Even now I feel this is a very controversial kind of disorder, because it is almost invisible. In some cases this disorder holds the symptoms of others and because as with most mood disorders that affect mood there isn't a whole lot of information to be able to distinguish one from another. So I went digging a little deeper to see what kind of tests could distinguish it. What I find interesting is that there isn't a whole of differentiation, however if a patient shows or a psychiatrist notices a patient maybe hearing their thoughts aloud, thoughts being inserted or being taken away, or even hearing voices are a big indication. In short it is the paranoia and delusions that make this unique.My question is how often is this misdiagnosed and what are the repercussions of that? Because in reading Biological Psychology, I noticed there are differential diagnosis, there can be mood disorders with psychotic features, substance abuse, brain damage, huntingtons disease, and nutritional abnormalities. What i'm thinking is everything else is checked first because they seem more distinguishable and more common than schizophrenia. I always feel that when it comes to these disorders it is important to recognize not only what is going on in the body but how it affects the family, and how they cope because to us, its a chemical imbalance or a gene that may or may not exist, but this is real and important to the people who have to suffer through it.
Unfortunately for me and my family, we have a long history of depression, it is something that I do not usually speak openly about because for a long time acknowledging it felt like I was failing to be normal. As far as i've tried the only therapy i've done is seeing a therapist, what I never realized was how many options there were for people like me. In my personal opinion I would more likely try a different type of therapy before taking any medication, reason being that I feel that they are not a permanent solution. Any therapy that has to do with the brain is really touch and go because no one is ever really sure of what they're doing and how it will affect individuals.
Alternatively I was surprised to learn that electroconvulsive therapy is still being used as a method to help with depression. I can't imagine someone voluntarily consenting to this unless there isn't any other options.But with advancement in this therapy it seems to look less and less lethal as time goes on, and with only slight memory loss, and quick results it would seem like an nice alternative, but like with most therapies its effects are not long lasting and usually have to be followed with antidepressants or psychotherapy anyway.
I can definitely see the perks of living without anxiety , but at the same time reading about the woman with Urbach-Weithe disease I felt bad for her. While she never misses out on an experience out of fear, isn't it good to have at least some time of radar going off that warns you from things that really are dangerous? She literally hates snakes and she can't even feel scared about holding one. Not to mention the fact that the silent communication of people who might be in danger is not recognizable to her by looking at facial expressions. And from researching Urbach-Weithe disease children who are born with it have hoarse or inability to cry, imagine the fear of a mother who has a completely silent child not knowing if anything is wrong or whether the child is okay because they cannot the communicate the way the rest of babies can. On the opposite end of the scale what about the people who have too much anxiety? Just like anything else having too much or too little of something can be dangerous. One disorder I found particularly interesting was panic disorder, in which someone has sudden attacks of fear even when there is no real danger or an immediate cause. Physically it feels like a tightening in the chest, as if the person is suffocating, and everything surrounding feels as if said person is trapped and everything feels a lot more overwhelming and closed in.
