Canine Separation Anxiety

>>  Cure Your Anxiety and Panic Attack INSTANTLY -- Click Here <<

 

One of the greatest joys of dog ownership is the tight bond we experience and encourage with our dogs. However, if your dog becomes too reliant or dependant on you, canine separation anxiety can develop.

Canine Separation Anxiety is an enormous problem to an estimated 10% of all puppy's and older dogs. Somewhat ironically, it is the major cause for dogs ending up in animal shelters. I wish I could say dog separation anxiety is easily fixed , but the truth is it can be a very difficult and time consuming problem to turn around.

Let's take a look at separation anxiety from your dogs perspective. You are the most important thing in your dogs life. Dogs are very sociable creatures and thrive on company for many reasons. If your dog had a choice he/she would spend every bit of his time with you. So it's only natural that when you go out, your dog can experience varying degrees of distress and anxiety. He becomes confused, vulnerable, doesn't know where you are going, why he can't be with you and if you will be coming back to him. When you are separated all he wants is to be reunited with his pack - which is you.

Punishment is never the answer to treating dog separation anxiety!

Does Your Dog Suffer From Separation Anxiety?

There's every chance your dog is suffering from a Separation Anxiety disorder rather than another dog behavior problem if:

1. Your dog gets really worked up and anxious when you are preparing to leave the house. Things like picking up your car keys or putting on your coat can trigger the behavior.

2. Your dog engages in inappropriate behavior only when you are separated. I expand on this topic further down the page, but behavior such as urinating inside, excessive barking and destructive behavior are common symptoms of Separation Anxiety in dogs.

3. Your dog follows you everywhere you go and immediately becomes distressed if he can't be near you.

4. When you arrive home your dog is over the top with his greeting and takes a while to calm down.

Why Do Dogs Suffer From Separation Anxiety?

There are many theories on this one. In some cases the cause or trigger can be pinpointed to a particular event, but often there appears to be no explanation for the Separation Anxiety to commence. What I can say is that Canine Separation Anxiety regularly occurs:

- Straight after a change in routine. Such as your work hours changing or a family member leaves home. Remember dogs are creatures of habit and any changes can be very unsettling to them.

- If you have been on vacation or unemployed for some time and have been spending heaps of time with your dog. When you go back to work your dog becomes anxious and distressed.

- Unfortunately dog's rescued from animal shelters contribute a highly disproportionate number of Separation Anxiety cases.

- After your dog experiences a traumatic event while on his own. If a thunderstorm lashes your home while your dog is alone, this can trigger Separation Anxiety in the future.

- If your dog is rarely left alone and becomes overly reliant on his pack.

- When you move house to a new neighbourhood.

How Does Dog Separation Anxiety Manifest Itself?

- Barking - Whining - Licking - Destructive Behavior - Chewing - Howling - Panic Attacks - Digging - Inappropriate Urinating - House Soiling - Self Mutilation - Escaping - Diarrhea - Loss Of Appetite - Excessive Salivation - Vomiting - Jumping Through Windows - Crying

What Can You Do To Help Your Dog Overcome Separation?

The treatment administered to your dogs separation anxiety problem depends on its severity. You will find lots of theories and suggestions regarding the correct way to treat separation anxiety - I'll just inform you of what's worked for me.

The 4 Step Program I Used To Fix My Dalmation's Separation Anxiety Problem

My dalmation Harrison developed Separation Anxiety seemingly for no reason when he was about 7 years old. He would start digging and crying as soon as I left the house, even if my other family members were home. My Veterinarian suggested this training process, it achieved the desired result but took plenty of time and patience.

Aside from the 4 step program listed below, I continued to practice the general day to day duties of responsible dog ownership. By this I mean things like providing a safe and comfortable bed, plenty of exercise and obedience training.

