Recognizing the different types of anxiety disorder can help the person cope better with the effect and the situation that may be causing the problem.
Here’s a close look at the different types of anxiety disorders:
1. Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). This disorder is associated with obsessive rituals and behaviors that help the person reduce feeling s of fear or anxiety when they’re performed. The person typically designs their own routine to help reduce a certain type of fear.
For example, someone who fears germs and disease may constantly wash their hands. Someone who fears that things will be out of control may constantly arrange and rearrange furniture or objects in the home.
2. Social anxiety disorder. This anxiety disorder is also known as a social phobia, and involves extreme self-consciousness or worry about what other people are thinking about the person.
The person suffering from this type of anxiety disorderusually fears being judged, ridiculed or shamed by others, so they avoid social situations altogether.
3. Generalized anxiety disorder. This type of anxiety disorderis the most common among adult men and women in the United States, and consists of constant worry, angst or tension about situations that may not be in proportion with the actual circumstance or event. This can turn into a problem when it interferes with relationships, work or the person’s emotional health.
4. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This anxiety disorder typically occurs after someone has survived a particularly terrifying or traumatic event. The person may have nightmares or recurrent memories about the event, and can have difficult functioning in everyday life.
In some cases, mildly stressful situations can trigger extreme anxiety, fear or anger, because the person is reliving the traumatic experience and reacting to it in the present time.
5. Agoraphobia and other phobias. Agoraphobia is an intense fear of having a panic attack in a public situation that could cause severe embarrassment. Other phobias related to anxiety disorders are often experienced by those who have been diagnosed with panic disorder and other disorders, and are rooted in feelings of being ashamed or judged about their problem. The “anxiety about anxiety” is a hallmark trait of these types of phobias. Another common anxiety problem that falls in this category is the fear of driving.
These panic and anxiety disorders are just some of the major problems experienced by those who have difficulty coping with stress, have a history of traumatic experiences, or have a family history of anxiety problems. Identifying the type of anxiety problem is the first step towards treatment, and there are several effective treatments available.
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.
Here are five simple ways to help you relax while flying. These come from Capt. Tom Bunn who is in my opinion the most qualified person to teach others on how to end a fear of flying.
He says himself that the below tips are just to get you started a “band aid” fix if you will. If you are serious about ending a fear of flying completely then you should read about the SOAR program by following the link at the end of the article.
Five Simply Ways to Help You Relax While Flying
Number One – The 5-4-3-2-1
Start by doing the 5-4-3-2-1 every five minutes. Then every fifteen minutes. Then every hour. It is nothing more than a focusing exercise, something to intensely occupy your mind so disturbing thoughts can’t take hold.
Sit or recline comfortably.
Focus on some object in front of you.
Keep your focus on that throughout the exercise.
If your eyes drift off, just bring them back. Do the exercise out loud first. Then, try it silently. See if one works better for you than the other.
Say “I see” and name something in your peripheral vision.
Say “I see” and name something else in your peripheral vision.
Continue until you have made five statements.
For example: I see the lamp, I see the table, I see a spot on the lamp shade, I see a book on the table, I see a picture on the table.
Say “I hear” and name something you hear.
Say “I hear” and name something else you hear.
Continue until you have made five statements.
NOTE: you will have to repeat something if there are not five different things you can hear.
Say “I feel” and name something you hear. (not internal, like heart pounding or tension, but external).
Say “I hear” and name something else you hear.
Continue until you have made five statements. For example: I feel the chair under me, I feel my arm against my leg, etc.
That completes one cycle. It takes intense concentration. That is exactly what you want.
As you concentrate on non-threatening things, the “fight or flight” hormones in your body when you started the exercise get burned off. As they are, you get more relaxed. You don’t make yourself relax. You use up the stress hormones to let yourself relax.
Start the next cycle, but make one change. If you always made five statements, you soon could do the exercise without intense concentration, and your mind could drift back to “bad” thoughts.
You can keep concentration intense by making one change each cycle. Instead of doing five statements again, do four statements. Then, in the following cycle, do three statements. Then, in the next cycle, do two statements.
Then, in the next cycle, do one statement.
Stop when you are as relaxed as you want to be. If you want to be more relaxed – or to fall asleep – continue by starting again at five statements. If you lose count, that is a good sign because it means you are getting relaxed, so relaxed that you are losing count.
