If you have been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, chances are that you will be give an option of different treatments. These treatments may include anti-depressants, anti-anxiety medication and therapy. There are pros and cons to all of these types of anxiety treatments. Here is a run-down of what to expect with each:

Anti-Depressants

Today, most anti-Depressants are used in combination with anti-anxiety medication. Anxiety does not often come on its own – it is usually the result of an underlying cause and, in most cases, depression. Anxiety can be a very disabling illness if not treated. So can depression. This is why most doctors will want to treat the cause of the anxiety rather than just the symptoms.

Anti-depressants today are a host of SSRI medications. They include Zoloft, Paxil and Prozac. They have side effects that include dry mouth, sexual side effects and drowsiness. When you first start taking the medication, it takes a while to get into your bloodstream. For most people, it will take about two weeks before you start to feel better.

The long term side effects of these medications is that you have to monitor your blood work to make sure that they do not impair your liver or kidneys. For most people, taking the recommended dosage of these medications will help them overcome their anxiety. The drawback is that they take a while to get into the system and many people give up when they feel that they are not working. Others feel that they are cured from the depression and take themselves off of the medication. It is not advisable for anyone to withdraw from these medications without the advice and supervision of a doctor.

Anti-Anxiety Medications

Most anti-anxiety medications today that are very commonly prescribed are Xanax and Klonopin. They take the place of the less efficient and more addictive anti-anxiety medications of the past that included Valium. Anti-Anxiety medications are safe to use on a short term basis and should be used when you are having an anxiety attack. They will help to calm you down and make the anxiety disappear.

The problem with anti-anxiety medications is that they build up a tolerance in your system and will cause severe withdrawal when you try to stop taking the medication. If you think the anxiety attack is bad – just wait until you start withdrawal. Doctors have a way to help you withdraw from anxiety medications without making you feel as though you are losing your mind. They wean you off the medications with the use of other drugs. If you take anti-anxiety medications, use them sparingly and do not develop a dependency on them. If you find that you are taking them more than prescribed, talk to your doctor about a withdrawal program.

Therapy

Therapy will also help to get to the root of your anxiety. While someone who is suffering from anxiety will often focus on something insignificant, this is not usually the cause of the anxiety. Therapy is a great way to get to the heart of the matter. The problem is that it is not the instant cure that everyone these days wants. But in the long run, therapy can do wonders in helping to relieve your anxiety as well as your depression.

Chances are that if you have an anxiety attack, you may be prescribed anti-anxiety medication. If it happens again, you should talk to your doctor about getting anti-depressants to cure the underlying problem as well as get into a therapy class that can help you in the long run. Anti-anxiety medications work well for the instant cure, but are not the answer for the long term problem.

The original post is located here: Treatments For Anxiety

You have most likely heard that you are what you eat. This is true when it comes to controlling your anxiety and depression. A good many people who are depressed feel this way because of the diet that they consume.

If you are eating foods laden with fat, sugar and other non nutritious substances, stop and start eating healthier. You may notice a change in your mood just by eating the right foods.

One of the problems that many people today face is that they do not eat healthy foods. They tend to eat foods that are high in sugars and fats. While sugar will give you a mood boost, it offers no nutritional value whatsoever and hangs around to become fat. You are better off to eat a diet that is filled with vitamins and nutrients. Especially the B Vitamins.

B Vitamins For Anxiety Relief

The B Vitamins are a family of vitamins that are good for you in many different ways, especially when you are watching your mental health. Vitamin B-12 is one of the best vitamins that you can take when you are trying to stave off anxiety and depression. This vitamin is found in a variety of different vegetables. Zinc and potassium are other nutrients that many people who suffer from depression are lacking.

The first thing that you should do when you are trying to come up with a diet to help you with anxiety and depression is to get rid of the simple carbohydrates. These do not offer you proper nutrients and are considered wasted calories. Sure, it is okay to eat a candy or cake once in a while, but not all of the time. These will only end up sticking around in all the wrong places and rob your body of the really needed nutrients.

Start eating proteins and foods that are rich in the B vitamins. This includes vegetables and fruits. Whole grains and nuts can be included in your diet as well. You need these fibers as a way to stay fit. Drink plenty of water each day as well and eliminate the soda or other sweetened drinks.

