Anxiety Support Group
Anxiety is a physical condition marked by intense and persistent feelings of distress, fear, angst or dread. General anxiety caused by routine day-to-day stresses usually passes quickly and is experienced by almost everyone at one time or another. However, such feelings that linger over time and are very difficult to cope with, and which lack a clear cause, may indicate...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tRdDqXgsJ0
Dr Richard Davidson is very interested in neuroplacticity and affective neuroscience and something he calls "Contemplative Neuroscience" .
He talk about a lot of things in this video, and it gets a bit long, but he says something VERY important when he talks about "Neurally inspired behavioral interventions"
He says, "It turns out that there is no more effective way to produce localized and specific changes in the brain than behavioral or mental interventions.
Behavioral or mental interventions can produce more specific biological changes than any currently known biological method. That is, any known medication, for example"
In discussing this with a friend of mine who happens to be a psychologist, he nodded his head emphatically and explained that his business is suffering because insurance companies are hesitant to pay for treatment that does not involve medication. And, my friends' experience as well as all the clinical data emphatically suggest that medical intervention is never as effective as behavioral intervention.
Let me say that again:
All scientific data emphatically shows that behavioral methods are *always* more effective than medical methods.
This does not mean that medicine does not work -- not at all! But long term well-being does not and can not come in the form of a pill.
For those of us who suffer with anxiety to be told that we must take medication and any serious therapy has to be paid for out of pocket is complete and total insanity. Not only is it completely out of touch with clinical research and scientifically invalid. It is ethically wrong for insurers to seek to line the pockets of drug companies and deny patients real care.
From my own experience I can say that Cognitive Behavioral Therapy was the single most effective tool I had at one point in my treatment. Unfortunately I do not have the money to continue. Fortunately, those techniques which I learned in CBT are still as effective today as they were when they were first taught to me.
I simply can not say enough about this video. It is well worth watching for anyone who suffers with mood disorders or mental illness.
Dr Richard Davidson is very interested in neuroplacticity and affective neuroscience and something he calls "Contemplative Neuroscience" .
He talk about a lot of things in this video, and it gets a bit long, but he says something VERY important when he talks about "Neurally inspired behavioral interventions"
He says, "It turns out that there is no more effective way to produce localized and specific changes in the brain than behavioral or mental interventions.
Behavioral or mental interventions can produce more specific biological changes than any currently known biological method. That is, any known medication, for example"
In discussing this with a friend of mine who happens to be a psychologist, he nodded his head emphatically and explained that his business is suffering because insurance companies are hesitant to pay for treatment that does not involve medication. And, my friends' experience as well as all the clinical data emphatically suggest that medical intervention is never as effective as behavioral intervention.
Let me say that again:
All scientific data emphatically shows that behavioral methods are *always* more effective than medical methods.
This does not mean that medicine does not work -- not at all! But long term well-being does not and can not come in the form of a pill.
For those of us who suffer with anxiety to be told that we must take medication and any serious therapy has to be paid for out of pocket is complete and total insanity. Not only is it completely out of touch with clinical research and scientifically invalid. It is ethically wrong for insurers to seek to line the pockets of drug companies and deny patients real care.
From my own experience I can say that Cognitive Behavioral Therapy was the single most effective tool I had at one point in my treatment. Unfortunately I do not have the money to continue. Fortunately, those techniques which I learned in CBT are still as effective today as they were when they were first taught to me.
I simply can not say enough about this video. It is well worth watching for anyone who suffers with mood disorders or mental illness.
Very good post. You are very helpful to this group.
Most people don't realize what is possible with bevahioral and mental interventions. All they know is their doctor and a drug. The doctors don't even know what is out there.
Cognitive behavioral therapy is very hard work. The last thing you want to hear is something hard but in the long run the results are far superior to drugs. I admit that there may be exceptions.
The cost is a big one and the health system is really geared to providing a quick fix. For starters JustAndrew needs to keep battering away. Thanks from Gooch
What a world it would be!
In the meantime, people like us -- those who suffer with anxiety -- can use contemplation and behavioral intervention right now.
What's more, we can be advocates. We can tell our doctors and insurance providers that we want to learn meditation, guided relaxation, progressive muscle relaxation, biofeedback and other behavioral based techniques as part of our treatment. These techniques are not only a potential benefit to us, but will save insurance companies money. That fact ought to get someone's attention.
:-)