Natural Remedies for Anxiety Disorders

There are many natural remedies to relieve anxiety that have been used though out the years. Some natural therapies are Kava which is a anti anxiety herb that has quick calming effects with a uplifting feeling. It is a muscle relaxant and also a mild sedative. It is good for stress, tension, anxiety, insomnia and irritability. It is used for mild depression, anxiety, irritability and tension. Verbena relaxes your nervous system and is also used for nervous disorders such as stress and exhaustion. Passionflower is a sedative that relaxes the nervous system. It is good for nervous disorders such as epilepsy, anxiety, heart palpitations, stress and insomnia.

Bergamot helps to regain self confidence, helps soothe anger and frustration, evokes joy and warms the heart. Frankincense is used for fear, it soothes the mind, and gives you a calming feeling. Cypress soothes anger, and gives you a calming feeling. Lime is good for a tired mind, very uplifting, good for fatigue and stimulating for anxiety, depression and apathy. Jasmine helps to diminish fear and enhances self confidence. Lavender is known for its sedative properties, for balancing, alleviating stress, and for crisis situations. Patchouli is excellent for depression and anxiety. Rose can bring joy to the heart and refresh the soul, soothes the feeling of anger, anxiety and fear, good for behavioral problems, stress, anxiety and sadness. Sandalwood is calming, and helps reduce tension and confusion, it helps to build confidence warmth and understanding, is ideal for stress, fear, depression, and a hectic lifestyle.

Meditation can help anxiety disorders. If you meditate at least once a day. It can help control negative thoughts which can bring on anxiety, and is a very powerful and useful way that you can incorporate in your every day routine to help eliminate negative thoughts. Meditation works by calming and relaxing your mind. Once your mind relaxes, then your body can relax as well. Relaxation techniques work on relaxing the muscles in your body. Once you have learned these techniques you can use them daily. Slow abdominal breathing has also been known to stop panic attacks and prevent them. These are a few of the natural remedies that can help relieve anxiety disorders.

Anxiety Treatment - A Natural Approach to Curing Worry & Uneasiness

Anxiety Introduction

Anxiety is a natural human feature of behavior and is an inherent part of our species. The word "anxiety" is derived from the word "anxious", which came from a meaning of being tormented. Anxiety in itself is then known to be a type of self-torment which is brought up as a defensive response to a given situation.

Anxiety is so common that almost everyone experiences it in some form every single day. This anxiety is not a problem, it is only when anxiety begins to creep into places where it actually has no real justification that it becomes a problem and is termed to be a 'disorder'.

Anxiety Disorders

There are a range of different types of anxiety disorders which may be treated differently. The most common anxiety disorders include:

• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)


• Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)


• Social Phobia


• Panic Attacks


• Agoraphobia


• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder(PTSD)


• Specific Phobias

Common Anxiety Causes

Causes of anxiety disorders are rarely ever set in stone and can be due to a range of different things such as:

• Genetic Predisposition - Some types of anxiety disorders such as Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) have been found to run in families and are thought to perhaps be inherited through a gene which makes people more prone to become anxious.


• Stress - High levels of stress or seemingly endless stressful situations have been proven as a cause of anxiety disorders. Disorders such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) are specifically found to have been caused by stressful and traumatizing events.


• Sudden life changes - Death of loved ones and other sudden, shocking changes in everyday life can play a large role in the development of an anxiety disorder.

There may also be a range of internal and external factors which are involved in the development of each specific case of anxiety disorders. It is important to talk about the things you think might be causing your anxiety problems with someone who will listen and understand where you are coming from. This can help you to resolve your own feelings and to better understand why you are going through a tough time.

Common Symptoms of Anxiety

Symptoms of anxiety disorders may range vastly depending on the type of anxiety. Some very common anxiety symptoms include:

• Restlessness


• Worry & fear


• Anxiety feelings when riding or driving in a car


• Pain or tightness in the chest


• Sweating


• Difficulty sleeping


• Strange muscle aches and pains


• Difficulty breathing


• Frequent yawning


• Irritability


• Difficulty concentrating or mind going blank


• Being easily fatigued


• Feeling on edge

Natural Anxiety Treatments

Relaxation techniques

Learning how to relax your body and release pent up tension which contributes to anxiety can be incredibly helpful in treating the root cause of anxiety disorders. Some good relaxation techniques for anxiety include:

* Progressive muscle relaxation

* Meditation

* Relaxing music

* Abdominal breathing

* Relaxation exercises

Cognitive therapy

The use of cognitive therapy is primarily focused on changing patterns of thinking and subconscious beliefs which are triggering or may be associated with the experienced anxiety. For example, a person suffering from social phobia anxiety may benefit from changing beliefs about the way people see him/her. If the person says to themselves, "I am boring" it is dis-empowering and may worsen the condition. If the person can begin to change their beliefs and surrounding thought patterns, it becomes much easier to change for the good.

Cognitive therapy includes rational 'self-talk', reality testing, cognitive challenging, attention training and cognitive restructuring. This includes monitoring your self-talk, challenging unhelpful fears and beliefs, and testing out the reality of negative thoughts.

Correct breathing techniques

Something as simple as learning how to change your patterns of breathing can be of great benefit to reducing the effects of your anxiety. Hyperventilation is a key physiological problem which results in the body becoming over-saturated with oxygen and thus panic-stricken. Learning to breathe through the diaphragm instead of the chest is greatly helpful here, simply allowing the stomach to expand with each breath.

You can make sure you are breathing correctly by placing one hand on your lower abdomen and the other on your chest. Correct breathing means your abdomen moves, rather than your chest. It also helps to slow your breathing while feeling anxious. You can also try to hold your breath for a few seconds. This helps to boost carbon dioxide levels in the blood and counteracts the effects of hyperventilation.

Behavior therapy

A major component of behavior therapy is exposure. Exposure here simply means, removing all obstacles which are standing between you and your fear and confronting it at its most basic level. This may help to re-assess and redefine fears which might then cause a breakthrough.

The steps of exposure therapy may include:

* Rank your fears in order, from most to least threatening.

* Decide to start on one of your least threatening fears.

* Perform an imaginary role-play of confronting the fears and analyze what it is exactly that is causing fear.

* Slowly increase your tolerance to confronting your fear by taking small steps towards being more and more afraid or uncomfortable.

* Resist the urge to leave. Use relaxation, breathing techniques and coping statements to manage your anxiety.

* Reflect on your result from the situation and realize that nothing bad happened.

* Repeat the exposure as often as you can to build confidence that you can cope.

* Perform the same cycle of exposure with other fears when you are ready.

Dietary adjustments

Changes made to regular dietary consumption can also make a big difference to the severity of your anxiety problems. Reducing the intake of caffeine is one of the most basic starting points, remembering that caffeine can be found in moderate to high doses in coffee, tea, chocolate, green tea and energy drinks. Taking more health-promoting, calming substitutes for these foods can make a huge difference in itself. Other things you can do are simple things such as eating more fruits and vegetables and eating foods which have not been highly processed. Try to avoid white breads, margarine, deep fried foods and chocolate bars.

Exercise

Exercise helps to promote the production of happy-hormone endorphins which make you feel good. On top of this, exercise will help to destroy stress hormones which are responsible for the "fight-or-flight" reactions our bodies have to stressful situations (also a key cause of anxiety). Aim to do a varied exercise program each week at least 3 days per week and keep it up!

Learn to be more assertive

Letting people know how you feel about certain things may help to avoid loads of unnecessary stress which would otherwise be placed on you! You need to become more assertive in your communication with other people which means communicating your opinions, needs and wants more directly. This will help to build your own self esteem and also just avoids lowering your self esteem by not speaking up!

Building self-esteem

Creating an environment of people and things that make you feel good about yourself will help to build your self-worth and feelings of confidence will arise as a result. With anxiety, many people typically find that low self esteem is inherent. This low self esteem can then create a compounding effect which can enhance feelings such as:

* Isolation

* Shame

* Guilt

* Depressed mood

* Difficulties in functioning at school, work or in social situations.

Structured problem solving

Learning how to actively seek out solutions to your problems really can be half the battle in dealing with your anxiety. Many people who suffer from anxiety remain so passive and un-motivated to solve their problems that they become drowned in worry and do nothing about their problems.

