Personality type

Your first step should be to assess your personality type. If you’re the laid-back type, you have an advantage, in that it’s easier for you to shrug off minor stresses. However, if you’re the hyper type, tending towards anxiety and nervousness, stressful situations tend to build on one another, leaving you a nervous wreck in very short order, while also significantly affecting your health. In either case, once you’ve made this self assessment, you can better judge how many of these stress reducing ideas you’ll need to pursue to get on a better footing with life.

Take note -keep a log

It’s a good idea to keep a log where you record situations that bring on emotional stress. This helps you identify your personal ‘triggers’. A small notebook is all you need. Just a brief description is all you need to later recall the entire event. For example, ‘forgot to pay the phone bill’ or ‘conflict with Mary at work’ should suffice. You’ll find that when you make a note, over time you’ll start to see patterns which reveal characteristics of your own behavior which may consistently lead to stressing out. You may find that, due to procrastinating, you’re frequently late accomplishing tasks that exacerbate your stress.

 Sorting out the good from the bad

Certainly, there are occasions when emotional stress is warranted, such as worrying over a child’s illness. The problem with this type of stress is that it has a ’snowball’ effect when you allow every little thing to pile up in one indistinguishable mass of worry and you soon find yourself overwhelmed. Your log can help to sort out the issues over which you have control. Procrastination, for example, can lead to many unnecessary hassles. In this case, by making a calendar of events you need to attend to before a problem arises can go a long way to reducing emotional stress.

Exercise

On the other hand, your log may simply reveal that, due to an anxious and nervous disposition, minor stresses form the majority of your entries. In this case, it’s most often helpful to focus on getting rid of some of that nervous energy. Some people just have ‘energy to burn’, quite literally. Implement a program of regular exercise. A brisk walk in the fresh air twice daily works wonders for staving off bouts of emotional stress. Some people find that rigorous cleaning around the house (think cleaning the oven, vacuuming, washing walls) serves to alleviate stress in two ways: you burn off excess energy and gain the satisfaction of a visibly cleaner home.

Take up a hobby

Hobbies of a less physical nature, such as reading, drawing or knitting are good techniques for reducing stress, especially if your health doesn’t permit excessively vigorous physical activities. Your object here is to allow your mind to be occupied with something you enjoy, rather than letting yourself stew over emotional issues which really aren’t significant in the long run. This method helps you take a step back, relax and put things in perspective.

Meditation can be helpful

Other primarily mental ‘exercises’ that prove helpful to many people include meditation and prayer, which also gets your mind out of the immediate. Giving your self a spiritual lift has an added bonus, in that your body and mind relax. Practicing yoga is another good way to reduce emotional stress and which doesn’t put undue stress on your body, while clearing your mind, leaving you feeling refreshed and ultimately, more limber and fit.

Coffee out

Last, if you’re not the laid-back type, you may want to consider reducing your consumption of caffeine. While you may love coffee, the caffeine can contribute mightily to an undesirable rush of adrenalin, which only worsens your susceptibility to physical and emotional stress. Try swapping an herbal tea or a glass of juice for that third cup of coffee.

Emotional balance

Although emotional stress is unfortunately a fact of life for most of us, you can certainly minimize it, using all of the methods outlined here. You’ll find that your emotional balance improves, as well as feeling more energetic, sleeping better and experiencing fewer illnesses. To your good health!

Unfortunately, medical professionals, on the whole, may unconsciously or unwittingly reinforce this perspective on the patient.

Confusing diet

You are given a booklet, much like a calorie counter book, detailing the carbs contained in a stated portion of a variety of foods and beverages. In addition, you’re prescribed medications that help protect your heart and kidneys. You may also be scheduled to see a nutritionist to orient you to your new nutritional program. Many patients find this process confusing, counting ½ cup of this and ¼ cup of that, choosing whole grains only and adapting to a whole new beverage regimen. Counting carbs is the main name of this diet planning project.

