Anxiety Worry Panic Stress

What is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)?

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is anxiety that results from previous trauma such as military combat, rape, hostage situations, or a serious accident. PTSD often leads to flashbacks and behavioral changes in order to avoid certain stimuli.

What is Separation Anxiety Disorder?

Separation Anxiety Disorder is characterized by high levels of anxiety when separated from a person or place that provides feelings of security or safety. Sometimes separation results in panic, and it is considered a disorder when the response is excessive or inappropriate.

What is Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)?

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is a chronic disorder characterized by excessive, long-lasting anxiety and worry about nonspecific life events, objects, and situations. GAD sufferers often feel afraid and worry about health, money, family, work, or school, but they have trouble both identifying the specific fear and controlling the worries. Their fear is usually unrealistic or out of proportion with what may be expected in their situation. Sufferers expect failure and disaster to the point that it interferes with daily functions like work, school, social activities, and relationships.

What is Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)?

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder characterized by thoughts or actions that are repetitive, distressing, and intrusive. OCD suffers usually know that their compulsions are unreasonable or irrational, but they serve to alleviate their anxiety. Often, the logic of someone with OCD will appear superstitious, such as an insistence in walking in a certain pattern. OCD sufferers may obsessively clean personal items or hands or constantly check locks, stoves, or light switches.

What is Social Anxiety Disorder?

Social Anxiety Disorder is a type of social phobia characterized by a fear of being negatively judged by others or a fear of public embarrassment due to impulsive actions. This includes feelings such as stage fright, a fear of intimacy, and a fear of humiliation. This disorder can cause people to avoid public situations and human contact to the point that normal life is rendered impossible.

What is a Phobia?

A Phobia is an irrational fear and avoidance of an object or situation. Phobias are different from generalized anxiety disorders because a phobia has a fear response identified with a specific cause. The fear may be acknowledged as irrational or unnecessary, but the person is still unable to control the anxiety that results. Stimuli for phobia may be as varied as situations, animals, or everyday objects. For example, agoraphobia occurs when one avoids a place or situation to avoid an anxiety or panic attack. Agoraphobics will situate themselves so that escape will not be difficult or embarrassing, and they will change their behavior to reduce anxiety about being able to escape.

What is Panic Disorder?

Panic Disorder is a type of anxiety characterized by brief or sudden attacks of intense terror and apprehension that leads to shaking, confusion, dizziness, nausea, and difficulty breathing. Panic attacks tend to arise abruptly and peak after 10 minutes, but they then may last for hours. Panic disorders usually occur after frightening experiences or prolonged stress, but they can be spontaneous as well. A panic attack may lead an individual to be acutely aware of any change in normal body function, interpreting it as a life threatening illness - hypervigiliance followed by hypochondriasis. In addition, panic attacks lead a sufferer to expect future attacks, which may cause drastic behavioral changes in order to avoid these attacks.

Some medically-related causes of anxiety include:

* Stress from a serious medical illness
* Side effects of medication
* Symptoms of a medical illness
* Lack of oxygen from emphysema, or pulmonary embolism (a blood clot in the lung)

How Is Anxiety Treated?

Anxiety can be treated medically, with psychological counseling, or independently. Ultimately, the treatment path depends on the cause of the anxiety and the patient's preferences. Often treatments will consist of a combination of psychotherapy, behavioral therapy, and medications.

Sometimes alcoholism, depression, or other coexisting conditions have such a strong effect on the individual that treating the anxiety disorder must wait until the coexisting conditions are brought under control.

Some things that contribute:
Genetics
Brain chemistry

Research has shown that people with abnormal levels of certain neurotransmitters in the brain are more likely to suffer from generalized anxiety disorder. When neurotransmitters are not working properly, the brain's internal communication network breaks down, and the brain may react in an inappropriate way in some situations. This can lead to anxiety.

How To Help Yourself

* Learn to manage stress in your life. Keep an eye on pressures and deadlines, and commit to taking time away from study or work.
* Learn to replace "negative self talk" with "coping self talk." Make a list of the negative thoughts you have, and write a list of positive, believable thoughts to replace them. Replace negative thoughts with positive ones.
* Talk with a person who is supportive.
* Take a long, warm bath.

