Design – Right now my web design is not bad, I guess. But, the next change will have to last for some time so I want to make sure that everything is optimized. I have three basic design concepts in mind and I’d like for you to give me your opinion about which one you would prefer and why.

1. Simple: Like all designs the “simple” look has its good and bad points. Take a look at an example of a simple site here.

2. Semi-Simple: This is a balance between simple and busy. How about this layout here?

3. Busy: This style is closer to a news site, but has the feel of a larger resource too. You can see an example here.

Alright, so there are the three basic layouts. Your favorite?

Content – The most important element to all this is, of course, content. Here are a few things I’m thinking of adding.

1. Article submission: I’d like to add a feature that would allow readers to easily submit articles to the site. So, would you be interested in what other readers have to say?

2. More content: As of right now I don’t write or podcast as much as I would like, but I’m also unsure about how often you would like to see new content – once per week? 2-3 per week? Let me know.

3. Style: And what about the direction of the site. Right now it’s geared more toward teaching versus being about me, this will stay the same  but, having said that, would you like to know more about me?

4. Video: Are you interested in video content? Or is a podcast plenty?

5. Podcast: Do you enjoy the current format of the Anxiety Guru Show? Or would you like to see more interviews? Different topics perhaps?

OK, so I don’t want you to fall asleep on me. I just need some insight from the people that matter the most when it comes to this site. Anxiety Guru has always been about you and I value your opinion.

A few of you came out of your shell a couple weeks ago to tell me your views on the value of this site, and I’d like to thank each and everyone that commented or voted. Now, I need you all to come out of your shell. I consider what I do here to be serious biz, and I want to get this re-launch right. Your feedback is vital. Please help me make Anxiety Guru Dot Net all it can be. Comment below!

Side-note:

On a very important side note I’d also like to invite 1-2 people to help me edit this site. I’ve had a few readers help out every now and then in the past but then kind of fade away, so I’m asking for 1-2 serious people to inquire.

What does an editor do? An editor at Anxiety Guru will research and create content using text, sound, pictures, video or other mediums.

At first this would be a volunteer position, as the main focus is and shall always be to help people first. However, this could turn into a paid position down the line.

If you’re interested, send me an email at info@anxietyguru.net with a little history about you and a writing sample about an anxiety related issue – your pick!

What am I looking for in an editor? A few things:

1. You must be able to write. I know that I”m no Hemingway, but you have to have a handle on the English language and know how to convey it effectively.

2. You need to care. You must have an altruistic drive for it’s own sake. This sight is not about making money, it’s about helping people cope with anxiety and depression. That is the mission.

3. Spare time. The time commitment would be approximately 2-5 hours per week. Not much, but you’d be surprised how easily people get distracted.

If you’re interested – and serious – I will give you more details via email. Can’t wait to hear from you.

Today’s post is brought to us by Betty Doyle of Depressionpills.net.

College of Montpellier analysts indicate us how depressive disorder is related to cholesterol levels and gender.

Do you know the Institute of Medical and Health Research (INSERM) and University of Montpellier financed professionals indicated that regulating ‘good’ and ‘bad’ cholesterol levels may help avoid mood problems among aging seniors?

In a recently available issue of the publication Biological Psychiatry  published in July 2010, leading researcher Dr. Marie-Laure Ancelin of INSERM (Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale http://www.inserm.fr) said that gender specific regulation of levels of cholesterol may help stop depressive disorders in the elderly.

French analysts followed a significant group of women and men aged sixty-five and older for 7 years.

They noticed that depression in women was connected with lower levels of “good” high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), which puts them at higher risk for cardiovascular disease, including heart stroke.

On the other hand, depressive disorder in men was related to low levels of “bad” low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). This association was strongest in men with a genetic vulnerability to depression related to a serotonin transporter gene.

Therefore, proper regulation of HDL-C and LDL-C levels can help stop depressive disorder in the aging adults, the study concluded.

The study got published in the July 15 issue of the journal Biological Psychiatry (Reference: http://www.biologicalpsychiatryjournal.com/article/S0006-3223(10)00393-8/abstract).

Major nutritional sources of cholesterol include dairy products, egg yolks, beef, pork, chicken, and shrimp. Plant products such as flax seeds and peanuts have cholesterol-like compounds known as phytosterols.

