Sharon Heller, PhD author of Anxiety: Hidden Causes was interviewed on the Anxiety Summit by host of the Anxiety Summit, Trudy Scott, Food Mood Expert and Nutritionist, author of The Antianxiety Food Solution.
Hidden causes of anxiety: Drugs, illness, light and balance
- How anxiety is often misdiagnosed as psychological when it’s primary cause is physical
- Why such misdiagnoses happen
- Physical causes of anxiety: thyroid disorders, diabetes, Cushing’s Syndrome, adrenal exhaustion
- Common heart conditions that can cause anxiety: mitral valve prolapse and high blood pressure.
- Infections and anxiety: Lyme disease, PANDAs
- Over-the counter drugs that cause anxiety: lidocaine, birth control pills and more
- Space-related phobias: Vestibular/balance and the inner ear
- Anxiety and photosensitivity
Here are some snippets from our interview:
I think my experience is very, very common, where people are in a state of distress, they’re anxious, they’re fatigued, they’re not feeling well, and doctors don’t diagnose what their problem is. And therefore, they’re told that their problem is all in their head and put on psychotropic medication, when indeed, as it turns out, they may have some physical problem that’s causing their symptoms.
Say someone has panic attacks, which is not uncommon, and particularly, panic attacks that come out of the blue out of nowhere. All of a sudden, you know, one day you get a panic attack. Okay, a wave of panic overcomes you, your heart races, your pulse throbs, the world spins, you can hardly catch your breath, you feel as if you’re dying, you feel this horrible profound dread, even as if you’re losing your mind. So what do you do? You assume it’s psychological, so you go see a psychiatrist and they diagnose you with panic disorder, and they give you psychotropic medication, and usually these drugs do do what they’re designed to do, and they do alleviate the panic, and so you think, okay, it’s psychological.
But, you know, first of all, it may not disappear or it may come back but not as strong, because actually lots of physical conditions can cause the same symptoms and that includes hypoglycemia or low blood sugar.
Sharon shared how Superman actress Margot Kidder has bipolar and now uses amino acids. Here is the article on the Safe Harbor/Alternative Mental Health site
Here are links to Sharon’s books (I have read and highly recommend the first two)
Anxiety: Hidden Causes: Why your anxiety may not be “all in your head” but from something physical
Too Loud, Too Bright, Too Fast, Too Tight, What To Do If You Are Sensory Defensive in an Over-Stimulating World
If you are not already registered for the Anxiety Summit you can get live access to the speakers of the day here www.theAnxietySummit.com
Thank you very much for this much needed information. I am dealing with scoliosis and know that it causes stress. You didn’t mention that but it seems to follow due to mis- alignments and the subluxations of the spine.
Hi Mary-Francis,
Misalignment of the skull and spine is not covered in the interview but there is a whole chapter on it in Anxiety: Hidden Causes.
It absolutely causes stress because,when the spine is misaligned neurotransmitters do not communicate well.
Sharon Heller opened my eyes! When I was little, I had bad ear infections and I also had a fall down some stairs when I was 12. My whole life I have had trouble with travel sickness, claustrophobia, fear of heights, fainting, fear of tunnels etc as well as fear of loud noises, a period of panic attacks, problems with driving at night. In fact, nearly everything she spoke about. I just never associated most of it with inner ear problems. I was diagnosed with Menieres Syndrome after ear trouble when I was in my 30’s. Now I know I am not mad, but that it has to do with physical problems!! I thank her for her enlightening talk.
I’m so glad I helped. You may want to check out neurocranial restructuring.
What an AMAZING talk Sharon Heller! You opened my eyes on so many levels from the discussion on PANDAS as a contributing cause to anxiety, to reinforcing the information about the importance of the Vestibular System (I have a child with significant SPD for which we are seeking OT) and the discussion on Spinal Alignment as well, amazing stuff. I look forward to grabbing your books and listening to your talk again as I will be purchasing this summit on MP3s. My hour was filled with many “ah-ha” moments. Thank you is not enough!
