Acupuncture for Depression and Anxiety

Can Acupuncture Help My Depression and Anxiety?

One of the health issues that many people suffer from nowadays is depression.

In fact, more people suffer depression symptoms than most of us realize. There are many medications readily available to remedy this problem, most of us do not want to influence our bodies with chemicals. If you are a long time reader of our blog, you will know by now that we do prefer natural remedies at all times.

I use herbs for my anxiety but do realize that there really is no best anxiety medication. If you disagree, you can leave a comment on what is the best drug or what is best remedy suited for you. We encourage participation, go ahead and leave us a note in the comment area.

Now back to my point today about acupuncture and depression.

Acupuncture Helps Depression and Anxiety

Acupuncture and Depression

One way in which many people have found relief for their depression and anxiety symptoms is through acupuncture treatments.

What is Depression?

The National Institute of Mental Health describes Depression as a serious medical illness; it’s not something that you have made up in your head. It’s more than just feeling “down in the dumps” or “blue” for a few days. It’s feeling “down” and “low” and “hopeless” for weeks at a time.

The National Institute of Mental Health also states that there is An estimated six million men in the United States have a depressive disorder-major depression, dysthymia (chronic, less severe depression), or bipolar disorder (manic-depressive illness) every year.

How can Acupuncture Treatment Help Depression and Anxiety

Acupuncture is an ancient Chinese art. The insertion of very tiny, hair thin needles manipulates and balances the energy within our body. According to traditional Chinese medicine, all of us have an energy often referred to as Chi, and this energy causes all life to flow within us as individuals. A balance between the good and the bad energies in our body is necessary for us to maintain health. Acupuncture treatments realize and maintain this balance.

According to many naturalists, an imbalance in the body in some form or another causes depression. It often happens because of stress from lifestyle changes we experience, problems arising at work. or other situations in our lives. The depression we feel is quite real and can be life altering. Depression makes it difficult for us to lead a normal life. By bringing our body back into balance, however, we can overcome many health problems, including depression.

As it gained popularity in the United States in the past several decades, acupuncture treatments came under scrutiny by the medical community. However, rather than disproving the theory, the study results actually promoted the practice. Although it is difficult to create a control group in a clinical study of acupuncture treatment, some studies show an increase in blood flow and energy the targeted areas when manipulating acupuncture points.

If you are experiencing depression or having a difficult time in life, then acupuncture may help you. Over thousands of years, the practice helped an untold number of individuals cope with health problems and balance their life.

Can Acupuncture Positively Treat Depression and Anxiety?

A resounding “yes.” Acupuncture is indeed a powerful treatment for depression and anxiety. We have defined depression above, now, let’s define Anxiety. Anxiety is relatively permanent state of worry and nervousness. We have noted here today that Acupuncture seeks to address body, mind, emotions and spirit.

How does then acupuncture help depression and anxiety?

It will help by creating harmony within ourselves and between ourselves and the world. A body in harmony then will have no anxiety symptoms.

Finally, I recommend that you read this great article and keep studying about this great topic, so go ahead by clicking the title: Can acupuncture treat depression and anxiety?

Depending at what time you are reading this and personally knowing this is a time when we all experience anxiety, panic and depression. I want to wish YOU well into the future–have a GREAT 2010! Let us make it the year we get healthier.

Blood Pressure and My Anxiety

Another health issue that I have is High Blood Pressure.

I am also over-weight.

At times, and depending on the level stress compounded with my anxiety disorder, my blood pressure rises through the roof. I am taking lisinopril for this but that does not stop it from being high at times.

Am I worried… a bit. My mother died from a heart attack that resulted from the high blood pressure problem she had. I need to be careful and take care of myself.

So, here is a bit of information in regards to high blood pressure which I am hoping that it helps you.

The National Heart Lung and Blood Institute define High blood pressure (HBP) as a serious condition that can lead to coronary heart disease, heart failure, stroke, kidney failure, and other health problems.