Total cholesterol is defined as the sum of HDL (High-density lipoprotein), LDL (Low-density lipoprotein), and VLDL (Very-low-density lipoprotein). Usually, only the total, HDL, and triglycerides are tested.

It is strongly recommended to have cholesterol tested more often than five years if someone has total cholesterol of 200 mg/dL or higher, or if a man over age 45 or a woman over age 50 has HDL (good) cholesterol under 40 mg/dL, or exist other risk components for heart problems and stroke.

So…exactly what can you do to rise your HDL (good) and decrease your LDL (bad) levels?
1. Exercising can substantially increase HDL cholesterol while lowering LDL cholesterol.
2. Smoking has been shown to lower HDL while raising LDL cholesterol.
3. Highly processed, trans fats at the same time raise LDL cholesterol and lower HDL cholesterol.
4. Monounsaturated fats such as those found in essential olive oil and avocados raise HDL and reduce LDL.
5. Fatty fish like salmon and sardines contain omega-3 fats that raise HDL and lower LDL.
6. Whole, intact cereals contain dietary fiber and niacin, both of which raise HDL and may lower LDL.

Now it’s all to you…

About me – Betty Doyle contributes articles for http://www.depressionpills.net an anti – depression pills blog. It’s a nonprofit site dedicated to her personal depression journey. The blog is targeted on offering energy and hope to any person who is suffering from depressive disorder and supports those people to find the energy to fight against the effects of depression. This way she wants to help alleviate some of the stigma mental illness depression can cause and help the public perception of mood difficulties.

Perhaps the biggest obstacle stopping you from being anxiety free is the mind-body trap.

If you can imagine, for a second, anxiety as a small ball of energy. Now, picture it racing in a circular motion between your head and your gut, and every time anxiety hits your gut you think, “I’m going to die,” and every time it hits your head you think, “I’m going to go nuts.” This pattern then becomes a loop that never stops – basically this is the “trap.” But, like the Great Houdini, you can learn how to break this loop and make your great escape.

First though, I have to tell you something. The escape technique – upon first inspection at least – seems lame. Yeah, I said it. I won’t beat around the bush, the best trap buster is simply distraction. But remember, simple doesn’t mean stupid – I’ll explain in a second.

Over the years I’ve found that I’m rarely, if ever, hit by both the fear of death AND insanity at the same time. They usually come alone but packing plenty of heat nonetheless. And despite the fact that I knew for a long time that my fears and anxiety symptoms wouldn’t kill me – I would remain afraid of it all and get caught up in trying to think my way out of fear, panic and the like.

The reality is that sometimes thinking is the last thing you want to do when it comes to anxiety. This is because anxiety isn’t all about palpitations. It’s also about deep thinking and reflection, and this only serves to hype you up even more. It makes all your anxiety related problems seem like disasters.

And here is the problem with heavy thinking:  it sets the trap. For example, say you’re having anxiety induced chest pain, well then chances are you’re going to start formulating exaggerated narratives in your head about different ways that your heart will kill you.

These thoughts, feed assumptions, which later become embedded fears. Then, the trap is not just sprung, but it also gets put on replay. And from then on when you’re not experiencing physical symptoms you’re thinking about them, and when you are having physical symptoms your building ever stronger thoughts about how scary and bad anxiety symptoms are – sucks huh? Anxiety symptoms lead to anxious thoughts and anxious thoughts get put on steroids because of the symptoms. Anxiety is tricky like that.

Well, to break this pattern you have to hypnotize anxiety. Lull that evil baby to sleep with effective and intentional acts of distraction.

Hypnosis for anxiety can take on many forms, but the form of distraction isn’t as important as the outcome – namely a mind which is focused on a task that requires attention. So, right there you know that daydreaming is a no go. Instead, distractions that require bodily movement or activities that take your thoughts elsewhere are needed.

Here is short list of acts of distraction:

• Splashing your face with cold water!
• Exercise – walking or running would foot the bill.
• Talking to someone smarter than you.
• Watching something educational on T.V. that requires you to learn as you watch – think Discovery Channel.
• Writing or reading.
• “Busy work” of a detailed nature, like filing away all those bills that you don’t normally keep track of.
• Clean the house! Just don’t do it all at once since people might think you went the crack route – just kidding.

