Anxiety and Stress Relief

Ancient Meditations

2009-12-09T09:17:02Z

I used to be very skeptical of meditation as a relaxation method until I tried it. There’s a reason it’s been practiced for over 3,000 years. Meditation was originally based in spirituality. The goal of meditation is to learn how to avoid automatic self-defeating thoughts and replace them with freeing thoughts. My anxiety disorder was a classic case of lack of self-esteem. I would begin thinking I’m really not a very good person and that I have a right to be afraid much of the time. There’s so much to worry about after all!

What learning to meditate did for me was give me a tool for analyzing my thoughts so I could stop creating my own turmoil. No one else was purposely making me anxious. I was doing it all on my own. Meditation forces you to take the time to explore your innermost thoughts and feelings, while avoiding reacting as you would if you were not in a meditative state. This disassociation between emotions and thoughts is the perfect treatment for anxiety. As I learn to enter a deeper state of calm through practice, I now find I can almost view myself from a distance. So I picture myself calm and at peace.

More Than One Cause

2009-11-04T09:17:03Z

A lot of people don’t realize that there can be many causes of anxiety instead of just one. When you are a worrier, you can usually pinpoint a particular reason why you’re worrying at that moment. But anxiety can have many underlying causes meaning you have to dig deeper to understand the sources. The causes can run the whole gamut too –from physical to emotional.

When you talk about the causes of anxiety, you might be surprised at how many possibilities exist. For example, you might have a personality that lends itself to anxiety. It reminds me of a t-shirt they used to make that said, “Born to worry!” You can experience anxiety because of unrelenting stress in your life or constant negative thinking. If you have low self-esteem you can also be prone to anxiety attacks. I guess though, the bottom line is no matter what causes may be creating anxiety, you won’t feel better until you begin a therapy program.

Getting a Perspective

2009-10-14T08:17:02Z

Learning to deal with anxiety means you need to learn to put things into perspective. You’ve probably heard this expression before, and there’s a reason. It’s when things get out of perspective that anxiety can take hold. I actually look at my mind now as if there’s only room for one thing – perspective or anxiety. If you let one overcome the other, you’ll either enjoy life or always be anxious.

Anxiety is one of those emotions that can grow. It not only can grow, you can help it become overpowering. Your thoughts often control your anxiety level. I enjoy the beach, but my anxiety began to ruin the experience. This is what happened. I would enjoy swimming in the ocean. Then I started thinking about sharks and drowning. This was followed by panic about what I might step on in the water. Eventually it got to the point where I sat on the beach and watched everyone else cool off in the warm ocean waters. That’s just one example of how you can let anxiety rule your life.

The Many Faces of Medication

2009-10-07T08:17:01Z

I struggled with the idea I might have to start taking anti-depressants in order to aid my recovery from depression. My anxiety had gotten so bad I spiraled into a depression I couldn’t seem to do anything about relieving. I have spent a long trying all the other treatments including behavior and cognitive therapy, but I still have anxiety attacks. I still think the therapies can work, but in the meantime I needed to be able to function. So the doctor suggested taking a mild anti-depressant medicine in addition to continuing other treatments.

This was a tough decision for me, because I really abhor taking prescription medications unless absolutely necessary. This is a very personal issue with me and not due to any problems with drugs in the past. I just believe in clean and healthy living and not putting anything into the body that’s not necessary. It’s been a disappointment to me that I’ve had to deal with anxiety and depression (but that’s another whole story). I agreed to try the mildest drug possible, and hope that I can stop taking it within the next 6 months.

Anxiety and Self Control

2009-09-16T08:17:01Z

I have panic attacks, and they’re no fun at all. I feel them coming on and the more I think about it, the quicker it happens. The first attacks I had, I really thought I was having a heart attack. My heart was pounding and I started sweating profusely. Then I couldn’t concentrate on anything around me. It scared me very badly. Of course, I started doing a lot of reading about panic attacks and was relieved to discover they aren’t physically harmful to my health. It wasn’t a heart attack making my heart race – it was the chemicals the brain releases when anxiety attacks.

