Archive for the ‘ Mental Health ’ Category

Proper Breathing For Treating Panic Attacks

How you breathe can have an impact on your panic attacks. Most of us don’t give any thought to how we breathe but learning how to do it correctly can help you with treating panic attacks. You can reduce the frequency of your attacks and the length of the them when they do occur.

Breathe Right to Reduce Stress

There are essentially two common ways to breathe, from the chest and from the abdomen. When people are feeling stressed or anxious they have a tendency to breathe from the chest in short, shallow breaths. Doing this can upset the carbon dioxide and oxygen balance in the body which can lead to a number of physical symptoms, these include increased heart rate, muscle tension and dizziness.

When you are breathing with your diaphragm, your breaths will be deep, even and fill your lungs. When you are in a deep sleep and relaxed you will do this automatically. Breathing in this manner is the natural way to breathe; even a newborn baby does it.

You can easily determine which way you are breathing with this simple test. Place one hand on your chest and your other hand on your stomach. The hand that moves indicated the type of breathing you are doing – hand on stomach moving? You are abdominal breathing. Hand on chest moving? You are chest breathing. By understanding which breathing mode you are in, you will be on track to being able to control your panic and anxiety.

Relaxation Through Abdominal Breathing

This simple technique can be used to help with treating panic attacks. They key is to practice this technique outside of those situations that make you anxious so that you can use it automatically when you start to feel anxious. (note: try practicing this when you can be alone, lying or sitting down at first. If you feel uncomfortable or dizzy stop immediately):

Relax your shoulders as much as you can. Put one hand on your stomach inhale slowly through your nose. When you are breathing through your diaphragm, your hand should rise and fall with each breath.

Exhale through your mouth without holding your breath. You don’t want to force the air out but let it exit your lungs naturally.

Do this several times in a row.

You can turn this into a breathing mediation and increase the level of calmness you experience. As you breathe in and out, focus on the rise and fall of you tummy. Just feel the air move in and out and allow all other thoughts to drift away. Thoughts will occur, but just let them pass like a cloud in the sky.

Practicing this technique will help you use it for preventing and treating panic attacks. The key is to practice it at home so that you can apply it when you start to feel anxious or stressed. Adding this to other methods you may already be using can help you win the battle against panic attacks and anxiety.

How To Get Rid Of Anxiety will show you the best strategies to get rid of anxiety and panic. Here is a easy method that you can use for treating panic attacks that is free and available to everyone.

Working can provide our lives with structure, satisfaction and financial income, however, it can also be a cause of stress and worry. While some pressure at work is necessary to make our work fulfilling and to make us more productive, stress happens when the pressure is excessive and / or continuous and we do not have adequate recovery time. The primary cause of employee exercised sick leave is often work-related stress. In fact, studies have demonstrated that as many as one in six individuals indicated their jobs were exceedingly stressful.

Most stress from work is the result of many smaller situations that build up over time, although work-related stress may also be triggered by a sudden or unexpected event. There are a number of factors that can make you feel stressed at work, including poor working conditions, long working hours, relationships with colleagues, lack of job security, mismatch between the requirements of the job and your own capabilities and needs, too much or too little responsibility.

Work-related stress is responsible for both physical and psychological health problems. You may have trouble sleeping, stomach upset, nausea, diarrhea, backache, headache, fatigue, and sweating as a result of this stress. You may become disinterested in sex, lack motivation, have difficulty concentrating, feel overwhelmed, irritable, experience mood swings and shifts in emotionality, as well as difficulty eating or eating too much. All of these can indicate work-related stress.

It is impossible to escape pressure at work altogether, so it is important that you learn how to deal with stress effectively. If you are trying to learn to deal with stress on the job, consider these three strategies…

- Alter your responses to the causes of stress

- Lower the impact on your body from stress

- Educate yourself on other ways you can manage stress

If you cannot get your work-related stress alone, then you will need to see a professional, who may be able to find individualized methods for you to cope. Seeing a specialist is not a sign of weakness or an admission of defeat; it merely indicates that you realize that you have a situation that you want to improve. Your doctor will be able to spot the physical symptoms of work-related stress and they will also help you identify the causes of stress, give advice on relaxation techniques and / or refer you to a counselor.

