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ARE BENZODIAZEPINES SAFE TO PRESCRIBE?
It has become clear to me that benzodiazepines can be difficult to stop. This may be related to the fact that these medications are frequently effective at lowering anxiety and helping to initiate sleep. Also, even if other treatments including other medications are helpful they may not be experienced as being as effective as the…
Read MoreDOING THE RIGHT THING
I read once that there is evidence that we are born knowing right from wrong. I searched for this evidence recently and found a summary of studies with infants by Christian Jarrett. He referred to a 2010 study by researchers at Yale University[I could not find the reference] with babies as young as 3 months…
Read MoreWHO ARE OUR NEIGHBORS?
Virtually all spiritual groups, including all major religions, support the idea that we are all meant to love our neighbors and that everyone is our neighbor. So why is this considered so important for all of us to follow when it also seems impossible to follow, especially when we are told that we are to…
Read MoreHOW TO KNOW IF YOU ARE EXPERIENCING DISSOCIATIVE COPING
Dissociation is considered an interference or disruption in our consciousness, memory, identity, emotions, awareness and motor control. These can be experienced as feeling detached from our bodies, thoughts or emotions; feeling like we are in a dream or that things around us are not real; gaps in our memory of things, especially if these are…
Read MoreIS THERE REALLY NO REASON TO REACT TO ANYTHING?
This seems like a ridiculous question as people can think of many things that demand and require a reaction from us. So what is wrong with reacting? What do we get by reacting? I, of course, believe that the only thing we get from reacting is feeling lonely. When we react we are not connected…
Read MoreRESEARCH USING PROPRANOLOL TO TREAT PTSD [POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER] AND MY EXPERIENCE WITH PROPRANOLOL.
I mistakenly thought that there were some research studies supporting prescribing propranolol for treating PTSD. In reviewing the research literature that I was able to find, there was not much support for this use of propranolol. I reviewed an article entitled: Propranolol for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: A Review of Clinical Effectiveness by Calvin Young and…
Read MoreNET [NARRATIVE EXPOSURE THERAPY] FOR PEOPLE WITH PTSD
I have encouraged my patients to tell themselves [out loud] that it is ok for them to not be stressed as it became clear to me that their not being as anxious could create anxiety as they [their brain] were worried that they were no longer prepared to protect themselves by reacting to things and…
Read MorePROPRANOLOL DOSES TO REDUCE PTSD SYMPTOMS
As I mentioned in a previous blog entitled: ” Research using propranolol to treat PTSD and my experience with using propranolol,” when I was reviewing the research regarding the use of propranolol in treating PTSD I realized that the results did not show that propranolol helped to reduce symptoms related to PTSD. In reviewing these…
Read MorePOST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER AND PROPRANOLOL
Propranolol is an antihypertensive medication [lowers blood pressure] that works by blocking beta adrenergic receptors in the body and brain. A number of years ago I learned that propranolol can be used to treat performance anxiety such as public speaking fears. It could successfully reduce the anxiety that would be triggered in some people by…
Read MoreWHY YOU SHOULD NOT GIVE IN TO BULLIES
I recently blogged about bullies and how to protect yourself from bullies and how to help bullies not be bullies. Recent events in the United States reminded me about the importance of not giving into bullies. Bullies do not take responsibility for themselves and try to get others to be responsible for them. This seems…
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