Thursday, September 29, 2011

Getting Some Anxiety And Stress Relief

Everyone is seeking some form of anxiety and stress relief. Hopefully you haven't resorted to self-medication with alcohol. Rather than applying a balm to the sore of stress, why not find a way to stop the stress from getting out of hand in the first place. I'll take preventative medicine over reactive medicine any day.

One effective approach to getting anxiety and stress relief is to address the thinking in your mind that is causing the stress. The whole field of cognitive psychology is devoted to this approach. So, one type of faulty thinking that can lead to stress, anxiety and depression is all-or-nothing thinking.

What is all-or-nothing thinking? It goes like this: Someone who suffers from this mistaken form of thought always looks at things in black and white, good or bad, right or wrong, etc. If you partake in this kind of analysis of your life then you are setting yourself up for a lot of grief. Now, correcting this thinking may not happen overnight. But if you become mindful of your all-or-nothing thinking then you can correct it little by little and get the anxiety and stress relief you are seeking.

Here is an example of this all-or-nothing thinking. Let's say that your stress is the result of you not being able to finish all the tasks on your to-do list. I am often guilty of this. I tend to make myself way too busy because there is so much that I want to do. I know I've pushed myself too far when I start to get that knot in my throat and my anxiety level increases. This happened just recently. In order to get the anxiety and stress relief I needed, I had to modify my thinking.

Instead of either succeeding or failing at my to-do list for any given day, I had to be ok with not completing everything on the list. But, that didn't work so well. I didn't like seeing things left undone. That was the all-or-nothing thinking again. So, then I just made the to-do list smaller and that worked almost immediately. In fact, that night when I decided that I couldn't do everything I wanted to do and had to settle for less, I could feel the knot in my throat shrivel up and disappear into calm. This is a good example of great anxiety and stress relief by challenging faulty thinking. This is just one example of anxiety and stress relief by challenging all-or-nothing thinking. Another example could involve you demanding that you get an A on a test. Getting a B isn't good enough. Again, you are setting yourself up for a lot of grief if you think this way. Bring some flexibility into your life and get the stress and anxiety relief you need.

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Saturday, September 24, 2011

Anxiety And Stress - Use Nlp And Overcome Them And Relax

More than ever, scientific surveys are proving the primary role played by stress in causing and aggravating various physical and emotional disorders. In the June 6, 1983 issue of Time Magazine, the cover story labeled stress "The Epidemic of the Eighties." The article also mentioned that stress is our prominent health issue. Indeed it is unquestionable that the world has become more and more complicated and stressful in the past 25 years since that article was written.

Many surveys indicate that almost everybody perceives themselves as being under a lot of stress. Authorities in the field estimate that around 75 to 90 percent of all visits to primary care physicians are related to stress.

Most people say that their job is the major reason of their stress. And stress levels have also increased in children as well as the elderly population because of several reasons including: Peer pressures that often lead to everything from smoking to drug and alcohol abuse; the dissolution of family and religious values and ties; growing crime rates; threats to personal safety; as well as social isolation and loneliness.

Stress can cause and aggravate problems such as diabetes, ulcers, low back and neck pain, hypertension, strokes and heart attacks. This is due to the ever growing sympathetic nervous system activity as well as a flood of cortisol, adrenaline, and other hormones. Chronic stress is corollary of weakened immune system resistance. Stress can contribute to anxiety, depression, and its various effects on the body's organs.

"Stress" is defined as follows by the American Heritage Dictionary:
"To subject to physical or mental pressure, tension, or strain"

The following is the definition of "tension" from the same dictionary:
"Mental, emotional, or nervous strain"

The following is the definition of "anxiety":
"A state of uneasiness and apprehension, as about future uncertainties"

And it defines "depression" as follows:
"The condition of feeling sad or despondent"

The following is the definition of "clinical depression":

"A psychiatric disorder characterized by an inability to concentrate, insomnia, loss of appetite, anhedonia, feelings of extreme sadness, guilt, helplessness and hopelessness, and thoughts of death."

We can nonetheless be sure that our mind is the primary cause of our feelings of stress, anxiety and depression. We could also say that, what we think about, and our attitudes and the way we view our experiences dictate what we feel. So if we can manage to modify our thoughts, attitudes, and points of view, then we can be relieved of our stress, anxiety, and depression and replace them with a better state of being.

Since the beginning of time, people have tried methods for getting rid of stress. The pharmaceutical industry seems to have a drug for everything. For that the industry has produced a large line of sedatives from Valium to Xanax. If you choose to use drugs for relief, please make sure that you read the fine print and learn about the side effects, which usually are, among others, addiction and dependency. Indeed these kinds of drugs try to treat the symptoms, but not the cause. So when one stops ingesting them, the symptoms can come back.

