There Are Important Things Needed For Your Mind And Emotions To Be Healthy

Mental health and emotional health are just as important as your physical health. Most people don’t believe this at all. When you are physically healthy, means that you will be healthy emotionally and mentally automatically, is what a lot of people think. Sometimes this is true-after all, it’s hard to feel down and gloomy when you’re physically fit. A lot of physical problems stem from emotions or the mind, and they need to be dealt with first. Becoming healthy mentally and emotionally will take some research and understanding and then putting a plan into action.

Make sure you get enough sleep each night. To keep your body and mind healthy, most people believe that eight hours is the magic number. Nine might be what you need, and then again six or seven might be right for you. Finding the magic number for you personally will take some experimentation, and maybe help from mental and physical health professionals. It might take you a while to figure out the right number, but then you really should try to get the much sleep every night from then on. Sleeping through the night and getting the right number of hours can change the way you feel emotionally and physically. Be around people you enjoy being with. If you will take some time each day to walk through a park or a garden, your serotonin levels will be raised up in your brain, and your blood pressure will become lower. Your emotions can be raised up to a high level by responding in a physical way. There are lots of ways that you can spend each day, admiring the living things around you that are beautiful, even in art or architecture. Your mood can be elevated by the inspiration of beauty. Everything and everyone has its own beauty, which you need to see. When someone enjoys a piece of art, or something else, it is okay not to have the same response. It is okay to like something different from others.

Take some time to have fun. Being lazy is not a good trait, and neglecting to do what you should be doing is bad for you, but still you need to take some time to have some fun, because your happiness levels depend on doing something you enjoy. You can easily run your emotions into the ground, when you are only working, even doing housework, because the work needs to get done. Doing something just because you think it is fun helps you feel happy. What you have to get done will be less tedious, when you spend some time being happy. The less tedious you feel your life is, the better your emotional and mental health will be. Working with a mental health professional is something you should be doing if your mental or emotional problems are severe. Starting with these few tips are a good place to make your life better by improving your mind and emotions. The truth is that our emotions are somewhat within our control. We can do things every day that help us feel happy, calm, stimulated, etc. This article has tips that are only the beginning, but they will help you improve your mental health. The information is out there to improve your mental health, but the responsibility will always be up to you to get the information and make the choices.

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Feeling moody? Maybe it’s the weather

[photo courtesy James Jordan]

The brain is a complicated muscle, but one we’re learning more about all the time. Most people aren’t adversely affected by the changes in the weather as summer draws to a close, whilst some feel moody, drained and depressed with the arrival of cold winds and gray skies.

In the news recently the results of research was announced that identified a biological reason why two million people in the UK suffer from seasonal affective disorder.

Scientists from the Centre of Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, Canada, conducted brain scans of 88 adults. They discovered that those who experienced low moods and depression in winter had a higher level of a specific protein than those who were unaffected by seasonal changes.

It’s believed that the identified protein soaks up serotonin (feel good chemical) in the brain, causing an adverse effect on people’s mood. It’s long been known that depression is accompanied by low serotonin levels, so the research further emphasises how important a healthy mind and body are for your sense of well being.

With anxiety being such a complicated and deep rooted issue I’d suggest that other factors are probably at play along with the higher levels of a certain protein. However, the fact that scientists are now able to identify some of the biological reasons why the brain behaves in a certain way emphasises the strides being made in understanding anxiety in all its forms.

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Originally posted 2008-09-02 16:26:53. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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How Deep Breathing Can Help Reduce Social Anxiety, Stress and Panic

Along with food and water, giving your body a supply of air is essential for maintaining your heath and well being. If you’re not breathing properly then this can cause imbalances in your blood and affect the way your body behaves.

Poor breathing can cause dizziness, shortness of breath and shaking, which are all too familiar symptoms if you suffer from anxiety or panic.

The key is to learn how to breathe deeply in a natural manner that fills your stomach and rib cage, as well as the top part of your chest, and it can be practiced using simple exercises throughout the day.

Why is breathing properly so important?

Breathing regulates the balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide in your blood. Too much oxygen can cause you to feel agitated and nervous, whilst too much carbon dioxide might calm you temporarily but it can make you feel light headed and distort your responses.

Instead you should practice being able to breath deeply and naturally so that your body can maintain a healthy balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide and behave healthily.

Deep breathing is practiced as part of Tai Chi, Yoga and other forms of meditation due to its effectiveness in helping you think and behave in a clear, healthy manner.

