What is the Best Way for Overcoming Unwanted Intrusive Thoughts?

 

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Overcoming Unwanted Intrusive Thoughts – Anxious Disturbing Thoughts

Anxiety almost always comes with a level of disturbing thoughts. You might be driving with your children and then get a flash thought of losing control and driving into an oncoming car. Another example is looking down from a bridge and suddenly getting terrified by the idea that you might lose all control of your senses and jump.

If you experience such thoughts, I want to reassure you that, regardless of how extreme, don’t worry about them. They’re the result of an active imagination coupled with anxiety and, often, something or someone about which you care deeply. These thoughts persist because you react so strongly to them. If you didn’t have a strong reaction, the thoughts would never bother you.

The scary thoughts are like a small five-year-old looking for attention and targeting something you care about to get a reaction from you. They occur to people who would never dream of doing what they think about. It’s just the very fact of having the thoughts that shocks people and leads them to believe they’re bad in some way.

The truth is that these thoughts are the by-product of an overactive imagination mixed with a good dollop of anxiety. It’s the anxious reaction to the thoughts that keeps them going around and around, as if you’re tense inside and the thoughts speed up.

I’ve outlined this process in Stage 2, but here’s a quick reminder.

Visually, it’s like this. Thoughts float up in front of us all the time during our waking day. Normally, we ignore most thoughts and continue what we’re doing. Other times, we really get stuck into the thought and examine it in detail, such as “what I have to do today” thoughts.

When anxious thoughts enter, people generally whack them away and try to run from them. This never works, because the energy put into hitting away the thought instead powers it to rebound with even more force and intensity.

For the moment, your best way to deal with this is to accept the chain of thoughts as they happen. When “terrible idea X” enters your mind. you simply go:

There you are again! I’m getting totally bored by all this scare-mongering. It’s not relevant to me or my life—but sure, go ahead and tell the awful idea again if it makes you feel better.

Talk to the thoughts as if they’re visitors that have no relationship to your real self and you’re simply being polite by letting them run. Don’t force them away—that creates the rebound effect—but don’t feel you have to pay too much attention either.

The goal is to move your attention to what you want to focus on without reacting to the scary thought. That way, your energy goes into what you want and not into what you don’t want.

You know who you are and that these thoughts don’t represent you, so don’t worry—the very fact that you get so upset by the thoughts shows how different you are from the ideas that torment you.

Another way to view the thoughts is as if they were school bullies trying to upset you by saying awful things about, for example, people close to you. If you get scared, the bully continues to taunt even more. If you laugh and say, “Sure, whatever,” then walk away, the bully loses interest.

Acceptance is key. Getting upset by the thoughts only fuels the inner tension further because you add more worry and stress to the problem. If you say to yourself that this is a period you’re moving through and that it will work out fine, you’ll move into that acceptance more easily.

“Switching off” the anxious thoughts is best achieved by saying, “Oh, very scary! Are you done yet?” Then continuously bring yourself back to the moment or task at hand without getting annoyed for having these thoughts. What you really need to adopt is an attitude that all is well. And it is. These fears are just a nuisance, but they’ll pass.

Overcoming Unwanted Intrusive Thoughts – Dealing with Intrusive Thoughts

For many people who experience panic attacks and anxiety on a regular basis, intrusive thoughts become a part of day-to-day life.

What if I get a panic attack in the middle of the grocery store?

Why am I worrying about such strange things?

What if I lose control of mind?

Intrusive thoughts can come and go all day long at the most random moments of the day and take their toll on your stress levels. You might have difficulty concentrating, and react with a jolt every time you think a worrying intrusive thought. Just remember that you are not losing your mind and the thoughts will stop when your anxiety level reduces.

I’ve identified several strategies for overcoming intrusive thoughts in my book Panic Away.

To help remove intrusive thoughts you need to learn how to disarm them by not reacting.

Look at it this way.

When you think some of these thoughts you might feel a bodily reaction like a jolt of fear. What you need to learn is to short circuit the emotional reaction to the thoughts.

Begin by accepting that the thoughts are not the real you, they are the product of an over active imagination mixed with anxiety.

