Anxiety and panic disorders are the most common emotional disorder. It is reported that one out of every 76 people worldwide will experience a panic attack in their lives. Each year around 1/3 of American adults have at least one panic attack while most of these adults never develop repeated panic attacks. Only 21% of people who ever suffer from anxiety and panic attacks reach out for professional help.
Do I have Anxiety and Panic Disorder?
The truth is if you experience one or several of the following symptoms, it is very likely that you have it: heart palpitations, sweating, trembling or shaking, sensations of shortness of breath or smothering, feeling of choking, chest pain or discomfort, nausea or abdominal distress, dizziness or light-headedness, derealisation or depersonalisation, fear of losing control or going "crazy", fear of dying, paresthesia, and chills or hot flushes.
What you don't know about Anxiety and Panic Disorders
We receive thousands of emails via our web site from anxiety, panic attacks, phobias, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) suffers every month. What is very apparent from most of these is that people have a lot of misconceptions about anxiety and panic disorders. In order to cure them we need to know some facts about them first.
Firstly, anxiety and panic disorders are NOT mental illnesses. They are just behavioral conditions stored as memory, instinct and habit in the Amygdala, an almond-shaped set of neurons inside the brain. The National Institute of Mental Health has confirmed that conditions such as anxiety, depression, autism, PTSD, OCD, and phobias are caused by abnormal functioning of the Amygdala.
Secondly, anxiety and panic disorders conditions CAN be eliminated 100% permanently, contrary to what most believe. We already know that stress, bereavement and life circumstances are just the triggers for the anxiety and that Amygdala is THE cause. If we can change the way the Amygdala reacts, you'd be anxiety free. The good news is we can change the reaction of Amygdala quickly and permanently with immediate results.
Please visit our Anxiety Panic Away website listed below for more information on how your can permanently cure anxiety and panic attacks so you can make an informed decision as to the best course of treatment that would best fit you.
What is music? All sounds are comprised of sound waves. What distinguishes music from other sound waves is the manner in which the sound waves vibrate and decrease from loud to soft. Dropping a metal pan on the floor presents jarring, erratic vibrations. Striking a note on a piano chord presents a softer more uniform and smooth transition from loud to soft. Obviously, a musical note is going to be much more pleasant to the ear.
There’s an old adage about how “music sooths the savage beast.” Not only is this true, it is actually an understatement. Music plays such a profound part of our lives, that we will barely scratch the surface here, but let’s give it an overview.
All of us grew up with certain songs or instrumentals that strike a chord that reverberates through our entire being. For example, when I hear “A Summer Place,” it immediately carries me back to summer months in the fifties. The experience is so profound that I can remember the feel of the sun on my face, the smell of hot dogs cooked over an open fire and the laughter of friends and family.
There is a theory that certain notes or chords resonate with a vibration that is particularly harmonious to specific people. Have you ever heard a song that gave you “goose bumps?” If so, then you give validation to this theory. When this occurs, the music has a profound affect on the subconscious. Add intense emotion to the equation and you have one powerful, indelible, blueprint on your subconscious that will follow you the rest of your life.
For example, let’s say that you receive news of the death of a loved one while a specific piece of music is playing on the radio. That particular music may have a lasting impression. Years later, for no apparent reason, you may find yourself immediately thrown into a state of depression upon hearing that same tune. The same can be true of “positive” feelings as described in the story above.
The subliminal effect of music is a proven fact. How often do you find yourself humming a fragment of a tune that you can’t identify only to discover that it’s a new “commercial” message you heard on your television. The advertising industry pays huge amounts of money to conduct research into why and how music works on the subconscious mind. This is also the reason why you see the recent trend by large companies to reconstitute classics originally performed by some of the greats of stage and screen.
Just for fun, the next time you find yourself humming a tune, try and remember when, where and under what circumstances you heard it for the very first time. The exercise will probably help you to better understand how past events have shaped your musical preferences. And, I’ll wager that the next time you hear “A Summer Place,” you will remember reading this article.
There seem to be so many people who are depressed that we really should take a look at the causes of depression in the first place. The factors that contribute to depression are well-known, and well-researched, but what causes it is not quite understood. New studies have uncovered some of the factors that contribute to the probability of people developing depression.
