Archive for the ‘Anxiety Treatment’ Category

All Natural Anxiety Relief For You to Try at Home

Most folks with anxiety are put on drug-based meds by their doctor. But for various reasons many prefer to go the all natural anxiety relief route. Here, you’ll discover why, and, 5 totally natural tips for relieving your anxiety. Here are 5 things you can do as part of your all natural anxiety relief program:

WATER

Did you know that dehydration is one of the main causes of fatigue? And did you know that when you are feeling thirsty you are already beginning to be dehydrated? Since fatigue exacerbates your anxiety you need to make sure you’re continually hydrated. Drink at least 2 liters of fresh water daily. It is best to drink small amounts frequently throughout the day, rather than a lot 3 times a day for example.

DEEP RELAXATION

Just 30 minutes of deep relaxation a day can help relieve anxiety. But learning deep relaxation is a skill that you need to learn and practise. There are many techniques to help you do this; things like meditation, progressive muscle relaxation, guided imagery and correct abdominal breathing (see below) to name but a few. A description of these is outside the scope of this article, but you can find information for free on the Internet.

BREATHING

An important function of breathing is to maintain a store of carbon dioxide which is a natural tranquilizer. But rapid, deep breathing helps to deplete carbon dioxide and so increase agitation and anxiousness. So you need to practise slow shallow breathing to produce calmness. Breath in through the nose, then, long and slowly out through the mouth. The out breath should be longer than the in.

Diaphragmatic breathing is best. This means breathing with your diaphragm and not your chest. Lie down and breath in and out using your diaphragm (under your ribs and above your stomach). If you are doing it correctly you shouldn’t feel any movement if you put your hand on your upper chest.

FOOD AND DRINK

Eat a high fibre, low fat food diet to help your body with it’s internal processes. Eat plenty of green leafy vegetables. Reduce processed foods since they contain large amounts of chemicals from the preservation process. Reduce salt intake since it raises your blood pressure. Reduce sweet, refined foods that raise your blood-sugar and lead to anxiety and mood swings.

Stay away from stimulants like coffee, tea and energy drinks containing caffeine. Reduce or cut-out alcohol. Alcohol alters your brain chemistry and, although it seems to act as a stimulant at first, it then can cause depression.

REGULAR EXERCISE

This can be walking, swimming, running, etc. But it has to be regular, i.e. a minimum of 30 minutes every day. If you haven’t exercised for some time, start off slowly and gradually build-up over time. Exercising releases endorphins that improves your mood. It also releases stored-up adrenaline which leads you to feeling more relaxed and less edgy.

These 5 all natural anxiety relief tips will certainly help you manage your symptoms of anxiety. But you need to combine them with getting rid of your constant ‘fear’ of anxiety attacks. This fear itself can be responsible for increasing your general anxiety and triggering anxiety attacks.

These type of exercises help you ‘manage’ your anxiety, but they can’t get rid of your fear. And drugs certainly can’t. Only you can. You need to eliminate your fear first in order to get rid of your general anxiety.

The ‘ONE MOVE’ technique outlined below can help you achieve this. John Cielo researches and writes on natural anxiety relief. To discover the simple ‘ONE MOVE’ technique that will eliminate your fear factor and so break your vicious cycle of anxiety, please go here now http://eliminatepanicattacks.blogspot.com and get your old self back again.

The author constantly researches health issues then writes reports on his findings so that you are perhaps more aware of the facts, and then, better able to make an informed decision on your choice of treatment and cure. Remember to always consult your doctor first. Please now go to http://eliminatepanicattacks.blogspot.com

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/mental-health-articles/all-natural-anxiety-relief-for-you-to-try-at-home-1525977.html

Posted on February 24th, 2010 by EstelleB  |  No Comments »

Anxiety Relief – Finding A Treatment

Anxiety attacks and their awful symptoms can be beaten. Prescription medication will provide welcome anxiety relief by treating the symptoms of General Anxiety Disorder (GAD). The remaining difficulty then is finding  treatment that stops the actual attack.