When they arrive, imagine them like clouds passing overhead. Watch them float by but do not react to them emotionally.  Remain detached from the thought. These thoughts are not you and do not represent the real you.

Say to yourself, “I am observing this thought, I’m not going to get upset, anxious or even worry about it. It will pass…”

The more often you do this, the less reactive you will become to the thoughts. These thoughts are powered by your reaction to them, the more you react the more they reappear.

If you learn to not react, the intrusive thoughts will simply fade away because you are no longer reacting emotionally to them.

Give it a go!

For more tips on overcoming unwanted intrusive thoughts, watch this video – How To Stop Intrusive And Obsessive Thoughts

By Barry McDonagh, who is an international panic disorder coach. He created the Panic Away program to help people around the world deal with their anxiety and avoid panic attacks – a subject that he is personally attuned to because he himself found that he was prone to these issues since he was young. His hatred of his powerless lead him down the path of finding natural ways to treat himself without having to depend on expensive medications.

His informative site on all issues related to panic and anxiety attacks can be found here: Natural Anxiety Remedies – What is the Best Way for Overcoming Unwanted Intrusive Thoughts?

How to Overcome Shortness of Breath from Anxiety?

 

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Overcome Shortness of Breath from Anxiety – Anxiety Breathing

It’s common for people with anxiety to mention fears about their breathing. Some feel that their breathing is very labored and shallow. These fears are almost always accompanied by a tight sensation in the chest or throat area.

A frequent complaint is worry that they’re not getting enough oxygen or that they might stop breathing altogether and feel forced to take conscious control of their breathing.

The chest or throat tightness that causes uncomfortable or shallow breathing is very common. It’s actually the chest and throat muscles that are tense, and this gives the false impression that you’re not breathing right or maybe not getting enough air.

This can lead to panic and light-headedness, which confirms your fears of not getting enough air. You can see how a cycle of anxiety begins as one fearful sensation feeds off the other.

Not being able to breath is a myth. The fear comes from feeling uncomfortable in that area and then having anxious thoughts about suffocating or fainting from lack of oxygen.

Don’t let it worry you. Believe me, you could spend every minute of the next ten years worrying that you’ll stop breathing—and nothing would happen. What a waste of your time and energy.

Your body knows exactly what it needs, and even if you try with all your mental might to get in the way of it, your body will breathe. In fact, many people experience this muscle tension every day, but they don’t panic because they don’t have a high level of sensitization and background anxiety.

When you become overly conscious of your breathing, remind yourself that you won’t stop breathing, no matter how many thoughts go through your head that say otherwise. It’s when you get uptight about the tensions in your body that they persist and worry you even more, creating a cycle that’s difficult to break.

Send the fear a message that it’s fine for the muscle tension to be there. You’re not worried by it, and it can stay as long as it likes. It’s not a problem, because you don’t see any threat.

Say to that part of your body:

I understand you’re tense. That’s fine. The tension can stay there, and I’m going to continue to do what I’m doing.

Don’t get into a situation in which you try to get rid of the tension with your mind. Simply allow it to be present. Accept the uncomfortable sensation, and then shift your focus back to what you’re doing. If you feel that your breathing is too shallow, then allow it to be shallow. Your body always compensates as it adjusts to expel excess carbon dioxide.

The point to remember here is that your breathing is an unconscious process, and your body has always—and will always—look after that for you, regardless of how much your anxiety interferes. The more you can sit with the sensation and not react with fearful thoughts, the better.

So to sum up, get comfortable with the sensations, and your fear about breathing will end. When the fear ends, the muscle tension releases, leaving you feeling much more comfortable.

If you find that you simply can’t stop worrying about your breathing, then

try to push against the fear more forcefully by demonstrating to yourself that there’s no danger. You can do this by taking a deep breath and holding it for as long as possible.

Initially, you’ll feel anxious trying this, because you’re already concerned about your breathing. After holding your breath for a short while, you’ll be forced to release quickly and breathe in.

As you release and gasp for air, imagine you’re also releasing your fear in the process. Allow your breathing to return to normal, and then, when comfortable, repeat the process. Each time, mentally imagine your fear leaving you as you exhale.

