Anxiety Check Taking A Pause

Exhausted from all the job-related tasks that you have to deal with everyday? Have the papers piled up so high that you can no longer see the person next to you? Do you now see your job as a drag?  Just maybe, you may no longer be enjoying your work. You are now bored and somehow expect to be in the middle of a work performance catastrophe.  In the back of your mind, you already know that your poor performance may lead you back to the unemployment line.

Stress and anxiety brought by everyday challenges at work can affect a person's interest and skills in the office.  Even if most people are aware of how much competition there is out in the market where only the best lands a job, the stress and anxiety can really take a toll on even the most promising professional. Stress and anxiety, no matter how one tries to avert it, is like a hovering vulture that persistently waits to feast on a �dead-tired� person.

But nobody in his right mind would just give up.  Even those who say they already hate their job try to  revive all the passion they once had for their job or the company.  So instead of just waiting to get axed, why don't you try and consider the following tips on how to get back your drive for work:

Check on your ego. This is the first thing that you must look into as you go along your self-check routine because one's ego is the hardest thing to overcome. Aside from stress and anxiety at by work, being egocentric brings unnecessary worries and apprehensions. It is but natural to hear unsolicited comments or advice from some colleagues and superiors.  While some comments may be harmful and unfounded, a little criticism taken in a positive way can actually help improve your performance.

Check on what you know. Updating one's knowledge is very essential to improving one's craft.   Competition in the workplace leaves no room for mediocrity.  Those who do not try to improve themselves are actually more prone to stress and anxiety. Jealousy, intrigue, and unfair competition can hurt not only the employees but the company as well.  A worker that strives to improve his performance will have lesser things to worry about since he lets his work and outputs do the talking.

Managing stress and anxiety in the office can be done through many ways. It is the same way with improving one's work performance.  Getting ahead does not always mean being in a frenzy.  Improving one's work and reducing anxiety may actually entail the act of �slowing down.�  This is best illustrated in the story of a young woodcutter who tried to impress his boss by always hitting trees in full force every time he swung his axe.  On his first day on the job, the young woodcutter fell the most number of trees.     He was trying to show his commitment to the job by never taking breaks.  He just kept swinging at the trees with his axe.  But after the third day, the Chief Woodcutter approached the young apprentice and asked, �How come you now cut less number of trees as you did during the first two days? Even if you did not take breaks, you still finished at the bottom in our team of woodcutters.�

Finally, the Chief Woodcutter asked the young lad, �Did you sharpen your axe?�

Anxiety Depression Learn How to be worry free

From a religious stand-point, Jesus once asked his 12 disciples: “Which of you by worrying can add a single strand of hair to your head?” Now, you may be of a religious background or maybe not, but, think about that statement and you’d see why worrying, a main symptom of anxiety depression is quite unnecessary.

Reduced to its simplest form, what is worry? It is simply an unhealthy and destructive mental habit that- believe it or not folks-you were not born with but simply acquired out of practice. The good news is, with aggressive actions, as with any habit and acquired attitude; we can be worry free and eliminate it from our lives successfully.

In the words of Dr. Smiley Blanton, a noted Psychiatrist: “Anxiety depression is the great modern plague.” Other psychologists go on to say ‘worry’ a noted symptom of any form of depression, is the most subtle and destructive of all human diseases. When we worry excessively, we disintegrate our inner workings as humans and really put a lot of things out of order. Needless to say avoiding worry as a step of treating depression and anxiety will be the first step for our own benefit.

Anxiety Depression: Steps to take to be Worry Free:

The following steps should be used to deal with anxiety depression and its main symptom, worry. When used wisely and effectively, you will inevitably be successful at these natural depression help techniques.

1. Practice Mind-drainage: Empty your mind of pessimistic and negative thoughts, especially before going to and after waking up from sleep. This involves some degree of imagination friends. (the same imagination-mind you-that you are actually using to aggravate your present situations…didn’t realize that eh?). This mind-draining strategy cannot be overemphasized as I will let you know, if you fear something for a long period of time, it may actually come to pass. “For the thing which I feared has come upon me…” (Job 3:25)

2. Fill up the mind with powerful thoughts of faith and success to fill up the vacuum now left in the mind. You become a worrier by practicing it, you can be worry-free by practicing the opposite.

3. Say positive things about those things you previously spoke negatively of.

4. Never participate in a worry conversation. Induce your conversation with faith and worry-free statements. 

5. Make friends with optimistic people, practice prayer and meditation.

6. Exercise and eat right. You’ll be making yourself look and feel better and consequently stronger through the process for overcoming depression, anxiety and becoming worry free.

