Anxiety Effects

Anxious? I was anxious for years and didn’t even know it. I mean, I knew I was a nervous wreck when confronted by just about anything that moved, but I never had a label for these feelings back then. It was just the way I was and that’s all I knew at the time. Thank goodness I eventually found out what my problem was. Only when we know what a problem is can we even begin to work for a solution. However, there is not one ANXIETY disorder treatment that fixes all as we are all different with varying levels of the condition. However, there is definitely an ANXIETY disorder treatment out there that will release the sufferer from the bondage of this awful state of mind.

Without any question of doubt, ANXIETY disorders can be crippling, disabling, and extremely debilitating mental conditions. A severe ANXIETY disorder can even make a simple task, like leaving the house, seem like an overwhelming and undefeatable feat. If you are someone that suffers with an ANXIETY disorder, you’ll understand what I’m writing. Just normal everyday stresses can seem like major catastrophes, and even simple social gathering may trigger an outbreak of nervous sweating. My mother always used to say I’d pole volt over mouse poop when most folks would simply step on or around it. Oh how I use to major in minor things! I’m just glad it doesn’t have to be like that anymore.

If gone untreated, server ANXIETY will only get worse over time, never better. This is why you should seek some kind of ANXIETY disorder treatment as soon as you’re able to. It’s horrible to suffer in this way, but it doesn’t have to be like this with the numerous ANXIETY disorder treatment options available today

Fact: ANXIETY disorder has been recognized as one of the most common mental health conditions around in modern times, and what makes it so bad is that most folks are in denial. They don’t believe they have anything wrong with them. Many think they just need to work a little on their self confidence and learn how to interact with others a bit better. Actually, what usually happens is the anxious one often treats their ANXIETY by withdrawing from as much human to human interaction as they possibly can. The result of this is usually an increased fear of people, places, and things and the condition gets worse over time, never better.

The best advice around is to simply seek some kind of ANXIETY disorder treatment. Unfortunately, many doctors simply treat their patients with sedatives. Now, although this works in the short term, it is definitely not a long term solution as medication for ANXIETY can be very addictive. After discovering I was suffering from acute ANXIETY, I told my GP, that I was not interested in benzodiazepines for the reasons mentioned above. In fact, studies have indicated that long term use of benzodiazepines will actually make the ANXIETY condition worse over prolonged usage.

For me personally, the most promising ANXIETY disorder treatments fall under what is known as the SSRI family of drugs. SSRI’s are no miracle cure, but they are much preferred over sedatives as they aren’t anywhere near as addictive. I personally use SSRI’s in conjunction with talk therapy (which is a fantastic head healer), and regular exercise. Just 20 minutes of physical workout a day seems to make me feel just amazing. It’s funny how exercise seems to creep in to almost every aspect of personal wellbeing.

So there we have it. SSRI’s, talking about how I feel to a trained professional, and a little physical exertion everyday has resulted in a whole new me. My attitude and outlook upon life has taken an amazing turn for the better, and it’s all thanks to my personal ANXIETY disorder treatment and those that helped me to get it going.

Many of us, perhaps most, will admit to feeling anxious on a regular basis and often even depressed, perhaps due to pressures of work, home life, or any of a multitude of other causes. However most of us are not clinically depressed or anxious, to the point where our lives and health are affected detrimentally.

The minority who do find their lives blighted by these conditions can often be found to be suffering from one or all of the following: self harm and potentially suicidal thoughts, insomnia, lack of sex drive, inactivity and tiredness, and lack of concentration.

Certainly where someone is feeling so anxious or depressed that the medical profession would categorize them as clinically depressed or anxious immediate help should be sought from a professional. However where someone is suffering from a milder form of ANXIETY then there may be alternatives to the common anti-depressant drugs that often appear to make things worse for less serious cases. Alternative treatments could include herbs for ANXIETY and depression, although it is always wise to seek medical help before starting any herbal medications, especially if you are already taking any other forms of medication.

