FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2017
THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS — 5
Local
— SPOTLIGHT ON MENTAL HEALTH —
Anxiety and panic disorders
BY SUNNY WERNER
Sunny@TheBakerCountyPress.com
Anxiety Disorders were
not recognized until 1980
by the American Psychi-
atric Association. Prior to
that time, people suffering
from one of these disorders
usually received a generic
diagnosis of “stress” or
“nerves.”
The sufferers are
frequently women (the
ratio of females to males
diagnosed with Anxiety
Disorder is 3:2, according
to the CDC, the Centers for
Disease Control), and the
disorders were dismissed
as “hysteria” in previous
centuries.
There was no under-
standing of the disorders
by mental health profes-
sionals and, consequently,
effective treatment was
rare.
Since then, worldwide
research continues to show
the severe disabilities asso-
ciated with these disorders.
The assumption that those
who suffer from these
conditions are weak, lazy
or just not trying has been
debunked by extensive
scientific evidence proving
the disorders are real.
Measurable chemical
changes in the brains of
those who suffer are evi-
dence that the symptoms
are the result of events that
were not within the control
of the patient.
The National Institute
of Mental Health explains
Anxiety Disorder:
“Anxiety disorders
involve more than tem-
porary worry or fear. For
a person with an anxiety
disorder, the anxiety does
not go away and can get
worse over time. The
feelings can interfere with
daily activities such as
job performance, school
work, and relationships.
There are several different
types of anxiety disorders.
Examples include general-
ized anxiety disorder, panic
disorder, and social anxiety
disorder.”
Medline.gov describes
Panic Disorder:
“Panic disorder is a type
of anxiety disorder. It
causes panic attacks, which
are sudden feelings of ter-
ror when there is no real
danger. You may feel as if
you are losing control. You
may also have physical
symptoms, such as
• Fast heartbeat
• Chest or stomach pain
• Breathing difficulty
• Weakness or dizziness
• Sweating
• Feeling hot or a cold
chill
• Tingly or numb hands
Panic attacks can hap-
pen anytime, anywhere,
and without warning. You
may live in fear of an-
other attack and may avoid
places where you have had
an attack. For some people,
fear takes over their lives
and they cannot leave their
homes.”
Grace (mid-60s, a Baker
County resident) describes
her experiences with anxi-
ety and panic.
“The attacks began when
I was very young, probably
around seven or eight. My
family had moved across
the world and everything
familiar to me was gone.
I believe my mother also
suffered from it, but she
self-medicated with alco-
hol.
“I began having these
very strange symptoms,
where I felt that I was spin-
ning out of control. My
parents weren’t supportive
in finding help for me,
and of course back then
anything remotely ‘differ-
ent’ in one’s mental health
was considered something
you would hide. Nobody
wanted to be put in a ‘loo-
ney bin,’ which was what
we called mental hospitals
in those days.”
Grace goes on to
describe how the attacks
continued throughout her
younger years.
“The symptoms seemed
to calm down in my teen
years. I got married in my
first year in college. My
husband was very kind. He
wanted to help. We knew
something strange was
going on but even then,
back in the 70s, mental
health problems weren’t
something you wanted to
talk about.
“He would just encour-
age me to do whatever I
needed to do to get through
an ‘episode.’
“I would have to stay
home, inside the house,
and couldn’t answer the
phone or the door. I was
terrified. I didn’t know
what it was I was terrified
of, but the fear was very
real.”
Experts now recognize
the patterns in Grace’s life
are fairly typical for those
who experience Anxiety
and Panic Disorders.
• Early childhood trau-
ma (in Grace’s case, her
family made a major move
to an unfamiliar location)
• Family members who
display symptoms of the
disorders. (Grace’s mother
probably suffered from
anxiety and panic, but self-
medicated with alcohol)
• Shyness, inhibited social
interaction (Grace became
shy and inhibited follow-
ing her family’s move,
being unfamiliar with the
new social expectations
and cultural norms)
• Being female
From the National Insti-
tute of Mental Health:
Researchers are finding
that genetic and environ-
mental factors, frequently
in interaction with one
another, are risk factors for
anxiety disorders. Specific
factors include:
• Shyness, or behavioral
inhibition, in childhood
• Being female
• Having few economic
resources
• Being divorced or
widowed
• Exposure to stressful
life events in childhood
and adulthood
• Anxiety disorders in
close biological relatives
• Parental history of
mental disorders
Grace’s story continues.