Medication

Drugs have been shown to be effective in treating anxiety while they are being taken. It is vitally important, however, to view medications as a short-term solution to the problem only. It has been clearly proven in medical publications that behavior therapies and regular counseling sessions when coupled with natural anxiety treatments are far more effective in defeating anxiety in a long-term way.

Where to get help

* Your GP

* A psychologist

* Counselors

* Local community centers and telephone lines will almost always have free services available to you should you seek them out.

Stress and Anxiety Disorders in Children - Part 2

Let's do a quick recap of Part 1 of this series that is near and dear to my heart - most importantly because children are our future. We must be careful about what messages we expose our children to in a language that they can comprehend.

We will pass away one day and leave the world behind for our children to live in. Let's make a concentrated effort to leave a world that our children will love to live in and cherish every moment of their lives and remember us with fond memories when we become just a photograph on the wall or a digital image on a computer. We owe it to our children to provide them with the fun-filled childhood that they have a rightful claim to. In this article, let's consider another common cause of anxiety disorder in children.

Who's Life Is It Anyway?

It is human nature to see our own reflection in our children. This is almost a reflex action that we adults feel when we have a growing child in our lives. We want the best in our children and want them to be the shining star wherever we live. This is a healthy outlook towards our children, but what's unfortunate is that often times, we try to impose our own ideals and aspirations in our children. We adults forget that our children have the right to their own identity and must be given the freedom and maturity to choose what they want to do in life.

Instead of counseling them or asking for their opinion, we often try to force them into habits and activities. I have come across many adults who want to see their children achieve what they themselves had always dreamed about but never fulfilled them in their own lives. This may cause severe stress to the child's psyche when he or she is forced into doing something that they don't have an ability to do.

We need to understand that not all children have the same abilities that we adults would like them to have. Can abilities be developed? Most certainly you can groom children up to acquire certain abilities, but as adults we need to understand that training is not everything. The DNA and the chemical structure is unique for every person and variations to this chemistry in our body are key factors to what our abilities will ultimately turn out to be. So through training, it is definitely possible to impart the skills, but that does not necessarily mean that the individual will enjoy applying the skills in his or her own life. The point I am trying to make is we adults often forget to recognize the unique qualities of our children and imagine a day when our children will become what we had tried to be and failed. This is inappropriate handling of our responsibilities as parents and child caregivers.

Little do we pause to think that our actions might be creating stress on the child's mind. If he or she is unable to cope up with what we want and what our expectations are, we often vent our frustration on our children. Even mature adults drop like stones under the influence of depression and anxiety - imagine what happens to the immature mind when she finds a frustrated parent trying to enforce something that is not within her realm of abilities. This sense of failure might not be expressed overtly, but it creates more than a black hole in the child's psyche - depression sets in. The same depression could lead to anxiety and potential panic attacks in the future. With every future moment of parental frustration due to a non-performing or under-performing child, the black hole continues to widen.

Where do you think the child will be when he or she reaches adulthood? In the dungeons of depression with no self-confidence, with no self-respect and with not firm ground to stand upon to face the challenges of this world.

Parents and child caregivers - pause to think about this for a moment. You've had your chances and probably fell short - that is perfectly ok. If everybody became an Einstein or a Michelangelo this world would not have seen most of the brilliant minds that we cherish today. There would have been no Pele, no Mozart, no Mother Teresa and the list goes on.

How do you know that the child that you want to become the engineer that grows up to develop the spaceship that will carry man to Saturn and back over a weekend, is actually a budding Beethoven or a Pele or a Nadia Comaneci even a Florence Nightingale?

A Child's Right To the Freedom of Choice

So what is the anxiety therapy for children in this situation? It is OK to expose them to what you want them to be and as a parent or a caregiver, that is the right you acquire when you become responsible to bring the child up in this world. But remain sensitive and watch out for signs that indicate rejection. You will know in your heart if your child has the abilities to follow what you want him or her to do or not, so remain in that monitoring mode all the time and pull out if you sense that things are not going to turn out to be what you expected.

Expose the child to everything else that life has to offer in small but generous samples and help the child develop that maturity to choose their path in life. A pros and cons discussion after every sampling goes a million miles to ease the stress in your child's mind. You are essentially providing practical and rational answers to their favorite "Why?" Be that lifelong educator that holds the child by the hand from the time he or she is born to the time when they have their own children and beyond. Give your child the gift of a childhood that is free from adult-enforced stress - you will be appreciated one day.

A child's brain is like a sponge and I'm guilty of indulging in this repetition. Be careful about what you expose it to - the future of your child depends on it.

Social Anxiety Disorder: The Major Cause of Being Anti-Social

If you have an overwhelming feeling or self-consciousness and anxiety in social settings that most people are fine in then you might have social phobia, otherwise known as social anxiety disorder. People suffering from this disorder feel like they are being judged and watched intensely by others and think that they think horrible thoughts about them.

They are afraid that they will embarrass or humiliate themselves in front of people when they meet them. This can seriously interfere with daily life such as school, work, relationships, and activities of daily living. Even though most people with social anxiety disorder know they're feeling are not valid and excessive they cannot seem to manage or control them. When they a function they have to attend they can worry for months or weeks waiting for the dreadful day.

Social anxiety disorder can range in its behavior. Some individuals may only suffer from a specific fear such as eating or drinking, speaking, or writing if others are around or watching. Some people have a fear or going to the bathroom in a public restroom. This can be as serious as causing physical sickness or weakness to the bladder because of the anxiety involved, while some people are fearful in all social situations and is never comfortable.

The normal daily activities that most people take for granted are so horrifying and worrisome of social phobias it can be physically debilitating. This illness can cause people to miss work or school if they fear they will have to get up and be seen or noticed. Many persons with social phobia may have problems with relationships and can find it very hard to meet and keep friends. Even when the person has friends they may not be able to enjoy going out with then or being with them in large crowds of other people who might be less known. Some of the common symptoms include:

#1. blushes often in social situations

#2. profuse sweating when anxious

#3. trembling when approached or spoke to

#4. nausea as anxiety increases and possibly vomiting

#5. extreme difficulty talking

You may be extremely embarrassed by all of these symptoms if you have social phobia. It can feel like there are million people watching you all the time and you can't get away. You might even be able to stand being around your own family for fear of ridicule and rejection.

This is a common irrational fear that with out medication cannot be controlled. Even if you tried to face what fears you have the anxiety level before can be almost debilitating and can linger through out the whole experience. The anxiety can also linger after wards and keep you feeling scared and anxious for weeks or months. Affecting approximately 5.3 million American adults with men and women being affected equally, social phobia usually starts to develop in childhood or the early teens.

There is belief that social anxiety disorder can also be hereditary so if a family member has it you are at a higher risk of developing it as well. Because of the nature of the severe anxiety people with this disorder have a higher risk of self-medicating with drugs and alcohol to try to relax and calm down. This only leads to worse problems and possibly addiction. To treat this disease one need to see a doctor and seek psychotherapy and/or medications.

There is hope and treatment for those persons who suffer with social anxiety disorder. There have been more and more drugs capable of helping control the feelings one may suffer with. The antidepressants Paxil and Effexor are excellent and wide used to help suffers of social phobia. It can take two to four weeks for the medications to start to take effect and it can also take some time to find the right dosage that works the best with the least side effects.

The user needs to always follow the instructions on the prescription and take the medication every day. If the side effects are too bad or there is no improvement in four weeks call your doctor. Many patients will have to continue medications for months, years, or even a lifetime. Another important aspect is therapy. Most doctors use cognitive-behavioral therapy that changes the individual's cognitive thinking patterns to help them eventually face fear in all social situations without debilitating anxiety.

Different Herbs for Anxiety Treatment

Anxiety disorders are a common problem, affecting approximately 20 million adults and children in America. Anxiety is a common emotion consisting of uncertainty and worry faced by many, whilst anxiety disorders are when such fears are experienced irrationally. There are many treatments available, ranging from medication to therapy and alternative treatments. One treatment is through using natural herbal supplements.

Natural herbs are less costly than medication, and consist of herbs, vitamins and botanicals. They can be taken individually, or with other supplements, but it is best to first consult your doctor before deciding on natural herbs as a treatment for anxiety disorders. They also have the advantage of having no side effects, as compared to medications which can result in side effects such as nausea. Below are some common herbs used in anxiety disorders treatment.

