Stress Hardiness - beat anxiety?

I recently read about a concept called Stress Hardiness, which was first coined by Susanne Kobasa. To cut a long story short stress, in whatever form it enters your life, is a contributing factor to anxiety. If we can control our stress levels and respond to stress more appropriately then we can start to control our anxiety levels more. Note that I don't use "beat stress" here. That is because stress is in our lives and makes us move and act, without any stressors for a length of time life is pretty dull.

Beating anxiety come, in part, from controlling how we react to stress.

Most of us don't like stress. But some lucky blighters seem to positively thrive on it. Some people manage to use stress to promote them to great heights! Others tend to go the opposite direction, being reduced to fear, panic, insomnia and of course anxiety.

So why is it that some people apparently like stress, while others can't stand it. Well, like so much of life (and even more of mental health) it comes down to attitude.

Kobasa found that there are three attitudes that help people thrive from stress:

1. Number one is "Commitment". That means that it's ok for some things in life to cause you stress, but they need to be things you are committed to. A job you love can still be stressful, but when a job you hate is stressful you are very unhappy. In fact, we all go through immense amounts of stress for things we love: childbirth and pregnancy, bank holiday traffic, exercise programmes. These things that cause us stress but that we don't mind so catastrophically (and if you give it a few minutes thought I am sure you can identify your own in your life) are good signs, now you can tell yourself that you can take stress, instead of constantly reinforcing the idea that you can't.

2. Number two is "control". The more control you have in a situation the more stress you can take. Of course you can't control the whole lot, or everyone, but you can control some parts of situations and willfully decide to relinquish control of the other parts, this is also strangely empowering.

3. Number three is "challenge". That basically means you need to be able to see the problem you are tackling as an opportunity to grow and find out new things. If you see struggles in that light they become easier to deal with.

For anxiety sufferers the key is to try and reassess the stress in your life using those criteria, and starting with the smallest trying to reengage with that area of stress and this time, control it!

del.icio.us Tags: stress hardiness,stress and exercise,anxiety,panic attack,insomnia,control,commitment,challenge

Morning Pages - anxiety aid?

I have always secretly harboured ambitions of becoming a writer. In fact when I was younger I wrote three novels....sadly none of them were published and maybe it's easy to see why. How is this linked to anxiety? Keep reading, you'll see.

Over the past few years I have dreamt of once again becoming a writer. But I found that I had no motivation and few ideas, or at least the ideas I had seemed to evaporate when they were put down on paper. Elsewhere on anxiety2calm I have blogged about Art Therapy, a form of psychotherapy where art (usually visual art) is used to let the subconscious communicate. This can be helpful in untangling problems such as misunderstood motivations and ambivalence that would otherwise manifest as anxiety. I have tried it and I can vouch that it was extremely helpful.

It was while talking to an Art Therapist that I discovered the book The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron available in both the UK and USA. It is basically a book about unblocking creativity, but I think some of the exercises in it are equally helpful for unblocking aspects of yourself that are causing anxiety. The main aspect of the book, or at least one of them, is this idea of "morning pages". The details are in the book but basically you write freestyle, three pages each morning before you do anything. You can write about anything you want and the only real rule is that you write without stopping. You do tend to find that recurring themes come up and that these can guide you and educate you as to blockages in your life. I must admit I found it helpful as both a writer and someone who is prone to anxiety or depression. It felt good and was worth the struggle.

I recommend writing down all your worries big and small, setting aside some time every day. I know it's hard to find time, but make time! It will be worth it. Try it for two months, I don't think you will look back!

 

del.icio.us Tags: anxiety,art therapy,morning pages,the artists way,julia cameron,depression,therapy

Financial Anxiety

The credit crunch, insolvency, debt, Bear Stearns, repossession, inflation, sub-prime. All of these words are enough to cause palpitations in even the toughest! As the western world deals with a financial crisis, many normal people are feeling the squeeze and what is worse, it is causing them anxiety and stress.

And I don't just mean worry, financial anxiety is very real and it can actually hinder people from making the decisions and thinking about the things they need to change.

Financial anxiety is in fact like any other kind of anxiety. Our primeval protections mechanisms are kicking in exactly when we don't need them, exactly when a cool calm head is the order of the day. This is typical of anxiety and all the normal advice for anxiety including mindfulness meditation is the order of the day.

But wait, don't fly headlong into therapy or start to spend money on get rich quick schemes are get over anxiety programmes. Instead, try and combat what your body is riling against. Often anxiety is about a lack of control, and in financial anxiety it is likely to be the same. After all, you feel that your house, your security, your life is in the hands of faceless suits in London or Washington, managers at mortgage companies and banking staff.

Your best bet is to take as much control as you can, and that means doing something not nothing. Open every line of communication you can. Seek advice from support groups like the Citizens Advice Bureau in the UK or the various debt advice agencies available in the USA (check with your local library or town hall). Become an expert, ask questions on forums, read books. And don't be afraid to ask for pay raises and look for new jobs.

The best things will come to those who are striving for them in this environment. But of course you must beware of vagabonds - vultures always prey on the desperate.

Actually, if it all goes wrong financially it doesn't mean it is the end of your life. The old sayings are true, money is not happiness, you can still go on to be happy and get back on your feet financially, if you start to live and love more mindfully.