“I could go years without
an attack, and even thought
I had managed to escape
having any more episodes.
But then, out of seemingly
nowhere, there would sud-
denly come those awful
physical sensations, and
I’d know another attack
was about to start. I was
pretty sure that I was
seriously mentally ill, but
the more I worried about
it, the less I could talk to
anybody—including a
doctor. Talking about it just
seemed to make it even
more real, and I wanted to
ignore it.
“As time went by, I be-
gan hearing about Anxiety
and Panic Disorder, and
recognized the description
as exactly what I had been
experiencing all my life!
The relief, realizing that
I wasn’t alone, that other
people had the same prob-
lems, was unbelievable.”
Treatment for the dis-
orders include therapy,
counseling and medication.
Some patients have found
relief with natural rem-
edies, and some continue
to rely on pharmaceuticals.
While Anxiety Disorder is
not currently curable, some
of the symptoms, for some
patients, respond well to
medication.
Therapies include:
Cognitive Behavior
Therapy, or CBT. CBT is a
type of psychotherapy, or
“talk therapy.” It teaches
the patient different ways
of thinking, behaving, and
reacting to anxiety-produc-
ing and fearful situations.
Stress-Management
Techniques
Stress management tech-
niques and meditation can
help people with anxiety
disorders calm themselves
and may enhance the ef-
fects of therapy. Many
people have found relief
from the frequency and/or
severity of anxiety or panic
attacks by following a reg-
ular exercise routine. Oth-
ers find that the practice of
meditation gives them the
tools to calm themselves
when they become aware
of an impending episode.
Medication
Medication does not
cure anxiety disorders but
often relieves symptoms.
Medication can only be
prescribed by a medical
doctor (such as a psy-
chiatrist or a primary care
provider), although a few
states allow psychologists
to prescribe psychiatric
medications.
Sometimes doctors will
prescribe antidepressants
for a patient with Anxiety
Disorder. There are con-
cerns with this, as there are
increasing reports of some
antidepressants actually
increasing the severity of
the anxieties.
Stock Photo.
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Starting
this week and ending in April, The Baker County
Press is running a six-part series on the subject of
mental health, two articles per month leading up to
May. Written in installments by various reporters,
the series will address both well-known and lesser
known mental illnesses, their symptoms, how they
affect individuals and families, and methods for
treatment. We will move into areas like Post Trau-
matic Stress Disorder, Autism, Personality Disor-
ders and more, stressing both tragedies and mental
health successes. Remember, there is always help.
Additionally, antidepres-
sants may cause some
people to have suicidal ide-
ation (thoughts of suicide)
or make suicide attempts.
For this reason, anyone
taking an antidepres-
sant should be monitored
closely, especially when
they first start taking the
medication.
Natural medicines
Herbs such as St. John’s
Wort and Valerian have
long been recognized as
having relaxing properties.
Some people with Anxiety
Disorder have found relief
by using these, along with
other, well-studied, herbs
and herbal compounds.
Any health food store, or
section of the supermar-
ket, has a wide variety of
herbal substances which
may be helpful to some
who suffer.
Also of interest is the
mounting evidence that
CBD oil, a derivative of
the marijuana plant, can
be helpful in treating the
disorders.
“Rigorous clinical stud-
ies are still needed to eval-
uate the clinical potential
of CBD for specific condi-
tions However, pre-clinical
research (including both
cell culture and animal
models) has shown CBD to
have a range of effects that
may be therapeutically use-
ful, including anti-seizure,
antioxidant, neuroprotec-
tive, anti-inflammatory,
analgesic, anti-tumor, anti-
psychotic, and anti-anxiety
properties.” —From a
presentation June 24, 2015,
by Nora D. Volkow, Direc-
tor, National Institute on
Drug Abuse to the Senate
Caucus on International
Narcotics Control.