The benefits of breathing properly include:

• Release tension in your neck, chest and diaphragm


• Reduce anxiety and panic by having a healthier balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide in your blood so you can think and behave in a calmer, clearer manner


• Reduce build up of stress and tension throughout the day


• When practicing as part of a meditation exercise, breathing can divert your attention from stressful, unhelpful thoughts


• Exhaling for longer than you inhale will help you to relax

Why just take a deep breath is bad advice

We’ve all heard the advice to take a deep breath when we’re feeling stressed or anxious. However, the problem is that most people interpret this as taking rapid breaths, rather than deep, natural breathing that fills our stomach, as well as our upper chest.

Rapid breathing can simply imbalance the oxygen in your blood, causing you to feel more agitated and nervous. Deep natural breathing is slow and calm, rather than rapidly gulping down oxygen.

So how do I practice deep breathing?

Here are a few breathing exercises you can practice to train your body to keep a healthy balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide, as well as help to reduce stress, panic and anxiety:

Sigh Breath

Take a moderate breathe through your nose and then slowly exhale, prolonging your exhale for longer than your inhale.

As you exhale try and relax the muscles in your face and shoulders to release any built up tension.

When you next inhale, try and divert your attention to the sights and sounds around you without passing judgement on your thoughts but just letting them flow

This breathing technique works well with mindfulness meditation because it focuses your thoughts away from whatever stresses you’re feeling that day.

Sigh breathing can be practiced whenever you’ve got a spare minute or two throughout the day, and can help you learn to regulate your breathing.

Easy Breathing

• focus on only your breathing for 3-4 minutes.


• Ignore everything around you other than your breathing


• move your chest and diaphragm in harmony so that you’re breathing naturally, rather than forced


• concentrating on your breathing in this way will divert your thoughts from your anxiety and stress

4-7-8 Breathing

• inhale for four seconds, hold it in for seven seconds then slowly release your breath for eight seconds


• As you exhale release the anxiety , stress and tension from your muscles, shoulder and face


• this exercise helps you to exhale for longer than you inhale, which can help your body relax if you’re feeling nervous


• you could practice this at any time, whether on public transport, waiting in a cue or when you’re just at home to help calm your breathing

There are plenty of other breathing exercises you can practice which you can learn more about from books and other resources on the net.

Healthy breathing is an important part of coping with and reducing social anxiety, so try a few different breathing exercises to find which ones work best for you and in which situations.

Originally posted 2008-08-27 15:39:25. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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UK School Kids Given Lessons on How to Be Happy

You feel the way that you think, and now UK school children are being taught how to think more positively to help them cope with the stresses of teenage life. Initially, 1500 11-year olds from 22 schools are being given lessons on how to assess situations objectively, how to be assertive and many other skills that can help them cope better with emotionally difficult situations. If the scheme is a success then it could be expanded into class rooms on a national scale.

The scheme uses lessons taught in the USA by the Penn Resiliency Program, based in Philadelphia, which adopts tried and tested cognitive behavioural therapy techniques to ‘detect inaccurate thoughts, to evaluate the accuracy of those thoughts, and to challenge negative beliefs by considering alternative interpretations’.

Teaching children cognitive behavioural therapy could help them avoid problems later on in life

Whilst some might remember their school days with fond memories, childhood can be a difficult period because of peer pressure, the desire to fit in and having to cope with all the struggles of teenage life.

Psychotherapists believe that it’s during childhood that you form your belief system: opinions on yourself, other people and the world around you. Upsetting childhood experiences, such as being neglected or bullied, can lead to problems later on in life because of the negative associations you attach to similar situations.

So equipping impressionable school children with the skills to identify inaccurate, unhelpful thoughts and then to replace them with healthier, happier ways of thinking could prove invaluable in helping them grow into secure, confident adults.

Treatment for anxiety and depression is a global issue

In a 2006 international survey UK children ranked bottom for happiness and well being. Some blame celebrity culture, with its focus on money and possessions, for giving children an unhelpful value system (although the problem is far more complicated than a single root cause). However, teaching them how to feel confident and secure, without needing the latest designer clobber or the approval of others, could be coming at just the right time.

Awareness on the effectiveness of cognitive behavioural therapy, for treating anxiety and depression, is spreading all the time. The UK’s ‘happiness tsar’ Professor Richard Layard even believes it could help people living on benefits to get back to work.