Counseling

A standard method of treating anxiety is with psychological counseling. This can include cognitive-behavioral therapy, psychotherapy, or a combination of therapies.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) aims to recognize and change the patient's thinking patterns that are associated with the anxiety and troublesome feelings. This type of therapy has two main parts: a cognitive part designed to limit distorted thinking and a behavioral part designed to change the way people react to the objects or situations that trigger anxiety.

Psychotherapy is another type of counseling treatment for anxiety disorders. It consists of talking with a trained mental health professional, psychiatrist, psychologist, social worker, or other counselor. Sessions may be used to explore the causes of anxiety and possible ways to cope with symptoms.
In Ventura County 805-204-7315

Are You Anxious?

One can be suffering with anxiety
and not be fully aware of it... HOW CAN THIS BE?

Do you or a loved one have a habit of counting, picking, checking and rechecking, always cleaning or struggle in social situations or driving, maybe leaving the house? What do your closets look like, extremely organized? Ever feel detached, like you're outside of yourself?

These can often be attributed to a variety of anxiety symptoms but, are not necessarily required if you experience anxiety. Have you ever been called a "worrier", struggle with insomnia or depression? There are also physical symptoms associated with anxiety.

Anxiety can reek havoc on our physical well being, weaken our immune systems, heart muscle and other vital organs.

It's not uncommon for individuals suffering from various forms of anxiety and even depression to turn to 'self medicating'. This may take the form of alcohol and or drugs, self destructive patterns of behavior and negative self talk.

To have a quiet mind, what might that be like and how can you achieve this - It is possible!

Focusing on one thing helps calm the mind, it does take practice to train your mind to focus. Breathing can be a good focal point.

For further help, support or guidance you may want to consider joining a support group, I facilitate several in the Ventura, CA area. Or you may contact your local social services agency.

Ashley Bretting, M.S.
Marriage & Family Therapist
Registered Intern #IMF51514
Supervised by Lynn M. Jones, Ph.D.
Lic # MFC021739
Morbrook Institute A non-profit agency
in collaboration with Camarillo Health Care District

(805) 204-7315

www.ashleybretting.com

Ongoing and frequent bouts of anxiety can lead and have been linked to the following:

Impaired immune system
( when our immune systems are impacted we become at greater risk for illness, disease and our overall physical defense mechanisms are significantly weakened )

Heart problems
( under prolonged bombardment of certain chemicals our brains produce during periods of anxiety and stress, including depression, the heart along with other organs become weakened and compromised )

Sexual issues
( all aspects of human sexuality, from desire to performance are at risk from the affects of the onslaught of brain chemicals )

Breath In Calm Breath Out Stress

Different Types of Anxiety

The most common form of anxiety disorder is the one that is termed as general anxiety disorder (GAD) which has characteristics such as lengthy periods of anxiety that is baseless but still present over a period of time. GAD is a condition in which the person suffering from it is incapable of explaining their anxiety. This is a problem, that also seems to affect women more than men. Typically this form of anxiety disorder lasts for about six months and it persists and causes the sufferer to experience dizziness, headaches, insomnia's and there is also some amount of palpitation of the heart felt as well.

Some people develop specific phobias, and this kind of anxiety disorder is unique in that the sufferer is not able to find a reason for their irrational fear of certain objects or situations. It is different from normal phobia that most everyone experiences, as the fear being felt in this case is intense and causes nauseous feelings as well as breathlessness, shaking and a palpitating heart.

Another form of anxiety disorder is the one termed as post-traumatic stress disorder. It occurs in people that have suffered a severe and emotionally upsetting traumatic experience, such as having been subjected to threat to their lives or even having witnessing someones death. Sometimes such people come into contact with certain stimuli that cause them to associate the stimulus with the past traumatic event and this in turn will cause post-traumatic stress disorder.

Other forms of anxiety disorder include obsessive-compulsive disorders, panic disorders, and social phobias. People that are affected by obsessive-compulsive disorders will have a continuous obsession and/or compulsion in which unwanted thoughts and images preoccupy their minds, and any attempt to suppress these thoughts will lead to exacerbation of the thoughts rather than suppression of the disturbing thoughts.

Panic disorders show certain characteristics like recurrence of panic attacks that take place suddenly. People suffering from social phobias think, they are the center of everyone's attention, what is not usually the case.

