Thursday, July 30, 2009
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Monday, July 6, 2009
Anxiety
Source:- Counseling Center - http://www.counselingcenter.illinois.edu -
Understanding and Treating Anxiety
Everybody has some familiarity with anxiety. Anxiety is the feeling of worry, apprehension, fear and/or panic in response to situations which seem overwhelming, threatening, unsafe or uncomfortable. You may experience anxiety as an intense worry before a final exam, the nervousness felt before making a presentation, or the heightened alertness when you believe you are in danger. Anxiety is your body’s way of alerting you that some kind of action is needed in the face of a situation that is perceived to be threatening or dangerous. Therefore, anxiety can be useful or adaptive whenever it prompts you to take appropriate action in response to an anxiety-provoking situation. For example, anxiety can motivate you to study for an exam or organize a presentation or leave a situation that feels unsafe. However, anxiety can also be detrimental, especially if it becomes overwhelming and prevents you from taking appropriate actions or prompts you to take actions that are counterproductive. Anxiety may be detrimental if you avoid studying for a major exam that worries you, or if you cope with worry about your relationship by getting unnecessarily suspicious and then yelling at your partner. This brochure will help you distinguish between normal or expected anxiety that everyone experiences and anxiety problems which may require intervention.
Because the feeling of anxiety is frequently intense and distressing, it is quite normal to want to avoid or eliminate these feelings. However, this is not necessarily the best approach to anxiety. If you ignore or try to eliminate your anxieties, you miss out on valuable information about your life and about your options for dealing with unavoidably stressful and demanding situations. It is often a better approach to begin with assessing the degree to which your anxiety works for you or is excessive and a source of problems for you.
Since anxiety is a basic human emotion, like sadness, how do you know if anxiety is a problem? The following will help you determine whether anxiety could be partly responsible for some of the problems you are experiencing:
- Do I feel anxious more often than not throughout my day?
- Have I restricted my activities as a way of coping with anxiety?
- Do I experience panic or panic-like symptoms in certain predictable situations?
- Am I intensely fearful of specific situations or things (e.g., animals)?
- Do I experience acute anxiety in social situations?
- Have I developed elaborate rituals or thought-processes to manage anxiety?
- Is my anxiety related to a specific, traumatic event?
If you answered yes to some of the previous questions, you may have more specific questions about the anxiety symptoms you have been experiencing. The following are various conditions for which anxiety is the predominant feature.
Types of Anxiety
Panic Disorder
A panic attack is defined as a period of intense fear or discomfort accompanied by physical symptoms such as sweating, trembling and chest pain as well as cognitive symptoms such as fear of losing control and/or dying. A panic attack can be associated with any of the anxiety disorders, but panic disorder itself is characterized by recurrent, unexpected panic attacks and persistent concerns about having additional panic attacks.
Specific Phobia
The anxiety in specific phobia is associated with persistent, excessive and unreasonable fear when there is an anticipated or actual encounter with a specific object or situation. There can be significant anxiety and sometimes panic whenever a phobic person is exposed to the feared object or situation. Some examples of specific phobias include fear of certain animals, fear of heights, fear of blood or fear of places such as bridges or elevators.
Social Phobia
Social phobia is defined as a marked and persistent fear of a social situation or a performance in which embarrassment is considered to be a likely outcome. A fear of public speaking is one of the more common forms of social phobia. In all instances of social phobia, there is acute anxiety whenever the feared situation or performance is anticipated or encountered and there is frequently a strong desire for avoidance.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
The presence of recurrent obsessions and compulsions which are time-consuming, impair life activities, and are recognized by the person as being excessive or unreasonable are features of this condition. An obsession is defined as persistent ideas, thoughts, impulses or images which are intrusive, anxiety-provoking and distressing. A compulsion is a ritualistic behavior which is intended to modify or reduce the anxiety through activity or behavior. The most frequent compulsions involve washing and cleaning, counting, seeking assurances, checking and/or repeating actions.
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder
The anxiety in Post-traumatic Stress Disorder is clearly associated with a traumatic event that the person experienced or witnessed and was associated with intense fear, horror or helplessness. In addition, there are recurrent, intrusive recollections of the events which are anxiety-provoking and distressing to the person. There may be avoidance of any situations associated with the original trauma and other anxiety-related symptoms such as hyper-vigilance or exaggerated startle response.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
The primary feature of Generalized Anxiety Disorder is excessive anxiety and worry which occurs more days than not for a period of at least six months. In addition, symptoms of restlessness, fatigue, concentration problems, irritability, muscle tension and sleep disturbance may be present. The anxiety is perceived by the individual as being difficult to control or regulate.
Treatment of Anxiety
If anxiety symptoms are interfering with your ability to do routine, day-to-day activities, or if you have restricted your life activities as a way of coping with anxiety, you should consider seeking professional help. There are currently a variety of highly effective interventions available for the treatment of anxiety, including psychotherapy, cognitive-behavioral therapies, and medication. If you seek treatment, the recommendations you receive will likely depend on the specific symptoms you are experiencing. All of the anxiety disorders are treatable and many individuals experience a full recovery from their symptoms.
What Can I Do?
It is usually helpful to identify the events surrounding the experience of anxiety:
- What provokes the anxiety?
- What thoughts or physical sensations accompany the anxiety?
- How distressing is the anxiety?
- How are you coping with the anxiety?
