Unhinged Episode #039: What, Me Worry?

by Ed 2 Comments
Unhinged Episode #039: What, Me Worry?

We start this episode with the announcement that Doug’s current remission has now surpassed his 3-month record. Not only has this remission lasted the longest so far, but it is also the highest quality remission he has had yet! Looks like the DBS is in the zone, working its magic.

It’s not all rainbows and butterflies, however, as he has to now learn how to process emotions in the context of a “normal-acting” brain, something he has very little experience doing. One thing that has stuck around is his anxiety. Besides a general anxiety that creeps in every now and then, there is the looming spectre of human interaction, which can trigger Doug’s social anxiety. We talk about how he’s handling his day-to-day anxiety, and what coping tools have helped him.

Continuing the topic of anxiety, we touch on the differences between worry and anxiety. Can worry turn into anxiety that needs treatment?

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Unhinged Episode #036: Removing Obstacles

by Ed 0 Comments
Unhinged Episode #036: Removing Obstacles

This episode begins with some discussion over technology and socialization. Do today’s modern habits of burying ourselves in our tech devices isolate us from being social? Is social networking helping us become more or less connected with other humans? We both take slightly different sides on this issue.

Doug’s current month-long remission from any depressive symptoms has him working hard. He talks about becoming more self-aware and how he now has to learn how to control his anxiety as he socializes more and more in real life. It’s a good problem to have.

This leads us to the topic of productive vs. unproductive worry. Worrying about things that are out of your control is unproductive, but when you can remove an obstacle that you CAN control, this is called “productive worry”. We give some examples and talk about how this is a good tool to have in your mental health arsenal.

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