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Panic Attacks – Avoid These False Props

admin — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 09:11:28 +0000

Whatever the cause of anxiety or panic attacks some sufferers turn to false props to help them cope with there fears. These props can be alcohol, hard drugs or tranquillizers but none of these will treat your problem and can easily add further stress and impair your ability to think or act normally.

Alcohol can be a relaxant and taken in moderation especially in a social environment can help to ease the stress of the day. However, it can be a small step from social drinking to becoming dependant upon alcohol to handle or escape from the problems you perceive that you have. Regular excessive consumption of alcohol will affect your ability to cope with both your professional and private life.

The other problem with alcohol is that whilst it may temporarily raise your mood and spirits it can quickly turn into feelings of depression and self loathing as the after effects kick in. Continual reliance on alcohol can lead to alcoholism and eventually serious health problems.

Non prescriptive “hard” drugs such as cocaine and heroin are an even bigger threat to a persons well being. Once someone begins taking using these props they will quickly become addicted and the “cure” becomes more acute than the anxiety or panic symptoms.
Even prescribed tranquillizers, sleeping pill and anti depressants can become addictive and lead to dependency.

So if alcohol and drugs are false props what will help you overcome anxiety and panic attacks?

There are ways that you can decrease the chance of an onset of a panic attack. You can learn how to deal with them better. You must recognize the symptoms. When the initial ones begin, they may be others that come along. Just remember to take slow and deep breaths.

Keep decreasing you anxiety level through things such as exercise and meditation. Don’t be in a rush and take your time with this. Doing it quickly can defeat the purpose. Therapy is a time consuming process and improvement will be gradual.

Don’t be hard on yourself. Take it easy. Don’t beat yourself over the head criticizing yourself because of your condition. Make sure that you avoid things such as cigarettes, teas that have caffeine, and carbonated drinks. That may be difficult, but at least start weaning your way off slowly.

Work on not thinking about things that may have been traumatic for you in the past. These traumatic events can shape how you will react to things in the future. You cannot allow the past to hinder you if you are looking to move forward.

Make sure to keep a loving and understanding support system around you so that you will be able to move forward every day. Whether it’s family members or a friend, they need to be genuinely interested in help you get better and relieve those fears that you have pent up inside.

What is Social Phobia?

admin — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 11:00:45 +0000

Social Phobia can exhibit itself in several forms. Many of us suffer from some sort of social phobia or other. For instance there are a number of people who fear public speaking (glossophobia),. In fact a survey revealed that more people feared public speaking than those who feared death, and if you takke that to its logical conclusion that would mean the majority would prefer to be in the box than be the one to speak the eulogy.

Less common social phobias include the fear of walking down a street because the subject thinks everyone is looking at them. Another social phobia is the fear of public restrooms or eating in public. Basically phobias fall into two categories; one is the fear of acting in a certain manner in a public situation and the other is a fear of certain social interactions. Examples of the latter include parties, interviews, speaking to somebody you do not know or dealing with authority figures.

It is also important to not exactly what is and what is not a social phobia. A phobia is an intense and irrational fear of a thing or situation which is not normally dangerous. So if a person is a little nervous around poisonous spiders that is not a phobia. That is normal cautious behavior in a dangerous situation. But a person who is terrified to be near a small, harmless spider probably has a phobia.

The main concern for the sufferer, their family and friends is that if treatment is not sort the condition will grow and become worse. AS well as having an adverse effect on a persons personal, social and business life those suffering from social phobias will seek self destructive methods such as the help of excessive alcohol and or drugs to help them overcome their anxiety.

If you are or know someone who is suffering from a social phobia it is very much in the sufferer’s interest to seek proper professional medical advice. Irrational fears in someone else may at first seem amusing but if not treated can ruin someone’s life.

A Simple Guide To Meditation To Help You Deal With Stress

admin — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 14:21:17 +0000

A Simple Guide To Meditation To Help You Deal With Stress

Meditation is one of the techniques used in stress management. A person who is riddled with problems often finds it hard to focus; which often leads to more problems cropping up due to their mistakes. Meditation techniques helps a person achieve a calm state of mind without having to resort to drugs or relaxation tools and implements. Every step to meditation is done in the mind.