The nutritional restrictions and confusion over ‘food exchanges’ and the proper balance of ingredients often proves more than many a type 2 diabetic can manage on a daily basis.

Proteins and Fiber in, Carbs out!

The good news for any type 2 diabetic is that, while your diet must be modified and monitored, the bottom line is to severely curtail your consumption of simple carbs and to dramatically increase your consumption of green, leafy veggies and brightly colored produce, which are generally high in fiber and antioxidants. Stick with lean meats and low fat dairy products.

Cook books for type 2 diabetics are readily available. If one or two ingredients in your recipe are not foods you enjoy, make some comparable (in carb content) substitutions that are more to your taste.

There is hope for you!

Here’s the best news: many formerly type 2 diabetic patients, with high blood sugar readings when diagnosed, have been able to bring their blood sugar levels into the normal, non-diabetic range in the space of just a few months of careful meal planning, eating foods that are tasty and ‘good’ for you. So don’t let your diagnosis put you in a tailspin – you’ll grow to love your new diet as you start feeling better and more energetic than ever.

The truth is that, with a good diet plan – and exercise – your type 2 diabetes can be controlled admirably, even to the point of reversing your diabetes. It’s all up to you! Good luck!

Sudden or gradual transformation

A lot of people say that becoming addicted to drugs doesn’t happen overnight, but sometimes it does. Drug addiction can be a sudden or a gradual transformation. Sometimes, it takes people years to get involved in the drug. They start with gateway drugs like nicotine and alcohol, then move on to harder stuff. This doesn’t always lead to substance abuse, but it can. Very few people can handle really hard drugs without becoming addicted, and those who can often face other problems. They often end up as the victims of law enforcement or gangs, ending up in jail or dead.

Interventions

This is why, if you suspect a friend is a drug addict, it is important to get him or her help. Drug treatment facilities are widespread and easy to gain admission to. A lot of former drug addicts talk about the fact that at a crucial point in their life, someone came around and saved them. Although doing an intervention can be difficult, it is a lot better than the alternative. Your friend may give you grief while addicted to drugs, but once he or she is able to pull through, you’ll definitely earn his or her gratitude. In the long term it is both better for your friend and better for your friendship

Protect yourself

At the same time, it is important to not get drawn in too far. Drug addicts can often become very manipulative in their pursuit of a fix, and you need to be able to spot this manipulative behavior. Don’t let a drug addict walk all over you. Don’t do anything to enable his habit. Don’t shelter him so that he can get high in your house while not paying rent. Sometimes the best love is tough love. No matter how much it hurts, you have to do the right thing.

Not by choice

People tend to easily lose patience with ADHD children as well as adults. It’s just that they are so well-adjusted in every other way, so obviously intelligent, and so capable, that any problem is easily chalked up to a bad attitude. “Couldn’t they just concentrate if they tried”, people wonder. Could they not be less flaky and unreliable? That really isn’t very kind; ADHD children aren’t really this way by choice – ADHD happens to be based in the brain in a very fundamental way over which they have no control. Adults with this problem, often frustrated with their lot are tempted to find someone to blame. ADHD runs in families usually, and an impatient parenting style can easily attract all the blame. As it happens though, no kind of parenting style actually causes ADHD; some kinds might aggravate it though.

Official recognition

For most ADHD children and adults, it could not have come soon enough, the 1998 official recognition of the disease in the US. Now that there is a legitimate name for their suffering, it should be easy for people to find a little more sympathy for their lot. Not that anyone is letting go of the grouse with ADHD sufferers easily. The cynics wonder if ADHD is just a trumped-up non-existent disease manufactured by the Pharma industry to be able to sell a few more medicines. There are also those who wonder if computer viruses are made by the antivirus software people just to be able to sell the antidote. But there is a grain of something in what they charge. The drug that is used to treat ADHD, Ritalin, has been selling unbelievably well in the past five years: more like a commodity than a carefully prescribed drug.

