What Am I Feeling: Stress or Anxiety

Contrary to popular belief, there is a difference between stress and anxiety. Stress comes from the pressures we feel in life, as we are pushed by work or any other task that puts undue pressure on our minds and body, adrenaline is released, extended stay of the hormone causes depression, a rise in the blood pressure and other negative changes and effects.

One of these negative effects is anxiety. With anxiety, fear overcomes all emotions accompanied by worry and apprehension, making a person a recluse and a bagful of jitters. Other symptoms may include a pain in the chest, shortness of breath, and dizzyness.

Stress is caused by an existing stress-causing factor or stressor. Anxiety is stress that continues after that stressor is gone. A situation that makes you feel frustrated, angry, or nervous can bring about stress. What causes stress in one person may not necessarily effect another person.

Anxiety is a feeling of apprehension or fear and is almost always accompanied by feelings of impending doom. The cause of the feeling of uneasiness is not always recognized, which can to your sense of distress.

Stress is the way our bodies and minds react to something which upsets our normal balance in life; an example of stress is the response we feel when we are frightened or threatened. Stress affects people differently, for some even the simplest decisions seem like an uphill battle. Deciding what to have for dinner or what to buy at the store, is a seemingly, monumental dilemma for them. On the other hand, there are those people, who seem to thrive under stress by becoming highly productive being driven by the force of pressure.

Anxiety, on the other hand, is a feeling of unease. Everyone has experienced it when in a stressful situation, Taking a test and having a job interview are examples. It is normal to feel anxious when facing something difficult or dangerous and mild anxiety can be a positive and useful experience. However, for many people, anxiety interferes with normal life. Excessive anxiety can lead to other pyschiatric conditions, one of which is depression. Anxiety is considered abnormal when it is very prolonged or severe, it happens in the absence of a stressful event, or it is interfering with everyday activities such as going to work.

 

 

Many People are Affected By Stress and Anxiety

It seems like you hear it all the time from nearly every one you know – “I’m SO stressed out!There are many things that put pressure on people today. Those pressures cause stress and anxiety, and often we are ill-equipped to deal with those stressors that trigger anxiety and other feelings that can make us sick. Literally, sick.

The statistics are staggering. One in every eight Americans age 18-54 suffers from an anxiety disorder. This totals over 19 million people! Research conducted by the National Institute of Mental Health has shown that anxiety disorders are the number one mental health problem among American women and are second only to alcohol and drug abuse by men.

Women tend to suffer from stress and anxiety almost twice as much as men. Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in America, surpassing even depression in numbers. The most common mental health concern for adults over the age of 65 is anxiety. Anxiety disorders cost the U.S. $46.6 billion a year. Anxiety sufferers see an average of five doctors before being successfully diagnosed.

It is not fortunate but stress and anxiety go hand in hand. As a matter of fact stress is one of the major symptoms of anxiety. And stress accounts for 80 percent of all illnesses either directly or indirectly.

In fact, stress is more dangerous than we thought. You've probably heard that it can raise your blood pressure, increasing the likelihood of a stroke in the distant future, but recently a health insurance brochure claimed that 90 percent of visits to a primary care physician were stress-related disorders.

Check out PanicandAnxietyAttacks.net. It is an information and resource site dedicated to the purpose of educating patients, families, caregivers and the community at large about different types of anxiety and panic disorders. Their goal is to help improve the lives of those that are effected by these types of disorders.

Why Are We So Stressed Out?

We are living through a very difficult time and things don't look to be getting any easier. Sometimes life can seem terribly painful and unfair, yet somehow we manage to struggle on, day after day, hoping and praying that things will soon get better.

The world is slowly becoming a more stressful and uncertain place to live. Nothing seems safe anymore. Peoples debt levels are at record highs. There are many people who are losing their jobs and their homes, which in turn effects their physical and mental health. Worry, depression and anxiety seem to have become a way of life for way too many people.

We seem to have entered the Age of Anxiety.This topic was portrayed on the cover of Time Magazine in 2002 and was the featured story in that issue.  The constant stress and uncertainties of living in the 21st century have certainly taken their toll, and as a result many of us seem to live a life of constant fear and worry.

When the terrorist attacks happened on September 11, this constant stress and worry seemed to just be magnified. The fear that something of this magnitude happening again still exists today.

Turn on the news or open up a newspaper and we are bombarded with disturbing images and stories.  We begin to wonder if we are safe anywhere.  In this, the information age, never before have we had so much access to so much data.

