Posts Tagged ‘Anxiety’

There are mounting statistics on how stress has detrimental effects on the body, mind, emotions and health. The American Institute of Stress notes that 75 to 90% of doctor visits are for stress-related complaints. A Harvard study shows that people who live in a state of high anxiety are 4.5 times more likely to suffer sudden cardiac death than non-anxious individuals. And, consider this: in 2002 people in the United States alone purchased nearly $17.2 billion dollars worth of anti depressants and anti-anxiety drugs, up more than 10% from 2001. What do you think this will amount to in 2010?

In 2002, Americans also spent $1.1 billion on prescription sleeping pills. Seven of the top ten best selling drugs are for stress-related ailments. However, this is not just an American problem. Developed nations across the globe report higher levels of stress, anger, anxiety and dissatisfaction.

Something’s gotta give.

We are constantly “on”—email, internet, cell phone, television—there is endless noise in our lives. And more and more we are experiencing the stress of others. Their energies, reactions and words. We are all get bombarded by too much information, too much chatter, too much negative energy from the busy world around us.

In my office, people will tell me they actually need their stress to get things done. It’s almost become normal to some people to think stress is a good thing. My advice and reframing of that thinking is wouldn’t it be better to have motivation, drive or power—instead of stress—pushing us forward? Remember, too much stress quickly transforms to overwhelm. Energy, clarity and creativity decline. More aches, pains, restless nights and here come the ants (automatic negative thoughts) abound. Stress truly robs us of our enjoyment and our vitality.

Symptoms of stress can include:
• irritability
• lack of humor
• worry
• excessiveness
• forgetfulness
• aches and pains
• anxiety
• fatigue
• illness
• and so much more..

In understanding stress, consider for a moment that stress is not really about the external things, like the boss, the wife, the job, the sport, the performance, the big win. It’s how you perceive (or filter) any situation and how you respond with your emotions that truly causes symptoms of stress.

Many of us reach a point in our lives when we have a negative experience. Many, too, experience emotional ups and downs. Negative energy builds up as it has nowhere to go. Our anxiety, anger, frustration, blame, can all build up inside us until we either blow up, hide under our covers, have a panic attack, or worse.

But, there really is hope! New research and modalities in therapy can help us all to have more calm and inner peace. At even the most sensitive and volatile point in life, I truly help my clients reverse the negative thought patterns. By working together, even the very, very stressed out can learn how to consistently change their reactions to almost anything life throws at them.

Curious about what awaits you? Try my CDs—Stay Calm, Stay Confident, Stay Connected—to learn more about how to manage stress this spring.

Have you seen the bumper sticker that reads “You don’t have to believe everything you think”? Well it’s true. Change your thought patterns – especially to manage the stress in your life – and your well being will change as a result.

The American Health Association and the American Medical Association have stated that stress is the number one reason for doctor visits. Stress is anger, sadness, hurt, guilt, fear, and the old voice that echoes “I’m not good enough” that manifests in your mind and in your body. People in the United States are now working more hours with less sleep and (surprise!) not experiencing as much enjoyment or fulfillment in life. This scenario sound familiar? Well, it can be turned around.

My personal breakthrough coaching helps you align with your true purpose and goals, and enables and activates your own inner strengths to lead you to resolve the negative patterns that are preventing you from having the life you want. Individual coaching works wonders with clients who really wish to deal with and minimize stress in their lives by creating effective, healthy patterns. Changing your response to your personal stress triggers is key – when you change your thought patterns you do indeed change the physical manifestations stress can have on your body (migraines, twitches, aches and pains, insomnia, and more).

It’s best to jump start this process to healing with individualized sessions. Then, on your own, my specialized CD programs can help reinforce the positive changes you experience in individual coaching sessions.

What are you waiting for?

In John Overdurf’s coaching perspectives classes, he talks about many studies about the brain and the unconscious mind.

