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Entries in Anxiety Relief (9)
The Anxiety Epidemic: Natural Ways to Find Some Relief
Apr 11, 2008 
Harvard Medical School has just reported that there are now over 15 million American people living with Social Anxiety Disorder. That's a huge amount of suffering individuals, each and every one of them a unique person struggling with genuine anxiety induced symptoms like palpitations, feeling faint or dizzy, shortness of breath, sweating, and fear of losing control in social situations.
Healthline.com recommends 4 Techniques That Really Work to Reduce Stress and Anxiety. The techniques include deep diaphragmatic breathing and gradual relaxation.
Here on Living by Design we have some free relaxation MP3s designed to guide listeners step-by-step through breathing and relaxation exercises - when you're feeling anxious it's hard to figure out how to get calm for yourself and that's why we made these guided MP3's, the idea behind them being that you can listen to them and follow along while you get guidance and support on how to get calm again.
Anxiety Relief: Why Getting More Stuff is not the Answer
Aug 19, 2007 
More and more of us turn to the acquisition of objects to numb our less than pleasant emotions. Shoes, clothes, gadgets, even cars - you name it, we'll buy it. Time and again research tells us that once we have the basics covered: food, clothes and shelter, extra wealth and the endless variety of stuff we can buy with it really doesn't make us happy. Yet, when anxiety levels go up, many of us get the urge to indulge in "retail therapy" for relief.
Ironically it's the sheer volume of shop-aholics spoils that prove the point that buying stuff doesn't make you feel better. If it did, you'd feel good for some time, and that's where the buying would end, but it doesn't; it only makes you feel good for a short while and then you need to repeat the behaviour for another brief burst of relief. Maybe it's the anticipation, the planning, or the stepping out of a shop with the item of perceived desire that gives diversion from anxiety for a while. But whatever it is that drives the desire to acquire is not addressed by the act of accumulation. Soon that purchase becomes just another thing, another debt increasing, space decreasing object. And then comes the urge to do it all over again.
5 Natural Ways to Stop Anxiety & Calm Your Mind
Aug 5, 2007
Feelings of anxiety are horrible, but they can be helped naturally and without massive effort or expense.
Here are 5 simple ways to calm your mind and reduce anxiety...
1. Flower Power
Bach Flower Essences are natural flower essences that soothe negative emotions, including anxiety.
Rescue Remedy is great for on the spot relief in anxious or stressful situations. And white chestnut is excellent for worries that wander round and round in your head.
Here's the description of white chestnut's uses from the Bach Flower website:
White Chestnut: This Essence helps when your mind is full of unwanted thoughts and mental arguments. These mental arguments can often keep you from sleeping at night. White Chestnut helps you clear your mind and get the thinking under control and can be put to positive use in problem-solving. Worry is replaced by trust in a positive outcome.
photo by: dominiqs81 FLICKR (CC)
2. Walk Worries Away
For certain mind/body types spells of intense head work or creativity can lead to unsettled thoughts. Walking is by far the simplest and most effective way to give your mind a rest and get your body moving in a way that gets stuck energy down from your head, through your feet and out. Another great way to get grounded is with the Grounding Technique featured in my Moments of Tranquility MP3 collection - you can get the free download here…3. Anti-Anxiety Energy Work
Yoga, Qigong, acupuncture and acupressure all help to tame the scattered energy issues that lead to worry loops. You could simply learn one breathing exercise, or simple Qigong routine and spend just 10-15 minutes a day practising it and you will soon see very positive results in anxiety reduction.
photo by: petecarr FLICKR (CC)
4. Anxiety Relieving Acupressure
Acupressure is another form of energy work. By pressing, tapping, or massaging key energy points on your body’s meridian system you can learn to relieve anxiety and worrying thoughts very effectively.Try my Quick Anxiety Stopper MP3 or EFT eBook for further info on reducing anxiety with acupressure points.