1. Passion Flower

This is a natural plant that is used to treat anxiety, amongst other ailments. Its has unique calming properties, and can also reduce body tremors from fear. It promotes better sleep, and can act as a painkiller. It also contains anti depressants, and is used for high blood pressure and epilepsy.

2. Lavender

This is a more popular alternative than the passion flower, and is also known for its calming properties. It is also one of the more effective treatments for panic attacks, and is a tonic for the nervous system.

3. Lemon Balm

This is used to calm the digestive and nervous system, and also reduces blood pressure. It is uncertain if used alone, lemon balm is effective for treating anxiety attacks. It is usually taken with Valerian, Chamomile or Passion flower.

4. Kava

It is an effective tranquilizer, and whilst it is not an addictive substance, research suggests that it may be linked to liver problems.

5. Valerian

This is another natural plant used for treating anxiety. It also promotes better sleep, allowing for the body to rest and recuperate.

6. Chamomile

Chamomile flower leaves are used to make tea, and is a natural alternative for treating anxiety. It also reduces fever, encourages sleep and enhances the body's metabolism.

7. Dandelion

The roots and leaves are used to treat the body's internal systems, and through it, provide relief for some of the symptoms of anxiety. It is commonly used in salads and tea, and can also be used as a substitute for coffee.

There are many natural treatments available, and herbs have been used for treating illnesses for centuries. However, do keep in mind that it is not a quick fix, and can only alleviate the symptoms of anxiety attacks. It is advisable to seek out behavioral or cognitive therapy so as to eliminate the root of the problem causing anxiety attacks.

Common Types of Anxiety Disorders

Anxiety disorders manifesting in various forms lead to sorts of further complications if not taken care of early. The symptoms are pretty much the same. A person suffering from an such a disorder often displays symptoms off nervousness, excessive sweating and similar traits. During these bouts a person may also be unable to breathe and may experience tightness as well. You may even come across people who constantly repeat the same actions over and over again in order to combat feelings of restlessness or fear. In the natural, anxiety is known to be a normal reaction to stress; it helps one cope with different situations. However, when anxiety rises and handling day-to-day situations becomes a dread it leads to anxiety disorders.

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is characterized by exaggerated worry and tension coupled with chronic anxiety, many times there is no such a valid reason to provoke it. People who suffer with this kind of disorder often display symptoms off trembling, occasional headaches, muscle aches, fatigue, hot flushes and difficulty in swallowing. It is sad indeed but the good news is that it can be treated; there are many effective treatments to overcome anxiety in order for people to lead more normal lives. It is not a major issue in reality; people tend to worry excessively and unnecessarily and are not able to shrug it off.

Another type of is called the social anxiety disorder. A person who is excessively self-conscious and overly anxious in everyday social situations falls into this anxiety category. It is confined to the fear of others and there is an extreme awkwardness to speak, eat or mix freely with others. They are often nervous and often lose control of themselves; they are just uncomfortable in the presence of others. People in this situation are most often carry a fear of being scrutinized and judged, they fear being embarrassed or insulted by their own actions. These people often suffer symptoms such as nausea, blushing, trembling and profuse sweating. Researches have been looking into revised therapies in order to help people overcome social anxiety disorders and enjoy life to the maximum.

Even though each of these anxiety disorders is diagnosed differently, the root cause is inevitably anxiety and stress. These needs to be tackled early on for the best results as if left unattended it would lead to something not called for.

Negative Thinking Disorders

It's Not Beware, It's Be Aware

Negative thinking disorders are disorders that branch from extreme anxiety and are most commonly termed as anxiety disorders. Under this particular kind of disorder are disorders like obsessive compulsive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress, panic disorder and social phobia. It's the negative thinking in these negative thinking disorders or anxiety disorders that feeds the anxiety causing it to grow. This disorder is rooted in our thoughts. To cure it, we must change our negative thoughts into positive ones with ways like cognitive therapy.

It's All the Same and Holding On

People who suffer from such negative thinking disorders believe that everything will stay the same and it would always be bad - nothing changes. By taking such a belief into their system of thinking, they're closing doors or ways to get help. Treatment for such disorders is a slow process and by holding onto their disorder.

Speaking of holding on, with these types of disorders, people suffering from it hold on to traumatizing or horrible experiences. By doing so, they make it harder for themselves to escape the vicious cycle of negativity and anxiety. These negative thoughts are the main power source of these disorders as they are perpetually being thought of. It's one thing to hold onto a memory but another situation completely when you obsess over it and fall trapped to a destructive thought cycle. Not only does it interrupt your daily life, it also tampers with your logic and may cause you to steer clear of certain situations and in effect limit you.

Absolutes

Those suffering from negative thinking disorders think in absolutes or extremes. They see that there can only be a completely bad or a completely good situation. This can be particularly difficult to deal with as they usually see the negative part of things more and magnify them, overshadowing whatever positive there is. To adjust to average thought, they must understand that worrying is completely normal to an extent and that there would always be pros and cons or good and bad in situations. They must know that whatever con or bad there is should not control or limit them. They must find what it is that's causing them the panic attacks and obsessive thinking and avoid feeling helpless or powerless. We should all know that we are in control.

Negative thinking disorders may take different forms and magnitudes but one element stays the same - the negative thinking. Medication may help but at the end of the day, whatever happens, it's something we have to sort out in our minds. Early intervention is best and being open to treatment would certainly make sure that progress would move along as it should. Life is good, it may not be easy but it is good. Discover it.

Social Anxiety Disorder: Symptoms and Solution

I believe that we all have had the fear at some point in our life that others are viewing and judging you when you are in public.

Many times people have fear when they are unable to speak or say the right thing at the right place to the right person.

It is little things like this that are often over-thought and can easily build into nervousness and fear of this happening again.

For many people this can get to a point where they are thinking about all the negative things that could happen when they are in a public setting even before they get in that situation.

Instead of just living our life and being comfortable in our own skin, we will often second guess everything that we do and have constant fear that we made a mistake or could have done better.

It is easy to say that we should all just get over it, accept the fact that we are human and will make mistakes and live our life to the fullest.

However, coming from someone who has dealt with the symptoms of social phobia all of my life, I can understand that this is beyond our control and we must seek the source of our fear and take the necessary steps to overcome social anxiety.

Having nervousness and anxiousness when in social settings is completely normal and for many people is something that is always there but quickly fades as the they get to the event and get comfortable in their setting.

You should consider taking steps in-order to overcome your social phobia symptoms when they become disabling or cause health concerns.

Most of these symptoms include increased heart rate, shortness of breath, sweating, shaking, lack of appetite, and in some cases minor delusions.

Social anxiety symptoms can quickly develop into more severe health concerns including depression and alcohol drug dependence if not treated.

These are very scary and sometimes these type disorders can lead to serious health concerns, in some cases may be fatal.

Fatal, life threatening, now is the time to stop living with social fear disorder and start taking steps to living your life without social anxiety.

How To Overcome Social Anxiety

There are several methods that you could use to overcome your social phobia, the main methods include cognitive behavior therapy, medication and neurolinquistic programming.

Medications are exactly what you would expect them to be, they reduce the symptoms of social fear while you take them, there are some potential scary side effects, and as soon as you stop taking the drugs, the symptoms return.

Cognitive Behavior Therapy and Neurolinquistic Programming both deal with getting to the root-cause of your social anxiety and reprogramming the way that your mind thinks about social situations.

You can find a lot of help available around and the social anxiety disorder can surely be treated permanently.

Night Anxiety - Signs, Symptoms and Top Methods to Prevent Anxiety at Night

If you suffer from night anxiety, be aware - you are definitely not alone. 50% -70% of anxiety and panic disorder sufferers have reported having night anxiety attacks as well. You would think that anxiety and stress could at least give you a break at night - but no. Maybe you are worried about losing your job. You go to bed, but toss and turn for an hour. Finally you get out of bed at 2 A.M with full blown anxiety or panic attack.

How You Become Afraid of the Night

Your anxiety quickly spreads to other areas: a nine o'clock doctor's appointment, the urgent tasks you didn't get to accomplish today, and the presentation you're going to blow if you don't get some sleep. Awful thoughts fill your head:..."I'm going to be a wreck tomorrow", "This thing will drive me crazy"..."Am I going to die tonight?"

