Anxiety 2 Calm

Anxiety and Stress go hand in hand. They have a symbiotic relationship meaning that they both feed off each other.

What’s the difference between anxiety and stress?

Anxiety has specific mental and physical symptoms, and is clinically identifiable. Follow this link for an explanation of anxiety symptoms. Stress on the other hand is a much more common phenomenon. Stress also much more commonly expresses itself as anger, irritation, short patience and irritability. Anxiety, on the other hand, tends to manifest itself as fear, hyperventilation, dizziness, feeling dislocated, or having stomach discomfort.

Both Anxiety and stress have been related to IBS .

If one lives constantly in a state of stress then anxiety and even an anxiety disorder are likely to follow. However this is not the case for everyone. Some people “thrive off stress” in the same way that adrenaline junkies effectively thrive off anxiety. but that does not mean that daily stress is good for you. In fact it is much better for you to be able to unwind and de-stress.  While stress might motivate you through the day and give you a buzz, when the working day is over your body needs a chance to relax.

The same tricks that help you overcome anxiety cam help you deal effectively with stress: meditation and yoga, exercise, herbal supplements and everything else mentioned on this site.

One of the main features of stress may be difficulty in getting to sleep. Insomnia can be caused by muscle tension, dwelling on the events of the day or worrying about the future or by having too many stimulants in your system.

Caffeine is an obvious candidate for removal if you want to sleep better. It can stay in your system for as long as twenty hours (although it effects different people in different ways.) Also, some people think they are unwinding from stress when they have an alcoholic drink. This is in fact not the case. Alcohol actually becomes a stimulant after it is broken down by your liver and this is one reason why many anxiety sufferers get anxiety with a hangover or even while drunk!

Seredyn is an anxiety treatment that can be obtained without prescription. It includes none of the chemicals you would associate with other anxiety medications such as SSRI’s and Benzodiazepines. But Seredyn does claim to have much the same effects – a reduction in anxiety.

So what exactly is Seredyn? Well, as far as we know it is a blend of Valerian Root, Passion Flower and Suntheanine. Suntheanine is a registered trademark version of the amino acid L-theanine that I have blogged about before. L-theanine is basically a key ingredient of GABA, which when taken promotes anxiety relief in the same way as a Benzodiazepine such as Xanax.

Both Valerian Root and Passion Flower (Passiflora) have been used as stress-relievers and anxiety cures for countless years.

Although the ingredients are clear, the actual amount of each ingredient is not clear. Some say this is because Seredyn want to protect their intellectual property (after all, Valerian Root, Passiflora and L-theanine are available in pretty much any self-respecting health food store). Other, more cynical, people say that Seredyn doesn’t contain enough of each ingredient to be effective.

As products like Seredyn don’t need to be licensed in the same way as new drugs do, there will never be extensive, peer reviewed, clinical research. I guess that means you either take advice from people you trust, or try it yourself and see if it works.

Elsewhere on the Internet people have said you should watch Seredyn if you have low blood pressure, as it can supposedly exacerbate the problem. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but basically there isn’t much else in there that’s likely to do the normal person any harm!

Xanax, also known by the generic name Alprazolam, has been licensed in the USA to treat anxiety and panic attacks since 1981. It is used in the treatment of anxiety disorders, panic disorder and, in some cases, depression. It is a member of a family of drugs known as Benzodiazepines. It is a mild tranquilizer.

Many people who have experienced drugs like Valium may be aware of how Benzodiazepines can make you feel doped and sleepy. Xanax is not like this for many people. In my own personal experience Xanax didn’t make me feel very different at all, just much much calmer. I didn’t get any of the side effects listed, and in an ad hoc experiment to see how my reaction times were effected I actually found my reactions to be almost exactly as good as when I wasn’t on Xanax.

Some people do suffer from side effects, sleepiness, dizziness and vertigo, nausea. But these drugs are rather well-tolerated.

In terms of dose, it is important to follow your doctor’s instructions. I personally worked my way up from the 0.25mg dose which is the lowest available and now take 1.5mg on an as needed basis.

Initially I took a tiny amount of one Xanax tablet to see how I tolerated it. As I was fine I took the rest. Some people who suffer from anxiety may have a psychosomatic side effect of feeling a sudden onset of anxiety or panic whenever they try something new. This can mean that at first a Benzodiazepine has a paradoxical effect. If I were you I would persevere, as for the short term relief of temporary anxiety and panic attacks this drug is very useful and very effective.

A word of caution. Like all Benzodiazepines, Xanax can be habit forming. If you take it for too long you may need to taper off slowly to avoid withdrawal effects. Also, if you take it often you may find you need to take more to get the same effect. Your doctor will be able to advise you on this.

I don’t recommend you buy from online pharmacies without prescription, you don’t know what you are getting or how safe it is, or even if it will arrive or not!

See also:

Xanax for travel anxiety.

