Friday, January 9, 2009

To Deal With Anxiety Attack - Four Simple Ways

Everyone exeprience anxiety every day, and most people will only minor anxious feeling. However, when the people experience extreme anxious feelings from the body and the level of anxiety exceed the mind control, it would cause panic attack, and bring many unexpected problems into the life of the person, it affect the people around the patient.

Therapist belive stress and anxiety are normal and natural defense system of the body, however, when a person experience anxiety all the time, that is not a good sign, one should seek immediate help to avoid worsen the situation. Below is some tips that will help you dealing with anxiety and panic attacks.

Point #1 – Breathe In Breathe Out

Proper breathing helps the body and mind to calm down. Pay attention to how you breathe this will help you divert your focus on anxiety and panic attacks. Controlling your breathing can help you calm down immediately. Ideally, take slow deep breaths in even intervals to relax your body completely. Taking time out for simple breathing exercise is one of the most efficient ways used by millions to stop anxiety attacks.

Point #2 – Avoid Stimulants

Try to avoid stimulants in your diet, this will greatly help in controlling your panic attack. The person with anxiety disorder has a very high level of alertness  than other people, just remember to stay away from stimulants.

Point #3 – Exercise your heart out

People who are dealing with anxiety and panic attacks are always advised by the doctors to exercise a lot. Exercising helps in reducing anxiety attacks. Anxiety or stress produces extra amounts of adrenaline and energy in the body, and can make the health condition even worse. Exercising regularly can diminish these levels and controls anxiety attacks from getting worse. It also keeps your mind focus on other things.

Point #4 – Keep Yourself Busy

Doing useful thing like housekeeping, reading books, playing games and listening to music  would help to swift your focus from the anxious feeling and mind, to a more focus and creative activities. The key here is to always keep your mind and body busy until you don't feel the anxious, fear or panic.

Point #5 – Find and Stop The Trigger

Undeniably, the most imperative way to prevent panic attacks is to NOT think about them. Continuously thinking about having one brings on most of the anxiety attacks. Learn to handle your anxious thoughts and impede them before they inflame an attack. It will also be helpful to write about the reasons of your panic attacks and show yourself how practical and sensible they are.

Summary

Dealing with anxiety and panic attacks effectually largely depends upon person to person. Ideally, it is very essential to know yourself and also know how your mind works in order to prevent anxious thoughts. Knowing about this will ultimately put you in a better position to control your thoughts, eventually stopping anxiety attacks. If you feel too besieged to control the approaching attacks by yourself, try to take help of your near and dear ones. Find more information here, about Panic Disorder treatment Plan, how to deal with anxiety and depression, and anxiety treatment in pregnancy.

Thursday, January 8, 2009

How Self Awareness Leads To Better Brainpower

At the highest levels, better brainpower cannot be separated from higher self awareness. Your own reactive mind often gets in the way of the clearest and deepest thinking, and you have to see this happening to correct it. Part of the problem is what's sometimes referred to as the "monkey mind," which describes the tendency of the mind to jump from thought to thought like a restless monkey jumping from tree to tree. This is something you might "tame" with meditation.

But we also have to consider the content and patterns of those thoughts. Calm the busy mind and you may observe things more clearly, concentrate better, and think more efficiently - but not necessarily more effectively. A perfectly tuned and efficient car can still take you to the wrong destination, after all. Self awareness starts with this meditative observation of the "chatter" in your mind, but for more powerful thinking you have to look deeper, to see what influences are working there unnoticed.

Common Biases That Prevent Effective Thinking

Suppose a scientist is studying the effects of various deficiencies in humans. One day he reads a research paper which hypothesizes that decreased copper levels in men contribute to criminal behavior. It's a new and interesting idea in his field, but he dismisses the idea quickly, noting that the study primarily shows just a correlation, which doesn't prove causation (there is a higher rate of copper deficiency among violent offenders in prison).

Now, let's suppose that he would ordinarily look into such an intriguing idea more closely. Correlation does give reason to look for causation, after all, especially on something as important as the possible link of a nutritional deficiency to criminal behavior. Why might he have reacted differently in this case, and without even knowing that he had done so? There are several common biases that may have been operating on an unconscious level in him.

First, he might have had a bad experience with the author of the study. Without a doubt we tend to have more difficulty giving credence to ideas that come from people (or newspapers or television news) we dislike. This is what can be referred to as a "source bias." If you want to test this phenomenon, find a great quote by a popular person and see how many people agree with it. Then tell another group that it's a quote from Adolph Hitler and see how many from that group think it's a great idea.

