Social Anxiety, Panic - Methylation, Overmethylation, Histamine, Copper, Pyroluria

[matt3n]

The central issue and this is important is that it is not a replacement for real medical therapy that works to eliminate the physical cause of the illness..

I could not agree more - both with the above and with everything else you wrote. I hope it didn't seem like I think CBT can "cure" CFS/ME, etc.

And when I say that it has helped me a lot, I should make sure it's clear that I mean psychologically, both with learning to live with my physical limitations (coping) and with issues I've struggled with my entire life (anxiety, low self-esteem, tendency to push myself way too hard, irritability, etc.), which might have contributed to my downward slide in the mid-2000s but certainly don't explain my symptoms now.

Also I wouldn't call it a miracle or anything. It does require a lot of work and thinking on the part of the patient, and you have to remind yourself to use what you've learned or you'll slide backwards.

And I agree in general that good science is hard to find. I would imagine that any researcher would have a bias that they want to get a positive result. And most studies of something as complex as the human mind OR physiology are riddled with methodological flaws or shortcomings that make the results questionable, even dangerous in some cases.

So CBT, as used in studies to date to try to "treat" or improve the physical symptoms of CFS/FMS/IBS/whiplash/etc.: bad.
CBT in general, done correctly: can be a very useful tool (IMHO).

 

[matt3n]

I certainly do have a social anxiety response but it fluctuates wildly depending on what I take. At best, I have been able to more or less comfortably give presentations and, at worst, I can't even make it through a simple conversation without extreme panic. I have been experimenting for years now. At this point, I'm just trying to determine what the main cause may be. I've experienced so much success from a seemingly endless list of issues via Freddd's protocol that it would be a shame to throw all that away in the face of social anxiety/panic. I have had much success with non-folate/non-b12 treatments in relation to social anxiety/panic but none of that has come close to resolving the countless other issues I have.

It's a tough one to deal with. I suspect my anxiety/stress response is mainly inborn, so while I can gradually improve on it over time - with the ups and downs we all experience - it's always going to be more work for me than for the average person.

I would definitely keep trying to find a way to keep the Freddd protocol - since you've gotten so much benefit from it in other areas. There might be some missing nutrient that you need more of, or maybe even less of something.

Let us know if you learn something new.