These are just liquid candy and do nothing to help you fight depression and anxiety. As a matter of fact, they work against it. By drinking 8 to 10 glasses of water each day, you are actually keeping your body cleansed and will give yourself the natural energy that you need.

You really are what you eat.

By eating junk food all of the time, like fast food, you are bound to start feeling bad about yourself. These foods contain fats and processed chemicals that are just not good for you. If you start staying away from processed foods and eating foods that are good for you, such as fish, vegetables, fruits and whole grains, your body will react in same. Start treating your body well by providing it with the right fuel and you will get a healthy body – as well as a healthy mind, in return.

The original post is located here: Reduce Anxiety and Depression With Diet

It’s normal to feel anxious once in a while. We may feel anxious about taking a test, going to the doctor or any other situation in which we feel uncomfortable. For some people, however, they are unable to control their anxiety, and they wind up having a full blown anxiety attack.

This can often end with them going to the hospital because they feel as though they are having a heart attack when it is really a panic attack.

When you are diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, you have to have several anxiety attacks over at least 6 months. This is chronic anxiety and most doctors will then evaluate you for these conditions. While anti-anxiety medications such as Xanax and Klonopin can help take the edge off of an anxiety attack, they are not the cure. Most doctors will refer you to a counselor or a psychiatrist who will then diagnose you with one of the types of anxiety disorders that are common and treatable.

General Anxiety Disorder

This is an anxiety disorder in which no known cause for the anxiety exists. A person who suffers from this type of anxiety disorder will often have anxiety attacks, triggered by an unknown source. It can be something in their head that sets them off. Doctors will give anti-depressant medication coupled with anti-anxiety medication so that it balances the chemicals in the brain and allows the person to function regularly.

Panic Disorder

Someone who suffers from panic disorder gets frequent anxiety attacks and often winds up in the ER of the hospital thinking that they are having a heart attack. This can be a very disabling anxiety disorder and is the one that is the most pronounced. Like general anxiety disorder, this has no known cause. Again, it is treated with anti-anxiety medication as well as anti-depressants.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Those who suffer from this anxiety disorder have undergone some sort of life threatening stress in their lives that keeps them from functioning at full capacity. While is it often associated with veterans who come home from war, anyone can suffer from this disorder who has been through a great deal of stress or life threatening situation. In this case, the source of anxiety is well known and therapy is often used to alleviate this type of anxiety disorder.

Social Anxiety Disorder

Social anxiety disorder is one where you may have an anxiety attack when you are around crowds of people. The person who experiences this type of social anxiety disorder will feel cold and clammy, may feel heart palpitations and even fainting when they are around crowds of people. Anti-Anxiety medications can help someone overcome social anxiety disorder.

Treatment for anxiety disorders

Anxiety disorders are best diagnosed by a professional. If you are experiencing any of the above symptoms regarding anxiety, you should seek out a medical opinion and not suffer in silence. There are many types of anxiety disorders and only a medical professional can give you the proper diagnosis.

The original post is located here: Different Types of Anxiety Disorders

One of the secrets to overcoming an anxiety attack is to learn to work your way through the anxiety attack. Anyone who has ever undergone the panic and suffering that accompanies an anxiety attack knows the feeling of fear that is pretty much indescribable to anyone who has not experienced this sensation.

Follow these tips to help you get through the anxiety attack:

Realize that it is anxiety attack

Once you realize that you are having an anxiety attack, you can calm yourself down and think that rationally, this will pass. Anyone who suffers with anxiety understands the sensation comes and goes. When you are having an anxiety attack, realize that this is real, it is a panic attack, but it will go away. Realizing that you are having an anxiety attack is the first step towards working your way through an anxiety attack.

Do something physical

Exercise, clean, cook or do anything that will get your mind off of the attack. Some people report that even cleaning their bathroom will help them through an anxiety attack. Any physical activity releases endorphins and elevates your mood. It can also help you work through your stress, which is usually the underlying cause of an anxiety attack. Do not feel helpless, empower yourself by doing something physical, the more productive the better.