A more intelligent method to eliminate tension, stress, anxiety, and depression is to treat its actual cause, which as I said above, is generally our thought processes. There is some good news. The basis of hypnosis is relaxing. The AMA accepted hypnosis in 1958 as an effective method of treating stress or stress related symptoms. However unlike anxiolytics, there are categorically no bad side effects.

Hypnosis is the Alpha level of consciousness. It is the daydream like temporary psychological state which we feel as we are about to fall asleep at night. And we feel it once more when we awaken again. There are several different ways we can guide ourselves into this relaxed mood, from step-by-step relaxation to visual imagery to listening to hypnosis CD's.

When we enter the hypnotic state, we can communicate with our unconscious mind, which is the seat of our emotions. And one can more easily accept new points of view and ideas which will help us to dissipate anxiety, or even prevent it from occurring in the first place.

NLP, which is a modern kind of hypnosis, offers various really good techniques for releasing stress. Maybe the technique that works best is called the "swish" pattern - or the "flash" pattern. After using the "flash" pattern, your unconscious will automatically use negative, stress triggering mental images, as triggers for tranquilizing mental images. Otherwise stated, what commonly makes you feel stress will now trigger relaxation!

TO SUM THINGS UP
Tension, stress, anxiety, and depression can be prompted by our thoughts. So by changing our attitude and point of view towards our situation and our experiences, we can dissipate these feelings at the source. Hypnosis and NLP are natural tools that make it possible to change our attitude and point of view to easily dissipate the source of our negative feelings.

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Monday, September 19, 2011

14 Tips for a Stress Free Flight

Traveling can be a stressful event and airplane travel is tops on the list of the stressors that we experience on what is supposed to be an exciting and fun event. A few simple steps can remove most of the stress of air travel.

Things to do before travel day:

1) Pack your bags. Make sure all your packing is done at least the night before and that you have all your bags in one central location for easy and complete loading into your car or taxi.
2) Have all your travel paperwork organized and in one central location.
3) Make a checklist of all the things you want to check to secure your home before you leave and walk through your home checking off each item. Do this at least an hour before you leave your house. Do this and you will never worry if you left your stove on or any of the other little nagging worries you might have while on your travel.
4) Be sure your pets are taken care of. Make any kennel reservations well in advance of your trip to be sure you have a reserved spot at a kennel you trust.
5) Call the AIRPORT and airline the day before to see how early the recommend you should arrive for a smooth, stress free check in. If they tell you to arrive three hours early and you arrive just 30 minutes early, you will probably feel great stresses about missing your flight. Also ask if there are any parking restrictions you should be aware of. Ever since 9/11, when we have a heightened threat level there may be car searches before you can park.
6) If you are just taking carry on luggage, many airlines let you pre check in right on the internet 24 hours before your flight. That means that you can get and print out boarding passes right from your home. And when you get to the airport, you can go right to the gate and your boarding area without getting into the long check in line. If you have to check baggage, you will not have this option available to you. But if not, it is a great time and stress saver.

Travel day:

7) Leave home in plenty of time to anticipate busy traffic or accident situations. If it is an hour trip to get to the airport, you may want to leave an extra half hour early just in case there are road problems.
8) If you are checking in bags, be prepared to wait in line. If it is a busy time of day at the airport and you are traveling with a popular airline, there could be a significant line. Don't worry about how long the line is. As long as you arrive when the airport recommended, you will have plenty of time to make it to the front of the line and get checked in. It may look impossible but it will happen so just relax and be patient.
9) Make sure that any “carry on” baggage really is carry on. Otherwise you may get stopped at the gate and have your bag taken away to be stowed with the regular luggage. It will delay and stress you. And it will delay everyone else.
10) When boarding the plane, find your seat and stow your carry on baggage quickly. And then sit down and stay out of the way. There are lots of people trying to do the same thing and we've all encountered the folks who block the aisle for a long time fussing about something or other while a harried line of boarders is forced to wait. You don't want to be one of those people. So just get your business done quickly and efficiently and sit down. You'll have plenty of time to get up once the plane is in the air.
11) If you have to change planes, it can be a real challenge, especially in the larger airports. If you know the gate you will have to go to, ask the flight attendant for advice to reach that gate quickly. In some airports - like Atlanta - a Delta connection can be a huge adventure taking 30 minutes to get from one gate to another. If you know in advance how you have to get to your next airplane, it will be much less chaotic when you get off the first plane. And a much more relaxing walk (or run) to your next gate.
12) When the plane lands, patiently wait your turn. Whether you push or just wait, you usually won't get off the plane any quicker. People tend to let the folks in the rows before them get up and go in a pretty orderly fashion. Trying to rush it will only get your blood pressure up and will not be looked upon favorably by your fellow travelers.
13) If you just have carry on baggage, you have successfully completed a pretty stress free flight.
14) But if you have carry on luggage, there is one more step - waiting for the luggage. Just pick a place around the conveyor belt and wait. Expect your bag to be the very last one to come out and be pleasantly surprised when it comes out early.