After a few nights of these repeated thoughts, you start being afraid of the night starting with early evening. It is a hopeless situation.

My Little Story

I used to be sure that I am going to die. With what was racing in my mind, there was no way to drift back to sleep if I could go to sleep at all. The quiet of the night, the isolation and "night sounds" were daily triggers to my night anxiety. I couldn't sit still, but I didn't have much energy to move. I could pace around for hours thinking how I am going to lose my mind. I didn't have a spouse or anyone else to lean on.

Over the years I found just a few methods that gave me some relief from night anxiety, I wanted to share them with you:

The Best Methods to Fight Night Anxiety:

1. Avoiding prescription drugs - I have tried that out - and it gave me a little relief - but the goal is to get through night anxiety without creating another problem - chemical dependency. Besides, these drugs will never cure the condition, only temporarily relieve symptoms.

2. Avoiding Caffeine, nicotine or wine in the evening- these only made the problem worse. I actually tried living with or without them and witnessed the difference. These can actually make your attacks worse and caffeine can actually give you insomnia, thus you can't sleep at all.

3. Drinking valerian or St.John's wart tea - actually helped me (sometimes) prevent night anxiety.

4. Avoiding bad night habits - Don't look at the clock! Ever!

Turn the clock around to face the wall, or hide it in a drawer or under the bed. I was constantly checking the time and that reinforced my thought that I'll never get back to sleep.

Don't stay in bed more than 15 minutes. I used to do this to remind my brain that the bed is the place to sleep - not the place for stressing, worrying and obsessing. Night anxiety should not happen in bed.

Don't go back to bed too soon. I only went back to bed when I felt I could fall asleep right away. I watched, on purpose, a boring TV show or read a boring book.

Before going to sleep, try to watch something funny on TV. Never an action film or sad drama. Something light, funny and even stupid. Give your brain a break and a chance to escape from everyday worries.

The Happy End: How Did I Put Night Anxiety behind Me

Anxiety did not "attack me" only in the middle of the night. It was happening all the time, out of nowhere and without apparent reason. I finally acknowledged that I suffer from anxiety and panic disorder and while these methods were very good, I wanted to go to the core and cure the condition - not just the symptoms. That was the first day of the rest of my life.

Anxiety Stress Disorder - How Stress Can Lead to Anxiety!

We all feel stress and get anxiety attacks from things that happen in our everyday lives. We might be worried about the impression we may give on a first date, we might be scared of botching up an important presentation or we might feel the hassles of preparing for a wedding. But while we do overcome these challenges easily, there are times when we cannot deal with life's different stresses properly. There are also days when we might get a severe anxiety attack over simple things like an exam or a looming deadline. When we start feeling extreme stress over little things and begin to exaggerate situations too much, we might be developing an anxiety stress disorder.

Anxiety should not be something to be afraid or frightened of. Its a normal response to stressful situations. But certain traumatic events or chemical imbalances in our brain can cause us to overreact or unnecessarily worry about mundane things and if this happens regularly, it could lead to an anxiety related stress disorder.

People who suffer stress often experience symptoms of anxiety: from heart palpitations to sweating with clammy hands and feet to feeling fear or dread. But all these symptoms are compounded and happen even when faced with events which they really should not worry too much about. Those who suffer from anxiety and stress because of traumatic experiences such as a car accident or child abuse, for instance, may feel all the symptoms of panic attacks when in the presence of any vehicle or if they see the same shirt that their abuser often wore. There are times, too, that the anxiety stress disorder becomes so severe that people who suffer from this disorder start feeling detached from life and reality. They become numb to emotions and the world to the point of becoming listless and unresponsive when they experience a panic attack.

The best method to treat people suffering from anxiety and stress is a combination of the proper medication and therapy. Different medication, such as SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) or tricyclic antidepressants can help by balancing out the levels of neurotransmitters in the brain. These neurotransmitters, such as serotonin, are responsible for triggering certain emotions like joy, anger and fear, and in most cases, the anxiety stress disorder is caused by an imbalance of these neurotransmitters.

Proper therapy, such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, can help patients who experience stress and anxiety attacks often to deal with life's challenges properly. This type of therapy teaches patients to change their patterns of thinking and perceptions of different stressors. It also helps patients learn how to deal with these stressors properly and realistically.

There are also different, simple ways by which the severity of an anxiety attack can be lessened. Meditation, regular exercise, a good night's rest, proper diet and reducing the intake of caffeine can all contribute to the healing of those who suffer from Anxiety Stress Disorders.

Anxiety Nausea - Reasons and Treatments

Suffering with anxiety nausea is difficult for people with a panic attack disorder or an anxiety disorder. Most of the advice we all get from non-sufferers is to eat a saltine or just calm down already. If you have anxiety associated with nausea, calming down, or eating a saltine doesn't always work and is often not very good advice from someone who has never been in panic mode where you feel out of control. Some people are simply prone to anxiety disorders and the stress of everyday life or anxiety fear can bring on all sorts of panic symptoms, one of them being nausea. Emotional stress, worrying, and fear of the unknown are some of the biggest reasons a person can become nauseous. Chronic stress often leads to anxiety and stomach disorders are common problems.

While anxiety suffers realize there are many signs and symptoms of this disorder, once the symptoms start, the anxiety of being nauseous can actually make it worse. An anxious person who is nauseous and can't relive the feeling may end up vomiting. Vomiting can lead to dehydration and that is something no panic attack suffer needs on top of all the stress we are trying to keep controlled. The reasons for anxiety nausea are many, especially when they are associated with panic, fear, or stress.

There are effective treatments for nausea that will work even if you are panic-ridden or have emotional stress. Anxiety nausea treatments can range from relaxation techniques to over-the-counter medications. Many suffers are already taking medications of some sort and perhaps don't want to add to their nausea problem by taking more. Or, sometimes the medications you are taking for your anxiety can cause nausea. Don't fret, we found some good recommended treatments for your nausea that will work if you are in panic mode.

First, always make sure to keep some acidophilus on hand in your refrigerator and at the first sign of nausea take two or three capsules right away. Next, place a nice plush washcloth in cold water and apply to the back of your neck. Try to lay down by an open window and breathe in fresh air while you keep the washcloth on the back of your neck. Everyone who has a panic disorder with nausea knows that it is very hard to relax, but with some concentration, you can relieve your anxiety nausea with this simple trick. Close your eyes and try to concentrate on relaxing each muscle from your head to your neck to your shoulders and all the way down to your feet as you count backwards from twenty-five. Don't rush it and if you need to, begin again.

Most panic attack suffers will find that the acidophilus will start to work and the cool washcloth and fresh air will help you with your relaxation exercise. Relieving anxiety nausea during a time of stress or panic can be done easily with a little concentration and help from a natural supplement probiotic. Finally, try to remember that anxiety and panic disorders are not uncommon and many people are affected by these syndromes. Seek out advice from good and supportive family and friends to achieve success each time and rid your body from anxiety nausea.

Tips for Parent: Anxiety Treatments for Children

Anxiety, just like any human disorder has to be treated. For an anxiety treatments for children to effectively work, the root cause of the problem must be first determined. There are many causes of anxiety disorders but it is relatively easier to determine their causes in children. Children can be interviewed or talked to by parents and therapists to discover the origin of their depression. Once the symptoms of the anxiety disorder manifest in the individual, thorough assessments can be made by investigating the circumstances and factors that led to the disorder. In children, this is not very difficult because the scope of influences affecting them is narrow. Aside from their situation in the family and school environment, their acquired living habits are fairly determinable especially if the parents cooperate.

Once the causes of the problem are determined, the right anxiety treatments for children can be prescribed. Children are impressionable and can easily be taught. Anxiety is an emotional problem and children can learn the skills needed to cope with it. Children suffer anxiety for a variety of reasons. Feelings of inadequacy, pressure from parents to perform well in school, being separated from parents and fear of some animals like lizards, snakes or spiders can cause severe anxiety. For all these reasons, the corresponding response can be taught to the affected children encouraging them to recognize and overcome fear.

