Anxiety

Don't Invite Holiday Stress

Into Your Home

Toned-down expectations may lead to more joy, less anxiety, experts say.

FRIDAY, Dec. 25 (HealthDay News) -- Between hurrying to score the last parking spot at the mall and preparing your home for out-of-town guests, the holiday season can be mentally exhausting.

For women especially, emotions tend to run high as they put pressure on themselves to create picture-perfect gatherings, while holding down jobs and taking care of children.

"During the holidays, our lives become even more stressful as we try to juggle our usual responsibilities with extra holiday preparation and complicated family dynamics," Dr. Eric Marcus, a psychiatrist at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, said in a news release from the hospital.

If your household resembles the idealized 1950s' television-version of a family, all of the craziness will culminate in your clan gathered at the hearth, merrily singing Christmas carols. If your family is closer to normal, some tension and conflict will arise during all that family togetherness.

To minimize stress, Dr. Margaret Altemus, a psychiatrist and director of the Payne Whitney Women's Program at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, suggests making some time for yourself during the holidays.

Being alone, even for a half hour or so, can help you feel calmer. If your in-laws have parked themselves on your sofa and show no signs of leaving until after New Year's, go out by yourself. Take a walk or get some exercise. Physical activity helps alleviate stress and the sunlight can help lift your mood, Altemus said.

Time for yourself may also mean taking time to be with your friends, who may not push those buttons in the same way your relatives can.

The holidays can also be difficult on those who feel isolated. If you are feeling alone, seek out the support of your community, religious or social services. Getting involved with volunteering can help you feel needed and connected.

When it comes to preparing for the holidays, lower your expectations and remember you will not be able to do all you'd like to do if you had unlimited time, energy and perhaps a household staff. Forget about trying to make handmade gifts for the neighbors, sewing a holiday pageant costume for your child, sending out your greeting cards and learning how to cook a crown roast all in the same week.

Prioritize what is most important for you and your loved ones. Talk with your family about what they value in the celebrations. You may find that your expectations are higher than everyone else's.

For many families, money is tighter than it was in previous years. When buying gifts, don't blow your budget then spend the next several months worried about paying your credit card bill and regretting the purchases.

If you are starting to feel stressed, ask for help. If it's too much to host the gathering this year, ask someone else to take a turn -- they may welcome the chance. If you run out of time to bake, buy dessert or ask guests to bring it.

And take some time to reflect on what the holiday means to you, the psychiatrists suggest. That may mean reminiscing about happy times with loved ones, focusing on religious observances or thinking about your best moments and accomplishments of the past year.

http://holiday+stress-dobi.blogspot.com/anxiety

anxiety

Teen Marijuana Use

Might Have Lasting

Effects on Mood, Anxiety

Rat study found troubling changes in levels of key brain chemicals well into adulthood.

By Alan Mozes
HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 23 (HealthDay News) -- Marijuana use among teens may trigger neurological changes in the developing brain that lead to increased anxiety and stress levels that could persist into adulthood, new animal research suggests.

Although the finding stems solely from work conducted with adolescent and adult lab rats -- not yet replicated among humans -- the work suggests that certain troublesome changes in levels of the key brain chemicals serotonin and norepinephrine may linger long after marijuana use ceases.

"Here, the goal was simply to understand the neurological mechanism that could be underlying the specific phenomenon of depression and anxiety observed in previous studies among adolescents chronically exposed to cannabis," explained study author Dr. Gabriella Gobbi, a psychiatric researcher at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre in Montreal.

"And what we found with the animals we worked with is that when those that were exposed to cannabis as adolescents became adults they had low serotonin activity, which is related to depressive behavior, and high norepinephrine levels, which is related to an increase in anxiety and stress," Gobbi continued.

"This means," she cautioned, "that cannabis exposure when young seems to cause changes in the adult brain. And these changes could perhaps be irreversible, even if you stop consuming cannabis."

The study findings were released online Dec. 5 in advance of publication in an upcoming print issue of Neurobiology of Disease.

The authors note that the main ingredient in marijuana -- delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) -- has previously been identified as having an impact on receptors in the brain that regulate cognition and emotion.

In addition, they point out that the adolescent brain is perhaps particularly sensitive to both drug use and related stress, given that this is the pre-adult period during which the brain and its neurochemical composition undergoes extensive reshaping and reorganizing.

