Why Do I Worry All the Time? Regulation of Anxiety Caused by Stress

By George Marks

What is the Definition of Stress?

The definition of stress is a mentally or emotionally disruptive or upsetting condition occurring in response to adverse external influence. It is capable of affecting physical health, usually characterized by increased heart rate, a rise in blood pressure, muscular tension, irritability, or circumstances causing such a conditions.

If you ask people to define stress, or explain its causes stress or how stress affects them, you would likely get as many answers as the amount of people you ask.

In other words a definition of stress is as varied as people from different walks of life. The reason for this is that there is no definition of stress that everyone agrees on. What is stressful for one person may be pleasure for another or at least have little effect. We all react to stress differently.

Persistent stress can cause the development of various diseases such as heart attacks, stroke, kidney disease and rheumatoid arthritis. For a long time, it was believed that most diseases were caused by specific but different pathogens. Tuberculosis was due to the tubercle bacillus, anthrax by the anthrax bacillus, syphilis by a spirochete and so on.

One scientist believed that the opposite was true, that many different pathogens could cause the same disease, in both humans and animals.

As stress began to attract a lot of attention the popular definition of stress soon was associated with such things as the effects of an overbearing or bad boss or some other unpleasant situation they were subjected to. For many, stress was their reaction to chest pain, heartburn, headache or palpitations. Others used stress to refer to what they perceived as the end result of these repeated responses, such as an ulcer or heart attack.

Because of this one physician concluded in a British Medical Journal that, “Stress in addition to being itself, was also the cause of itself, and the result of itself.” In other words there is no definition of stress that is universal.

There is of course, stress that is applied to metals and other forms of material that require force or strain.

For the purposes of this article it must be made clear that the stress we are referring to is that which applies to humans and the human condition such as “physical, mental, or emotional strain or tension or a condition or feeling experienced when a person perceives that demands exceed the personal and social resources the are able to mobilize.” Thus, even though stress is put in a negative light and its positive effects ignored, stress can be helpful and good when it motivates people to accomplish increased productivity – up to a point, after which things can go rapidly downhill.

However, that point is different for each of us, so we need to be sensitive to and aware of early warning symptoms and signs that suggest a stress overload is starting to push you over the edge. Of course such warning signals also differ for each of us and can be so subtle that they are often ignored until it is too late.

Any definition of stress therefore should also include good stress, such as winning a race or a large sum of money. Those can be just as stressful as losing. Even more so.

So in any attempt to find a definition of stress expect to find that there really is no definition and so we can conclude that good stress is desirable and bad stress can lead to physical or mental disorder.

George Marks http://nostressforme.com

Visit http://nostressforme.com for tips on How to deal with stress in your life. Helpful and practical tools and reviews to help you succeed in having a healthier, happier life.

Article Source:  Why Do I Worry All the Time? Regulation of Anxiety Caused by Stress

Frequently Asked Mental Health Questions

By Mark Korduba

How Do I Improve My Self-Confidence in Life?

Self-confidence is about recognising your true nature of mind. This is where people develop their true self-confidence. When they learn to get beyond their ego. It starts with trying not to be overly concerned what other people think of you. Problems arise (in regards to self-confidence) when this occurs. A really good test is what you do when you get criticised in life. A lot of people will take the feedback personally and believe that it is a criticism of themselves. An antidote is to simply say “It’s not me.” For more information please read Section 3: Your True Mind. Instead of trying to get confidence from others, you’ll be able to find it from within.

How Do I Have A Healthy and Functional Romantic Relationship?

The main problem that people have in romantic relationships is that they become overly attached to the other person. To the point that their happiness depends on their partner “liking” them. This is not a sustainable situation. Why? Romantic relationships by their very nature are impermanent and constantly changing. Why cling onto something that is not stable? If you can learn to reach the stage of non-attachment, where you are able to love and open yourself up to the other person, while remaining unattached to the outcome of the relationship. This is how the best relationships develop and maintain.

What Is The Fastest Why to Overcome My Anxiety and Depression?

The best way is through applying all of the principles in this article. Specifically, you need to understand that negative feelings are impermanent and will eventually pass and not to become attached to positive feelings returning. Reaching the stage of non-attachment in regards to these thoughts and emotions. “If they leave then great.” “If they stay around then that is ok as well”. Neither being attached nor averse to either outcome. Thirdly, you need to understand how your mind actually works. Specifically to realise that your thoughts and your emotions are not actually your true mind and will eventually pass. Finally, to view mental health in philosophical terms and try to use your experience to help others, through compassion.