“Online diagnose”

But there is no need to worry with a conspiracy theory at this point; the medical community is as prone to overreaction as any other. Once this relatively new disease is properly established, there will undoubtedly be a proper protocol that will be followed on how to prescribe. For now, plenty of Internet quizzes exist that’ll help you diagnose yourself for a condition. You can’t just say to yourself, “Oh I have trouble concentrating, I’m impatient and can’t sit tight – I must have ADHD”.  It might well be, that you’re just more intelligence than most, and get impatient with unchallenging situations.

Reasons for C section

Though there are some women who opt for the c section for personal reasons, most do want to have a vaginal birth. This happens most of the time, but when complications happen that endanger the baby or the mother, a c section is sometimes needed. This is actually considered surgery, and that means your c section recovery is going to take much longer than if you had a vaginal birth. You are going to be in more pain, laid up longer, and may need more help with your baby than other moms who do not have to worry about c section recovery.

C section recovery time varies

Your c section recovery time will greatly depend on your overall health. It is never something that is easy to heal from, but some women will do better with it than others. No matter how determined you are to be up and around, you have to follow your doctors advice about c section recovery, or you may set yourself back. You may even end up with an infection. You want to care for your baby, but you should take all the help that you can get until your doctor tells you that you are healed and ready to tackle it on your own.

Focus on whats important

You may resent that you have to go through c section recovery because you wanted a vaginal birth, but things don’t always work out as they should. What you should concentrate on is that you and the baby are safe, and that things could have been much worse. Childbirth is safer than ever, but is still a risky thing to go through. You can never tell the future, and things may not go as you planned. Take your c section recovery time to do as you should, and you and baby will be having the time of your life together before you know it.

C section recovery tips

• Face the fact and give your self some slack: Fact is, you have just been through heavy surgery. Give your self some slack, you need time to recover!
• Slow down from your normal tempo and responsibilities, the house, kids and husband/boyfriend will do just fine on their own while you rest.
• If you feel depresed, it is important that you talk to someone, family, spouse, friends. You might want to contact a support group or therapist if the depression is severe.
• Read a book on the subject. Amazon lists numerous books on the topic of C section recovery. Be sure to check the user reviews of the book, as they are usually a pretty good indicator of it’s quality.
• Try to get up of bed and take short walks as early as possible. Many say this has helped their recovery, even though it can be difficult at first. Ask your doctor or nurse about when you can start walking, and for how long.
• Ask for help: Call your doctor if you have any questions about your physical condition or if you feel you aren’t seeing the progress you should.
• Ask your doctor for a referral to a Physical Therapist if you are feeling if you are feeling pulling in the scar or (as mentioned above) you feel recovery is taking longer then expected.

Cheat on them, cheat on you?

If they will cheat on their spouse, you might well conclude that the person will easily lie to you. Perhaps you have an employee who consistently promises to meet deadlines, but, for the most part, fail to do so. These examples illustrate how trust in relationships needs to be nurtured and maintained. While it’s true that everyone can make mistakes, an isolated incident will not ultimately destroy a friendship, business relationship or marriage in the case of generally healthy and established trust in relationships.

The proof is in the pudding

When you first meet a person, you probably tend to give that person the benefit of the doubt, expecting that they will treat you in an ethical and trustworthy manner. However, the proof is in the pudding, as the relationship becomes established. Trusting people may easily be taken advantage of by people who are inherently undeserving of trust. When a trusting person realizes that another is not bound by ethics, the trust in relationships with that individual is damaged, sometimes irrevocably.

Mistrust from the get-go

On the other hand, there are people who approach every relationship with mistrust. Such people require that, upon establishing any type of relationship, the other person must first prove them selves honorable before any trust is conferred. For example, consider the case of an employer, who has been burned by untrustworthy or unethical employees too many times. This employer, upon hiring a replacement, might appear to be gruff and demanding, watching your every move with suspicion. Here, your best bet is to work on establishing trust in relationship to your boss. If you conduct yourself ethically and honestly, to the best of your ability, sooner or later you will win his trust. If you fail to do this, you might well be looking for a new job.

