MONTREAL – It was supposed to be a big break for Stefie Shock — the Quebec rocker was going live on TV to promote his new album.

As a young musician at the time, such a spotlight could only be good for Shock’s career.

Then the panic attack hit.

“I didn’t give a good interview because I was almost suffocating. I was trying to stay alive. I was not in danger, but every time you have the crisis, you don’t know.”

The incident happened 20 years ago and Shock has since gotten his panic attacks under control. But the memories of the almost daily events are vivid.

“I acted strange because I couldn’t breathe,” he recalled in an interview. “I felt like I was losing consciousness.”

He would try to catch his breath or hold onto his chest because he felt pain. He would wiggle his fingers because he couldn’t feel the tips or he would hyperventilate.

And it could happen anytime — even on a warm summer day, for example, when he was relaxing with a cold beer.

“A panic attack doesn’t wait for you to feel some stress about a particular situation,” he said.

“It’s not physical pain, but it’s torture. And you know it can always come back. There comes a time when you learn how to deal with it and to face it and to accept that it’s part of your life.

“It’s part of what you are and you have to find ways not to poison your life with it.”

Camillo Zacchia, a psychologist with Montreal’s Douglas Institute, says that 50 to 70 per cent of people will suffer symptoms similar to a panic attack in a given year but most will blow it off.

Ten per cent of people suffer from an anxiety disorder and panic attacks are part of almost all anxiety disorders.

But Zacchia points out that anxiety disorders are among the most treatable psychological problems through the use of behaviour therapy or medication — or sometimes a combination of both.

Zacchia also recommends that people who are diagnosed with an anxiety disorder see a specialist.

“You want to bring anxiety to a level where it no longer controls your life, no longer interferes with your functioning,” Zacchia says. “It’s OK to be anxious, it’s OK to worry because that’s normal human experience.

“Anxiety disorders are treatable and you will be able to live without panic, but you won’t be able to live without any anxiety because otherwise you’d be dead.”

Zacchia points out that anxiety is normal. People are, in fact, born with it.

For example, children are afraid of monsters under their beds or being separated from their parents, he notes. Teenagers worry about being accepted. Adults fret about success and the elderly are concerned about their health.

“Anxiety is what we feel when we’re threatened,” he explained, noting some people feel more anxious than others.

“When anxiety is working in balance, we avoid things that are dangerous. We don’t drive too fast when it’s slippery, we go to the doctor when we feel a pain. That’s why anxiety is about degree.

“When it starts to become exaggerated, it controls our lives.”

One of the biggest fears of people who have panic disorders is having a panic attack.

Shock takes medication to control night terrors which wake him up with a hammering heart and disorientation. But the musician says he has never suffered a panic attack on stage and it has never stopped him from performing.

He has felt the occasional bit of stage fright, which is normal for performers, but says “stage fright ends once you put your foot on stage.”

Shock, 42, says doctors blamed a chemical imbalance for his panic attacks.

Zacchia says panic is one aspect of anxiety and it’s felt when the anxiety is acute. The body goes into alarm mode but the anxiety mechanism works against itself triggering what he called “the fear of fear mechanism.”

“It’s like an alarm that rings in the face of danger,” Zacchia said of the anxiety mechanism. “But what if I’m afraid of being anxious?

“If I’m threatened by anxiety, the minute I feel any anxiety, the anxiety alarm goes off. So anxiety triggers anxiety and that creates a stronger response. That’s why people go from feeling almost nothing to complete panic in almost no time at all.”

He cited the case of one man who had a history of panic attacks in classrooms. He would panic and have to leave.

Zacchia said one day the man was taking a class on human sexuality where large slides of female reproductive organs were projected on a screen.

“He gets the thought: ‘What if I panic now? If I panic now and I have to leave everyone is going to think it’s because I’m uncomfortable with the vagina so I’d better not panic now!’

“Of course, the fact that he felt anxiety became a threat and then his body reacted naturally and he panicked.”

Zacchia said that in 30 years of treating patients, none of them had a panic attack when he asked them to do so in his office.