Here lies the problem. Stop the medication and the horrid attacks will return! Stay on the medication and the side effects will have you feeling like a zombie living in a daze! The reality though, is that there is a way forward. The prescribed medication, with the undesirable side affects, should be seen as a temporary solution only and a long-term remedy, aimed at the root of the problem, needs to be put in place.

Finding a treatment that is natural could consist of taking time to relax and have some fun. Actually make plans to do this if your life is so busy that there never seems to be an opportunity. Plan something special, something that will leave good memories. Include your spouse and children and let nothing interrupt these good times together.

By eliminating known triggers like stress, phobias, excessive caffeine and alcohol and by improving your diet, increasing exercise levels and learning some basic relaxation techniques you can begin to control the onset of the attacks

The difficulty with dealing with anxiety or panic attacks is that the very fear of an attack occurring becomes the overriding reason for having an attack. Or, in other words, the fear of being afraid makes you afraid. So, learn to recognize the signs of oncoming attacks and practice controlling your breathing as an initial defense. It is helpful to know that a change of focus of thought at the onset of an attack will make a difference. This ability to have a enough control to actually direct your mind away from your fears, at a crucial time, is key to to finding a treatment that does not require the use of drugs, gaining anxiety relief and a major step to overcoming panic attacks altogether.

Gradually confront some of the triggers that bring the attacks on. Dare to face some of the events or situations that you have learned to avoid. Recognize every small gain that you make and build confidence from them that you will eventually learn how to use a natural technique for anxiety relief.

For more information concerning your panic and anxiety attacks visit: http://panicaway-now.blogspot.com/

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/mental-health-articles/anxiety-relief-finding-a-treatment-1404096.html

Posted on January 19th, 2010 by EstelleB  |  No Comments »

Panic Attacks, Anxiety, and D-cycloserine: Thinking Outside of the Box

“Necessity is the mother of invention.” Always works for me. It seems as though it works for psychiatric research, as well. And that’s a good thing because I’ve become frustrated and puzzled by the lack of research and treatment attention panic disorder, all of the anxiety disorders for that matter, receives.

Panic, and the anxiety disorders, so often take a back seat, especially to the mood disorders. And that’s odd given the fact that the anxiety disorders are the most prevalent of the mind variances, and so many anxiety sufferers have a mood disorder comorbidity.

Stepping off my soapbox, here’s some very creative thinking that gives me renewed confidence and hope. Using meds and psychotherapy as a punch combo to combat a mind variance isn’t anything new. For example, a panic disorder sufferer participating in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) gets referred to a psychiatrist and begins taking a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI). Happens all the time, though not always efficacious.

But what if there was a more creative boxing strategy? What if instead of meds and therapy working as a jab/cross combo, they teamed to become one massive knockout punch? Well, tune-in because this is cool.

D-cycloserine is an antibiotic that’s best known as a back-up treatment for tuberculosis. But, go figure, it’s shown efficacy in the treatment of phobias. And it’s also provided relief when used in augmentation with psychotherapy in the treatment of depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and even schizophrenia. Well, it seems you may be able to add panic disorder to that list, especially within the context of exposure work in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).

So how does an antibiotic provide relief for panic? Well, one of the characteristics of D-cycloserine is that of a partial agonist of a receptor for glutamate. Glutamate is the most abundant excitatory neurotransmitter in mammals, and an agonist is a manufactured or naturally occurring drug that triggers action from a neuron. The impact of glutamate is thought to be based in sensory-related fear extinction in the amygdala. Of course, the amygdala is our emotion/fear headquarters.

So if you really think about it, the D-cycloserine work is really a matter of enhancing a learning process. And it would then make perfect sense that a dosage of D-cycloserine would be administered one-hour prior to a CBT session. Isn’t that wild? It’s like a pre-game warm-up for the brain.

