Mental Health Treatments

The best medications sold to the public as the ultimate mental health treatments are not in our best interest. If you do not agree just read below.

I read a lot. I read as much as I can. Health, business, finance, internet, and sports are the topics that most interest me. In regards to health related issues, I tend to read almost everything that gets to my hand or  computer screen. Today, I am reading and old issue of Forbes Magazine.

Forbes has an interesting article in its November 2009 issue. Yes, I know it is old but it has been in my “pack of magazines” to read. Of course, I also have a big stack of books on my desk. Nevertheless, the November 2009 Forbes edition has some interesting facts about “Mental Health Treatments, Page 68, Nov 2009 Forbes Magazine.”

This article states the following:

• $1,657 Monthly Cost of treating schizophrenia with Seroquel.

• $1,433 Monthly Cost of treating schizophrenia with Zyprexa.

• $1,131 Monthly Cost of treating schizophrenia with old drug (perphenazine).

• NONE Differences in patient quality of life between drugs

** Source: American Journal of Psychiatry, December 2006

The article continues stating that –Last year new schizophrenia drugs such as Seroquel from AstraZeneca and Zyprexa from Eli Lilly edged over cholesterol drugs–. Yet, no immediate difference was noted in patients from these new drugs compared to other older medications.

This article and many other studies suggest that there is just not a better medication for anxiety or any other mental health related disorders.

I urge you to get our free “How to Stop Anxiety Attacks” report as we have included information on the top drugs used, herbal medicine and many other resources for anxiety and depression.

Do not let the major drug houses push a magic pill without you fully knowing its secondary effects and what it really is supposed to be doing.

Get Well.

Today’s Quote:

Excellence is not a skill. It is an attitude.
~Ralph Marston

Depression and Anxiety Resources

At times, we battle with depression and anxiety. Well, I battle at times with major depression. Depression is a major factor for the high current suicide rates here in the US. Depression and anxiety attack disorders can be treated at the same time. Like anxiety disorders, depression can be treated with cognitive-behavioral therapy and antidepressants. Just make sure to consult soon with your doctor or psychiatrist.

Whatever you do the best treatment for anxiety or depression in my estimate is educating yourself.

I feel better understanding more and more about my diseases and disorders that is affecting my health, Well, I am a walking hospital. If we were to count all illnesses that I have that an take a little while but in all honesty I can say that what really makes me feel better is studying, researching and writing here in the blog about “how to stop anxiety” and helpul advice about related disorders.

That reminds me… If you have yet to get our free report, click here-anxiety help and get our report right now.. it is 100% free — no strings attached.

Here’s another post I wrote a few days ago about the battles Artie Lange has with depression.

Below, you will find short snippets of depression and anxiety attacks related resources which I think are invaluable,. You need to read them and go the websites for more information.

Get Well.

Here they are:

http://www.adaa.org/understanding-anxiety/depression
Depression is a condition in which a person feels discouraged, sad, hopeless, unmotivated, or disinterested in life in general. When these feelings last for a short period of time, it may be a case of “the blues. But when such feelings last for more than two weeks and when the feelings interfere with daily activities such as taking care of family, spending time with friends, or going to work or school, it’s likely a major depressive episode. Major depression is a treatable illness that affects the way a person thinks, feels, behaves, and functions. At any point in time, 3 to 5 percent of people suffer from major depression; the lifetime risk is about 17 percent. Three main types of depressive disorders-major depression, dysthymia, and bipolar disorder-can occur with any of the anxiety disorders.

http://mayoclinic.com/health/depression-and-exercise/MH00043
Depression is a healthy coping strategy. Trying to feel better by drinking alcohol, dwelling on how badly you feel, or hoping anxiety or depression will go away on their own can lead to worsening symptoms. The word “exercise” may make you think of running laps around the gym. But a wide range of activities that boost your activity level help you feel better. Certainly running, lifting weights, playing basketball and other fitness activities that get your heart pumping can help. But so can gardening, washing your car, or strolling around the block and other less intense activities. Anything that gets you off the couch and moving is exercise that can help improve your mood. You don’t have to do all your exercise at once, either. Broaden how you think of exercise and find ways to fit activity into your routine. Add small amounts of physical activity throughout your day. For example, take the stairs instead of the elevator. Park a little farther away at work to fit in a short walk.