Whatever way you choose to hypnotize your anxiety, just do something.

It is true that being brainy about your anxiety problem can be helpful, but let’s not forget that anxiety is a primitive emotion that sometimes requires a basic primitive response. And what’s more basic then getting distracted with mundane tasks?

The last thing you want to do is complicate your life with anti-anxiety techniques that require too much preparation or time. Plus, all these forms of distraction are cheap as hell.

Don’t get stuck in the mind-body trap. Try not to waste your time trying to understand everything all the time. I’ve always thought that a great way to cut down on anxiety is to get outside your head. And whether that means washing dishes or listening actively to self-help tapes, so be it. Just do something. Because trust me, unlike the Buddha, enlightenment about your problems isn’t going to appear simply because you think a lot about them.  The solution to your anxiety problem will come precisely when you’re not thinking about it.

No, really, I had a panic attack. After a couple of years of not having a major one, here is what I learned.

The first thing that struck me about this particular panic attack was the ferocity – I mean this thing was big. Like a tsunami wave looming over me, I could feel it coming. But, despite it’s rapid onset, I never had the feeling that I would die or go crazy.

In the past death and insanity were the two main things I was waiting for. In this case, I was just waiting for it to die down and that took about ten minutes. In a  strange way I was kind of glad that I had this panic attack because I was able to experience it from a completely different perespective than before.

I was able to objectively experience it, flow with it, and use my head and not my gut reactions to cope.

Now, I won’t lie to you, for about 10 seconds I thought oh crap! Then, just as suddenly I said to myself, “ok, been here before, let’s dance!”

My head was being filled with all I knew… namely that panic, anxiety, fast heart rates, fast breathing, vertigo and so on are damn annoying, but not dangerous. So, with this firm knowledge I rode the wave of panic, looking for the exit. But as I searched I walked and didn’t try to run to the end of it.

I’m also glad this happened because it proved what I’ve been telling you for so long. And that is that anxiety, in all it’s forms, will not harm you and that it can be tamed with knowledge, acceptance and patience. It also proves that you can manage it to the point of mastery. By the end of it I was sitting on top of this thing like an MMA fighter pounding it with the truth.

It was a hell of a way to prove a point to myself, but it’s good to know that I am where I think I am. Had I fallen apart it would have made me feel like a dance instructor that can’t dance, but this guy was doing the cha cha with skill.

I’m back to normal and don’t expect anymore panic attacks for now, but of course anxiety is unpredictable so anything is possible. That being said, if I do panic again it better not take more than ten minutes because I got things to do.

Side note:

For the past year I’ve been thinking about whether or not to up the ante at Anxietyguru.net. That is, should I expand the website, podcast, and even extend my message into the world of video? Should this site try to reach more people? Does this website help you? That is the question.  I thought the best way to gauge this is to ask you since you are the one that uses the site. So, to that end, I added a poll to get a snap shot of what you think.

Because if this website it truly helping people I need to know so that I can do the right thing and send this thing into orbit!

And remember, even if you don’t normally comment, I really need your input on this one. It’s a game changing decision. So please vote and send me a word or two if you can. Thanks.

Typically when people think of anxiety or anxiety disorder they don’t think about paranoia at the same time. But if your anxiety has been severe enough for a prolonged period of time you can certainly develop mild to moderate forms of paranoid thinking. Today’s podcast is about telling you what that means and how to stop it.

First though, I want to point out that just because you have paranoid thoughts this does not in any way make you crazy. Instead, being paranoid is more a symptom of being wrapped up in your thoughts and concerns. It’s you being way too concerned with what might happen.

Secondly, the reason you need to stop being paranoid is because paranoid thoughts feed your anxiety, which make your fears seem entrenched and more dangerous. This in turn will only make things worse.

I had a great time producing this edition of the Anxiety Guru Show and hope that you benefit from it.

Side-note:

There is a great book by Dr. George Weinberg entitled Self Creation. This book is a must have for any anxiety sufferer but especially for those that suffer from paranoid thoughts. Inside this book there is even a chapter entitled How to Stop Being a Paranoid that deals exclusively with this issue.