To assess the role cannabis may play on adolescent brain development, for 20 days -- a period characterized as "prolonged exposure" -- adolescent rats were given daily injections of either a low-dose (0.2 milligrams/kilograms) or high-dose (1.0 milligrams/kilograms) of cannabis. For comparison, a group of adult rats underwent a similar regimen.

Following cannabis exposure, both the adolescent and adult groups went 20 days drug-free to allow the effects of drug withdrawal to dissipate, as well as to allow for a wide range of cognitive testing to gauge the long-term effects of cannabis exposure on task execution and mood.

The authors noted that by the conclusion of the 20-day waiting period, the previously adolescent rats were effectively adults.

The team found that chronic exposure to cannabis during adolescence does appear to provoke abnormal emotional activity into adulthood, typified by the onset of depression, poorer social interaction, heightened anxiety and increased stress.

What's more, Gobbi and her colleagues also found a drop in serotonin levels in the adult brain following either low- or high-dose adolescent ingestion and an increase in norepinephrine levels following high-dose exposure.

Rats who had already reached adulthood when chronically exposed to cannabis, however, appeared to experience far less of the detrimental emotional reactions found among adolescent rats. Indeed, adult rats, they observed, seemed to be able to readily cope with, and even overcome, most of the neurological impairments that arose as a result of cannabis exposure.

"We were a little bit surprised by our findings because we didn't expect to see such a strong effect on the adult brain from adolescent usage. It was a very significant effect," said Gobbi.

"So, in general, I think that what people should take away from this work," she advised, "is that just because it's a plant it doesn't mean that marijuana is harmless. It's a pharmacologically active drug, and it must be used with awareness."

For his part, however, Dr. Adam Bisaga, an addiction psychiatrist at New York State Psychiatric Institute, minimized the relevance of the findings.

"I think the translational value of this research is very limited insofar as what the clinical relevance to humans might be," Bisaga cautioned. "It's always very difficult to translate from animal models to humans. Yes, there is some indication that this may be of importance to humans. But most of the data with patients that I am familiar with suggests that most of these cannabis-exposure deficits are reversible. So, for the time being I'm not that impressed, although it's certainly something to further study in humans," he added.

"This is not new," he noted. "Clinicians know well that exposure to large amounts of cannabis in adolescence may produce enduring changes in emotional functioning and reactivity in vulnerable individuals, such as difficult-to-treat anxiety and depressive symptoms. What this paper does is to try to characterize more precisely the components of this syndrome using animal models of emotional reactivity."

http://teen+mood-dobi.blogspot.com/anxiety

Anxiety

Health care for us

How to Get Help for

Stress and Anxiety Disorders

by Mr. Parveen

in Health

(submitted 2009-12-14)

0

votes

vote

Stress is simply a fact of nature-forces from the outside world affecting the individual. The individual responds to stress in ways that affect the individual as well as their environment. Hence, all living creatures are in a constant interchange with their surroundings both physically and behaviorally. This interplay of forces, or energy, is of course present in the relationships between all matter in the universe, whether it is living or not living lifeless.

What is stressful to one person is not necessarily stressful to another. Stress can come from any situation or thought that makes you feel frustrated, angry, or anxious. However, too much stress is harmful. Sometimes other symptoms accompany anxiety. Persistent stress often leads to anxiety and certain unhealthy behaviors like overeating, alcohol, tobacco and drugs.

* Alcohol * Amphetamines * Bronchodilators for asthma * Caffeine * Cocaine * Cold remedies * Decongestants * Diet pills * Nicotine * Thyroid medications

These herbal treatments are free of any harmful side effects and available without a prescription. You have to choose carefully as many companies have launched their products that are designed to rip you off by taking advantage of your situation.

Sometimes other symptoms accompany anxiety:

* Dizziness * Rapid or irregular heart rate * Rapid breathing * Diarrhea or frequent need to urinate * Fatigue * Irritability, including loss of your temper * Sleeping difficulties and nightmares * Decreased concentration * Sexual problems

Ashwagandha for Stress Relief: - The shoots of the Ashwagandha shrub are used in food and in India seeds of the Ashwagandha are used to thicken milk herbal stress relief. Also use Ashwagandha to treat fevers, and other inflammations for herbal stress relief.

Some of the more commonly known drugs that are said to cause these anxiety stress symptoms in users include amphetamines, cocaine and anti depressants. Some anxiety stress symptoms are even said to appear with the use of common medications for colds, asthma and even with diet pills.

