There are so many different things that we have to go through in life on a regular basis and one of the more difficult is the stress that we may be experiencing. Some of us have stress at home, and this can be some of the more difficult to deal with, especially because we tend to need to deal with it on our own. Stress at work is also difficult to handle and many of us may find ourselves in a situation where we are doing the job of two people but only getting the appreciation that would come to one person. In order to overcome these problems, an outlet needs to be found.There is an old saying that laughter is the best stress medicine, and many of us tend to agree that it is an excellent way for us to be able to overcome the stress that we are feeling. A few moments of laughing can help to lighten our mood and makes the problems that we are experiencing during the day vanish from before our eyes. Unlike other forms of stress relief, such as stretching or meditation, laughter is not always going to be the appropriate way for you to be able to get rid of your stress. If you have the time to be able to do it, however, there is nothing quite like it.One of the things that I found to be very beneficial was to keep several comedy CDs in the car for the trip home. I often enjoy listening to something that is going to expand my mind whenever I am in the car. For example, I have gotten somewhat comfortable with several languages because I was listening to language CDs whenever I was on my way to work. My time on the way home from work, however, is dedicated to de-stressing so that I don’t carry it all home with me. That is why I find that laughing on way home from work is an excellent way to forget about my problems.If you find that a lot of your stress is coming from home, laughter may also be able to help to diffuse some difficult situations. Always make sure that you keep this in mind and try to make light of things whenever it is appropriate. You could also try to add some type of laughter into your entertainment as well. Keep in mind, a little bit of laughter can go a long way when dealing with stress because laughter is the best stress medicine.
Is Laughter Really the Best Stress Medicine For Dealing With Stress?
Helping Your Friend Or Family Member Deal With Panic Attacks At Night
Panic attacks often strikes when you least expect it to happen. According to studies, a lot of people start to experience episodes of panic attacks starting the age of 15 to 25. A lot of people suffer symptoms of this disorder throughout their lifetimes. However, the good news is that most of those who are suffering from panic attack recover from this disorder and are able to lead a normal life.
If you live with somebody who is suffering from panic attacks at night, you should learn to deal with the situation and help that person come to terms with his or her fears. Always remember that with proper support people who often suffer panic attacks at night can recover from their ailments.
Panic attacks at night often happen when the person is asleep or just about to fall asleep. Since panic attacks at night often occur without warning, when the person is really in no real danger of anything, you should always be prepared to recognize the first signs of panic attacks.
Some of the common symptoms of panic attack at night are shortness of breath, chest pain, choking feeling, fainting, sweating, hot flashes, trembling or shaking, abdominal distress, nausea, numbness, racing heart or palpitations and others. Since these signs and symptoms are often associated with other types of ailments, you should make sure that your friend or family member is not suffering from a more serious ailment.
To do this, you need to observe the closely. Make sure that at least four of the signs and symptoms described above are present before you conclude that your friend or family member is merely suffering from a panic attack. However, if the person has no history of panic attacks, call the ambulance.
When a friend or family member suffers panic attack at night, it can be really frustrating. Remember that your friend or family member is not really in the mortal danger they think they are in. Try to stay calm. If your friend or family member is taking medications for panic attacks, give him or her medication when appropriate. Be considerate and never force your friend or family member to directly confront his or her fears. And make sure your friend or family member is under a doctor’s care for panic attacks.
It is best to very considerate towards anyone suffering from this condition. When the person recovers the help rendered will be highly appreciated.
