The Health Blog

If you suffer from an anxiety disorder, panic attacks may be a part of your life. Even with proper medication, many patients suffer from panic attacks. Although predicting when a panic attack will happen may be a bit tricky, you can take steps to prepare for these panic attacks in order to take back control of your life.

The first step to taking back that control is to learn to breathe. When a person has a panic attack, often they feel so overwhelmed that they forget to simply breathe properly. Many doctors, therefore, advocating safe breathing practices in order to help calm anyone having a panic attack. In fact, if you’ve ever had a panic attack in public, someone may have tried to get you to breath into a paper bag. This may or may be a good method for you, but the fact is that you should know and practice your breathing exercise before you are panicking. Have a plan—learn calming breathing techniques and practice at least twice a day.

Other relaxing practices may also be able to help your panic attack. Of course, you might find it difficult to even consider meditation when you’re having a panic attack, but by learning this relaxing procedure, you can use some of the same calming techniques that help you to meditate to help you calm down.

Another great way to prepare for a panic attack is to simply know your triggers. Do you have a specific phobia? Is excess stress your downfall? Do certain situations seem impossible for you? When you know what triggers panic reactions, you can do your best to avoid or minimize these situations.

You should also be medically prepared for a panic attack. When you go outside of the home, take with you a list of emergency contacts, which should include your doctor’s number, your local crisis hotline, and members of your personal support systems. You can use these phone numbers yourself if you feel a panic attack starting, or another person will easily find this information in your purse or wallet if you are not capable of helping yourself.

Also take with you a bag to help you feel comfortable and calm down during a panic attack. A crucial part of the bag is any medications you may be taking, along with instructions on taking it. You can also include any items from home that will help you feel more comfortable. This can include herbal tea, a stuffed animal, religious items, photos, rubber bands to snap on your wrist, mints, hand cream, money, a puzzle book, and anything else that may help you relax, stimulated your brain, or distract yourself. Remember, comfort is key.

Just like set menus from restaurants wherein different kinds of foods are served - from appetizers, to main dishes, to desserts - life also has its menu for an upbeat life. Different people have their own individual menu that makes them cheerful and optimistic. Find out what they are; they may help to keep your life meaningful, enjoyable, inspiring, and interesting. Consider the following:

Help the needy, the poor, the handicapped, the ailing, the broken-hearted, the homeless, the lost, and the environment. The list can go on. When you help the needy - in services, monetary value, or other forms (lending a shoulder to cry on or an understanding ear to listen to other people’s problems) - the returns are ten folds over. However, don’t expect anything in return. Just the contentment you experience in your heart is an incomparably satisfying feeling. Giving something wholeheartedly without expecting anything in return is divine. Imagine yourself as the person on the receiving end. You can’t wait to return the favor once you get the opportunity to do so.

Another way to enjoy life is to listen to music. Play your good old favorite songs and sing along. Sing your best. Sing carelessly or out of tune - whatever it takes to make your heart contented and whatever makes you laugh. Just hum the tune if you don’t remember the words. Sing until you laugh heartily. The idea is to cheer up. Do this in private with your close friends or relatives though. You don’t want to annoy your neighbors.

The sound of nature is also music. The sound of river flowing, the gust of wind on a tree branch, waves on the seashore, and birds chirping are as natural as nature can be, and the way music should be. The sound of nature can make you optimistic because it is a beautiful and serene sound.

Right now, 20 million Americans are in the midst of an episode of depression.

Some have the incapacitating symptoms of what doctors call a major depression. These symptoms usually require professional attention because they are very severe and demoralizing. Feeling hopeless and worthless, a person with major depression may sleep and eat irregularly.

In the throes of severe depression, it is hard to concentrate, make decisions, or find the energy to do much of anything. Thoughts of suicide are common.

Depression primarily refers to a state of mind that is purely negative, with an inclination to insufficiency and a hopeless lack of interest to do things.

If someone has a minor depression, however, the problem is more manageable. Experts say that people who have some minor depression will feel lousy about themselves and lousy about their lives, but they are managing to function at a high level.

In fact, some of the newfound ways of battling the blues are related to what you do as well as what you feel. Here are some ways that you can prepare your body to help prevent minor depression:

1. Put some spring in your step.

Regular exercise may be the most powerful natural antidepressant available. It is advisable that you take a brisk walk. Exercise helps generate the release of brain chemicals called endorphins. When endorphin levels are low, depression occurs. Exercise also oxygenates the brain, keeping it healthy.

How much should you exercise? Thirty minutes, five or six days a week, at moderate intensity, is a nice level to aim for to help prevent the brain imbalances that can make you vulnerable to depression.

So you’ve forgotten where you put your room keys, trouble recalling the name of someone you met previously, and you can’t remember why you opened the refrigerator? At times everyone has problems remembering.

I am one of those having memory lapses. I always forget where I put my stethoscope. I even lost my first one - I must have left it at the ER, at the nurse’s station, or at the patient’s room, I don’t know. I only had my notebook in my hand but couldn’t recall where my stethoscope go. A friend of mine, was consoling me and gave me a good advice: “Always put the important things first.” Since then, I always make sure that the stethoscope has my first hold when leaving a place.

So how to remember what you usually forget?

1. Names. When you meet someone, repeat the person’s name aloud as soon as you can. Say, “Nice to meet you, Jack.” Then look closely at him and repeat his name silently to yourself 10 times.

