But the overall approval process was more capricious than scientific. DSM-III grew out of meetings that many participants described as chaotic. One observer later remarked that the small amount of research drawn upon was " really a hodgepodge –scattered, inconsistent, and ambiguous. " The interest and expertise of the task force was limited to one branch of psychiatry: neuropsychiatry. That group met for four years before it occurred to members that such one-sidedness might result in bias. Incredibly, the lists of symptoms for some disorders were knocked out in minutes. The field studies used to justify their inclusion sometimes involved a single patient evaluated by the person advocating the new disease. Experts pressed for the inclusion of illnesses as questionable as " chronic undifferentiated unhappiness disorder " and " chronic complaint disorder, " whose traits included moaning about taxes, the weather, and even sports results. Social phobia (later dubbed " social anxiety disorder " ) was one of seven new anxiety disorders created in 1980. At first it struck me as a serious condition. By the 1990's experts were calling it " the disorder of the decade, " insisting that as many as one in five Americans suffers from it. Yet the complete story turned out to be rather more complicated. For starters, the specialist who in the 1960's originally recognized social anxiety (London-based Isaac Marks, a renowned expert on fear and panic) strongly resisted its inclusion in DSM-III as a separate disease category. The list of common behaviors associated with the disorder gave him pause: fear of eating alone in restaurants, avoidance of public toilets, and concern about trembling hands. By the time a revised task force added dislike of public speaking in 1987, the disorder seemed sufficiently elastic to include virtually everyone on the planet. To counter the impression that it was turning common fears into treatable conditions, DSM-IV added a clause stipulating that social anxiety behaviors had to be " impairing " before a diagnosis was possible. But who was holding the prescribers to such standards? Doubtless, their understanding of impairment was looser than that of the task force. After all, despite the impairment clause, the anxiety disorder mushroomed; by 2000, it was the third most common psychiatric disorder in America, behind only depression and alcoholism. Over-medication would affect fewer Americans if we could rein in such clear examples of over-diagnosis. We would have to set the thresholds for psychiatric diagnosis a lot higher, resurrecting the distinction between chronic illness and mild suffering. But there is fierce resistance to this by those who say they are fighting grave mental disorders, for which medication is the only viable treatment. Failure to reform psychiatry will be disastrous for public health. Consider that apathy, excessive shopping, and overuse of the internet are all serious contenders for inclusion in the next edition of the DSM, due to appear in 2012. If the history of psychiatry is any guide, a new class of medication will soon be touted to treat them. Sanity must prevail: if everyone is mentally ill, then no one is. Lane, Professor of English at Northwestern University, is the author of Shyness: How Normal Behavior Became a Sickness. This commentary is published by DAILY NEWS EGYPT in collaboration with Project Syndicate (www.project-syndicate.org). 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