So happy to hear the talk was so helpful. Isn’t amazing how many people have never even heard of the “vestibular” system and yet it is what governs the WHOLE nervous system. When it goes awry, everything gets literally thrown off balance. OT should tremendously help your child. Also, fill your house with things that move — swings, rockers, gliders, hanging swing that rotates, exercise chairs (use for TV & computer use), a tramp, even a water bed! The more vestibular input, the better everyone’s nervous system!
Thank you Trudy for all your amazing work in putting this together. The summit is a powerhouse and offers SO much information that the average person is unaware of. Truthfully, I would love to see a transcript/book made from it
Sharon
It was such a pleasure interviewing you and sharing your expertise. Clearly you were a hit, but then I’m not surprised!
All of the interviews are being transcribed and are available for folks to purchase (either mp3 only or mp3+ transcript). It’s too valuable not to make this information more easily accessible and to be able to continue to share.
Trudy
I am truly bummed out I missed this… Seems like it may have helped answer a lot of questions I have spent the last year trying to figure out. with NO help from doctors. I will no longer accept “its all in your head” especially when my therapist supports me! Though I do believe I should have never been put on ADD anxiety meds in the first place, I would have loved to have learned what else it “could be” I got my gallbladder removed last year, and after getting severely ill after, and losing over 50 pounds, I’m now 102, and STILL Have not one answer. I was told I had vagus nerve damage due to it getting “nicked” during surgery, and was told I had gastroparesis, and would have to be on black boxed meds and only eat canned fruit and veggies the rest of my life! I knew I had to find answers on my own….but a year later I’m still lost, maybe even more so now.And my stress and anxiety are much worse now. I have to work! And live! I think if my vagus nerve was truly nicked it would explain why I am “brain fogged” and suffer again with anxiety, among the other things this has done to me 🙁 I hope to catch another talk with this Dr. I can’t afford to buy the summit. I was hoping it would still be on today. Thanks for doing these summits! Just hard when I am sick, work, etc. but it’s much appreciated!! 🙂
Hi Dona
Sharon does have book called “Anxiety:Hidden Causes” which I encourage you to check out. Another resource for you could be “Digestive Wellness” by Liz Lipski. Here are some nice tips from Dr Weil – ginger, accupuncture, massage and bitters http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/QAA400595/Natural-Treatment-for-Gastroparesis.html
Once stomach issues are sorted out we often see anxiety lessen. Be sure to listen in to my amino acids interview replay tomorrow – the GABA or tryptophan may give you some relief from anxiety while you’re figuring all this out
Trudy
Thank you Dr Heller and Trudy,for this interview and for all that you both shared, you both have given me so much comfort and peace, after years of Synthryoid and lithium and xanx and too many others to mention I deal with hallucinations and sensations of spinning or feeling like I am floating and poor balance anxiety panic attacks OCD, TMJ Hashimottos bi polar disorder and a moderate heart murmur/ angina and Celiac and along with other autoimmune diseases I suffered several over time bad neck and head and face injuries so this makes so much sense to me. I just want to THANK YOU both so much for sharing all that you did, your words really give me great hope and great comfort.I just feel so much better knowing understanding there are real reasons behind why I feel the way I do some reasons are physical injuries some are from deficiencies and others are from auto immune diseases this really makes so much more sense to me now God bless you both and once again thank you.
Hi Kathy
Thanks for sharing your journey and we’re so pleased to give your hope and comfort! Just one thing to consider in case you didn’t pick it up on our interview since we only mentioned it briefly – the effects of a benzodiazapine like Xanax. I encourage you to also check this out. This interview from season 1 may be a good starting point https://www.everywomanover29.com/blog/anxiety-summit-benzodiazepines-risks-vs-benefits/
Trudy
Kathy, your journey is unfortunately all too common. But now that you have different insights you can follow a different trajectory — a healing path that will hopefully start to undo some of the damage incurred from conventional medicine. So happy you found this summit to get you on your new journey.
I want to share this amazing, powerful new article with all all of you on how parasites may underlie much of what we know as major depression!