“Blood pressure” is the force of blood pushing against the walls of the arteries as the heart pumps out blood. If this pressure rises and stays high over time, it can damage the body in many ways.

If you have high blood pressure, you are going to be more at danger for many diverse types’ health problems. Your body is not going to be healing well after an injury and it will not repair itself after being sick.

You can read more at The National Heart Lung and Blood Institute.

Now that we know that high blood pressure is something that can lead to a many difficulties during your lifetime. Here are some “easy” tasks that you should think about doing.

First, See a Doctor. You are too valuable to take this lightly.

Second, you should get plenty of exercise. Try getting your heart rate pumping for a period of time several times a week. Basically, go to the gym or create a gym in a section of your house. This is a good way to keep your heart in shape. Also, make sure that you do whatever is necessary to reduce your high blood pressure numbers.

Third, You will need to eat a good diet and stay away from high fat and cholesterol and that you should be doing whatever is healthier for your body when it comes to the food.

Finally, If you Doctor prescribed high blood medication then take it religiously. Do not skip, forget, or not give it importance. At the end, my mother died by not giving that much importance to the Doctor’s orders and the HBP medication. Any kind of medication will have a huge impact on your blood pressure.

There is a lot of different talk about how thing that we do in life will affect our body. You have to figure out that your blood pressure is something that can be dangerously damages your health. It is going to be very important that you know what to do in order to keep your body healthy.

Have a great 2010.

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Anma Massage Reduces Anxiety

Today we have a quick post. I am hoping you had a great Christmas Day. That is if you do observe this day and live in the US. As always, in my search to better myself and those that read this blog, I am always looking for all anxiety solutions. Here is something that might help your anxiety symptoms… massages!

But, first let me tell you that,

After my Christmas Party, where I suffered like never before due to the amount of people that arrived at our house. The more people there is the more I start to choke and get anxious feelings. I recognize these anxiety symptoms immediately. Although, the family and friends gathering reunion was nothing to really stretch my fears, I really had hard time controlling myself.

Have you ever had a hard time controlling your sweat, nerves, and have the ability to smile and converse all at the same time… Well, I experienced that just this past weekend…  very tough.

I hope that this past weekend was much better for you than it as for me. Oh well, we still have the New Year’s celebration at the church.

I will let you know here at the blog about that next week.

So, today, I found this article about:   Anma Massage Reduces Anxiety! A massage therapy technique popular in Japan has been shown to reduce muscle stiffness as well as anxiety levels.

Sounds great to me… I can use a massage about right now…

If you want to read more go ahead, click on the link: Anma Massage Reduces Anxiety.

Thanks and leave a comment before you leave.

Christmas, Snow, I need Chamomile Tea for Anxiety Help

Here we go,

I live in NJ. South NJ to be exact and we had 22″ inches of snow in my neck of the woods.

It was good and bad.

Good because had a chance to spend time with the kids, wife and some friends.

Bad, because Christmas is in three days. What? Yes, I have anxiety and stress.

At this time of the year, My anxieties come from:

• Snow

• Christmas

• Christmas brings friends and family where I find myself with social anxiety… Even thinking of all that I have to do is giving me so much fear and stress plus a bit of depression

• Christmas parties… ouch.

• Buying gifts and not buying gifts, etc.

Well, if you are like me, then, you understand my emotions for this time of year. So, the other days, deep in snow and feeling anxious, I asked myself what do I have here in the house that can relief my stress, and control my emotions and feelings… I definitely did not want to go to the Doctor.

I needed to know how to stop my anxiety fast… or at least give me a smooth easy feeling. I decided to search my pantry and all the way in the back I found this box of Chamomile Tea that was given to me awhile ago.

Chamomile Tea

Right after the first sip, I knew that the hot Chamomile Tea was just the right thing for me because it has this soothing effect… just wonderful. Chamomile Tea acts as a mild relaxant so it is useful in treating stress, anxiety, depression, and insomnia.  And it’s also useful in the treatment of skin irritations and allergies.