Stress
Stress takes the first place prize. It's true that any stressful environment or situation can lead to depression. It can be anything such as social stress, getting a job, relationship difficulties, worrying about money, staying up late, lifestyle out of control, pressures of school and getting good grades. Other events that could cause depression are: death, change of job, moving from one place to another; even the fear of the unknown can cause depression. The list is endless. While these events cannot be avoided, we must come up with an effective stress coping mechanism to be able to thrive even in stressful situations because they are never going to go away. Stressful situations just keep changing.
Drinking and Drugs
People who take drugs and alcohol are more prone to depression. When these substances are used at a young age, they can effect a a person's brain in negative ways. These substances help make the person feel good temporarily, but in most cases, people become addicted.
Drugs release dopamine in the pleasure center of the brain. For example: delicious food boosts dopamine release by about 50 percent. Sex, on the other hand, doubles this number. However, drugs can increase dopamine release anywhere from four to ten times. This unnatural high almost certainly leads to depression after the high goes away. This substance is the surest way to fry brain circuitry.
Drugs make a person depressed more than it makes him happy. This effect will spiral downward until the person doing drugs will want more and more of the substance to break the cycle of depression that follows each high and so the addiction is born.
Not Enough sleep
Studies show that up to 40 percent of adults do not get the proper amount of sleep per day and among students, up to 71 percent complain of sleep disorders and lack of sleep.
Sleep is essential to a person's health. During sleep, the body repairs itself and reorganizes thought. Lack of sleep contributes to a lack of coherence in brain waves. This scenario often leads to depression. Sleeping during the day and staying up late also interferes with the body's natural rhythms. This can lead to a sense of depression.
Here are few ways on how to prevent depression.
Sleep is a vital part of preventing depression. Balance your life with enough rest and exercise everyday. Most people require seven to eight hours of sleep per day.
Keep some regularity in your life. Orgaize your activities so they can come at expected and regular times. If your weekly, daily or monthly routine is set then your body has time to get used to the activities. This will lead to a reduced chance for depression to set in.
Don't push yourself beyond your limits. Keep stress in check and try to avoid stressors if you can. If this can't be done, then try to deal with the stressors in a manner that minimizes the damage it causes.
Sunlight and exercise can help the brain to function a higher level. Make time to enjoy the sunlight and try to stay active in the daylight when possible.
Keep away from alcohol and drugs. They may seem attractive, but all they really do is cause havoc in a person's life.
Make at least one warm meal daily a priority. Good eating habits and good health are important when keeping away from depression.
Have fun every day. Nothing takes the load off of depression like some good old fun time. Social activities such as chatting, joining a support group sports, and other hobbies can do wonders towards healing a stressed out and busy mind.
Depression can be avoided and treated and it can be fun doing so. Follow the above mentioned tips for a brighter and happier disposition each day. You will look and feel better for it!
Depression is a disorder that does not get nearly enough attention. Depressed people are often told to "cheer up" or to "look at the bright side" of things, and may spiral even deeper when they are unable to simply snap out of the mood that has such a hold on them. While depression can often lead to fatigue and listlessness, it has a close cousin by the name of anxiety. Anxiety causes the opposite effect, putting our bodies into the "fight or flight" mode that protected us in the wild.
Anxiety attacks can feel like heart attacks, and even at more moderate levels, anxiety can have a dangerous and very negative effect on our lives and on our quality of living. Anxiety can also lead into depression, when a sense of worry and fear for the future leads into the sense of helplessness and hopelessness. That is a classic symptom of depression. Depression and anxiety are often seen together, and can sometimes lead into one another.
Anxiety is a way of describing a certain way of feeling. It may represent a sense of fear, dread, or a sense that you are in immediate danger, even when you are safe and have no reason to feel this way. There are several different kinds of anxiety disorders, including phobias or irrational fears, situational anxiety, panic disorders, generalized anxiety disorders, obsessive compulsive disorders, and post-traumatic stress disorders among others.
These disorders can lead to a state of almost constant high stress, and can affect your daily life much to the worse. You may be unable to function in certain situations, or you may come to fear leaving your own home, and if untreated, the symptoms of anxiety disorders can lead to many of the same problems as depression, including insomnia or a reluctance or fear to leave the house or to be around other people.
Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression
Anxiety symptoms can also feel like heart attacks, with palpitations, shortness of breath, chest pains, and more. You might begin trembling and shaking, your mouth might go dry, and you might become dizzy from the stress of the situation. The body becomes "hyped up" by your reaction to the situation, and your senses go into a sort of overdrive that is unlike the depression of the system that happens when you suffer from clinical depression.
Depression disorder actually slows the body in some ways, making you feel sluggish rather than ready to run or fight, and hopeless rather than actively panicked or fearful. If you have been suffering from anxiety attacks, the attacks themselves may lead into depression because of the hopelessness that you feel at the hands of the attacks and because of the fears that are associated with possibly having another attack.
If your anxiety symptoms have changed to include listlessness, a disinterest in things that used to engage you, or feelings of hopelessness and self-loathing, then you may now be suffering from depression disorder, and should be treated accordingly for your medical condition.
Depression is not a constant state of being, nor is anxiety. You might think that because you have a good number of "good days" that your depressive days are just bad moments that will pass, however depression can become worse over time if it is not treated and taken care of, and can lead to suicide if left untreated long enough.
Anxiety and Depression Treatments
Anxiety can worsen over time as well if it is not handled properly. There are ways to help with anxiety even without medication. Therapies are different depending on the type of anxiety that affects you and on the level of anxiety that you suffer. For a phobia, you might be exposed at increasing levels to the thing that you are afraid of. Other therapies might require talking your problems out, and others might just provide techniques to help you ride out your panic attacks and get on with life without letting them affect you more than necessary.
Depression treatments are also varied, mostly depending on your own personal preference. Medication can provide you with an effective way of dealing with depression; however medication is not for everyone. If you are not interested in medication, then you might consider other kinds of therapies with a psychologist who has experience working with depression.
Depression and anxiety are related disorders that can have a huge impact on your overall health and quality of life if left untreated. However, both are manageable conditions that do not have to have an effect on your daily life.
The cry of pain and agony from a cut finger/broken arm is healed with a bandaid plaster cast and sling. Our headache pains are relieved after a pill popping session.
But where is the cure for the blind pain suffered by an OCD victim when all the crying is done on the inside.
Coping with OCD symptoms is a struggle for most sufferers who painlessly battle against the disease. The pain is unbearable and one that can not be described to those who do not fully understand why we do what we do.
Our inner emotions and feelings are in a turmoil and self inflicted. We know this but you try and negotiate with the invaders in our life that make it pretty clear that they have control of our thoughts.
Another sadness we have to endure throughout this painsatking process is the pain caused to our loved ones with our selfishness. Us victims have stronger tolerance of this condition than that of others because, it is our heads that have been invaded by this alien force therefore giving us more understanding on this brain battering disease. How on earth can we expect people close to our hearts suffer too? How does the saying go, you always hurt the one you love. If this is the case then let me put my arms around the whole world because today I am loving everyone.
A suicidal road is structured out for all victims of this is a self destruction disease believe me. Ask yourself how hard it must be for the family to stand back watching helplessly as we struggle to meet the demands from those little voices in our heads.
Who are the real victims here I ask? Does an OCD victim care how they are making others lives a misery? Yes of course we do but it is out of hands to put the family feelings first.
Rules are rules that have to be abided by and if broken the OCD victim sees this as treachery Punishment is in order for the betrayer where a parting of the ways is put in to force. In the eyes of an OCD victim there is no animosity spared if the partner leaves. Some would see it as less chores more contentment. A contented lonely life ahead, but I am afraid that is the way it goes.
If choosing between a clean sweep (Excuse the pun) and clean break, then say your goodbyes.
If you suffer from symptoms that you feel are related to OCD then please seek help. There are many stress relief groups just waiting to help. Anxiety and panic attacks need to be nurtured by professionals. These are some of the symptoms that an OCD victim battles with on a daily basis. If you choose to ignore the signs then this condition can become very serious.
If you want to help someone close to you then watch for all the tell tale signs which you may find hard. Because an over compulsive disorder sufferer does all his/her crying on the inside.