Some Causes of Depression
Relationships and Work Problems: Stress in general can contribute to depression. There are stresses involving work, maintaining a home, caring for children, financial, and sexual problems. As people get older there is the stress of dealing with elderly parents. With jobs being shipped overseas, no one has a great sense of job security. Depression will tend to hit you the hardest if you are separated or divorced. This makes sense because there is always a sense of loss, of failure, even if you both agree that you will do better apart. You are dealing with change, and change always causes stress. Even positive changes cause stress. Staying married to a person who is toxic for you is never any good and can cause real depression problems. If you are married to someone and feel hurt, unloved, criticized, and not valued, you are bound to have a problem with self esteem. After all, if you are a good person, why should you be treated in such a bad way? Anger at your spouse can have a way of turning around and coming back into you, making you feel guilty, like there is something unlovable about you. If you are an unhappily married woman, you are very likely to suffer from depression. Having Children Women do have a lot of hormonal changes when they become pregnant. Hormonal changes affect the brain messengers so there is a possibility of depression involved. There is a real mix up of brain chemicals right after a baby is born and some women are more likely to have a very upsetting depression. It is called Postpartum Depression or many people call it the ‘baby blues’. Frequently if you have had a problem with depression prior to having a baby, you may be more likely to suffer from more depression after your baby is born. It is so scary to have depressive feelings when you are supposed to be totally joyful over a birth. Sometimes if you experience this you feel too guilty bring it up. You need to understand that this is a hormonal imbalance and it is OK to get some help and possibly some medication to help you through this time. Don’t feel awful. You love your baby but you need a little chemical adjustment. It is also true that you become exhausted taking care of a baby, not getting enough sleep. This is worse for single parents who have to handle all this alone. With people moving all over the country to get jobs, more couples are bringing up children without the support of relatives. Most couples really are not prepared for the big difference a baby will make in their lives. Men can feel very jealous about all the attention given to the new baby and be less supportive with the mother. There is more stress if both parents have to work and arrange for child care. The more that is demanded of you when you have the stress of nurturing a new family member, the more pressured, worried, and depressed you can feel. Sexual desire and romantic moments tend to fly the coop when a baby has colic and demands constant attention. Having children starts a total change in your life. You have the children to take care of for at least 18 years. Plus these days with children returning home after they experience life problems, they can be with you well into your 60’s. The financial and economic costs of raising a child have risen unbelievably, let alone the emotional demands. Children are so pressured by what their peers have and make unrealistic demands on parents who can not afford to give them what they desire. Often you feel like you are giving everything you can to a child who then thumbs his nose at you and tells you that you aren’t making the grade. This can cause a great deal of depression. Family ties are so special and important but we all know they can be the source of great distress and problems
How To Deal With Anxiety Depression
From a religious stand-point, Jesus once asked his 12 disciples: “Which of you by worrying can add a single strand of hair to your head?” Now, you may be of a religious background or maybe not, but, think about that statement and you’d see why worrying, a main symptom of anxiety depression is quite unnecessary.
Reduced to its simplest form, what is worry? It is simply an unhealthy and destructive mental habit that- believe it or not folks-you were not born with but simply acquired out of practice. The good news is, with aggressive actions, as with any habit and acquired attitude; we can be worry free and eliminate it from our lives successfully.
In the words of Dr. Smiley Blanton, a noted Psychiatrist: “Anxiety depression is the great modern plague.” Other psychologists go on to say ‘worry’ a noted symptom of any form of depression, is the most subtle and destructive of all human diseases. When we worry excessively, we disintegrate our inner workings as humans and really put a lot of things out of order. Needless to say avoiding worry as a step of treating depression and anxiety will be the first step for our own benefit.
Anxiety Depression: Steps to take to be Worry Free:
The following steps should be used to deal with anxiety depression and its main symptom, worry. When used wisely and effectively, you will inevitably be successful at these natural depression help techniques.
1. Practice Mind-drainage: Empty your mind of pessimistic and negative thoughts, especially before going to and after waking up from sleep. This involves some degree of imagination friends. (the same imagination-mind you-that you are actually using to aggravate your present situations…didn’t realize that eh?). This mind-draining strategy cannot be overemphasized as I will let you know, if you fear something for a long period of time, it may actually come to pass. “For the thing which I feared has come upon me…” (Job 3:25)
2. Fill up the mind with powerful thoughts of faith and success to fill up the vacuum now left in the mind. You become a worrier by practicing it, you can be worry-free by practicing the opposite.
3. Say positive things about those things you previously spoke negatively of.
4. Never participate in a worry conversation. Induce your conversation with faith and worry-free statements.
5. Make friends with optimistic people, practice prayer and meditation.
6. Exercise and eat right. You’ll be making yourself look and feel better and consequently stronger through the process for overcoming depression, anxiety and becoming worry free.
No one is saying things will be automatically changed overnight. No, it takes work. However with direct and equally aggressive actions as the destructive worry habits one may be indulging in, anxiety depression can be overcome and you too can be worry free if you believe in your mind you can.
Pregnancy: Dealing with Depression
Pregnancy is often regarded as one of the most exciting times in a woman’s life. But the stress and fear of bringing a child into the world safely, providing for and raising that child can often cause mild to severe depression in pregnant women.It is believed that up to 20 percent of women experience some form of depression during their pregnancy, with half of these cases being considered severe depression. Depression is a serious mood disorder that affects nearly one in four women at some point in their lifetime. Depression experienced during pregnancy is often overlooked by medical personnel and even family.The hormones produced during pregnancy can affect chemicals in the brain, resulting in the same chemical imbalance that causes clinical depression. Just as untreated clinical depression can be harmful, depression during pregnancy can be harmful to both the mother and the unborn baby if not diagnosed, treated and monitored.Women are at increased risk of depression during their pregnancy if they have a history of depression, a history of PMDD (Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder), live alone or have little to no support. Studies also indicate that the younger a woman is or the more children she has, the more likely she is to develop some form of depression during her pregnancy.