Anyhow, It is so fragrant, with a light herbal taste. I just love it. Chamomile tea is becoming one of my favorite herbal products.

• As always, we want to add the disclaimer that is in the box of tea I have here, the disclaimer is that Chamomile Tea may interfere with some anxiety and depression drugs, so really read the labels of any products before you use them.

I am much better today. This morning I had my morning herbal tea.

But, I will keep you posted on how I do with all the shopping, gifting, family reunion and parties.

God Bless, Happy Christmas and GREAT New Year 2010!

PS. If you have not checked the latest article, let’s read it now, click here: 5 Questions To Ask Yourself When Trying To Stop Anxiety Attacks From Occurring

This Christmas, I have Stress and Anxiety

Stress and Anxiety

Well, it got to me… stress, panic and anxiety. “The season for Giving” it is also the season for very high stress and anxiety for me. If you were here at my side right now you would hear me yell  that – “I’m SO stressed out!”

With so many pressures, I am finding myself almost at the end of the line in terms of how much I can tolerate without panic or anxiety. My stress is at a very high level. I can feel it at the back if my neck…

How about you?

Christmas Equals Stress and Anxiety?

Does the Christmas season gets you all stressed out? Have anxiety? Panic attacks? There are many, many folks suffering this season and they all need anxiety help and guidance… (by the way, this blog is really helping me with my feelings and I am hoping it is helping you as well).

If our anxiety help secrets blog is helping you, please leave us a good comment.

Now, let us get back to my point on anxiety and stress.

Today economic climate is enough to really put pressure on us but add the holiday season and is like a double whammy that will cause stress and anxiety, and often we are ill-equipped to deal with the anxiety and any other disorders.

You might already know this and I have mentioned it before here at the blog… The anxiety attack statistics are staggering. One in every eight Americans age 18-54 suffers from an anxiety disorder (just go to Wikipedia or NIMH webistes). This totals over 19 million people!

Research conducted by the National Institute of Mental Health has shown that anxiety disorders are the number one mental health problem among American women and are second only to alcohol and drug abuse by men.

Women suffer from anxiety and stress almost twice as much as men. Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in America, surpassing even depression in numbers. Anxiety is the most common mental health issue facing adults over 65 years of age.
Unfortunately, stress and anxiety go hand in hand. In fact, one of the major symptoms of stress is anxiety. And stress accounts for 80 percent of all illnesses either directly or indirectly.

In fact, stress is more dangerous than we thought. You’ve probably heard that it can raise your blood pressure, increasing the likelihood of a stroke in the distant future, but recently a health insurance brochure claimed that 90 percent of visits to a primary care physician were stress-related disorders.

Allow me to keep this issue and post more blog posts in the future..  Why? Cuz, right now, I kinda have to go wrap gifts… by the way its 12.25am – 8 days till Christmas… Christmas, Stress and Anxiety it is just a bad combination.

Depression and Cognitive Therapy

Depression

A new study reported at PhysOrg.com states that people–suffering from depression may have a far greater hope of finding lasting relief by receiving cognitive therapy–.

There is more of that report below, but, before, I will like to set the tone and have a bit of information about depression.

What Is Depression?

Everyone occasionally feels blue or sad, but these feelings are usually fleeting and pass within a couple of days. When a person has a depressive disorder, it interferes with daily life, normal functioning, and causes pain for both the person with the disorder and those who care about him or her. Depression is a common but serious illness, and most who experience it need treatment to get better.

Many people with a depressive illness never seek treatment. But the vast majority, even those with the most severe depression, can get better with treatment. Intensive research into the illness has resulted in the development of medications, psychotherapies, and other methods to treat people with this disabling disorder.

Different forms of depression

There are several forms of depressive disorders. They are:

Major depressive disorder, also called major depression, is characterized by a combination of symptoms that interfere with a person’s ability to work, sleep, study, eat, and enjoy once–pleasurable activities.