By following these simple steps, you will find that your stress levels from your air travels will be much less. A well planned trip agenda ensures that those little stress points stay little stress points and don't balloon into a full blown crisis. Try it any you will be amazed how just a small amount of up front planning dramatically improves the enjoyment of your travel.

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Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Body and Mind-Sex and Stress

Have you ever wondered that the role of testosterone in enhancing libido and enhancing erections in men cannot be its only role? There are many other roles and biological effects of testosterone other than its known presence in bodily fluids. It has been blamed for excess hair loss (medical name-Androgenetic alopecia) although the molecular steps of hair loss in men and women are not fully understood.

This hormone is secreted in the testes of males and the ovaries of females, although men produce more of it. Various kinds of mental behavior are not only subject to influence by environment and genetics but also day-to-day hormonal changes. For example, stress can also inhibit testosterone synthesis and hence lead to decreased levels of it secretion.

Some goods news has recently emerged. Recent studies have shown that to keep stress at bay you should frequently engage in penetrative penal-vaginal sex. Unfortunately many people from all walks of life find that under stress, they do not have the desire to have sex and even creates undesirable side effects such as sexual dysfunction.

A brilliant study (Biological Psychology, volume 71, page 214) showed that sex but more preferably intercourse is much more effective in combating stress then other sexual activity such as masturbation. As intercourse is more linked with less blood pressure and less stress this cause’s better psychological and physiological function. Also orgasms for women during penile-vaginal intercourse are better for physiological behavior but not so much for orgasm during other sexual activities. As some of us are nervous about speaking in public or stage fright as its commonly called are being recommended to have sex (not on the stage of course) for the stress calming effect.

It is thought when a couple makes love the neurotransmitter oxytocin released relaxes the body and decreases blood pressure hence also preventing stress. Oxytocin is secreted by the brain and other organs including the ovaries and testes. It is believed that oxytocin is significantly decreased during the stress and infusion of the hormone relieves stress in animal models thereby suggesting a role in regulating some physiological responses to stress.

In the light of such elegant studies and lack of public stress programmes such as screening by government agencies aimed at improving recognition, treatment, and reducing stress and depression primary prevention has become necessary. As stress and depression has become a common disorder with serious many unwanted side effects both in men and women, penetrative penal-vaginal sex could be a primary stress prevention strategy.

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Friday, September 9, 2011

Stress- How Time Managment Causes Stress?


For last few decades, every author or speaker on management and self-help has said something about time management. Allocate time, analyze the work pattern, list out the priorities and assign time limits. After all time is life, and one must try to get maximum out of time.

What every one is advising is to streamline the life like a machine. Decide to achieve goals, allocate time, and try to achieve the best in that much time. What about life and living? If these people were to advise the lions in Africa, they would have prepared a time chart for hunting, relaxing, eating sleeping and so on. The lion would have got bored and run away from that consultant. The lion enjoys life on his own terms. He does what gives him joy and forgets the rest. This desire to get best out of time is taking a big toll on very young and old alike around the world. In India, parents give very little free time to a child to be him/her self. It is either school, or classes or homework or a hobby teacher. Everything is structured for a young child. He/she must live life like that and forget the joy of exploring life and enjoying it. Sometimes I wonder that if a time management is appointed to analyze the relaxation patterns and give advice on how we should relax, they will make our life hell. What about creativity? What about enjoying life, the nature, the nights and the sunsets? What about living?

I don't say that time is not important. I don't say that time should be wasted. But I do say that we should not live like machines. We are not made to do like that. We fail to enjoy the pains and pleasures if we live a very structured life. We get stressed. And the stress may at times so overwhelm us that despite all the time management, our performance will suffer beyond repair. No inventive or original thinking can be done in given time. Ask a scientist to sit on a chair and think of a good idea in the given time. He/she will fail without doubt. The mind works and produces best results when allowed to be free of the artificial shackles.

