I read a marvelous article several days ago entitled, “Understanding the Anxious Mind.” Written by Robin Marantz Henig, it appeared in the September 29, 2009 edition of The New York Times Magazine. The article was so good I knew I’d have to spread the word moments after I began reading it. And you can be sure I’ll keep it handy for future reference.

Henig wrote about the longitudinal anxiety studies of Harvard psychology professor Jerome Kagan. Also featured was the work of Harvard psychiatrist Carl Schwartz who conducted follow up research on Kagan’s work.

Kagan’s studies focused upon the role of temperament in the predisposition for anxiety. His methodology consisted of establishing anxiety baselines in infants and tracking the unfolding of anxiety as the subjects progressed into adolescence and adulthood. The work brought to mind the temperament-based personality theory of Hans Eysenck, which I’ve written about in the past.

As the research began, Kagan fully expected to confirm that “edgy” infants most often develop into inhibited, shy, and anxious adolescents and adults. Now, it’s of no great surprise that a baby’s emotional presentation varies in accordance with temperament. And the temperament of 15-20% of the infants involved in the study showed strong reactions to novel people and situations. And Kagan’s longitudinal observations, indeed, revealed these strongly reactive babies often grow up to be chronically anxious. This brings the point home that many of us are temperamentally predisposed to our anxiety. I don’t know about you, but that’s been no secret to me for years.

The article goes on to suggest emotions can be identified in three ways. Foundational, of course, is our physiological brain state. And our emotions go on to be defined by how we describe our feelings and by their behavioral result. It makes perfect sense that the physiological piece is beyond our conscious control. But, the feeling and behavioral presentations are very much within management’s reach. Yes, simply having the physiological markers of anxiety doesn’t have to equate to a subjective anxiety experience.

Now, anyone who suffers from chronic anxiety knows the malady of the “what-ifs.” Thoughts such as these are most likely generated by a highly over-reactive amygdala, which I’ve discussed time and again. This little almond-shaped mass of neurons located deep within both of our temporal lobes is programmed to react and respond to the concepts of novelty and threat. By the way, recall the temperament of 15-20% of babies that result in strong reactions to novel people and situations.

Structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has revealed something remarkable in the brains of “high reactors.” It seems the prefrontal cortex presents with a very significant “thickening.” The prefrontal cortex, the executive functioning headquarters of our brains, is pivotal in the generation of anxiety. It receives messages from the amygdala during times of potential alarm, which may call for activation of our fight/flight response. The prefrontal cortex rationally processes the threat and has the power to trump the amygdala’s call to action and calm it down. But that’s only if it’s sufficiently convinced a crisis doesn’t exist.

Interestingly, the question becomes, is this thickening of the prefrontal cortex an overgrowth of neurons resulting from tons of overtime work holding the amygdala in check? Or does the thickening actually cause hyperactivity of the amygdala?

Curiously, only one-third of high anxiety prone individuals develop serious problems. And that appears to be grounded in environment issues, such as birth order and the anxiety-coping techniques taught by parents and caregivers. By the way, the best formula seems to be directing the child to manage his/her distress on their own, individually determining what works best.

You know, as much as we may rue the results of our genetic endowment and formative environment; if panic attacks, obsessions, compulsions, phobias, generalized anxiety, and a propensity toward overreaction to stress and trauma are a true part of it – so be it. It’s fact that, among many other things, chronic anxiety sufferers are envied and valued for their caution, ability to effectively work alone, introspection, preparedness, conscientiousness, thorough work, and warm friendship. I, for one, am proud of my anxiety; and reading articles such as this only underscores my identity; and my right to be who I am, not what others may expect.

In closing, here’s a wonderful quotation from the article…
“An anxious temperament might serve a more exalted function too. ‘Our culture has this illusion that anxiety is toxic,’ Kagan said. But without inner-directed people who prefer solitude, where would we get the writers and artists and scientists and computer programmers who make society hum?”

After a winning bout with panic disorder, a career in the business world, and a part-time job working with socially challenged adolescents, Bill found his life’s passion and work. So he earned his master’s degree and counseling credentials, and is doing all he can to lend a hand to those having a tough time.

Bill has some powerful BE CALM mentoring and service packages available for panic attack sufferers on his website, which include his panic attack education and recovery eWorkbook, “Panic! …and Poetic Justice.” The eWorkbook is delivered via an immediate download. You’ll also find a link on the website to Bill’s Panic Attack Freedom! blog. Lots of good stuff going on and much more to come.

In addition to doing psychiatric emergency work, Bill continues to do a lot of writing and speaking. He’s conducted numerous mental health workshops and is available for future engagements. Bill is a national and local member of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (N.A.M.I.). He resides in the far western suburbs of Chicago where he enjoys time with his two wonderful teenage children.
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Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/mental-health-articles/panic-attacks-and-anxiety-recap-of-a-great-article-1304150.html

[ The following is an exact transcript of this podcast. ]

Some things are hard to remember. Others are hard to forget–especially things that are traumatic. But kids, it turns out, are better than adults at forgetting the bad stuff. Now scientists think they know why. According to an animal study in the September 4th issue of the journal Science , the brains of adults erect physical barriers that keep painful memories intact. [More]

In the movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind , Joel and Clementine’s relationship ends so sourly that the couple elects to have their mutual memories swept away via a non-surgical procedure called "targeted memory erasure." No such tool actually exists. Even the most intense therapies can’t completely erase troubling or fearful memories in adults. Yet, if two young rats fall in and out of love–or, more likely, have a close encounter with a subway car–permanent memory erasure may actually be possible, previous research has suggested. So, what happens in a growing rodent brain to cause this change? [More]

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This scenario plays out every day in doctors’ offices around the world. Fifteen to 20 percent of adults worldwide suffer from persistent, or chronic, pain. Half the primary care patients who develop a chronic pain condition fail to recover within a year, according to surveys conducted by the World Health Organization. Common causes of such unrelenting discomfort include physical trauma, arthritis, cancer, and metabolic diseases such as diabetes that can damage nerves. In many cases, however, the pain’s origins are mysterious.

[More]

Quantifying Quandary In " The Post-Traumatic Stress Trap ," David Dobbs reports on a growing number of experts who believe that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is being overdiagnosed. In support of this argument, Dobbs cites a 1990s study in which researchers asked veterans "about 19 specific types of potentially traumatic events…. Two years out, 70 percent of the veterans reported at least one traumatic event they had not mentioned a month after returning, and 24 percent reported at least three such events for the first time." These memories are assumed to be "new," but it may be that the subjects simply could not bring themselves to put their experiences into words so soon after those experiences occurred and that after some time they could. [More]