Of course, psychotherapy treatments done by a professional is a better option if symptoms have already manifested and there is already some difficulty of handling the changes in the behavior of the affected children. The therapy can be done on a one-on-one basis or through group therapy. The observation that treatment by group therapy has better results is gaining ground. Children in group therapy seem to react better and more effectively learn from each other in understanding the lessons taught. Exercises like role model playing and talking about each individual's anxiety experience build more confidence because of the interaction within the group.

Another effective anxiety treatment is the one that can be administered by the parents and members of the family. Here, the love and affection shown by the parents and other members of the family reassure the affected children and give them confidence to overcome their fears. Some children suffer anxiety from constant separation from their parents. When children are left by themselves by parents who sometimes have to work in far places, they are subjected to stress and develop anxiety disorder symptoms. In cases like these, older members of the family like uncles or aunts can play the role of parents and explain to the affected child the situations that cause the problem. They can also teach the child the right actions and reactions of a child when left alone with a sitter and their parents are not there. The intimate bonding with parents and members of the family makes the anxiety treatments for children better.

Medication is seldom used in anxiety treatments for children. While some medicines give relief to the symptoms to anxiety, they are rarely used by therapists on young patients. They can cause addiction and some side effects are not well tolerated by some children.

Anxiety Disorder - A Brief Introduction

In a medical terminology, anxiety disorder usually refers to a state of nervousness or uneasiness. Anxiety disorder is one of the most common mental health disorders. It is basically defined as a critical disturbance in the mental state that can ultimately lead to chronic anxiety. It usually arises due to work pressure, highly constrained work schedules which tend to disturb the mood or behavior of a person. However, if proper anxiety treatments are not followed well in time, it can even harm the mental state of a person.

A person suffering from anxiety disorder often experiences a long-drawn-out feeling of distress or fright and discomfortness. This disorder can further create a bad impact on relationships with friends, family and the colleagues.

Various Symptoms / Signs of Anxiety disorder:

So far researchers have conducted an in-depth study to determine the precise reason for anxiety disorders. Finally, they have concluded that this trouble mainly arises due to the biological factors along with various personal situations faced by an individual. This disorder not only affects the individual's behavior, thoughts, action, emotions but also the physical health. It is so common that individual anxiety disorder can be seen. Moreover, an individual can suffer even more than one anxiety disorder at a time. Anxiety disorder is accompanied by a series of other troubles as well including depression, substance abuse or eating disorders.

Various symptoms/signs of anxiety disorder include:

Panic Disorder: Panic disorder is basically a type of anxiety disorder. Such a type of disorder is usually experienced in the unexpected panic attacks that come along with the feeling of fear. This attack can also affect the physical health of a person, thus resulting in breathing problems, severe pain in chest, heart strokes, and fear of death as well as acute pain in the abdomen.

Agoraphobia , with or without panic disorder: This is basically a condition in which a person fails to avoid or escape from a panic attack. OCD or Obsessive 'Compulsive Disorder: This is an uncontrollable condition in which an individual suffers from constant unnecessary thoughts, commonly termed as obsessions and compulsions (or rituals). A typical instance of obsessions includes doubtful temperament, serious concerns regarding contamination and much more. The various instances of compulsions include counting, checking and the systematic organization of things.

PTSD or Post-Traumatic stress disorder: Post-traumatic disorder is usually the consequence of a horrible or a terrific experience that might have took place in one's life. Most often the victims of war, natural disaster or child abduction may experience this stress disorder. The general symptoms of PTSD include nightmares, rudeness in temperament, feelings of fear as well as frustrations.

Phobias:

Such an anxiety disorder is usually categorized into two groups:

Social Phobia: It is also sometimes termed as social anxiety disorder, in which a person fears to deal with social situations. Not only this, but he may also feel conscious & embarrassed to deal with gatherings and also fails to lead a normal life.

Specific Phobia: In this type of anxiety disorder, a person is often beset with unreasonable fears that are quite impossible to control. The extreme stage of specific phobia is one when a person designates his fear as illogical one. The typical instances include terror of heights, open spaces as well as the fear of flying.

GAD: An acronym GAD stands for Generalized Anxiety disorder. The general symptoms include headache, loss of fatigue & nausea. The exaggerated worries related to daily routine activities & events disorder are the main reason behind this type of anxiety disorder.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

It is only when we struggle with, or run away from our anxieties, that they gain momentum. We can only be victims of fear if we allow ourselves to be.

"Do the thing you are afraid to do and the death of fear is certain."

- Ralph Waldo EmersonI want to tackle the side-effects of panic attacks. Most people who experience frequent panic attacks describe a lingering background generalized anxiety that stays with them long after the panic attack is over. Panic attacks are not spontaneous, random experiences. They are rooted in an underlying general anxiety that acts as the feeding ground for them to occur. Some people claim the attacks come totally out of the blue, but in fact on closer examination the person is usually already feeling an above average level of generalized anxiety before the panic attack begins. It is this generalized anxiety that we are going to tackle in this chapter.

People describe the generalized anxiety like a knot in the stomach accompanied by recurring fearful thoughts. This condition is referred to as Generalized Anxiety Disorder or GAD. This generalized anxiety disorder is the breeding ground for future panic attacks, and it is important that it be addressed and eliminated so the individual can go about daily business unimpeded by the uncomfortable stress sensations.

If we create a scale of anxiety from 1 to 10, a full blown panic attack would register at 10 and total, blissful relaxation at 0

In a typical day, the average person in a metropolitan area might have a stress/anxiety rating of somewhere between 4 and 5. In comparison, people who experience panic attacks would say they reach the top of the scale (9/10) during the panic attack and do not fully return to feeling normal for quite some time. What is of particular concern is the fact that a large percentage of people never fully return to normal levels. Many individuals who experience frequent panic attacks often report that they feel themselves to be in a constant state of generalized anxiety, floating between 6 and 7 almost everyday. They wake in the morning with the anxiety and go to bed with the same feeling of unease. It is almost as if their body is stuck on a permanent setting of high anxiety. This constant generalized anxiety makes them feel jumpy, irritable, and physically unwell. The body becomes tense and uncomfortable and the mind obsessed with the anxious sensations. This permanent tension in the mind and body leads to troublesome sensations such as

• Nausea
  


• Dizziness
  


• Exhaustion
  


• Vision problems
  


• Cramps
  


• Intrusive thoughts
  


• Feelings of unreality and depression
  

This condition (Generalized Anxiety Disorder GAD) is frequently connected to the experience of panic attacks.

Generalized Anxiety DisorderIf you have been diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder, do not convince yourself that you have a clinical illness. You do not. This disorder does not mean that you have a physical or mental illness. Your brain is fine; your body is fine. If I had editorial authority over what was printed in text book psychology, I would eliminate the use of the term ¡§disorder.¡¨ The term is over prescribed and misleading. It conjures up ideas of chaos and a total breakdown of mental function. That is not the case. GAD is a behavioral condition that is habitual, and it can be reversed easily by following a series of steps. You can return to a more relaxed level of living if you follow the steps and psychological techniques I am going to outline for you below.

Treating Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Once people practice the One Move technique for the elimination of the panic attacks as explained in my course, the intense fear surrounding the anxiety collapses in on itself. As the panic attacks become less frequent, the generalized anxiety begins to evaporate as a state of solid calm returns.

If however, after a period of time you feel your generalized anxiety level has not dropped then you can begin to implement the following steps to treat the lingering anxiety. It may also be the case that you have never experienced "panic attacks" per se but have a constant problem with general anxiety. If that describes your situation, then the following information is of particular relevance to you.

http://www.panic-and-anxiety-attacks.com/generalized-anxiety-disorder.html

This article is copywritten material. Any requests for reprinting this article must be made to Joe Barry McDonagh

Anxiety Disorders - Agoraphobia

I talked about panic attacks a few days ago, and mentioned that I would like to cover some of the other anxiety disorders to help people recognize and become more aware of what they are experiencing in hopes to better manage their anxiety.

Today I would like to touch on Agoraphobia. Agoraphobia is probably the most common of the anxiety disorders. Common situations usually involve crowded public places, like shopping malls, buses, and Nature pic 1restaurants, or enclosed places such as elevators.