Please manage time, please don't waste time in useless ways of working, but please enjoy your life. Do new things, think, imagine, daydream and watch the stars. We are after all human beings and not machines. Please don't get stressed by these theories of time management. Get the best out of them and enjoy.



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Tuesday, September 6, 2011

The Easiest Nutrition Guidelines Ever


The Easiest Nutrition Guidelines Ever





1)Eat For Your Goal-



If needing to lose weight eat below your caloric needs. No more than 30% cut.



If needing to gain weight then eat above. Increase by 15% as needed.





2) Eat for Balance-Get at least 30% of every nutrient in a day (protein/carbs/fats). The other 10% is to do whatever you want with it.





3) Eat the right foods-This goes as follows.



Protein-Lean and Complete (chicken, turkey, egg whites, whey)



Carbs-Fruits and veggies should make up the majority of your diet and be paired with every meal.



Fats-Poly/mono fat balance high(fish oils, nuts, olive oil);Low Saturated fats





4) Eat Often- Eat 4-6 meals a day.



Each meal should contain 1 complete protein.



Each meal should contain 1 carb source of either fruit/veggies.





5) Eat 1 ingredient items-85% of your meals should be of one ingredient items.



An apples ingredients are an apple. An egg is an egg. You can certainly mix and match on ingredient items, but other than that your items 85% of the time should only be 1 ingredient items.





6) Drink Water-1/2 to 1 gallon a day for women who exercises, 1 to 1 1/2 gallon for men who exercise.





That's it. If you stick to that you will get results, plain and simple.



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Sunday, September 4, 2011

ADD: Getting Through College With The Least Stress


ADD, ADHD, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder







Article Body:



Many people with ADD find it very difficult to stick to a four-year program at college and to get their degrees. College can be hard for anyone when there are 5 papers due all on the same day. But you have the added handicap of being easily bored and quickly finding distraction. So, though it's no cakewalk for any college student, getting your degree can be particularly hard when you have ADD.





How can that be helped?





Find a school that will work with you and your ADD. Most colleges require 15 credits to be classified as a full-time student, but most will also allow you to take fewer credits, though you'll only be classified as part-time. If this isn't a tax issue for you or your parents, being a part-time student with fewer classes to worry about may be a solution for you.





Another solution would be to take fewer of the required courses that you find it hard to deal with. Maybe take one of those per semester, and fill your schedule with classes that you do like. For instance, what if you absolutely, positively have to take Algebra and Trig during your first semester, and find it very difficult to deal with math? One solution would be to take creative writing, art history, and psychology 101 or any other low-level class, or whatever classes appeal to you, as asides. When you're studying, be sure to give yourself a half hour of math (if you can concentrate that long), a half hour of something you like to do, and then, back to math of another half hour. Or, if your attention span is only 15 minutes, start with math, move to creative writing for 15 minutes, then art history for 15 minutes, and psychology 101 can make up the rest of your hour. Just keep doing this for as many hours as you need to really get cranking with math.





Or, you'll have to find a more flexible college. Some will allow you to design your own major, which is ideal for people with ADD. That way, you'll be concentrating on subjects that you know you can enjoy and really put your hyperfocus into gear and make it work for you.





The whole thing should be about finding a college that's right for you. If you're in school now and having a terrible time at it, transfer to a school that understands your ADD. That comes even before you look for the money because there are always scholarships that you can employ. Yet, if you don't find the right school, you may end up only hoping for a degree instead of really earning one.



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Friday, September 2, 2011

Break it Down


Most folks know a small amount about metabolism. Some know all about it, some know only that it happens in our bodies, and others have only heard the word. For those of you out there who are interested in learning a bit more, here it is! Metabolism works in our bodies to synthesize and break down food, or "purines".

Before we go any further on metabolism, we should learn what Purines are. They come from the food that we ingest. Who thought food could have such a fancy name? Purines, by definition are "A double-ringed, crystalline organic base, C5H4N4, not known to occur naturally, from which is derived the nitrogen bases adenine and guanine, as well as uric acid as a metabolic end product."

Now, back to metabolism. Metabolism occurs in living organisms, to sustain life, and/or to synthesize. In humans, it does both. We require such things as nutrients to sustain our being, and metabolism takes these vitamins out of purines. without a metabolism, we would eat and fill up once, never have a bowel movement, and slowly decay from vitamin deficiency.

And there you have it! For you out there who you they know it all, I threw in some big words, and for you out there who don't know the first thing about metabolism, there you go! You can aquire more information on metabolism or purines from books, internet sources, or you doctor.



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