Reach out to your support network

Reach out to friends and family who understand what you are going through. This is not an effort to look for pity, but a chance for your friends and family to help you when you need it the most. You would do the same for them, so give them the chance to help you.

Many people are ashamed that they are feeling anxious and keep this secret from friends and family. This only makes things worse. You will not have anyone to talk to when needed. And when you finally release your secret, you will be surprised to learn how many people actually suffer from the same anxious feelings! You are far from alone when it comes to anxiety attacks. As a matter of fact, the majority of people have experienced some sort of anxiety or panic attack at least once in their lives.

By understanding the anxiety attack, knowing what it feels like and that it will pass, you can help yourself overcome the feelings of a panic attack. Doing something physical and reaching out to your support network will also help you overcome an anxiety attack. Use medication as a last resort instead of at once. You can learn to overcome anxiety attacks and never again be held a prisoner of crippling fear of the unknown.

The original post is located here: Tips To Overcome An Anxiety Attack

Do you feel that you are a highly sensitive person and certain situations tend to cause you anxiety? Well take heart in the fact that you are not alone because one in every twenty people is considered to be a highly sensitive person (HSP).

This means that either you yourself may be sensitive or someone you know is. 42% of the population is not highly sensitive, meaning that most things don’t bother them the way they will an HSP.

Everyone else falls somewhere in between, with the odd few being completely unemotional about anything. (By the way – 20% of the entire animal kingdom is highly-sensitive as well).

Highly sensitive people are the thinkers, the cautious ones, the conservative people; the ones that say “Hey, just a minute. Let’s think this through before doing something we may regret later.”

Every society needs highly sensitive people.

Just as we need the warriors, the leaders who are ready to take the risks, we’re the ones that help to temper the not-so-sensitive types, the ones who can be bold, rash and impulsive and may have not thought things through to the consequences of their actions. Highly sensitive people are most often the people found in the roles of advisors, counsellors and advocators for restraint.

Unfortunately, in western society, we’ve also been labelled as somewhat “defective”, according the way others perceive us. We’re considered “too sensitive, too cautious, too shy, too timid, too introverted, too fearful.” What needs to be realized is that these are not “problems” that need to be corrected and fixed with sensitive people.

It’s the labels that are attached to us that cause the problems. Many less-sensitive people are also shy, timid, introverted and fearful, while there are many highly sensitive people who are out-going, super-friendly, extroverted, and risk-takers. We just tend to think things through first and weigh all the factors that our senses pick up on before forging ahead.

Highly Sensitive Person Traits and Characteristics

So, what are some of the traits and characteristics of a highly sensitive person? Let’s look at some of the facts and the inaccurate labels that have been attached to this special group.

Shyness

You’ll probably find a larger portion of shy people in the HSP group. That does not mean that everyone is shy. In fact, a lot of non-sensitive people are also shy. Sometimes, what’s mistaken as shyness is actually a sizing up of the situation and the people that we have just met. We’re more cautious than most. If our senses are saying something isn’t right about the person, we won’t be so open to them.

First impressions count. It’s not just the way the person is dressed, but their whole demeanour, aura, attitude and other little subtleties that we absorb with all of our senses. We process the thoughts, feelings and sensations that we receive in each new situation. This may make some of us appear “shy”, when we’re not.

Introverted

It may seem strange but many HSP’s are extroverted, out-going and fun-loving. You’ll also find many non-sensitive people as being introverted. Don’t mistake deep-thinking and inner-reflection as introversion. We do require much more alone time.

This is because our nervous systems can go into over-load in a situation that a non-sensitive person would find somewhat stimulating. If we become frazzled and over-stimulated, we need to find a quiet spot as soon as possible to settle back down.

This is why many sensitive personality types tend to stay at home more often than not, rather than go out to party. It’s not that we don’t want to… we just know our systems can’t handle the overload for too long a time. If we can’t get away, we’ll pull into ourselves, as a sort of protective shield, to try to reduce the noise, sights, sounds and smells that are bombarding us in order to calm down.

Anxiety

Unless you’re completely unemotional and have a lack of conscious consideration toward others, who can say that they’ve never been anxious at times? This is not an exclusive trait of sensitive people. New experiences often cause butterflies, fearful thoughts and inner-turmoil in most people. Very sensitive people just tend to feel those emotions more deeply.