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/11/141114124307.htm
Thanks for sharing Sharon. It’s great to see this study. Based on the very first line: “Major depressive disorder (MDD) should be re-conceptualized as an infectious disease” it seems they are implying that all MDD is caused by infections. As we know, for certain people this may well be a factor, for others it may be gluten, for others it may be low serotonin etc. Or even all of the above for someone else.
Trudy
So bummed I missed this!! I get waves of anxiety and feelings that im off balance, tilted ground feels exaggeratedly tilted, sometimes I take a step and it feels like the ground moves. I get visual vertigo where fast moving objects, bright lights, squiggly lines, checkered patterns and color (eg supermarkets!!! Aka anxiety central) which triggers anxiety. I have never seen or heard of anyone linking all this together and would love to learn more about your approach! I have feelings of faintness, feeling like I’m out of body/floating/foggy headed too. I’m Piecing my nutritional requirements together quite nicely now as I’ve done some genetic testing which also answers lots of questions! Do you think it’s necessary to do vestibular testing or can you assume there are issues if one has the aforementioned symptoms? Could you point me in the right direction for which one of your resources would me most suitable for me? Thank you so much 🙂
I have a whole chapter in Anxiety: Hidden Causes on the vestibular system. Yes, I think you can assume you have issues but I would also recommend getting it checked out with an ENT but specifically one who runs a balance center. Also, I would recommend reading Uptight & Off Center which has tons of activities from occupational therapy that you can do to enhance vestibular functioning. Let me know how it goes!
I always learn such great information from your posts and summits, Trudy. Thanks for sharing the summaries from your interviews. I am at a health crossroads myself and plan on diving in deeper to discover the right natural remedies for me rather than taking ‘pills’.
Good for you Tandy!
What passion you both share for your path!! Thank you for sharing it with us == and the world! XO, Katherine.
This gives me food for thought. I’m a very highly sensitive person, and that alone could create the times when I feel anxious. I’ve never really thought about the physical sensitivity, I’ve thought about it from a mental state. Very useful information!
The physical aspect is huge! If you are a HSP, you might want to check out my books “Too Loud, Too Bright, Too Fast, Too Tight” and “Uptight & Off Center.” If you do, be sure and let me know if they were helpful.
Trudy,
Thanks for shedding even more light on the various ways anxiety can impact us and cause stress. I always appreciate your helpful tips to avoid stress, too.
Write on!~
Lisa
Stress has taken over the lives of too many people.
It is great to see you are speaking and publishing
information to help relieve the causes of stress.
Thanks Mitch.
This book looks like a great resource for me to add to my library. I’m sure there are a lot of hidden causes of anxiety that people are not aware of.
Thank you Trudy, once again, for all of the information and resources that you are sharing. This truly is a gift to those who need this kind of support.
It is a book I highly recommend Mira – it’s quite amazing how many hidden causes there are
Hi Sharon,
Not sure if you are still reading these posts but I have extreme sensitivity to bright, especially fluorescent, lighting (seizure-like symptoms: twitching eyes, foggy feeling, way too much stimulation). It started after I was diagnosed with chronic fatigue/fibromyalgia/ibs(constipation) in 2008. The light sensitivity has not improved making it nearly impossible to go to doctor offices, food stores, etc.
I also have tmj and myofascial pain which increased last year, affecting my ears, balance when walking, chewing, etc. Have you come across these symptoms and, if so, what is often the cause and solution? Thank you!
Lola
I would suggest reaching out to Sharon directly and getting her book
Hello, It seems like you’re forgetting men. I have severe panic/agoraphobia since teen years! I also was recently diagnosed with Bartonella and Co infection Mycoplasama Pneumonia. Lyme test was positive but that doesn’t mean anything!I also have a bad misaligned jaw from losing some back molars. I forgot that many years ago I also was positive with Pyroluria . I ‘m going to get tested again . Do you think it would hurt to start small dose of Zinc and B6 until I find out?
Kevin
Sorry to hear this. I’ve has great results with amino acids with Lyme anxiety. More here on GABA and Lyme anxiety http://www.everywomanover29.com/blog/gaba-helps-with-lyme-anxiety/
I don’t use pyroluria testing because of false negatives but if someone had a positive in the past I would not retest and would simply have them supplement.