This exercise trains you to feel more confident in your body’s ability to breathe. It shows you that no matter how much you mentally interfere with your breathing, your body is always in charge and always looks after your breathing for you. This fear is a perfect example of how your mental activity can get in the way of a natural flow.

When you learn to trust again in that natural flow of your body, you stop interfering and worrying—and a comfortable, natural rhythm returns to your body.

Re-establishing this trust in your body’s natural rhythm and ability to handle stress is the foundation on which all recovery from anxiety is built

For more tips on how to overcome shortness of breath from anxiety, watch this video – Anxiety & Stress Relief with Diaphragmatic Breathing

By Barry McDonagh, who is an international panic disorder coach. He created the Panic Away program to help people around the world deal with their anxiety and avoid panic attacks – a subject that he is personally attuned to because he himself found that he was prone to these issues since he was young. His hatred of his powerless lead him down the path of finding natural ways to treat himself without having to depend on expensive medications.

His informative site on all issues related to panic and anxiety attacks can be found here: Natural Anxiety Remedies – How to Overcome Shortness of Breath from Anxiety?

How to Overcome Dizziness Due to Anxiety?

 

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Overcome Dizziness Due to Anxiety – Can You Faint from a Panic Attack?

When someone experiences high anxiety or panic, it’s very common to feel light-headed or dizzy. This sensation is alarming because it makes you feel very vulnerable.

If you’re alone, you might fear falling in unconsciousness with no one to look after you. Or if the sensation happens in public, it can lead to feelings of vulnerability surrounded by strangers.

The dizziness often felt during an episode of anxiety is caused by increased respiration. People tend to overbreath, or hyperventilate, when they’re anxious, which can lead to dizziness or light-headedness.

Dizziness can also be triggered by pressure to perform in situations. For example, you may think this:

I don’t know why, but any time my boss asks me a question, I freeze up and start to feel dizzy.

Certain situations can also trigger anxious memories, like this:

I felt dizzy the last time I was in an elevator, and now, every time I get in one, I start to feel a bit woozy.

It’s very uncommon for a person to faint when feeling anxious or threatened. This is because fainting is the result of low blood pressure. When we faint, the body falls to the ground; this allows blood to be easily supplied to the brain, a clever safety mechanism. When you feel anxious, your blood pressure goes up, not down. Hence, fainting is unlikely because your brain has plenty of blood supply.

You might remember old movies like King Kong, where Fay Wray faints in the arms of Kong. But this type of reaction has more to do with dramatic tension; it isn’t how most people react to a threat. Panic results in a heightened sense of alertness, not fainting.

Think of situations where people are faced with imminent threats, such as a robbery or major catastrophe. People don’t faint left, right, and center. They always respond with a heightened sense of alertness.

They respond because their bodies have been primed to jump into action by adrenaline releasing into their system. Their hearts are beating faster, their breathing increases, and blood is flowing fast. This is a prehistoric response to threats that has been with us since early mankind.

Quite simply, fainting when anxious is highly uncommon due to the amount of blood that’s being circulated. Your heart is usually beating fast, and there’s little worry that the brain would be short of a fresh supply.

Frequently, people who have fainted in the past tend to be particularly frightened by a dizzy spell because they feel that if it happened before, it’s likely to happen again.

If you’ve fainted before and fear it might happen again, try to remember the circumstance you were in: Were you tired? Was the temperature very hot? Had you eaten correctly that day?

Fainting can be the result of many different factors, but generally it has little to do with anxiety and is more frequently associated with energy levels, diet, or temperature.

Some people tell me that, regardless of the facts I’ve stated, they still can’t shake off the fear of fainting when feeling anxious. If you struggle with this fear on an ongoing basis, you need to disempower the fear.

The next time you feel light-headed or dizzy and thoughts of fainting begin to trouble you, find a place to sit comfortably. Remind yourself of what I’ve written here, and then tell your body that if it wishes to faint, do so now. You give your body complete permission to faint if that’s what’s needed.

No one can faint on demand. What you’ll find is that the fear evaporates quickly as you call its bluff. Sit there and say to your fear:

If you’re going to make me faint, I’ll give it a few more minutes. But if not, then I have to get on with my day.