People who suffer from agoraphobia try to avoid places or situations where they feel trapped and what feels like there is no escape. For me it was at work. I worked in an office within a small office cubicle. Every morning I would slide into it trying not to be noticed. I felt though that all eyes were on me and that people knew I was in fear. This went on for it seems like an eternity. Eventually I became so self conscious of every little thing I did I could barely function. I fought it too long and eventually broke down to the point of being hospitalized and I could not work for months after.

Agoraphobia doesn't develop overnight. It starts with a panic episode of some sort and then gradually builds up in your mind to the point where you consciously start to try to avoid places like this.

Agoraphobia like all anxiety disorders should be dealt with as soon as consciously possible. If you are having similar feels like I addressed in this article. Get help immediately before it gets to the point where you can't function. See a doctor or physiologist first. It will feel better to talk about what is going on in your mind and body. Your doctor may prescribe medication, but there are some great natural techniques available to us now that helps us to deal with this problem quickly, and to start living a normal life again in a very short amount of time.

There are plenty of natural techniques available to explore. I highly recommend getting started researching today. Don't delay getting your life back.

I would love to hear of your success stories, so please send your comments and emails. To your health,

Terry Poster

Anxiety Medication to Treat Anxiety Disorders

Excessive anxiety can have dire consequences. This is because unhealthy emotions and thoughts such as paranoia, fear, dread and worry play over a person's mind over and over again. As a result, the body responds but because the response is sustained for a long time, physical symptoms like palpitations and hyperventilation appear. The need for anxiety medication becomes urgent at this point.

What is worse is that excessive anxiety can trigger other disorders as well. In fact, the words anxiety disorder has been used as a general term that covers all other abnormal fear and anxiety under the aegis of psychiatry. The types of anxiety disorders are;

Generalized anxiety disorder - Here, anxiety lasts for a long time. There is no object of focus as well which is why the individual feels non-specific incessant fear and worry that impedes daily activities. This is also the most common anxiety disorder. Anxiety medication can help reduce the chronic anxiety that the person feels. Usually, drugs marked as SSRI or Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor is the first line treatment.

Panic disorder - This is characterized by overwhelming feelings of apprehension and terror. Shaking, tremors, dizziness and confusion are the typical manifestations. The panic attacks last for about ten minutes and in the long run may have negative effects on the heart. Because of increased heart rate and hyperventilation that occurs during panic attacks, the body becomes so accustomed to it that even in normal situations, the heart still palpitates giving the individual the feeling of another oncoming panic attack. Beta blockers have been found to be an effective anxiety medication because it minimizes the physical symptoms brought about by panic disorders.

Phobias - Phobias are defined as irrational intense fear of a certain stimulus. It produces the same effects as panic disorders. In this case, an example of an anxiety medication for alleviating symptoms of phobias is benzodiazepines.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) - This is characterized by obsessing (on distressing thoughts, images and objects) and compulsions (which is an urge to do something about the previous.) The thought process of individuals with OCD is illogical. An example is obsessing on writing in a specific pattern to avoid causing harm to the hand or fingers.

Separation anxiety disorder - At some point, all people feel anxious when they are separated from something or someone that they have gotten attached to. However, in this case, excessive and inappropriate anxiety is felt by individuals.

Social anxiety disorder - This is when individuals feel intense terror when interacting socially. They are extremely frightened of public humiliation. This is often manifested during public speaking. It can also manifest in normal social interactions. Because of elevated levels of anxiety, the individual blushes, stutters and over perspire when socializing with other people. In order to prevent the aforementioned physical symptoms from appearing, individuals with social anxiety disorder shy away from the crowd leading to social isolation.

Anxiety medication is a great help to individuals with all forms of anxiety disorders. These drugs should be taken with care, however, for they have side effects that may bring more harm than good to an individual.

Anxiety Disorder Symptoms - How Do You Know It's Anxiety?

Everybody has anxiety, but anxiety disorder symptoms are much more relentless than the common feelings of stress everybody has.

Being nervous, worried or fearful or a regular part of life. Have you experienced feeling anxious before taking a test and later find out that you got a better grade more than what you've expected? Or, feeling nervous before a job interview and ended up getting hired, or feeling frightened walking down an alley where bad things can happened?

Some anxiety can help you cope during a stressful situation and keep you safe from danger.

Mental health professional are not troubled with ordinary anxiety. Anxiety that you experience continually or more days than not for more than a few weeks should be a sign to seek help. You may have an anxiety disorder if you nervous feelings are severe, last longer than six months and interferes with your life. If you are experiencing unwarranted or irrational fear and a frequent sense of dread, you may want to get help to find out if your anxiety is too severe and needs treatment.

People with too much anxiety find it tough if not impossible to control their worry or anxious feelings. While a lot of people with anxiety recognize their fear is illogical, they experience anxious feelings anyway.

The following lists the nine most typical anxiety disorders:

1. Panic Disorder

2. Social Phobia

3. Agoraphobia

4. Specific Phobia

5. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

6. Generalized Anxiety Disorder

7. Separation Anxiety

8. Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

9. Selective Mutism.

Physical symptoms of anxiety can differ from person to person. The physical symptoms are created when the brain sending messages to the body to prepare for danger with a fight or flight response. Stress hormones, including adrenaline, make your heart beat faster and your breathing become rapid as your body prepares for danger.

Most people with anxiety experience many of the following physical symptoms:

1. Abdominal discomfort

2. Diarrhea

3. Dry mouth

4. Rapid heartbeat or palpitations

5. Tightness or pain in chest

6. Shortness of breath

7. Dizziness

8. Frequent urination

9. Difficulty swallowing

10. Feeling nervous or shaky

Some psychological symptoms of anxiety are:

- Insomnia

- Irritability

- Inability to concentrate

- Fear of going crazy or dying

- Feeling unreal and not in control of your behavior

Frequently those with anxiety have addiction problems as well. Lots of people use these drugs to medicate themselves their anxiety but sadly end up making matters worse. It's best to properly treat your anxiety rather than develop an even worse condition for yourself.

There is good news for anyone with anxiety or panic disorders. There is no reason to continue to suffer when you can be trained to overcome your fear. You can learn to help yourself and conquer your fears by getting treatment that has been proven to work.

Anxiety Disorders In Women

Traditionally, it has been perceived that men are subject to more stresses because of the various responsibilities that they face, which includes being the provider of the family. However, in recent times, this perception has changed, as women are now considered to lead more stressful lives. This is because of the appreciation that people now have with regard to the stresses that women are subjected to as a result of their responsibilities, which include keeping a job, taking care of the children, and maintaining a household. Apart from the list of responsibilities that women deal with, there is other evidence that proves the stressful lives that women lead. One of these is the incidence of anxiety disorders among women as a result of stress, which is twice as much as the incidence of anxiety disorders among men.

Anxiety Disorders that Women Suffer From

There are six categories of anxiety disorders in women, which include specific phobias, social phobias, post traumatic tress disorder (PTSD), obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), panic disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Women who suffer from specific phobias often exhibit uncontrollable reactions to objects or situations like spiders or heights. If left untreated, these phobias can lead to a person avoiding everyday activities or situations, which can be debilitating.

On the other hand, women who suffer from social phobias exhibit extreme anxiety caused by fear of being judged by other people, which can lead to avoidance behaviors. With regard to PTSD cases, the anxiety of women who suffer from them is a result of being reminded of a traumatic experience that caused them much anxiety. Unfortunately, this 'reminder' can have some debilitating effects as well.

Women who suffer from an OCD usually exhibit behavior that would make them perform repeated rituals or routines involuntarily. One example of this is when a woman repeatedly locks her doors to make sure that it is locked as a result of her fear that leaving it unlocked would lead to a burglary. With regard to GADs, women who suffer from them often exhibit excessive worrying about something for months at a time, while for panic disorders, women who suffer from them exhibit sever panic attacks for no apparent reason at all.

Contrary to popular opinion, women lead more stressful lives than men do. Evidence of this is the high incidence of anxiety disorders in women. However, as with any disease, early detection increases the chances of effectively treating it, and the same goes for anxiety disorders.

Anxiety Disorders - Causes 2

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and panic attacks have been shown to run in families, and symptoms can show prevalence early in childhood.

As far as Barb knew, GAD started with her maternal grandmother. She was the chronic worrier who took extreme measures to overcome her fears, even in the most mundane situations.