Are you being harassed on the job? Is this causing you work-related stress? Is someone bullying you? If either of these situations is the root, then talk to someone in your personnel department or in your human resources office. Almost all companies have guidelines to help deal with harassment in the workplace; this is important because no one should feel bullied, harassed, or victimized at the place they work. If your manager does not seem to be taking your complaint seriously, then you must press forward because you are legally protected. You do not need your manager to take action.

More : Work Stress

There are many who seek self help for panic attacks. Some people are unaware of where to begin when in search of help. Taken into notice that many times stress can instigate a panic attack will help one better understand the need as well as ways to deal with this concern.

One of the first things one should do when trying to understand this condition is to do research online and become familiar with the disorder. Find out the history behind anxiety attacks and the things that can trigger an episode. Identifying the issue can help avoid certain activities and in many cases even foods such as caffeine.

Taking some time out for yourself and seeking support is a way to help you deal with panic attacks. Sharing your thoughts and concerns with a close friend or family member can allow you to relief some stress which can instigate a panic attack. Talking out your worries and fears is an excellent way to let go of things that may be bothersome to you.

Monitoring your breathing by breathing into a brown paper bag is an excellent way to cope with a panic attack. When breathing into a brown paper bag the person experiencing the attack will find a sense of comfort and control because lack of air is a major concern during the time of this episode. Feeling as if there is a great amount of air available can put great ease on the situation because the fear of suffocating can be alleviated.

Talk to yourself. Try to coach yourself through a panic episode. When you feel a an episode coming along it is an excellent idea to tell yourself that this is only a passing phase and that you are in control. By reminding yourself that nothing is wrong you are taking control over the situation. You are not allowing yourself to believe that you are slipping into a dilemma where you will lose it or be harmed.

Burning candles or sometimes even sniffing baby powder can take a person’s mind off of a current panic attack. The best thing about sniffing something that is delightful is that it can trigger a fond memory. Some find the scent of things that take them back to an experience in their life brings them to a place of peace and serenity. When a person is focusing on a memory they have no time to think about what’s going on. When one’s mind is engaged in something else that brings pleasure they would rather choose that over something that brings about fear.

Another great way of remaining in control would be to count backwards from 100. When trying to recall numbers during a panic attack, your mind is totally dedicated to something else oppose to thinking about what’s going on. Redirecting that attention to something else doesn’t feed the panic attack.

Look online for support groups in your area. Check for help from those who suffer from the same problem. Discovering that you are not the only person dealing with this matter can bring about a sense of hope, especially if you have found other who have overcome the same glitch.

Familiarize yourself with self help for panic attacks. Find the support you deserve and the help you need. Learning to cut back on all of the unhealthy things will be something you need to do so that you can enjoy that life a beautiful life!

Find out more about how self help for panic attacks can help you start enjoying your life more. When a person uses simple exercises and techniques, self help for panic attacks is easy to achieve.

The Symptoms of Bipolar

We sometimes feel happy for no reason at all and may want to sing and dance for joy. And there could be other times when we feel very sad and depressed. These mood swings happen to a lot of people but they do not occur every single day and apparently there are reasons for these mood swings. But for people who are overjoyed at one moment then depressed the next, it is highly likely that they have symptoms of bipolar and bipolar disease. Many myths which are often false have been conjured up by many people and it is because of this that the truth about bipolar disorder must be known.

The Truth About Bipolar Disorder

Manic depression is another popular name for bipolar disorder. Periods of euphoria or mania alternating with periods of depression are the symptoms characterized with this disorder as is indicated with the name. These periods of the symptoms are not brief and may last for hours, days and even months. The ability of the individual to lead a normal life can also be affected by these radical mood changes.

Read the rest of this entry