Sharon Heller, PhD author of Anxiety: Hidden Causes was interviewed on the Anxiety Summit by host of the Anxiety Summit, Trudy Scott, Food Mood Expert and Nutritionist, author of The Antianxiety Food Solution.
Hidden causes of anxiety: Drugs, illness, light and balance
- How anxiety is often misdiagnosed as psychological when it’s primary cause is physical
- Why such misdiagnoses happen
- Physical causes of anxiety: thyroid disorders, diabetes, Cushing’s Syndrome, adrenal exhaustion
- Common heart conditions that can cause anxiety: mitral valve prolapse and high blood pressure.
- Infections and anxiety: Lyme disease, PANDAs
- Over-the counter drugs that cause anxiety: lidocaine, birth control pills and more
- Space-related phobias: Vestibular/balance and the inner ear
- Anxiety and photosensitivity
Here are some snippets from our interview:
I think my experience is very, very common, where people are in a state of distress, they’re anxious, they’re fatigued, they’re not feeling well, and doctors don’t diagnose what their problem is. And therefore, they’re told that their problem is all in their head and put on psychotropic medication, when indeed, as it turns out, they may have some physical problem that’s causing their symptoms.
Say someone has panic attacks, which is not uncommon, and particularly, panic attacks that come out of the blue out of nowhere. All of a sudden, you know, one day you get a panic attack. Okay, a wave of panic overcomes you, your heart races, your pulse throbs, the world spins, you can hardly catch your breath, you feel as if you’re dying, you feel this horrible profound dread, even as if you’re losing your mind. So what do you do? You assume it’s psychological, so you go see a psychiatrist and they diagnose you with panic disorder, and they give you psychotropic medication, and usually these drugs do do what they’re designed to do, and they do alleviate the panic, and so you think, okay, it’s psychological.
But, you know, first of all, it may not disappear or it may come back but not as strong, because actually lots of physical conditions can cause the same symptoms and that includes hypoglycemia or low blood sugar.
Sharon shared how Superman actress Margot Kidder has bipolar and now uses amino acids. Here is the article on the Safe Harbor/Alternative Mental Health site
Here are links to Sharon’s books (I have read and highly recommend the first two)
Anxiety: Hidden Causes: Why your anxiety may not be “all in your head” but from something physical
Too Loud, Too Bright, Too Fast, Too Tight, What To Do If You Are Sensory Defensive in an Over-Stimulating World
If you are not already registered for the Anxiety Summit you can get live access to the speakers of the day here www.theAnxietySummit.com