Popular herbs for ANXIETY and depression include St. Johns Wort, Kava, Passion Flower, Ginseng and SAM-e, and many have reported positive benefits to taking these herbs. St. Johns Wort probably has the largest body of supporting evidence and is widely used. Again remember that you should consult your physician before taking any medication, even herbal, and do not take multiple herbal remedies at the same time without consultation with a professional.

There exists a significant problem in taking herbs for ANXIETY and depression, and other ailments, and that is that unlike other medications government and international drug regulation agencies are not required to test and approve their use. This can mean that drugs could become available that have unforeseen side effects. However many herbs have been used in medical applications for much longer than their modern chemical counterparts and so there exists a large body of admittedly anecdotal evidence backing their medicinal properties.

The critical point to remember is that there are no guarantees with herbal treatments, and care must be taken to ensure you are not exposing yourself to additional problems and side effects. There is little doubt a herbal substitute for a conventional drug, used in moderation, should provide some relief with less of the addictive dangers associated with prescription meds, but it cannot always be assumed that herbs will be a safer option. Do not assume they are a miracle cure and always take heed of the dosage recommendations.

Symptoms of panic and ANXIETY can be confused with life threatening physical disorders! Please consult your physician to determine the source of your symptoms.

This is an update of specific things you can do to control the symptoms of panic and ANXIETY attacks. These devastating occurrences can negatively affect your day to day quality of life. But this is not news for anyone suffering from this terrible disorder. Millions of people live in fear of these "attacks." Major transitions, trauma, and stress can lead to feelings of little or no control over one’s life! This can affect people in major ways.

A scary symptom which can develop is called Panic (or Panic Attack.) A panic episode can come on suddenly or can awaken you from your sleep with a nasty feeling of apprehension. Some people believe that they are having a heart attack because often there is chest pain, a shortness of breath, neck or arm pain, major stomach upset, an adrenaline rush, lightheadedness, dizziness, and other unpleasant feelings of fear and apprehension. These feelings can be triggered by specific events such as: driving (getting stuck in traffic), shopping, waiting in lines at stores, banks, post offices, etc, feeling trapped in church/movies/classes, traveling distances from home (especially flying, etc.), making a presentation in front of a group of people (drawing attention toward yourself), doing new or unfamiliar activities, meeting new people, basically, doing anything new or seemingly stressful where you may fear "LOSING CONTROL."

Loss of control is the main feature that makes this so frightening for the people who suffer from panic and ANXIETY. We may not know a panic sufferer by looking at him or her because they can maintain such good control that unless we were to look very carefully we might not notice the nervousness below the surface.

Heart problems, chest pain, and respiratory difficulties(hyperventilation and dizziness are common symptoms of panic/ANXIETY attacks) should be carefully examined by your physician! If no heart related problem exists, but you are still in great fear of these occurrences of panic then the following behavioral program, with practice, will greatly aid you in preventing or at least minimizing the episodes of panic. Also, remember that exciting/positive actions or events can raise your heartrate. This excitement is not bad or life threatening, but you fear of the physical symptoms of excitement can really hamper your enjoyment of life!

The keys to controlling panic and ANXIETY are:

ANXIETY is a type of mental state that is the result of combination of negative emotions such as fear, apprehension and worry. The people suffering from it have physical reactions like palpitations, chest pain, breathlessness, nausea etc. However contrary to popular thinking a normal amount of ANXIETY is very important for the survival of any organism.

When ANXIETY crosses the normal limit and hinders normal functioning of a person it results in a mental state termed as ANXIETY disorder. There are a variety of ANXIETY disorders. The common ones are social ANXIETY disorder, generalized ANXIETY disorder, phobias, panic disorder, separation ANXIETY and obsessive-compulsive disorder. These disorders have different symptoms and characteristics, however generally ANXIETY has the symptoms mentioned below.

Cognitive Symptoms: Increase in blood pressure, increased heart beating, palpitations (irregular heart beat), sweating, increase in blood flow in the body, immune and digestive functioning is inhibited, irritated bowel movement, head aches, tingling, chest pain, rubbery legs, etc.