Dysthymic disorder, also called dysthymia, is characterized by long–term (two years or longer) but less severe symptoms that may not disable a person but can prevent one from functioning normally or feeling well.

Source: National Institute of Mental Health

The report: Cognitive therapy key to tackling depression (source: (PhysOrg.com)) states– New research from The University of Western Ontario shows why people suffering from depression may have a far greater hope of finding lasting relief by receiving cognitive therapy, rather than simply taking antidepressants. Previous research has demonstrated that individuals treated with cognitive therapy have approximately half of the relapse rate of those treated with medication alone

To read more: click here.

{Editor’s Note}

This is a very interesting report on Cognitive Therapy and depending how much help you need to cure your anxiety or panic… it might be good for you to review and read the report in its entirety, again, here is the link: click here.

-To end this blog post, let me touch on something that has helped me…

What has really helped me more than anything to end my anxieties is knowledge. By reading everything and especially when it is about research and best anxiety medications, I feel that much better knowing that I have read and studied everything that lands on my hands. It gives me the sense that I have done my part of the equation in dealing with my mental, body and spiritual health (and, yes, many, many health problems!)

That is why I urge you to subscribe to our anxiety help newsletter, we will give you completely free resources that many sites online do not even know or have…

Also, we do promote some products in our website but what we recommend comes with our research and review. I am hoping not to offend anyone by recommending products such as Panic Away which we know has helped thousands of people.

As an added bonus, for subscribing today, we will gift you our newest report: Anxiety & Panic Attacks Secrets Explained! This report covers everything about how to stop anxiety fast… go now. Thank you.

Kids With Mental Disorders Needs Treatment

No kids should go without medical care.

Stop, let me rephrase to really talk about what I want to say…

I meant, that kids who have mental health disorder should have medical care. period.

It is tough enough for our children to be just kids, but, imagine having a mental disorder on top of all the other pressures kids go through these days. Although, I do not mean to undermine all the other health related problems children face today but having an acute episode of any mental health related disorder is just too much to even think of the hurting that these kids are experiencing.

Can you imagine not having treatment? medication? guidance? a way or format to release?

Well,

The Los Angeles Times – Health reports that only 55% of kids with a mental disorder sought professional treatment.

This to me is a tragic, tragic statistic, although it is higher that previous year there is still too many kids affected not seeking or getting medical treatment.

The LA Times report continues by stating that the National Institute of Mental Health using data from 3,042 kids who took part in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, found the prevalence of six mental health disorders affecting children and adolescents between the ages of 8 and 15.

These are:

* 8.6% had attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
* 3.7% were depressed
* 2.1% had conduct disorder
* 0.7% suffered from generalized anxiety disorder or panic disorder
* 0.1% were anorexic or bulimic
* 13% of kids surveyed had at least one of these disorders, and 1.8% had two or more.

Kids are very close to the our heart, so here at anxiety help blog we will have information on resources to help you and your kid battle all these mental health disorders… can you make a comment about this? what is your point of view? feelings? Leave a comment. thanks.

To make sure that you receive all our notices, articles, ideas and updates do not leave the blog today without subscribing… fill out the supscription form to your right on the top of the page and we will make sure to provide you with only the best “how to stop anxiety” and mental health related information available.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder, New Study from Stanford Unversity might have the Answer over GAD

Brain Scans Show Distinctive Patterns in People With Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Editor’s note: We are very excited coming into 2010. I feel like this is a new era in mental health research. I am seeing many research and papers dealing with emotional and mental disorders. Obviously, this does spark an interest in me (and a joy) of researching and learning more. We need all the anxiety help we can get!

At times, it feels, like the bigger known diseases gets all the funding but today I bring you a special study that is being released which if you have Generalized Anxiety Disorder GAD might be inclined to read.