Where Does My Anxiety and Depression Come From?

Generally speaking, any mental health problem that you have in life is due to overanalysis and over thinking. It is a failure to be more fully present in life and living too much in your head. This is especially the case when it comes to anxiety. Your normal strategy of thinking your way through problems is not going to work when it comes to mental health issues. You need to adapt. Try not to be as goal driven and learn to let go a little. Ultimately it comes back to the four main principles in this e-book and failing to live by them.

How Do I Stop Myself From Worrying Too Much?

You need to appreciate that worrying doesn’t accomplish anything in life. There is no real point of doing it. You need to challenge the belief that worrying is useful. Impermanence is pretty powerful when it comes to worrying. Realising that everything is constantly changing is very stabalising. If you can do something about a problem that you have, then great. Ultimately the best way to overcome worry is through action. Think, do. Not think, think, think, think.

What Is The Secret To Happiness?

The secret to happiness is contained in this article. Getting out of your mind and into your life. What does this mean? Realising that you will die someday, so live life with some sense of purpose and urgency. Not being overly concerned what others think about you because in the long run it doesn’t matter. And realising that what they are judging you on isn’t actually who you are. And being compassionate and understanding towards others.

How Long Will This Process Take?

How long is a piece of string? Real change can happen in a matter of weeks. Significant change can happen in a matter of months. Life changing change can happen within a year. Ultimately, this process and principles contained in the article, will continue occurring for the rest of your life. We find its simplicity the major problem. Our minds like to think that the process should be more complicated. Remember simplicity does not mean simplistic! Change needs to occur at both the conscious and sub-conscious level.

Will I Need To Get Professional Help? Why?

Some of you reading this article may find that you will want to seek out professional help by consulting a Psychologist or a Psychiatrist. A lot of people choose to consult mental health professionals when life gets too much and they feel that they can’t cope on their own. Others feel that a trained professional will speed up the process and provide extra motivation to help them to better understand their mind. While other people feel that they can manage the process on their own without any outside help. It’s up to you as an individual. [http://psychologistbrisbanenorth.com/]Psychologist Brisbane [http://psychologistbrisbanenorth.com/counselling/]Counselling Brisbane

Article Source:  Frequently Asked Mental Health Questions

The term “eating disorders,” like so many diagnostic labels, describes a spectrum of experiences and dynamics; while two people might both overeat and purge, the psychological reasons why they do so can be very different. I’d like to discuss one of my clients who suffered from bulimia, along with the emotional factors involved, because her story sheds light on a much larger issue: how we may cope with unbearable emotions and feelings by trying to get rid of them.

When I began working with this client (I’ll call her Sharon), I had little experience with eating disorders. I understood that there might be a connection between childhood sexual abuse and bulimia; I was aware that low self-esteem and perfectionism likely played a role. The first time we met, Sharon told me she’d been sexually molested by her step-father during her early teens; while she didn’t strike me as having particularly low self-esteem, she did seem quite perfectionistic and self-critical. In our early sessions, however, what struck me most was how little she could tolerate her emotions and feelings.

A pattern began to emerge: whenever an experience threatened to stir up emotion (it could be an intensely pleasurable feeling just as well as an anxious or painful one) the powerful urge to overeat would arise. Eventually she would give in, binge eat and force herself to vomit afterward; an enormous sense of relief always followed. We came to understand that what she wanted was to feel empty, void of emotion. Her bulimia, in a very literal sense, was a process of emotional evacuation. By throwing up, Sharon felt she’d gotten rid of the unbearable emotions and feelings along with the food she’d eaten.

The solution wasn’t permanent, of course: the feelings usually came back. Sometimes evacuating her feelings gave her enough time to find an alternative way to remove or avoid the cause of those feelings; on other occasions, emotions would resurface and she’d go through the binge-purge cycle again. In almost every situation, her goal was first to avoid having any feelings if possible, and then to get rid of them whenever she couldn’t.

Sharon’s mother was a very logical, remote woman who also tried to avoid any kind of emotional turbulence. The fact that she somehow managed not to know what must have been obvious, that her husband was molesting her daughter, shows just how far she would go to avoid facing painful and difficult situations that might agitate her. In other words, Sharon grew up in a family with little tolerance for emotions and feelings; she never learned how to cope with them in a mental way and developed bulimia, in large part, as a physical alternative.