2. Numbers. Break long numbers down into meaningful chunks. For instance, checking account number 1048630, is easier to remember if you think of it as 10:48 (time for midmorning break) and 6:30 (dinner time). You can also associate numbers with special dates such as you birthday or anniversary.

3. Shopping lists. Visualize your house with a giant version of each item in various rooms: a huge egg in the kitchen, a big loaf of bread in the bedroom, etc. When shopping, mentally scan your house to recall your list. But the best technique still is doing your shopping list.

“Music heals the soul,” so the old saying says. Recent studies show that the healing power of music is effective to the mind, too.

A new Finnish study found out that music speeds stroke recovery i.e. listening to their favorite music helps stroke patients recover mental function and makes them less depressed and confused.

Music is said to stimulate neural networks. The music group in this research was provided with CD players and CDs of their favorite music in any musical genre and let them listened to it for at least one hour every day for the first two months after their stroke.

Results showed that verbal memory improved significantly higher in the patients (by 60%) who listened to their favorite music than to audio diaries (18%) and non-listeners (29%) after 3 weeks.

However, further studies are needed for validation of this research.

A Look at the Common Medical Causes of Fatigue in Women

Do you always feel tired, physically and emotionally? There maybe several reasons why you always have fatigue. In women, the most common medical causes include:

1. Anemia, which is caused by lack of iron in the blood. This is the primary medical explanation for fatigue in women of childbearing age. The most common cause of anemia in women is iron-deficiency anemia (IDA), a condition in which blood lacks adequate healthy red blood cells, which carry oxygen to tissues. IDA is due to insufficient iron. Your body needs the element iron to make hemoglobin, a substance in red blood cells that enables them to carry oxygen.

How do you know if you have IDA?
Aside from fatigue, it may present as inflammation or soreness of your tongue, brittle nails, unusual cravings for non-nutritive substances, such as ice, dirt or pure starch and poor appetite. This type of anemia is corrected through iron supplements. It’s always advisable to see your doctor before taking any medications. MayoClinic

Your physician may run blood tests two know if you have anemia. It’s not seen in the blood pressure, as misconceived by others.

The medical and behavioral references stated it. Anxiety disorders cannot be prevented. But there are ways you can do to control or lessen symptoms.

1. Reduce caffeine intake. Dr. James Lee, a psychiatrist at Duke University said that “moderate caffeine consumption makes a person react like he/she is having a very stressful day. If you combine the effects of real stress with the artificial boost in stress hormones that comes from caffeine then you have compounded the effects considerably”.

2. Proper breathing is the trick. Breathing can decrease heart rate, blood pressure, and increase circulation. To do a proper breathing, inhale fully and then, without pausing, exhale slowly.

3. Practice relaxation and meditation.

4. Exercise daily and eat a healthy, balanced diet.

Depression that follows the birth of a baby is common, as new moms are overwhelmed by the changes in their bodies and routines.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services offers this list of reasons for why postpartum depression affects some new mothers:

* New moms can suffer from lack of sleep after the baby’s birth, which can lead to fatigue, stress and depression.
* New moms can feel overwhelmed by all of the new things to do, and by other changes in their lives. They may even feel unsure of their parenting skills.
* New moms may set unrealistic expectations for themselves.
* New moms have less time for themselves, with their partners, and less time to do what they want.

Start with limiting your young girl’s television watching. Of course, this is easier said than done. Studies show television programs and advertising can have a negative effect on viewers. Television shows targeted toward children are mixed with many advertising messages. Some of these messages are very subtle, while other messages are quite clear.

Of course we cannot blame the media for everything. We can, however, realize that too much television may negatively affect our children’s self esteem and confidence. For example, children who learn at a young age that food equals happiness, may have problems with body image later in life. Television advertising and programs present ongoing messages to young children that “things” are the solutions to problems and the route to happiness. These messages only exaggerate feelings of low self worth if a child does not possess all these “things,” or the “right things.”

Memory decline is a common complaint as we move through the aging process. The typical 60-year-old is not as sharp mentally as they were in their 40s. That said, some people do age slower than others. There are 80 year olds with the mind and body of people decades their minor. There are 70 year olds who can easily match wits with 40 year olds.

Would you like to put the brakes on brain rot? You can, simply by adding a handful of “Super Brain Foods” to your daily diet. The “You are what you eat” adage most definately applies to mental function. To slow the aging process and provide continued brain strength, an anti-oxidant, nutrient rich diet will keep your body and brain functioning at more youthful levels.

“Oxidative damage” is the most common blame for brain decline. The brain is highly sensitive to oxidative, free radical damage. Foods high in antioxidants counter that damage and protect the brain. “Brain starvation” is another common cause of mental decline. The brain is the greediest organ in your body and its dietary requirements are high. Feed the brain with the protective nutrients it needs and it will peform better.

Long-term stress may affect young stars’ psychology — and behavior

It is, of course, impossible for anyone to say conclusively that stress is the only factor — or even the main factor — in the behavior and choices of stars who have experienced long-term stardom.

But one thing is for certain — the life of a star is a stressful one.

“These are people like you and me, but they need to be perfect,” says Dr. Scott Kessler, a New York physician who has treated a number of musical celebrities.

“These people are living life on a level of psychological and emotional stress that are higher than most.”