Harry would start to get anxious (his whole body would shake) at the very first sign of me leaving the house. This typically would be putting my shoe's on or turning off the TV or heater. It became a real problem for Harry, myself and the rest of my family, this is how we eventually solved it:

Step 1

Since Harry was always by my side when I was home I had to slowly teach him that he didn't always need to be close to me. I started out by ignoring his attention seeking behavior (jumping up, barking etc.) and then did some solid practice of his down stay. Little by little we extended the time and distance we spent apart, until he was happy to be alone for up to 30 minutes. Of course, we still spent lots of fun time together.

Step 2

The next step was to get him used to being outside when I was inside. Again we started off with very small periods apart and gradually lengthened the time over a couple of weeks. If you try this Separation Anxiety treatment make sure that you don't just leave your dog outside to get all worked up and stressed. The trick is to start out leaving your dog out for a few seconds, then going out and reuniting before he shows any signs of Separation Anxiety. Give your dog a treat or dog toy to keep his mind off missing you. Only initiate contact with your dog when he is calm and quiet.

Step 3

The next step in fixing Harry's Separation Anxiety problem was to eliminate the distress caused by me getting ready to leave the house for work. What I did was write a list of all the triggers that started Harry's anxiety. I then set about desensitizing him to these triggers. I'd put my shoe's on, and not go anywhere. Put my coat on, then sit down to read the paper. Pick up my car keys and just carry them around with me, jangling along as I went about my business. After a while (about 3 weeks) Harry barely offered a sideways glance at my shenanigans.

Step 4

When Harry was completely calm in situations that would have unsettled him in the past, I left the house. At first I just stepped outside, shut the door and came back inside within 20 seconds - before he made a sound. Again this was a slow process, similar to step 2. I extended the time outside the front door and then graduated to starting the car, then driving around the block before I came back inside. You can provide a tasty treat to your dog on your way out the door, something that he can work on for a while. Harry's favorite was a frozen Kong stuffed full of peanut butter and a few liver treats, this eventually kept him occupied for hours. Remember that when you return home, don't make a huge fuss. Come inside, get changed, pour yourself a nice hot coffee, then greet your calm dog.

This process did prove effective for me and my anxious dalmation. All up the 4 steps took about 5 weeks to work through and fix Harry's Separation Anxiety problem. My Vet suggested that I supplement this training with some medication. I didn't go down that path, but it would have been my next step if required.

Whichever method you choose to treat dog separation anxiety, be sure to stick with it and don't expect any immediate results.

Chris Smith is a dedicated dog owner and creator of www.dog-obedience-training-review.com

You are the best person in the world to train your dog - do it the right way, at home

Depression Treatments And Symptoms Of Anxiety Depression

>>  Cure Your Anxiety and Panic Attack INSTANTLY -- Click Here <<

 

More than 17 million American people are affected by anxiety depression symptoms, so that the specialists have been calling this illness as psychiatric flu.

When the young people are concerned, the psychiatric factors are the ones that influence the anxiety depression symptoms. People have to be thought by the specialist how to deal with the stress factors and also they need to know how to improve their own capacity of handling these stressing factors. Almost the majority of the anxiety depression symptoms are very respondent to different treatments, especially to medication. As a modality of reducing stress, anyone can cut some hours from the work schedule program and a refusal of some social obligations. As for the more improved stress confrontation capacity, the patient is supposed to do a lot of relaxing exercises, more adequate sleeping hours and a healthy diet.

Finding an effective antidepressant drug is not an easy task, as every individual has one particular set of characteristics and therefore it is not possible a priori to establish which antidepressant will be that effective one. Beyond to depression medication, other treatments like psychotherapy, integrated therapy and depression medication, electro convulsion therapy and the therapy with light are today available. Each one of these approaches has detailed prescription lists. As an example, the depression medication treatment and that psychotherapy one have a rate success from 60 to 80%. This integrated modality has one of its particular indications in the advanced shapes of depression. Some patients show the persistence of residual symptoms between an episode and the other and in the shapes in which depression medication or psychotherapy alone is not effective.

