Does anyone have persisting earworms as part of their symptoms?

[RachaelFromFriends]

I've abused MDMA in the past and have experienced some long-lasting symptoms. I am almost a year clean now from my last drug use and I have cut down immensely on alcohol (I do however still use nicotine).
My recovery has been slowly getting better and distraction has been the best way to cope. The symptom that I have the most problem with now is the anxiety. It comes and goes in waves. Some days I feel 100% myself, like before all the drug use, and then some small stressful event can send me over the edge and boom- the anxiety flares up to the max again.

Anyways, recently I have noticed a new symptom that came with an anxiety attack I had a couple of months ago. I have ever since then had persistent earworms. By that I mean 24/7 unless I am distracted by TV or conversation. I have read that persisting earworms can be caused by low serotonin levels, and this is something that people with depression can experience.

I know this is most likely due to my serotonin levels being on a roller coaster since my abuse. It's just strange because I have been almost a year clean now from drugs, and if anything I was getting less and less symptoms. But now I don't know why this symptom just popped up out of the blue. I guess I wanted to see if anyone here has experienced anything similar. If so, could you tell me a bit more about your experience?

Thanks everyone

 

[Moreaux]

I have never had those symptoms (ear worms) but have had extreme issues with anxiety. Have you spoken to a doctor about your symptoms? If not, I highly recommend that you donso. You may also want to consider taking an antidepressant for the short term and see if that helps. I would also look into the serotonin diet - it should come up with googling it. It details which foods to eat to try to increase serotonin levels naturally. The biggest issue with MDMA use and why heavy users experience symptoms for so long is that they change the structure of their brain and actually kill off receptors so depression, anxiety, and other symptoms persist for a long time as it takes a while for the brain to adapt and heal.

 

[VastEmpty]

I thought an ear worm was a song that gets stuck in your head. What does it feel/sound like, RachFF?

- VE

 

[rainyday107]

I thought an ear worm was a song that gets stuck in your head. What does it feel/sound like, RachFF?

- VE

That is my understanding. I have it nearly 24/7...I call it my internal jukebox lol. Unfortunately, I can't pick the song.

My boyfriend has the exact same thing. Neither of us find it unpleasant. We both have bipolar 1 so we think it's related.

I hope it goes away soon soon if it bothers you. xo

 

[RachaelFromFriends]

\

I have never had those symptoms (ear worms) but have had extreme issues with anxiety. Have you spoken to a doctor about your symptoms? If not, I highly recommend that you donso. You may also want to consider taking an antidepressant for the short term and see if that helps. I would also look into the serotonin diet - it should come up with googling it. It details which foods to eat to try to increase serotonin levels naturally. The biggest issue with MDMA use and why heavy users experience symptoms for so long is that they change the structure of their brain and actually kill off receptors so depression, anxiety, and other symptoms persist for a long time as it takes a while for the brain to adapt and heal.

I spoke to my doctor about it but she is absolutely clueless. I am a bit apprehensive about antidepressants, just because I have already fucked up my brain with drugs and do not want to go down that route again, unless it is my only option. My doctor recommended antidepressants and told me that I should be on it for a min of a year. I asked her if there is any withdrawal symptoms and she said that "withdrawals symptoms don't exist and that it's only people who want to blame their issues on something that report them", so yeah, I don't really trust my doctor. I am going to go to a herbal doctor to get some recommendations on supplements and diet.

Moreaux, could you tell me a bit about your experience with anxiety and how you managed it?

 

[RachaelFromFriends]

That is my understanding. I have it nearly 24/7...I call it my internal jukebox lol. Unfortunately, I can't pick the song.

My boyfriend has the exact same thing. Neither of us find it unpleasant. We both have bipolar 1 so we think it's related.

I hope it goes away soon soon if it bothers you. xo

Yes you are right. That is exactly what I have. I can sometimes pick the song, if I focus hard enough.
When did yours flare up?
I've been dealing with anxiety now for about 3 years, coming and going, and even at my worst I have never had this symptom. It just came out of nowhere from a panic attack. But I've had worse panic attacks in my life. I know it is serotonin related, because I've read on studies that antidepressants has sometimes successfully cleared up this symptom. However, none of the studies said if it came back upon discontinuation.

I guess my biggest issue with this symptom is that I want to know if there is anything wrong, because it came out of nowhere.