Remember that meditation is not a one shot deal. It is almost impossible to attain a calm state of mind in just a matter of minutes, especially if it’s your first time at it. It is essential that you keep on practicing meditation until you have conditioned your mind to instantaneously achieve the state just by thinking it.

Here are some steps for a beginner to start with meditation as their Stress Management strategy.

Step 1: Find A Quiet Corner To Start Your Meditation

Distraction is a hindrance to those who are still starting out with meditation. When you close your eyes, your sense of hearing will be twice as good so it is quite possible to hear almost anything in your surroundings that will make it hard for you to concentrate.

For beginners, it is important to start out in a quiet place in your home where noise is non-existent. Close your windows and lock your door. If possible, you can tell everyone in your home to minimize their noise so that you won’t get distracted.

Step 2: Ready Your Position

It is advisable for beginners to avoid lying down when practicing meditation. The aim here is not to sleep, and it is a guarantee that you will immediately fall off to sleep if your mind reaches a relaxed state. To stop this from happening, you can start your meditation in a lotus position or you can find a chair you can sit on. Make sure that your back is straight and your hands are relaxed on the armrest or on your lap.

Step 3: Begin Your Meditation With Proper Breathing

A good way to start meditation is to do the proper breathing exercise. You inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth. This way, you can come up with a rhythm that you can easily focus on. Also, the amount of oxygen in your body will be enough to keep you relaxed. Keep practicing your breathing until you can do it easily without having to think about it.

Step 4: Focus On Your Mind

While you are busy with your breathing, you will achieve a state wherein your mind will start throwing images at you. These are mostly in random — events of the day, future plans, problems and worries, fears and so on. It will be hard to ignore these thoughts and you are not supposed to ignore them. The gist here is to focus on these thoughts without really paying any attention to it.

This might sound hard but a here is a simple example to understand the concept. You know that you have furniture at home — you can see them clearly with your eyes but you are not really concentrating on it. Focusing on the furniture will usually make you think of its color, its material, how it looks in that part of your home, and more. You need to be able to look at these random thoughts in a detached state — seeing them clearly in your head but not focusing your attention on it.

There will come a time that these random thought will stop and you will notice that you are already in a blank space in your mind. This is the state you want to achieve during meditation. This is the place where you can think about your problems and focus on it till you can find a solution for it. With this, you have successfully mastered the basics of meditation for your stress management program.

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Tips for Dealing with Workplace Stress

admin — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:25:15 +0000

Work is an important part of life and it is where we spend most of our day. But, what if your job stresses you out? Here are some tips for dealing with stress in the workplace.

Stress is what it is. Situations come up in our lives that we look at as good or bad. How we react to them determines what the amount of stress we experience. Learning this lesson can save you a lot of stress on your job.

Handling your Duties
Believe it or not, there are people who like their jobs. When the work is satisfying you are more productive and don’t mind taking on extra duties when warranted.

But, when you are under the gun to get work finished and there just don’t seem to be enough hours in the day, you may be headed for trouble. If your frantic pace keeps up you’ll start to notice the adverse effects. At first it may just be a stomachache or a headache when you get up in the morning. You may pop a few pills before heading off to work.

It’s not a flu bug, it’s stress. And, here are a few ways to help you handle it.
1. Create a schedule – If you have several projects going at once, map out when they are due. Set up time blocks each day to get work done on each one, with more time given to earlier deadlines.
2. Learn to say “No” – No one is super human. If all you can handle well is two projects at a time, decline a third when your boss asks if you can take it on. You’ll save yourself a headache or three and your performance on the other two will be better.
3. Take lunch – Many think it increases their productivity or shows commitment if they skip a meal. Well, it doesn’t. Getting nourishment and taking a break allows you to refocus on your goal and get more work done. If you are tired, you won’t be able to think and are less productive.
Are you stressed right now? In case you are in doubt, here are a few signs that your stress level has gotten too high at work.
• Tiredness
• Snapping at coworkers or your family when you get home
• Lack of focus
• Headaches
• Irritability
• No longer look forward to going to work

Don’t let stress ruin your workplace experience. Take steps to get your workload under control so you can manage your stress level.

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Job Related Stress and How To Manage It

admin — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 09:24:35 +0000

Most of us will probably say that our jobs are where we experience the most stress in our lives. There are many things that can contribute to stress on the job including performance stress, burnout, environmental stress, and stress related to problems experienced on the job and overload. Oh, and let us not forget that people at work can also lead to stress whether that means stress from dealing with an overbearing boss or from dealing with a co-worker who is constantly annoying you at your desk.