No one is saying things will be automatically changed overnight. No, it takes work. However with direct and equally aggressive actions as the destructive worry habits one may be indulging in, anxiety depression can be overcome and you too can be worry free if you believe in your mind you can.

Anatomy of an Anxiety Attack

Anxiety attacks are normal body reactions – coping mechanisms – against different stressors and distressing predicaments. In other words, these are chemical, physical and emotional reactions that are elicit by fear, apprehension, or shock.  These reactions also cause a  “fight or flight” response. Based on scientific studies, people automatically react to stress or stress-inducing activities by either making a confrontational stance or making a decision to avoid the stress. 

Pressure can come from an emotional problem in a relationship at home, demanding tasks and deadlines at the office,  the dread of a forthcoming test, or the clamor for a game-winning performance in a championship game.  All these can product constant anguish and even anxiety attacks if a person is not able to cope effectively with the stress.  A person that is undergoing an anxiety attack often experiences a feeling of numbness or tingling, shortness of breath, dizziness, heightened palpitations, chronic sweating, chills, hot flushes, and  nausea.

Extreme levels of anxiety can produce serious ill effects on one's physical and mental health.  Anxieties can actually a hinder or adversely affect a person's the day-to-day activities.  Aside from the possibility of leaving a person emotionally depressed and physically weak, anxiety can also cause a person lose the ability to make a rational decision.  It is not uncommon to hear of cases of people with severe anxiety who have lost their jobs and failed in their relationships.  For these people who have become victims of anxiety attacks, life has become a mere matter of survival --- bereft of happiness, fulfillment, and health. 

Some people can cope with depression and anxiety.  But for a significant number of people who do not have the ability to cope with stress and anxiety, the only means to regain their life is to undergo therapy and, if necessary, take anxiety medications.  These anxiety medications, if accompanied by therapy conducted by professionals, offer relief and possibly permanent protection from the debilitating effects of stress and severe emotional distress.   Anxiety medications often vary in the dosage and desired effects.  However, what is common among these anti-anxiety medications is the ability of these drugs to  suppress unnecessary chemical and emotional surges.  Controlling these chemical and emotional surges allow a person with anxiety to regain a sense of peace and tranquility.

Anxiety medications, also known as anxiolytics, are prescribed to treat the different  symptoms of anxiety. For example, Bensodiazepines are prescribed to treat the short-term and disabling effects of anxiety.  These drugs are take effect in a person's central nervous system, which is the reason why a certain degree of sedation occurs in a patient using the medication.
Non-bensodiazepines, however, are used to control the serotonin level in the body. Serotonin is essential to the body for regulating anger, temperature, mood, sleep, vomiting, sexuality, and appetite. Though they are proven to be less effective than bensodiazepines, the serotonin-regulating effect of this type of anti-anxiety drug also helps a person to achieve a relaxed state.

While these medications offer relief, people must still practice a little caution before taking these anti-anxiety drugs.  These drugs cannot totally remove all symptoms of anxiety.  Of course, these medications cannot resolve an emotional or psychological problem that is actually the origin or source of a person's anxiety attacks.

A Healthy Diet to Beat Anxiety

Everyone experiences anxiety. In fact, being unable

to do so can be a sign of a serious psychological

problem. In our hazardous world, anxiety is a

strategy the body uses to help the mind recognize

danger and keep well out of its way. As with most

mental illnesses, it's not the presence of anxiety

alone that creates problems. It is more about how

severe it is and how much it gets in one’s way of

life or quality of living.
Most people feel anxious at some time in their lives.

However, only about five per cent of people

experience severe anxiety and rarely seek

professional help. Anxiety is a mixture of physical

and mental symptoms. They are part of what

psychologists call the “fight or flight” response.

When the body is under threat it automatically

prepares either to defend itself or run.
Anxiety is a normal reaction to stress. It helps one

deal with a tense situation in the office, study

harder for an exam, or remain focused on an important

speech. In general, it helps one cope with the tasks

and demands of everyday life. But when anxiety

becomes an excessive, irrational dread of everyday

situations, it can become a disabling disorder.
Fortunately, effective treatments for anxiety

disorders are available, and research is yielding new

and improved therapies that can help most people with

anxiety disorders lead productive and fulfilling

lives.
However, studies have shown that having a healthy

diet may reduce signs and symptoms of anxiety.

