21 Things to Expect When Being Treated for Anxiety

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As a psychologist and counselor practicing in the Cary-Algonquin-Crystal Lake area of Illinois, I find that there are 21 essentials you can expect in your treatment for anxiety here.

But first, what are the symptoms of anxiety? 1. Excessive worry that is disproportionate to the situation 2. Muscle tension, restlessness or shakiness 3. Palpitations, butterflies, or nervousness 4. Being on edge, concentration problems or insomnia

If you have these symptoms you should seek counseling or psychotherapy. But if you begin treatment, what will your counselor do- how does therapy work?

1. Your therapist will ask you to explore your thought processes-the way you think. In many cases the type of thoughts you have cause your anxiety. Fearful, dreadful, pessimistic thoughts are, what I call, anxiogenic. That is they lead to anxiety.

2. You will be asked to identify major life conflicts, past and present, to determine how they may be affecting your anxiety. Often history still lingers in your present.

3. Your therapist may train you in various relaxation techniques to subdue the butterflies or worries. One such technique is the therapist guiding your imagination to condition more pleasant relaxed feelings to the anxiety-provoking stimuli.

4. The therapist may train you on how to sculpt your anxiety-provoking thinking patterns so your thoughts are not so pessimistic, scary or catastrophic.

5. You may be asked to identify a list of negative consequences resulting from your your anxious thinking processes which interfere in your life.

6. The possible benefits of herbs or medications might be explored to assess whether or not one or more might be helpful in making your life more comfortable.

7. You might be asked to consider that your anxiety has its own subconscious sales pitch which tricks you into believing that it is necessary and helpful. Some of these sales pitches convince the patient that without the active worrying, his life will be ambushed by a terrible event or catastrophe that will be unmanageable.

8. Once the sales pitch has been figured out your therapist will teach you how to dispute it so that your mind believes your disputation rather than the deceptive pitch of your anxiety.

9. Your therapist may hypnotize you so that your subconscious mind learns that you do not have to worry to protect yourself. When your subconscious believes it, so will your everyday conscious mind and the anxiety will disappear

10. The therapist may prescribe that you read and study some pamphlets or articles about anxiety and ask that you select relevant concepts to discuss with him in the session.

11. Your therapist will likely help you to develop an awareness of your relapse triggers and constructive ways to manage them.

12. You may be required to verbalize how your current living situation contributes to your anxieties and may act as a hindrance to your recovery.

13. If your living situation is seen as aggravating your anxiety, other interventions, such as marriage or family counseling, may be introduced to deal with it.

14. Your therapist will assist you in developing insight into the personal or career changes that may be needed in order to prevent a relapse of serious anxiety.

15. You may be encouraged to increase your awareness of how your upbringing may have affected you psychologically. Remember that often a traumatic past may linger or even lurk in your present.

16. Your therapist will likely support and encourage you when you begin to express relevant fear, rage and rejection relating to any abuse or neglect that you may have experienced.

17. In helping you to manage a traumatic past, your therapist may help you identify the role you played in your family,the feelings associated with it and its impact on the present.

18. The therapist may help you to identify self-defeating patterns relevant to your anxiety that exist in your present family or career situation and suggest ways of modifying them.

19. The therapist may prescribe psychological testing to expose any factors that may be neglected in isolating the causes of your anxiety.

20. You will be helped to identify sources of ongoing support and reassurance to effectively curtail and manage your anxiety.

21. If you are taking any related medications, their clinical and side effects will be monitored to be sure that they are contributing efficiently to a therapeutic outcome and not hampering it in any way.

Dr Shery is in Cary, IL, near Algonquin, Crystal Lake, Marengo and Lake-in-the-Hills. He's an expert marriage counselor and psychologist. Call 1 847 516 0899 and make an appt or learn more about counseling at: http://www.nextdayappointment.com

How Parents Can Beat School Anxiety In Teens

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Anxiety is such a gripping reality not only to people who are stressed out in the workplace, but it is something that teenagers also experience a great deal. School anxiety can even cause slight depression among teens. One major cause of anxiety in teens is comes from school. The different environment and the diverse people can cause a lot of pressure on a student. Add these up with tedious schoolwork and hectic curriculum activities; one can really say that school can cause a lot of severe anxiety.

Social exclusion is a serious issue among teens. This is also one cause of school anxiety. Having someone to talk to is very crucial during this stage. This is where parents should play an important role. Anxious teenagers need a lot of cheering up and someone to boost their morale; no other person can do this but their parents.

It is important that parents acknowledge the presence of anxiety in their children. They need to talk to them and try to understand the cause of their anxiety. Never underestimate their problem, even if it means just getting something done for a science project.

