Medical News

People who suffer from panic attacks and anxiety disorders can go through hell. They don’t always understand what they’re going through. Some are even unaware that it is a panic or anxiety attack at all. They link their physiological symptoms to random events or locations that they perceive to be the trigger. Usually this could likely turn out to be something in their surroundings that they may have focused on during or assume to be the cause of their first attack. Fear pervades every nook and cranny of their lives, and their every step is haunted by the dread of the next unpredictable onset.

Fear also adds to the cyclic possibility that certain perceived triggers become an actual trigger, if only because the victim’s mind suggests so to them so strongly. It may or may not be an irrational fear. That would depend on the individual’s scientific and medical knowledge, their self awareness and whether they happen to link the two in this particular context. Very often, sufferers of these disorders do not even seek help, medical or otherwise. They secure themselves to a safe setting like their own home, free of any likely element that might set off an attack. Then they stay there, just there.

They stop going out, stop getting their grocery or laundry, etc. Sometimes, depending on the intensity of their attacks, the intensity of their fear they even stop going into certain areas of their own home. So it is not so very difficult to understand that this kind of behavior and mindset can result in further psychological and physical problems such as derealization, agoraphobia, depersonalization, obsessive compulsive behaviors, etc. which increase the turbulent discomfort of these sufferers lives. It can also result in a self imposed isolation, in an attempt to affect an exile from society since the individual may want to save him or herself the embarrassment and humiliation of experiencing such disorientation in the presence of public.

They may even enclose themselves away from their family and friends, for years or even the rest of their life and die alone in their apartments. For those who do seek relief and help from specialists, herbalists, psychologists and physicians, even dietitians and lifestyle coaches, obtaining help can become a confusing never ending process of differing diagnoses and medications. This can turn into an addiction of sorts to both the always subsequent diagnosis and certainly, to the medications. Alternative Linden method can often have much more positive results than going the route of conventional medicine.

Instead it can be healthier to be done with the matter once and for all. Suffering panic and anxiety attacks is crippling, and whether it is the self imposed isolation one is embroiled in or the constant seeking of new practitioners, knowledge and anti depressants, it can be a physically and mentally exhausting process to battle with this problem all of one’s life. Another therapy that people are beginning to effectively turn to is the Linden Method as a remedy. Instead of the two mentioned above which end up having severely detrimental effects, the long term Linden Method has been created with a strong support system for victims and works on reprogramming the amygdala. The Linden Method permanently eliminates the problem by reconditioning the brain.

The fear center in your subconscious brain is called the amygdala. New science shows that during fear/anxiety the number of GABA receptors on cells of the amygdale decline, thereby enabling fear to dominate in response to a stimuli. Conversely, when there is no fear there are more GABA receptors.

This is an important study for several reasons. First, it shows that when individuals have overcome any fear, by whatever means, they have actually changed the function of brain cells in their amygdale. Secondly, using nutrition to support this process is realistic.

While fear can relate to any life topic I have been particularly interested in this subject in dealing with health issues. For example, someone with chemical sensitivity develops a fear of chemicals which actually seems to makes exposures worse. Someone with food allergies can develop a fear of food that actually seems to make them more allergic to more foods. Someone with an undefined health problem can develop fear and anxiety about the problem to the point of making the problem worse. This sort of thing happens all the time.

While there are various cognitive therapies that can be used to help desensitize fear, this new study implies that they work because they are conditioning nerves (like a form of exercise) to have more GABA receptors. I often recommend to anyone with fear or anxiety issues to do a lot of hobbies with their hands as well as relaxing exercise, which all work towards the same objective of increasing GABA receptors.

GABA receptors and GABA brain status have to do with relaxation and the inhibition of nerve activation – acting like brakes on nerves so they don’t get too excited or overheated. In the overall context of your health balance, they are put of your rejuvenation and restoration system. If you run low on them you are going to at least feel more agitated and irritated.

There are many nutritional options that can directly support the reduction of fear and anxiety. Nutrients like L-theanine, taurine, quercetin, ashwaganda, and noni can support GABA receptors and GABA function. Nutrients like DHA, pantethine, and phosphatidylserine can enhance the health of cell membranes in your brain so that they can respond better (not stay stuck in old patterns).

Through a combination of nutrition, hobbies, exercise, and as needed cognitive therapy a person can approach this problem from multiple angles and will see gradual but steady improvement over time as their overall supply of GABA receptors is replenished and assisted to function better. Life skills that help create more stability in general are synergistic with this strategy, whereas an overload of stress and a pile of “unsolvable” problems that make a person feel overwhelmed or unstable will magnify fear and anxiety issues.

This information offers a science-based path to changing your brain so that you have more confidence to participate in life.

Asperger’s Syndrome was first described by an Austrian physician in the 1930s. The official diagnostic criteria of Asperger’s Syndrome accepted by The American Psychiatric Association includes impairment in social interactions; repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior without significant deficits in language development or cognitive ability. However Asperger’s Syndrome may result in social,occupational, and other areas of functioning

Children with this disorder may be extremely sensitive to sudden noises and certain types of sensory input. They may suffer from motor clumsiness. They demonstrate an avoidance of eye contact. Their language may be pedantic and somewhat odd. They often talk more like an adult than a child. They provide too much information and have trouble getting to the point. They may be perfectionist and believe that they are incompetent at doing things. They are poor at organization. Good at dealing with objects, they are poor at dealing with people. They have difficulty recognizing and expressing feelings. They seem to lack the words to express their own feelings.They are delayed in social maturity and have difficulty making friends. They may exhibit intense interest in certain topics and become quite knowledgeable about these topics. Yet they are distracted with topics that did not arouse their interest. They are described as having a “one track mind” They can be inflexible and unable to find an alternative when one solution does not work. They do not tolerate sudden changes in routine, such as a substitute teacher. In those situations that may have an emotional meltdown. They may be negative, pessimistic, and fearful of making a mistake. The term “theory of mind” is used to describe their inability to understand the intentions of feelings of others. They do not recognize sarcasm and may mistakenly believe that others are laughing at them.

The cause of Asperger’s has not been identified. It tends to run in families. There is some neurological evidence that the amygdala, a structure in the limbic system of the brain associated with emotion may be abnormal, with fewer connections to the frontal lobe. They may exhibit abnormal degrees of anger, anxiety, and sadness. and are emotionally over-reactive.

Children with Asperger’s require a toolbox of strategies and interventions to help them socially and emotionally. Sometimes medication for anxiety, depression, and mood swings may help. However, they also require social and emotional tools to stay calm and in control. Affective education can help teach these children to recognize facial expressions and non-verbal cues of others. They can benefit from being taught social skills such as eye contact and rehearsal of social situations. (”What would you do if…?) They can be taught to label their feelings with an emotional barometer and to recognize and respond to cues that things are getting out of hand. Solitude is the best curative for loss of emotional control. Keeping diaries, writing e-mail, listening to music can be helpful. Classroom accommodations are usually necessary, such as permission to leave the room when they feel themselves becoming upset.

Asperger’s is not all bad. If social demands can be minimized Asperger’s adults may become highly successful as mathematicians, physicists, even corporate executives. Some claim that Einstein demonstrated symptoms of Asperger’s Syndrome. A child with Asperger’s Syndrome remarked to me that if a cure could be found, he would not agree to take it. “I am who I am,” he explained. “Killing that part of my brain that is Asperger’s would be changing my personality.”