Shock went for two years without treatment because he was unaware of his anxiety disorder. He is active in trying to inform the public and is one of the spokespeople for Bell’s mental health awareness campaign.

He said some people still feel there are stigmas attached to having the problem or admitting to it but he urges sufferers to seek help.

“All the help is available easily,” Shock said. “It’s not mysterious so there’s no reason for someone to have problems like that and do nothing.

“I waited and waited. It came a time when I couldn’t stand it anymore. I was feeling miserable because day after day for two years, it gets you down. I was exhausted.

“So why wait?”

Best Self-Help Panic Program:  Panic Away

Best Natural Anti-Anxiety Supplement: Panicyl

Source = HuffingingtonPost.com

WHEN 10-year-old Justin couldn’t bring himself to get out of bed and go to school, his father assumed he had a virus.

Complaining of stomach aches, unable to eat and becoming very grey around the face each morning, the last thing Justin’s parents expected was that he was suffering from a form of anxiety, medically known as school refusal.

”We were seriously worried he had a physical problem we couldn’t find like cancer or something,” Justin’s father, who didn’t want to be identified, says.

How many times have you overeaten because of nerves? Or not eaten because of stress?

How many times have you started a diet thinking that it would make your anxiety or stressful life go away?

How many times have you bashed your body when anxiety about something else was the real gnawing issue?

Anxiety plays a significant role in body dissatisfaction and disordered eating — and in many different ways.

Some of us are used to using food to quell or manage anxiety. Some of us get nervous about eating certain “bad” foods or trusting our bodies in general.

Some of us experience anxiety and automatically assume that our bad bodies are to blame.

Some of us get super stressed and have a tough time knowing how to deal with it.

That’s why it’s so important to find effective ways to handle stress and anxiety. What’s especially helpful is to have a toolbox of  your favorite strategies. This way, when anxiety or stress strikes, instead of moving toward unhealthy methods, you can pick a healthy tool and use it.

For instance, mindfulness is very helpful for coping with worry-wart and jittery-prone ways.

Recently, I read an excellent book called Daily Meditations for Calming Your Anxious Mind by Jeffrey Brantley, M.D., and Wendy Millstine, NC. It’s filled with valuable activities based on mindfulness. They describe mindfulness as:

 an awareness that is sensitive, open, kind, gentle and curious. Mindfulness is a basic human capacity. It arises from paying attention on purpose in a way that is nonjudging, friendly and does not try to add or subtract anything from whatever is happening.

Today, I wanted to share three of my favorite anxiety-alleviating activities from the book. (Yesterday, Psych Central published this post I wrote listing other great practices.)

1. “Prayer Scroll.”

Whether you’re religious or not, many health studies have demonstrated the benefits of prayer, according to Dr. Brantley and Millstine. They suggest creating a prayer scroll, which includes a prayer for yourself, for your loved ones and for all living things. You can say these prayers out loud or in silence, depending on what you prefer. Here are their examples for each type of prayer.

For yourself:

May I be free from harm. May I be loved and give love. May I be safe. May I be happy and well. May I be healthy.

For your loved ones:

May they be free from harm. May they be loved and give love. May they be safe. May they be happy and well. May they be healthy.

For all living things:

May there be peace on earth. May there be health and harmony. May there be loving-kindness for all.

2. Stopping the “spin cycle.”

“There are times when your mind gets stuck in an endless loop of problems and possible worrisome outcomes with no end in sight,” according to the authors. And why is it that this cycle usually happens at night? When all our worries seem to wash over us like a 50-foot wave?

Dr. Brantley and Millstine recommend readers simply giving thanks — thanks to your body and surroundings. You can do this exercise while lying in bed or kneeling at your bedside with the lights off. These are their suggestions on what to say:

I am grateful for this body of cells, molecules, blood, veins, arteries, nerves, organs, muscles, tendons, flesh and bones. I am grateful for my head, face, hair, neck, arms, shoulders, fingers, chest, breasts, back, torso, hips, buttocks, pelvis, thighs, calves, ankles, feet and toes.

