Natural Cures For Anxiety

Hypnosis to treat anxiety

clivechung — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 18:08:00 +0000

Hypnosis is A method of producing a trance, which is the state of profound relaxation of muscles and mind.

A hypnotic trance is induced by diverting the mind away onto a monotonous sound or movements, onto an image. Self hypnosis can be used for relaxations, either by following an exercise such as the one opposite, or a tape recording. Hypnosis can also be performed at by a therapist who will treat you by implanting suggestions in your mind, such as the idea that you no longer enjoy cigarettes, or that you are more relaxed and confident. It Ha been shown to be successful in suitable cases. Skilled therapists can help you deepend your trance to encourage you to uncover some aspects of your subconscious, perhaps emotions that underly current difficulties.

Safety aspect
You need to be sure you can trust hypnotist you see for therapy: hypnosis is the one complementary therapy that shows considerable dissatisfaction among its users. Self hypnosis is safe if you are using it for relaxation alone, and provided you have no underlying mental disorder.

Imagery
People differ in the case in which they can measure and situations. Choose scenes that are warm, with pleasant sights, sounds, and smells. The following is a general example. Take no more than 20 minutes.

Lie down, or sit in a relaxing armchair in a comfortable position. Perform a yoga deep breath exercise and let your body relax from head to toe. Imagine a beautiful country scene in the sunshine, feel the warmth, listen to the sounds, smells of flowers. Walk along the path in front of you, gently slopping down. There is a wall with a door in it: when you’re ready, go through the door to the garden beyond. This is even warmer and more completely filled with flowers with a wonderful scent. Can you see the stream farther along? Enjoy the warm, relaxing scene for a few minutes. Then make your way slowly and happily back up the path, for the gate, and back through the first garden. COunt backward from ten to one, and when you reach one, you will feel alert and refreshed. Stretch your arms and legs, gently open your eyes, and look around you. Enjoy the relaxed feeling, and know that you’re ready for the world, feeling more calm and deliberate than you did before.

What are the main adverse effects of the tricyclic antidepressants?

clivechung — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 10:07:00 +0000

Theses can be mainly understood in terms of the effects of the drug on other receptor systems apart from 5-HT, dopamine and noradrenaline. The antihistamine effects give rise to sedation and psychomotor impairment. The antihistamine action also potentiates the sedative effects of alcohol. The anticholinergic gives dry mouth, constipation, urinary retention in the elderly, glaucoma in predisposed individuals and memory problems. Alpha-blocking effects can cause postural hypotension and a quinidine-like action gives rise to caradiac conduction defects. Stimulation of noradrenergic systems can give rise to cardiac arrhythmias.

Beyond that are idiosyncratic reactions such as skin rashes or hepatotoxicity, which are common to almost all medications. In some rare instances antidepressants may precipitate episodes of hypomania. Despite the daunting list of potential side effects, they are for the most part mild, wane after the first few days of treatment, and are generally tolerable, especially if the patient is warned about them and the dose increased gradually.

Is it necessary to titrate upwards with the newer antidepressants?

clivechung — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 10:07:00 +0000

The newer antidepressants can be started at the full therapeutic dose, without having to titrate upwards. It is still possible to increase the dose two-or threefold if there is lack of response after 3 weeks. The reason for titrating the dose up for SSRIs would be to avoid panicky feeling and other transient side effects which sometimes occur when starting on an antidepressant. If this is a problem, it may be helpful to prescribe 2 or 3 days of benzodiazepines to tide the patient over the first days of treatment.

What is the therapeutic dosage of tricyclic antidepressants?

clivechung — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 10:06:00 +0000

This is an area where GPs and psychiatrists tend to disagree. In general doses of above 125mg of amitriptyline, imipramine or dothiepin should be within the therapeutic range. If that fails, it may be necessary to increase the dosage. I the US, it is not unusual to give doses of up to 300mg of imipramine. In general practice, much lower doses, such as dothiepine 25mg at night, are frequently prescribed, and GPs claim therapeutic successes. Unfortunately, studies in general practice patients have consistently shown that 75mg of a tricyclic antidepressant is no better than placebo, although patients in this group have quite a high placebo response.

These drugs also have sedative qualities, which may be interpreted as of therapeutic benefit in some patients. If dosage represents a problem, plasma levels can be measured to see if they fall within an effective range or therapeutic window.

How does lofepramine differ from the older tricyclics?

clivechung — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 10:05:00 +0000

These is very little difference apart from the absence of a free NH2 group in the side-chain, which makes it relatively devoid of anticholinergic side effects. On the other hand, after repeated dosage, significant amounts of desipramine, a metabolite of imipramine, are present in the blood.

How effective is lofepramine?

It appears to be as effective as the older tricyclics with a much improved profile of side effects and is relatively well tolerated by patients. It would therefore appear to be a good antidepressant. The dose is one tablet 2 to 3 time a day(140 to 210mb daily).

How safe is lofepramine taken as an overdose?

Lofepramine appears much safer than other tricycle antidepressants when take in overdose. Figures for the first 1.5 million prescriptions show there has been no death from overdose alone, and only two in combination with other drugs. It appears that lofepramine may even prevent the harmful effects of desipramine on the heart

What sort of antidepressant drug is lofepramine?

clivechung — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 10:04:00 +0000

Lofepramine is tricyclic antidepressant. It is extensively metabolized to desipramine, but is an active antidepressants in its own right. It has the advantage of being low in cardiotoxicity and relatively devoid of anticholinergic and sedative side effects. It is one of the safer drugs from the point of view of overdose, appears to have distinct advantages over the traditional older tricyclics and stands up well against the modern SSRIs

What is the most widely prescribed drug fro this group?

clivechung — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 10:04:00 +0000

Prothiden is the market leader in the UK. The reason for this is primarily historical sine it was the first second-generation antidepressant to be introduced, in 1969 it has maintained its position ever since. Interestingly, other European countries have their own particular favourites, some of which are hardly prescribed at all in the UK. For example, viloxazine is very popular in the Benelux countries, and virtually unused in the UK. These are primarily aspects of marketing.

How do tricyclic antidepressants work in the treatment of depression?

clivechung — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 10:02:00 +0000

Tricyclic antidepressants act by blocking the reuptake of the neurotransmitters, 5-HT dopamine and noradrenaline from the synaptic cleft, thereby increasing their concentrations and thus their ability to stimulate post-synaptic receptors. This theory has the advantage of explaining some of the phenomena we observe, but is insufficient to explain the entire situation. For example, this effect occurs within minutes or hours, although it takes 3 weeks for a full therapeutic effect. Thus, other mechanisms must also be important. It appears that down-regulation of post-synaptic receptors also takes place, and presumably secondary transmitter systems are also involved. Although we know a great deal about the effects of these drugs, we are a long way short of the full story.?

Should antidepressants be discontinued suddenly, or should they be reduced in dosage and tailed off gently?

clivechung — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 10:01:00 +0000

It is good practice to discontinue all medication gradually. This is more important with the sedative anticholinergic antidepressants with relatively short half-lives such as desipramine. In such cases, cholinergic rebound and release from sedation may give rise to transient symptoms. The medication should be tailed off over a week or two. Compounds without anticholinergic or sedative properties and with long half-lives, such as fluoxetine, can be stopped abruptly without untoward effects. Paroxitime needs to be tailed off. ?

What is the therapeutic dosage of tricyclic antidepressants?

clivechung — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 17:55:00 +0000