Somatic Symptoms: Paling of skin, sweating, trembling, dilation of eye pupils, dizziness, twitching of facial muscles, stuttering etc.

Emotional Symptoms: An expectation of threat, dread, panic, nausea and chills, irritation, insomnia, isolation, feeling overly self conscious, strong desire to escape, jumpiness, feeling that you will die etc.

Behavioral: These are voluntary and involuntary reactions such as screaming, running, jumping etc to escape or avoid the source or perceived source of ANXIETY. Symptoms differ according to the disorder.

Social ANXIETY: It’s a type of extreme shyness where the person avoids social situations causing disruption in social and professional relationships.

Generalized ANXIETY Disorder: A person suffering from this feels continuous apprehension to vague and diffused threats. The physical symptoms like fatigue, sleepiness, stomach upsets etc are usual.

Phobia: It involves extreme and unrealistic fear of an object, activity, situations (example, spider, swimming or confined spaces). The person tries to avert the fear by any measure.

Panic Disorder: It has the symptoms of repeated and sudden panic attacks.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: Its symptoms include unwanted thoughts and behavior like frequently washing hands, thinking of accidents to near ones etc. Separation ANXIETY: The fear of separation from parents, siblings, spouse and children etc.

If you are suffering from any of the symptoms above, you should consult a doctor. Also a variety of treatment/therapies/techniques are available to cure ANXIETY like medicines, cognitive behavioral therapy, proper diet, exercise, laughter therapy, yoga, breathing techniques, relaxation methods etc. Many experts believe the fundamental cause behind ANXIETY is boredom and the search for a meaningful purpose in life.

Our innate desire is to be happy, and when we move away from it, we experience fear.

This fear is actually millions of years old, for it arises from the biological programming of our species.

While we may not have to contend with a sabre-toothed tiger on any given day, we still use those very reactions to deal with events looming ahead.

We think, “Will I be fired for making that mistake at work?” or “Will I be able to meet the mortgage after I fix the car?” or “Will my health continue to decline?” or “Will my relationship fall apart after that argument we just fell into?”

Running questions with this type of urgency and helplessness trains our brains to prepare now for future danger by loading our bodies up with the stress hormone cortisol.

ANXIETY is our anticipation of a dangerous future. We imagine having even less of the little that we have today.

This ANXIETY does not help us in any way to meet the future any better. In fact, it weakens and exhausts us. We usually worry most about things that we can’t even control. Worrying about your dental visit, for example, will not make the visit better.

ANXIETY, in fact, is a silent killer. It is enervating, and it drains you of purpose and hope, faith and initiative. It fogs up your thinking. And it makes the body susceptible to illness.

When ANXIETY–a fear of an event in the future–is high enough then you feel a deep sense of helplessness. This, in turn, translates into depression. You even begin to view the past as disappointing.

Caught between a miserable past and a frightening future you create a pattern of emotions that can lead to a variety of mood disorders, including manic-depression.

How do we escape from this vicious cycle?

Here is what I did 20 years ago and I have never since suffered from any serious mood disorder.

I started to cultivate my awareness of my mood swings–from elation to black despair.

I did this by basically watching myself when I was manic, and watching myself when I was depressed, and watching what I did to turn on these states. For example to get depressed, I used my love of literature to focus on dark, morbid, and unhappy stories about life. And to get elated, I would talk a lot, move very quickly, and do things in a dramatic way.

An interesting thing happened when I made my unconscious behavior conscious. I could not take my mood shifts seriously.

This is what I learned from that experience: when you are able to observe yourself over the course of a few weeks, you develop a curious detachment.

A paradoxical situation developed for me: I found it difficult to stay anxious and depressed when I was observing myself feeling anxious and depressed.

Ultimately, ANXIETY and depression are culturally-induced patterns of thinking that can be overcome through a deliberate cultivation of awareness. When you become your own observer, you weed out the unconscious habits that afflict you.

Despite the billions of dollars spent to heal ANXIETY and depression, and all the mood disorders and behavioral anomalies that arise from them, the cure is simple, quick, and free.