In this article I write about my personal experiences with depression and about how I have learnt to cope and to even eradicate it. I am sure that I am not alone in the fact that I have regular periods of my life when I am depressed, but knowing this fact does not make it any easier for me. I hope you enjoy reading the article.
I have recently spoken to my parents about the subject of my depression. My mother has said that she thinks we have some kind of depression gene as most of our family suffer from similar symptoms.
I have as recently as last week suffered with a severe bout of this depression, however from it I learnt a valuable lesson. I had been having a bad period in my life where seemingly everything was going wrong. It was one kick in the teeth after each other. I had nothing to look forward to and decided that I needed a night out with my friends. There was one intention that I had in mind which was to get as drunk as possible.
The next day I felt really ill and hungover after having a very late night and as planned a huge amount of alcohol. For the whole day I struggled to stay awake and as the day wore on I became more and more depressed. The negative side of my brain had taken over my whole head and it seemed like there was a whole bunch of negative chemicals running through my body.
The lesson I have learnt is that is not a good idea to go out drinking alcohol if you are feeling low and depressed.
When I was speaking to my parents about my latest period of anxiety and depression, they gave me some interesting and useful advice. They asked me to think about all of the things and aspects of my life that were getting me down. What I then needed to do was to talk about them and to think positive by attempting to find solutions to each of these problems.
This is not at all easy to do but is something I now try. I have realised that it is good to talk about our fears and phobias and that there is nothing wrong with admitting that you are stressed and depressed.
I hope I will not have to live with these regular bouts of depression for the rest of my life as I have to say I hate it, especially when it means I can not get any sleep during a night, which happens quite regularly for me. I will however look for more ways of beating my depression when it does occur.
I now try to think positive in all situations, life is far too short to be always worrying about everything. I have also started to read a lot of self-help books, these have taught me quite a lot of new things and have given me many new ideas.
Most commonly, Narcolepsy presents itself as an illness called EDS – Excessive Daytime Sleepiness. This is the persistent feeling being tired, lacking real energy and wanting to sleep. The sufferer has to make concerted efforts to remain awake, but even if he or she is able to do so, it is often only to achieve a semi-wakeful state that onlookers often describe as ‘trance like’ or as if the individual is ‘on auto pilot’. At unfortunate moments, the feeling can be so strong that it appears to anyone looking on that the sufferer may be drunk. Typically, people suffering from Narcolepsy and Excessive Daytime Sleepiness need to have a period of sleep before attempting and specific task. Failing to prepare in this manner can result in a sudden attack of sleep while performing said task. EDS is regularly treated with stimulants, such as Ritalin, in America. This drug helps to stimulate the central nervous system to keep the individual alert and awake. Other newer drugs are in development that work as similar ‘wake promoters’. The second main characteristic of narcolepsy is cataplexy, the sudden loss of control over the muscles in your body. This can vary in severity from individual to individual, and most good doctors suggest that if the symptoms are not severe enough, treatment should simply be avoided. The drugs commonly used to treat this problem are those in the antidepressant range. Cataplexy is not directly linked to depression, but the side effects of these drugs happen to affect the neurological pathways that themselves cause cataplexy. These drugs are usually either tricyclic agents, or Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors, SSRIs. Paralysis during sleep and hallucinations can also be left without treatment from drugs unless they are particularly severe or extreme. As they typically only occur during the night, they cause less of a problem to the sufferer. Regardless, the treatments for cataplexy will usually also reduce the severity of these two auxiliary symptoms. Strong advice comes from other sufferers of narcolepsy – take naps! There is good clinical evidence that taking some frequent naps during the day will help offset the symptoms of EDS and cataplexy. Many claim that simply sleeping for a few minutes at a time before performing a task can guard against a sleep attack happening during that task.
Anxiety Disorders Defined There are several subgroups of Anxiety Disorders, with different causes and treatement. 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.
As the kid comes to understand the world of being a teenager, there are many confusions and chaos, which can sometimes bring some impact to their growth. As kids make the transition, many elements can make their body and mind out of control. This may turn to anger if not guided well. Parents and teachers must educate the kids of the different transitional changes that will happen to their body.
