I had one doctor tell me that the BPPV actually sent weird signal to the brain which caused anxiety and we had no control over it. Do you think this is true or is it just us on a spiral upward to severe anxiety. This scares me

Right now I am in a severe anxiety episode. It has been growing for months and I am so agitated I cant sit down, pace and walk all day and am insane.

Do the senior member here think our anxiety come from direct inner ear problems prodding the brain or just worry over the conditions and mounting anxiety

James

Have just replied to you on your other post. I have just read an article which indeed says that your chemical idea is true - I think it is a mixture of chemicals and the reaction to the dizziness xxx

I agree with Emsy that it's both. I had BPV and I think I remember Subs telling me something about the connection between inner ear and anxiety/depression somewhere deep in the brain. You might post and ask him to share that info with you.

Terri

Personnally, I think you are thinking about it the wrong way ;-))

Emotional and physical reactons aren't mutually exclusive - people used to argue that depression was all in the head and you can 'think' yourself better, we have come to learn that depression is a physical state, and that yes certain thought patterns are more likely to start the physical phoenomin which is depression, but depression is a physical process and could also be triggered directly on a physical level.

More generally, as science gets more advanced and we understand the workings of the human mind on a phyisical level there is less of a distinction between physical and mental problems - after all any emotion or thought is a physical process within the brain, the key is understanding why we evolved that physical response (nearly all emotions can be attributed to some kind of animalistic need).

Which brings me neatly onto your question about whether the anxiety response is caused through physcological processing or an automic process. The answer is both, the bodies automic nervous system is wired directly to vestibular system, primarily for two reasons, if you fell off a cliff (similar to a faulty vestibular response) then you would need to react quickly to try and save yourself (to enable this your bodys "emergency" systems are activated = anxiety), and as an early warning system to situations in which you lose of control.

Indirectly, the vestibular system is used by your brain when assessing your position in time and space and it's relative position to other objects, if the vestibular system is dysfunctioning then all this calculating (which is lets face it is some pretty heavy physics) is going to be wrong, which means that your brain can't interprete lot's of the incomming senses, and so it basically causes panic to try and incourage you to remove yourself from that situation. Which I'm sure you've experienced in the supermarket, when your brain is trying to deal with dodgy vestibular signals and complicated visual environments and the "urge to escape" kicks.

Add to that the fear of the unknown - not feeling like oneself, nothing looking or feeling the same.

...And the normal reaction that if something is so unpleasent it must be REALLY serious. A

...AND the normal stress/anxiety reaction to long term illness then it's not suprising that people with vestibular problems are always so panicked!!

But it would be wrong to say you can't do anything about it. Anxiety feeds off of anxiety, so even though a fair amount of anxiety is trigged on a purely automic level then you can cause it to worsen or continue. The trick is finding a way to stop yourself from reacting to the anxiety, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (and others) tries to do exactly that, and arms you with a way to turn off the anxiety before it gets too intense.

Hi James,

I also replied to your other post.

At this point, it really doesn't matter too much WHY your anxiety is so high, as it is important to get it under some sort of managable control so you can cope better and feel more calmer.

Sometimes a person may never know what caused them to have an anxious period (or depressive episode) in their life. It doesn't make it any easier for those people that DO know what's causing their panic - dealing with and working to overcome anxiety is hard for anyone to do, whether they know the cause or not.

My best advice at this point (from someone who's been there) is to find a way to work on your anxiety issues. If you are not sure where to begin, you should think about calling your doctor. Your doctor can point you in the right direction for a counseling referral, anti-anxiety medication, or perhaps just a mild sedative to help you rest.

I can "hear" how desperate you are to find some relief and assurance. You need to take the first step to get this to happen. It does seem daunting, especially when you are feeling so out of control - but baby steps will get you to a better place. ONLY you can do this for yourself. :)

Hi James,

I agree completely with what Wowweee has just said. Get some help with this...I've been there too and you can get it under control again. I needed an antidepressant/anxiety treatment to get my head above water. It works and will help you to get through this mess. Once you're OK again and over the inner ear mess, you can ditch the meds.


Do the senior members here think our anxiety comes from direct inner ear problems prodding the brain or just worry over the conditions and mounting anxiety

To answer this question have a look at something I posted a few weeks ago straight out of the science literature:

http://www.healthboards.com/boards/showthread.php?t=159246

Cheers....Scott