Treatments for anxiety often speak of suppressing or preventing anxious feelings. What if anxiety could be turned off like a lightbulb instead? An example of one of these anxiety off-switches is called neuropeptide Y receptor. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin have found a correlation between a decreased number of these receptors and individuals with an anxious temperament. Anxious temperaments observed at a young age are strong indicators of possible future depression or anxiety development. Rather than preventing stress, neuropeptide Y receptors are essential in responding to stress by decreasing anxiety after the worrisome feelings have risen. The receptors are found in the amygdala, an area of the brain that is responsible for fear and anxiety control. The identification of this anxiety off-switch allows for medical research on treatments where the neuropeptide Y receptors are used as medical targets. This finding suggests that the brain is actually prepared for anxiety and treats anxiety as a normal and reasonable reaction to certain life experiences. Identification of neuropeptide Y receptors can be used as a new target for medical treatments in addition to psychological therapy treatments in the field of anxiety mental illness.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/286326.php
2 replies on “Anxiety Off-Switch”
When we look at mental health what a lot of people are referring to are anxiety
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There may be barriers at an institutional level – the geographic inaccessibility of mental health services to the ethnic community; lack of child care; focus on an intra-psychic model and strict adherence to time schedules.
The issue of shame seems further emphasised in that the women expressed feelings of wanting to ‘wither away’ rather than seek treatment.
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