Signs of depression include changes in sleeping patterns, unjustified or unexplained feelings of guilt, loss of energy, difficulty concentrating, changes in appetite and suicidal thoughts or actions. If left untreated, depression during pregnancy puts the mother at increased risk of pre-eclampsia (high blood pressure), use of drugs or alcohol and suicide.Women who are experiencing signs of depression are encouraged to reach out to loved ones as well as their health care provider. Often times, pregnancy related depression can be managed with group therapy, private therapy or light therapy, though more severe cases may require medication. Many antidepressants on the market today have been determined to have no negative effect on the developing baby, though long-term effects of these medications have not yet been determined.The challenge of treating depression during pregnancy is that while one patient (the mother) is experiencing an illness and requires treatment, the other patient (the baby) is not and could be harmed by either treating or not treating the depression. Currently, tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs), such as Elavil, are the most commonly prescribed medications available to pregnant women.Symptoms of depression during pregnancy should not be written off as “simply hormones;” it is a medical condition that needs to be treated with the utmost delicacy.
How To Deal With Stress Effectively…
A good place to start in planning your own stress management would be finding the roots of your stress. It can come from physical exertion and mental strain as well. We all have these things in our everyday life. Its effects on our overall being can vary dramatically from others experiences. For that reason your needs in stress management may indeed differ from theirs as well.
Dealing with the sources of stress is best when possible. Often these are the things we dwell and over worry about. Among them are finances family planning balancing work home and often dealing with others over expectations. A good place to start in stress management is to focus on what your limitations are. While it may seem at times you can move mountains dont forget after the move you will need a lot of rest.
Dealing with your stress effectively can be hard at times but must be done regularly to prevent health problems. By not dealing with your stress you could be setting yourself up for major heart attack or stroke with that being said here are 5 ways that could help you deal with your stress.
Secret No 1Â Do Relaxation Checks
Stress causes us to lose energy through the unnecessary tensing of muscles. Unfortunately whenever we feel pressured or distressed over something this is the first thing we do. The most common ways to carry tension is to clench our jaws or tighten our shoulders. Do a physical check on unnecessary tension in the body throughout the day and purposely relax any tense muscles. This will take an extra effort to begin with but over time you will find that eventually habit will take over and you will no longer have to give any thought to staying relaxed
Secret No 2Â Limit Caffeine Intake
Over stimulating our nervous system with caffeine can make us unnecessarily nervous and tense. I recommend no more than three cups of coffee a day for the average person with a minimum of two hours between each cup. However I know some people who become agitated if they have even one cup of coffee a day. So regulating caffeine intake needs to be a personal judgment call. Just keep in mind that tea and colas can contribute to caffeine jitters as well.
Secret No 3Â Do Weekly Exercise
Exercise is a great mood lifter. It releases tension and fills the body with feel good chemicals. Aerobic exercise where the heart gets pumping is an especially effective in relieving stress. Three, 30-minute exercise sessions a week would be ideal. It would be enough to relieve stress without causing exhaustion and further stress trying to cope with a dwindling energy supply. However any exercise done even just once a week that is not too exhausting would be helpful.
Secret No 4Â Take Slow Deep Breaths
Taking slow deep breaths when particularly anxious about something is an effective way to calm down. When we are under extreme stress our breathing becomes shallow and rapid. By slowing down and deepening the breath we are forcing ourselves into a more relaxed state. Its not good for a car to run on high revolutions and nor is it for the human machine. Taking slow deep breaths during stressful situations forces our physical self to slow down and puts pressure on our mind and emotions to follow suit.
Secret No 5Â Deal with Stress Issues
Going through life with personal or relationship issues niggling at us will cause underlying tension. Sometimes we need to have a heart to heart with ourselves and look at what it is in our lives that is causing underlying tension. We may need to take some action to remedy a situation or we may just need to just change our attitude toward it. Either way we need to face anything that is bothering us and stop it from robbing our life and energy any further.
