Everyone goes through stressful experiences of varying degrees. We sometimes think that stress is just in the mind: a reaction to a situation that will go away by itself (or when the situation resolves). Then, we think, we recover and go back to feeling normal.Stress, however, has many long-term effects on your body and is ageing many different parts of you. What exactly is it doing, and how is it doing it?
According to the Mental Health Foundation, four to 10 per cent of people in England and the US will experience depression in their lifetime.
The group also say that mental health problems like anxiety and depression have contributed to one fifth of days lost from work in Britain alone.
Here are nine little tips and tricks you can employ when you need them to help decrease the symptoms of anxiety:
Many studies celebrate the calming power of music. Listening to music can have a relaxing effect on the mind. Decreased anxiety by 65 per cent.
Whether you’re enjoying a soothing hot bath at home, a visit to a spa, an acupuncture treatment, a deep massage, a Reiki session or sitting quietly in a garden or in nature, you will benefit more when you are deeply relaxed. Listening to healing music can help you let go and surrender to relaxation, it can inspire you as well, resulting in a deeper experience. Meditation is what this is all about relieving your anxiety.
Posted: 02/02/2014 7:37 pm I have panic disorder. I manage chronic anxiety every single day. I had my first panic attack when I was 15 years old and (at the time) I had no idea what was going on. I thought I might be having a heart attack. It seemed like a physical problem at first. I had an uncontrollable racing heart followed by sweating and shaking. But then I quickly realized that nervous thoughts were accompanying my physical symptoms.
Thankfully, I wasn't alone. Anxiety and depression run in my family, and my mother knew exactly what was going on and how to help me. I started seeing a therapist and learned coping techniques to deal with anxiety. However, the techniques I learned were not enough. From ages 15 to 18, I still suffered from severe panic attacks that made it incredibly difficult for me to function.
For the most part, I suffered in silence. The only people who knew about my struggle with panic were my parents, my brother and my best friend, who didn't attend my high school. I attended a performing arts high school where I studied theater. I was an excellent actress, but not in the way one might think. I was well adept at hiding my mental illness from my peers.
Calming the mind
We all know the uncomfortable feeling of anxiety. Our hearts race, our fingers sweat, and our breathing gets shallow and labored. We experience racing thoughts about a perceived threat that we think is too much to handle. That’s because our “fight or flight” response has kicked in, resulting in sympathetic arousal and a narrowing of attention and focus on avoiding the threat. Continue Reading →