Though, to my knowledge, use of D-cycloserine hasn’t gone beyond the lab, it’s really very exciting and offers a lot of hope for many reasons. First and foremost, there’s every reason to believe the treatment can provide relief. And, secondly, it’s proof that some very creative thinking is occurring in the world of psychiatric research. It’s like a football coach revising offensive and defensive strategy, as well as the game plan, because he knows his player talent level is low.

“Necessity is the mother of invention.” Thank goodness for thought outside of the box.

After a winning bout with panic disorder, a career in the business world, and a part-time job working with socially challenged adolescents, Bill found his life’s passion and work. So he earned his master’s degree and counseling credentials, and is doing all he can to lend a hand to those having a tough time.

Bill has some powerful BE CALM mentoring and service packages available for panic attack sufferers on his website, which include his panic attack education and recovery eWorkbook, “Panic! …and Poetic Justice.” The eWorkbook is delivered via an immediate download. You’ll also find a link on the website to Bill’s Panic Attack Freedom! blog. Lots of good stuff going on and much more to come.

In addition to doing psychiatric emergency work, Bill continues to do a lot of writing and speaking. He’s conducted numerous mental health workshops and is available for future engagements. Bill is a national and local member of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (N.A.M.I.). He resides in the far western suburbs of Chicago where he enjoys time with his two wonderful teenage children.
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Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/mental-health-articles/panic-attacks-anxiety-and-dcycloserine-thinking-outside-of-the-box-1324880.html

Posted on December 23rd, 2009 by EstelleB  |  No Comments »

Therapy for Anxiety for Your Help

In any industry, no matter the background, the place of work can be packed with pressures. Whether physically present and arresting, such as the tough times faced by building workers or may be those employed with the defence forces, or a subject of nervous social exchanges, as in the case of legal offices and flourishing call centers, anxiety time and again plays a major role in occupation. And the exact position in which a person works in a given surrounding usually has meager to no bearing on whether they undergo tension at work. Working people are bound to regularly come across moments of stress right from the basic levels of employment like entry-level job positions to the top levels of management positions. Hence, many individuals build up mind-sets of tension about work; feelings which can from time to time make the matters worse.

Anxiety therapy, while regularly specified for people who tolerated nervous indications throughout the different phases of their lives, can aid those who fight back to accomplish peace of mind at work. This special treatment has the capability of taking its beneficiaries into self introspection so that they can even evaluate those uneasy mind-sets that threaten or challenge their deep ingrained private viewpoints, by helping them have profound consequential insight into the thoughts, mind-sets, and behaviors for feeling anxious in the workplace.

For those seeking higher work prosperity, this self exploration could at times confirm to be taxing. Still the vast majority of beneficiaries find the journey remarkably useful, allowing them to let go of and work through problems as they come up, and developing tools and strategies for managing uneasy states and thoughts on the job, in the client’s own mind and through their own authority. The ability to face even the most critical or urgent of challenges at work can help clients to feel better about their own personal and professional capacities, and can have exceptional results for entire offices and companies as well.

The pressurized setting of the modern place of work might not lead everyone to experience thoughts of stress. But those who do have too much worry about their work are resorting to anxiety therapy as a means of curing and rejuvenating their lives.

Help your professional life attain the competencies it holds within. Conquer the anxious situations in your professional life by integrating the anxiety therapy.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/mental-health-articles/therapy-for-anxiety-for-your-help-1297975.html

Posted on October 4th, 2009 by EstelleB  |  No Comments »

What Is Anxiety And How To Treat It

By Frank Hague
There are several subgroups of Anxiety Disorders, with different causes and treatment.

Anxiety disorders are a serious social and financial concern to American business, since they cost the country more than $42 billion a year in healthcare costs and lost productivity, according to “The Economic Burden of Anxiety Disorders,” a study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.

More than $22.84 billion is spent on healthcare services, as those with anxiety disorders seek relief for emotional distress and physical symptoms.