The actual diagnosis of job stress refers to a chronic disease that is caused by events or conditions that occur at your job that have a negative affect on your ability to function in your job-related position or that have an overall negative affect on your body or mind. The symptoms of job-related stress include physical symptoms of illness such as headaches, stomach problems, or back problems as well as insomnia, an inability to concentrate, employee absenteeism, depression, frustration or anger that is extreme, anxiety/depression, and alcohol or drug abuse.

Many reasons can contribute to feeling stress at work including having an insecurity about your position at work, having a job that requires a high demand for your performance, if your job requires that you constantly update or keep up with technology, adapting to a workplace that is of a different culture than your normal one (this is especially prevalent in our global economy), having personal problems that interfere with your performance at work, and workplace sexual harassment.

Manage job-related stress by initiating the following:

Learn how to adapt to change because when we are inflexible and resist change it creates stress.

Make time in your day to re-energize, renew, or take a break from what stresses you.

Spend time with your family and friends on a regular basis.

Enforce positive attitudes and thinking because negative thoughts and attitudes breeds stress.

Celebrate little things as well as expected holidays because when we celebrate we smile, laugh and when we do these things we reduce stress.

Improve communication with others in the workplace to help dispel stress that is caused by lack of understanding or weak communications.

Take good care of yourself by eating healthy, getting plenty of rest and remember to have fun at some point in your day.

Learn relaxation exercises like slow, deep breaths, counting to ten, visualize a peaceful, relaxing place.

Head off stressful situations by not letting things that bother you fester. When situations arise that you know will result in problems at work, make a point to discuss these things over with those who are involved as soon as possible in a constructive manner.

Take the time to get professional help for things that stress you out that require intervention such as when sexual harassment is part of the problem, or when a co-worker or boss are involved in questionable activities.

48 Hour Stress Relief -A Review

admin — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 08:53:06 +0000

48 Hour Stress Relief – A Review
Stress is part of everyday modern life and most people can handle it with little difficulty. However, in this increasingly frenetic world a growing number of people are finding that the amount of stress they are under in causing them problems. Anxiety and panic attacks are becoming more common and an increasing number of people are seeking help to overcome their stress related problems.
In the worse cases there is no alternative to seeking professional treatment but for many sufferers significant improvement can be made by adopting self-help methods. In the e-Book “48 Hour Stress Relief” a plan is laid out with a course of action to overcome stress related anxiety and panic attacks.
One of the biggest hurdles to get over is to actually realise that you have a problem and to accept that it is possible to beat it. Rather than treating the source of the problem some turn to alcohol, or drugs as solution but they only make matters worse.
In “48 Hour Stress Relief” the author begins by explaining exactly what stress is and how it can lead to panic and anxiety attacks. By highlighting the bodily symptoms of stress and explaining the affects and signs of panic and anxiety attacks it helps sufferers understand the reasons behind their stress related problems.
There is also a 27 point Stress Test which helps the reader to discover exactly how stressed they are. Having once proved the depth of the problem the book goes on to show how you can trick your mind to alleviate the problem. It also shows ways in which it is possible to relax your body and take charge of your stress.
The simple answer to overcoming stress is to remove yourself from the stressful situation but this is not always possible especially if the stress is related to your job or family. This does not mean that there is nothing that you can do and in the penultimate chapter of this 76 page e-book there are 18 useful tips for stress management.
This is a well written, concise and easily readable e-book written in laymen’s terms. It is full of useful information for anyone suffering from a stress related condition. It is questionable if any method or treatment can overcome all of ones problems in a 48 hour period but the book does end with a plan for addressing stress, panic and anxiety in your life.
To find out more about “48 Hour Stress Relief” go to http://www.48hourstressrelief.com

Anxiety- Raise from the grave

admin — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 08:13:33 +0000

In some cases of anxiety and depression a patient clings to hope by taking anti-depressant drugs in hope that it is the answer to their prayers in relieving them of their symptoms. It has been proven that certain drugs work for some and not for others.

Anti-depressants have an enormous affect on the chemicals in the brain thus changing the mood. Drugs as such are known to help anxiety sufferers to cope with their displeasures but what you have to remember is anti-depressants are not a cure they are there to help control the condition by dealing with the discomforts i.e. symptoms.