Teens can react indifferently if they are confused. Young teens from twelve to sixteen years of age are more prone to doing things their own way because they feel that their emotions and freedom are being controlled, this results to unmanaged anger.
Teens of today's world are more prone to pressures compared to the teens of the past. They are more exposed to violence and hostility. Other teens may come from a broken home where domestic abuse are constantly present. By the time they are starting to grow, they are exposed to things like these problems, so they tend to get out of out of control. They might have angers that can be expressed in the most antisocial form. That is why sometimes, they are required to undergo anger management.
Teens may experience frustrations that drive them to do criminal acts. The best way to revive a teen from this world is to seek help from their parents, teachers and law enforcers. They can train the teen on how to respond rationally to all these stress. They can teach the teens how to identify negative feelings and practice more mature behaviors as well.
Anger management programs can also be of great help to these suffering teens. This special program teaches them to improve their behaviors in ways that are more acceptable. The will be taught on how to think positive especially if they are from families who do not show them positive responses to stressors. From this, they can now learn how to handle difficult feelings.
Are you suffering from depression? Would you even know if you are depressed? One way to find out is to take a depression test. If you feel sad everyonce in a while that is normal. But if you have feelings of lonelyness, feel that life is hopeless or are irratable all the time then you may suffer from depression. If these feelings get in the way of your everyday life then there is a good chance you have some form of clinical depression.
Taking a depression test is a simple and painless thing. There are hundreds if not thousands of web sites that offer free depression tests. Now these aren't the most in depth of tests but they will give you an idea of why you may be feeling the way you do.
These online depression test are confidential and do not require you to divulge your name or any other personal information. These tests in no way give definitive diagnosis of depression, but they will give you a good idea of what you may be suffering from and whether you need to seek a professional opinion.
Most depression tests are multiple choice questions concerning your mood, behavior and habits. These questions and the answers you provide help identify depression symptoms you may be experiencing and give recommendations as to the next step for getting help for you condition.
According to national statistics only 1 in 10 people suffering from depression will receive treatment for their condition. The reasons for this are varied. Some people simply do not know they have a depression disorder while others do not want the stigma of depression attached to themselves.
A simple depression test could help most of these people on the road to recovery and the chance to live healthy happy lives. A report by the American Psychiatric Association states that 80% to 90% of all depression can be treated successfully with proper medication and counseling.
Who doesn’t go through problems in life? From the worry of bills to be paid, traffic, work, taking care of our families. Gosh…the demands of modern-day life seem so overwhelming. It’s no wonder several people are left dealing with depression in a quest to cope with these burdens.
Sometimes, these demands of life may aggravate strong emotions within us such as worry, fear, rage, hopelessness. Coincidentally, these are all symptoms of depression and as a consequence, dealing with depression remains a task that most of us have to undertake on a daily basis.
However, one very overlooked method of depression help and coping with its symptoms is quite simply a fast. It’s as old as the mountains and perhaps nothing comes close to restoring one’s emotional balance when dealing with depression as this powerful tool.
An observance of nature will show us that when animals are frightened or angered, they abstain from eating until after the passage of some time. Moreover, it is true that under stressful circumstances many civilized people refrain from eating and find in truth that they lack the desire for food, but it is also too often that most of us will eat large meals under these circumstances, which will be mostly disease forming foods to start with, that as a consequence, complicates or altogether halts an already retarded ongoing digestion.
This considered, perhaps the last thing you may want to do while dealing with depression-be it its causes or symptoms is to eat excessively, I may go as far as to say to even eat at all.
Worry, fear, anxiety, excitement, hurry, heated arguments at meals: all prevent the secretion of the digestive enzymes of the body and hinder not only digestion, but the whole nutrition process.
Perhaps, this is why according to the Bible, when most people were in grief or needed to be atoned with the Creator, they fasted. When used as a tool for dealing with depression, if combined with a powerful and faith driven prayer, fasting, my friends really unleashes the mental powers within us to solve our problems. It makes us come closer to our potential as true images of the Most High, and we can as a result see and think clearer as a step for a powerful and effective depression control method.
Fasting as a means of dealing with depression also greatly benefits one’s overall health as during its use, the digestive organs are given a rest. Moreover, the mind clears allowing for a disappearance of all moroseness. We re-discover peace of mind and tranquility and life’s difficulties are not as overwhelming.