Although anxiety disorders cannot be prevented, there are ways to reduce your risk and methods to control or lessen symptoms. Recommendations include:

* Reducing caffeine, tea, cola, and chocolate consumption.
* Checking with a doctor or pharmacist before using over-the-counter or herbal remedies to see if they contain chemicals that may contribute to anxiety.
* Exercising regularly.
* Eating healthy foods.
* Keeping a regular sleep pattern.
* Seeking counseling and support after a traumatic or disturbing experience.
* Avoiding alcohol, cannabis.

Anxiety Depression is characterized by the state of being overly anxious about things.

Anxiety, a supposedly normal behavior that will 'll actually help a person adjust more to a certain stressful activity, such a first date jitters or a gruelling exam the following day
anxiety Anxiety attacks are the most extreme manifestation of panic disorder , an anxiety response resulting from an over-production and under-use of adrenalin, the bodily chemicals that cause them. When the anxiety reaction has no use for adrenalin, this powerful hormone can create a group of physical reactions which can peak with the formation of a panic attack.

Panic attacks become normal in an abnormal kind of way. Panic attacks may arise for many different reasons. Sometimes they may occur when people are under considerable stress, due to work or a bereavement, for example.Anxiety attacks are one of the most common psychological problems in the Western World, affecting 2-3% of the population in any one year. Fortunately many people get over this with no need for treatment and when treatment is required, it is usually short and often successful. Anxiety attacks are the main symptom of panic disorder. Panic disorder is fairly common, as about one in twenty people are said to have it in a mild to severe form. Panic attacks are also accompanied by multiple physical sensations.

Stress, phobias and anxiety can cause 'depression like' symptoms but rarely true clinical depression. Stress the need for compliance and review adverse effects. For drugs that produce strong anticholinergic effects, such as amitriptyline (Endep, Emitrip) and amoxapine, suggest sugarless gum or hard candy to relieve dry mouth.Stress becomes a problem when you feel overwhelmed by its challenges. And though it may be difficult to define, that doesn't mean it's all in your head.

Sleep is, of course, a major factor in determining how well you and your body react to stress and anxiety. So perhaps a dose of valerian root will cure you of the anxiety that can sometimes cause panic attacks. Sleep deprivation may make panic disorder worse, so try to get a full night's rest.

is characterized by the state of being overly anxious about things. Anxiety, a supposedly normal behaviour that'll actually help a person adjust more to a certain stressful activity, such a first date jitters or a gruelling exam the following day
Anxiety attacks are the most extreme manifestation of panic disorder , an anxiety response resulting from an over-production and under-use of adrenalin, the bodily chemicals that cause them. When the anxiety reaction has no use for adrenalin, this powerful hormone can create a group of physical reactions which can peak with the formation of a panic attack. Panic attacks become normal in an abnormal kind of way. Panic attacks may arise for many different reasons. Sometimes they may occur when people are under considerable stress, due to work or a bereavement, for example.Anxiety attacks are one of the most common psychological problems in the Western World, affecting 2-3% of the population in any one year. Fortunately many people get over this with no need for treatment and when treatment is required, it is usually short and often successful. Anxiety attacks are the main symptom of panic disorder. Panic disorder is fairly common, as about one in twenty people are said to have it in a mild to severe form. Panic attacks are also accompanied by multiple physical sensations.

Stress, phobias and anxiety can cause 'depression like' symptoms but rarely true clinical depression. Stress the need for compliance and review adverse effects. For drugs that produce strong anticholinergic effects, such as amitriptyline (Endep, Emitrip) and amoxapine, suggest sugarless gum or hard candy to relieve dry mouth.Stress becomes a problem when you feel overwhelmed by its challenges. And though it may be difficult to define, that doesn't mean it's all in your head.

Sleep is, of course, a major factor in determining how well you and your body react to stress and anxiety. So perhaps a dose of valerian root will cure you of the anxiety that can sometimes cause panic attacks. Sleep deprivation may make panic disorder worse, so try to get a full night's rest.

Economic Stress and Anxiety

Are you losing sleep over the state of the economy? ( The next section is on sleep )

With loss of employment, homes, savings & investments and the ongoing negative news updates it is hard to imagine anyone not being a little nervous these days.