Second, he may be biased by his philosophy. In this case, he might strongly believe that people are entirely responsible for their actions. Our minds are powerful at a deep level, and quickly see if a given idea doesn't fit our existing beliefs, even if we do not note that consciously. As a result, this scientist might immediately discount any possibilities which contradict his "mental framework" or personal philosophy. We might call this a "philosophical bias." We can ignore even the best evidence if something challenges our basic belief system, and a lack of self awareness makes this an "invisible" habit.

Third, there is the basic "ego bias," which makes it harder for people to accept an idea they didn't come up with or have any involvement with (or more generally to have a hard time thinking in ways that challenge one's ideas about himself). Had he considered the idea of a deficiency increasing the chances of criminal behavior before, he might have loved that research paper (but that, in turn, could be an example of "confirmation bias," which leads us to believe those things which confirm our previous beliefs). If he had argued for something that contradicted the copper deficiency previously, it is easy to see that he might discount it's value. He would have to drop or alter his own idea in that case, and ego often prevent this, even among good scientists.

These are just three of the many common biases which can affect our thinking. The solution? Self awareness through self observation. It is difficult to correct a problem which we do not see and acknowledge, right? So for the highest level of brainpower, we have to watch our own thoughts and notice the patterns and reactions.

For example, if the scientist in our story above was in the habit of self observation, he might have noticed that his dismissal of the new idea was more of a reaction than a reasoned response. This could have lead him to investigate whether he was reacting to his dislike of the author (source bias), or if the idea was unconsciously felt as an attack on his basic philosophy (philosophical bias), and therefore rejected. He might have even discovered a pattern in himself of ignoring ideas and evidence that he didn't originate or have previous involvement with (ego bias).

How to get in the habit of self observation, and therefore increase one's self awareness, which then leads to the possibility of more effective thinking, is a topic for another article. But seeing the need to do so is a good start.

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

How Does Memory Loss Affect The Brain?

short-term memory loss

Memory loss can happen to everyone, regardless of his or her age. You might be 30 years old but your memory capacity is only as good as your grandmother's. If this is happening to you, then something must be terribly wrong. The only problem is that once you are hit by memory loss, it is pretty tough for you to reverse the entire process. When it hits you, then it hits you for good. Some have the opinion that memory loss and the brain are mutually exclusive and there is no connection between the two. Some people said that memory loss happens because you are not using your brain enough. Are these statements true? We shall reveal to you the relationship between memory loss and the brain.

Everyone hates the confusion caused when talking to a person with memory loss, particularly short-term memory loss. As much as you hate it, a person with short-term memory loss will experience difficulty recalling even something being said within minutes, if they're suffering from chronic memory-loss. Your neighbor comes over one day and rant to you about the good soccer game with Manchester leading. You nod with glee at this expected goal. A few minutes later you pause, and innocently ask them "So, who won?"

To this day, the true cause of memory loss still remains a mystery to experts around the world. However they perceive conditions relating to memory loss, such as Alzheimer's, are simply the result of normal wear and tear of the human brain as we age. Memory lapses due to old age cannot be stopped, but there is a way to slow down the degenerative process. As aforementioned, the embarrassment associated with such conditions can surely be mortifying to a person.

Some have speculated that memory loss happens when we lose brain cells as we age or when the brain cells are having difficulties communicating with each other effectively. Either way, none of these have been proven true.

However, experts have deduced that mental congestion could be one of the likely reasons leading to early-stage memory loss. Mental congestion occurs during periods of information overload, when there is simply too much information for the brain to absorb at any one time. This would mean that you would have difficulty recalling information and other things. What you can do instead is learn to not to rely on your memory and brain to remember when is the next meeting, and where are you suppose to meet your clients. The best way is of course to use the ever-trendy paper-and-pen method and jot all these information down for your future reference.

There are ways whereby you can improve your memory capability by practicing good habits, starting from now. Good habits would include having a balanced healthy diet that is topped with regular exercises. This might seem to you to be another diet guide, but the reality is that eating the proper kind of food will help to boost your memory power. Foods like broccoli, spinach and blueberries will help you with this.

All in all, our memory and its ability to retain information depends on a lot of factors. The complexity of the brain restricts us from finding the true relationship of the memory and the brain. However, what is more important is the ability to keep up a good memory and use simple techniques to prevent memory loss in the future.

