Wednesday, January 7, 2009

OCD And Anxiety

Believe it or not anxiety is a big problem when you have OCD because it can come up at anytime. It really doesn't matter what is going on at the time. Usually people with ocd and anxiety have ideas and thoughts that keep coming to them that they cannot get out of their heads.

When someone is thinking about ocd and anxiety it usually is about some type of risk or harm that may come to them or to someone else. Most treatments will mean that a person will have to be put on drugs that can include antidepressants or some form of exposure therapy.

According to statistics about 95% of people with ocd and anxiety have a tendency to go through some type of ritual. This seems to be true because I have this problem and many of my friends do too. We talk about it all the time. One of my rituals was to check the doors to make sure they were locked when I left. I wasn’t satisfied until I had checked them at leave 8 times.

My boyfriend used to get really upset with me because I couldn't turn away from this pattern until it was complete. I know how frustrating that can be for people so I decided to do something about it for my self. My problem began to subside I started to use my own techniques.

If you want to find out what I did to help my ocd and anxiety you can follow the link.

Friday, January 2, 2009

Social Anxiety Phobia

You know some social situations can really make a person paranoid! At least that is what I used to think. I was amazed at how many people suffer from social anxiety phobia who I know personally. My life has been a lot better since I figured out my own techniques.

Social anxiety phobia is something that about 7% of the entire population suffers from at any given year. It is the fear of going out into social situations because people may laugh or talk about you.

Social anxiety phobia is no picnic because it can hit you when you least expect it and it seems like other things. A lot of people thought I was just shy because I was fine at home talking on the phone but as soon as I was out in public my social anxiety phobia would kick in.

At one point I decided to do research into my problem because it was stopping me from living my life. I found out that there were so many things that would trigger my social anxiety phobia. Simple things like saying something in front of a group or being introduced to new people would make me feel insecure and awkward in the situation.

Eventually I found my own way to deal with my social anxiety phobia because it was making things very difficult in my life. I have found so many ways to help others with social anxiety disorder that I want to share them here on my blog.

Sunday, December 28, 2008

Social Anxiety Therapy

As you know I have had problems with anxiety for many years before I decided to research ways to help myself. One of the things I explored was social anxiety therapy.

Social anxiety therapy is one way that people deal with social anxiety disorder. Usually this can mean a combination of medications and psychological counseling. Social anxiety therapy taught me several techniques to deal with my anxiety. My therapist had me relax and visualize myself in situations that made me anxious.

I can tell you this was not something that was easy for me to do. I worked with it though until I got to the point where my anxiety was minimal inside therapy. The next social anxiety therapy technique my therapist used was to take me into the situation that made me anxious. The first time we did this I almost fainted and then I realized people weren't really watching me as much as I thought.

The next step in my social anxiety therapy was for me to do the research necessary to do some simple and natural things. The challenge for me with the therapy was that I also was given a drug to curb the anxiety attacks. I don't like taking drugs because they hamper my creativity. So, I to find something else to do besides social anxiety therapy.

As you continue reading this blog I will give you many ideas to work with your own social anxiety that will be less costly than any social anxiety therapy you might experience.

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Herbs to Treat Depression

When you are looking for natural supplements to treat depression there are many herbs to treat depression that you should know about so that you can have them in your medicine cabinet. Be aware that sometimes doctors will tell you not to use them, but they are working for many people.

It is essential to your health that you have more than one way to help depression because medication, over time, can be more detrimental to your health. All you have to do is ask your doctor and they will tell you that drugs have more side effects over time.

One of the differences between drugs and herbs to treat depression is the fact that herbs will work on bringing the body into balance instead of harming its systems. So, when you find yourself floating along and feeling wonderful, you don't have to worry about bad side effects.

Here are some of the herbs to treat depression that are worth trying out:

Bee Royal Jelly -- although this is technically not an herb, many people say that they can only feel happy when they take it. This comes directly from bees and it is chock full of minerals, vitamins and amino acids.

St John's Wort -- although this has become a controversial herbs to treat depression and many people say that it doesn't work at all, a study done in Ireland (see article here: http://www.vhi.ie/news/n150205a.jsp) says that this herb actually helped depression better than medicines.

Chinese Herbs - these herbs to treat depression work on the "chi" or balance in the body. Depression for the Chinese means that something is out of balance and if these herbs balance whatever it is, the body will stop being depressed. This is a series of herbs to treat depression that should not be missed.

Licorice -- here we're talking about the herb and not the candy; however the candy can help your mood if you just need a little lift. Actually, licorice has been researched and it is found that it has natural anti-depressant properties. This is another herbs to treat depression not to be overlooked.

When you are using herbs for combating depression it is a good idea to learn how to muscle test each one. There are simple ways to learn this and a good book that describes it and shows pictures is called Co-Creative Science by Machaelle Small Wright. Muscle testing will help you identify which of the herbs to treat depression work best for you.

My favorite herb to treat depression is valerian root. You can learn about it on our page for curing insomnia and nightime panic attacks. Go there now by CLICKING HERE!

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Causes Of Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Today's world is in a panic because we don't know what might be coming around the next corner. Many people are afraid because of the War in Iraq, the stock market and the fact that many businesses, like Merrill Lynch are changing. These are just some of the issues that may be causes of generalized anxiety disorder.