There are ways to deal with panic attacks and general anxiety. The best thing to try first is learning self-control. Yes, you can learn to change the way you think so anxiety is relieved and panic attacks are less likely. Anxiety is a symptom of something else in your life yet to be identified. In my case, I discovered I had suppressed feelings about my marriage and it was causing excessive stress in my life.

I’ll Take Some Omega-3 Fatty Acids Please

2009-09-09T08:17:01Z

The omega-3 fatty acids are always being studied now, because they seem to play such an important role in the human body. But did you know that these same fatty acids affect your dopamine and serotonin production? Those are two of the chemicals that have a direct impact on your mood. So when you feel anxious or worried or even depressed, it’s quite possible your dopamine and serotonin chemical levels are out of whack.

So where do you find the greatest amount of omega-3 fatty acids? You find them in foods that are really good for you to eat. For example, fish has a high content. So does soybeans and tofu. You can also get an adequate supply of this important element by taking supplements. I take supplements, because I experience mild anxiety attacks. I want to make sure I am getting enough of the omega-3 fatty acids since they have been shown to work in the reduction of anxiety and even depression.

It Might Not Be Hyperactivity

2009-08-26T08:17:03Z

Sometimes children get fidgety, jittery and don’t want to be away from mom and dad. Some of that is normal, of course, and part of growing up. But excessive anxiety is not normal and needs to be addressed. Kids are unfortunately frequently diagnosed as having something else like hyperactivity or ADD. That’s because they have trouble concentrating in school, talk rapidly and have trouble socializing. These are the same symptoms of anxiety.

The point of telling you this is so when you talk to the school counselor or teacher, you want to do a lot of investigating. Anxiety has causes even if they may be complicated. Your child’s anxiety may be due to a problem with another student and he or she doesn’t want to tell anyone. Or it could be they’re having emotional problems about school or home. It’s too easy to label a child with ADD today. When that happens the real problem is not solved.

Keeping My Anxiety Alive

2009-08-12T08:17:02Z

Did you know there’s something called “maintaining causes” for anxiety. In other words, you have an anxiety disorder and you keep the flames burning because of the way you think and feel. Anxiety is a normal reaction to something that causes fear or worry. When normal anxiety occurs, it’s temporary. After a short while the anxiety dissipates and you stop worrying. But some people actually prolong their anxiety by talking themselves into worrying more and longer than necessary.

One of the most common ways people increase their anxiety is by convincing themselves they need to worry about all the “what-ifs”. If you’ve ever known anyone who always thinks about the worst that can happen, you’ll recognize what I’m talking about. When you maintain your anxiety this way, the anxiety usually gets worse. It can even lead to outright panic attacks. It’s a vicious cycle too. The more you talk about all the bad things that could happen (but probably won’t), the worse your anxiety can get.

I’ll Do It Myself

2009-08-05T08:17:03Z

It’s nice to be able to choose the perfect therapy for anxiety, but not everyone can afford to pay for counseling sessions and doctors. In many cases of anxiety, you can help yourself which can be very effective. But this only works if you are determined to accept responsibility for your healing. Too often people are disappointed in the results of their formal therapy sessions and blame everyone except themselves. They blame the doctor or the therapist or the people in group sessions or heredity or anything else they can find. It’s the blame game. The reality is that when you recognize you have anxiety, it means you can recognize that the quickest route to improvement is accepting responsibility.

Of course, that doesn’t mean you have to undergo therapy all alone. Even if you choose to see a licensed professional, you still have to be willing to work towards improvement. You also need to let your family and friends help you however possible. Anxiety can be very isolating which means you have a tendency to push people away. Having a good support system is important when you’re trying to overcome anxiety.

It Might Not Be Hyperactivity

2009-07-29T08:17:02Z