color

Guest post courtesy of Corny54, a friend of mine from Squidoo

Surround yourself with

1. bright colors
2. bright light
3. pleasant sounds
4. nice smells

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Spring garden

Corny is a man of few words but he has the right ideas about color.  I love the summer and am happier then, when the sun is bright.  I love Spring because of the smell of the flowers and the sound of the sea makes me start feeling relaxed instantly.  As you can see by my site here,  I love color and try and try and surround myself with it.

The picture at the right was taken at Tulip Time, a spring festival in the Southern Highlands of NSW, Australia.  It was a beautiful day in the garden in spite of the rain, the flowers especially the beautiful tulips brightened up my day.

I highly recommend the following book and CD from Hay House as it will change your life starting in small ways.  It is Eliminating Stress, Finding Inner Peace Book with CD. Hay house is a leader in self help books of high quality that improve the quality of people’s lives.

When I went through this many years ago I must admit I didn’t do well.  I was very angry and this anger actually was not good for me or my family and I came to realize I was really only hurting myself by venting those feelings.   This stress and anger must have sent my anxiety levels through the roof.

Moving on while keeping sane and positive can be a challenge but I have  four tips that I found worked for me.  I’m sure I could also add a few more but these saw me through.  They are:

1.  Look after your health

Eat well, exercise when you can and get enough sleep.

2.  Pamper yourself even in small ways

Don’t be the last person you give to.

3.  Have a plan for tomorrow

Plan what your next 6 -12 months will bring and have strategies to deal with them.

4.  Be grateful for the good things in your life.

Appreciate what is right in your life now.  This will help balance out the negatives that are currently going on.

Making a break and moving forward is important.   Dont let stress and anger eat you up.   Focus on the new positives that now can come through in your life and push those negative thoughts and anxieties down and out.  I encourage comments on your own experiences so please feel free to do so.

For me this poem is all about growing older, getting through the dark days, knowing sunny days are coming and to accept that our life is not perfect.  Being ‘blue’ is ok if you give it a time frame to experience it, then move on.

Overcoming depression

Affirmations have been used since we have had language.  Personal affirmations are tools that can help you rewrite negative tapes about yourself and your life and are the easiest way to make positive changes and can help you to manage stress.

I hope you enjoy reading mine.

Do you use affirmations?  Please share them here.

If you want to write your own affirmations, but don’t know how to start, then there is technology called Affirm Now that can help.  To check them out Click Here!

Hay House also have a great book called DailyOM which are Daily Inspirational Thoughts For A Happy, Healthy, and Fulfilling Day by Madisyn Taylor.  Hay House has a reputation for high integrity and quality products.

Note:  Another article I like is called How to Use Personal Affirmations and I would recommend you read that article from Our Development.com another good site for personal development and the Law of Attraction.

There is much controversy surrounding the effectiveness of  St John’s Wort as a depression and stress relief treatment.  While it has been found to be effective on its own, there are some drug interactions that could cause adverse effects to patients who also suffer from other disorders.   This herbal  is definitely effective but certainly needs to be taken only with the supervision of a physician.

Effective stress relief can be achieved though with regular use of  St John’s Wort.  While this is so, improvement in one’s general mental state can only be expected about three months after starting the herbal treatment.  Those who are looking for immediate stress relief should consult with their physicians right away.  Formulations of this herbal remedy vary in potency and could differ in their effects on a patient.  It would not be wise to make a decision on which brand of  St John’s Wort product to use merely based on cost.  You need to investigate the various brands and decide the best dosage and potency for your condition.

Other side effects of using this herbal remedy could include photo sensitivity and dizziness.  Extra care should be taken to address these side effects if you are going to be taking it continuously for stress relief over a long period of time.

There is no denying that St John’s Wort can do what it claims it can do.  It does lift mood for those who are seeking treatment for mild cases of depression or for stress relief.  They can definitely benefit from taking this herbal supplement  but only with proper consultation with a physician and by making  an informed decision.  Just be aware of the drug interactions though but this is a natural anxiety treatment worth trying for stress relief and mild depression.

It is important to remember that all your professional help should have one goal: to establish the belief that you have the power to control your body as well as your life.

Methods that you can do yourself include stress management techniques such as meditation, getting sufficient exercise or other physical activity and proper eating properly. I also find that taking a good vitamin B complex and evening primrose oil has helped me as well.