These five secrets to a stress free life take little effort and can be easily incorporated into your day. Remember you need not be at the mercy of a high pressured society because living a stress free life is your natural birthright
Self Help Tips for Dealing With Panic Attacks
If you are a chronic worrier, you have come to the right place as this article will share with you some practical tips you can use to help yourself take any anxious situation or even panic attacks in your stride. Practice the tips regularly and they will prove to be useful in helping you to remain calm and in control of your anxiety. Identify Your SymptomsThe self help techniques for panic attacks will be more effective if you could start by identifying the symptoms or triggers that cause your anxiety level to rise unexpectedly and lead to panic attacks. Try your best to record down the events and feelings that you were going through when panic attacks struk. The idea here is to identify the chain of events so that you could find ways to cope when they happen again. Self Talk to Curb Panic AttacksChronic worriers always have unnecessary negative thoughts or negative self talk that can trigger anxiety and panic attack. If you are the type of person who tends to put yourself down or never gives yourself the benefit of the doubt, you’ll tend to trigger an unnecessary anxiety. It would then lead to extensive worry or even depression. And the next thing you know you’re having a panic attack; can’t do anything right and feel hopeless. Instead of beating yourself up, why not try to talk yourself up? Tell yourself that things are going to be fine. In fact, most of the things we worry about would never happen. Learn to look on the bright side of life; learn to focus on the solutions instead of problems.Learn to Breathe ProperlyProper breathing can help calm your mind and body. And it’s very easy to do; just put your left hand on your stomach and start to breathe in slowly and deeply through your nose, then out through your mouth. You will feel that your hand moves in and out as your stomach expands and contracts slowly. As you let your body takes in the oxygen it needs slowly and steadily, your mind and body start to calm down. When you become anxious, you’ll notice that your breathing rate increases and you start to take short breathes. This will make you feel panic and more anxious. By slowing your breathing and concentrating on it, you will be able to control your mind better and keep panic attack at bay. Countdown from 100Counting down from 100 is another useful self help tips for panic attacks. The idea is similar to the breathing technique. By counting down, you will be able to focus on something other than those that make you feel fearful and worry. Learn to RelaxClosing your eyes and picturing yourself in a faraway place that is peaceful and relaxing can help calm your mind. Another relaxation technique is to focus on muscle relaxation; close your eyes and focus on your arms, repeatedly tell them to relax. Repeat the process by focusing on your legs and other parts of your body. If you practice these relaxation techniques often enough; they will become your second nature and you will be able to use them more naturally to calm your mind, slow your heart rate and stabilize your blood pressure. These are just some of the self help tips you can practice and use to combat panic attacks.The Internet or online guide such as Panic Attacks Guide is a great place for you to learn and pick up some self help tips to cope with anxiety and panic attacks.
How Alcohol and Drug Affect Depression
If you are depressed you don’t feel good. You may tend to self medicate using drugs or alcohol or both. Alcohol can be a strong anti depressant at first but then when the use continues, alcohol becomes a depressant. Alcohol is like many other drugs that act on the brain. If you drink it regularly, you find that it has less effect on you. You need to drink more and more to get the effect you want. This is called ‘tolerance’ and is a powerful part of the problem you can develop using alcohol to deal with depression. It is so easy to get alcohol- you don’t need to talk to a doctor or get a prescription- that it is the drug of choice to deal with depression more often then not. The problem is, alcohol can really make the depression worse. It definitely interferes with your ability to deal with the problems which caused your depression in the first place. Many people who have trouble sleeping start using alcohol as a sleeping pill and it causes no end of problems. In the end, alcohol abuse will really interfere with sleep. In low doses, alcohol makes you feel relaxed and more able to talk to and be around people if you are shy or lack confidence. Taking small amounts of alcohol, especially red wine seem to be good for our hearts. But there is a big difference between drinking a glass of wine and downing a six pack to back off the pressure. Even a few drinks can be a depressant for you. Some of the effects are: -Impaired judgment and decision making -Vision disturbance, especially peripheral vision -Less coordination -Problems with depth perception -Slower reaction time -Sleepiness -At moderate-to-high doses, alcohol also causes: -Feelings of sadness and despair -Impaired coordination -Impaired perception -Slower reaction time -Sleepiness to the point of dropping off And here are health problems you stir up with over alcohol use: -It can lead to obesity -It can cause kidney and liver problems -It is involved in one half of suicides -It plays a role in many auto accidents -It is often a part of domestic violence -It is often a part of assaults and homicides -It can allow unacceptable behavior -It can become an addiction -It can ruin relationships and families -It can cost your job As you can see, I am really suggesting to you that alcohol is not the way to deal with your depression. Alcohol is cheap and easy to get and you don’t have to talk over your problems with someone to get it. But it can and will cause you to become more depressed if you are using it to treat yourself. The same can be said for abuse of street drugs. If you use cocaine or heroin or amphetamines to solve your emotional pain, your pain will only get worse and then you will have not only problems with depression but also problems with addiction.