There is a large number of anti depression drugs that can help remedy the harmful effects of the depressive symptoms but some of them have more side effects than others and this is the reason why they get dangerous. Considering from the price point of view, there are cheaper and more expensive anti depression drugs that can be used for treating this disease, but they may have severe side effects, such as: wither mouth, urine abstain, sedation and a lot of sexual problems. Talking about sexual mal functions, some drugs, which were recently discovered, characterize an important development regarding the sexual abnormality. Each medication used for treating the disease in question has a skimpy different profile of side effects, so it may be possible for one to try several solution treatments in order for the doctor to discover the most appropriate one.

Michael Rad is the webmaster of http://www.depression-treatment-expert.com, a free informational resource hub dedicated to explaining depression and related treatments. Other health-related websites that you might be interested in include www.arthritis-hub.com and www.breast-enlargement-expert.com

Sleeping Problems and Separation Anxiety in your Child

>>  Cure Your Anxiety and Panic Attack INSTANTLY -- Click Here <<

 

Children suffering from Separation Anxiety often want to sleep in their parents' beds. This may be the child's way of reassuring himself that nothing will happen to Mom or Dad during the night. While this can be endearing at first, it can eventually grow into a problem. There are many parents who now have children that refuse to sleep in their own beds. As you can imagine, this brings about several undesired consequences, not the least of which is not having your bed to yourself.

If you have already found yourself in this position, it is time to do something about it. Getting your child to sleep in his or her own bed can be a challenge, but the benefits for both you and the child make it worthwhile. Refusal to let the child sleep with you will probably result in a flood of tears and possibly some real tantrums, so you must be prepared and have a strong resolve. Our babies' cries tear at our hearts, but keep in mind the fact that you are doing this for the good of the child (and the rest of the family).

How do you get your child to move out of your bed? The first step is to make it exciting. Perhaps take him shopping for a new nightlight, as waking up alone in the dark can genuinely be frightening. One of the best ways of combating Separation Anxiety is to create routines, and bedtime is no exception. In fact, it is one of the most important routines to set. Perhaps your routine will involve a bath followed by a story in the child's bed. When you have finished, kiss him goodnight and let him know you will be there in the morning before leaving the room. You must resist the urge to give in to repeated requests for water, more kisses, etc., and if your child gets up, you must firmly insist that he return to bed. This is not the time to return and tuck him in all over again.

Some children will go to extraordinary lengths to try and break your will. Of course, they don't do this on purpose--although sometimes it seems like they do! Your child may cry for several hours or even make it through the night without sleeping. If this is the case, do your best to stick to your normal routine the next day, and he will eventually become quite tired at bedtime. If he develops a severe case of insomnia, however, you may need to speak with a therapist. Some children will also cry until they literally vomit. In this case, you should clean up the mess and return the child to bed. Such a reaction may go on for a period of time, but it will dissipate. You do not want to rebuke the child for this physical reaction, but you also should not offer lots of sympathy; as that can encourage such a response to being put in his own bed.

The most difficult aspect of getting your child to sleep in his own bed is also the most difficult, and that is not giving in to the cries and pleas. It may be necessary to sit outside your child's door for a while so he can see you, and that is o.k., but responding to the cries and tantrums is not. In fact, giving in once is going to set your progress back, possibly to the beginning. If he keeps getting out of bed, you may have to lower your voice, crouch to his level and reinforce your command to return to bed. It is difficult to see your child distressed this way, but in the long run, he will become happier and more independent.

When your child wakes the next morning, be sure to point out that you are still in the home, just as you promised you would be. This is fundamental to most aspects of teaching children to move past their Separation Anxiety. When you leave for the grocery store, for example, tell him "goodbye" and let him know you will be back soon. When you do return, point out that you did just as you said you would. The idea is to reinforce for the child that nothing bad is going to happen to you while you are out of his presence. That includes during the sleeping hours of the night!