Timidness

Caution, careful evaluation of the situation, needing the see the “entire picture”, and the possible resulting consequences of our actions is just in our nature. If everyone heedlessly rushed into everything, we’d have even more chaos in our world than we do now.

Too-Sensitive

Yes, this is our major trait. We assimilate everything around us at once. Lights, noises, smells, energy vibrations, they all get absorbed, processed and evaluated. Unfortunately when there’s too much activity and noise around us, we can’t handle it for a great length of time.

For example, what may be a low to moderate level of music for a non-sensitive person could sound like the level of a rock concert to us. Emotionally, we’re affected by much of the disharmony in the world. We feel another person’s heartache, we are aware of low levels of anger or resentment in a room, we empathize with other people’s problems, and feel great sorrow over horrific tragedies.

What Does All This Mean?

A highly sensitive person will pick up on subtleties in the surroundings that many non-sensitive people can’t see or feel. This can give us some great advantages. It can save us in many situations where there’s trouble brewing. Our abilities can keep us from making disastrous business or personal decisions, if we follow our instincts.

And because of our deep sense of the environment around us, we’re often the ones that make others aware of potential environmental problems that unscrupulous companies ignore for their own benefits. Overly sensitive people are often the ones that push for reforms and changes in government law for the better good of everyone.

As with anything, it’s good to know that you’re not alone, that there are others out there that have to deal with the same types of situations and “labels” as you do. True, it doesn’t hurt any less, but you know there are similar types that you can seek out and talk to…and they’ll understand. Yes, we do tend to exhibit more of the above traits and characteristics than non-sensitive people do, but we’re not exclusive owners of them either.

Sometimes, it’s a misinterpretation of what’s really going on in the mind of an highly sensitive people by other less sensitive people. Only another highly sensitive person could really understand.

The good news is that highly sensitive people have been around for as long as man has walked the earth… and we’ll always be here, working to make the world a more understanding, considerate and peaceful haven for everyone.

The original post is located here: Highly Sensitive People

Most people have heard of most phobias. With claustrophobia, social phobia, or arachnophobia and everyone pretty much knows what you are talking about. But with agoraphobia, many people just don’t understand what it is.

Because of this, many people who develop agoraphobia often take many years finding out what is wrong with them. Since the panic and anxiety symptoms that come with agoraphobia are so physical, people who develop agoraphobia may consult numerous doctors trying in search of a diagnosis.

Since medical doctors are not usually trained to diagnose agoraphobia, never mind anxiety disorders, agoraphobia can become deeply rooted in most people before they know enough about it to seek the proper treatment for recovery.

This article will give you some idea about what agoraphobia is:

Agoraphobia Definition

Agoraphobia is “anxiety about, or avoidance of, places or situations from which escape might be difficult (or embarrassing) or in which help may not be available in the event of having a panic attack or panic-like symptoms.” (DSM-IV)

What is agoraphobia? Agoraphobia is a type of anxiety disorder. The term “agoraphobia” comes from the Greek words agora, meaning “marketplace,” and phobia, meaning “fear.” Literally translated as “fear of the marketplace,” people with agoraphobia are afraid of open or public spaces.

In fact, most people with agoraphobia are not so much afraid of open and public places as they are afraid of having a panic attack in these settings, especially settings in which there may be no one to help in the case of a panic attack or actual emergency.

The most common symptoms of agoraphobia are:

1) Panic Attacks:

Periods of intense fear, usually lasting about ten minutes or so (but sometimes longer).

2) Avoidance Behavior:

Avoiding places and situations that are hard to escape from or that might be embarrassing to have to leave quickly. Most commonly, this is because they fear having a panic attack or unexpected catastrophe and not being able to get help or get away.

3) Creating “Safe” People:

People with whom the agoraphobic is highly familiar with and feels emotionally close to. “Safe” people are usually parents, spouses, children, or close friends and relatives.

4) Creating “Safe” Places:

Places in which the agoraphobic feels psychologically comfortable. The most common safe place for someone with agoraphobia is his or her own home.

5) Scanning:

Obsessive monitoring of one’s own body for strange or unusual symptoms.

