Oblio said:
I agree with you to a point. I doubt you would say the same thing to someone taking drugs due to being Bi-Polar or having Schizophrenia. I think with the right therapy from the right therapist you can overcome most if not all chemical imbalances ... positive thought, coping mechanisms etc ... but in no way would that be an overnight process hence the need for chemical aid.
Depression, anxiety, insomnia, panic can all be very debilitating.
Except that Bi-Polar and Schizophrenia are both actual mental "illnesses" where an
actualchemical imbalance exists. Anxiety is not one of those things.
Anxiety is caused by the Amygdala which stores and perpetuates the anxiety response
Anxiety (and therefore inappropriate anxiety) is subconsciously triggered by the Amygdala, a small organ in the brain.
Normally, the Amygdala operates at "calm/normal" status. When we are faced with an anxiety-provoking situation(such as a lion about to wreck our shit), the Amygdala switches to "anxious" and, depending on the level of threat perceived, initiates "self-preservation" responses within the body.
Once the threat has dissipated, the Amygdala reverts back to "calm/normal". The effects of the "self-preservation" responses may remain for a short time but eventually also fade as the body returns to a "resting" status.
Exposure to extreme or prolonged periods of anxiety can cause the Amygdala to become reset, establishing "anxious" as the new "default" anxiety level. The Amygdala has "learned" anxious behavior. You
KNOWlogically that you shouldn"t feel anxious but are powerless to do anything to change it.
The Amygdala now over-reacts to situations that would normally have low levels of threat with an exaggerated response and initiates extreme self-preservation mechanisms, normally reserved for potentially life-threatening scenarios. The net effect is that you don"t respond how you used to and you experience symptoms and sensations you never had before.
The individual subconsciously adopts an "anxious" disposition and has developed an anxiety disorder. However, the term "disorder" suggests "illness", which is incorrect. This condition has been "learned" and is, as such, a "behavioral" condition.
Panic attacks are the extreme manifestation of high anxiety and these happen because the body has developed a mechanism that uses up excess adrenalin in order to settle the body back to normal... in anxiety disorders, this doesn"t happen effectively and sufferers often experience extreme and sometimes frightening thoughts and sensations.
