If you are just picking up on this series, you might do well to start by reading at least the last post. Today’s post will refer extensively to the last one. To review where we are in this “case study,” Robert has come to my office about 36 hours after meeting a woman. He and …
This is a case study of anxiety being used as a defense against a return to a depressive state. Robert left an urgent message on my voicemail. He said that he was anxious and panicky. He wanted an appointment as soon as possible. I returned the call and arranged an intake appointment for him the …
Stuck in a rut? There is new research that explains how, under high stress loads, the brain prefers habits and routines over new learning. The New York Times published an article about this study titled “Brain Is a Co-Conspirator in a Vicious Stress Loop” on August 17. In the rats studied, “regions of the brain …
A reader’s comment on the third post in this series has led me to rework the post that I had planned for today. In essence, I was asked if I thought that all persons with anxiety were using that as a defense or screen against depression. The short answer to that is: No, not at …
[This is the third installment in my series on anxiety as a defense against depression.] QuixoticBlues has a number of videos on YouTube. One of them is titled: “Yeah I’m a bit crazy.” The following is a transcript of some of his opening thoughts (expletives omitted). “I’m sure that everyone who watches these things [his …
When we left off, it was with Donovan Campbell, in Joker One, trying to establish measures to deal with the stress faced by 150 Marines trying to gain control over an Iraqi city of 350,000. As a refresher, he was trying to act as a calm leader. As he phrases it: “Frantic-sounding lieutenants lose everyone’s …