ScienceDaily.com is reporting that according to a new study from the Stanford University School of Medicine they have found that scrambled connections between the part of the brain that processes fear and emotion and other brain regions could be the hallmark of common anxiety disorder.

The findings could help researchers identify biological differences between types of anxiety disorders as well as such disorders as depression.

The study, which will be published Dec. 7 in the Archives of General Psychiatry, examined the brains of people with generalized anxiety disorder, or GAD, a psychiatric condition in which patients spend their days in a haze of worry over everyday concerns.

Researchers have known that the amygdala, a pair of almond-sized bundles of nerve fibers in the middle of the brain that help process emotion, memory and fear, are involved in anxiety disorders like GAD.

But the Stanford study is the first to peer close enough to detect neural pathways going to and from subsections of this tiny brain region.

You can read the entire artcile by clicking here: ScienceDaily.com.

We also recommend that you read our article: 5 Questions To Ask Yourself When Trying To S top Anxiety Attacks From Occurring!

How To Stop Anxiety, 2 Very Important Questions To Ask When Trying Learn How To Stop Anxiety Attacks

Learning How To Stop Anxiety is VERY Important For Your Health.

Here are 2 Very Important Questions To Ask YOURSELF When Trying To Learn How To Stop Anxiety Attacks

Who wants to put up with the constant symptoms and worries that come along with anxiety attacks? Anxiety attacks can have a devastating impact on your life. Start today and learn how to stop anxiety from becoming a routine in your life by asking these 2 very important yet simple questions:

1. Do you have too much going in your life right now?
Stress is one of the top factors for people experiencing severe anxiety attacks. Too much stress develops into acute anxiety. Adding too many daily responsibilities plus a huge workload can take a toll to your health, something that you really should be careful of. You want to live a long life, so, why not spread your “things or items to do” out and only take on what you are able to do in a given day. Leave the rest to another day or give the extra responsibilities to someone else.

2. Do you have an emotional support group?
How many times have we heard of the importance of having a medical and professional group of advisers… I say, too many. Yet, we really do not understand that we also need emotional support from family and friends. We are ALL going to have stress at any given point of our lives and may even have a break down here and there.

It is important you have someone or a group of people where we can “lean on” to talk to or to confide when we have anxiety and stress episode. It is definitely not good to keeping it all bottled up, all you are going to do is come apart. Having support is crucial in order for you to stop anxiety attacks.

Free Annual Credit Reports

How about an unusual theme for today’s post.

I want you to go and get your free annual credit reports from the correct and only website that is approved by the FTC.

But, first, let me explain,

If you are following the blog (and, we thank you) We usually tend to stay within anxiety and panic disorder topics.

But today as the year 2009 end is fast approaching some of us are having anxieties over our financial future (are you with me on this?).

Not having enough money is always a concern for everyone, don’t you agree?

I can tell you that when I look at my pile of bills, mostly due to hospital coinsurance and deductibles, I get an anxiety attack all the time.

::

BTW, Here’s a friendly reminder to get your Stop Anxiety Attacks Guide.  Cool.

::

OK. Debt relief strategies first advice is to go and get your free annual credit reports.

Did you know that you’re entitled to a free annual credit report with each of the three national consumer reporting companies? By checking your credit report regularly, you can ensure that no loans, credit cards, or other financial obligations have been fraudulently initiated in your name.

This is also good for your peace of mind. Make sure that at least your credit is good.

Also, please note that instead of requesting your free annual credit report from Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion all at the same time, request them at different times of the year.

That way, you’ll be able to check your credit three times throughout the year at no cost.

OK. I am not a “get out of debt” guru… I just want no more bills. Anyhow, there is only one
FTC approved website to request your credit reports and that is through this FTC website: click here!

One more time, click here: free annual credit reports (FTC approved)

Last note, we are going to have an AWESOME 2011 at the Anxiety Help Blog.

I hope that is helping you as much as it is helping me with my own problems.

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