# NEWSWEEK ARTICLE ON ANXIETY & YOUR BRAIN



## Guest (Feb 28, 2003)

Check out the February 24th issue of Newsweek for another great article.Evie


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## Guest (Feb 28, 2003)

B.Q.... do you have a hot line into Newsweek as well? I don't subscribe online and it would cost $3 just to post the link here.Some highlights from this Newsweek cover article entitled ANXIETY AND YOUR BRAIN:


> quote: Stress hormones can harm the brain, severing connections and inhibiting memory function.Their developing brains make children especially vulnerable to emotional experiences (e.g. abuse)Even at low levels, anxiety causes muscle tension: aches, pains and twitching eyes.(This article actually tracks fear in the brain and through the body.)MISGUIDED FEAR: In people suffering from phobias, the prefontal cortex may lose its ability to control the amydala, allowing it to act unheeded and arouse fear in non-threatening situations.CHRONIC ANXIETY: Unlike fear, anxiety is not aroused by predictable threats. It also arises from a different part of the brain.FEAR:Short-termInvolves specific phobiasActivated by central nucleus of amygdalaANXIETY:Long-termGeneralizedActivated by the bed nucleaus of stria terminalis(the following relates to my experience specifically
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Eric... I think this is also a MUST-READ. It's fascinating.Evie


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## trbell (Nov 1, 2000)

If you're going to spend $3 here and $3 there you might as well either buy a good book ($15 on the internet?) or get it from the library. Eric can probably give you some other titles but McEwen's book or Taylor's book are good.tom


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## Guest (Mar 1, 2003)

Uh......er....... um..... Tom..... I think you may have slightly missed the point on this one?







Evie


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## BQ (May 22, 2000)

Um I think I'll spend the 3 bucks on the magazine and some impulsively decadent purchase at the register.







BQ


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## Guest (Mar 2, 2003)

LOL...B.Q.My husband and I now affectionately refer to my amygdala as ....... "Annie". And when I feel an explosion on the horizon.... he will now say to me..... "Annie..... drop the gun."This morning, I remained in bed for a whole hour after I woke up (which I never do) and had a "conversation" with "Annie". I told her she didn't have to interpret every incoming signal as negative and override my higher brain cortical transmissions by responding with fear, anxiety, anger or hopelessness. I think she might still be a little bit reluctant...due to all of the past abuse.... but she at least took time to listen to me...







Since talking to the amygdala is at the core of healing the dysfunction.... I have high hopes that I will be able to see some success with this mode of therapy. And just for the record, my therapist, Pat, has thanked me for sharing this new insight with her as it completely changes the approach to treating Dyslimbia, which we now know is not a personality or character flaw.... rather it is a neurochemical dysfunction. Together, we are now going to pursue the "re-training of Annie". It's going to take lots of time, patience, understanding and Love.I knew I was right about this Eric, and I will never again let worldly ignorance cause me to beat myself up when I already knew that based on what information I had, that I was doing the best that I could.There is hope for anyone suffering from amygdala/limbic system dysfunctions. But first we gotta do the homework !!







This may include anxiety, phobias, panic, depression, personality disorders and even just simple anger and shame before they become any of the foregoing.This is also strange, but since I've weaned from the Lexapro now in the last few days, I don't feel so agitated. We'll see how I do without meds for a little while, but if need be, I'll go back on the Celexa. I spoke too soon on Lexapro... it took me a while to figure out that it was causing me almost constant internal torturous turmoil.Yesterday was the first day in weeks that I've been able to sit still long enough for a cat to fall asleep on my lap.This morning, I feel some twinges of wellbeing again for the first time in weeks. I even vacuumed my basement !!(Maybe I'll splurge on a reward to give to "Annie" for being cooperative....  )







Evie


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