Do this, and you’ll quickly feel more comfortable and confident to continue what you were doing. Challenge the fear of fainting in this manner, and you’ll soon find that the idea of fainting doesn’t bother you anymore.

For more tips on how to overcome dizziness due to anxiety, watch this video – How Do You Cope With Anxiety Dizziness

By Barry McDonagh, who is an international panic disorder coach. He created the Panic Away program to help people around the world deal with their anxiety and avoid panic attacks – a subject that he is personally attuned to because he himself found that he was prone to these issues since he was young. His hatred of his powerless lead him down the path of finding natural ways to treat himself without having to depend on expensive medications.

His informative site on all issues related to panic and anxiety attacks can be found here: Natural Anxiety Remedies – How to Overcome Dizziness Due to Anxiety?

How to Deal with Anxiety Symptoms Quickly?

 

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Deal with Anxiety Symptoms Quickly – Nausea/Fear of Vomiting

Anxiety has a direct impact on the abdominal region. It can make people feel anything from a mild jittery sensation (butterflies in the stomach) to physically sick.

Most people tend to get more anxious when they imagine they might vomit, and that worsens the sensation of anxiety, making it all the more likely to happen. The fear of getting sick makes the situation worse. This fear is driven by thoughts like this:

What if I get sick right here and now? What would I do? What would people think of me?

It’s more common for people to fear vomiting in social settings rather than when they’re home, because they think they don’t have a safe place to retreat and feel exposed to social embarrassment.

If you feel sick in your stomach during an anxious period, it’s important to not fight against the sensation or any fears you may have of projectile vomiting.

The solution is found in accepting the sensation in your stomach as it manifests and allowing it full permission to be present. Tell your stomach that it’s fine to feel sick, and if it feels it’s necessary to vomit, then it may do so, and you won’t try to force it from happening.

The reason this approach works well is because, as soon as you allow your stomach the space to feel uncomfortable, the abdominal muscles start to relax. You no longer resist the experience with fear, and your body can flow more freely and release the tension that causes your stomach to feel unwell.

In the early stages, while you’re learning to apply this approach, you might carry a small paper bag with you (like the ones found on airplanes). The bag reassures you that if you get sick, you can do so in a discreet manner. This gives you more confidence to handle the situation.

This approach takes a little practice, but with time, you’ll become more confident in allowing the sensations to be present without resistance—and after a while, you’ll feel no need to carry a paper bag around with you.

Deal with Anxiety Symptoms Quickly – Choking Symptoms/Tight Throat with Anxiety or Panic Attacks

It is common to feel tension around the throat area during an episode of anxiety. This is caused by the muscles of the throat contracting and can give the person the sensation there is a lump in their throat. The medical term for this is globus hystericus.

For people who experience this in association with eating, I find that it’s the thought of forcing a swallow that causes them to feel anxious. If you feel very uncomfortable while eating, the best approach is to simply chew your food and make no attempt to swallow.

Just keep chewing. You’ll find that you can’t stop the process of swallowing—it’s a natural reflex. By not feeling that you have to force a swallow, the pressure is off. Swallowing happens as a natural reflex if you simply keep chewing.

You can have fun experimenting with this. Try to eat anything at all and force yourself not to swallow. It’s almost impossible. This is a great approach for people who fear swallowing, because they don’t have to put themselves under any pressure to swallow. When pressure is removed from the equation, the problem solves itself.

I believe a lot of people experience a lump in the throat due to a buildup of emotion. During emotional events, such as weddings and funerals, it’s common to feel this sensation. And what’s more interesting is that, when people express themselves (crying, laughing, talking), the swell of emotion dies down and the sensation ends.

So if you feel this sensation on a regular basis, I suggest that you start singing or humming. Singing or humming to yourself for several minutes, on a regular basis, releases the muscle tension in the throat area. For this to be most effective, focus on the singing, not on trying to see if the sensation has gone.

Like many of the anxiety sensations, the less you preoccupy yourself with it, the faster the issue is resolved.