Always encourage your kids to make friends at school. This way, if parents are unable to be there in case they need them then their friends can lend a listening ear. Trust kids judgment in choosing their own set of friends.

Parents have the tendency to take matters in their own hands. If you feel that your kid is in an anxiety causing situation, allow them to work things out themselves. If things go over the line, for instance a teacher overloading students with impossible work loads, then that is the time to take needed action.

Don?t add to the pressure your kids have about school, this can cause them added anxiety. Never judge them outright because of their worries and let them know that you always have your shoulders for them to cry on. Having enough patience and understanding would definitely help you cope up with your kid?s anxiety. Teaching them the values of will power and confidence would eventually help beat anxiety themselves
Jason Rickard is the owner of Your Favourite Shop - Offering White Noise and Relaxation CDs - Visit Hapa Health for more articles.

Seven Ways to Transform Your Relationship to Stress and Anxiety

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Stress is amazingly persistent, even seductive. We get used to feeling tight and tense. Though positive thinking has its place, unless it's backed up by practical wisdom, it tends to get overwhelmed and fade away.

Here are seven proven tips for a whole new relationship with stress and anxiety:

1. Control your REACTION with these seven simple words.

The first step is to remain alert when people try to weigh you down with their nervous comments and attitudes.

The next step is to reply to the attempted attack: "I have nothing to say to that." This cuts off the contagious effect of the stressful assault. It blocks the tendency to accept and imitate depressing words from others. Your nature does not fall down to the level of the anxious remark, but remains high above it.

Negative people WANT to get you involved with their defeat, and this is a major method they use to do it. Your reply ("I have nothing to say to that") prevents them from drawing you in as their victim.

Inner life author Vernon Howard writes, "An attitude of defeat in another person cannot touch you unless you carelessly accept it as yours. And there is no need at all for you to accept it. A quiet refusal to enter the battlefield is the perfect reply."

2. Let go of painful grudges by living in the present moment.

Hating someone is like drinking poison yourself and hoping the offender will die from it. We shut the door on our own development when we fail to grant others the same opportunity for change. Therefore, it is our responsibility to release to the providence of a higher power those who have caused harm, while simultaneously realizing they will be held accountable for their actions.

The secret to success without stress is to realize your newness in the present moment many times each day. NOW is so alive and energetic, so tangible and real, that painful grudges cannot "live" here. Grudges can only stay around when fueled by unaware and unproductive mental visits to the past.

3. Observe negative thoughts with the aim of understanding them instead of trying to suppress them.

Self-Observation is a master key to stress-free living. Instead of claiming stressful thoughts and feelings as our own, we can observe and understand them. This understanding sets us free!

Self-observation is practical spirituality at its best. Marcus Aurelius, the ancient Roman Emperor said, "Those who do not observe the movement of their own minds must of necessity be unhappy."

4. Pause often and enjoy a deep breath.

People are often so tense with stressful thinking they barely breathe!

We can do something highly beneficial and intelligent. We can take brief breaks many times a day, even if for only 30 seconds! We can pause, take a deep breath, look around and relax.

Suppose you feel tempted to give in to someone when you know you should not. Instantly fall into internal relaxation. Breathe away your tensions. Your habitually anxious and resentful attitudes will fall away like leaves from a tree. They will be replaced by a clear mind that reveals what is best for you.

5. Realize you have far better things to think about!

The old way of thinking has its favorite grooves, like negative mental film clips that pull you away from the present moment. When you detect yourself involved in one of these internal movies, pause and say to yourself, "There are better things to think about." This instantly snaps the spell and moves you to higher ground.

You'll feel much less stress and an abundance of new vitality as you reclaim the energy once consumed by these negative mental film clips. Suddenly wake up and come home to yourself by enthusiastically declaring, "There are better things to think about!"

6. Stay clear of negative zones of influence.

Our society is rampant with negative influences. They come from so many places, like frantic people, advertising and untruthful politics. Never forget: Unaware people want you to vibrate on their stressful level. It is your duty, your noble mission in life, to live in harmony with your Heart - YOUR AUTHENTIC AND INTELLIGENT SELF. Though physically you may be in a stressful place, once you connect with your Heart, you have the spiritual power to stay free inwardly. No law says you must fall under stressful zones of influence.

7. Refuse to make stressful or angry comments.

Stress spills out into the world. It is like a snowball rolling down a hill that starts small then gathers size and momentum. Therefore, we must stop stress in its infancy, and the best place to do so is BEFORE it leaves the mouth.