6) Fear of being alone:

This is related to the fear of having no one to help in the case of a panic attack or real emergency.

If you suspect that you or someone you know might have agoraphobia, try to learn more about the disorder. Research has shown that the sooner you start understanding it, the better your chances of finding the cure for agoraphobia.

The original post is located here: What Is Agoraphobia And Its Symptoms?

When you’re suffering from depression and anxiety, there’s a chance you’re so desperate for a cure that you are prepared to do just about anything to overcome the uncomfortable feeling. Some of the most detrimental habits that people turn to when suffering from depression and anxiety are listed below. And further down there are some good habits to help with depression and anxiety.

Don’t Smoke

Lots of people say that they smoke because it supposedly steadies their nerves, so to speak, but that’s not really true.  Smoking cigarettes won’t calm your nerves.  Actually, it’ll make your nerves worse than they were before you first started smoking.  Tobacco use constricts the blood vessels and makes your heart beats faster. It does not steady the nerves, and worst still it might even increase the severity of an anxiety attack.

Giving up smoking is extremely hard to achieve.  In fact, people say that smoking is comparable to heroin addiction.  Some state that kicking the habit of heroin is a lot easier than giving up tobacco.  Every year millions of people make an attempt to stop smoking and fail. They try patches and other types of treatment so that they can be rid of the habit. The truth of the matter is that you must make up your mind to give up smoking and stick to it.  Once you have gone for around three days without a smoke, the nicotine will have left your body and the physical addiction is over. Once you have gotten to that stage you can then make a start on letting go of the psychological addiction.

Don’t Drink Alcohol

Many people, if they have an issue with stress and anxiety, will start drinking alcohol.  Alcohol numbs the mind and makes things seem a bit better, but it is not a real cure.  It might make you feel better in the short term, but in the long term it is going to make you feel much worse because alcohol is a depressant.  If you aren’t depressed once you start drinking, you will be once you are finished.  Apart from its depressive effects alcohol is a bit like a drug and like any other drug, it builds up a tolerance in your body.  So in the end, the more you drink, the less it has an effect on you.   Before too long, you will be drinking more and more just to get the same effect and to drown your sorrows.

It is a big mistake to try and drown your sorrows in drink so you need to look for a more sensible and permanent solution.  Though some people assert that alcoholism is a disease, others disagree and see it as just a symptom of a disease.  A disease that is a result of depression and anxiety.

Don’t Take Illegal Narcotics

Drugs such as cannabis are often used to stop anxiety and make a person feel much better it can have deleterious effects.  Although cannabis might not be as habit-forming and destructive as alcohol, it is illegal.  And sucking in all sorts of unhealthy chemical compounds into your lungs won’t do your health any good.  There is also evidence that cannabis can kill off brain cells. So it goes without saying that prohibited drugs are not the remedy for depression.  Even though some may claim that this particular drug has medicinal uses, one of them is not to overcome depression or anxiety – it merely masks them and doesn’t encourage the person using it to deal with the real causes.

So, if you have a problem with depression or anxiety, do not turn to these things for a cure.   There are far healthier ways to try to get your body and brain chemicals in balance instead of turning to nicotine, alcohol and drugs.

Do Try Healthy Eating For Anxiety

Many people who suffer from anxiety and depression feel this way because of the food they eat.  When you are eating foods crammed with fat, sugar and other non-nutritious substances, you are damaging your body in all kinds of ways.   Just by eating a healthier diet you could effect a noticeable change in your mood for the good.

So many people today do not eat healthy foods – they typically eat foods that are full of sugars and fats.  Although sugar can give a boost to your mood, it provides no nutritional value at all and can turn into fat.  You will be much better off if you adopt a diet that is rich in minerals and vitamins – particularly the B Vitamins.

B Vitamins for Anxiety and Depression

The B Vitamins are a group of vitamins that are helpful in a variety of ways, particularly if you are concerned about your mental health. Vitamin B-12 is one of the most important vitamins you can have when you are trying to stop anxiety and depression as helps the natural functioning of the brain and nervous system. Too much alcohol can deplete vitamin B12 so that’s another reason to abstain from drinking. Zinc and potassium are other minerals that many people who suffer from depression lack.