Some might associate this “lump in the throat” sensation with a disease. In practice, real lumps in the throat, such as a cancer, are not felt (this is one of the reasons that a tumor can get so big before it’s discovered).

Nevertheless, if you’re concerned about your throat—or, in fact, any part of your body—always get a full medical examination. This is the fastest way to put anxious “what if” thoughts to rest.

For more tips on how to deal with anxiety symptoms quickly, watch these 2 videos below –

Lessons Learned From Emetophobia: Stop Trying to Overcome Your Fears | ERIN KELLEY | TEDxUCincinnati

6 Healing Breaths: Help with Globus Hystericus

By Barry McDonagh, who is an international panic disorder coach. He created the Panic Away program to help people around the world deal with their anxiety and avoid panic attacks – a subject that he is personally attuned to because he himself found that he was prone to these issues since he was young. His hatred of his powerless lead him down the path of finding natural ways to treat himself without having to depend on expensive medications.

His informative site on all issues related to panic and anxiety attacks can be found here: Natural Anxiety Remedies – How to Deal with Anxiety Symptoms Quickly?

Permanently Eliminate Acid Reflux – Which is the Best Acid Reflux Treatment?

 

Discover How, Five Minutes from NOW, Your Acid Reflux Can Be Totally Gone & You’ll Feel Great Night and Day

Permanently Eliminate Acid Reflux – These Heartburn Drugs Cause Alzheimer’s

The use of specific acid reflux drugs has increased significantly in the past few years, and so has the occurrence of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

A new study published in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia now shows that people using these drugs are a scary 44% more likely than the general population to develop these two forms of cognitive decline.

Unfortunately, these are the most commonly-used heartburn medications on the market, used by millions of people every day.

In 2013, American scientists surveyed the prevalence of PPI (proton pump inhibitor) use in the American population, concluding that it had increased from 4% to 9.2% between 2002 and 2009. The study was published in the journal PLoS One, and one dreads to think what the prevalence is today.

JAMA Neurology ran an article in 2016 that showed that PPI users were more likely than the general population to develop dementia.

The authors mined data collected by the largest German statutory health insurer, Allgemeine Ortskrankenkassen, on PPI use and dementia between 2004 and 2011.

Those who were prescribed regular PPIs were 44% more likely to develop dementia than those who received no or very few PPIs.

The authors of the new study in Alzheimer’s & Dementia decided to investigate why PPIs seem to have this negative effect on cognitive function.

Since it would’ve been difficult to study chemicals and neurotransmitters in the bodies of real people and definitively link them to PPI use, the scientists decided to apply PPIs to human tissue and cells in the laboratory. They also used 3D computer simulations to test their hypothesis.

They started from the well-established fact that people with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease have very low levels of the neurotransmitter called acetylcholine. Acetylcholine plays a crucial role in passing signals between cells in your nervous system, which explains in part the deterioration in brain function with these cognitive disorders.

They first demonstrated that six different PPIs could bind to an enzyme called choline acetyltransferase. This enzyme produces acetylcholine.

They then showed that these enzymes are substantially less effective after a PPI binds to them, meaning that they can no longer produce enough or any acetylcholine.

The PPIs with the strongest binding inhibited these enzymes the most, causing the lowest production of acetylcholine.

The active PPI ingredients omeprazole, esomeprazole, tenatoprazole, and rabeprazole had the strongest inhibitory effect on the production of acetylcholine, while pantoprazole and lansoprazole were bad, but not as bad.

This is just one of many studies suggesting an increased risk due to PPI. Other studies have linked PPI to anything from several types of cancers to stroke and heart attack.

The bottom line is that you want to avoid acid reflux drugs altogether.

Fortunately, it’s quite easy to permanently eliminate acid reflux using three ingredients you already have in your home. I explain this here…

Permanently Eliminate Acid Reflux – Link between Asthma and Acid Reflux

Many health experts have now started believing that asthma and acid reflux, or Gastro Esophageal Reflux Disease, are interlinked. Experts believe that acid reflux may aggravate the symptoms of asthma and vice-versa.

Acid reflux and Its Symptoms

Acid reflux is a health condition in which the stomach acid regurgitates into the esophagus.

