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Sit2Know
02-02-12, 14:56
About.com used to have an anxiety web site for anxiety pen pals and phone pals. They lost their sponsor and closed. At one point there were over 2,000 postings on people wanting to connect directly and not just read posts.

Much of my rapid 2004 recovery was due to anxiety phone friends. If you read one of my recent posts the limbic system that causes anxiety and panic is calmed by way of the human voice and not by the written word. Words and language can entertain the cortex for very brief calming - it never reaches the limbic system -but the limbic system does not respond to language. Voice is converted to electrical impulses that reach the limbic system and can rapidly calm it.

When a baby is born the limbic system is fully developed but hardly has any working cortex. When the parents speak in soothing tones or sing to the child the limbic system calms. Human voices express emotions in a auditory wave that speaks the language the limbic system understands.
There is so much research on how computers and electronic communications are damaging the human psyche - children sit in the same room and text each other and people send an email rather than picking up the phone.

Humans are pack animals and we need direct human contact as much as food and water. I certainly share the desire to talk to anyone who wants to do mutual support. With anxiety support and friends to talk to are more healing than anything medicine offers!!

I was involved with the cancer community though supporting a friend. The local cancer society gave new members who were just diagnosed a sheet with hundreds of support names and number to call. No one can understand like a person who has been there. My friend spent most of the day on the phone after her diagnosis getting support and alleviating her fears. People she never met came and cooked for her - went shopping and took care of the children when she was too sick to do it herself.
Knowing there is a connection only a phone call away give a sense of safety and this rapidly calms the whole anxiety system.

I am always open to talking if anyone is interested

keta
02-02-12, 16:52
Hi
I really like your post and you are so right how important it is to have people in your life who can help you and understand you with what you going through, i have to say the only people who are able to do that are on this site for me, I have quite few close friends and they are great but unless they are going through similar stuff they can't never fully relate to me and my problems. It's nice to know there are some people out there who are still willing to be here for you.

eight days a week
02-02-12, 19:11
Fascinating post, thank you!

Much more to talk about but time is short - my own personal feeling is that support and a friendly ear may be either very helpful to crucial depending on the root cause of your problems. Mine are, I think, largely in that I've never had that honest support when I most needed it, so for me it's essential (I just don't have it in place yet :()

I have lots of friends in the States and I must say I think support networks and community are so much stronger over there in good neighbourhoods/nationally than they are here in England. In my experience you are very much on your own. I really wish we had that kind of network of help when my mum was ill with cancer - apart from the charity helping with her directly there was very little support (perhaps because we didn't know where to look - if it is out there then it needs publicising!).

I must read your post on the limbic stuff :)

Cheers!