Number Two – Worry Once
The first time you worry about a flight and imagine something going wrong, you probably are aware that you are engaging in imagination. So long as you know you are just imagining something, it isn’t hard to dismiss it.
But if you repeatedly imagine something going wrong, that thing you imagine becomes memorized. Once memorized, it comes to mind – not via imagination – but from memory. That makes it hard to dismiss. It seems factual. This makes it hard to dismiss as imagination, for after all, it isn’t imagination any more. By memorizing it, you gave it the same authority as something that has actually happened.
The best approach is preventative. Worry so masterfully the first time that you don’t need to revisit the issue. If you do keep coming back, quickly turn to the 5-4-3-2-1 to calm yourself. A calmer mind may be able to dismiss the subject.
Number Three – Rubber Band
This is therapist Jerilyn Ross’s invention. Wear a rubber band on your wrist. As soon as you are revisiting the problematic thought, snap the rubber band. After a few times, the sting of the rubber band will stand in the way of continued thought.
Number Four – Music Filters Out Plane Noises
Keep the “auditory channel” of your mind occupied. Bring along an audio player with plenty of music.
Number Five – Keep Visually Busy
Anxiety is primarily triggered by visual imagination. Though a sound may startle you, it is the visualization that you are up high that make the sound a problem. Keep the “visual channel” of your mind fully occupied with something concrete to keep imagination from gaining a foothold.
Buy several magazines with splashy color pictures. Just flip through the pictures to keep the “visual” part of your mind busy. This is a great time to focus on needlepoint or puzzles, if you like those activities. Or bring a DVD player, or a video game. Still bring magazines; you are not allowed to use the DVD player or video game during takeoff or landing.
The Jello Exercise
One of the reasons people fear flying is because they just cannot understand how an airplane can stay up in the sky safely all that time.
If your fear is that airplane might suddenly fall from the sky you have to read this article by Capt Tom Bunn. I guarantee just reading this will make you feel a whole lot safer while flying.
The Jello Exercise
At five miles-per-hour, you walk through air effortlessly. But as speed through air increases, air becomes radically different. On a bike, people who are not bike-racers reach their speed barrier at about twenty-five miles-per-hour. Going through air at five miles per-hour is effortless. Going through air at twenty-five miles per-hour requires maximum effort.
At fifty miles-per-hour in a car, if you put your hand out the window and push forward, it takes the same effort as putting your hand underwater in a swimming pool and pushing forward. This means fifty mile-per-hour air is as thick as water in a pool to the vehicle penetrating it.
At eighty miles per hour, air becomes as thick as oil or molasses. Take off speed for an airliner is between one hundred-twenty and two hundred miles per hour. At that speed – as far as the plane is concerned – air is like jello.
Imagine a plane to jello in front of you. A cube of pineapple is suspended in the jello. Pick up the plane and shake the jello. No matter how hard you shake it, you can’t make the pineapple come loose from the jello. Replace the pineapple with a toy airplane. Again, shake the jello.
As with the pineapple, there is nothing you can do to make the airplane plunge. The jello holding the toy airplane sits on a plate. The jello like air holding the real plane sits on the earth. Turbulence cannot break the hold of the jello. In jello-like air, there is no place to fall.
Once a plane reaches “jello-speed”, it has to go where it is pointed. Imagine you poke a shish kabob skewer into the jello behind the airplane.
Put the tips against the rear of the engines. When you apply force, you can make the toy plane cut forward through the jello. This is what happens in flight. Engines make the plane cut forward through the jello-like air. The plane can only go where it is pointed.
Next time you fly, as the plane accelerates down the runway, imagine the air getting thicker and thicker until it is like jello. Then, as the plane’s nose rises, imagine the plane being shoved forward through jello-like air. Throughout the flight, picture your plane held solidly in jello that is resting on the earth.
Licensed therapist and airline captain Tom Bunn LCSW has specialized in the treatment of fear of flying since 1980. He founded SOAR to develop methods to deal with moderate and severe cases of flight phobia.
SOAR was established in 1982 because no programs existed that could help people with moderate to severe difficulties. Even today, no other program offers help that is effective except for mild difficulties. No matter how difficult flying is for you, SOAR can help visit :
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.
A few years ago, there was one crash every million departures. I’ve been telling people recently that the current rate is one in five million. That was based on 2007.