The quantum Zeno effect (aka “a watched pot never boils!) is a concept you might be familiar with. This quantum phenomena was first demonstrated by George Sudarshan at University of Texas in 1977, and, in 2005, Stapp and Schwartz applied the quantum Zeno effect to mental experience. They found that attention and focus stabilize brain circuitry. Paying attention to any specific neural connection keeps the associated circuitry open dynamic and alive. Rapid and repeated observations not only stabilize transient chemical links, but eventually can alter physical changes in the brains structure. (Similar studies are conducted via neuro-plasticity research and can be read in The Brain That Changes Itself. All fascinating.)

So, the moral of the story is we get what we focus on–unconsciously!

And, you probably want to avoid the negatives in life, right? Suppose you have a panic attack. Your brain now has a neural pathway called anxiety or panic…then it happens again…so your brain now is really paying attention to panic. You could go to talk therapy and talk about your panic attacks. but what is happening in that situation? You are focusing on the panic and therefore repeatedly observing the panic, which then causes the neural pathway to light up and here comes the symptoms again. It’s quite a cycle of negativity.

I always tell my clients it’s like going down the same railroad track over and over again, consciously and unconsciously. And, not one client in over 20 years has told me that they can hardly wait to panic or are excited to be depressed. But, remember, by the time you experience panic there is already a mental pathway there for it to easily occur. Our work together is to help shift your conscious attention (your own attempt to solve the problem, the panic) to increased redirected unconscious activation (a new railroad track – get on it!)

Stay Confident, Stay Connected, Stay Focused are all effective CD programs that can be used to help your brain change to discover new neural pathways that can positively affect your life.

Have you ever had a time when you just couldn’t quiet your mind enough (or, at all!) or shut those persistent, disruptive thoughts completely off? We’ve all been there – and, sleep problems have become a national problem. Many of us lead overly stressful lives with high pressure jobs, family situations, or just too much going on at once that for some, it’s just impossible to truly wind down. Many others, too, brag about powering through their super schedules on four hours of sleep, or five, or three…

I believe that people have actually untrained their brain in the ways of sleeping. Sound crazy? Well, the causes are simple, and all round us. Too much stress, anxiety, anger, sadness, and fear get in the way of our positive thoughts. We churn on these negative elements far too often. When we experience crises and traumas, we pave the way for those negative life experiences to make serious impressions on our brains and how we process information.

Ready to break such unhealthy patters? Ready to rest so you can be at your best? Ready to sleep? My sleep CD programs are designed for the purpose of retraining your brain – to sleep! (Remember there was a time in your life when you did actually sleep!) Stay Relaxed is designed to put you to sleep; Stay Asleep is designed to encourage your brain to let go so you can go to sleep. Repeated listening of all CD programs puts you in charge of your sleep patterns. What are you waiting for? Get to sleep so you can recharge!

By the time a person comes in to see me, they are usually pretty scared and confused about anxiety and panic. Most think their panic is coming out of nowhere, just happening to (or attacking) them. Through our collaborative work, early on it becomes very clear that there has been a build up of stress or major life stresses over time for the client, which is natural and normal (more than you think!). The onset of anxiety or panic does not necessarily occur immediately following a major life stress.

Major life stresses range from a death in a family, illnesses, drug use, divorce, financial difficulties, job loss, traffic accident, sports injuries, even allergic reactions to medications. There is no one cause for anxiety.

In the case of built-up stress, the first attack can and mostly does occur when there seems to be no obvious trigger. The victim might be doing something mundane like driving or watching TV. For example, one of my clients (a very successful businessman and athlete in his 60s) was driving to his beach place, which he did frequently for years, and all of a sudden he experienced dizziness and shortness of breath. He thought he was having a heart attack (which many people think is truly happening to them). He pulled off the road and his wife got in the driver’s seat and took him to the nearest hospital where he was diagnosed with vertigo. The symptoms didn’t get better over time, so he came to see me. We discovered over a few visits he had experienced anxiety and stress most of his life. He had learned to suppress it and over time it festered. Through our work together, he has been able to address the stressors in his life, and is presently doing much better and living life to the fullest.

