Anxiety Disorder - The True Causes

For a very long time, I believed that anxiety and depression are illnesses that "just happen", something that we do not have any control over. I am thankful now for the increased awareness that there is not an external reason for what happens to us physically, rather we are the creators of our life. This knowledge gives us greater control over our lives and allows us to challenge limiting beliefs that we hold.

Increased adrenalin prepares our body for the "flight or fight" response. This causes us to experience physical symptoms. When the perceived danger disappears, the physical symptoms also disappear. Think about when you are watching a scary film, your fear (flight or fight response) returns to normal once the film has ended. If however stress continues over a long period of time, the increased adrenalin can cause complications. For some people this results in anxiety, depression, insomnia and various other conditions.

When I suffered from post natal anxiety I experienced a few panic attacks but mostly it was generalised anxiety. The physical and mental symptoms were quite extreme, including breathlessness, shaking, tingling sensations, constipation, extreme insomnia to name but a few. These symptoms were all a result of the increased adrenalin in my system.

The biggest problem with prolonged anxiety is that your body starts to believe that this increased level of adrenalin is the norm and the body resets itself to produce this amount of adrenalin. As we go about our daily lives we have the fight or flight response when doing completely "normal" activities i.e. shopping, going out, in the house. What is our response to this? We start to adapt our lives in many ways to avoid the "perceived" danger. But it is danger that does not exist, well only in our mind. We can see why many people attempt to use behavioural approaches successfully to re-train the mind.

The irrational thinking can quickly escalate out of control. The thoughts can continue to a level that is disturbing to anyone. This can very easily lead to feeling depressed, depressed at the inability to control the anxiety. With very few options available it is no surprise that many people take anti-depressant medication.

The adrenal glands also produce steroids including corticosterone. People who are depressed tend to have high levels of these steroids. Basically as was described with the adrenalin, the feedback loop is out of control and the body continues to produce these excess levels. People can get stuck because the feelings get retained in the memory. To break the feedback loop you have to stop sending the message to produce more steroids and reduce the chemical levels in the body.

It is also understood that serotonin levels (neurochemical) are low within people who are feeling depressed. Anti-depressant drugs can be used to block the re-uptake mechanism, allowing excess serotonin to flood receptors, aiming to correct the imbalance.

My own experience is that antidepressants are a short-term fix when there does not appear to be an alternative option. They do not cure, they are like a plaster and the wound still needs to be healed when you remove the plaster.

Top tips

Look to eliminate or reduce all stress in your life.
Avoid sugar in your diet, try to keep your blood sugar levels steady.
Take control of your mind rather than letting it control you!
The Law of Attraction teaches us the importance of what we think and speak about. We will attract more of this in to our lives. It is therefore very important to become aware of the way you think and speak so that you don't attract more of this in to your life. Start writing affirmations etc that will help to challenge the irrational thoughts. The quicker you can reduce your adrenalin levels you will start to feel better.
Make a list of all the things that you have adapted, avoided because of your irrational fears. The sooner that you return to everyday activities without adapting because of irrational fears the quicker life will return to normal for you.
Find activities that will help you to relax and divert your mind, watching TV does not work! Something that will help you to focus your mind will help.
Think carefully about taking antidepressants whilst they can be useful for a short-term fix, it is worth noting that no studies have been carried out as to the effect that these medications can have on other areas of our body.
Be aware that our body has a natural way of producing all the hormones that we need, we just need to know how!
Serotonin can be increased naturally through a healthy lifestyle including diet, exercise, laughter, sex and reducing stress levels.
Most of all never believe that there is an external factor causing your illness or believe that you need medication to manage your life longer-term. This will mean you live your life in fear, fear of it returning! Fear of not being able to control it again.

Kelly Menzies, Change and Personal Development Leader has been working in HR, Change Leadership and Learning and Development for ten years. She is currently working with fitness and nutrition professionals, using personal development techniques to help them attract and retain more clients and build their business. Get started today with her FREE 7 Day Training Series, "Build Your Client Base and Make More Money" http://www.life-is-now.co.uk/

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Debunk These Common Anxiety Myths

A few common Anxiety Myths are:

Anxiety is a mental illness.

Anxiety attacks stem from a lack of courage.

Anxiety can only be cured with prescription medicine.

An actual panic attack or anxiety attack causes harm to your body.