The most recent stats released by the International Air Transport Association are for 2008. The figure was one crash in eight million flights.
Even so, statistics don’t make fearful fliers feel better. The problem is simple: both of those ratios include “one”, and that is the one that crashes.
The key to fixing fear of flying is to train the mind to not react when that thought of the “one” comes to mind, nor react when a thought of how that “one” crashes comes to mind, nor what it would feel like to be on that plane.
When the brain’s response to those thoughts is controlled, it is a lot easier for the fearful flier to recognize that what is feared and what is really going on during the flight are two different things.
Dealing with Anxiety About Turbulence
Turbulence while flying is one of the main concerns people have while flying. Many people can manage as long as it is a smooth flight from start to finish.
In this article Capt. Tom Bunn answers people’s fears about turbulence.
Dealing with Anxiety About Turbulence
The incident in which several people were injured onboard a Continental flight has caused undue anxiety. As an airline captain who works with people who are afraid to fly, I’ve received several emails from clients who are very upset by this incident.
Here is an example.
“This is precisely the kind of scenario that bothers me. A perfectly qualified crew on a well-maintained and modern jetliner was tossed about like a rag.”
The idea that the airliner was the airliner was tossed around like a rag is pure imagination. If you were flying nearby and watching the Continental flight, you would have seen absolutely nothing unusual. The movement during this turbulence was so small you would not have been able to see it.
“How can we be sure that the weather we may be in is safe?”
You are always safe in turbulence provided you take the simple precaution of wearing a seat belt whether the seat belt sign is on or off. Perhaps you saw photos of the plane parked at the terminal after the flight. That should be reassuring.
Turbulence did no damage to the plane.
Turbulence is not a problem for the plane. Airliners are built to handle far more turbulence than Mother Nature can dish out. To see what airliners can deal with, see some of the Hurricane Hunter videos available online.
“I realize also that no one who was seated with their seat belts fastened got physically hurt. But, the mental jarring would have been unprecedented.”
If you are simply concerned about being frightened, that can’t be guaranteed. And, it is essential to recognize that emotional fear and physical danger are not the same.
We all need to be able to tolerate being afraid, and then to use the mind to determine whether the fear is a false alarm or something we need to act on.
“I remember you saying that a modern jetliner barely moves more than an inch vertically even when in severe turbulence. But if as reported in the press, if some of the flight attendants hits the roof of the cabin, the aircraft must have dropped by at least several feet.”
Think of croquet. In something called “sending your opponent”, you place your ball against your opponent’s ball. You put your foot on your ball and strike your ball. Your ball moves only a fraction of an inch. The opponent’s ball zips off several yards.
Rotate that ninety degrees. The plane is like your ball. The plane moves up sharply, but only a fraction of an inch. The unbelted passenger is like the opponent’s ball. The unbelted passenger moves a greater distance.
Some passengers will not follow the most basic instructions and wear a seat belt at all times. Except in the rarest situations, passengers get away with not wearing a seat belt. This was one of those rare occasions when they didn’t.
Yours truly,
Captain Tom Bunn LCSW
Licensed therapist and airline captain Tom Bunn LCSW has specialized in the treatment of fear of flying since 1980. He founded SOAR to develop methods to deal with moderate and severe cases of flight phobia.
SOAR was established in 1982 because no programs existed that could help people with moderate to severe difficulties. Even today, no other program offers help that is effective except for mild difficulties. No matter how difficult flying is for you, SOAR can help visit :
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.
What Are the Physical Symptoms of Anxiety Disorders?
Anxiety and panic disorders affect over 4 million adult Americans each year, and most people experience a combination of physical and emotional symptoms. In some people, the physical symptoms can be so severe that they lead to constant panic attacks and other problems. Physical symptoms can occur suddenly, or be a part of the person’s lifestyle if the anxiety disorder has been prevalent for an extended period of time.
Almost all anxiety disorders are associated with a specific set of physical symptoms, so identifying these symptoms and experiences is necessary when considering treatment.
In many cases, the mental health professional will ask the sufferer to keep track of when they experience these symptoms, and how severe they are. This can help to identify exactly what may be causing the negative experiences, and help the doctor create an effective treatment plan.
According to WebMD.com, many people experience depression and other problems that can cause additional physical symptoms.
