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Anxious brains redirect emotion regulation

nature.com

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Re: Anxious brains redirect emotion regulation

#211

Post by riazrizvi »

petesergeant wrote: post #207
riazrizvi wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I personally have tried and agree with L-Theanine to reduce coffee anxiety without killing its alertness power, and anxiety certainly spikes a day after a night out drinking. But I think we are missing here the most important levers; 1) a steady regimen of well-scheduled exercises and injury-preventing recovery work, 2) a well-scheduled nutritionally balanced diet free of inflammatory products. Julia Ross’s The Mood…

I think I'm not qualified to talk about other people's mental health, but I haven't noticed much of a difference between periods when I exercise consistently and those where I don't. I'd always recommend people throw everything they can at chronic anxiety though, and consistent exercise is a win in its own right.

The devil is in the details with exercise, just as it is for nutrition. There are so many ways to do exercise that ultimately increase anxiety; over the years I've had exercise regimens that made sleep difficult, or created increased inflammation (through oxidation, brief injuries or by being more careless with food/drink), or by increased muscle tightness, or lead to me not getting ahead at work because of time spent exercising. I find I have to be very clear on my exercise objective. Six Ironmen and many marathons later, I see I easily get caught up in athletic targets that are not helpful to my life goals.

Re: Anxious brains redirect emotion regulation

#212

Post by nyanpasu64 »

anon373839 wrote: post #210
nyanpasu64 wrote: post #201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In my experience, over-exposure to terrifying situations leads me to full-blown panic attacks, emotional dysregulation, crying, sometimes being trapped in a situation miles from safety with no way to get back, and being traumatized for days afterwards and (very rationally) avoiding the situation in the future. The people who want me to put myself into fearful situations are people who want to hurt me.

> full-blown panic attacks, emotional dysregulation, crying I’ve been there, and I get it. But if you’re on the path to extinguishing Big Fears, this is simply what the process entails. It’s really uncomfortable - until it isn’t. > sometimes being trapped in a situation miles from safety with no way to get back I’m not sure what you mean by this part. If you’re referring to the symptoms above (panic attacks, crying,…

The specific situation was trying to bike to a doctor's office late in the afternoon after being unable to go earlier due to non-24 sleep disorder and executive dysfunction and struggling to pack and get out of the door. After being slowed down beyond my plans by unpaved roads, traffic lights, and parking lots, I got turned away from the door when the office closed, and did not have a safe way to get back home, since the sun was setting, I was not prepared for the cold weather, and I could neither safely stay outdoors at night in an office park without food or shelter, nor safely bike home while crying, and did not have a ride arranged.

Growing up, my parents punished and traumatized me for not getting straight As in classes and cramming for extracurriculars, judged my worth based on academic performance and following their orders, fed me stories about how not getting into a top college would turn me into a burger-flipper, then forced me to the most difficult computer science program in the country, which together pushed me into burnout, dropping out, and a years-long CPTSD mental breakdown. They tried to force me to become their idea of a top student, ignoring the existential harm they caused.

Similarly, other people ignore the harm they cause (regardless if they want to hurt me or not) when they want me to put myself into unpleasant situations which have hurt me in the past for little gain (for example failing driving exams time and time again, the above-mentioned biking trip, rude and disrespectful doctors delaying care for an hour and then complaining when I asked questions and couldn't make decisions quickly enough, and psychiatrists who refuse care when I go nonverbal and want to communicate over text), and blame and accuse me of being "self-destructive" when I refuse to do as told.

> Avoiding the situation post-exposure unfortunately “un-does” much of the benefit of the exposure: it reinforces the neural pathways that make you feel a sense of danger in the first place.

It is perfectly rational for me to not harm myself further by seeking out situations which (promise benefits, cause substantial harm, and the benefits fail to materialize as expected), and for me to avoid people who pressure me to do so. If I find a route to doing things which benefits me more than it hurts, then I will start doing it.

Re: Anxious brains redirect emotion regulation

#213

Post by anon373839 »

nyanpasu64 wrote: post #212
anon373839 wrote: post #210

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> full-blown panic attacks, emotional dysregulation, crying I’ve been there, and I get it. But if you’re on the path to extinguishing Big Fears, this is simply what the process entails. It’s really uncomfortable - until it isn’t. > sometimes being trapped in a situation miles from safety with no way to get back I’m not sure what you mean by this part. If you’re referring to the symptoms above (panic attacks, crying,…

The specific situation was trying to bike to a doctor's office late in the afternoon after being unable to go earlier due to non-24 sleep disorder and executive dysfunction and struggling to pack and get out of the door. After being slowed down beyond my plans by unpaved roads, traffic lights, and parking lots, I got turned away from the door when the office closed, and did not have a safe way to get back home, since…

I’m very sorry you’ve had bad experiences and difficult circumstances. Of course, no one can make you follow a treatment protocol: you have to want the freedom that comes with conquering your fear, and be willing to go through some discomfort to get there. It’s a very personal choice.

I will say again that if you’re inclined, you might consider starting with something that seems like a small challenge. Even a small victory can really boost your confidence and motivation. Finally, you might consider working with a therapist. Telehealth is a nice option that works well for many people.

Re: Anxious brains redirect emotion regulation

#214

Post by javier_e06 »

2 days ago my wife and I hopped on 737 MAX plane for the first time.