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Understanding The Types Of Down Syndrome Screening

Down syndrome screening

Having a baby is an exciting time, whether it's your first or your fifth. It is only natural to feel optimistic and assume everything will be fine. However, if you are over 35, if you smoked while taking oral contraceptives or if Down syndrome runs in your family, then you may want to opt for Down syndrome screening so you know what to expect. Down syndrome is the most common genetic birth defect, affecting 1 in 800 babies.

Screening tests are very non-invasive and relatively painless. These Down syndrome screening procedures are primarily done to let parents know whether or not they want further testing done. One screening test for Down syndrome is called Nuchal translucency testing, which is performed between 11 and 14 weeks of pregnancy. Using ultrasound, doctors can measure the space in the folds of tissue behind a baby's neck where excess fluid typically accumulates for babies with Down syndrome. This procedure accurately predicts Down syndrome 80% of the time. Additionally, a blood test called "the triple screen" or "multiple marker test" is also performed at the 15-20 week mark. Doctors will check the blood for alpha fetoprotein plus, plasma protein-A and the hormone chorionic gondatropin.

The second type of Down syndrome diagnostic tests are about 99% accurate in detecting signs of this chromosomal disorder. However, these procedures are more invasive and sometimes result in a miscarriage or other complications. Typically, doctors only perform these tests on women over 35, if genealogy warrants it or if they've tested positive in the initial screening. Amniocentesis, performed from 16 to 20 weeks, uses a needle to remove a small amount of amniotic fluid from the womb. While it's an out-patient treatment, women may experience cramping, bleeding and infection, not to mention that 2-3% of patients lose their baby. As a result, amniocentesis is not recommended before the 14th week of gestation. Chorionic villus sampling and percutaneous umbilical blood sampling are other alternatives.

With chorionic villus sampling, a small sample of placenta is removed through a needle inserted into the abdomen. This Down syndrome screening can be done between the 10-12th weeks of gestation. Rate of miscarriage following the procedure is 3-5% and the use of CVS before the 10th week of pregnancy resulted in babies with missing or shortened fingers or toes. At the 20-week mark, percutaneous umbilical blood sampling (PUBS) can test for Down syndrome. A small sample of blood is removed from the umbilical cord and the risks are comparable to amniocentesis.

Friday, January 2, 2009

Memory Loss 101 - Top 3 Causes

mind exercises

Memory loss can occur to anyone. You can definitely do surgeries and touch ups to make you look 20 years younger. Unfortunately, this is not the case for your memory. If you are unable to take good care of your memory, then chances are you will suffer from memory loss at a very young age. For those folks who are in their golden years, suffering from memory loss is definitely not a surprise. As the matter of fact, everyone will succumb to it no matter how embarrassing or irritating it might be. However, imagine coming across a 30-something year old friend who suffers from acute memory loss; wouldn't you be surprised? So to prevent yourself from causing any shock and horror to anyone and check out these top 3 reasons for memory loss and see how you can avoid them.

#1 Being inactive

If you are not an active person, then chances are that you are going to be mentally weak as well. As you age, both our mental and physical states tend to deteriorate, but being inactive will only quicken the process. As a matter of fact, if you continue with this unhealthy habit, then chances are that you are going to suffer from memory loss at a very young age. Keep mentally active by brainstorming or even indulging in activities which involve greater use of your mind. Taking up new activities or sports can help improve the way your mind works.

#2 Not giving enough room for thinking

Just like when you exercise on a regular basis, you will find that your body gets toned up over time. As your brain does more exercises, it gets healthier and works better. You too can benefit from the concepts used in schools everywhere today, concepts such as brainstorming activities or playing mind-stimulating games.

#3 Unhealthy intake of food and liquid

A healthy diet can go a long way in preserving your physical as well as your mental health, because it promotes better blood circulation throughout your body, which is essential for your mind to process information quickly. However, many people neglect the importance of doing so, at the expense of their mental health. Other than ensuring that you have a healthy diet, remember to get sufficient exercise done on a regular basis. Doing so will rejuvenate your body as well as help keep your memory fresh. Try taking fruits and vegetables that contribute to the improvement of your memory, such as blueberries, spinach and broccoli.

The above 3 reasons are only some of the causes of memory loss. Until today, experts are unable to tell exactly what is the main reason leading to memory loss. This is because there could be tons of reasons leading to it, such as environmental factors. The brain is a complex by itself, as such; it makes it almost impossible to find the true cause of memory loss.

