Introduction
Yesterday I wrote about a disorder many people, including some doctors, have never heard of, exploding head syndrome (manifest usually at night hearing a very loud clang or explosion) . I included a poll to see how many people experienced the symptoms and off the 107* respondents half had the symptom at least once. The cause of this benign condition is unknown but researchers have speculated that it is due to some kind of spike in electrical activity in the temporal lobe. It is also sometimes related to temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) which should be assessed with an EEG and if present treated, usually with anti-seizure medication. This morning I added a link to a website which listed the other symptoms of TLE. (*110 since I began to write this)
This led me to a website, Right Diagnosis. The site is difficult to navigate and has way too many ads and links which take you off-site to other ads. I did the work for you and found the most relevant pages.
Anxiety and Depression
The two most common stress related disorders are anxiety and depression. They are manifest in many of the 50 signs that you are suffering from stress which are listed by the American Institute of Stress website, an ad free website.
It is important for you to consider your anxiety and depression levels prior to the election. This is called your baseline. If it hasn't changed then you are either extremely resilient or lucky, or both. Hopefully you have been successfully treated. If not, see see your physician and/or a therapist.
If you don’t think your symptoms have increased you can skip the following, but please skip down and take the poll. This will help gauge how the era of Trump is harming our mental health.
If your symptoms have worsened or started for the first time, read on.
I think it is helpful to read the symptoms of clinically significant anxiety and depression.
If you think you are suffering from either or both disorders fill out the questionnaires from the Right Health website. This will help you gauge how clinically significant your anxiety and/or depression is. There is no scoring because each symptom has to be considered based on how much it bother you or disrupts your life. If you conclude that your symptoms suggest you have either an anxiety or depressive disorder, make an appointment with your doctor or a psychotherapist. Take the questionnaire with you. This will assure you don’t forget to tell your health care provider something.
If you see a non-medical provider and need medication she or he will refer you to your doctor. These days most primary care physicians prescribe anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medications and don’t refer patients with these easily treated disorders to psychiatrists.
Depression questionnaire
Anxiety questionnaire
Wednesday, Jun 19, 2019 · 11:05:08 PM +00:00
·
HalBrown
4:00 PM Pacific time: So far 121 people took the poll and 30% of the respondents said they have untreated moderate anxiety and/or depression. 17% say they have had untreated severe anxiety or depression. I urge these readers to seek help from your primary care physician or from a psychotherapists. A long time ago I wrote a story about what to do with you have a pro-Trump health care provider (it would take too ling to find the story) but suffice to say that if you aren’t comfortable talking about Trump stress consider changing providers.