Posted by Joe Stone (166.93.74.253) on October 22, 1999 at 15:27:32:
In Reply to: panic/depression & CH posted by gary g on October 20, 1999 at 13:09:12:
I have to say that I disagree with most of your arguments between CH and depression and anxiety problems. Depression and Anxiety are certainly not always caused by a genetic predisposition. Depression is the feeling that you cannot escape. When there is no way to prevent CH from happening, you can't escape. When you feel a certain way long enough, those feelings can chemically alter your brain. I suffered from both Panic and Depression for many years. I couldn't find anything to treat the CH and I felt hopeless, trapped. Now that Imitrex and Topamax are available, my cluster headaches are not nearly as dibilitating as they once were and guess what? The depression and panic are almost gone too. I am not taking medication for the depression or anxiety. The world we envision because of our environment and the circumstances we become involved in can become our physical reality. My neurologist is in complete agreement with me. He said with a disease as difficult as this one is, he would predict that many if not most of the CH'rs would have some form of depression and anxiety as well.