1. Stomach upset or nausea. Many people who have an anxiety disorder feel nauseous after a meal, or at various intervals throughout the day. This gastrointestinal disturbance is often associated with the central nervous system being out of balance.
2. Headaches or migraines. Constant tension and worry can take its toll physically in the form of headaches or migraines. People suffering from anxiety disorders often experience frequent headaches or intense migraines that can be crippling.
3. Shortness of breath. The fear response that is triggered during a panic or anxiety attack often causes a shortness of breath because the body is pushed into “fight or flight” mode. This can cause chest pains and heart problems, and can also make it difficult to focus or concentrate.
4. Insomnia. Many people suffering from anxiety disorders cannot get to sleep easily, or find it difficult to rest. Insomnia is a common side effect of many anxiety disorders, and may be corrected with lifestyle changes, herbal supplements or medication.
5. Diarrhea or constipation. Anxiety disorders can cause several problems in the digestive system, and may trigger periods of diarrhea or constipation. People who suffer from extreme levels of anxiety often need to modify their diets to ensure they are eating the right types of foods. This can mean eating a steady diet of easily-digestible, well-balanced meals.
6. Excessive sweating. Heart palpitations and an elevated heart rate are linked to increased central nervous system activity, and this often triggers excessive sweating. People with anxiety disorders often experience bouts of excessive sweating, even when they are not facing any type of fearful situation or problem.
7. Muscle tension or twitches. Some people who suffer from anxiety disorders experience muscle tension, twitches or tremors because of an imbalance in the central nervous system. Muscle twitches themselves can cause anxiety when they occur in public, and can make the sufferer feel even more out of control.
There are several physical symptoms associated with anxiety disorders, and recognizing them is the first step towards finding an effective treatment. Most people can overcome their anxiety problems with a combination of therapy, natural treatments, lifestyle changes and/or medication.
How to Tell If You Have Anxiety Attack Symptoms
Anxiety attacks and panic disorders affect an estimated 2.4 million Americans according to WebMD.com, and women are more likely to experience them than men.
An anxiety attack can be described as an elevated sense of unease and a sudden acute episode of feeling overwhelmed and panicky.
Anxiety attacks can occur on a regular basis, or randomly in people of all ages. Here are some ways to recognize anxiety symptoms:
2. Chest pains or tightness. Someone who has a tendency of having anxiety attacks usually stops breathing properly. This can cause severe chest pains or tightness, difficulty swallowing, and from limited oxygen intake.
3. Excessive energy. People who are “always on the go” may not realize they are experiencing anxiety symptoms. They may feel like they can’t relax or will experience long periods of restlessness or agitation. This is a common anxiety symptom that many people overlook.
4. Numbness or tingling in the hands and feet. Most people who are about to have a full-blown anxiety attack will start to breathe in a shallow manner, limiting their oxygen intake. This can cause numbness in the hands and feet, especially if they are sitting in a constricted position.
5. Heart palpitations or a racing heart. People who are about to have an anxiety attack often feel like their “heart is about to beat out of their chest.” Increased heart rate and elevated blood pressure are common anxiety symptoms.
6. Extreme cravings for sugar and sweets. For those who experience anxiety symptoms on a regular basis, eating high-fat, high-carbohydrate foods serve the purpose of calming them down.
This can become a problem if too much food is eaten at one sitting, and can end up making the person feel worse. Food can only numb anxiety symptoms temporarily; as soon as the “high” wears off, the anxiety attack or anxiety problems will return, and may get worse.
7. Extreme fatigue. Constant stress on the mind and body from an anxiety attack or anxiety problems can leave the person feeling worn out and extremely fatigued. Anxiety triggers several chemical reactions in the body that directly affect the central nervous system. This can leave the person feeling drained of energy, and unable to get enough rest to recover.
Anxiety symptoms vary from person to person, and may be more pronounced in some people than in others. The intensity and effects of an anxiety attack can occur based on the person’s chemical makeup, frequency of other attacks, and other factors.
Even though anxiety can cause many physical, emotional and social problems, most anxiety problems can be corrected with lifestyle changes, dietary supplements or medical intervention.
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.
And while the American College of Rheumatology wants us to do this by using drugs, we will instead give you some advice of what to eat and what to avoid to lower your uric acid.
Uric acid is produced when our bodies break down a chemical called purine, which occurs naturally in the human body and in many foods, especially protein-rich ones.