http://www.helpguide.org/mental/medications_depression.htm
Depression is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain that medication can correct. According to the chemical imbalance theory, low levels of the brain chemical serotonin lead to depression and depression medication works by bringing serotonin levels back to normal. However, the truth is that researchers know very little about how antidepressants work. There is no test that can measure the amount of serotonin in the living brain – no way to even know what a low or normal level of serotonin is, let alone show that depression medication fixes these levels. While antidepressant drugs such as prozac increase serotonin levels in the brain, this doesn’t mean that depression is caused by a serotonin shortage. After all, aspirin may cure a headache, but it doesn’t mean that headaches are caused by an aspirin deficiency. Furthermore, many studies contradict the chemical imbalance theory of depression. Experiments have shown that lowering people’s serotonin levels doesn’t always lower mood, nor does it worsen symptoms in people who are already depressed. And while antidepressants raise serotonin levels within hours, it takes weeks before medication kicks in to relieve depression. If depression were due to low serotonin, there wouldn’t be an antidepressant medication lag. When it comes to depression, serotonin doesn’t tell the whole story. Experts agree that depression involves much more than just “bad” brain chemistry. Serotonin is just one of many factors that may play a role in the disorder.

http://www.medicinenet.com/depression/article.htm
In recent years, with burgeoning research progress, we are finding out that depression is much more common than many of us thought. At least 15% (and likely more) of women take an antidepressant during their lifetime. Depression is much more common in women than in men, but the reason for this female predominance is unclear. Learn about treatments for depression.

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

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.

Learn About The Most Common Anxiety Attack Symptoms

Once again, today, we focus on making sure that you are aware of the physical symptoms of anxiety. From time to time, we remind everyone of the symptoms, medications and best remedies to cure anxiety.

Prepare yourself to know the symptoms when having an anxiety attack. Throughout the Anxiety Help blog we have given various symptoms that come along with anxiety and panic attacks. Needless is to say that we all face a number of physical and emotional symptoms that triggers these symptoms. Let me list just a few as a reminder of what happens when having an attack and for you to become savvy in dealing with the disorder.

More importantly, the Christmas season will be here soon and we have seen the comments and questions increase during the holidays… take all measures to make sure that you can deal with fear, depression and any other mental disorder you might have.

First, lets start with the emotional symptoms you may experience when becoming anxious..

1) Irrational and excessive fear and worry

The most common symptom as people end up worrying about being around others, what has happened in the past or what will happen in the future. You end up watching for signs of danger and will typically anticipate the worst to happen.

2) Feeling irritable, restless, tense, and have trouble concentrating.

Ultimately, it is going to make it difficult to get through your every day life.

Then, how about the physical symptoms…

Have you experienced or have these:

1) Twitches
2) Fatigue
3) Upset stomach
4) Frequent urination

And how about,

5) Anxiety Chest Pain
6) Muscle tension
7) Insomnia
Constant sweating.

As we have repeatedly blogged here that anxiety attacks symptoms are confused at times with the reaction of a heart attack…. It is easy to confuse these symptoms, but all you have to do is to make sure that you see a doctor as soon as possible. Having professionals at your side helping you get the best care is important for your health and quality of life.

Child Anxiety Treatment, Helping Kids with Anxiety, Mood Disorders and Somatoform

Child Anxiety Treatment

My Own Anxiety

I know of the difficulties of my own anxieties. I have other disorders problems as well and I know what that experience is… but can you imagine a child having acute anxiety episodes? Can you? I can not even think about the discussion we are about to have here which is in regards to your child anxiety treatment!

This to me, acute child anxiety, was an unknown until I read this article at news-medical.net. I think you should read the article and see what is being done for having children (may I repeat) children cope with anxiety, mood disorders and Somatoform.

So you know, intense fear, worry, and uneasiness have for always significantly affected my life, and now I know that even children can experience what I experience. I always thought that child anxiety was more about separation anxieties. I was wrong.

To read the article online: click here

I am finding that children anxiety symptoms are usually manifested in the child being afraid, worried, or uneasy that they cannot function normally. It is amazing for me to know that some children anxiety disorders can last through out the life of the kid and can greatly interfere in their daily lives.