Although the scientific cause of an anxiety attack or a panic attack is yet to be proven in the medical field, many doctors attribute the body's specific symptomatic reactions to a chemical imbalance, thus treatable with medicine.

This diagnosis is attached to many other illnesses for the motivation of prescribing medicine to a particular client. However, there is no medical test to diagnose an "imbalance" in the human brain. Therefore, the label "chemical imbalance" can be attached to certain patients to justify the need for medication. It is important to note that anxiety can be cured without the use of medication.

The most common triggers of anxiety or panic disorders stem from exhaustion that is either physical, mental or emotional. Internal conflict such as past issues of trauma or various categories of abuse can also trigger panic attacks.

Physical exhaustion can be the direct result of poor diet, any type of substance abuse, or hormonal changes such as menopause.

Mental exhaustion is the result of extreme worry or stress. Emotional exhaustion might be related to life's traumatic issues such as grief from the loss of a loved one or divorce from a spouse.

If any one of these exhaustions linger, the mind and body try to cope with the change by experiencing feelings of "different" and "heightened" bodily sensations. The heart beating fast, the tightness of chest, the feeling of being closed in are all sensations felt by a person having a panic attack also known as an anxiety attack.

The mind tries to decipher the different feelings in the body. Since the response the body goes through seems abnormal, it then becomes anxious or fearful in dealing with these bodily responses that are unusual.

The fear and heightened sensitive feeling becomes ever-present in the body of the person who has experienced these same symptoms previously. As a result, the lingering fear that the feeling will return stays in the thoughts of the person who has suffered from a panic attack. The mere thought of the attack returning again and the intense occasion of fear is a constant reminder of endangerment and entrapment of the person who has suffered from an anxiety attack.

The panic attack sufferer then continues this cycle of fear thus avoiding all circumstances which serve as a reminder of the fear and entrapment experienced previously. A person can then develop a fear of flying, driving, social interaction, public speaking, etc.

There is a cure for Anxiety Disorder that does not involve medication. Medication only serves to mask the feeling or cause the heightened sensations of anxiety and panic to subside.

To read more information and resources about this topic visit http://no-more-panic-attack.com

Tiffani has suffered from anxiety attacks, panic attacks and depression for many years. She successfully cured herself from these disorders without any medication or professional intervention. She now dedicates much of her time to helping others experience the same freedom from fear, panic and worry. To read more about how to cure yourself from anxiety visit http://no-more-panic-attack.com/

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Suffer From Driving Anxiety

Does your heart rate increase every time you get behind the wheel of a car? Does your chest feel tight and do you experience difficulty breathing? If you experience these emotions, you suffer from driving anxiety. Many people suffer from this problem, and while some have been able to conquer their fear, there are those who have given up driving all together. It is important to understand why this happens, and why you are scared of driving. Having the knowledge and understanding is the best way to overcome the problem.

Those who suffer from driving anxiety find that it is extremely difficult to do many things. Visiting family and friends becomes difficult, and even the act of going to work everyday becomes nearly impossible. Fortunately, this does not have to be a permanent condition. Many people have managed to overcome the problem, and they do not have to suffer anymore. Once people understand what the anxiety is, and what causes it, they can find out what to do about it. They will be able to overcome it, and can start living a normal life.

Anxiety occurs due to brain conditioning and the subconscious mind. Those who experience the anxiety, do so because the brain has been conditioned to experience fear. They feel the presence of danger every time they are behind the wheel. This fear often develops and increases over time due to certain experiences, or situations that occur on the road. With time, the experiences cause the subconscious mind to develop an association between driving and the danger. Fortunately, these conditioning can be reversed. In most cases, the reversal is fairly simple and takes a short time once the concept has been grasped.

Once you have understood how the anxiety was developed, it is easy to overcome it. Everyone has something they fear, and in most cases, the fear is quite irrational. We tend to build up negative experiences, and every time you do this you create a problem. For most people, their fears do not affect their daily life and can be set aside. When the fear affects or interferes with your normal life, it has to be dealt with. Your brain and your subconscious mind have learnt to associate driving with the fearful experiences you have gone through.

It is important to remember that while there are dangerous situations while driving, the same can also be said of walking, crossing the street, and virtually everything we go through every day. It is important to see the fear for what it is. Once you are able to confront it, you can deal with it. The anxiety is brought about by blowing fear out of proportion.

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