B-BLOCKER BLOOD PRESSURE PILLS HAVE BEEN USED FOR STAGE FRIGHT BUT MAKE SOME DEPRESSED AND SLOW HEART RATE

Some people are so nervous that they are anxious about their anxiety. "A blood pressure pill could help people forget bad memories, according to a Dutch study published Sunday". I am not sure if this is exactly news because beta blockers in small doses have been profferred as a treatment for some kinds of anxiety for quite a long time. According to the interesting musician's web site below "Beta blockers have been called "the musicians underground drug." Often musicians form their opinions, and may risk their health, based on locker-room-type information". But like almost everything in medicine different people react differently to the same drug. Some people actually get more depressed on beta blockers.




Beta blockers are a class of heart cardiovascular and blood pressure pills that have the effect of slowing the heart beat. They work on the so called beta receptors. They can be dangerous in certain conditions such as when a person already has a slow heart rate and they can worsen diabetes and increase asthma problems.
"The generic beta-blocker propranolol weakened a person's fearful memories of spiders in the test group, making it a possible treatment for individuals with anxiety disorders and phobias.We could show that the fear response went away, which suggests the memory was weakened," said Merel Kindt, a psychologist at the University of Amsterdam, who led the study".