Sufferers are 300 to 500 percent more likely to go to the doctor and 600 percent more likely to be hospitalized for psychiatric disorders than non-sufferers.

Anxiety disorders are the most common psychiatric illness and affect both children and adults. They develop from an interaction of numerous risk factors, including personality, genetics, brain chemistry, and life stress.

Approximately 19 million adult Americans suffer from anxiety disorders. Anxiety disorders are highly treatable, yet only about one-third of those suffering from them receive treatment.

The main feature of Generalized Anxiety Disorder is excessive, unrealistic and uncontrollable worry about everyday events. This constant worry affects daily functioning and brings physical symptoms.

GAD can occur with other anxiety disorders, depressive disorders, or substance abuse. It can be misdiagnosed because it lacks some of the dramatic symptoms, such as unprovoked attacks of panic, that are seen with other anxiety disorders.

For a diagnosis to be made, uncontrollable worrying occur more days than not for at least 6 months.

The focus of GAD is fluid, shifting unpredictably from job issues, finances, health of both self and family, and smaller issues such as chores, car repairs and being late for appointments.

The intensity, duration and frequency of the worry are disproportionate to the issue and interferes with the sufferer’s daily life.

Physical symptoms can include muscle tension, sweating, gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhea and/or nausea, cold and clammy palms, the feeling of having a “lump in the throat” and difficulty swallowing. Sufferers are irritable and complain about feeling on edge, tire easily tired and have trouble sleeping.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is characterized by persistent, recurring thoughts (obsessions) that reflect exaggerated anxiety or fears; typical obsessions include worry about being contaminated or fears of behaving improperly or acting violently.

The obsessions may cause the individual to perform a rituals or routines to relieve the anxiety, such as excessive handwashing, checking appliances, repeating phrases or hoarding.

People with Panic Disorder suffer severe acute attacks of panic for no apparant reason, which may mimic the symptoms of a heart attack or cause them to feel they are losing their minds. Symptoms include heart palpitations, chest pain or discomfort, sweating, trembling, tingling sensations, feeling of choking, fear of dying, fear of losing control, and feelings of unreality.

Panic disorder is often accompanied by agoraphobia, in which people are afraid of having a panic attack in a public place, so they become afraid to leave the safety of their controlled home environment. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder can follow a traumatic event such as a sexual or physical assault, witnessing a death, the unexpected death of a loved one, or natural disaster.

There are three main symptoms associated with PTSD: “reliving” of the traumatic event (such as flashbacks and nightmares); avoidance behaviors (such as avoiding places and other reminders related to the trauma) and emotional numbing (detachment from others); and physiological arousal such difficulty sleeping, irritability or poor concentration.

Social Anxiety Disorder is characterized by severe anxiety about being judged by others or behaving in a way that might bring ridicule or embarrassment.

This intense anxiety may lead to extreme shyness and avoidance of social situations. Physical symptoms associated with this disorder include faintness, heart palpitations, blushing and profuse sweating.

Anxiety disorders also include Specific Phobias, an intense and unreasonable fear of specific objects or situations, such as spiders, dogs, or heights. The disproportionate level of fear is recognized by the sufferer as being irrational.

It can lead to the avoidance of common, everyday situations. Patients often have more than one anxiety disorder, and sometimes other illness as well such as depression or substance abuse.

Treatment of anxiety disorders includes support groups, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), exposure therapy, anxiety management and relaxation techniques, and psychotherapy. Drugs therapy used to treat anxiety disorders includes benzodiazepines, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), tricyclic antidepressants, monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) and beta-blockers.

Often a combination of the two therapies is more useful than one exclusively. Up to 90 percent of patients will show improvement of their symptom from medical treatment.

About the Author
Author is Frank Hague who is very interested in anxiety and how to treat it. Check out the website: http://www.anxiety-now.info

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Posted on April 20th, 2009 by In Charge  |  No Comments »