5. Meditation
Meditation gets to the roots of anxiety. Why? Because most anxiety is caused by agitation of the mind, too much information, stimulation, even the energy of anxiety itself sets up a spiral of uncontrolled and unwelcome thoughts that can be very hard to escape from.
When you're feeling anxious it’s not easy to stop everything and just be still, but if you try a simple guided meditation exercise where someone experienced talks you through what to do in real time, your mind becomes occupied with following the instructions and you can begin to slow down and calm down very easily.
They key with meditation is to do it regularly, just 10-15 minutes a day will reduce anxiety and help you regain control and direction of your mind.
And finally some things to avoid:
Excessive TV viewing, video games, computer use, stress, stimulants, some medications, and rushing about can all lead to a hyper-vigilant and aggravated anxiety state.
In Conclusion:
Cut down on TV and stimulants where you can, take regular breaks from computer work, and use some of the above anti-dotes to keep calm and centred. By reducing worry stimulating input and practising some simple skills for keeping calm and clear headed you can significantly reduce anxiety and your stress levels too.
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LBD Podcast: Anxiety? Blow it all away…
Jul 1, 2007 
Welcome to our first podcast - it's been a while coming, but after figuring out a few technical details it's here.
This first epsiode is about banishing anxiety with a simple way of breathing...
How to Control Anxiety by Changing Your Breathing
Apr 30, 2007 
Shallow breathing is an automatic physical response to anxiety, and shallow breathing can also cause anxiety - it’s a bit of a chicken and egg thing, a loop where it’s hard to find which comes first.
Learning to change your breathing can help you control anxiety and become calm. It sounds very simple, but like all simple truths it can take a while to get the hang of.
Here’s how to get started in controlling your breath to reduce anxiety when it strikes, and better still, to train yourself to feel calm and in control so that anxiety doesn’t catch you unawares.
Cultivating Awareness of Your Breath
You can learn to notice the signs of increased anxiety before it peaks. Once you're aware of the increasing presence of anxiety, you can consciously counteract it by slowing and deepening your breath.
If you know certain situations make you feel anxious, then start breathing deeply and slowly before you are in that situation. You could think of it like a protection routine. Just like a diver checks his oxygen tank and mask and tests breathing with them before jumping into the sea. You can check your posture and breathing before you enter stressful situations.
Drop your shoulders, stand up straight and breath deeply down into your stomach, gradually slow your breathing down and try and hold your breath for a second before breathing out. When you do breath out, make sure you do it fully and try and pause for a second or two with your lungs empty before you breath in again.
Those who practice meditation know that it is in the gaps between breaths that you can find calm and peace. Calming your breath in this way and allowing pauses between inhalation and exhalation has a direct calming effect on your mind.
If you wake up with anxiety in the morning, you can go through the above to tame it and start your day feeling more in control. It may take some time to get the knack and get in the habit, but it will work, especially if you rise to the challenge and practice regularly.
Developing a personal practice
I often think of how highly trained people such as members of the SAS can handle incredibly volatile situations where most of us would freeze or freak out.
How do they do it? Training and practice. Over and over again. Learning to train and change your breath requires practice too. The good news is that breath training is pleasant and easy. And you can get started today simply download an MP3 of your choice and listen to it on your computer, MP3 player, or iPod every morning and every night. It will only take you about 5 minutes per session and you will start to notice the benefits immediately.
(CC) FLICKR photo by: W1LL33
Technorati Tags: anxiety relief, breathing exercise MP3, breathing
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Other articles you might find of interest:
5 Natural Ways to Stop Anxiety & Calm Your Mind
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New Beginnings in Breathing
Guided Meditation MP3 Download
Discover the anxiety beating powers of deep breathing. With this guided breathing meditation, Ananga talks you through how to deepen and lengthen your breath so that you can instantly feel more calm. With regular use of this meditation exercise you can enjoy reduced stress and anxiety and a deepening sense of peace with every listening.
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This guided meditation is featured on the Beautiful Calm Meditation CD - find out about the full collection here