Posted by Phil R. on November 13, 1999, at 3:11:20
In reply to Re: Uncommon issues / uncommon treatments?, posted by ed on November 10, 1999, at 6:14:06
Thanks for all your comments. I agree that learning how to invoke the relaxation response is important in learning how to deal with anxiety, and I've seen others who successfully use relaxation techniques to ease their anxiety. I do equate relaxation with letting my emotional guard down, and it's even beginning to let my emotional guard down that triggers my anxiety/agitation response. I'm not sure whether, for me, relaxation "performance anxiety" plays a part. Hypnotherapy is a fascinating proposition. My only concern is that I thought in order for hypnotic trance state to work, one must enter a more relaxed, unguarded state, which I can't currently do.
Once I related my own situation to the known phenomenon of "relaxation-induced anxiety", I talked with a counselor friend who mentioned that the local university medical center's behavioral health department has a well-regarded anxiety disorders clinic that might have some knowledge or experience with this phenomenon. I used to have a psychiatrist contact within the behavioral health department, so I wrote to her asking for a referral. She talked with a few others there and came back with two recommendations, one to get myself on their long waiting list (though I'm not yet clear on what treatment approaches they're thinking of), and another to consult with a particular therapist in the area who does EMDR (the eye-movement thing for trauma and other disorders).
I've met once with the EMDR guy, who thought that EMDR might later be applicable, but that I wasn't yet ready for EMDR itself. A few exploratory sessions might help determine a treatment plan. The guy seems good, and he understood that I've already spent a lot of time learning to cope better with the fact that I have these limitations, and that I'd like to focus on finding a way to actually reduce those limitations.
When I get to the top of the waiting list, I'll consult with the university mental health folks and try to compare their proposed plan with what the EMDR guy decides. I'm not going to pursue the two paths simultaneously, but I already let the EMDR guy know that I still want to just consult with the university people to see what they think might be a good treatment plan for me.
So (dare I say?), I'm feeling just a little bit of hope for some progress on this.
- Phil R.
poster:Phil R.
thread:14715
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/19991108/msgs/15130.html