Understanding Anxiety Disorders, Defense Mechanisms & Native American History
Understanding Anxiety Disorders
Five common anxiety disorders include:
- Panic Disorder: Characterized by sudden episodes of intense fear that occur unexpectedly.
- Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD): Manifests as extreme behaviors related to neatness, tidiness, and orderliness that significantly disrupt a person’s life.
- Social Phobia (Social Anxiety Disorder): Involves avoiding social situations due to fear of embarrassment or humiliation.
- Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD): Characterized by chronic anxiety lasting longer than six months, without panic attacks, obsessions, or phobias.
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): Arises from a traumatic event, producing feelings of fear, terror, and helplessness.
Substance-Induced Anxiety Disorder: Can result from taking substances like drugs (e.g., hallucinogenic mushrooms, marijuana) or medications that induce panic attacks or generalized anxiety.
Defense Mechanisms Explained
- Rationalization: Justifying actions perceived as wrong or bad to protect the ego. For example, “I could have won the race, but the track was wet.”
- Regression: Reverting to earlier childhood behaviors when adult defense mechanisms fail. An adult might say, “It’s not my fault!” and have a temper tantrum.
- Denial: Not acknowledging the validity of an unacceptable desire while acknowledging its presence. For example, “I may like to drink, but I’m not an alcoholic.”
- Suppression: Being aware of an unacceptable desire and validating it but intentionally trying to keep it from expressing itself. For example, “I know I’m an alcoholic, so I’m going to go on the wagon.”
- Reaction Formation: Doing the opposite of what one feels or believes; being a hypocrite. For example, expressing admiration for someone you envy.
Cognitive Distortions
- Tunnel Vision: Seeing only what one wants to see or what fits their current state of mind.
- Overgeneralization: Allowing an isolated incident to represent all similar situations. For example, “All women are alike; I’ll always be rejected” after one rejection.
- Arbitrary Inference: Drawing conclusions without supporting evidence. For example, “She is having an affair” when a wife is late from work.
Red Cloud: A Leader of the Oglala Lakota
Red Cloud (Lakota: Maȟpíya Lúta) (1822 – December 10, 1909) was a prominent war leader and chief of the Oglala Lakota. He led as a chief from 1868 to 1909. A formidable opponent of the United States Army, he led a successful campaign in 1866–1868 known as Red Cloud’s War over control of the Powder River Country in northeastern Wyoming and southern Montana.
After signing the Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868), he guided his people through the transition to reservation life. Some U.S. officials mistakenly considered him the overall chief of the Sioux (Dakota, Lakota, and Nakota). The tribe was highly decentralized, with bands operating independently. Red Cloud was renowned as a warrior and respected leader.
Announcements of Red Cloud’s death and recognition of his achievements appeared in major newspapers. The New York Times mistakenly described him as the leader of all Sioux bands but acknowledged his leadership and diplomatic skills. The Lakota were decentralized and never had one overall leader.
Red Cloud was photographed by Edward S. Curtis. In 2000, he was posthumously inducted into the Nebraska Hall of Fame and honored by the United States Postal Service with a 10¢ Great Americans series postage stamp.
Theodore Sorensen wrote in Kennedy that President John F. Kennedy considered naming a ballistic missile submarine after Red Cloud but deferred to Pentagon concerns.
Traditional Asian Medicine and Herbal Remedies
Asian and Western medical theories have become globally integrated. While some research firms predict the U.S. herbal medicine market could reach $12.3 billion by 2001, Chinese exports account for only a small percentage of the global market. Traditional medicine sales in China are declining due to increased reliance on Western pharmaceuticals.
Scientific-minded health practitioners hold varying beliefs. Dr. Kinloch Nielson of New York Hospital believes in anything that works but demands that all therapies meet the same standards of proof. He emphasizes the importance of clinical trials to validate treatments like acupuncture.
Traditional Asian techniques have a strong track record with chronic conditions. Rui Lian He, an acupuncturist and herbologist specializing in infertility, has patients who travel from afar due to her successful treatments. One patient, Vaughn Maloney, experienced relief from debilitating back pain through her herbal remedies.
White Mountain Apache Tribe
The White Mountain Apache Tribe is part of the greatest Nation on earth. They are proud Americans who have served courageously in the armed services for over a century. They have retained their culture and identity despite wars and assimilation policies. They remain a strong and vital people who chart their own destiny, understanding it as Ni, where their mind and land are one.