Learn how to finally beat separation anxiety in your child with The Separation Anxiety Solution at: http://www.separation-anxiety-solution.com

Anxiety - Negative Self Talk

>>  Cure Your Anxiety and Panic Attack INSTANTLY -- Click Here <<

 

Anxiety is a response which is innate in every healthy human being. We will all step back from the edge of a precipice, or jump when we hear a loud bang. Some of us however are more prone to anxiety than others, and controlling or curing anxiety relies upon understanding what anxious people do differently. Eastern philosophies have long known the importance of how one views one's environment. There is the age old tail of two travellers approaching a mountain range. The first traveller, looking forward to reaching his destination and relishing the new sites and sounds, sees the peeks reaching to the sky and views them as nature's gems, a site to behold. The second traveller, homesick, weary and loathe to reach his destination, views the very same peaks, from the very same angle, but thinks of them as the teeth of the entrance to hell.

The moral of this slightly melodramatic tale is that our environment is what we perceive it to be. We think something is dangerous only because, either consciously or unconsciously, we tell ourselves that it is. The process goes something like this:

Events ----> Our interpretation ----> Negative self talk ----> Negative emotions and reactions

Why we tell our selves that a certain situation is dangerous is another matter, we have learned to do that in the past and the cause is not necessarily important now. The important thing is that we stop this negative self talk.

At this point it becomes necessary to accept that both the cause and solution to your anxiety issues lie inside you. It's easier to blame it on brain chemistry imbalance, genetic weakness, and all sorts of other matters outside your control, but the simple truth is that by accepting responsibility today you can set in motion a very profound healing process.

Negative self talk doesn't just effect people with anxiety and panic attacks, it also effects those people who are constantly worried, too stressed, can't relax, or get depressed.

Negative self talk often starts with "what if..." type questions or self limiting statements like "I can't do that", or "I can't cope".

The traditional way of counteracting these negative thoughts is through cognitive therapy. You capture the thought and argue it out, either in your mind or on paper. For example:

"What if the elevator gets stuck?"
"I won't be able to cope, I'll go mad and may die, I'll faint, people will think I have a problem."

"Is that true? Let's examine the evidence."
"You have always coped in the past and will again in the future, panic can't make you mad as nasty as it feels and neither can it kill you. Neither does it often make you faint as your blood pressure goes a bit higher, not lower. Lots of people fear getting stuck in a lift, no body would think you were weird. But here's the big news: the lift is the safest form of transport, the chances of it getting stuck are thousands to one."

This kind of reaction can often lessen the impact of the negative self talk and open up new choices. It is a great first line of defence, but other methods exist which will banish the negative self talk, instead of merely keeping it at bay. The problem with cognitive therapy is that it sticks to conscious, surface thoughts. I would recommend doing cognitive therapy but supplementing it with something like the Sedona Method, which gets deeper into the issue and bridges the gap between psychoanalysis and cognitive therapy.

Anxiety 2 Calm looks at various techniques to overcome anxiety, panic attacks, phobia and stagnation. It includes sections on the Sedona Method, EMDR, and much more. All information is free and there is also a blog and a forum and many more interactive features. Feedback on experiences with medication and those expensive programmes and CD courses that are always advertised is useful to help others who are in a similar predicament to yourself or your loved one.

Thomas Chant runs Sundance Solutions, a company which specializes in gaining search engine ranking and attracting quality visitors by writing and syndicating high quality articles and producing fantastic reader friendly copy

Taming Trouble - Four Easy Ways To Contain Stress and Anxiety?

>>  Cure Your Anxiety and Panic Attack INSTANTLY -- Click Here <<

 

Recent research shows that stress and anxiety can have very unwelcome effects on our health and wellbeing, by applying these four simple strategies we can keep day to day troubles contained and learn to cope with them with some levity and humour.

Life doesn't always go as planned. Stuff happens, and things can soon build into the proverbial mountains from molehills if we let them. Here are some pointers for keeping buoyant in the face of adversity.