I am grateful for this bed, pillow, blankets…bathroom, living room, dinner table and home.

I am grateful for the backyard…neighbors, cars, cafe, corner store…and city. I am grateful for every seed, root, flower, blade of grass, shrub, tree, lawn and garden…I am grateful for the sky, sun, moon, stars, planets, solar system, universe and galaxies far and wide…I am surrendering my mind, body and spirit to the free fall of sleep.

3. “Strong as a mountain.”

As Dr. Brantley and Millstine  write, mountains are strong and solid, and they are the earth. Whenever you’re doubting your strength and don’t feel grounded, they suggest thinking about mountains for support. Visualizing mountains can help you gain back your strength.

First, they suggest taking a comfortable position and breathing deeply. Next, visualize a mountain in front of you. Maybe you’ve seen the mountain in person or in a photo or movie. Either way, let it be an incredible mountain, which is both “soothing and reassuring.”

Then get closer, and notice the mountain’s details. Pay attention to its shapes, colors. “Perhaps there are trees and grasses, or snow or great cliffs and jagged edges. Perhaps you notice boulders and barren spaces, or rich meadows filled with flowers.” Maybe there are clouds, rain or snow or sunlight or fog.

Next, step back and appreciate the grandeur and strength of your mountain. “Notice how the mountain accepts changing conditions yet remains unmoved as people and animals, all types of weather, day and night, and all the seasons move over and around it.”

“Shift attention and focus again on the stillness and steadiness within yourself and your living, breathing body. Feel your own strength now. Let the mountain — accepting, steady, unshakable — be in you. Feel yourself become the mountain.”

You also can repeat the phrase “strong as a mountain,” as you feel “the beauty and majesty of your heart, mind, and body, and your connectedness to the earth.”

Do you find these activities helpful? What helps you cope with anxiety?

By Margarita Tartakovsky, MS

C/O  PsychCentral.com

The very idea of psychotherapy seems to defy the instant-access, video screen chatter of popular digital culture.

Not for long, if some scientists have their way. In the past few years researchers have been testing simple video-game-like programs aimed at relieving common problems like anxiety and depression. These recent results have been encouraging enough that investigators are now delivering the programs on smartphones — therapy apps, in effect, that may soon make psychological help accessible anytime, anywhere, whether in the grocery store line, on the bus or just before a work presentation.

The prospect of a therapy icon next to Angry Birds and Fruit Ninja is stirring as much dread as hope in some quarters. “We are built as human beings to figure out our place in the world, to construct a narrative in the context of a relationship that gives meaning to our lives,” said Dr. Andrew J. Gerber, a psychiatrist at Columbia University. “I would be wary of treatments that don’t allow for that.”

The upside is that well-designed apps could reach millions of people who lack the means or interest to engage in traditional therapy and need more than the pop mysticism, soothing thoughts or confidence boosters now in use.

“That is what makes the idea so promising,” said Richard McNally, a psychologist at Harvard whose lab recently completed a study of 338 people using a simple program accessible on their smartphones. “But there are big questions about how it could work, and how robust the effect really is.”

The smartphone study is only one of the most recent tests of an approach called cognitive bias modification, or CBM, that seeks to break some of the brain’s bad habits. The premise, pioneered by Colin McLeod of the University of Western Australia, is straightforward. Consider people with social anxiety, a kind of extreme shyness that can leave people disabled. Studies have found that many who struggle with such anxiety fixate subconsciously on hostile faces in a crowd of people with mostly relaxed expressions, as if they see only the bad apples in a bushel of mostly good ones.

Modifying that bias — that is, reducing it — can interrupt the cascade of thoughts and feelings that normally follow, short-circuiting anxiety, lab studies suggest. In one commonly used program, for instance, people see two faces on the screen, one with a neutral expression and one looking hostile. The faces are stacked one atop the other, and a split-second later they disappear, and a single letter flashes on the screen, in either the top half or the bottom.

Users push a button to identify the letter, but this is meaningless; the object is to snap the eyes away from the part of the screen that showed the hostile face, conditioning the brain to ignore those bad apples. That’s all there is to it. Repeated practice, the researchers say, may train the eyes to automatically look away, or the frontal areas of the brain to exercise more top-down control.

