Can amebiasis be cured and how?

Has Zoloft cured any body's depersonalization? I think it cured mine once.?

• when I was 15 I had my first panic attack (which was extremely severe), after it subsided I began to notice this strange and uncomfortable feeling which most folks call 'depersonalization'. It freaked me out to the point were i could barley leave the house, socialize with friends, or even feel just a glimmer of happiness. This feeling persisted for about 6 to 8 months with no breaks in between. I tried various medications such as klonopin , and Ativan, both of which do work for immediate relief from panic attacks, but it never ever helped with the feeling of depersonalization. After a while I was prescribed Zoloft by a psychiatrist. I took it for a little over a month and suddenly my depersonalization vanished. I stopped taking Zoloft immediately after my depersonalization went away because I figured I was cured. I now know this was probably a mistake, which my doc thinks as well. I went about 2 years without any panic attacks or depersonalization ( happiest I've ever been in my life, quite frankly), then randomly i felt sort of nauseous about 2 weeks ago.Well, me being me I began to obsess over it, which in turn caused an extreme panic attack. I came down from it about about 30 minutes later but i was left with this general fear afterwards, and feeling sort of strange, but not totally depersonalized ( as I wasn't focused on the depersonalization, yet). I fell asleep and woke up the next morning still filled with this general fear. I figured the effects of last nights panic attack were still lingering, so i took 1 klonopin, which made me feel sort of high, just like they used to, then started to notice the depersonalization. I've been feeling depersonalized for the past 2 weeks. I just started taking Zoloft again, which i feel cured me the first time around by raising the serotonin levels in my brain, thus curing my anxiety disorder, thus getting rid of the depersonalization. I now know the scientific reason why people get depersonalized, it's your mind's natural response to fear (i.e. a car crash, getting chased by a lion, combat, etc.). By you getting depersonalized, it allows you to think and operate in a dangerous situation without any emotional bias, and an overall dulled sense of reality. In other words it's just a part of the 'fight or flight' response. I would go in to more detail but I hate typing. The problem is your mind reacts the same way to a panic attack as it would to a plane crash. Since there is no immediate danger around you begin to acknowledge the natural defense mechanism, and you begin to question it. This questioning of the feeling is part of what allows it to persist. For most people this feeling goes away when the danger does. For sufferers of anxiety disorder, were if you're anything like me, there's always a general sense of anxiety present (due to the insufficient amounts of serotonin in your brain), the mind still does its job and causes depersonalization. Unlike my first episode of depersonalization, which was 24/7, There's times were it will subside (for the most part, but not completely) when I'm totally occupied by something. Then in my head I'll notice that I'm not feeling very depersonalized, and the mere thought of it brings back the sensation. I have my ups and downs. I know cognitive behavioral therapy will help for sure, but I'm so obsessive over the depersonalization. It's incredibly difficult for me to stop thinking about it, but i know that if I do, the feeling will go away (also with the help of the Zoloft). I just want to ask whoever is reading this that has a similar experience to my own if you could share some of your insight on how to retrain my mind to stop thinking about it. If you've had depersonalization and you were taking Zoloft and have had success, please comment on this and share your story...because the first time i was on Zoloft I was on the lowest dosage and i don't know for sure if the depersonalization just dissipated, or the Zoloft got rid of my anxiety, which again, got rid of the depersonalization. P.S. I don't think I have depersonalization disorder, I don't really feel that it exists. I know for a fact that my anxiety disorder causes my sense of depersonalization because a panic attack is the only thing for me that makes me feel depersonalized. I just want to be back to my perfectly happy normal self, if this feeling persists for something like 12 or 20 years (like some people report, and I have sympathy for every single one of them) I'm just gonna give up my dreams, and join the military to go fight for no good reason. there's no chance for true happiness in my case if this feeling doesn't go away. Please help me, God.

• Answer:

  First of all, it sounds like you have a very good understanding of anxiety, panic, depersonalization, etc. which is very good because it's important to understand the enemy and the battle in order to fight it. I have been on Zoloft for a pretty long time to help with my Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and depression, and it has really helped me, however I have learned the hard way that just because things are better doesn't mean that I'm cured and should stop taking it, in my opinion, you should maintain a consistent dosage and once your disorder has improved and stabilized then only if you, your doctor, and your psychiatrist all agree that it you okay to start slowly lowering the dosage, should you do so. One of the symptoms of my anxiety was depersonalization, however that was triggered by other obsessions. For you however it sounds as though it is an obsession in and of itself. It appears to me that it is self-perpetuating. I can relate to this as well because another aspect of my OCD was intrusive thoughts, specifically... gory, bloody, gruesome, disgusting images and sensation of terrible things happening (ex. something expanding inside my brain blowing my head open, etc.). These got worse for me the more I tried not to think about them. Try this.... Do NOT picture a dog. Chance are, you just did. The more I tried to stop thinking about something, the more I thought about it, and thus the worse I got. So in your situation, it seems that the fear of depersonalization, causes the depersonalization to worsen, you recognize this, and the fear increases, and this vicious cycle starts over again. Break the cycle, by understanding that the only thing that keeps it going is you thinking about, so you need to understand this: you won't stop it by trying not to think about... you will stop it by facing the fear, letting the thoughts come naturally, and not worrying about. I hope this helps, stay strong, keep fighting, don't give up, and learn to love your life!