There are many other ways to avoid or evacuate unwanted emotions and feelings; the process of projection isn’t usually as literal as it is in this case of bulimia. But I believe it’s something we all do at one time or another. On the other hand, when we’re unable to get rid of such feelings, it may give rise to intense rel=nofollow [http://www.afterpsychotherapy.com/anxiety-symptoms-and-panic-attacks]anxiety symptoms or even panic attacks. In addition, the inability to cope with sudden, overwhelming and unbearable emotion can also give rise to post traumatic stress disorder.

You might have a hard time identifying with Sharon’s methods, but you may use eating in related ways. Many people turn to food as comfort, of course, trying to satisfy an emotional need by physical means. Others use food as a sort of numbing agent. As to the larger issue of avoiding intense emotions and feelings, you may find more common ground with Sharon. Here’s a personal example. When my children were small and the emotional demands of rearing them were high (in addition to the emotional demands of my psychotherapy practice), all I wanted at the end of the day, after everyone was fed, bathed and in bed, was to watch repeats of “Law & Order” with a glass of wine. Nothing stimulating, nothing unexpected… just the comfortable routine of crime and punishment, with characters who never surprised me. Sound familiar? At the end of your day, do you numb out in front of mindless TV shows with alcohol or ice cream? Maybe it’s because, after the stimulation of your day, you can’t take any more intense feelings.

How does your own routine serve to limit the kinds of emotions and feelings you have? Are you a creature of habit? Sometimes repetitive ways of doing things allow us to know (or believe we can know) what we’ll feel in advance. Who of us really likes the shock of unexpected feeling? It might be a wonderful surprise if the Publisher’s Clearing House guy showed up at my door, telling me I’d won the sweepstakes, but I hate late-night phone calls that mean bad news, death or a serious accident.

You’d think, given the shortness of life and the wealth of possible experiences, we humans would constantly be searching for new sources of stimulation and excitement. It’s surprising how many of us prefer the comfort of routine and the set of knowable emotions and feelings that come up in our ordinary day.

Joseph Burgo PhD is a clinical psychologist with 30+ years experience in the mental health profession. He writes two blogs, one called ‘After Psychotherapy’ where he discusses psychotherapy issues such as depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder and [http://www.afterpsychotherapy.com/post-traumatic-stress-disorder]post traumatic stress disorder from a psycho-dynamic perspective; on the other blog, ‘Movies and Mental Health’ hosted by PsychCentral, he uses classic and contemporary films to illustrate his ideas. Dr. Burgo also offers online counseling via Skype. His forthcoming book on psychological defense mechanisms will be released by New Harbinger Publications in Spring 2013.

Article Source:  Unbearable Emotions and Feelings

One of the seminal books that changed my perspective on so-called mental illness and its treatment was the book entitled “The Myth of Mental Illness” by Thomas Szasz.  This book is probably out of print now but you may be able to pick up a copy on Amazon

The process of actually living can be a very difficult process.  Slapping the label “mental illness” on many of the difficulties will not make them any less difficult.  We live in a culture where the cure for what ails you is a pill or some miracle treatment.  In reality, much of our life will result from the decisions we make or do not make.  Not choosing to decide is a decision in and of itself.

As Szasz states in his book, “The concept of illness, whether bodily or mental, implies deviation from some clearly defined norm. In the case of physical illness, the norm is the structural and functional integrity of the human body. Thus, although the desirability of physical health, as such, is an ethical value, what health is can be stated in anatomical and physiological terms. What is the norm deviation from which is regarded as mental illness?  This question cannot be easily answered.”

On this site we try to present alternatives to the treatment of panic and anxiety disorders with medication and in many cases, the treatment of depression.  David Burns in his book “Feeling Good” devoted the last portion to possible medications to help during cognitive therapy.  We have listed David Burn’s book as a great resource for those suffering with mood disorders and will continue to do so in the future.

Here is a link to an article by Thomas Szasz and you can follow the links in this article to purchase the book sited by him or the one by David Burns.

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When anxiety becomes so severe that panic attacks ruin your life, don’t despair. Changing your thoughts can change the way you face stressful situations.

Australian psychotherapist Carole Kelly offers advice to the panic-stricken on her website, based on her years of work with people suffering from anxiety and panic.

She says, once people learn to deal with the symptoms of a panic attack, it’s time to tackle the thoughts behind the symptoms.

Negative Thinking Makes You Vulnerable

“How we interpret experiences and situations will influence how we feel about them and hence our emotional responses,“ she says.

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