Here's a wonderful way to dissolve stress in your life:

This insight exercise is called SELF-SURPRISE. Here's how it works. You are about to say something angry or hurtful to another person. The statement has left the dock - it is traveling at the speed of light toward the mouth. Your AWARENESS steps in and a higher choice is made; a switch is thrown and you do not say what you were about to say. You say something helpful and cheerful instead!

You'll instantly feel the trueness of practicing this exercise. Anger or stress did not succeed in dictating your speech. Your power of choice lifted you above its arrows. This is not the practice of phony niceness. It is the __expression of true strength and authentic self-command. It can only occur when your awareness is active, like the presence of a lighted lodge in the dark forest.

Conclusion:

The one supreme power that guarantees personal happiness is personal right thinking. This "right thinking" is based on practical wisdom. Try these seven methods, and you'll see a huge difference in your life. You'll have LOTS of energy!

What You Should Know About Anxiety Disorders

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Anxiety is a natural human reaction. And contrary to popular opinion, anxiety can be beneficial because it alerts poeple to potential dangers and gives off an adrenaline rush that can help them accomplish a task in record time.

But like many things, anxiety when taken into the extreme can have disastrous results. These feelings can lead to panic attacks and chronic worrying that can slowly affect the way a person deals with other people and with normal life situations.

Anxiety disorder, as psychologists would want to call this condition, can range from something as simple as feelings of uneasiness to responses as severe as feelings of terror and claustrophobia. Fortunately, among the psychological disorders, anxiety problems are one of the most common and the most treatable. Combinations of medications and behavior therapy are often given. Symptoms of anxiety problems include fast heartbeat and palpitations, chest pains and difficulty in breathing, anxious thoughts that persist even without any concrete reason, dizziness and nausea, sweating, trembling, difficulty in concentrating, fearful thoughts and feelings of disorientation and claustrophobia.

Below are the types of anxiety disorders as mentioned in the DSM-IV.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder is characterized by excessive but unwarranted worries that a person cannot stop having. Although most people will experience these kinds of feelings every once in a while, a disorder is only diagnosed if the feelings persist for six months and start to affect work and the person?s relationships with other people. Some of the common symptoms that people should watch out for are physiological reactions such as headaches, trembling, muscle tension, sweating, and trouble staying or falling asleep. There are also bouts of restlessness and sweating.

Panic disorder is another type of anxiety disorder characterized by feelings of terror that strikes so suddenly without immediate cause. Often, people who are having panic attacks feel pains in their chest with their heartbeats going fast. Some will also feel lightheadedness and even nausea. They will find it hard to breathe and may feel unwarranted fears. Although most attacks usually last for about a few minutes, there are some that last for almost ten minutes and even those that continue on for an hour. A disorder is diagnosed when the attacks happen in a time frame of just four weeks.

We fear a lot of things but there are some people who are quite irrational with their fears. These fears on things are called phobias. There is a long list of phobia forms, having a specific name for each item that is feared. A person, for instance, who is afraid of open spaces has what psychologists like to call agoraphobia. Phobias are characterized by extreme anxiety and even panic attacks when confronted by the object being feared. Many of the symptoms that are felt during panic attacks are also felt during phobic episodes.

Post-traumatic stress disorder also falls under anxiety disorders. PTSD, as it is often called, often developed after experiencing, witnessing or participating in a traumatic and terrorizing event such as death, war, torture and other extreme circumstances. PTSD is characterized by intense anxiety and nightmares at night. People who have PTSD also find it difficult to sleep and to concentrate on things. Often, anxiety attacks go to the extreme when confronted with situations that have similarities with the one experienced.
Robert Thatcher is a freelance publisher based in Cupertino, California. He publishes articles and reports in various ezines and provides anxiety resources on www.your-anxiety-resources.info.

The Best Forms Of Diagnosis Through An Anxiety Disorder Test

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Treating Anxiety Disorder is something that takes time and effort. Many people, who are usually trying to help, make the common mistake of forcing people to do things that a sufferer feels particularly anxious about. Without preparation or guidance this can make the situation worse rather than better. The hardest part of alleviating Anxiety Disorder is the fact that many people who suffer see problems where other's don't. Severe cases can mean that a person even struggles going into a shop to buy a paper. They will be worrying that people are talking about them or laughing at them and even if everything goes perfectly well they may still be convinced of the worst. 'Convincing' them that this isn't the case will be the hardest part of any cure for Anxiety Disorder.

The key to diagnosing Anxiety Disorder through testing is ascertaining the level and frequency of a person's anxiety. Every person suffers from anxiety in certain situations and can actually help us perform better or react better but a person who suffers from Anxiety Disorder is always anxious and can be debilitating. It should be determined whether a person suffers when they are about to do certain things or whether they suffer on a much more general scale.