Another important thing to know is that uric acid is eliminated from the body in urine.
To control your uric acid, do as many as possible of the following:
1. Drink plenty of water or other non-sugary non-alcoholic liquids to stay hydrated because frequent urination removes uric acid from the body.
2. Drink regular caffeinated coffee in moderation; some studies show that caffeine helps to control gout. If caffeine worsens your gout, or if you have some gastrointestinal condition, ignore this recommendation.
3. Eat cherries, which some studies show reduce the risk of gout attacks.
4. Consume vitamin C-rich foods or supplements. Think citrus, kale, spinach, asparagus, broccoli, sweet green and red peppers, mango, strawberries, and other berries.
5. Consume your animal proteins in the form of chicken, lean beef, pork, and low-fat dairy.
6. Salmon is the safest omega-3–rich fish, which you need.
7. Eat whole grains, nuts, seeds, all fruits, all vegetables, and all legumes. Yes, legumes contain purines but far less than animal products do, and you must obtain protein from somewhere.
8. Asparagus and spinach are two vegetables that are rich in purines and are usually listed on the avoidance list. But most studies show that they don’t increase gout attacks, possibly because of their high vitamin C levels.
To control your uric acid, avoid as many as possible of the following:
1. Avoid sugary foods and drinks because sugar leads to an increased production of uric acid and gut bacteria that produce uric acid. This includes sweetened cereals, sweetened fruit juices, sodas, ice cream, candy, cakes, and bakery treats.
2. Avoid excessive alcohol. Some studies show that wine is fine but listen to your body and do what works for you.
3. Fish is healthful, but the fattiest fish (like anchovies, sardines, tuna, herring, trout, mackerel, and shellfish) contain too much purine to be safe.
4. Avoid organ meats like liver, kidney, sweetbreads, and brain.
5. You don’t have to avoid red meat but limit your intake and choose the lean cuts and not bacon, sausages, or minced meat. Avoid game meat.
6. Avoid nutritional yeast, brewer’s yeast, and other yeast products.
Lower Your Uric Acid – How Gout Causes Heart Failure
Gout is a condition that affects the joints. How in the world can it cause heart attacks and strokes?
This was a question asked in a new study published in the journal Arthritis Research & Therapy.
And even more importantly, how can you heal gout and prevent strokes and heart attacks?
The researchers investigated this relationship in two different samples of participants.
They first analyzed data collected from 5,713 people who were enrolled in the Reasons for Geographic And Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study between 2003 and 2007. They were all 65 years and older and had no history of coronary heart disease, stroke, or heart failure.
At enrollment, the participants were given a physical examination and questionnaires to record their sociodemographic information, dietary habits, and medication use.
Among the participants, 3.3 percent had gout, with gout sufferers being more likely than nonsufferers to be older, black, male, overweight, diabetic, hypertensive, and suffering from chronic kidney disease.
Those with gout were 97 percent more likely to be hospitalized with heart failure than those without gout. This held true for both men and women.
The researchers then obtained claims data for 29,753 randomly selected Medicare beneficiaries from 2008 to 2015 and analyzed their records for the same conditions.
Here, they also found that gout sufferers were more likely to be hospitalized with heart failure.
This study is important because it shows that people with gouthave a risk of heart failure, even if they don’t have any other risk factors, like smoking, obesity, high blood pressure, atherosclerosis, and diabetes.
From previously published studies, the scientists speculated that systemic inflammation and/or insulin resistance may play a role because they are both involved in gout and heart failure.
Both inflammation and insulin resistance are modifiable through diet, regular physical activity and adequate sleep, so you may want to tackle those if you’re currently struggling with gout.
The post is from the End of Gout Program created by Shelly Manning. She is an accomplished natural health researcher and writer. She began her work on natural health remedies after suffering years of very painful arthritis.
The End of Goutprogram offers natural ways to eliminate the pain and discomfort of gout. Unlike many conventional treatments, this program takes the main contributing factors, such as diet, stress, sleep and lifestyle, and teaches you natural ways to remove them from your life so you can begin to heal your gout from the inside out.
It’s 100% safe and natural and is highly based around science. It even comes with quick relief options for those days when you want to take the risk and cheat. So, if you’re ready to end your gout without having to restrict your diet and spend hours working out every day, here’s what you can expect from The End of Gout.