There is lots of medication for anxiety available on the market. Almost all of it is only available on prescription from a doctor.

Normally, Patients presenting with anxiety are offered Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors (SSRI for short). This family of medication is considered suitable if the anxiety disorder is ongoing, as SSRI’s are not suitable for short term use. They tend to take at least four weeks to start working (although some people claim to feel better in as little as two days) and aren’t thought to be fully effective until they have been taken for 6 weeks to two months. The common SSRI’s are:

• citalopram (Celexa, Cipramil, Celepram, Emocal, Sepram, Seropram)
• escitalopram (Lexapro, Cipralex, Esertia, Esipram)
• fluoxetine (Prozac, Fontex, Seromex, Seronil, Sarafem, Fluctin [EUR])
• paroxetine (Paxil, Seroxat, Aropax, Deroxat, Paroxat)
• sertraline (Zoloft, Lustral, Serlain)
• venlafaxine (Effexor) (SNRI)
• duloxetine (Cymbalta)
• dapoxetine (Priligy)
• fluvoxamine (Luvox, Faverin, Favoxil)

Other drugs which might also be prescribed and are similar to SSRI’s are SNRI’s or Serotonin-norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors. The most commonly prescribed SNRI is Venlafaxine (Effexor). SNRI’s are newer than SSRI’s and tend to be slightly better tolerated with fewer side effects. They were designed to treat depression but are also a medication for anxiety. Likewise they are prescribed for long term use, normally six months or more and sometimes years.

If a medication for anxiety which is short term is needed then there are various other options. In times of extreme grief or pain, or when panic attacks are severe, a short acting anxiolytic might be used. The normal choice would be one of the Benzodiazepine family:

• Xanax, alprazolam:
• Lexotan, bromazepam:
• Librium, chlordiazepoxide:
• Klonopin, clonazepam:
• Tranxene, clorazepate:
• Valium, diazepam:
• Rohypnol, flunitrazepam:
• ProSom, estazolam:
• Dalmane, flurazepam:
• Paxipam, halazepam:
• Dormonoct, loprazolam:
• Ativan, lorazepam:
• Versed (Hypnovel, Dormicum), midazolam:
• Mogadon, nitrazepam:
• Serax, oxazepam:
• Doral, quazepam:
• Restoril, temazepam:
• Halcion, triazolam:

Benzodiazepines are good because they work quickly (less than an hour even) and are very good at what they do – stopping anxiety and panic. In a way they are the ultimate medication for anxiety. The problem is that if they are taken for too long they become less effective and can become addictive. Constant use for more then three weeks is rarely advised.

Another drug that is not a Benzodiazepine is Buspirone, which is said to be as good as a Benzodiazipine for reducing anxiety but non-addictive and non-sedating. It has a better side-effect profile but can not be taken on an as needed basis. It has to be taken daily and takes two or three weeks to take effect. As it is non-addictive it is much better suited to long-term use Benzodiazepines.

Choosing the best treatment for anxiety is a potential minefield. There are two many treatments out there to name ranging from the clinically proven to the wacky and bizarre.

My first piece of advice is to do some Cognitive Behavior Therapy. I am not saying that CBT cures anxiety or that it is the best treatment for anxiety. What I am saying though is that the cognitive skills learned in CBT form the back bone of positive thinking and changing thought patterns.

It the bad old days CBT was expensive and your insurance or health service would only let you have a few miserable sessions. Now CBT is much more in your control. You can read some great books on CBT which have practical exercises and seeing an expert might not be necessary at all. There is another option that has become increasingly popular and that is computerized CBT. You can use this online and it takes you through various exercises. There are many websites offering this service for free or a nominal price. Moodgym is one such.

You can also try something like the Panic Away program that has successfully helped thousands of people overcome panic attacks and anxiety.

In an article about treatments for anxiety it would be normal to talk about drugs, medication and herbs. i won’t talk about any of those because they don’t treat anxiety, they mask the symptoms.

I will however talk about nutrition. Anxiety can be causes or exacerbated by a lack of Omega 3 fats and some vitamin and mineral deficiencies. You should consider supplementing with a good quality fish oil that has a high EPA content. Also, make sure you are getting enough B vitamins.

If you have IBS your stomach may not absorb vitamins and minerals well enough. This could lead to deficiencies so a modified diet which avoids food which you can’t tolerate may help in the long term. There is certainly a link between IBS and Anxiety.

Lastly you need to learn how to relax. A CBT therapist will teach you breathing and relaxation exercises but in my opinion there is nothing better for anxiety than mindfulness meditation. The simple act of becoming aware of what is around you, living in the present moment, observing thoughts without letting them become you or take you over, is the most calming thing. Like all good things it comes to those who wait, or to be more precise those who are patient and can practice mindfulness regularly.