 

[herbavore]

We think of anxiety as something that is amorphous--more feeling than thought-- but in reality it is simply imagined projections that we subject ourselves to.Sure the end result is an a very uncomfortable emotion but there are thoughts that are at the root. I do believe that there are a lot of very different and complex causes to anxiety but whatever the root causes there are methods of mental re-training that can work wonder to disrupt the usual patterns that lead to such dis-ease. I found that for me the practice of mindfulness was life-changing in this regard.

 

[RachaelFromFriends]

We think of anxiety as something that is amorphous--more feeling than thought-- but in reality it is simply imagined projections that we subject ourselves to.Sure the end result is an a very uncomfortable emotion but there are thoughts that are at the root. I do believe that there are a lot of very different and complex causes to anxiety but whatever the root causes there are methods of mental re-training that can work wonder to disrupt the usual patterns that lead to such dis-ease. I found that for me the practice of mindfulness was life-changing in this regard.

I've heard a lot about mindfulness. I think it is something I am definitely going to try, along with a healthy diet and good supplements. Do you have any good resources of mindfulness, e.g. books, websites, videos?
How much do you practice a day?

 

[Moreaux]

\

I spoke to my doctor about it but she is absolutely clueless. I am a bit apprehensive about antidepressants, just because I have already fucked up my brain with drugs and do not want to go down that route again, unless it is my only option. My doctor recommended antidepressants and told me that I should be on it for a min of a year. I asked her if there is any withdrawal symptoms and she said that "withdrawals symptoms don't exist and that it's only people who want to blame their issues on something that report them", so yeah, I don't really trust my doctor. I am going to go to a herbal doctor to get some recommendations on supplements and diet.

Moreaux, could you tell me a bit about your experience with anxiety and how you managed it?

Wow...I think you need to find a new doctor. Antidepressants really do have tangible withdrawal symptoms that have been documented in numerous studies. That being said, I do agree with her in that I think you should explore antidepressants to help get you through withdrawal. They can make certain neurotransmitters more available to you which is what you need. They are not going to impede recovery and healing from drugs, and will make that time much more bearable. If you do a slow taper there is little to no noticeable withdrawal.

I control my anxiety now by trying to make positive lifestyle choices and with coping mechanisms I learned from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) such as mindfulness, meditation, and breathing techniques. Regarding lifestyle, eating healthy, getting adequate sleep, and exercise go a long way to being able to cope with it productively and to diminish it. I also keep a prescription of Inderal (propranolol) for emergencies - it's a nonaddictive betablocker that stops the adrenaline response to anxiety so it prevents full blown anxiety attacks and it also reduces overall anxiety. I took it daily while going through withdrawal and PAWS, but now only once or twice a month as I can manage my anxiety pretty well now.

 

[RachaelFromFriends]

Wow...I think you need to find a new doctor. Antidepressants really do have tangible withdrawal symptoms that have been documented in numerous studies. That being said, I do agree with her in that I think you should explore antidepressants to help get you through withdrawal. They can make certain neurotransmitters more available to you which is what you need. They are not going to impede recovery and healing from drugs, and will make that time much more bearable. If you do a slow taper there is little to no noticeable withdrawal.

I control my anxiety now by trying to make positive lifestyle choices and with coping mechanisms I learned from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) such as mindfulness, meditation, and breathing techniques. Regarding lifestyle, eating healthy, getting adequate sleep, and exercise go a long way to being able to cope with it productively and to diminish it. I also keep a prescription of Inderal (propranolol) for emergencies - it's a nonaddictive betablocker that stops the adrenaline response to anxiety so it prevents full blown anxiety attacks and it also reduces overall anxiety. I took it daily while going through withdrawal and PAWS, but now only once or twice a month as I can manage my anxiety pretty well now.

Yeah I think I just got the wrong doctor. I suppose the thing with withdrawal is that some people don't always get the right doctor who cares enough to give them a right treatment plan. I will do my research before going on antidepressants. I want to first try CBT before I go down the SSRI route.

 

[pharmacybandit]

I have depression and anxiety (mostly controlled) but I've always had those stupid ear worms since I was a child. I always have a song in my head, no matter what. It's annoying sometimes, especially because songs I don't particularly like seem to be the ones I get stuck most frequent.

 

[herbavore]

I've heard a lot about mindfulness. I think it is something I am definitely going to try, along with a healthy diet and good supplements. Do you have any good resources of mindfulness, e.g. books, websites, videos?
How much do you practice a day?

Here is something that you could read right now.

One of my favorite books is this one. And this one.