Ways to Make Treatment More Effective: - Stress management techniques and meditation can help people with anxiety disorders calm themselves and may enhance the effects of therapy. There is preliminary evidence that aerobic exercise may have a calming effect. Since caffeine, certain illicit drugs, and even some over-the-counter cold medications can aggravate the symptoms of anxiety disorders, they should be avoided.

Any Stress Relief Formula: -

1. Its drug free. 2. There are no harmful side effects. 3. Effective prevention and instant relief. 4. Enhances your well-being. You feel better immediately. 5. Rejuvenates your body as a whole.

Medication will not cure anxiety disorders, but it can keep them under control while the person receives psychotherapy. Medication must be prescribed by physicians, usually psychiatrists, who can either offer psychotherapy themselves or work as a team with psychologists, social workers, or counselors who provide psychotherapy. The principal medications used for anxiety disorders are antidepressants, anti-anxiety drugs, and beta-blockers to control some of the physical symptoms. With proper treatment, many people with anxiety disorders can lead normal, fulfilling lives.

http://healthcareman-dobi.blogspot.com/anxiety and depression+life

Anxiety

Half of U.S. Kids With Mental

Issues Are Getting Help

Depression and anxiety often go unrecognized, experts say.

By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, Dec. 14 (HealthDay News) -- A little over half of the children in the United States who have mental problems, including attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, get professional help, federal health officials report.

However, "you could look at it the other way -- that half don't," said Kathleen Merikangas, a senior investigator at the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health and lead researcher of a study published online Dec. 14 in Pediatrics.

Depression and anxiety often go undiagnosed and untreated, the study found.

"We have a substantial number of kids in America who are suffering from a current [mental] disorder," Merikangas said. The researchers found that 13 percent of the 3,042 children and adolescents in the study had at least one mental disorder and about 2 percent had more than one, usually a combination of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and conduct disorder.

The data came from youths aged 8 to 15 whose families participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2001 to 2004. The youths were interviewed, and parents and caregivers also provided information about their children's mental health.

The researchers looked at six mental problems: generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, eating disorders, depression, ADHD and conduct disorder. They found:

• 8.6 percent had ADHD, including more boys than girls.
• 3.7 percent had depression, more common among girls.
• 2.1 percent had a conduct disorder.
• 0.7 percent had an anxiety or panic disorder.
• 0.1 percent had an eating disorder such as anorexia or bulimia.

Children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds were found to be more likely to have a disorder, particularly ADHD. Those from higher socioeconomic backgrounds were more likely to have an anxiety disorder, the study found.

Mood disorders were significantly higher among Mexican-Americans than whites or blacks, but overall there were few ethnic differences in the rates of disorders.

Among children and adolescents with mental problems, 55 percent had seen a mental health professional. However, only 32 percent of those with anxiety disorder had gotten treatment.

Merikangas said that anxiety and depression are the most neglected problems.

"It is not immediately evident that a child with anxiety is really suffering because they don't make trouble," she said. "If anything, those are the children who are quiet in class, they don't respond, and teachers are not aware that these children are suffering."

In addition, black and Mexican-American children were much less likely to seek help than were white children, highlighting the need, according to the researchers, to identify and remove barriers to treatment for minority children.

"We need to be more aware of these conditions at the primary levels where we have our contact with kids -- that's the school system," Merikangas said.

Parents and teachers need to be aware of these conditions and make a judgment whether children need help so their condition "doesn't interfere with their educational, social and personal development," she said.

And the earlier mental health problems are identified, the better the chance of success in resolving them, she said.

"The earlier you can intervene, the less likely you are to see the consequences of these conditions, such as kids developing substance abuse, suicide, kids dropping out of school and kids not being able to function in their social roles," Merikangas said.

Dr. Jon Shaw, a professor and director of child and adolescent psychiatry at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, agreed that anxiety and depression in children often go unrecognized.

But he said there are probably many more children with these problems than the researchers found. "Most children with anxiety disorders go unrecognized," he said.

Shaw noted that teachers and parents "are much better observers of misbehaviors and poor observers of children who have internalizing disorders, such as anxiety and depression."

Depression and anxiety in children can lead to mood disorders in teenagers, he said.

http://healthcareman-dobi.blogspot.com/search/label/anxiety

Anxiety

Teen Internet Addicts More Likely to Self-Harm: Study

These compulsive users also feel depressed or anxious when not online.