So when problems seem to weigh in on us, when dealing with depression becomes an almost daily struggle for us, perhaps from all the indications above, the best thing to do will be to undertake a fast. It definitely won’t hurt and can help immensely.
Liberate yourself - Go out and do what you like! - How long it has been since you last went to have a walk among the pines – something that you loved as a child? How long has it been when you walked hand in hand with your friend to the bakery and tossed a coin to decide what to buy? These might seem very simple things but these simple things have the power to add on to build great confidence and fulfilment. Life if see is actually quite simple. What gets a bit too complex though is to remain simple. Isn’t it? Just as small drops of water make the mighty ocean, the little things you enjoy doing have the capability to turn you into a storehouse of confidence. When God made you, He put a desire in your heart and bestowed onto you the capability to achieve it. However, in the process of growing up, you forgot what exactly your purpose was, what is that you liked and what is that you enjoyed doing. It does happen with lots and lots of people who do feel like breaking free but are too tied up in their day to day responsibilities that it gets impossible for them to spare even 10 minutes to reflect on their lives, their direction, their dreams and goals. It’s our duty to clear the mess that prevents us from hearing to our heart. The conversations with your heart should keep getting clearer and the best way to do it is to find time to do what you enjoy. And since you enjoy doing that activity, it straightaway means that you have all the aptitude and intelligence necessary to do the job effortlessly even though you may not realize it.
Find your flock - Birds of a feather flock together. You must find out people with whom you enjoy being. They are certainly the people of your frequency and the energy flow between you and them is natural. Life becomes easy when you are among the people who are more or less on the same plane of thought as you and it’s easier to relate to them. They seem to understand you and vice versa thus creating conditions for healthy conversations. A good conversation is a very healthy exercise and an important need of our mind. We all want our ideas to be heard and appreciated and a good company provides platform for the same.
Set Achievable Goals and Go for it! - The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. The idea is to begin with a small single step that can then further developed into giant strides. Learn to do the work at hand rather than to overwhelm oneself by looking at the entirety of a mammoth looking task. Just like the soil underneath your foot, the top of mountain too would someday be under your step. The only way to do something is to GO FOR IT! No matter how small the progress is the focus should be on completing a task successfully even though it’s a small task. A series of big uncompleted task is a sure shot way to depression. Break a big task into a list of small tasks to be completed. Tick off from your list each job successfully completed. A completed task no matter how small it is gives a sense of achievement that boosts our confidence and equips us with more energy to try a bigger task.
L-Theanine, naturally occurring in green tea, proves effective in dealing with anxiety symptoms and providing anxiety relief
Anxiety is a state of intense fear, uncertainty, uneasiness, or apprehension due to anticipation of an imagined or real threatening future event. Anxiety can be both physically and psychologically devastating to the Anxiety sufferer's life. Anxiety is often sub-categorized according to the focus of the perceived threat. There is social anxiety, separation anxiety, dating anxiety, performance anxiety, math anxiety, etc. Stress and anxiety often go hand in hand and can result in anxiety depression as the individual feels powerless to receive any anxiety help.
There are a variety of anti-anxiety treatments to consider in overcoming anxiety. For some, anxiety medications prove to be a source of anxiety relief. Other's prefer not to use any of the anti-anxiety drugs and opt for more natural cures for anxiety management. These may include herbs for anxiety, acupuncture anxiety treatments, anxiety vitamins, aromatherapy for anxiety relief, even hypnosis has has proved beneficial overcoming anxiety.
This article discusses the perhaps little known amino acid L-Theanine as a natural remedy for anxiety relief.
L-Theanine is a unique free form amino acid found only in the tea plant and in the mushrooms Xerocomus badius and certain species of genus Camellia, C. japonica and C. sasanqua. Often drinkers of green tea report a feeling of calmness they feel after ingesting a cup or two even though green tea has roughly half the caffeine of coffee. This is due to the high L-Theanine content.
In addition to reducing anxiety symptoms, studies have shown L-Theanine may be effective in promoting concentration, supporting the immune system, improving learning performance, lowering blood pressure, increasing formation of the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA, and increasing brain dopamine levels among other positive benefits with no known downside.