For example, during loud thunderstorms she would wake up all the children and force them to sit under the piano, which was logically located away from all windows.

She would even go as far as to start praying and doing the rosary during these times, not providing any support to the children. She was so afraid of injury and "what if's," that she did not see the damage she was doing to her children.

She was also very extremely overprotective of her children. She would hover over them, was always in their business, and constantly warning them of all the dangers to watch for outside the front door.

Consequently, and perhaps partially for genetic reasons, her children developed anxiety disorders of their own. Even as a child, her daughter showed symptoms: blacking out without physical cause, feelings of suffocation and entrapment, and frequent crying spells.

As an adult, her daughter had troubles functioning in society: her home looked like a train wreck, she had severe antisocial behaviors, and she verbalized feeling scattered with her thoughts.

In this particular situation, it is difficult to determine if nature or nurture was the ultimate cause of GAD through the generations. Ironically, her granddaughter and grandson also have anxiety disorders, both of which experience some impairment in their daily functioning without the help of medication.

Anxiety

Anxiety is a pernicious little devil; it can hold us back, freeze our creativity and diminish our ability to fight our way out of trouble. Anxiety leads to a 'vicious cycle' in which anxiety feeds poor performance which increases anxiety and . . . you get the picture.

We all understand that severe problems make us anxious -- career difficulties, financial worries, medical problems. What many people do not appreciate is the low-grade or 'background' anxiety which affects every person, every day.

Desmond Morris put it well when he said that we have constructed a "human zoo". People in modern society exhibit behaviours which simply aren't seen in wild animals -- until they are enclosed in zoos. And it's our wild nature which we need to look to if we wish to understand this 'background anxiety'.

A useful clue lies in phobias. The most common phobias all relate to real dangers in the environment. Fear of spiders is a good example, as is fear of heights. Both represented significant dangers to our ancestors. But wait, take a look at some of the other common phobias. Agoraphobia -- fear of open spaces. Why is this so common? Consider your hunter-gatherer ancestors, surrounded by predators and potential enemies. Being exposed is dangerous, so we have developed a natural awareness of exposure. In some people this gets out of hand, and becomes a phobia, but we are all programmed to be aware -- at the very least -- of situations where we are exposed, away from cover.

Social anxiety is also extremely common, with some studies showing 7% of adults suffering from the condition. Social anxiety can be extremely debilitating, and manifests in performance impairment in social situations. This also seems puzzling, at first glance. Why should humans, the great social species, suffer so extensively from social anxiety? The reasons lie in our unnatural population density. We simply didn't evolve to cope with such intense exposure to strangers. Every stranger you meet is, to your ancient mind, a potential enemy. It's remarkable that we all manage so well!

So you don't suffer from arachnophobia, agoraphobia, social anxiety disorder or any other anxiety disorder. What's my point? Simply this. All of these small anxieties affect your performance, day by day. Meeting people is stressful, because your ancient mind insists on being alert to danger. Walking down the street is an adventure in social interaction and exposure. Making presentations at work -- exposing yourself to a crowd, possibly a crowd of strangers -- is one of the most unnatural activities a human can perform.

We all suffer from anxiety, and it affects our performance and our ability to experience joy. We all need to relax. As a hypnotherapist, I always listen out for the moment in a session when my client's tummy starts to rumble. It's a good sign. It shows that the stress chemicals which routinely circulate, holding back digestion (as well as a range of other physiological roles related to 'fight or flight') have diminished. Just think about what this means. Chances are that your body is preparing you for fight or flight right now. All you're doing is surfing the Web. Within fifteen minutes of beginning to hypnotise you, I can say with some confidence that your tummy would start gurgling and your body chemistry would be changed, because there really isn't any need for this constant state of readiness.

Being aware of background anxiety is the first step towards conquering it. Hypnotherapy is incredibly powerful in this respect, but sadly, people tend to call on hypnotherapists only when their problems have reached crisis point. In my next article I will highlight some of the signs of background anxiety. If these relate to you, or if you feel that you would welcome some impartial (and free) advice relating to anxiety reduction, please feel free to contact me via Confidence Club (email info@confidenceclub.net)

Description of the Different Types of Anxiety Disorders

Everybody has anxiety. Events such as major challenges, separation from loved ones, losses, failures, and others, may cause anxiety for most people. The normal anxiety would not last longer than a few months.

Anxiety disorder on the other hand lasts much longer and it may be present during somebody's whole life. Anxiety disorders are characterized by disproportional reactions to normal life events.

If anxiety is present during normal day to day situations, such as being in a crowded place, going to a grocery store, waiting in a line, talking to authority figures, especially if the anxiety interferes with the person's ability to cope with these situations, this may be a sign of anxiety disorder.

I will describe in this article some different types of anxiety disorders.

Social phobia

Social phobia is characterized by out-of-proportion anxiety in situations that involve other people. These situations may be:

- Talking in public

- Using public washrooms

- Talking to authority figures

- Doing things when somebody is watching - example: writing a cheque in front of a store clerk

- Initiating a conversation with a stranger

- Expressing opinions

- Crowded places

Ordinary people may also have anxiety during social situations or when performing in the presence of others, but their anxiety is not as intense as the fear experienced by those who suffer from social phobia.

Panic Disorder

Panic attacks involve intense fear or worry and happen suddenly without any apparent reason. Panic attacks may last seconds, sometimes hours. Those suffering from panic disorder usually have fear and anxiety about a panic attack happening again.

The symptoms of a panic attack include:

- Quick heart beats

- Shortness of breath

- Sweating

- Dizziness

- Shaking of legs and hands

- Fear of dying

- Fear of losing control

Sometimes panic attack is misdiagnosed as heart attack.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

GAD is characterized by persistent anxiety and worry about life circumstances, such as health, money, school performance, etc, that last at least six months and happen on most of the days.

The anxiety experienced is out of proportion to what is causing it. Those suffering from this disorder have little or no control over their worries.

Symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder include fatigue, difficult sleep, problems with concentrating, irritability, muscle tension, and others.

Agoraphobia

This disease is characterized by fear of having panic attacks. The person who suffers from agoraphobia avoids places where escape would be difficult in case a panic attack happens.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

This disorder happens as a result of severe traumatic event(s) in a person's life. The symptoms include nightmares, chronic anxiety and flashbacks about the traumatic event.

It is a common disorder in war veterans. It may also affect victims of rape, accidents and natural disasters.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

OCD involves irrational anxiety, i.e., obsession about a variety of things, such as, getting infected, forgetting the door opened, being involved in a car accident, etc. This disorder greatly interferes with a person's daily life.

The compulsion part of the OCD has to do with the behaviors performed to prevent the source of worry, such as, washing hands hundreds of times a day, checking several times if the door is locked, and avoidance behavior.

Symptoms and Treatment of General Anxiety Disorders

A person that suffers from excessive levels of anxiety for over six months is said to have a general anxiety disorder. General anxiety disorders are common and there are millions of people who suffer from them. If left untreated, the disorder can result in having a serious effect on one's life. However, with timely treatment, the disorder can be cured and overcome. To begin with, a proper diagnosis from your doctor is essential. Whether you have been suffering for a short time or for more than six months, you ought to seek professional advice immediately.

General anxiety disorders usually accompany relentless bouts of worry and anxiety. Small issues and events can become a cause of worry and anxiety for the sufferer of this condition. Their reaction in general is normally way out of proportion to the seriousness of the problem. In many cases the constant state of anxiety can affect a person's ability to function normally on a daily basis. The workplace, a social event, speaking in public, can all become a matter of concern for a person with a general anxiety disorder, and they find it difficult to cope with any given situation. This could affect their relationships to a great extent.

Victims of general anxiety disorders may not experience the same symptoms. However, there are a range of symptoms that include irritability, inability to concentrate, fear of rejection, sleeping disorders, inability to relax, fear of losing composure and more. These are mainly mental symptoms of general anxiety disorders. Physical symptoms include nausea, muscle pain, constant fatigue, restlessness, stomach cramps and more.