“It’s a little boring, because it’s repetitive, but you’re only doing it for a few minutes a few times a day,” said Stefanie Block, 26, a graduate student at the University of Michigan who took part in the Harvard study while living in Boston. “I just did it when commuting to work on the subway; it’s crowded, there isn’t much you can do, it was the perfect time.”

In lab experiments, some researchers have gotten very strong results, “with effect sizes like you’d see in regular therapy,” said Nader Amir, a psychologist at San Diego State University.

In a series of experiments, Amir has found that about half of people with an anxiety disorder who complete a full course — practicing on a computer for about 30 minutes twice a week, for four to six weeks, in a lab setting — improve enough that the diagnosis no longer applies. He has tested programs that target social anxiety and generalised anxiety disorder and is part owner of a company that is marketing the technology.

A study among 40 children with chronic anxiety, published in December, found that a similar attention bias program produced “significant reductions in the number of anxiety symptoms and symptom severity”, according to the authors, who included Dr. Daniel Pine of the National Institute of Mental Health and Yair Bar-Haim of Tel Aviv University.

Psychologists in Europe have even tried a bias modification program aimed at heavy drinking — a computer task in which people push away images of alcoholic drinks, using a joystick, and zoom in on nonalcoholic ones — and found that it improved the effectiveness of talk therapy aimed at reducing the habit.

Other researchers have not had quite the same success. “I am far from convinced that this is for real,” said Willem Van der Does, a psychologist at Leiden University in the Netherlands, who has several papers under review testing bias modification.

“I did not notice any positive effect,” one woman with social anxiety who participated in the Harvard study said in an email. “It seemed similar to when I played Scramble or other games on my phone.”

In a review of studies of bias modification, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania concluded last year that the technique had a small effect that “significantly modified anxiety but not depression”. The authors noted that there was evidence of what scientists call a “file drawer” problem — in which studies finding no effect are filed away or ignored, while encouraging ones are published. “I think in this field the standards for publishing positive studies are lower than for negative ones,” Van der Does said in an email.

It is perhaps fitting that the largest study to date — by Phil Enock, a graduate student at Harvard; Stefan Hofmann, of Boston University; and McNally — produced results that were both encouraging and confusing. The team began recruiting participants in summer 2010, using Craigslist and online bulletin boards for social anxiety.

In March 2011, they were flooded, after an article in the Economist magazine about cognitive bias modification mentioned the project. Months later, after 338 participants with anxiety symptoms that ranged from mild to severe completed a total of more than 4000 sessions of the two-face therapy application, the researchers had some results.

Participants who got the treatment improved their scores on a questionnaire measuring anxiety, dropping by an average of 22 points, compared with an 8-point drop among people in a “waiting list” group, who got no computer games to play. However, a placebo group in the study practiced with a two-face video program not intended to shift the eyes from one face or the other, and their anxiety levels as measured on questionnaires also fell by about 22 points, just as they had for those who got the treatment.

Karin Langer, 34, an architectural historian in Chicago who scored high on some measures of social anxiety, was among those who seemed to improve using the app. Langer works at home, interacts almost entirely by email, and found herself increasingly anxious about phone conversations with colleagues. “I did notice a difference after using the therapy,” she said. “But it may have been due to a placebo effect. I felt good about myself, that I was doing something for my issues, and a lot happened in those two months outside the study that could have helped.”

Stranger still, the people who reported that they had learned about the study from the Economist article responded very well to the program — whether getting the treatment app or the placebo one — as if the article itself had some power of suggestion.

“We’re not exactly excited about that finding; we have no idea what it means,” said Enock, adding that there is still a lot of work to do to determine who best responds to which specific type of bias modification, and how strong the effect really is.

But, he said, “We certainly have shown that you can deliver treatments on smartphones, you can put attention and bias modification tools literally in people’s hands, and there’s no reason to hold back” from testing them.

Source = smh.com.au

Photo by:  okalkavan

Licensed under: Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic