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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
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Posted by UgottaHaveHope on January 20, 2007, at 2:57:45
Any input would be appreciated.
My therapist and I figured out the root of my anxiety was when my mom remarried when I was 9. My stepdad was emotionally abusive, it was sort of like walking through a minefield, never knowing what could set him off.
The therapist said that in tests, monkeys that were shocked every five minutes on schedule faired much better than monkeys who were shocked at random (never knew when it was coming). I am the latter, and my therapist said a situation like that is one of the biggest challenges.
Has anyone experienced this type of emotional abuse as a child? What medicine or therapy did you take that helped? Thanks with all my heart, Michael
Posted by laima on January 20, 2007, at 8:27:46
In reply to Medicine or therapy for this type of anxiety?, posted by UgottaHaveHope on January 20, 2007, at 2:57:45
Oh, I feel for you. I have a similar problem, in that my dad drank and was processing his own childhood severe trauma while I was a kid. He would fly into unpredictable rages at times. He's not like this anymore some 20-30 years later, but I still freak out at any anger and am hypervigilant. I've read some books about the subject, in addition to therapy. One which offers some (albiet scant) concrete ideas for turning matters around is Daniel Goleman's new one, "Social Intelligence". (I hope I double quoted that correctly.) In every interview I've seen or read with him, he's insisted that one can overcome childhood conditioning. What I've been gathering is that new and nurturing relationships are a way to heal it up. I also appreciate something my therapist once told me when I complained that everything was unpredictable: "You can count on everything constantly changeing, and everything being unpredictable". Ok, that is better than feeling that everything is out of control- seriously. It's subtle, but much better. I also think that medication plays a role too, as it can bouy a person up enough to address matters, to reach out into relationships. Anyway, I'm still trying to work this out, too, and am interested in what people suggest.
> Any input would be appreciated.
>
> My therapist and I figured out the root of my anxiety was when my mom remarried when I was 9. My stepdad was emotionally abusive, it was sort of like walking through a minefield, never knowing what could set him off.
>
> The therapist said that in tests, monkeys that were shocked every five minutes on schedule faired much better than monkeys who were shocked at random (never knew when it was coming). I am the latter, and my therapist said a situation like that is one of the biggest challenges.
>
> Has anyone experienced this type of emotional abuse as a child? What medicine or therapy did you take that helped? Thanks with all my heart, Michael
Posted by Phillipa on January 20, 2007, at 11:30:56
In reply to Medicine or therapy for this type of anxiety?, posted by UgottaHaveHope on January 20, 2007, at 2:57:45
Michael I think a lot of us suffer from emotional abuse as children unfortunately and either chose to forget it and carry on or it comes back to haunt us and then maybe a good therapist. I too need one. Love Phillipa ps hows the EMSAM?
Posted by Quintal on January 20, 2007, at 12:30:32
In reply to Medicine or therapy for this type of anxiety?, posted by UgottaHaveHope on January 20, 2007, at 2:57:45
Yes, my father (and mother too when she got the chance) were like that. I found the book "Surviving the Borderline Parent" very insightful about how these early relationships affect our emotional development. I could relate with nearly every example they gave.
Q
Posted by cgd092 on January 20, 2007, at 23:58:15
In reply to Re: Medicine or therapy for this type of anxiety? » UgottaHaveHope, posted by Quintal on January 20, 2007, at 12:30:32
I wonder how many "adult children of alcoholics" have "hypervigilance" as a symtom. I sure do. Anxiety is a big component of my depressive episodes. So I take various anxiolytics to help turn down the ol' brain, which was raised and formed in that "partial reinforcement schedule" of substance abuse in the home. I'm sorry for the original poster who spoke of having a bad step dad come into his early life. Geez, I'm a mom and I would *never* allow a step dad to even speak roughly to my child. (Luckily I'm happily married.) Step parents can be sometimes be better than the original parent, but a lot of times they can be worse.
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