Studies in cooperation with Taiyo Kagaku Co., The University of Shizuoka, and The Family Planning Institute of Japan have shown that women taking 200 mg L-Theanine daily have lower incidence of PMS symptoms. These symptoms include physical, mental, and social symptoms. Overall, a significant alleviation of PMS symptoms by L-Theanine was observed.
While still under investigation, L-Theanine appears to have a role in the formation of the inhibitory neurotransmitter Gamma Amino Butyric Acid (GABA). GABA blocks release of the neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin, playing a key role in the relaxation effect.
Everyone knows the effects stress and anxiety can have on an individual's physical state of well-being. Fascinating neurochemistry research has revealed that given a shot of GABA essentially turned back the clocks in the brains of older monkeys, whose brain function briefly operated at levels normally seen in monkeys less than half their age.
GABA, or gamma-amino butyric acid, is a neurotransmitter chemical that is essential for optimizing how brain cells transmit messages to each other and acts to put a damper on unwanted brain signaling activity. Although GABA's age-related decline has not been documented in humans, a host of studies in mammals, including other primates, suggests that a similar process is at work in people.
Monkeys ages 26 and 32 -- considered old age for monkeys -- that got GABA directly delivered to their neurons responded to visual patterns, such as flashing vertical and horizontal lines, in much the same way as monkeys aged 7 to 9 years old did.
Without GABA delivery, the monkeys' aged brains had more difficulty firing neurons that specifically gauge various aspects of depth perception, motion and color. Instead, older monkeys have more random firings that make it difficult to observe visual nuances. In younger monkeys, GABA had no effect since their brains already had optimal GABA functioning.
L-Theanine is considered to be safe based on its historical use as a component of tea and on favorable toxicology studies. Tea is the most consumed beverage worldwide after water, and has been consumed for thousands of years by billions of people. It is estimated that a heavy tea drinker (6-8 cups daily) will consume between 200 to 400 mg of L-Theanine daily.
While dosage for depression and anxiety disorder remain individual, it is recommended to take 100 to 200 mg 1 to 3 times daily for anxiety relief. Based on the results of clinical studies, it has been established that L-Theanine is effective in single dosages in the range of 50-200 mg. It is suggested that subjects with higher levels of anxiety take a dose at the higher end of the effective range (100 - 200 mg) for overcoming anxiety.
Depression is something that affects most people around the world from time to time and can be very hard to deal with. I have myself struggled with this problem in the past but have lately found ways to cope with this very much unwanted depression. I will write about how I go about doing this in this article.
I have been born into a family which include many members who find it hard to cope with life and are often worrying about something or other. I am one of these people and there does not seem to be a day that goes by where I do not have some issue in my mind, that is making me unhappy or stressed. I have found it very difficult to appreciate all of the things in my life which are basically good as my brain only seems to focus on all of my problems or potential problems.
In the last couple of years I have tried to deal with these what I now call challenges and have attempted to focus more on the positive aspects to my life. This has been very hard for me to do as I am a born worrier by nature as I have already explained.
What I now have decided to do is to try to compare my own life with that of other people who live around the world. As an example, in the last couple of days I have been watching the news programs on the television and have been hearing in horror about the current situation in Iraq. I am sure most readers of this article will be aware of what is going on in Iraq but a couple of events have really shocked me.
The first was a roadblock that was set up by people who were dressed up in police uniform. These people stopped a number of vehicles and dragged out the people who were in the vehicles, onto the street. They included young and old, men and women from what I have heard. Twenty one of them were shot and killed. I can only imagine how frightening this would have been.
The second event took place only the next day when fifty people were taken from their place of work and from bus stops. They were basically kidnapped and taken away in a number of vehicles. I am not sure what has happened to them since and can only hope that they are OK. This again is very disturbing and would have been a horrible ordeal for the people involved.
I am no expert on the situation in Iraq or why all of these things are taking place. I also have no idea on how things can be improved, but something needs to happen to help these people.
For me it shows me that I am very fortunate and if I ever start feeling a bit low, I then think of the people who live in Iraq and also people who live in other countries. I am sure that most of these people would love to swap places with me and if I tried to explain to them why I was starting to feel a little depressed, they would probably laugh at me.