The healing process can take a few weeks for the drug to go to work and take affect where you will see changes. It is important to follow through with any course of prescribed medicine dosage from your doctor other wise it will hamper the effects. Anxiety/depression can cause major changes in a persons life where they have no choice but to turn to medication. Not all medical prescriptions of this sort agree with people therefore unwanted side effects. Before continuing with any medication or treatment that you feel is disagreeing with your body then consult your doctor.

Pill popping is an easy way to take away the pain from backache – headache or whatever illness causes misery, but is it the answer to a cure, no it is a temporary fix for pain.

Natural medication and treatments in the form of herbal remedies are taken by many sufferers in the 21st century to help combat the stress and pressure brought on by anxiety – depression and panic attacks. Visit your local herbal store and talk with the herbalist who can advise you on many of natures natural potions. Depression can be a very disturbing mind meddler where lack of control and concentration is lost, due to how it interferes with your well being leaving you feeling low and in some cases at an all time low when in desperation a patient can end up harming themselves

A proven therapeutic method practiced the whole world over for many people with health concerns is Yoga, surprisingly not many people are aware of the benefits that yoga has to offer. It is known with out doubt to ease the mind and has the ability with certain moves to ease physical pain (depending on the condition) If you feel there are no answers behind why your anxious moments erupt and that it is time for a paracetomal, then think again, are you doing more arm than good.

Dealing with anxious moments can prove to be unsettling for many people but then you have those that grin and bear it. Anxious moments should not be ignored if they prolong or outstay their welcome as this could now be recognised as the start of anxiety or depression.

An early grave has been the answer for many a sufferer who found coping alone with anxiety caused more pain and heartache than actually dealing with it.
Are you a sufferer of the type of anxiety that leaves you feeling life is not worth living or wishing you were dead if so I urge you to rise from the grave in your thoughts and seek help. You are not alone and with the right help and medical attention you can enjoy the experiece of feeling on top of the world rather than six feet under.

Anxiety and Panic

admin — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 08:08:18 +0000

Anxiety can be defined as emotions which are typically negative in nature. It will often consist of fear and worry, and some organisms may even experience physical signs such as nausea or chest pains. Anxiety is a complex emotion, and is composed of a number of different elments. Some of these elements are somatic or cognitive, and the body will prepare itself to deal with an external threat. The heart rate speeds up, and the blood pressure is increased. The various muscles in the body will also receive elevated levels of blood. At the same time, the functions of the digestive system will slow down.

People who have anxiety will generally have a sense of dread. A number of voluntary and involuntary processes will take place in the body, and the goal of these processes is to get the organism away from the source that is causing it to have anxiety. Anxiety is an important emotion, and is designed to increase the survival rate of organisms. In humans it appears that anxiety comes from the hippocampus and amygdala, two regions of the brain. When a person senses bad odors or tastes, there will be a large amount of blood flow which will be present in the amygdala. The evidence also shows that medium levels of anxiety will be present in this situation as well.

Based on these studies, it appears that anxiety is designed to keep humans and other organisms from eating food or objects that may be harmful to their well being. While anxiety is normal, a person that has excessive amounts of it may have what is called an anxiety disorder. In extreme cases, people with anxiety disorders may have strong cases where they are terrorized. Anxiety disorders are broken down into phobias, panic disorders, generalized anxiety disorders, and obsessive compulsive disorders. Someone who is suffering from a phobia will have an abnormal amount of fear of a specific object or situation. People who have phobias tend to have extensive imaginations, and realize that their fear is often irrational.

When a person suffers from a panic disorder, they will have extreme panic attacks, and may have dizziness or breathing problems. These attacks will typically reach their height in about 10 minutes. Generalized anxiety disorders are common, and effect a much larger portion of the population. It is prevalent in both men and woman, and is characterized by long periods of anxiety that are not related to any specific object or situation. With the obsessive compulsive disorder, the individual with have an obsession or compulsion when it comes to specific types of behavior. People who suffer from this disorder will see the need to do something obsessively in order to reduce their anxiety.

Many people who have this disorder need to be extremely clean, and are afraid of germs. To reduce their anxiety, they will wash their hands numerous times in a single day. There are two primary methods that are used to help those who are suffering from anxiety, and this is either therapy or prescription medicaitons.