Guest guest Posted December 21, 2008 Report Share Posted December 21, 2008 This is what I wrote to someone on my PSSD site who was very distressed by his lack of sex drive. It's a shame the link didn't work but I have now rectified that with another post. I had to be brief about ACT as anxiuos people find it hard to read to much detail. The brain can't heal when under a lot of stress. Cortisol, a stress hormone, damages brain cells and down regulates receptors. Your only hope is get get yourself happy and relaxed for a number of years. It's terrible I know, but you have to start somewhere so try starting a hobbie. It's no good having loads of spare time on your hands to think about distressing things. Also, learning something new causes brain cells to regrow. You could also go to a meditation class and learn relaxation and this will also give you a chance to meet new people. Childhood trauma damages the brain - due to high cortisol again - and learning to love and be loved can undo this damage. Even if people feel fine at this moment childhood trauma - the route cause of anxiety and depression - leaves cortisol levels chronically too high. This causes low serotonin and low confidence and repeat depressions/ anxiety (because of harm to the brain). So you need to heal this inner pain if you are to recover. Brain scans have shown how the brain recovers when you learn to love yourself and be loved by others. You could buy The Happiness Trap by Russ which is considered the handbook of the new Acceptance and Commitement therapy (ACT) and is based on meditation and mindfulness. Another good book is Feeling Good by Burns a leading CBT therapist and his book Panic Attacks is good for people with anxiety. Another good book is Radical Acceptance by Tara Bach, which is a buddhist approach to self love and happiness. http://www.amazon.com/Get-Your-Mind-Into- Life/dp/1572244259/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8 & s=books & qid=1229886033 & sr=8-3 It's a long hard struggle I know (the ACT motto is 'stop strugling and start living') but you just have to orientate yourself towards getting well and getting a life. Get out and about, get exercise, and start making life happen again, but do it with 'non striving' (a buddhist and ACT term) and be gentle with yourself. Best of luck. Kavy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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