Treatment for general anxiety disorders include anti-anxiety drugs or antidepressants that control the psychological symptoms while there are some beta blockers that control physical symptoms. Antidepressants include drugs such as Prozac and Lexapro. Other drugs that are used in the treatment of general anxiety disorders include Valium, Ativan, and Xanax. These are given only for short term symptom relief since they have severe side effects such as drowsiness, loss of memory, poor muscle coordination and more. Moreover, these drugs can be abused and with the danger of habitual consumption because they include benzodiazapines.

Another effective drug treatment is Buspirone which is prescribed in chronic cases. All these drugs are mainly short-term treatment to relieve the symptoms of generalized anxiety disorders. Today, there are a number of natural remedies that have become increasingly popular. This is because drugs are only able to manage levels of moodiness but cannot cure the underlying problem, which needs to be tackled, and that is fear.

Cognitive behavioral therapy is an effective alternative therapy. This involves working together with a trained therapist to change thought and behavioral patterns. This can break the link between the symptoms of the condition and a sufferer's feelings. Other forms of treatment includes self-hypnosis, deep breathing exercises, meditation, and a number of people have even turned to acupuncture, which has proved effective in many cases.

You must not forget that self-help can often be the best form of treatment. A good diet and healthy lifestyle with regular exercise can be the best way to cure general anxiety disorders.

Symptoms of Social Anxiety Disorder

Social anxiety disorder can manifest itself in several different ways. Generally the person will experience an elevated degree of anxiety anytime they are in the presence of others. The person affected will have an excessive fear of social settings.

These people are so afraid of making a mistake that they may avoid all social contact and assume a hermit-like existence rather than experience the humiliation, real or imagined, of being in a social situation. This type of anxiety can escalate into a full blown panic attack if not controlled. The fear of the situation begins long before the event takes place. It is possible to have it occur weeks before the event. Although the person knows there is little need for the fear and in fact that it is an unreasonable fear, they are not able to overcome it.

Social anxiety disorder can make something as simple as eating or drinking in front of others a effort. They do not want to be the center of attention or date or party with others. Often they will not ask questions in the classroom or use public toilets. The fear may be so great that they are unable to continue working with others and may possibly be afraid of talking on the telephone.

There are times when social anxiety disorder is related to other mental illnesses. Panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder or depression can be a link. Usually people with this disorder will consult with a mental health professional or medical doctor with complaints that are closely related to those disorders rather than social anxiety symptoms.

Symptoms can include the total avoidance of social situations. Physical symptoms such as sweating, shaking, muscle tension, heart pounding or upset stomach. Children with the disorder will cry, cling to a parent or throw a tantrum.

This is the most common of all anxiety disorders. It is in fact, the third most diagnosed mental disorder in the United States. It is preceded only by depression or alcoholism. It is believed that over nineteen million people have this disorder in the United States alone. Women are more likely to suffer from this disorder than men.

It is not easy for anyone to deal with the consequences of social anxiety disorders. The person is often seen as being anti-social or unsociable. While appearances may point to this, it is far from true. They would probably love to attend parties, religious services or go out on a date if they didn't have the unrealistic fear of making a mistake or not meeting the real or imaginary standards of the people they will be with. It can cost someone their job if not taken under control. Having a fear of social situations can and often does, include working in an office or other workplace.

All of these symptoms lead the person to a very lonely life. There are no physical tests to diagnose social anxiety disorder. Physicians may conduct diagnostic tests to rule out physical illness but ultimately the person will have to seek help from a mental health professional. The mental health professional will conduct special tests geared specifically to the disorder and can then begin proper treatment.

Anxiety Related Disorders

Anxiety is a personal experience of an individual which portrays feeling of nervousness, restlessness, hesitation, or fear. It takes place as a product of fear or threats that may be definite or indefinite, misperceived, or misinterpreted, or from a risk to one's individuality or self esteem. It often comes first a fresh experience. It has three types: first is normal. A normal type of anxiety mobilizes a person to perform a certain action. Next is acute. An acute anxiety is precipitated by imminent loss or change that threatens the sense of security. Last is chronic. Chronic anxiety is the type of anxiety that was always in the unconscious part of the mind wherein individual has lived with over a long period of time.

According to some novel studies, anxiety disorders run in the genes aside from a subjective experience. This implies that genetics and life experiences simultaneously construct a person to be further susceptible to the development of this disease. Brain chemistry emerge to play an important part in the onset of anxiety disorders, given that most of the symptoms of anxiety disorders are relieved with medications which interferes with the chemicals in the brain.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is distinguished by constant, impractical and extreme anxiety that cannot be proscribed or shifted. Individuals with GAD can't shake their worries, even though they usually become conscious that their anxiety is deeper than the circumstances warrant. Their worries come with by bodily symptoms especially exhaustion, annoyance, muscle tensions, muscle aches, trouble in swallowing, shakiness, jerky movement, bad temper, cold sweating, palpitations and hot flashes.

This is persistent and plugging their day with overstated fear and nervousness, even though there is slight or nothing to be anxious. Having this problem means always expecting disasters, often upsetting extremely about his health conditions, money matters, family relationships, or employment. Individuals with General Anxiety Disorder are expected to have further mental health complexities such as despair, drug and substance abuse, or another anxiety disorder.

Panic Disorder

The center symptom of panic disorder is panic attack, a devastating dread that occurs out of the blue with no warning signs and for no cause. A person with this type of anxiety disorder cannot foresee when is the next attack would most likely strike him. Often, the person experiences intense fear in common places where there is apparently nothing to be frightened of. The feeling of fright proceeds for a few minutes to almost an hour.

It usually hit the highest point in 10 minutes. Although there is absence of actual threat to the individual's security, the thoughts of dread causing the body to act in response accordingly producing massive symptoms like running heart beat, hot flashes, cold sweats and shakiness. Since this attack takes place abruptly without any cause, the physiologic reaction causes the individual to reflect that he is experiencing a heart attack.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

This disorder happens after exposure to a severe physically or psychologically traumatic incident like war, rape, fire, any disaster and sudden death outside the sphere of common human experiences. War veterans initially bought PTSD to public awareness, but it can consequence from a lot of traumatic incidents. These comprise violent attacks such as assault, rape or torture; being kidnapped or being held captive; child cruelty; serious catastrophe such as train wrecks; and natural calamities such as floods and earthquakes.

The incident that causes PTSD may be something that endangered the person's existence or the living with someone close to him or her. Or after it might be something observed, such as enormous bereavement and destruction after an establishment is bombed or a plane crash. Often, people with PTSD have unrelenting fearful belief and memoirs of their suffering and feel emotionally insensitive particularly with people they were formerly close to.

Anxiety Disorders In Children - Recognize the Warning Signs In Your Children Before It Takes Control

When anxiety disorders affect adults, at least we have the mature capability of approaching the disorder and trying to seek out ways to cure the problem. Anxiety disorders in children are a different matter entirely. Children do not have the same development of the mind, and they do not have the life experiences that an adult does. In addition, they may not know how to express their problems to an adult.

For this reason, it is vital that we, as adults, take notice of strange behavior in children so that anxiety disorders can be caught and handled quickly. If anxiety disorders in children are not addressed, a whole number of problems can develop.

Once the disorder takes control, children may become disruptive. They may exhibit bad behavior. They may completely withdrawal within themselves. They may begin to fail classes. In addition, they may turn to drugs or alcohol as a means of escape from their problem.

Since anxiety presents itself differently in children, you must train yourself to recognize warning signs. When you can easily separate true anxiety disorders from common mild childhood anxiety, you will be able to watch the kids in your life carefully.

First, you must remember that some minor anxiety is common for anyone, including children. Many children are afraid of the dark or scary things in their closet. School aged children may fret over a test or a particularly difficult homework assignment. As long as this type of anxiety is minor, it is not a problem and it is to be expected.

True anxiety disorders in children become a consuming factor in their lives. When a child becomes so fearful of the monster in the closet that they do not sleep or they worry about it during the day, this could be a sign of a real disorder.

The warning signs of childhood disorders include excessive worrying over one subject, disrupted sleeping or eating habits, inability to focus, withdrawal or refusal to talk, and excessive fear of being separated from the parents. You must remember that a child will not be able to explain what is wrong the way an adult could.

Anxiety disorders in children are very real. They are present, and they need to be addressed as soon as they are noticed. Otherwise, the disorder could lead to greater, detrimental problems as the child grows up. The warning signs are there, and they just need to be noticed by an adult.