Because of the nature of an Anxiety Disorder the patient must be aware that they will not be judged on their answers to a test. They must be put at ease and be entirely comfortable with taking the test and having someone read the answers. It is ill advised that a doctor perform this test on a patient they do not know.

According to the formal diagnosis for a General Anxiety Disorder a patient must have suffered from anxiety due to everyday problems for a minimum of six months. This can be shorter if the anxiety is particularly dangerous or concentrated around certain events. Proper testing for an Anxiety Disorder will, therefore, need several test over a fairly long period of time.

Because there are a number of different areas that ascertain whether a patient does indeed suffer from Anxiety Disorder it can be difficult to give them the appropriate test. Putting them in a situation that would cause anxiety is unlikely to yield results because people who suffer from an Anxiety Disorder may have spent their entire lives finding a way to mask their worries and concerns. John Mancini has been writing about Anxiety Disorder online and offline for a long time. Visit http://anxiety-disorders-online.com or http://stop-anxiety-disorders.net to read more about matters like anxiety disorder and separation anxiety disorder.

Anxiety & Panic Disorder - Signals That May Suggest You are suffering

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Of course I am in no way condoning that you make a self diagnosis, as I strongly believe you should visit your doctor for a correct diagnosis. However I will show you a few warning signs that may signal that you have an Anxiety or Panic Disorder.

Firstly, these are a list of symptoms you may feel (but not limited to);

Abdominal discomfort
Diarrhea
Dry mouth
Rapid heartbeat or palpitations
Tightness or pain in chest
Shortness of breath
Dizziness
Frequent urination
Difficulty swallowing/lump in throat
Nausea
Hot flushes or Chills
Headaches
Muscles tension/aches
Fatigue
Visual Disturbances
Psychological symptoms:
Insomnia
Irritability or anger
Inability to concentrate / mind going blank
Fear of madness
Depersonalization
Easily frightened
Fear of dying
Feeling on edge
Lose of sex drive

You will usually feel a combination of a few of these symptoms at any one time. The most common symptoms of Anxiety & Panic Disorder being; racing heart/palpitations, shortness of breath, dizziness and fear of dying.

As you can see, from the large list of symptoms (and not limited to this list) it is extremely important that you have proper test run by your doctor, as these symptoms can be from a large variety of illnesses.

If you are experiencing some of these symptoms, your doctor will most likely run tests such as (but not limited to): Blood work, ECG Holter Monitor Echocardiogram (if youre experiencing palpitations or chest pain), chest x-ray (especially with chest pain and shortness of breathe), he may want a urine sample and ultra-sounds (often with abdominal pain).

Questions you can also ask yourself (as your doctor will most likely ask you when you visit him);

Do you feel anxious before you feel these sensations?
Do you feel panicked?
What stresses do you have in your life?

Anxiety and Panic Disorder can stem from many of things. An example of some;

Work stresses
Family stresses
Money worries
School stresses
Drug abuse
Alcohol abuse
Health issues
A traumatic event from the past has resurfaced

Over a period of time, you find yourself obsessing over your health. Waiting on edge for every little pain or twitch you feel, and eventually it takes over and runs your life.

These sensations/pains that you are feeling can manifest itself into any shape or form. And some sufferers will seek comfort in drinking alcohol just for the sake of a few hours without the sensations and fears. These drinking binges usually contribute to the anxiety increasing the next day. Keeping the vicious cycle alive and prolonging your wellness.

Now the good news is, if you have been diagnosed with Anxiety & Panic Disorder, youre obviously NOT dying of a deadly disease. Secondly, you can overcome this and regain control of your life. And it doesnt consist of taking medication.

My doctor told me Jo, you will never get well again without medication. I proved my doctor wrong I did get well, and it was without medication. And so can you!!!

If you think you might be developing an anxiety or Panic Disorder, go see your doctor for a proper diagnosis and start getting informed. The quicker you nip this on the butt the quicker you can get on with your day to day life. Instead of it being a constant battle.

A special note to the long term sufferers out there, once you over come this, you will be mentally much stronger then most of the people around you! You wont take your health or your life for granted and you will live each moment to maximum.

http://www.anxiety-panic-free.com

About the Author - Joanne King is a former sufferer of Anxiety & Panic Attacks. She is the author of two books "How to Overcome Anxiety & Panic Attacks" & "How to Overcome Anxiety When Approaching Women" She has helped other sufferers Worldwide to eliminate their Anxiety & Panic. http://www.anxiety-panic-free.com