Healing of the hidden self will better all aspects of our lives, both the professional aspects as well as the personal aspects. Self-control is one of the crucial lessons of self-development and healing the hidden self, since it will lead us to becoming had better people overall. If we are able to show self-control in many situations, we will be able to overcome them and avoid the associated stress. It is crucial that we adapt and grow in life and become individuals that are more self-controlled.
Self-control is developed through the processes of healing the hidden self. In dealing with receptivity, the need for self-control is of the utmost importance. It is vital that we are all able to control ourselves when faced with situations in life. Receptivity is one of the components that prepare us with the mental attitudes that are needed for the control of our concentration and the control of our will. We are able to exhibit self-control when faced with many problems in life. It works to aid in the directing of our attentions, the withholding of our judgements and many other aspects of our self-control. We learn to accept the things that we cannot change and change the things that are within our power. We learn to act in a controlled manner and change our behaviour to suit situations that we face.
We all have to be receptive to change. Life is dynamic and does not remain constant. If we are trapped in the mindset where we cannot adapt to change then we are directed along a path that leads to the lost of self-control. We all have to wake up to the reality that when we show self-control we avoid many problems in life. We are made better overall and are able to handle anything that the world throws at us. We are able to face all the issues that arise in living head on.
The fact is that we all have our own unique mannerisms that are used in the handling of situations. We are not able to be normal all the time and this is a factor that contributes to the need for self-control. There are times we will let our emotions get the best of us but when this occurs the end result can be worst than the previous situation. It is here that we all see the apparent need for self-control. We need to be able to face our problems head on and logically rather than emotionally. Logic can provide us with the best reaction to the situation. Yet to build logic, we must learn to analyze and continue to heal the hidden self.
When we are stressed and cannot see our way through a problem, it is often because the subliminal mind hinders us from seeing. Once you start to explore this mind you, can control you and work easily through the process of healing the hidden self. We can redirect our thoughts to the positive aspects of our lives and fulfil our lives. If we always focus on the stresses in our lives, we will be soon overburdened. In order to progress well we have to open up our minds and hearts and be in control of our emotions and physical reactions. It is quite possible at times to forget about the important things in life and to focus only on the negatives. This is not the best attitude and it we are in control of our thoughts then we will be able to redirect ourselves to action that is more positive.
One man is scaling each continent's tallest mountain to heighten global awareness of depression.
Twenty years after the suicide death of his father, mountain climber Joe Lawson formed Expedition Hope to help raise awareness of depression and the risks of letting the illness go untreated.
Lawson's father battled depression his entire life, until he decided to put an end to his suffering when Joe was just 16 years old. After struggling to understand his father's suicide, Lawson developed an interest in mountain climbing and has since traveled the world in search of new adventures and personal challenges. One of these personal challenges includes Lawson's attempt to climb the highest mountain on each of the seven continents.
Up to 19 million Americans suffer from depressive disorders, including major depression. Although it is one of the most frequently seen psychiatric disorders in the primary-care setting, it often goes undiagnosed or is under-treated. This may be because depressed patients often discuss their physical symptoms rather than emotional complaints. In fact, in one study about 70 percent of patients diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD) presented with only physical complaints. Pain is present in approximately 45 to 75 percent of patients with MDD, and can include headache, back, shoulder and abdominal pain.
"My father's depression left him feeling isolated and estranged, making it hard for him to seek help and talk about his condition," said Lawson. "Had he had the proper treatment, his life might have been saved."
With the help of Eli Lilly and Company, Lawson began his journey last May by climbing Alaska's Mt. McKinley, the highest peak in North America. However, after injuring his knee while on the mountain, Lawson had to turn back. Instead of giving up, Lawson went on to summit Mt. Kilimanjaro, the highest peak in Africa, in September 2005, and Mt. Kosciusko, the highest peak in Australia, in November 2005.
"Like mountain climbing, persons suffering from depression may face extreme challenges, but help, treatment, and relief from symptoms are attainable with appropriate assistance," said Lawson.
This year, Lawson will attempt to summit Mt. Elbrus, the highest peak in Russia, and Mt. Vinson Massif, the highest peak in Antarctica.
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