Exploring these accompanying events may provide useful information about the nature of the anxiety as well as possible strategies for reducing it. In addition, there are specific changes you can make that may help alleviate anxiety symptoms:
- Exercise or engage in some form of daily physical activity
- Eat a nutritious, well-balanced diet
- Obtain an adequate amount of sleep
- Seek emotional support from friends and family
- Focus on positive aspects of your life
- Establish realistic, attainable goals which do not rely on perfectionistic values
- Monitor how you think about stress and reduce and/or change thoughts which are negative
- Identify activities which feel overwhelming and reduce your involvement or seek ways to make them more manageable
- Consult with a physician if you are experiencing any medical problems
- Consult with a mental health professional if you continue to be concerned about your anxiety
- Reduce or eliminate the use of alcohol and drugs and limit caffeine intake
- Don’t engage in “emotional reasoning” (e.g., “because I feel awful, my life is terrible”)
- Don’t assume responsibility for events which are outside of your control
Helping an Anxious Person
If someone you care about has been experiencing anxiety symptoms, you can be a valuable resource. There is often tremendous shame associated with anxiety. If you talk candidly with the individual regarding your concerns for his or her well-being, it will often bring the problems out into the open. Emphasize that your primary objective is to convey feelings of concern and assistance. You can also always consult with a mental health professional yourself if you are concerned about how to talk with your friend.
Suggestions for intervening with an anxious friend
- Be empathic and understanding
- Don’t minimize the severity of anxiety symptoms
- Avoid critical or shaming statements
- Encourage coping strategies which don’t rely on avoidance of anxiety-provoking stimuli
- Challenge expressions of hopelessness
- Don’t argue about how bad things are
- Don’t become angry even though your efforts may be resisted or rejected
- Advocate for treatment of anxiety
- Consult with a mental health professional if an anxious friend refuses necessary treatment
Resources
- [1] The National Institute of Mental Health Website
- [2] The National Mental Health Association Website
- An End to Panic: Breakthrough Techniques for Overcoming Panic Disorder. (2000). Elke Zuercher-White. Fine Communications.
- Mastery of Your Anxiety and Worry: Client Workbook. (2000). David Barlow and Michelle Craske. Psychological Corporation.
- The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook. 2nd edition. (2000). Edmund J. Bourne. New Harbinger Publications.
- The Relaxation and Stress Reduction Workbook. 4th edition. (1997). Martha Davis, Matthew McKay, Elizabeth Robbins Eshelman, and Valerie Winemuller. New Harbinger Publications.
Need Additional Help?
The Counseling Center Offers individual, couples, and group counseling for these and related issues, as well as information about, and referral to, other campus and community resources. For more information or to schedule an appointment, call the Counseling Center at 333-3704. All appointments are strictly confidential and prepaid through your student health fee.
Article printed from Counseling Center: http://www.counselingcenter.illinois.edu
URL to article: http://www.counselingcenter.illinois.edu/?page_id=195
URLs in this post:
[1] The National Institute of Mental Health Website: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/anxiety/anxietymenu.cfm
[2] The National Mental Health Association Website : http://www.nmha.org/infoctr/index.cfm
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Friday, July 3, 2009
12 reasons to be glad about being single
12 Reasons to Be Glad You're Single This Summer
The weather's gorgeous and you wish there was someone special in your life to take to those BBQ's. Well, until that Mr. or Mrs. Right comes along, remember why being single can really be fantastic, too — maybe even preferable!
Our country's freedom isn't the only thing worth saluting this 4th of July. Here, some reminders of why being single can be a real blast.
1. You get to go wherever you want and do whatever you want on vacation. If you hate cold weather, you don't have to risk losing toes to frostbite just because your sweetie is a ski buff. And once you get wherever you're going, if you decide to stay in the hotel room all weekend with room service and an on-site masseuse while ignoring the historic blah blah blahs? No problem... Nobody's gonna know!
2. You get to sing out loud — badly, without embarrassment — to your iTunes whenever you're home.
3. The remote control is all yours, all the time. And you don't have to worry about anyone else making fun of you because it's switched to Lifetime or hours of NASCAR coverage.
4. You can comfortably put up that Star Wars poster you've had since you were a kid or paint the bathroom walls petal-pink—after all, decorating isn't a team sport.
5. Your friends all instinctively make you their "...and guest" when they go to an event. You get prime invites to concerts (especially popular during the summer), weddings (ditto) and other ticketed events every time someone's significant other has to bail.
20,000 singles join daily...
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6. You get to indulge all of your interests, no matter how bizarre, without negotiating. That means you can hole up with piles of true-crime books or drive an hour for the fairy exhibit at a nearby museum without ever having to explain yourself.
7. You can try all five of Cold Stone Creamery's July-only flavors... twice... before noon... and not have to hide the fact that you ruined your appetite for lunch.
8. When you get to the front of the line at Blockbuster, you know with certainty that you're not going to have to pay someone else's late fees for a movie you'd never watch.
9. You never, ever have to look over your shoulder before drinking straight from the milk carton. In fact, being single means you can leave the toilet seat up, the toothpaste cap off and your dirty undies on the bathroom floor. Let your inner slob run free!
10. You get to go to parties and barbecues without worrying that the person you lugged with you is bored, annoyed, or getting embarrassingly drunk. (And you get to flirt with every hot prospect there!)
11. If a sexy, brooding plumber with a mysterious past moves in next door and captures the attention of all the local ladies, you don't have to agonize over whether or not to leave your mate to pursue your one shot at true love. If things click, you're untethered, and it's game on, toilet boy! (For guys, substitute a pair of sexy blonde cheerleader twins for the brooding plumber.)
12. Nobody ever hogs your side of the bed, steals your covers, wakes you up with freezer-toes or flops his or her sweaty night-bod on you. And every single night, you nod off knowing that you're in the company of someone who really loves you.
Single girl Laura Gilbert is a freelance writer in New York City. Her recycling often consists of nothing but Domino's boxes and Gatorade bottles, and she's proud of it.
Article courtesy of Happen magazine, www.happenmag.com.