The economy is another stressor.Our country is riddled in debt along with its citizens.Rising gas prices, housing costs, property values, even the food costs has caused many Americans to accept jobs that are not satisfying or are overly tedious.  They work these jobs because they need a paycheck.  Today, it’s more important to bring home the bacon rather than work in a dream career.

Having more women in the workplace adds to the stress.Women typically feel the need to be everything to everyone, they are a bread winner, house keeper, mom, and wife.  The only problem with that is some women just don’t make any time for themselves thus contributing to their stress levels being at an all-time high.

Cell phones, internet, palm pilots, blackberries, i-pods – we are always on the go and always reachable.  We don’t make time to relax and enjoy life any more.  Why not?  We certainly should!

Stress is a ‘normal’ function of everyday life. Only when it appears to take over our lives does it then become a problem. Everyone will have different reasons why a situation causes them pressure. As a rule it’s usually when we don’t feel in control of a situation, then we feel its grip tightening around us causing us to feel worried or ‘stressed’.

If stress is caused by us not feeling in control of a situation, the answer is to try and reverse this, and regain that control.  The good news is:  YOU CAN!

Three Easy Techniques to Relieve Stress Fast

Life comes at us fast. If we're not ready it can have a very negative toll on our lives. Uncontrolled stress will have a negative effect on our health and well-being and even cause some illnesses to be worse than they need to be.Stress affects your concentration, mood, relationships and even your sleep. There are proven methods to help reduce stress on our bodies and can even improve our health and well being.   Here are three simple relaxation techniques that are easy to learn and use that will get results fast.

Learn Abdominal Breathing

We are often told to take a deep breath when things get a little stressed or we feel anxious. Some say this doesn’t help them relax at all. Some feel taking a deep breath actually increase stress levels and makes relaxation more difficult. the process of abdominal breathing is the key to dealing with stress. Learning abdominal breathing when you are calm is a very good relaxation technique that you can use when you are stressed. After stress takes it toll willl be too late to learn these things. Learn when you are calm and relaxed to get the most benefit. Here’s how.

Put one of your hands on your chest and the other on your stomach. Take a deep breath. Which hand moved? Concentrate on breathing in very slowly until the hand on your abdomen moves with your breathing and the hand on your chest remains still. Practice this twice a day in front of a mirror and soon you will see the results. As soon as you do, you will quickly feel the results. Be careful not to take to many deep breaths, as this will make you dizzy. Abdominal breathing can be a very effective relaxation method to calm your mind and body.

Learn Stretching Techniques

Here is a very simple and quick technique you can use anywhere. Under stress, your body sends extra blood to your muscles that makes them tight and tense when you are anxious or under stress.Because of this your shoulders may begin to ache and give you headache as well. Your jaw may clench as stress increases. throughout the day, a great way to relax and reduce stress on your body is stretch yourr muscles several times.

Stretch your body as often as possible by standing up and reaching for the ceiling. This will relax the muscles and help you to breath better.When your muscles are relaxed you breath deeper more relaxing breaths. Do this throughout the day to reduce your stress level. Yoga exercises are also helpful and easy to do anywhere.

Use Relaxation Audios

Learning relaxation techniques take time and patience like any skill you learn. The best way to using audios to help you relax is to use them for several weeks. To maintain the benefits and for maximum effectivenesss, use these ideas once or twice a week. Relaxation audios help you concentrate on the sensations needed that will cause you to relax and help slow down your busy mind. Subliminal audios are also effective because they work on a sub-conscious level. According to many people, these skills you learn will help you relax in almost any circumstances.

Even if you feel little or no difference at first, do not give up and quit. Be consistent for 2-3 weeks because that gets the best results for most people. Daily stress can build up very quickly and cause many relational and health problems for you at home and at work. These simple yet effective techniques will help you reduce the level of stress you feel and they will work fast.

Here you will find a simple and easy guide to reducing stress from the experts at Home Zone Direct. 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Don MacKay has an earned Doctorate in Counseling and has been in private practice for over 20 years.  You can find more information on this subject and much more helpful advice from  http://www.homezonedirectinfo.com/stress-management-guide/

Will the Panic Away System Relieve Your Life of Panic Attacks?

The Joe Barry Panic Away Review

 
Over 10 years ago, Joe Barry a former anxiety attack sufferer authored a totally drug-free technique called Panic Away that he claims can eliminate 100% of panic and anxiety attacks within minutes.