It is important to mention, there is good stress and bad stress - this subject would be an example of bad stress and as you may already know, you are not alone.

Together in a therapeutic group format dubbed WEST, which stands for Weather Economic Storm Together, talk with others and discover how they are managing to keep their growing fear and concern at bay. In Ventura County, California

One tip: Limit your exposure to all forms of media news coverage.

805-204-7315

Trouble Sleeping?

Struggling with sleep is a common complaint. Sleep issues can be addressed and managed through a variety of processes. Many clients who are suffering from emotional upset tend to also struggle with getting good sleep.

Some contributors include anxiety or depression while physical issues such as sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome and more may be playing a part in poor sleep.

Sleep tips and guidelines are available - sleep studies can be very helpful in ruling out any physical issues that may prove to be life threatening or identify them, for proper treatment.

I discuss sleep issues & emotional concerns in group and individual sessions. If you decide that this would be helpful for you. In Ventura County, CA (805) 204-7315

Worrying is a preoccupation with past or future bad events. It is a type of thinking that makes you feel as if you were reliving a past event or living out a future one, and you cannot stop those thoughts from occurring. Such thoughts are often characterized by the phrases "If only..." and "What if..."

Worry bothers almost everyone periodically. Whenever you are facing problems, your mind will be addressing them and trying to figure out what to do. The mind is a remarkable instrument, able to call back past memories and to picture possible future events. With these abilities, it can take advantage of everything you have learned to help you to adapt to the world.

At times, worry can create emotional stress.

You can find yourself thinking about past events that were depressing or anxiety-provoking at the time they happened.

You can think about all kinds of future events that might happen and which would make you feel badly if they did.

At times, for no obvious reason, you just can't stop thinking about such things. Each time you do think about them, you body reacts just as if the event were actually happening or about to happen.

Ultimately, ongoing worry and stress can and often does lead to depression.

Chronic worry and stress can impair your memory. Are you becoming (more) forgetful?

Whether it is a sign of aging or just a result of ongoing stress and worry, you can explore by using stress reducing tools and techniques for a period of time to help you identify the source of your memory lapses.

Do a self assessment after a few weeks, once you find that your anxiety is being managed by ongoing stress reducing techniques, re-examine your level of forgetfulness.

This is more easily accomplished with the use of a journal and professional support.

Common Alzheimer's disease symptoms include:

- Memory loss
- Difficulty performing everyday tasks
- Inability to remember words
- Disorientation
- Losing things
- Impaired judgment
- Problems with mathematical and verbal skills
- No initiative
- Mood swings
- Personality changes

Please Keep In Mind

IF YOU OR A LOVED ONE IS STRUGGLING WITH (ANY OF)
THESE ISSUES, IT DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY MEAN THIS IS THE CORRECT DIAGNOSIS

Then What Is Dementia?

It's important to remember that dementia itself is not actually a disease. The word basically means "mental deterioration" and it involves a whole gambit of symptoms that go hand in hand with a physical illness. In fact, Alzheimer's is just one of several diseases which cause these symptoms.

Problems with mental function and the loss of memory, language or speech control can be symptoms of Parkinson's disease, Pick's disease, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, vascular dementia, Huntington's disease or Lewy body dementia.

There are many other illnesses which cause dementia type symptoms - most of which can either be cured or controlled with medical treatment. They include depression, stress, infections such as HIV or meningitis, head injuries, brain tumors, thyroid problems, alcoholism and a reaction to certain medications.

It's important that a doctor rules out all other possible explanations before making a diagnosis if Alzheimer's.

LONDON (Reuters) - A widely available blood pressure pill could one day help people erase bad memories, perhaps treating some anxiety disorders and phobias, according to a Dutch study published on Sunday.

The generic beta-blocker propranolol significantly weakened people's fearful memories of spiders among a group of healthy volunteers who took it, said Merel Kindt, a psychologist at the University of Amsterdam, who led the study.

"We could show that the fear response went away, which suggests the memory was weakened," Kindt said in a telephone interview.

The findings published in the journal Nature Neuroscience are important because the drug may offer another way to help people suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and other problems related to bad memories.

Traditionally, therapists seek to teach people with such disorders strategies to build new associations and block bad memories. The problem, Kindt said, is the memories remain and people often relapse.