Another way this anxiety disorder is referred to is GAD, and it seems to be hitting a lot of people. Take Larry for example. He had a successful job and he thought he had it made. He was rising to the top and was getting good reviews. Unfortunately, when Larry heard the news about how Merrill Lynch was being taken over by Bank America, he began to panic.

This wasn't the "what am I gonna do?" natural type of panic but something that hit him in a way that he had no idea what to do. For the next week, Larry worried and worried about his situation at his own job wondering whether he would remain employed or not.

Next, he started thinking that all his bosses were just being nice to him and they really didn't need him. He couldn't pull himself out of this anxiety, though he was able to recoup in the past. Larry just is showing one of the causes of generalized anxiety disorder.

What is interesting is that most doctors really don't know what causes of generalized anxiety disorder there are but they have many theories. Some think it is an imbalance of chemicals like serotonin in the brain. They figure that is this is true, some people may be more prone to stress, and that stress could be what triggers the anxiety.

Environmental influences like what happened with Larry may also be causes of generalized anxiety disorder. Other problems like a divorce, the fact that someone dies suddenly or national disasters like the World Trade Center could also be causes of generalized anxiety disorder.

Some doctors are examining the thyroid because they think causes of generalized anxiety disorder may be biological in nature, or medical conditions that cause a lot of stress could also be a problem.

A good reference for causes of generalized anxiety disorder is the Mayo Clinic and they have a full section on GAD that you might find interesting. This is an article that makes for good reading.

Although no one really knows the causes of generalized anxiety disorder, there is help for it and you can find that help RIGHT NOW by CLICKING HERE.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Why When We Sleep We Worry About Things

Have you ever wondered why when we sleep we worry about things? The bottom line is that we probably don't know. We could ask a shrink about it, that is, “Why When We Sleep We Worry About Things” or other healthcare practitioner but it just seems natural that worry would go into sleep.

Sleep usually comes at the end of the day when most people are winding down from their day. The day has been full of whatever we were doing and for the most part we had something to do. If we worried all day, it seems that when we get near sleep the worry thoughts get louder.

Why when we sleep we worry about things may be nothing more than we are used to the cycle. After all we get into a loop in our thoughts and this causes us to have some sort of physical reaction that usually is brought on by the emotions that go into the worry.

It seems that why when we sleep we worry about things is because it gets quiet at night. Many people are asleep and all the things from the day sort of catch up to us. We have been anxious all day but have kept ourselves busy so we didn't have time to worry.

As soon as we hit the bed though, that worry comes on up and it creeps into our trying to quiet our minds. Here are three things we can do to stop why when we sleep we worry about things and change this to a more positive situation:

We can make an agreement with ourselves to accept uncertainty-- one of the reasons why when we sleep we worry about things is because we think that there is something we need to fix. In reality, sometimes things are uncertain just because they are and we have to let it be that way.

Create time to worry-- some people say it is helpful to set aside like 10 minutes or so a day to worry as much as you can. Decide that you have a certain amount of time each day, pick the same time each day and worry til your heart is content. Then, walk away from it. You can even make a worry list of things to worry about during that time.

Challenge your worries -- one reason why when we sleep we worry about things is because we think the world is coming to an end or something really bad is going to happen. Usually nothing happens like we think. Instead, challenge these worries by asking for proof that something is going to happen.

Take control of your worry right now at www.Stop-Anxiety-Panic-Attack.com!

Diagnosing OCD

When you are wondering whether you have Obsessive Compulsive disorder one way to find out is to have someone skilled at diagnosing OCD talk to you and get a history of your behavior. The challenge with this is it will put you into the mental health system where you may not want to go.

Therapists have been diagnosing OCD for a very long time and they rely mostly on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual edition 4 which most people affectionately call, the DSM-IV. This manual is geared towards making a diagnosis so that your insurance company will pay for your treatment.

According to the DSM-IV a person can be diagnosed as having OCD or OCD Personality disorder and there is an entire list of criteria that is posed to define what this disorder does and how it should be seen.

Now that's the official definition. An interesting turn of events has begun though that may prove interesting to those people dealing with OCD is that some students are diagnosing OCD for fun.

In fact, if they catch themselves washing their hands a lot or doing anything they have decided is "OCD", they will say something like, "That is so OCD." Okay, this is interesting, but is it tolerable? Is diagnosing OCD something that can be played with or should we be serious about this diagnosis?

We can say you just have to lighten up. The challenge with diagnosing OCD is that it encourages people to take things very seriously. Certainly this is a serious challenge for some people but if you can't laugh at yourself, who can you laugh at? Why not find ways to laugh at what you do instead of making it a problem?

Some people suggest that the best way for diagnosing OCD is to say your fear out loud -- sometimes just saying it out loud sounds funny and you can look at it differently.

In fact, there is a whole group called L.A.U.G.H. which stands for Learn to Accept Uncertainty and Gain Hope and they work to laugh about OCD.

Diagnosing OCD can be a blessing and a curse at the same time. You can love it, hate it or choose to sit with it and be grumpy about the process.

You can do something about your OCD right now at www.Stop-Anxiety-Panic-Attack.com there's a great OCD Relief Article, you can read right now by CLICKING HERE.