 

[RachaelFromFriends]

I have depression and anxiety (mostly controlled) but I've always had those stupid ear worms since I was a child. I always have a song in my head, no matter what. It's annoying sometimes, especially because songs I don't particularly like seem to be the ones I get stuck most frequent.

That's interesting. I have read online that earworms can be related to depression/anxiety, bipolar, OCD, ADHD/ADD, but it seems like people who also have none of these conditions have them. I think it is related to serotonin, because a lot of people with bipolar, ocd usually suffer from depression/anxiety too. However, if you've had it since a child then maybe there's a missing link in that theory.
I mean I have been depressed before and my serotonin has been way more depleted, but I never had these earworms. Uh.. the mystery of the mind.

 

[herbavore]

Uh.. the mystery of the mind.

amen. but at the same time:

 

[pandas]

OP, I tend to experience earworms (such an odd name!) during bipolar mania or hypomania. They aren't hallucinations for me and don't feel problematic, for myself. Hope you are well.

 

[Cotcha Yankinov]

Necro, but thought I'd say I have severe earworms after ecstasy abuse as well. I used to play a lot of guitar on ecstasy/amphetamines and have had severe music stuck in the head ever since, often times with music in my dreams. I've had this for about 6 years (been sober from hard stuff for 6 years) and the one thing that I've learned is that mindfulness is the one thing that can really help.

There was a report by R.K Siegel of a patient with musical hallucinations after DMT that was cured with using earplugs in only on ear at a time. There might be other medications that can help that are more towards anti-epileptics that are commonly used in bipolar as well, something like Depakote. But those aren't without their risks and side effects, although those and atypical antipsychotics (ie Risperidone) helped me as well and helped me originally get enough clarity to really break into mindfulness.

As I was a borderline professional musician it was difficult for me but I must say that abstinence from music helps as well, or if you have problems with sleep from music keeping you up it can help to switch to listening to a genre that is more laid-back.

 

[RachaelFromFriends]

Necro, but thought I'd say I have severe earworms after ecstasy abuse as well. I used to play a lot of guitar on ecstasy/amphetamines and have had severe music stuck in the head ever since, often times with music in my dreams. I've had this for about 6 years (been sober from hard stuff for 6 years) and the one thing that I've learned is that mindfulness is the one thing that can really help.

There was a report by R.K Siegel of a patient with musical hallucinations after DMT that was cured with using earplugs in only on ear at a time. There might be other medications that can help that are more towards anti-epileptics that are commonly used in bipolar as well, something like Depakote. But those aren't without their risks and side effects, although those and atypical antipsychotics (ie Risperidone) helped me as well and helped me originally get enough clarity to really break into mindfulness.

As I was a borderline professional musician it was difficult for me but I must say that abstinence from music helps as well, or if you have problems with sleep from music keeping you up it can help to switch to listening to a genre that is more laid-back.

I've noticed mindfulness helps too, but it's only while you practice. I'm not sure about antiepilepsy and antidepressants, because I think they only mask the problem and once you stop they come back.
I am a musician too and I feel like this is killing my passion for music.
Do you find it bothersome Cotcha or have you learned to live with it?

 

[RachaelFromFriends]

OP, I tend to experience earworms (such an odd name!) during bipolar mania or hypomania. They aren't hallucinations for me and don't feel problematic, for myself. Hope you are well.

Panda, how long does your mania or hypomania last for? And does the earworm leave with it?

 

[Cotcha Yankinov]

It's pretty bothersome to me because it can keep me awake but other than that I used to find it entertaining. I lost the use of my hands for some time and I began to play music in my head more and more to make up for it, but purposefully playing music in the head turned out to be a really bad idea lol.

As far as mindfulness, I think the end goal of mindfulness is to maintain a mindfulness mindset everywhere you go. So in other words, your efforts to stay in the present moment shouldn't stop after a concentrated mindfulness session ends. I think the real benefits are supposed to be from applying what you learn in those concentrated sessions throughout the day.

On that note I'll say that mindfulness has taken a long time for me to learn, more than a year later and I still have so much room to grow.

 

[Jekyl Anhydride]

Anyone ever have a tv commercial hijack their usual earworm playlist ? Like the infamous " 1 877 kars for kids, K-A-R-S kars for kids, 1 877 kars for kids, donate your car today" I get bombarded by that commercial in California and when it sticks I need to purge it with something catchy or suffer along with the image of those kids pretending to play those instruments.