Common symptoms attached with this condition are:

• Heartburn
• Chest pain
• Hoarseness
• Vomiting
• Dysphagia (problem in swallowing food)

Asthma and Its Symptoms

Asthma is a health condition that affects the airways that carry air to and from lungs. In asthma the airways become inflamed or swollen, which in turn, makes them sensitive to certain triggers.

Common symptoms of asthma include:

• Coughing
• Recurring periods of wheezing (a whistling sound as the person breaths)
• Shortness of breath
• Chest tightness
• Restless sleep

Permanently Eliminate Acid Reflux – How Acid Reflux and Asthma Could Be Related

A plausible reason for link between the two is that in asthmatic patients there is a considerable pressure change in the chest, which in turn, may cause the gastric acids to regurgitate into esophagus, triggering acid reflux.

On the other hand, when in acid reflux the stomach acids move upwards they may irritate the lungs and worsen the condition of the individual who is asthmatic.

In studies done to better understand the relation between these two, stomach acids were injected in the esophagus of asthma patients and it was found that the entry of stomach acids into the esophagus of asthma patients worsen their condition.

Also, it is often found that treating acid reflux helps in alleviating some of the symptoms of asthma.

More research is needed to establish a concrete association between these two diseases, but as of now, experts does believe a link between the two diseases exists. It is understood that asthma may worsen the symptoms of acid reflux, which is basically a lifestyle condition, and vice-versa.

To learn more natural methods to permanently eliminate acid reflux, check out our  acid reflux guide.

Permanently Eliminate Acid Reflux – Causes of Acid Reflux

Millions of people, worldwide suffer from acid reflux, a condition in which gastric juices containing acid regurgitates into the esophageal tube.

The condition of acid reflux in long run can lead to various serious complications. Our body requires gastric acid to digest the food we eat, but in acid reflux this acid is regurgitated upward. This upward release of gastric acid can damage the esophagus, which can have serious health implications.

What causes acid reflux?

Unlike many other health conditions, acid reflux most often occurs due to the factors that are totally in our control. Some of the factors that put you at an increased risk of developing include: improper diet, unhealthy behavioral habits, and improper mental state.

Symptoms of acid reflux

The most common symptoms of acid reflux are:

• Heartburn, which is a burning feeling that rises from stomach towards the neck,
• Chest pain, and
• Dysphagia, which is difficulty in swallowing food.

Natural remedies of acid reflux

Acid reflux is not something you want to take lightly, as it can develop into potentially serious health problem. If not controlled in time, the gastric acid released upward can lead to complete erosion of esophagus.

Comfort comes from the fact that by using natural remedies and adopting a healthy lifestyle, one can effectively tackle this condition. You need to –

Eat a balanced diet – Consumption of fatty foods puts you at a greater risk of developing acid reflux. Follow a balanced diet, and if you must eat fatty foods, eat in moderate amounts. Remember to stay healthy, you need to eat healthy.

Stop Smoking – Smoking and excessive drinking can lead to acid reflux, not to mention other innumerable disease they cause. Stop smoking and drink only in moderation to reduce your chances of developing acid reflux.

Cultivate a positive attitude – Stress, depression, and panic orders are recipe for various health problems, including acid reflux. Maintaining a positive attitude goes a long way in ensuring good physical health. You may practice mental exercises, such as meditation to improve and take better control of your mental state.

Scott Davis discovered a simple home remedy that has helped thousands of people to improve – even totally eliminate – their acid reflux in only a few minutes. You probably already have everything you need to make this remedy in your kitchen. If not, you can get everything in your local supermarket.

To learn more about this remedy and other natural methods to permanently eliminate acid reflux, check out our Acid Reflux Guide.

Watch this video – How to Permanently Eliminate Acid Reflux?

This post is from Scott Davis’ Acid Reflux Solution. This program helps you to cure your heartburn and acid reflux by using natural remedies to quickly heal your stomach without dangerous medicine or risky surgeries. It can also help you to remove some disorders of acid reflux such as constipation or IBS.

To find out more about the program, go to Permanently Eliminate Acid Reflux