Animal studies have shown that fear memories can change when recalled, a process known as reconsolidation. At this stage they are also vulnerable to beta-blockers like propranolol, which target neurons in the brain, the researchers said.

Kindt and her team's experiment included 60 men and women who learned to associate pictures of spiders with a mild shock. This experience created a fearful memory, the researchers said.

Other participants saw the same picture but did not receive an electrical shock. For these people this established a "safe" association without a fear response or bad memory.

One day later people given the drug had a greatly decreased fear response compared with people on the placebo when shown the picture and given a mild shock, the researchers said.

"There was no difference to the fear spider and the safe spider," Kindt said. "This shows it is possible to weaken the underlying memory by interfering with it."

The next steps are to look at how long the drug's effects on memory last, and testing the treatment in people who actually are suffering from some kind of disorder or phobia, Kindt said.

(Reporting by Michael Kahn; Editing by Maggie Fox and Elizabeth Piper)

Panic Attacks, Panic Disorder

A panic attack is a sudden episode of intense fear that develops for no apparent reason and that triggers severe physical reactions. Panic attacks can be very frightening. When panic attacks occur, you might think you're losing control, having a heart attack or even dying.

You may have only one or two panic attacks in your lifetime. But if you have panic attacks frequently, it could mean that you have panic disorder, a type of chronic anxiety disorder.

Panic attacks were once dismissed as nerves or stress, but they're now recognized as a real medical condition. Although panic attacks can significantly affect your quality of life, treatment - including medications, psychotherapy and relaxation techniques to help prevent or control panic attacks - is very effective.

Symptoms

Panic attack symptoms can make your heart pound and cause you to feel short of breath, dizzy, nauseated and flushed. Because panic attack symptoms can resemble life-threatening conditions, it's important to seek an accurate diagnosis and treatment.

Panic attack symptoms can include:

* Rapid heart rate
* Trembling
* Shortness of breath
* Hyperventilation
* Hot flashes
* Nausea
* A sense of impending death & much more!

If you have frequent panic attacks, you may have a condition called panic disorder. Panic attacks can greatly interfere with your life - and perhaps even endanger you or others.

Panic attacks can strike at almost any time without warning - when you're driving the school car pool, at the mall, sound asleep or in the middle of a business meeting. And you may fear having a panic attack so much that you avoid situations where they may occur. You may even be unable to leave your home (agoraphobia), because no place feels safe.

Things that may play a role include:

* Genetics
* Stress
* Certain changes in the way parts of your brain function

Some research suggests that your body's natural fight-or-flight response to danger is involved in panic attacks.

Psychotherapy, also called counseling or talk therapy, can help you understand panic attacks and panic disorder and how to cope with them. The main type of psychotherapy used to treat panic attacks and panic disorder is cognitive behavioral therapy. Some experts recommend that you have therapy with a psychiatrist or psychologist with experience in treating panic disorder.

Cognitive behavioral therapy can help you change thinking (cognitive) patterns that trigger your fears and panic attacks. It can also help you change the way you react (behave) to anxious or fearful situations.

To read more:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/panic-attacks/DS00338/DSECTION=treatments-and-drugs

POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD)

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy appears to be the most effective counseling for PTSD. Often a combination of this type of therapy and use of medication proves most helpful.

What is EMDR?
Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) is a fairly new therapy for PTSD. Like other kinds of counseling, it can help change how you react to memories of your trauma.

While talking about your memories, you'll focus on distractions like eye movements, hand taps, and sounds. For example, your therapist will move his or her hand near your face, and you'll follow this movement with your eyes.

Experts are still learning how EMDR works. Studies have shown that it may help you have fewer PTSD symptoms. But research also suggests that the eye movements are not a necessary part of the treatment.

Important Note:

An usual time marker comes at the 6 - 8 month interval, where emotional upset may return to a high point. This is NOT an absolute and will not occur for every individual, however having this information before hand may help you to recognize what is happening if this should occur.

There is no reason to isolate and go through this alone, help and support is available.

While that might sound like a silly question consider this, when we are stressed we breath shallow breaths which impacts both our physical and mental abilities.

Check yourself throughout the day to see if you
are holding your breath, many are doing just that.