Keep your word

Being truthful is key to establishing trust in relationships of any type. If you give your word to do something, you must follow through. Again, there is always the odd situation that can crop up in anyone’s life. Your mother ended up in the hospital and you must take time to attend to her needs, unable to fulfill a promised obligation. Everyone understands that such things happen. It’s the person whose grandmother has died three times in the last year that loses credibility.

Jealousy or healthy protectiveness

In spousal relationships, jealousy can be a major cause for a lack of trust in relationships. Some people simply are possessed of a jealous nature, seeing suspicious behavior where it’s not warranted. This case is another story altogether. On the other hand, if your behavior or actions warrant suspicion, as might be the case of a partner who flirts shamelessly in your presence, any previously established trust in the relationship might well go down the drain.

Concluding thoughts

In the end, trust in relationships is a two way street. Both parties must behave ethically and deal truthfully. In every case, trust is built, earned and maintained. This simple element of trust between people affects your entire life. Take care to make it happen.

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1. Unhappy relationships

Knowing when to call it a day

The problem some people have in this quest is to know when to get out of unhappy relationships with their dignity in place. It’s hard to know when to call it a day.

The ups and downs

There are times when all relationships have an unhappy phase. These are usually short-lived, however. No relationship is ever perfect, and the ups and downs are part of what makes a relationship really good. The downs help us appreciate when things are good, and teach us more about who we are and what we want from each other. It’s when these unhappy relationships continue on without any improvement that you should consider if it is worth while. One or both in the relationship may be hoping that things turn around, but that is not always going to happen.

Problems early on, is the relationship worth it?

Those in unhappy relationships that have just started probably already know that they should be over and done with. Without a lot of good days and times to fall back on, these unhappy relationships are only going to get worse. It can be hard to let go of something if you have strong feelings for someone, but those feelings do not mean that you should be together. You are going to have to ride it out until you know, but for the most part, it is better to let it go, at least for the time being.

Ask a friend

If you are in a longer relationship, you may not be in a bad one, you may just be going through a rough time. This can be hard to tell at times, but those around you probably already know if you are in something that would fall under the unhappy relationships category or not. If you just don’t know, you can ask your friend what they think. Be prepared for them to be honest with you. You may already know the answer but just need to hear it from someone else. Those in unhappy relationships that have a good solid base can have a good chance of turning things around if both know there are problems.

Make a decision…for now

When dealing with unhappy relationships, you have to decide if you want to save it or not. What you have riding on your relationship may determine how hard you want to fight. If you think you want to turn things around, let your partner know that, and see what they would be willing to do. If counseling is an option, that is a great choice. Many in unhappy relationships and marriages turn things around this way, and sometimes, things are better than they have ever been in the past.

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1. Trust in relationships

Treat physical causes

Of course, the physical causes of anxiety attacks are pretty well known, and this is where anxiety treatment starts. You can treat anxiety and panic attacks pretty effectively with drugs in the short term, so usually if you go in to treatment for acute anxiety this is the first stage. When I went into the psychiatrist, he prescribed Xanax pills for me to take whenever I had the symptoms of anxiety attacks. These pills allowed me to get over the worst of the attacks and keep a normal mental state.

Deeper issues

Once I got to the point where I could function without being overcome by attacks of anxiety, I could look at the deeper issues. For me, finding the causes of anxiety attacks started with looking at the triggers. It took me a while to realize it, but there are certain issues that always triggered feelings of anxiety. I was really uncomfortable in some social situations in my life, and had some serious insecurities that were getting to me. It turned out that these were the causes of an anxiety attack every time. I thought about just avoiding Those sorts of social situations in the future, but mytherapist told me that that would not be enough. I would inevitably get into trouble in the future if I didn’t penetrate the deep psychological issues behind my anxiety.