Treatment for Panic Attacks in mainstream medicine revolves around two things: medication and CBT (Cognitive Behavior Therapy).

Medication tends to fall into two categories: SSRI’s and Benzodiazepines.

The SSRI’s, like prozac, celexa, zoloft etc have pros and cons. They are clinically proven to be effective (although all data from big pharma companies has been called in question at sometime or other). Unfortunately they do have side-effects of which weight gain, nausea (normally temporarily) and sexual dysfunction/loss of libido  (normally temporary) are the most severe and commonly reported. SSRI’s normally take 4-6 weeks to start working and may need to be tapered off slowly at the end of treatment.

Benzodiazepines, like Xanax alprazolam and valium also have pros and cons. They are fast working, normally taking considerably less than an hour to kick in, and are extremely effective. On the downside they can be highly addictive and therefore are not best suited to long term use (although they are prescribed long term sometimes). They also can effect concentration and alertness so hinder the consumer’s ability to drive for example.

Lots of people want a drug-free approach and find a method like PanicAway works well. It’s like visiting a professional except you follow a program and achieve everything yourself. it’s highly effective and more cost-effective than private CBT.

On the CBT front, over ten or twelve sessions a trained therapist will help you see panic attacks for what they are (harmless natural responses which appear nasty), will show you how to rationalize out the faulty and extreme negative thinking which causes panic attacks, and show you some physical techniques to calm your breathing and relax your mind and body.

Some people argue that CBT doesn’t really get to the heart of the problem, that you need some kind of psychotherapy to do that. Others argue psychotherapy is a pointless and long-winded waste of money.

Often a combination of therapy and drugs work best.

There are other potential treatments for panic attacks involving herbs and supplements like 5-htp which many people swear by. It should be noted that the effects of long term use of these other therapies has not bee fully studied.

Physical symptoms of anxiety can be mild or severe and for some people are worse than the mental symptoms. The physical symptom which worries people most is a racing heart or palpitations. Often with anxiety the heart can race to similar pulse rates as if you were running, and for many people this is the beginning of a panic attack.

As anyone who works in an Emergency Room or an Accident and Emergency department will tell you, it is very common for people to be admitted who are convinced they are having a heart attack. In fact this racing heart is just the bodies way of preparing for danger, the fight or flight response. Like all physical  symptoms of anxiety, it is harmless.

The second most common symptom of anxiety is often described as tightness in the chest. This tends to be a combination of two things: a slight narrowing of the airway caused by the increased blood flow through the veins in the neck and hyperventilation. The combined effect is a feeling that we can’t breath, but this is just a feeling. In fact our breathing is working fine, again the fight or flight response is preparing us for action. The problem is that as we feel we can’t breath so we try to breath more and end up gasping for breaths we don’t need, when in fact we want to be slowing down our breathing, and taking calming belly breaths instead of fast shallow chest breaths.

Other physical symptoms of anxiety include tingling in the limbs, which is caused by blood being diverted to the core of the body,  and a feeling of weakness which comes about for the same reason.

How do I stop the physical symptoms of anxiety?

The best way to stop anxiety symptoms is to start off the Parasympathetic Relaxation Response. This natural nervous system response to the fight or flight response is designed to calm us down after the danger has passed. As there is no real danger from an anxiety attack or a panic attack we can calm ourselves down immediately quite safely.

How do we set the relaxation response in motion? Well, there are several ways. Meditation is one and I recommend Mindfulness Meditation, which will also help you become aware of your breathing and recognize when you are hyperventilating unnecessarily. Learning to meditate takes time and commitment but will be worth it.

In the meantime, you can elicit the relaxation response by re-breathing carbon dioxide by breathing into a paper bag, or my concentrating on things at the periphery of your vision.

Remember though one important thing. the physical symptoms of anxiety are harmless!

Signs and Symptoms of Anxiety can be hard to spot. Not because they are subtle and mild – often they are not – more because they can be easily confused. I have heard of one person for example whose doctor thought he had epilepsy and sent him for an EEG scan.

Anxiety symptoms can be straight forward:

Hyperventilation

Palpitations

Churning Stomach

Difficulty breathing

These are the ones that people often mention. But there are many other symptoms that might also indicate anxiety or extreme stress:

Irritability

Vertigo/dizziness

Insomnia

Nausea

Upset stomach (diarrhea/constipation etc)

Feelings of unreality (feeling disassociated, disconnected or odd/ungrounded)

Restlessness

Playing with hands or touching ones face or forehead.

Looking around as if for an escape route.

This list is not exhaustive, but it gives an idea of the range of anxiety signs and symptoms that could easily be confused with something else. Of course the reverse is also true, which is why it is imperative to have a complete medical check for other possible physical causes of these symptoms.

Some  physical disorders that cause anxiety symptoms are Thyroid problems (both over and under active thyroids), food allergies and intolerances, vitamin and mineral deficiencies and IBS.