This is typical of what I see with panic and anxiety. Most of my clients are high functioning people that just get good at pushing their feelings aside until they fester enough to turn into something more serious like a panic attack. Often anxiety runs in families, so if you grow up with an anxious mother or father, very early on you are learning to develop anxiety yourself. Children who are constantly taught or shown anxiety or who grow up in an abusive home will often develop anxiety or depression.

You can learn how to cope with the stress in your life. Learn new tools and techniques with a safe guide. The CDs I recommend for anxiety are Stay Calm and Stay Confident. One set is designed for you to listen to in a comfortable place when you can just drift off and relax to the music and suggestions. The other set is designed with repeated suggestions that help you and your brain to stay focused on what you want. Repeated listening is the key to consistent change.

See my CD catalog for these self-guided tools, and consider setting up an appointment with me today so you can be well your way to handling stress in a healthy way.

In the past two years, I have seen so many more clients that have been diagnosed with a generalized anxiety disorder. Medical doctors can and often do prescribe medications for anxiety, not knowing what else to do to help people. Most of my clients tell me the medication either doesn’t help or makes their symptoms worse.

Generalized anxiety disorder is a little less severe than actual full-blown panic attacks.  It is experienced more generally rather than as a sharply defined incident. For example, many people are overly anxious about work or school or relationships or life in general.

When anxiety has a specific focus it usually has a different diagnosis, like the fear of public speaking (#1 fear for many!) or social phobia.  It is sometimes also called or can include Obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD). Anxiety about weight is usually classified as anorexia nervosa.  Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is becoming quite common and in part of the diagnosis that includes anxiety disorders. Each of these disorders have very similar or even the same symptoms:

• Substance–induced anxiety disorder
• Social phobias
• Obsessive thoughts
• Mood disorders
• Psychotic disorders

These disorders are real and can be seriously debilitating for many. Once you have been examined by a medical doctor, there are many modalities that I use in my practice to help you resolve the underlying issues that trigger your anxiety.
The CDs I recommend for anxiety are Stay Calm and Stay Confident. One set is designed for you to listen to in a comfortable place when you can just drift off and relax to the music and suggestions. The other set is designed with repeated suggestions that help you and your brain to stay focused on what you want. Repeated listening is the key to consistent change.

Please see my website catalog for a selection of CDs that can help you as you take control of your anxiety issues.

The new year often brings a new set of stressors to our lives that promote anxiety. Anxiety—or, panic attacks—affects many of us, often on a daily basis. Some feel those debilitating effects have control over our lives.

Have you ever experienced any of the following symptoms?
• Pounding heart (heart palpitations, racing heart rate)
• Sweating
• Trembling or shaking
• Sensations of shortness of breath or smothering
• Feeling of choking
• Chest pain or discomfort
• Nausea or abdominal stress
• Feeling dizzy, light headed, faint or unsteady
• Feelings of unreality or being detached from oneself
• Fear of losing control or going crazy
• Fear of dying
• Numbness or tingling sensations
• Chills or hot flashes

If so, you may have experienced an anxiety attack brought on by a stressful situation or series of events. Often times, too, one (or some) of these symptoms is followed by a powerful and persistent concern about having additional attacks, worrying about the implications from having such an attack (e.g., worrying about losing control, having a real heart attack, going crazy) or even prompting a significant change in other behavior—related attacks. Anxiety/panic attacks can mimic a lot of physical illnesses (like thyroid conditions) so it is absolutely essential to get a medical assessment by a qualified physician.

However, you can stop fearing: there are plenty of healthy ways to combat stress, to become aware of anxiety-producing situations, and to then calm down once you do feel like you’re in the middle of an attack.

You can get help—you can reduce anxiety in your life. See my CD programs on how to get started! My Stay Calm CDs are designed with specific music and words to help you to retrain your brain to be calm. One CD in this program is Guided Imagery designed for you to listen to while lying down or sitting in a quiet place. The Whole Brain Learning CD is designed with specific suggestions, repeated, with specific music. This CD can be used at any time to help you to continually focus on what you want and staying calm. Listening repeatedly is recommended for consistent change to occur.