When you are trying to create a diet that will help you with anxiety and depression the first thing you should do is to eliminate the simple carbohydrates. These do not give you adequate nutrients and are mainly wasted calories.  Of course, it won’t hurt to eat sweets or cake occasionally, but not every single day.  These will only end up as extra fat and rob your body of the really important nutrients.

Start eating proteins and foods that are rich in the B vitamins which are  to be found in many fruits and vegetables.  Whole grains and nuts can be included in your diet too.  Drink sufficient amounts of water every day too and get rid of the soda pop and other syrupy beverages. These are nothing more than liquid sugar and do nothing at all to help you overcome depression and anxiety, in fact, they will work against it.  Just by drinking plenty of water each day, you will keep your body cleansed and have increased energy.

Healthy In Body And Mind

Once you cut down on, or preferably eliminate, heavily processed foods and replace them with foods that are good for you, such as fish, vegetables, fruits and whole grains, your body will change for the better.  Start taking care of your body by providing it with the right fuel and you’ll be rewarded with a healthy body – and a healthy mind, too.

The original post is located here: Depression and Anxiety – Some Do’s and Don’ts

Everybody can feel anxious or nervous at times in their life. This is a natural feeling that all of us can have on occasion, and it is linked with anxiety. Anxiety can be good in a moderate amount but the signs and symptoms of an anxiety disorder can vary in combination or their severity.

It can help us to act in response to danger, and can also encourage us to excel at home and when we are at work. But if you feel anxious without having a reason and worry too much, this can affect your life. This can result in experiencing a generalized anxiety disorder.

Anxiety disorders can cause disproportionate anxiety and worries about life generally, more often than not without ever having a cause.

Generalized anxiety is a very common anxiety disorder, along with panic attacks, phobias, and obsessive compulsive disorder. Women seem to experience anxiety disorders more than men do for unspecified reasons.

It is certainly hard to live with an anxiety disorder, but there are treatments available for this disorder. One can find medications that you can take, therapy and counseling that will help you to handle the effects of having a generalized anxiety disorder.

There’s ways that we can cope with having anxiety disorders, and this could make our life more easy and relaxed.

Signs and symptoms of an anxiety disorder.

Some of the signs and symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder are typically fatigue, edginess, restiveness, difficulty concentrating, irritability, shortness of breath, diarrhea, headache, feeling on edge, muscle tension, excessive sweating, trouble sleeping, headache, easily to distract, feeling a lump in your throat, and stomach ache.

If you have an anxiety disorder, you may feel anxious but not experience any worries at times. You can feel like you are jumpy all the time, sometimes as a result of your particular personal circumstances.

You can worry about yourself and your loved ones safety, or now and then you may have the feeling that something dreadful is going to happen, even when it is not. Generalized anxiety disorder can frequently begin at an early age. The signs and symptoms may develop slower than in other anxiety disorders.

Lots of people with generalized anxiety disorder don’t recall when they last felt relaxed or at ease with anything. Luckily, there are a number of ways that one can cope with having an anxiety disorder via medication or using special therapeutic techniques to reduce anxiety.

The original post is located here: Anxiety Signs and Symptoms

Anyone that has suffered from anxiety and panic attacks will know how frightening they can be and are nothing like the normal, everyday anxiety most people are subjected to.

Stress and anxiety are normal reactions to situations that human beings are confronted with.  When anxiety or stresses are not controlled by reason or medicine, these attacks can take over and result in all kind of strange sensations.

Anxiety and panic attacks occur when panic or anxiety is out of kilter with the situation at hand and there are not enough coping skills to deal with the stress or fear.

There can be many causes of anxiety, and proper treatment is essential if a person finds that frequent anxiety attacks are affecting the quality of his or her life.

Anxiety and the much-dreaded panic attacks can damage ones self-confidence, preventing you from going to work and going to busy places in case another panic attack happens. The fear of having an attack really can create a demoralizing cycle of events for many people.

Panic attacks symptoms

Panic attacks come on without much warning.  The first time it happens, the person may think he is about to die but it is all in the mind.

