39 replies to this topic

[CalumJones]

CalumJones or any else: how would you label or interpret the following mental symptom I sometimes experience:

 

I get these mental states where words, concepts or images on TV can sort of jolt the mind, and create substantial internal mental tension, such that I need to avoid exposure to conversation, and even watching TV. It's as if my mind cannot process words, ideas, concept and thoughts, so the coping strategy is to avoid conversation or TV. 

 

It's not the meaning of the words or images that is the issue, as I get the same tension with any word or concept; it just relates to the mental processing any word, concept or image, as if my mind cannot process them without causing mental unrest and upheaval. 

 

 

My feeling is that the above symptom might be part of the mild psychosis I get on random days from time to time. 

 

What has your psychiatrist suggested you may be suffering from?

 

It sounds like autism. Like when someone on the spectrum experiences sensory overload.

[Hip]

It sounds like autism. Like when someone on the spectrum experiences sensory overload.

 

I don't think it is sensory overload.

 

Sensory overload I am familiar with, because it is a common symptom in the condition I have, myalgic encephalomyelitis / chronic fatigue syndrome. My own view is that sensory overload may be due to a breakdown of the brain's sensory gating mechanisms, which are the "firewall" (to use a computer analogy) which prevents extraneous sensory inputs from reaching consciousness. I posted about my firewall theory here.

 

I found the very low dose amisulpride protocol helps reduce sensory overload.

 

 

So whereas sensory overload is consciousness being overwhelmed by too much sensory input, the experience I have when inputs such as words, concepts or images cause mental tension I feel relates more to the mechanism of interpretation and understanding of these inputs. I don't find these inputs overwhelm consciousness, but as I grapple with finding the meaning of these inputs, that causes unease and tension. I think this might be part of psychosis, which I do experience to a mild degree.

Edited by Hip, 24 July 2019 - 03:42 AM.

[cat-nips]

CalumJones or any else: how would you label or interpret the following mental symptom I sometimes experience:

 

I get these mental states where words, concepts or images on TV can sort of jolt the mind, and create substantial internal mental tension, such that I need to avoid exposure to conversation, and even watching TV. It's as if my mind cannot process words, ideas, concept and thoughts, so the coping strategy is to avoid conversation or TV. 

 

It's not the meaning of the words or images that is the issue, as I get the same tension with any word or concept; it just relates to the mental processing any word, concept or image, as if my mind cannot process them without causing mental unrest and upheaval. 

 

 

My feeling is that the above symptom might be part of the mild psychosis I get on random days from time to time. 

 

 

That mental symptom seems to be a frequent occurrence for me as well. 

 

Very interesting post, especially the discussions of differentiation of anxiety as anticipatory, situational, and post and hopefully suggestions to deal with varying types.  Apologies for not having any real insight at the moment, but just wanted to follow this discussion.  

[Matt]

I've known Virtual Reality to help a lot of people over the last few years who were suffering from social anxiety. It really does make a big difference if you frequently use it on apps like Sansar, VRChat, etc.

[kurdishfella]

Singing. for me anxiety causes random singing which helps me to cope somewhat.

Edited by kurdishfella, 21 December 2020 - 07:00 AM.

[CWF1986]

 

Yeah well obviously antidepressants aren't something you just pop for fun. There are risks, though exaggerated. Sexual dysfunction btw is a very broad term, it can mean delayed ejalucation (which IMO is a meh factor), loss of libido... It's not always actual impotence, and post people can still use stuff like Cialis.

Personally I don't have any of the issues mentioned.

HOWEVER - the point is that antidepressants and western medicine are a godsend for people who NEED IT.

 

I will tell you now this is no joke: I would be dead without SSRIs. If I all I had was some crap passionflower I would be dead. If all I had was some phenibut that makes you feel wasted drunk I'd not be able to function in normal life and then suffer life threatening withdrawals - since it's kinda similar to benzos. If I had to describe phenibut I'd say it's like a mix of alcohol, benzos, and MDMA. But not strong enough on its own to be more effective than any of those on their own. But in combination (fatal - do not try - DO NOT TRY) which I have done it works like that.

 

So obviously for me whatever possible minor side effect is better than the alternative. I'd rather live to 50 and be mentally healthy than live to be 100 and suffer every day... I am a victim of childhood trauma which gave me severe anxiety and at first bad dissociation and all sorts. I watched my mom die, watched her buried, I was only 14 and I didn't have a dad (he was alive but I never saw him since I was like 5) so my life was basically just me and my mom, and she was taken from me quite suddenly and unexpectedly... After her death I became MANIC for about 6 months or perhaps a bit more? I was like some madman, super extroverted, I think I wanted to wear an army general's hat to school. I was just totally mentally ruined.

 

Yes I am certain it is not "shyness", I was never a shy person until post-trauma. Post-trauma I had to take Valium just to walk into an office years ago when working and I'd STILL have panic attacks, even on valium I'd have to hide out in the bathrooms for hours due to how stressed and scared I was. In fact one time I had such a bad attack on the train I had to get off and lie down on the platform, it was raining and people stepped all over me to get on the train. Nobody cared.

 

I suffered for a DECADE without the medication I needed because of fearmongering - like people saying how terrible antidepressants are. As for emotional numbness, I was emotionally numb anyway (numb in the positive - so as in very unexcitable etc.) so if it made a change there I wouldn't even notice, I would always just have to fake positive emotions but never feel them. So I can't comment on that side of things. Now I do sometimes feel good emotions but it's usually emotions like feeling accomplished etc, I tend to not get very excited etc.

