Search Results for: stress amp anxiety

DVD Review: Element Yoga for Stress Relief & Flexibility

Yoga has been shown to offer significant benefits for improving mood, relieving stress and improving flexibility. Element Yoga for Stress Relief & Flexibility is a DVD practice that has been specifically designed to encourage flexibility and reduce feelings of depression and anxiety. The DVD contains two distinct yoga sequences. One sequence is devoted to improving flexibility and the other is intended to help increase flexibility and range of motion. The practices were filmed in a location that overlooks the Pacific Ocean, which provides a soothing experience. The stress relief practice has been created to reduce the effects of stress and … Continue reading →

Is Depression Numbing Your Anxiety?

Years ago depression was considered a weakness, suffered by weak people, some citing a higher rate of depression among women. This chauvinistic, repressive attitude toward depression and its sufferers has been changing, allowing the depression to come out from under the cloak of shame and seek help for their illness. Depression shows itself through a prolonged period of sadness or anxiety. I have seen firsthand the link between anxiety and depression. The possibility for the chronically anxious person to become depressed is real, and the reasons can be compelling. Earlier I likened the anxious state to being constantly on red … Continue reading →

Back to School Anxiety & Emotions

Do a Google search on this topic and you’re likely to come across a ton of news stories, blogs, opinions, etc. I thought I better throw my hat into the ring, so my readers would not be left out. The person quoted the most on these various sites is Samuel Gladding, who is a professor at Wake Forest University. He offers 6 tips for helping with back to school anxiety and is summarized by Bradenton.com. The fact that these articles keep popping up on my alerts daily was funny to me, as I think I have more anxiety than my … Continue reading →

8 Ways We Self-Medicate Anxiety

Everyone knows what it’s like to have anxious moments. In fact, our body’s natural stress response is an invaluable tool we need to respond appropriately in times of crisis or danger. But when it is a near-constant companion – fueled by everyday thoughts or situations that do not warrant a heightened stress response – anxiety can be harmful. In fact, it can hurt so much our minds and bodies become desperate for relief, any relief, as fleeting as it may be. Though there are healthy means of relieving anxiety, such as exercise, meditation and prayer, all too often we choose … Continue reading →

Stress and Teens

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Teenagers are under a lot of stress. I’m more than a decade out of my teens and can still remember worrying about grades, going off to college, choosing a major, keeping in touch with my friends, leaving home, and a hundred other things. Kids and adults share a lot of the same sources of stress — moving, the death of a family member, family financial problems, dealing with peers. But teens also have some unique sources of stress, including: Changes in their bodies The transition between childhood and adulthood Overloading on extra-curricular activities Figuring out what comes after high school … Continue reading →

Four Pets, Four Reactions to Stress

Moving is stressful for humans AND pets. It’s been interesting to watch how the animals react as my roommates and I go through the moving process. I have two dogs: Moose (a shepherd mix) and Lally (a boxer mix). They have two cats: Kachiko (a snowshoe Siamese) and Shiro (a big grey fellow). Each of the animals has reacted differently to the disruption in the routine. Shiro has earned his nickname: “chicken boo”. The move has sent him into hiding — he spent his first day in the new apartment squished into the corner of the closet. Slowly he’s come … Continue reading →

Retraining a Stressed Cat

Sometimes, you can’t take the stress out of a cat’s environment. If seeing other animals outside the window is upsetting your cat, you can close the shades or not allow your cat into rooms with windows facing the street. However, if the stressor is something like a new pet or a new baby, you can’t really remove the source! In cases where you can’t remove the source of the stress, you can try desensitization and counterconditioning. Desensitization is exposing the animal gradually to the source of stress. Start with versions that are so mild that they don’t provoke anxiety — … Continue reading →

Taking Care of a Stressed Cat

At the cats only boarding facility, I’ve encountered lots of stressed cats at very different levels of stress — from the shy cat who hides behind her litter box to the panicked cat who lashes out at anyone who reaches into the cage. If your cat is showing a dramatic behavior change, your first step should be a visit to the veterinarian. Illness may be behind the behavior change — being sick can be a big stress on a cat! Rule out any physical causes first, and then you can work on any emotional causes. Some sources of stress could … Continue reading →

Helping Your Child Overcome Test Anxiety

Call me crazy but I am one of the few who as a student actually liked to take test. I always loved test days because we did not have to listen to a teacher lecture. I have always been one who had rather figure out how to complete the work myself rather than listen to a long lengthy explanation. I have also always, in most cases, felt confident in the knowledge that I know. However, some students have major test anxiety. I know some people who completely forget every piece of information that they knew as soon as the test … Continue reading →

Exercise & Trauma

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A few years ago, when I lived in Virginia we faced 9/11 with fear and uncertainty. I remember the absolute silence in the skies as all planes were grounded. I remember worrying about the friend of ours who worked at the Pentagon and the hours it took to find out whether he was still alive or not. I remember with cold, crystal clarity the sickening realization that my mother-in-law, sister-in-law and nephew were originally going to fly out that morning, but changed their flights to later in the day because my sister-in-law didn’t want to have to get up so … Continue reading →