One of the most popular alternative natural remedies uses St. John’s Wort. It has the same effect to prescription drugs but without side effects, developed tolerance, and withdrawal symptoms. Personally I havent found much success with St John’s Wort but I know others who have.

anxiety

The most successful use of a natural anxiety remedy in my opinion involves the use of alternative and herbal treatments in conjunction with scientific cognitive behavioral therapy (COG). This COG therapy emphasizes the self help aspect for the treatment of anxiety. It focuses on practical, personal skills for dealing with stress and keeping your reactions in check.

Please consult your doctor before taking any natural supplements like St John’s Wort for example, to avoid contraindications with other medications you might be taking.

Many of us worry about our ability meet a loan or some other debt repayment and this causes debt stress.   It has become so easy for us to pay for what we want with credit cards whereas in the past we may have saved for it.

Negative stress from money worries is blamed for all sorts of physical ailments such as hypertension, insomnia, obesity and hives to mention just a few.

Did you know that you are more likely to have health problems than those people who are debt free?  Why is that do you think?  Well, worrying about money causes anxiety, sleeping problems, anger and other behavioral problems and affects our overall physical health.

There are some ways you can help yourself with debt stress and these are:

Talk about it
That sounds simple doesn’t it but many of us don’t seek help.  Unresolved frustration leads to negative stress.  Fix the frustration and you fix the stress.  See a financial adviser or bank and for our health you should consult a doctor.

Understand why
Look into why this has come about and accept what you can’t change now and change what you can.

Exercise
Meditation and exercise can reduce stress and tension.

Look at how you react to stress
What can you do to change this?

These are just 4 ways you can help your current situation but long term planning will help you avoid the problems in the future.  Don’t forget to stay positive and practical and don’t less debt stress get to you.

If you experience immobilizing fear, lack of concentration, depression or phobias then they could lead eventually to a panic attack.

If you have one or more of the panic attack symptoms below then you could be on the verge of a panic attack:

Lightheadedness
Tingling in hands, feet or scalp
Sweating
Chest pain or palpitations
Nausea
Chills or hot flushes
Shortness of breath
Intense fear
Diarrhea
Muscle spasm
Dry mouth

During a panic attack many people feel that they will lose control, have a heart attack, are suffering from a serious illness or are ‘going crazy’. Panic attacks usually only last for several minutes but they are frightening.

In my own experience the first panic attack symptom I get is tingling in my fingers and scalp and a dry mouth. I get six of the panic attack symptoms above before and during the attack as well as ‘the wave’ of panic which follows. I will talk about ‘the wave’ another time.

Recognizing the symptoms is a good thing as it alerts me to the fact that I am anxious and I then know to start my breathing techniques to lower my over-breathing which is causing the symptoms, so the panic attack doesnt come on.

Forewarned is forearmed, so they say, and in my case this warning has helped me many a time.

As you get older you no longer get the same amount of oxygen to your lungs as you used to when you were younger.  If you shallow breathe like I do then you will build up more carbon dioxide in your lungs.

When you are anxious you also rapid breathe which not only can lead to overall tiredness but is not good for your heart.  It only takes about 5 minutes a day to freshen that stale air that is accumulating and this you can do anytime of the day but at night time these exercises will also relax your for a better sleep.

Here are 3 exercises you can try:

1.  Place your hands on your stomach just below your rib case and slowly breath in and feel your ribs expanding.  slowly breathe out all the way as much as you can.

2. Humming exercises (now don’t laugh) are also helpful and this is where you hum on exhaling.  Concentrate on your breathing and hum each time you exhale.  This help you relax in all part of your body.

3.  Chinese breathing is something new that I have been trying.  Sit down in a comfortable chair, preferably one that doesn’t have arms and take three short breaths through the nose without exhaling between them.

With this technique on the first breath you also have to lift your arms out in front of you , on the second you open up your arms to the side at shoulder level and on the third breathe you lift them over your head.  You then exhale and bring your arms down to your side.

Maybe do it one more time but don’t overdo it as it can make you lightheaded and don’t do this exercise when standing.

I would like you now to watch this video by Wilddivine.com as its a fairly new way to treat anxiety and stress and one I am looking at investigating more.  Click on the link below to watch it.