Unexpectedly, you feel you cannot breathe properly and are hyperventilating.  It can feel like you are being choked, and your heart will beat much faster than usual.  Your hands are clammy and your pulse is racing.  You’re trembling and a cold fear seems to clutch at your heart.  It paralyzes you and you cannot act or react.  You are showing many of the classic symptoms of panic attacks.

Other signs of panic attacks include nausea, dizziness, tingling sensations, and perceptual distortion.  Underlying it all is an intense irrational fear that prevents logical thought or action.

Panic attacks can last up to ten minutes and can sometimes come in waves.  If it happens very often, the person may be suffering from a panic disorder.  This disorder is treatable, and sufferers like to keep their prescribed medication close at hand.

Patients are often treated with diazepam, lorazepam, and other similar medications at the outset of an attack.  Others may be treated with anti-depressants for coping with anxiety attacks.

People who suffer from phobias are more prone to panic attacks when faced with a situation that triggers their phobias. Very often, if a person has a panic attack in a particular situation, it can result in a phobia.

Self help anxiety treatments

There are several self-help remedies available.  A common one to use when someone is hyperventilating is to have him or her breathe into a paper bag.  Washing the face and hands with ice-cold water can also help.  The main thing is not to worry – panic attacks are completely curable.

Panic attacks help

Trying to overcome anxiety without seeking some kind of treatment can be extremely difficult, and many patients see a therapist to get to the bottom of why they are feeling anxious.

Therapies include behavior therapy, which involves controlling undesired behavior; cognitive therapy, which involves changing negative thought patterns; cognitive-behavior therapy; and relaxation and calming techniques, such as breathing, massage and aromatherapy.

If you suffer from frequent panic attacks, the best thing that you should do is consult with your doctor.  You and your doctor can sit down and discuss treatment of panic attacks to discover which panic attack treatment will work best for you.

One standard method in the treatment of anxiety disorders is the use of anti-anxiety medication.  Certain antidepressants work well for anxiety, and after taking them for anywhere from one week to a month, users will often note a sharp decrease in their feeling of anxiety.

Many people, however, would rather just take a medication that works more quickly, and one that doesn’t have to be taken every single day.  There are other anti-anxiety medications, such as diazepam and alprazolam, which work right away and can provide a welcome relief to someone experiencing an attack.

Other methods for treatment of anxiety are a combination of medications and psychotherapy, hypnosis, herbs for natural anxiety relief, and relaxation exercises.

Whichever way you treat anxiety, all who suffer from it will tell you one thing: they want relief from anxiety as quickly as possible.

The original post is located here: Anxiety and Panic Attacks

Panic attacks can be caused by underlying anxiety disorders, depression or past trauma. These kinds of problems are always best treated by a professional, but in the meantime, there are several herbal remedies for natural anxiety relief that can be used either when needed, or on a regular basis. Many people use herbs for anxiety relief rather than take medication.

One of the best herbal remedies for panic attacks is aromatherapy. There are many essential oils that are calming and soothing, and one of the best is lavender – never be without a bottle! Sprinkle some on a handkerchief to sniff when you are out or whenever you need to feel calm. Clary sage and geranium are lovely in the bath or in a massage or burn any of these oils in a room burner to create a soothing atmosphere.

Kava , St. John’s Wort, Valerian and Sam-e are all herbal remedies that have been known to quell minor anxiety and depression. Kava has a very calming effect and can be taken a few days a week to help with minor anxiety. St. John’s Wort is better in treating depression, that often accompanies anxiety. Valerian and Sam-e of the newest herbal supplements that have shown promise in helping with anxiety attacks.

Another wonderful herbal anxiety remedy to keep on your person at all times is Bach Rescue Remedy, which uses a combination of the Bach flower remedies. Available in dropper or spray form, you can take it directly onto the tongue so it is easy to take wherever you are.

There are several herbal remedies for panic attacks that can be taken in tablet, tincture or tea form. Valerian and passion flower both soothe the nervous system and help you get a good night’s sleep. Kava-kava and St. John’s Wort have also proved successful in treating anxiety. Drinking lemon balm or chamomile tea can also be relaxing.

Herbal remedies for panic attacks can be very effective, but should always be used with care, following the correct dosage.

The original post is located here: Herbal Remedies for Anxiety