Using Natural Ways For Dealing With Anxiety
Anxiety is a reaction often associated with stress, illness, or even treatment. During an anxiety attack, a person feels overwhelming nervousness, tension, fear, forgetfulness, and panic. Although people experience anxiety as a normal part of life, true anxiety attacks are much different. For instance, if you were interviewing for a new job, you might feel a little anxious or apprehensive but this is different from true anxiety in which the above symptoms take over. If you find yourself being faced with anxiety often or if you have an anxiety attack that persists, you want to see your doctor.In the meantime, remember that anxiety is treatable. If the situation is serious, your doctor may recommend prescription medication such as Klonopin, but before you get to that point, you might consider a number of natural ways for dealing with anxiety. With this, not only can you bring the anxiety attack under control but also help prevent the attacks in the future, which would be the ideal solution.For starters, when you feel an anxiety attack coming on, find a quiet room or place where you can sit and relax. There, use what is called imagery, which is where you allow your mind to imagine other things or places that are calming. As an example, you might sit in a quiet room and envision yourself on the beach, hiking around a lake, shopping, or whatever it is that you enjoy. During this time, try to hear the sounds and smell the aromas of the experience to make it as real as possible. Most often, imagery works quickly and successfully.In addition, you will find a number of safe products on the market to help ease the tensions associated with an anxiety attack. Often, these products are made from things such as Lavender, Melissa Officinal’s, and Passiflora Incarnata. Together, these natural substances calm the anxiety but also irritability and stress. For this type of product, just a few drops in a glass of water provides relief within minutes. Available in a small bottle, you can carry it with you so you are always prepared.Another favorite combination is made from Passiflora and St. John’s Wort. Again, when used in therapeutic dosage, this mixture can provide a sense of well-being in helping stabilize anxiety. The thing to remember is that if you suffer from anxiety or full-blown anxiety attacks, you have great natural remedies and solutions to consider. However, in severe cases, remember a visit with your doctor may be needed, whether for prescription medication or perhaps some counseling to help you through the challenges of anxiety.
NEED HELP DEALING WITH DEPRESSION?
How do we deal with everything life throws at us in this day and age?
If you are living in the world today, you are facing serious issues that may cause depression. With stress over the economy, finances, and other professional and personal problems, more people today face mental health issues than ever before.
So, how do we start to deal with depression? How do we find some solid ground on which to stand in these uncertain times?
One economical and efficient way to deal with depression is through meditation. Most people know what meditation is but fail to understand the true benefits that come from taking time to meditate. By setting aside time each day to spend a few quiet moments in self-reflection or by engaging in what Dr. Rebbie Straubing calls “affirmative contemplation” techniques each day, we can relieve stress and increase self esteem.
How do we know meditation is worthwhile? Meditation is recommended today by most mental health care professionals as a positive way to deal with stress and depression. Meditation has the power to replace negative thoughts and energy with positive thoughts and energy. Meditation will also serve to clear your head and eliminate stress over everyday problems that can weigh you down.
How does meditation work? Dr. Rebbie Straubing offers an unusual model of how the power of law of attraction is what makes meditation so effective. Law of attraction dictates that by having positive thoughts, we can bring about positive results. Simply put – think positive and good things will happen to you. Positive thoughts attract positive results. And by using the meditation process that Dr. Rebbie Straubing calls “affirmative contemplation,” you can begin to feel the positive effects almost immediately.
So, how do we take time to meditate each day? And how do we keep our thoughts positive to attract positive results?
Here’s how:
· You have taken the first step by reading this article.
· Find a thought that feels comforting to you.
· Spend some time each day relaxing into that thought.
· Meditation recordings can be a great help – relax as you listen.
· Start enjoying a more positive and productive life.
No one can escape the reality of stress in this day and age. However, with help we can learn to keep stress manageable and create our own positive results.
Since most of us do not have someone in our life that will tell us each day how to deal with problems. And since no one will tell us how worthy and valuable we truly are – it is up to us to remind ourselves. We must take the responsibility of reinforcing our self-worth. Most of us would forget or neglect this important duty, but we owe it to ourselves to meditate on, contemplate, and affirm our own joy. There are tools that are specifically designed to remind us each day to keep depression at bay. With this help, we can turn positive thoughts into positive reality and beat depression.