1. Get Some Perspective
When problems occur, be specific about them. Speak with someone you know can help you be calm and objective, or take a few minutes to write your thoughts in a journal; anything to get them outside your head for some objective review can really help.

2. Put Negative Events in Quarantine
Keep them separate and don't let them spread. Negative events can be highly contagious! They have the ability to turn everything around them negative too, given half the chance. Don't let them. Put them in isolation and make sure they stay there.

Here's an example: Sally had some friends over for dinner; she spent ages planning, shopping and cooking. The meal was great, and everyone was happy and impressed with her efforts, but when it came to serving dessert, she dropped it ? all over the table ? splat!

Here's where quarantining comes in very handy. The dessert incident could have ruined everything, but why should it? Everything else had been fine. Is it appropriate to let one incident get retrospective power over everything that had happened before?

Sally was disappointed and upset for a moment, then she shrugged and said, "Grab a spoon!" and everyone ate the desert from the table right where it had landed. The mess got cleaned up and everyone had fun.

3. Play with Time
Will it matter in a week, a month, or a year? If not, let it go, why wait to feel better about it. If you can do it then, why not do it now?

4. Don't Let it Get Personal
Whenever you can don't let it be about you. If two drivers honk their horns at you on the way to work, it doesn't necessarily mean you are a bad driver, and it certainly doesn't have to be a bad omen for your day ? unless you let it. Keep in mind all your smooth and honk free journeys and let them balance things out for you.

The Dangers of Drama
There's a Chinese proverb that says: "You can't prevent the birds of sorrow from flying over your head, but you can prevent them from building nests in your hair."

When we allow the little things to mushroom and unfold into a drama, we are inviting unnecessary stress and emotional suffering ? for ourselves, and for those around us.

Keeping problems contained and in perspective saves us from getting stressed and helps us find solutions from a calm and clear point of view.

Ananga Sivyer is a contributing editor for LifeScape magazine and the author of the highly acclaimed self-help workbook: "The Art & Science of Emotional Freedom". For free & premium ebooks on health & wealth visit her resource site at: http://www.self-improvement-ebooks.net

Attacking Anxiety and Depression

>>  Cure Your Anxiety and Panic Attack INSTANTLY -- Click Here <<

 

Anxiety and Depression are different forms of behavioral disorders that affect the whole life of a person. Anxiety is an emotional disturbance caused due to imbalance in the body system of a person. The Depression is a disturbance caused due to chemical imbalance in the nervous system of the patient. In order to treat Anxiety and Depression, attacking them with proper medical aid is necessary.

Anxiety and Depression can not be fully cured. Though, we can attack them with the help of a proper medication and a psychological treatment. Lots of therapies can also be brought out for the proper treatment of Anxiety and Depression. The medical practitioners hold sessions in order to understand the mental condition of the patient and then proceed to give an appropriate medical aid.

For attacking the feelings of hopelessness, you should prepare a schedule for yourself. The items on your schedule will help your healing process, and checking them off each day may give you a sense of satisfaction. Diet, exercise, doctor's appointments, entertainment, calls with friends, research, and massage therapy can be a part of your schedule.


Anti-Anxiety Medications, Anti-Depressants, Mood Stabilizers and other medications are useful in attacking Anxiety. When the treatment fails in the case of Depression, electroconvulsive Therapy can provide the necessary treatment. Even the Self-Help Support Groups help people in treating their problems by making them sit with others and hear the other experiences to get out of the prevalent stress.

Attacking Anxiety and Depression is quite necessary to get rid off these troubles. It is because if you don't take proper medication for them, they can cause various hazardous diseases in the long run.

Online entrepreneur Sara Jenkins, is dedicated to helping others and their needs to succeed in life by offering free tips everyday. To learn more about her free tips program, and to sign up for her FREE how-to articles and FREE bonus how-to books and resources, visit www.TipsEveryDay.com