Thursday, April 9, 2009
Panic Attacks Get Fueled With Little Oxygen to Your Body - Check Your Breathing!
• Are you breathing quickly or slowly?
• Are you breathing deeply or shallowly?
• Do you feel your breath in the center of your chest around your heart or do you feel it down low in your abdomen?
You want to breathe slowly and deeply from your abdomen, that´s your goal. Breathing incorrectly causes more harm to your body than you realize.
Not only are you not supplying your body with sufficient oxygen to produce the energy you need you are also causing tightening in your neck and shoulders. When you breathe from your chest you are tightening the muscles in your neck and shoulders which is causing increased tension throughout your body.
If you have a pet, look at them. People, who have dogs or cats and watch them while they´re sleeping will see that their stomachs rise and fall with each breath. This is true of all animals, look at your guinea pig or gerbil, they all breathe with their whole bodies.
Now look down at your belly, is it moving at all? Probably not! But this wasn´t always the case.
When you were a baby, you breathed with your whole body, just as all babies do. If you have a young child, look at them when they are sleeping, their bellies rise and fall. This is because they are abdominally breathing. Something happens and as we age, we stop engaging our diaphragm and stop breathing from our abdomen.
You can re-learn the proper way to breathe and re-engage your abdomen again and get your body feeling better than ever before. Getting the most amount of oxygen to your body in the most efficient way will greatly improve your health and mental wellbeing.
Our bodies are engines in need of a lot of fuel. Every cell in our body needs large amounts of oxygen to function properly. Having a healthy diet and watching what you drink is only part of the battle; breathing is an essential component of a healthier body as well.
Oxygen is needed to run the nervous system, digestive system, power the muscles, to sleep properly, for concentration and memory and to provide energy throughout the day. It´s no wonder that when we are having a panic attack and cutting off our oxygen supply with shallow, inefficient breathing that these are the very functions most directly impacted.
Our heart starts beating rapidly, desperate to get the oxygen it needs to run, our digestive system stops working properly, our muscles tense up, we lose feeling or experience tingling in out extremities because our nervous system has gone into survival mode.
We can´t think properly and our sleep patterns are disrupted. Sufficient oxygen is crucial to restoring normal function, that´s why forcing yourself to breathe slowly and deeply can trigger the relaxation response so deeply needed by your body.
It´s hard to breathe slowly and deeply, our minds tell us that we need to gulp in air as fast as we can. This is the worst thing to do in a panic attack or anxiety filled situation. Gulping in air quickly, using only your chest actually supplies very little oxygen to your body and helps fuel the panic attack because all the quick shallow breathing isn´t having the desired effect and thus you are more nervous.
Breathing slowly and deeply from your abdomen is the key and a technique that you need to learn and practice so you can utilize it in an emergency. By breathing from your abdomen and engaging your core, you are helping your body to get the oxygen it needs and triggering a calming effect in your body that will help ease the unpleasant sensations.
How to recognize the symptoms of anxiety in the elderly
Anxiety is so common in the elderly as in younger adults. Although issues such as declining physical health, cognitive impairment and loss of loved ones provoke anxiety disorders in older people, research shows that many who suffer from an anxiety disorder in late life also experienced anxiety when were younger. Although many older people suffer from generalized anxiety disorder, often ignore the symptoms, but that focus on physical complaints. Due to the identification of anxiety in the elderly population can be difficult, concerned family members should learn to read the signs to look for their aging parents .
Note whether any new development on apathy or loss of interest in the activities of their parents once enjoyed. Fear, accompanied by loss of confidence, are often caused by a fall or any other debilitating medical condition .
Note if your father is often restless or irritable .
Heed their parents to avoid social situations. A change in daily routines or habits, secluding oneself or in the home may signal a problem .
Consider any excess concerns of the parents could voice, especially if they appear to occur more frequently or are out of proportion with reality. Ask your father
if they have trouble sleeping or if other physical symptoms like chest pains, palpitations or shortness of breath. Ask if any of these symptoms are especially severe when one thinks about situations. Typically, these symptoms can not be explained by a physical problem. However, you should be concerned about any symptom that persists for two weeks.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Healthy and Natural Weight Loss - A Recipe For Long Life
But how can we keep body weight and fat levels down? Our present lifestyles and social systems do not provide us with the necessary time and inclination to work towards a healthy body. Visiting a gym regularly is out of question for most of our busy executives. Cutting down on fat-inducing foods is also difficult because most of our fast foods (which are easy to procure and eat) are high on fat content. Meat and fish products we consume regularly are also culprits here. The only viable answer to our obesity problems is to take such foods that retard fat formation and accumulation. Many of us are compulsive eaters. Appetite reducing pills can help such people.
However, unnatural medicines and techniques for fat reduction can give more harm that gain. The pills used for appetite suppression and braking down fats should be totally natural, otherwise long term health problems can crop up. The emphasis should be permanent weight loss and not a short term result. Many of us regain the lost fat once the weight loss regimen ends. This should not happen. It would be better if weight reducing foods are taken regularly as supplements in order to be healthy throughout life.
Many fat reducing and appetite controlling foods occur naturally around the globe. One such food is white kidney beans. We all know that carbohydrates and fats are the biggest culprits in weight and fat accumulation. White kidney beans resist carbohydrates from breaking down into sugars. This would help in keeping blood sugar at acceptable levels too. So you get a two-fold gain here. The first, keeping fat levels down and secondly, retarding accumulation of blood sugar. While kidney beans thus ranks as the foremost natural carbohydrate blocker known to man.
Chitosan, the extract taken from crustacean shells, is also a good quality fat loss agent. The natural product is most suited for heavy and compulsive eaters. Regular intake of chitosan pills help shed excess fat through stool, thereby keeping the body slim and trim. However, take care that you take nutrient rich food along with it in order to make sure that the body is not depleted of useful minerals and vitamins. It is rich in soluble fiber too.
Hoodia gordonii, a bitter plant found in the arid plains of southern Africa, is also high in anti-fattening properties. It is a natural appetite fighter, but gives out enough energy for limited periods. Pills made from the plant extract can fight compulsive eating, cravings and unreasonable appetites in a natural way. It contains no stimulants and is free from side effects too.