 

But all these herbal remedies etc. it's practically B.S, I've tried them all... Someone with the actual disorder (at least to the extent I had it) needs to rely on 21st century treatment options. The best are: Antidepressants/anxyioltics (though the latter can cause physical dependence and aren't good for socializing due to sedation IMO), CBT therapy, mindfulness practice DURING an anxiety producing situation... The latter since much of anxiety is anticipatory. E.g. walking up to reception you might feel nervous before you even enter the building. Mindfulness can help you pull yourself into the moment so it's like you're not even realizing you're going there until you're there. And the anxiety is much less.

 

I always noticed that I would fare a lot better when taken by surprise. So for example, if a stranger randomly and unexpectedly said something to me, I would react much less nervously than if it was something I had built up like walking from the train station to the workplace getting more and more anxious until I'd be literally hyperventilating.

I am VERY well read on Social Anxiety Disorder, I have many textbooks. My favorites on the subject if anyone's interested are:

 

1) Cognitive Therapy Techniques, Second Edition: A Practitioner's Guide

 

2) The Wiley Blackwell Handbook of Social Anxiety Disorder (Wiley Clinical Psychology Handbooks)

 

3) The Cambridge Book of Anxiety and Related Disorders

 

I purchased them. Others have ways of "obtaining" things as I am led to believe. Most Wiley or Wiley Blackwell publications are extremely high quality. Of course make sure they're up to date so they contain the latest techniques and research. The Leahy one is a bit older but it's the best guide on CBT that I have found and it was what I used to formulate my own treatment plan which was quite effective. I have been to therapists and they did not help remotely. I am not sure therapists have ever been to med school I feel like they just get McDiplomas from the local college... When I say quite effective I mean, being unable to enter a workplace without hyperventilating to being able to random stop and chat up women on the middle of the street is a pretty night and day difference... Though since my accident I've been out of practice and would have to get back into it.

 

GABA type supplements work more like alcohol etc. so you actually feel altered like a drug (e.g. phenibut, benzos). IMO on SSRIs after it levels out you just feel normal but find your behavior is very different and improved. Before SSRIs I would have really bad mental breakdowns either once per month or twice per month. Almost like clockwork. Since being on 200 mg Zoloft I have not had A SINGLE BREAKDOWN. I just notice that in sad situations that would usually cause me to WhatsApp my friend I'm gonna kill myself there's no hope etc, I'll just feel sad to the extent a normal person would.

---

I will add, a surprising but useful "side effect" is that it also works on OCD. I suffer from BDD to a large extent (which is placed on the OCD spectrum), and as well as having the anxiety I would often meltdown about my physical appearance. It especially didn't help that I got quite fat at some point and even my friends would joke about how fat I am or sing songs about how fat I am which made me feel even worse... And for the anxiety side I remember one time I ordered a burger without mayonnaise (since I hate it) at a restaurant and my friends acted like it was some big deal and they can't take me out anywhere etc. One of my friends actually said he is only forced to hang out with "losers" like me since he lost his social popularity in school. So there were a lot of things that contributed or made things worse.

 

Sometimes to very deep extents, but Zoloft has also reduced this behavior. Like in the past if I got a bad haircut, even though I KNEW it'd grow back, part of me felt I could never look good ever again and I'd just break down and think my life was over... Or if my face bloated up from shit food and sodium gluten etc I'd think I'm hideous and feel it's not just because of bloating.

 

I contemplated suicide many many times before being on SSRIs and have not done so since being on 200 mg Zoloft.

 

---

 

So essentially I feel people who need real medicine that could FIX THEIR LIFE (as it has done for me) are persuaded out of doing so by posts which go into how awful they supposedly are etc. I wouldn't even be here today if not for modern medicine IMHO.

But that is my character to win at ALL costs. So when it got to that point where it was literally like, I'd shut myself indoors not leaving the house for like a month, bought a TV and PS4 and decided to quit life... That's when I was like no, I'm fixing this. That's when I got on sertraline.

I had done the same about my physical appearance. The extent to which I have improved my physical appearance is dramatically more than I believe basically anyone will ever replicate. I mean it's pretty damn unbelievable to where I have to explicitly state "these pictures are NOT photoshopped".

 

 

I know this post is old, but I've just gotta add that SSRI's are a godsend for some but they don't work for other people.  There's actually an allele that very strongly predicts whether or not a serotonergic like an SSRI will work or not.  I've tried 3 different SSRI's, 5-HTP, tryptophan, and St. John's wort and none of them worked in fact they made things worse and they gave me terrible side effects.  I gave each SSRI a minimum of 7 weeks to give it a chance and the longer I was on one the worse it made things.  SSRI's and SNRI's have not worked for anyone in my blood family.  However, I have had partial success w/ nortriptyline and amitryptyline which are tricyclics, partial success w/ bupropion, and a lot of success with the combination of amantadine and tianeptine.  

 

So I'll agree that pharma is the best solution for a lot of people, but SSRI's are not at all the end all be all.  At the research level were still in the dark ages as far as predicting who will respond in what ways to which medicines and gets even worse when it comes to what doctors know who will actually treat you.    Be on the lookout into pharmacogenetics.  I think this could have a huge impact on psychiatry if money and politics don't interfere with the process too much.  

Edited by CWF1986, 22 December 2020 - 10:04 AM.

[gamesguru]

Really just magnesium, and exposure therapy.

Anything else you'll be spinning your wheels.

[Believer]

Dihydrotestosterone, skin cream, nasal spray or injections, is extremely effective for social anxiety.

DHT-"based" steroids don't work, though. Only the real unaltered hormone.

[kurdishfella]

SMELLING PEPPER can help calm you down. just grab a bunch of it put it all in one place and inhale the smell. Also NAC amide. smelling salts etc

Edited by kurdishfella, 18 January 2022 - 08:44 PM.

[Galaxyshock]

Gotu Kola makes me more calm and comfortable in social situations. Even a bit more confident. I'm still not particularly talkative but that's more of a personality trait.