Grace’s story ends with
this
“My husband had died
by the time Anxiety and
Panic Disorders were
acknowledged and I wish
he could have known that
I wasn’t all that weird after
all. But, knowing how
horrible it had been to live
with that and not be able
to get any help, I am very
vocal about it now.
“A couple of my daugh-
ters also struggle with the
disorder, and we all know
our triggers, and how to
help each other through an
attack. We can even do it
over the phone, or through
text! Knowing that there is
help available is one of the
biggest anxiety relievers
you could have.
“Don’t be afraid to ask
for help. Even though
talking about it seems
really scary, it truly is the
best way to get through
an attack and out the other
side.”
County: Tri-county weed structure discussed
BY TODD ARRIOLA
Todd@TheBakerCountyPress.com
The Baker County Board
of Commissioners held its
second, regular session of
the month, on Wednesday,
February 15, 2017, 9 a.m.,
in the Commission Cham-
bers of the Baker County
Courthouse, which includ-
ed a zoning change public
hearing, an Emergency
Management update, a
Tri- County Weed structure
draft proposal, and a 2015-
2016 audit review.
Present from the Board
were Chair Bill Harvey,
Commissioners Mark Ben-
nett and Bruce Nichols,
and Executive Assistant
Heidi Martin.
Attendance also included
Baker County Planning
Director Holly Kerns,
Baker County Planner
Eva Henes, Baker County
Administrative Services
Director Christena Cook,
Baker County Weed Mas-
ter Arnie Grammon, Baker
County Emergency Man-
agement Director Jason
Yencopal, Baker County
Emergency Management
Deputy Director/Fire Au-
thority Gary Timm, Baker
City Manager Fred Warner,
Jr., Baker County Sheriff
Travis Ash, Baker County
Facilities Maintenance
Foreman Dan McQuisten,
David Lindley and Megan
Adams of Guyer & Associ-
ates, Jan and Ken Alexan-
der, Art Sappington, Don
and Lori Sutherland, John
Creighton, Chuck Chase,
and Tork and Wanda Bal-
lard.
The meeting was called
to order, and the Invoca-
tion and the Pledge of Al-
legiance were recited, both
led by Harvey. The agenda
was adopted, with one
noted addition, a liquor
license application, with a
motion from Bennett, and
a second from Nichols.
Citizen Participation
included comments from
Sappington, on behalf
of the Jefferson Mining
District (JMD), of which
he is Coordinating Officer.
He provided an update
regarding JMD’s efforts in
responding to the Bureau
of Land Management’s
(BLM) Withdrawal from
Mineral Entry in Sage-
brush Focal Areas, and he
thanked the Board’s for its
own efforts, in responding
to that proposal.
He said that Eastern
Oregon University (EOU),
on behalf of Baker County,
had completed a patented
mining claim inventory
in 1984, and they were
recorded (he provided cop-
ies). He asked the County
to include this record
as part of the County’s
Comprehensive Land Use
Plan, and he asked that the
Board communicate with
Governor Kate Brown,
if appropriate, because
he’s had great difficulty
himself, regarding this
subject, and others, includ-
ing Brown’s designation
of Oregon as a sanctuary
state, through executive
order.
A second public hear-
ing was held in the matter
of PA-16-002, A Zone
Todd Arriola / The Baker County Press
Baker County Weed Master Arnie Grammon.
Change and Plan Amend-
ment Request by Helge
Bros., LLC Requesting
the Re-Zoning of Tax Lot
1600 of Map 09S37E20,
from Rural Residential,
to Mineral Extraction (the
first public hearing was
held on Wednesday, Febru-
ary 1, 2017, as detailed
in the Friday, February 3,
2017 issue of The Baker
County Press).
Kerns provided copies
of a letter to the Board, in
which she states that she
had spoken with County
legal counsel Drew Martin,
regarding issues discussed
during the Board’s first
hearing on this matter,
and Martin said that the
application process in this
case is the appropriate
mechanism, to request that
zoning change.
SEE COUNTY PAGE 7