Understanding the causes

I knew that it would take a long time to really understand and overcome the causes of anxiety attacks. Fortunately they were getting better all the time. I tried to look at the whole thing as a deep mission of personal growth. It helped to know that I was always making progress, and I had absolute faith that eventually I would get better. In reality, I am still dealing with it, but I have made remarkable strides. I understand the causes of anxiety attacks in my own life, and I rarely have them anymore. Whenever I feel anxious, I am able to step back and calm myself. I take a deep breath, calm down, and remind myself that things aren’t so bad. I do feel anxious sometimes, but I don’t have those feelings of overwhelming panic I used to have. All in all, things are better than they have ever been.

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1. Coping with Anxiety

Living in today’s hectic world is enough to produce anxiety in the most mellow of souls. People who tend to be nervous and the worrying sort are far more vulnerable to anxiety. Even when things are going just fine, we can always find a situation that invites stress and worry. Some of us are just prone to anxious feelings. If you’re that type, you know that coping with anxiety is no fun at all.

Fight or flight

Anxiety is a natural product of the flight or fight syndrome. When you feel there is some threat or imminent danger, your body responds with a rush of adrenalin to meet the challenge.

However, with all the real worries each of us has to deal with every day, it’s easy to get caught up in a vicious circle of anxiety. While it’s unfortunate that we must endure problems our grandparents didn’t experience on an hourly or daily basis, coping with anxiety is a reality. In today’s world, it’s necessary to come up with solutions that free us from the chronic anxiety syndrome. Here we’ve got some answers.

First step

Your first step is to determine what sort of events and problems trigger your anxiety. Keep a little notebook in which to jot down notes of what types of situations get your adrenalin racing. Remember that nothing is too silly! Anxiety can be triggered by something as simple as too much coffee. That caffeine is a stimulant and may set your blood racing, right along with your mind. Those nagging thoughts, such as making ends meet next week, or just having too much on your plate, get right in your face. You soon find yourself unable to concentrate on the task at hand. Anxiety sets in and can easily get out of control. If you tend to procrastinate, putting things off to the last minute, you might panic, wondering how you’re going to squeeze in that must-do task into your schedule today. Finding out what your triggers are is the first step to coping with anxiety effectively.

Eliminate situations of anxiety

You’ll soon enough see a pattern in the life events that bring on anxiety symptoms. Once you’ve determined the main sources of your anxiety, you can start eliminating such situations. Drink less coffee, or opt for decaf. Get your budget in good order. If you anticipate a problem in meeting financial obligations, make alternate arrangements ahead of that due date. If that’s not possible, accept that you can only do your best. If you’re the perennial procrastinator, recognize the problem and retrain yourself.

Seek professional counseling

Sometimes, dealing with anxiety is not quite so simple. If you experienced traumatic events during your childhood, the effects can linger on into adulthood, resulting in chronic anxiety. In this case, you might want to get some professional counseling to help you discover effective ways of coping with anxiety on a psychological level. Working through anxiety produced by past events can allow you to eventually put those events behind you. During this process, your doctor may prescribe medications to control anxiety attacks.

Practical steps

There are also many practical steps you can take each day in coping with anxiety on an ongoing basis. For severe anxiety attacks, try breathing into a paper bag, slowly and evenly, inhaling and exhaling. This prevents hyperventilating, a main culprit in escalating anxiety attacks. Your notebook is useful here too. When you start feeling anxious, stop what you’re doing and go for a brief, but brisk walk. Put your immediate worries out of your mind and focus on your surroundings, taking deep breaths. Stretching exercises can relieve muscle tension and anxiety. No matter how tight your schedule may be, make time for yourself to truly relax every day. Vow to set aside your worries during this period!

Conclusion

Coping with anxiety is difficult, but doable. It’s a matter of identifying, refocusing and changing ingrained habits that trigger your anxiety.

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1. Causes Of Anxiety Attacks