Posts Tagged ‘About anxiety’

For those of us who suffer with anxiety attacks, we know what it feels like. Our heart pounds. We get butterflies in our stomach. We worry and fret over everything and anything.  We have hot and cold sweats.  Our throats go dry and we have difficulty swallowing, just to name a few.

If you are experiencing any of the above, then you may well be suffering with anxiety attacks.

Anxiety attacks can occur out of the blue.  I have spoken with plenty of people who have said "my life is great; I don’t understand why I am suddenly suffering with anxiety attacks".  This is the nature of the beast.  There is no designated format for anxiety attacks.  They can transpire to people whose lives are going really well, as well, as those who lives are not going so well.

This is why anxiety attacks are so difficult to diagnose.  It’s not like having a cold or some other illness, where there symptoms are typical and easy to make out and diagnose.

Understanding what anxiety attacks are will help you to have more control. It’s normal to worry and feel tense or anxious when under burden or facing a stressful situation. Anxiety is the body’s natural response to danger, an automatic alarm that goes off when we feel threatened.

With my personal experience off living with anxiety attacks, I am alert of the fact that the more you think about the anxiety the deeper ingrained the symptoms become.  The stronger the symptoms, the stronger the anxiety attacks become.  Then you’re in the realms of a viscous circle.   This is when it becomes really tough to over come these anxiety attacks.

It’s not till you really become aware of the fact that your thoughts have created your anxiety, so it stands to reason that if you have created the anxiety attack then surely you can UN-create the anxiety attacks.  This part is really hard for people to understand.  And I know exactly how they think!  When I was told this, I rejected it.  Why would I want to do this to myself?  It did not make sense.

But at the end of the day no matter how much I tried to pay no attention to that fact, it was right, my thoughts where the root of my anxiety.  I experimented with it.  The more I focused my energy on the anxiety the stronger my anxiety attack became.  So with the help of a therapist, I was able to work on my thoughts and beat my anxiety.

I am not anxiety free, however I am able to prevent my anxiety before it becomes a full blown anxiety attack.

One more thing to bear in mind, is that anxiety may be unpleasant, but it isn’t always a unpleasant thing. In fact, anxiety can help us stay alert and focused, spur us to action, and provoke us to solve problems. But when anxiety is constant or overpowering, when it interferes with our relationships and activities-that’s when you’ve crossed the line from normal anxiety into the territory of anxiety disorders.

If you would like some help with anxiety? Then, please read on.

  1. Breathe Correctly.

Researchers at The University of Pittsburgh Medical Centre have pinpointed one of the reasons why breathing is so significant when we are suffering from  anxiety. They establish that we habitually hyperventilate when we are in an anxious state. This is correct, as you and I know. We are conscious of short and rapid breathing  which in turn creates tiny brainwaves, all contributing to our stressed state.

If we could do with help with anxiety, we will need to learn to breathe with the abdomen muscles. By doing this we create much longer breaths which make slower  brainwaves. That is the sort of relaxed breathing we do when we are composed and serene. Whilst we are conscious of this, we can understand this technique and it really  does soothe us down, if done right.

  2. Meditation
A large amount of people are put off by the idea of meditation and even yoga because they just feel it is too difficult to be taught and that they will never have the time  to do it.  All you have to do is to find the quietest place at home.

You can select to sit down or even lie down. The essential thing is to feel comfortable. Contemplate on your breathing and practice letting air fill your  lungs and then when exhaling, feel the abdominal muscles tightening. The secret here is that you are able to shut out all the clutter, noise from  around you, while you concentrate solely on your breathing. You will be amazed at how much calmer you will feel and you may not need help with anxiety.

  3. Diet
Certainly getting the right nutrients, minerals and vitamins can really help in creating optimal conditions so that our brain functions just as well as our  body. Any foods that can boost the levels of serotonin can enhance our mood. That can always lower anxiety levels. The best foods, are the complex carbohydrates which are the whole grains, fruit, vegetables and nuts. Did you know that the element called tryptophan helps in calming  and is contained in some dairy products and also turkey meat?

  4. Herbal remedy for anxiety?
Lots of herbs are now known to help keep anxiety at bay. The better known ones are valerian, camomile, passion flower and winter cherry. These actually work  and there are no nasty side effects either, unlike the anti anxiety medications prescribed in massive doses across the populace.

This video is really informative about how a Anxiety Disorder affects the body.  The video talks about the 5 main Anxiety Disorders and how they may affect you.  If you think you may have a Anxiety Disorder watch this video, it could help you.

This is a great video on Social Anxiety Disorder!  There are so many people who have symptoms of Social Anxiety Disorder.  They can range from feeling shy and uncomfortable in front of people to the extreme of becoming house bound.  watching this video may help you to understand what is going on for you, and whether or not you may be suffering from Social Anxiety Disorder.