What matters more is that you are able to follow the right set of guide to prevent yourself from suffering from memory loss. Have a memorable day ahead!

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Learning About The Down Syndrome Disability

baby with Down syndrome

The New York Times recently reported that as many as 90% of all babies with Down syndrome are aborted. Geneticist Dr. Paddy Jim Baggot remarked, "There is a pro-abortion mindset which seeks to eliminate those with this chromosomal disorder rather than cure them. The medical community should expand their horizons, and find treatments for Down syndrome, which is the more intelligent thing to do, and would change the culture of the medical profession." With the expanse of research and greater advocacy, organizations like the National Down Syndrome Society are picking up momentum in their quest for more federal funding, better educational programs, social inclusion and the promotion of diversity.

When learning about Down syndrome, you will discover there is a build-up of additional genetic material on the 21st chromosome. Doctors aren't 100% sure what causes this abnormality, but they do know that parental age increases the risk. Eighty percent of Down syndrome babies are born to parents under 35, which is probably because more people in that age bracket are having children. Statistically speaking, a 25-year-old woman has a 1/3,000 chance of having a baby with Down syndrome, while a 35-year-old-woman has 1/365 odds of having a Down syndrome baby. By 45 years of age, her baby has a 1/30 chance of having downs! It is very rarely passed down genetically and it is estimated that only 3-4% of all downs cases are caused from inherited translocation of genetic material, while the rest appear to be caused by random, abnormal chromosomal activity.

If your child has Down syndrome, then your role at home cannot be overstated. Your love, acceptance and patient guidance is one of the biggest contributors to your child's progression. If a Down syndrome child is encouraged to try new things, taught through repetition and routine, positively rewarded and cared for, then he or she can reach full potential. Early intervention programs have proven very successful in aiding with development for infants to three-year-olds. Once your child has reached three years of age, he or she is eligible for state schooling programs. "Inclusion" is the most effective teaching method for children with this syndrome, as it allows them a better social atmosphere with other children, in addition to fostering a greater feeling of acceptance and normalcy. Tutoring, speech therapy and extracurricular activities are often added to enhance the child's learning potential.

The aim of Down syndrome Awareness advocated by nonprofit organizations, like NDSS, is to encourage widespread acceptance of diversity and inclusion. While individual cases vary greatly, many people with Down syndrome are able to work jobs, get married, rent apartments and lead fulfilling lives. The more you encourage your child to pursue hobbies, the more time you spend with your child at home and the earlier you seek intervention, the better your odds will be at becoming one of the success stories.

Panic Attacks Solutions: What You Can Do

If you are a sufferer of panic attacks, then you are aware when one is on the verge of occurring. In other words, you can feel the signs. There are things that you can do to prevent the panic attack from progressing, otherwise known as Panic Attack Solutions.

When a person begins to have a panic attack, it is possibly a result of some type of thought or situation. For instance, if a person begins thinking too heavily about something that causes him or her anxiety, then a panic attack can occur. In addition, if a person finds himself or herself in a situation that triggers anxiety, a panic attack can also occur.

One of the first Panic Attack Solutions that should be implemented is when anxiety ridden thoughts begin to take over a person's thought process, then the best thing to do is to make sure that the thoughts are rational thoughts. The person experiencing the thoughts needs to stop and think about his or her course of thought and determine if the course of thought is reasonable or not. Occasionally, we can let our thoughts get away from us and spin out of control.

In addition, a person should try, whenever possible, to avoid known situations that will cause him or her anxiety and possibly trigger a panic attack. If this is not possible, then once the anxiety starts to build, Panic Attack Solutions need to be implemented. For instance, when experiencing anxiety, a person needs to remove himself or herself from the situation as quickly as possible and divert his or her attention elsewhere. Perhaps, taking a stroll around the area, calling a friend, or simply going to a quiet place and taking a few deep breaths while collecting one's thoughts will be helpful.

Other Panic Attack Solutions could possibly include hypnosis, acupuncture or natural herb therapy. Hypnosis must be performed by a trained psychotherapist, yet it can be very effective. Acupuncture can work to reduce stress and anxiety which are two potential triggers of panic attacks. Natural herb therapy can be implemented to see if it will have an effect.

Panic Attack Solutions are widely available to anyone who suffers from panic attacks. Once a person discovers the right one, his or her panic attacks should become a thing of the past.  It is nice to know that a cure for panic attacks exist.