THURSDAY, Dec. 3 (HealthDay News) -- A survey of Chinese adolescents found that teens who are addicted to the Internet are twice as likely to harm themselves as other teens.

The survey of 1,618 students aged 13 to 18 who were living in the Chinese city of Guangzhou in Guandong Province found that about 16 percent said they had harmed themselves in some way within the previous six months; 4.5 percent reported that they'd harmed themselves at least six times during that period.

Self-harm, as defined by the study, included hair pulling, hitting, deliberate burning and pinching.

The researchers, who reported their findings in the Dec. 3 issue of the journal Injury Prevention, noted that about 90 percent of the survey participants were normal users of the Internet, but about 10 percent were moderately addicted and 0.6 percent were severely addicted.

Addicted teens suffered from emotional problems such as depression and nervousness when they weren't online, but felt better when they returned to the Internet, the study authors explained in a news release from the journal's publisher. Addicted teens also fantasized about or were preoccupied by being online.

After adjusting their statistics to account for the potential influence of other factors, such as health problems, the researchers found that the Internet-addicted teens were twice as likely to have harmed themselves. When they did hurt themselves, they did so more seriously than other teens.
http://healthcareman-dobi.blogspot.com/search/label/anxiety

Anxiety

Fear of Anxiety May Lead to Depression

Some become so worried about what might happen that they develop other symptoms, researchers find.

TUESDAY, Dec. 1 (HealthDay News) -- Fear of anxiety may push "above-average" worriers into depression, a new study suggests.

"Anxiety sensitivity has been called a fear of fear," study author Andres Viana, a graduate student in psychology at Penn State, said in a news release. "Those with anxiety sensitivity are afraid of their anxiety because their interpretation is that something catastrophic is going to happen when their anxious sensations arise."

Viana and colleagues analyzed questionnaires completed by 94 volunteers, average age 19, who were moderate to high worriers. The questionnaires assessed worry, generalized anxiety and depression.

The responses showed that anxiety sensitivity significantly predicted depression symptoms. The researchers also found that two of the four issues that comprise anxiety sensitivity -- the "fear of cognitive dyscontrol" and the "fear of publically observable anxiety symptoms" -- specifically predicted depression symptoms. The two other issues -- the "fear of cardiovascular symptoms" and the "fear of respiratory symptoms" -- weren't significant predictors of depression.

"What we found was that the fear of the cognitive sensations typical of anxiety, like the inability to concentrate, was related to depression. And we also found that the link exists in people who are afraid of symptoms that could potentially have social implications or symptoms of anxiety that may be subject to negative evaluation," Viana said.

The study findings are published in the December issue of the Journal of Anxiety Disorders.

Several studies have linked anxiety sensitivity to depression, which suggests that treating anxiety sensitivity may help prevent and treat depression, Viana said.

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Mental Health has more about anxiety disorders.

(SOURCE: Penn State, news release, Dec. 1, 2009)
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Anxiety

How To Deal With Panic Attacks - 3 Techniques To Anxiety Attack Relief by Rick Lee

in Health (submitted 2009-11-05)

0

votes

vote

Are you the one who suffers from frequent panic attacks? Then you must want to know how to deal with panic attacks.

With the panic attacks the quality of your life tends to decrease. You cannot live your life to the fullest extent.

Stress and tension are the two causes that are mostly responsible for panic attacks. So if you want to fight the panic attacks you first need to fight with the stress.

It is found that most of the time the prescribed medication for the panic attacks fail.

Rather than curing the panic attacks it has some side effects which can make your life hell.

So a lot of people want to avoid the medicines. Now the question is then how to deal with panic attacks.

The answer is that before dealing with panic attacks you need to deal with your stress level. There are few techniques which can work on stress.

There are three things which cab help you fight with stress. If you worried about how to deal with panic attacks, here is the way.

The three things which you need are rest, exercise and a good and healthy diet. Most of the time it so happens that your mind and body do not get the rest needed by it.

At this point of time your body becomes an easy target of stress and anxiety and finally it leads to panic attacks.

The next step to deal with panic attacks is exercise. It is the best method to fight back stress. You need to do some light exercises, remember it is not for losing weight but for fighting with stress.

Finally you need to remove sugar from your diet and avoid drinks which are highly caffeinated. Now you must know how to deal with panic attacks.

About the Author

If you want to learn how to deal with panic attacks naturally, i highly recommend Panic away guide. Check out my in depth panic away review and learn how to get rid of anxiety attacks completely without medication.