What's more, in the course of your life financial worries will probably come and go.

del.icio.us Tags: financial anxiety,anxiety,credit crunch,insolvency,debt,Bear Stearns,repossession,inflation,sub-prime,money,finance,stress

Citalopram withdrawal question

I just received a comment on one of my blog posts entitled Coming Off Citalopram. It raises a very pertinent question that I shall endeavour to answer.

I just read your blog. I came off Citalopram about 10 days ago after having been taking them for about6 years. Mood wise things have been good. I have addressed the original root of the problem and had positive help via hypnosis. The only side effects I am experiencing is what I can only describe as a sudden "fizzy" feeling in the head and lips which comes and goes. This feels odd but is manageable. I am curious to know if this is something that you have experienced?

Firstly I am glad the reader says they have used their time on Citalopram to deal with the background causes of the problems they had been experiencing. Too many people see SSRI's as a solution in themselves, which is unwise especially given the recent claims about the true efficacy (or lack of efficacy!) of SSRI medications.

As for the strange sensations that you are feeling in your head and lips I would say this is quite normal. I must add that I am saying that only on the basis of what you have told me, on my own experiences and a "straw poll" of other users or ex-users of Citalopram. In my own case I felt a tingle running up my arms and legs and sometimes in my head. This seemed to coincide with actions like walking or other movements. It was irritating but didn't bother me too much and passed quickly. It was greatly helped by reducing my dose very very slowly. In fact if I didn't make big jumps and took time to scrape off fractions of a pill then I didn't feel any withdrawal effects at all. Many people that have had similar experiences to yours have called their funny sensations brain zaps, or tingling, or fuzziness, or indeed fizzing!

My understanding is that Cold Turkey withdrawal can be harsh, and I don't recommend it! It is quite a good idea to follow your doctor's advice for withdrawal, although I must admit that I did it much slower than mine suggested.

For more info on Citalopram and other SSRI's follow this link.

del.icio.us Tags: citalopram,withdrawal,coming off,side effects,tingling,fuzziness,brain zaps,fizzing

Genes and mood - happiness and anxiety?

Gene's do not control our mood. That is the message I took from a BBC report of an Edinburgh University study which has looked at mood in siblings and identical twins. The story is called Genes 'play key happiness role', but don't let that confuse you. For ages, for some reason, journalists and writers have been trying to persuade us that we are genetically programmed in certain ways. I don't know why they are obsessed with this but I guess it makes a good story. It is, it looks increasingly likely, untrue. For further info on the causes of anxiety click here.

People who are trying to get over mood disorders like anxiety might find it very depressing to be told that they are genetically programmed that way. It would then suggest that there is no way to get over the anxiety unless some sinister new medicine can be devised which switched off the "anxiety gene".  No such anxiety gene exists and what this study shows is that at least 50% of your mood is governed by non-genetic factors. That gives everyone (unless their brain has biological impairments or trauma) the chance of having a stable mental life. Or, to be more realistic, we all have the chance to have an unstable mental life - ups and downs, fears and worries are the human condition. Our failure to recognise that is a much more important cause of anxiety and depression.

So how does this help you? Well, if you are suffering from anxiety or other mood disorders like depression or panic disorder then you can rest in the knowledge that you are not totally hard wired in this way. You may have a propensity for certain feelings and you might have to adjust to ways of dealing with this propensity. But it does not control you and is not your totality. It's just the difference between being blonde or being brunette. Some sat blondes have more fun. I say, it might be true as a generalisation, but on an individual level it depends on the attitude (not hair colour) of the brunette. I think you know what I mean...without recourse to genetic modification of our minds we can pretty much be who we want to be.

Here's the link to the BBC article.

Also read:

• Stop your Children Inheriting Anxiety

• Anxiety 2 Calm: What Causes Anxiety?

• And this BBC story from 2002

 

del.icio.us Tags: anxiety,mood,genetics,genes,causes,study,edinburgh university,bbc

Social Phobia - normal human experience or mental illness?

Social Phobia - which is basically severe and acute shyness - is an incredibly common phenomena. But is there any real point in labelling severe shyness as a mental illness? Does it in fact make it more ingrained in the psyche?

Some people would argue that if you give someone a label and a stigmata that says "you have social phobia" it is a bit like telling them they have cancer, no matter how they were feeling before, they suddenly feel a lot worse. Why? Because conditions tend to feel permanent. Emotions are always transitory. Even if you think you always feel depressed, or stressed, actually there are times when you don't and times when those emotions are present only to a slight extent. But conditions feel permanent so it may not be helpful to tell people they "have" something rather than "are feeling" something.

On the other hand, if there is no label and no recognisable condition, then people who suffer from acute shyness are repeatedly told to "just get over it". Labels like these, although not perfect, give people the chance to be taken seriously by the medical and psychological profession.

The crux of the matter is that we need to be sure that a problem is persistent before we use the label. Almost all psychological problems can come and then go quickly of their own accord. But when problems are persistent then a label allows people to feel recognised and for treatments to be considered.

It is also important however that people recognise what the specific symptoms of their problem are. Too many labels are catch-alls designed to simplify psychological thinking but doing no such thing. If definitions are kept specific then it will also be possible to see when effective treatment has made them an ex-sufferer.

We all feel shy sometimes but for those of us for which it is a way of life there must be proper support from the psychological establishment.

del.icio.us Tags: social phobia,labels,psychology,stigma,mental illness