"This is it" I told my wife giddy when I saw the MAX 738-8 bold letters on the emergency pamphlet.

"This are the planes that came down due to the..."

"Stop it!" Shouted her because I was about to start one of my long engineering diatribes.

My anxious brain had acceptance on putting my life on the hands of well meaning people.

Other's anxious brains rather not.

Re: Anxious brains redirect emotion regulation

#215

Post by DrThunder »

BoxFour wrote: post #156
DrThunder wrote: post #155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"As I mentioned before, reputable establishments typically mandate concurrent therapy" But, this is objectively false. Are you trying to say a GD is not "reputable"? Like I said, you can go directly to a GD almost anywhere in this country and they will give you an SSRI with no requirement or mandate to get therapy at all. They will all mention it but there's nothing that requires you to attend therapy.

> are you trying to say a GD is not “reputable”? In the capacity of a psychiatrist? No, a primary care physician is not a trustworthy substitute for a psychiatrist. Mental health disorders should not be addressed by a PCP, even if they have the ability to prescribe you medication for it. You should seek treatment from mental health clinics that almost always have both psychiatrists and therapists on staff or work clo…

Whether they should or shouldn't be addressed by a GD is irrelevant. They are addressed by a GP in many circumstances. There are not enough psychiatrists around to cover everyone.

Your point is moot. The system is not set up to push therapy, it's set up to push drugs first. You mentioning that "reputable" psychiatrists wouldn't do that is irrelevant. Your ignoring the issue by marking everyone disagree with as not reputable.

Re: Anxious brains redirect emotion regulation

#216

Post by Aerbil313 »

riazrizvi wrote: post #76

So, heightened anxiety triggers alternate emotional regulation, with traits like pro-avoidance behavior. To me this is not necessarily dysfunctional. It may also go hand-in-hand with motivating heightened deliberation. I can see how one can fall into regressive patterns like distracting ourselves away from critical path actions, especially if a particular person only uses one of two strategies, 1) try going on as bef…

I can't see the point of those studies. They simply state the obvious. Ever had a person in your life who is chronically stressed? You'd know this.

Re: Anxious brains redirect emotion regulation

#217

Post by Aerbil313 »

otikik wrote: post #64
impulser_ wrote: post #13

So from my understanding. Anxious people are so anxious that they overload the part of the brain that typical deals with anxiety so the brain routes it to another part of the brain to deal with it and that part of the brain isn't what you want dealing with it so it cause problems. So the key is too limit overloading the part of the brain that deals with anxiety, which probably means doing things you are fearing to do…

> doing things you are fearing to do so that you no longer fear doing it. Careful with that assumption. I can see it completely backfiring. Doing the thing repeatedly can end up increasing the anxiety. If this route is taken, then "the thing" must be introduced very gradually and from a place of security. As an example, for an arachnophobe, it would starting with something like "draw a dot. Draw a line coming out of…

From my experience, cold-turkey forced exposure simply works.

Re: Anxious brains redirect emotion regulation

#219

Post by RoyalHenOil »

NayamAmarshe wrote: post #5

It's always fear, isn't it? We're afraid to approach people, afraid to ask for help, afraid that someone might react in the worst possible way or something really bad might happen. But obviously, it never happens the way we imagine. Reality is 100% of the time, different from our imagination and yet, many of us still fail to remember that. Every good opportunity that I ever got, was from me coming out of my comfort z…

My personal flavor of social anxiety is quite a bit different. I don't expect to have a negative social interaction (I almost never do), and when it does happen, it doesn't actually bother me that much (I find it very easy to roll my eyes and dismiss assholes).

My anxiety stems from the fear that the interaction will be exhausting. And that fear is almost always realized.

The only thing I've found that reduces my anxiety is to ensure that I am feeling very energetic (e.g., getting a good night's sleep and giving myself an extra strong dose of caffeine), to make sure the interaction happens in an easier and less tiring format (e.g., face-to-face where I can read their face and body language, as opposed to something like a phone call where I have to work extra hard to process what they are saying), and to make sure my schedule is clear for the next few days for recovery. When I can do these things, I find myself actively looking forward to social interactions and enjoying them a great deal. I can even manage to be downright outgoing and charming.

So I'm not really sure what a good solution is here. Life requires more social interactions than I can properly prepare for, and assorted necessary interactions sap all my energy for more fulfilling interactions. It creates this conundrum where I crave more interactions with my friends, but I simultaneously avoid them; even receiving a text from a friend fills me with dread.

Re: Anxious brains redirect emotion regulation

#220

Post by xtiansimon »

elwell wrote: post #161
xtiansimon wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> “Like driving a car as a learner your whole life, I remember the first driving lesson I had, I couldn't even focus with the radio on.” This reminded me of starting to ride a motorcycle (again) in 2021. Lots of anxiety and stress. Two years later I’m not as stressed. But, each near-accident I’ve had was following not paying attention. Thinking about this on a ride over the weekend, I mused about solo-jet fighter pil…

> realizing failure is not life threatening That doesn't hold true when it comes to riding a motorcycle though. Maybe the fear is warranted.

Life is complex.

It’s not a platitude to say PPE #1 is your mind.

Are you fit to ride? And not in a relative-manner (“I’m the least drunk here!”), but in your own objective sense. If you’re not, then don’t start. If you started, then you should stop—sort of thing.

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