This is what the National Mental Health Center says in their website, “Anxiety disorders are among the most common mental, emotional, and behavioral problems to occur during childhood and adolescence. About 13 of every 100 children and adolescents ages 9 to 17 experience some kind of anxiety disorder; girls are affected more than boys.1 About half of children and adolescents with anxiety disorders have a second anxiety disorder or other mental or behavioral disorder, such as depression. In addition, anxiety disorders may coexist with physical health conditions requiring treatment.”

Can you imagine 13 out every 100 kids have some form of anxiety, mood disorder or Somatoform! This statistics is huge and big enough to know that this is a problem in today’s society.

The article at news-medical.net discusses about a new child anxiety therapy for decreasing these symptoms through Well-Being Therapy (WBT). Here is what the article says, “The aim of this study was to apply a modified form of WBT to a child population of patients with mood, anxiety and conduct disorders, and to test its effects in reducing symptoms and in improving new skills and competencies in children.”

Once again, I highly recommend you read the article. Click here.

The last part that strikes me is this  Somatoform.

What is Somatoform?

Looking in Wikipedia we read the following: “Somatoform disorder (also known as Briquet’s syndrome) is a mental disorder characterized by physical symptoms that mimic physical disease or injury for which there is no identifiable physical cause[1]. Somatoform disorder is a condition in which the physical symptoms a person feels are due to mental factors. These symptoms can not be traced to a specific physical cause. In people who have Somatoform disorder, medical test results are either normal or don’t explain the person’s symptoms. People who have this disorder may undergo several medical evaluations and tests to be sure that they do not have an illness related to a physical cause or central lesion. Patients with this disorder often become very worried about their health because the doctors are unable to find a cause for their health problems. Their symptoms are similar to the symptoms of other illnesses and may last for several years.”

My Last Point – Child Anxiety Treatment

My last point… you know at times we adults think we are so inundated with problems—mental, physical, emotional, financial, and much more—after today, I love my kids even more.

The children have to go through so much… It is not fair for a child to have to go through a child anxiety treatment or treatments. I am hoping this new well-being treatment helps many children with anxiety, mood disorder and Somatoform.

Enough said.

Leave a comment on the blog. Let discuss this issue. If you have yet to get our FREE guide.. so so today! click -> Anxiety Help.

How do you differentiate separation anxiety

As a kid, were you terrified of being left alone by your mom or father in school? Does your youngster throw fits when you leave them with somebody else? Your kid could be showing symptoms of separation stress, just like you probably did when you used to be a kid.

Do you have a very strong fear of being left by anyone you love? Are you feeling intensely distressed when you lose something that you like? You may be suffering from separation uneasiness disorder.

How do you differentiate separation anxiety from separation stress disorder? Separation anxiousness is a reasonably common agitation disorder that usually is affecting youngsters and young teenagers. It’s a standard developmental stage that kids go thru when separated from their first carer, like their mom or their nannies. When a kid fails to grow beyond his separation nervousness, it becomes separation anxiety disorder.

Kids with separation nervousness show it by crying, manifesting clinginess, bashfulness, silence, and reluctance to engage with people, even those to whom he is already acquainted with. Separation anxiety disorder is a mental condition in which an individual has unnecessary uneasiness about separation from home or from folk to whom the individual has a robust emotional attachment ( like the mother ).

This mental condition is affecting 7 % of the adult population, and only 4 % of the kid population.

Separation anxiousness disorder shows itself with:

• repeated trouble when separated from somebody or object of attachment, (like the mother or the home ),
• a consistent, troubling about losing the topic of attachment,
• a consistent, excessive troubling that an event may happen which could lead to the separation from or loss of an object of attachment,
• an unwarranted fear of being alone without the topic of attachment,
• a repeated reluctance or refusal to sleep without being by a major attachment figure,
• or having repeated nightmares about separation.

The second is far worse as it fails to get past the transition period and remains clingy and too attached that might turn out to be negative and may affect the way a standard kid or person functions. Separation stress disorder could be triggered by dire experiences like :

1. A terrifying experience the kid personally experiences or have heard about. ( ex. Quakes, stories of kid kidnapping )
2. A heavy separation experience. ( ex. Parents divorce )
3. Severely nerve-wrangling experience in the family. ( ex. major illness or death)
4. A major change the kid experiences.

There is a fine line that determines whether your youngster is experiencing normal separation tension or if he is crossed over to having separation agitation disorder. It’s best to keep yourself informed about the differences between easy separation stress and the disorder to be ready to maintain a record of your youngster and find help if necessary.

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