Although food can't cure an anxiety disorder,

consider some diet changes and that would benefit a

severely anxious person:
• Avoid or limit caffeine intake as much as

possible. Caffeine is present in many soft drinks,

not just in tea and coffee and it can set up its own

vicious cycle. It can speed up heart rate and disrupt

sleep --- which later on become prevailing signs of

anxiety. Trying to overcome tiredness by drinking

more caffeine only makes the long-term problem worse.
• Avoid too much alcohol. Similarly, alcohol

can worsen the symptoms of anxiety, and disrupt

sleep. Many people reach for a drink to calm their

nerves, but the consequences of overindulgence can

outweigh the benefits of initial relaxation. For

some, a hangover, insomnia, and dehydration make one

feel worse than before one had a drink. In excessive

amounts, alcohol can actually act as a depressant,

making the drinker feel sluggish or more anxious.

Alcohol, like a simple sugar, is rapidly absorbed by

the body. Like other sugars, alcohol increases

hypoglycemia symptoms. It also causes mood swings.

• Eat complex carbohydrates, also known as

carbs. During anxious times, turn to comforting

carbs. These foods act as a mild tranquilizer by

increasing the amount of serotonin, a calming

neurotransmitter in the brain. Complex carbs such as

potatoes, wholewheat bread, and pasta take longer to

digest than sugary simple carbs like white bread. 

That way, one can stay fuller longer and blood sugar

is likely to stay steady, eliminating stress and

anxiety.
• Be sure to drink eight or more glasses of

water a day. Dehydration can lead to fatigue,

headaches and stress. One should be well-hydrated and

drinking lots of water a day can decrease symptoms of

anxiety.
• Take multivitamins and mineral supplements. B

vitamins, whose role is to unlock the energy in food,

are crucial. Vitamin B-6 helps manufacture serotonin

in the brain. Choose a daily supplement that supplies

100 per cent of the daily recommendation of all

vitamins and minerals.
Although tension and daily stresses are unavoidable,

one can relieve tension and manage stress and anxiety

better by watching out for what one eats and what one

does not eat. Remember that a healthy body and a

healthy mind are often one and the same thing.

Anxiety what is it and what brings it on

Anxiety can be defined as emotions which are typically negative in nature. It will often consist of fear and worry, and some organisms may even experience physical signs such as nausea or chest pains. Anxiety is a complex emotion, and is composed of a number of different elments. Some of these elements are somatic or cognitive, and the body will prepare itself to deal with an external threat. The heart rate speeds up, and the blood pressure is increased. The various muscles in the body will also receive elevated levels of blood. At the same time, the functions of the digestive system will slow down.

People who have anxiety will generally have a sense of dread. A number of voluntary and involuntary processes will take place in the body, and the goal of these processes is to get the organism away from the source that is causing it to have anxiety. Anxiety is an important emotion, and is designed to increase the survival rate of organisms. In humans it appears that anxiety comes from the hippocampus and amygdala, two regions of the brain. When a person senses bad odors or tastes, there will be a large amount of blood flow which will be present in the amygdala. The evidence also shows that medium levels of anxiety will be present in this situation as well.

Based on these studies, it appears that anxiety is designed to keep humans and other organisms from eating food or objects that may be harmful to their well being. While anxiety is normal, a person that has excessive amounts of it may have what is called an anxiety disorder. In extreme cases, people with anxiety disorders may have strong cases where they are terrorized. Anxiety disorders are broken down into phobias, panic disorders, generalized anxiety disorders, and obsessive compulsive disorders. Someone who is suffering from a phobia will have an abnormal amount of fear of a specific object or situation. People who have phobias tend to have extensive imaginations, and realize that their fear is often irrational.

When a person suffers from a panic disorder, they will have extreme panic attacks, and may have dizziness or breathing problems. These attacks will typically reach their height in about 10 minutes. Generalized anxiety disorders are common, and effect a much larger portion of the population. It is prevalent in both men and woman, and is characterized by long periods of anxiety that are not related to any specific object or situation. With the obsessive compulsive disorder, the individual with have an obsession or compulsion when it comes to specific types of behavior. People who suffer from this disorder will see the need to do something obsessively in order to reduce their anxiety.

Many people who have this disorder need to be extremely clean, and are afraid of germs. To reduce their anxiety, they will wash their hands numerous times in a single day. There are two primary methods that are used to help those who are suffering from anxiety, and this is either therapy or prescription medicaitons.