That's quite the claim... let's see if he can back it up.

Right now the Panic Away system is one of the most widely accepted panic attack treatment available, with more than 27,000 users as of this writing.

The Joe Barry Panic Away technique is called; "The One Move" which he boasts will break the cycle of panic attacks and return your general anxiety level to zero without using any medication or typical relaxation methods.

Joe Barry presents his material in an easy to read style. He does not use complicated psycho babble words often and explains himself when he does. He likes to uses stories to better illustrate his point and brings the reader down a logical path as he reveals his One Move technique.

Joe Barry does a nice job of explaining the symptoms of panic attacks as well as the various myths and misconceptions of anxiety and panic attacks.

Joe Barry introduces the One Move technique very early in the EBook and insures it is thoroughly explained and reinforced thereafter.

The Panic Away eBook provides many specific applications of the One Move such as anxiety attacks while driving, panic attacks stemming from the fear of leaving your house and anxiety due to fear of flying and the fear of speaking in public.

The One Move also claims to be an effective treatment for General Anxiety Disorder (GAD).

As stated on the Panic Portal website, the One Move is a simple technique that could be used in virtually any "real life" situation, it is not complicated nor a long drawn out process.

Panic Away is an electronic book or EBook that is available for immediate download allowing you to start the program at any time. Panic Away is backed by an 8 week full 100% money back guarantee and their website is loaded with actual customer reviews

Click here to learn more about Panic Away.

Autism Research Institute

autistic disorder

The ultimate goal of experts and parents is to find a cure for these disorders. The Autism Research Institute is an organization of experts that share this common goal. The institute was founded in 1967 in order to conduct research aimed at improving the way that this disorder was treated, how it was diagnosed and to hopefully prevent the disorder altogether.

The Autism Research Institute was founded by Dr. Bernard Rimland, Ph.D. and has long been considered an international authority on the disorder. He also founded the Autism Society of America. Dr. Rimland's passion for research on autistic disorders came from the fact that he himself had an autistic child. This fact alone gave him the information and experiences that he felt were important for all parents with autistic children to understand. Dr. Rimland is also a prize winning author and was the chief technical advisor for the major motion picture, Rain Man.

The Institute publishes a quarterly newsletter that covers the different advances in the world of autistic disorders. These advances include those of a biomedical nature and those that refer to education. This Institute is a non-profit organization which relies on chartable contributions from those who understand and are concerned with the needs of individuals who have autism spectrum disorders. The ARI believes that its purpose is to help parents of autistic children who are overwhelmed by fear and grief and to motivate them to find help to cope with the situation.

The goal of the Autism Research Institute is to help those who are dealing with an individual with an autistic disorder and to allow them access to methods of helping their loved one. Dr. Rimland, whose own child was autistic, saw the need for families to be given quality information that could help both them and their afflicted child. While not everything is known about this disorder, research is working to improve upon what is known and to help improve the lifestyles of those who have these disorders. The ultimate goal is to find a cure, but for now increased awareness will help autistic individuals to grow to their full potential.

The Importance Of Early Treatment For Depression

It is wrong to think that having depression is as good as having a death sentence. To be able to manage the disorder, get medical help early. By delaying medical treatment, many patients suffer for a longer period of time. If you suspect that you are suffering from manic depression symptoms, you must see your doctor to discuss your problems with him so that you can be treated.

No one should feel hopeless and helpless. For some reason, you may feel rejected or neglected. Could it be a symptom of depression if the feeling persists instead of passing after a moment? Acknowledging that there is a problem that needs to be treated is an important first step. There are various manic depressive disorders that make it difficult for you to diagnose yourself.

A great number of women get baby blues after childbirth and think they suffer from depression but for most, it will pass in a month or two. When it does not, it would be a good idea to seek medical attention. Ignoring long term baby blues could lead to suicidal thoughts. You are not the only one experiencing this as such cases are fairly common.

When you see your doctor, you will be given a drug that helps you overcome your depression. Although there is no fast road to recovery, you will be able to lead a normal life with good medical help. It is important not to delay in seeking professional help. Relationships with family and friends could be strained and your condition could worsen if you keep your feelings to yourself. Open up about it and don't be hesitant to tell your friends and family about how you feel. They are often the first ones to help.

Know that manic depressive disorder when treated early is not a serious disease. Talk to family and friends for comfort and support - sometimes that is all the treatment you need.