With depression the world’s biggest mental health problem, teaching more people cognitive behavioural therapy (whether self taught, with a therapist or in a group) could make a positive impact on not just on the lives of children but society in general.

Originally posted 2008-09-08 17:02:59. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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How Can I Do a Test for Social Anxiety Disorder?

Over the last few decades recognition of social anxiety disorder has grown rapidly. No longer is it seen as just a case of someone being over sensitive, too shy or introverted, but a recognised and diagnosable condition. But as with all anxiety disorders, it can be difficult to test for social phobia without clear guidance from a doctor or a psychiatrist.

It’s not like having a fever, when you can just check someone’s temperature or their physical symptoms. What’s more, social anxiety disorder can be a complex condition, with symptoms that can very in severity dramatically between individuals. Some people might just prefer to avoid going to parties and speaking in front of people they don’t know, while others might struggle to leave their house altogether due to the fear of negative stares.

Thankfully, a social anxiety disorder test was devised by Dr Michael R. Liebowitz, a psychiatrist and researcher at Columbia University, New York. First devised in 1987, his social anxiety disorder test continues to be the most widely used and recognised method of diagnosing the condition. Studies have shown it to be an efficient and cost effective way for people to test for social anxiety disorder so they can then progress towards beginning a process of treating the inaccurate, underlying thoughts that drive it.

What is the social anxiety disorder test?

The Liebowitz Social Anxiety Disorder Test consists of 24 questions designed to assess the scale at which social phobia affects your life based on an overall score of its severity. Thirteen of the questions focus on performance related anxiety, such as speaking on a phone in public or talking to someone in authority, while eleven deal with social situations, such as going to a party or speaking in a meeting.

After completing all the questions you are then given a score out of 144. If your score is high, and you are classified in the more severe categories, the important thing is to not feel down and depressed. The fact is that, as with all diagnosable conditions, social anxiety disorder can be treated.

With a diagnosis comes treatment

If you think you might be suffering from social anxiety disorder, the wisest thing to do is to visit a medical professional, whether it’s a doctor or a psychotherapist. They can give you a professional diagnosis along with advice on the best course of action to reduce your symptoms to the level where social anxiety disorder no longer gets in the way of living a fulfilling life.

If your social anxiety is fairly mild, it could be that all you may need to do is to start making some lifestyle changes, such as taking up new hobbies that give you a sense of achievement and boost your esteem as well as provide you with healthier interactions with other people. In more severe cases, where social anxiety disorder is causing you to feel depressed and is adversely affecting your life, then seeing a cognitive behavioural therapist along with a course of medication might be advisable.

So it’s wise to consult a medical professional, whether it’s a doctor or a psychiatrist, for a diagnosis and advice if your anxious thoughts and feelings are getting in the way of your ability to enjoy a happy, fulfilling life.

Originally posted 2013-06-04 14:19:53. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Discover how you Can live a more fulfilling life free from social anxiety

If you suffer from social anxiety disorder, simple everyday activities, such as going to the shops or standing on a crowded bus, can seem daunting. Worrying about what other people think of you and if something bad will happen blights the lives of millions every day.

Thankfully, I learned to overcome my anxiety through learning more about the mental triggers and the underlying causes. I created this website to share what worked for me in the hope that it can help others overcome their social anxiety disorder (and without medication!) and live a happier, more fulfilled life free from the fear of strangers.

I’m guessing you arrived here whilst hunting for info on social anxiety disorder. Answers to questions like ‘Why does it happen to me?’, ‘Why do I feel afraid of people I don’t even know, am I crazy?’ and, most importantly, ‘What can I do about it?’.

The reason why I know this is because I did exactly the same thing myself a few years ago.

Social anxiety disorder had put a dark cloud over my life since my teenage years.

Simple everyday things, like catching a bus, walking around the shops or going out to meet friends, were a struggle because of overpowering feelings of nervousness, panic and fear over who I might meet or what might happen .

To combat the symptoms I used to ‘self medicate’ to get through social situations. But this just made me feel ten times worse later on.

Eventually my life reached a point where I had a simple choice – continue suffering in silence and simply coping day to day, or do something about it.

So off I went to see my doctor for advice on what I should do.

Unfortunately, as has happened to many people suffering from social anxiety disorder, I was swiftly prescribed a course of beta blockers to help ‘calm me down’.

Suffice to say this wasnt the answer I was looking for – unless you want to feel like a subdued, unemotional robot all day.

So I decided to look for some answers of my own.

Changing the Way You Think WILL Change the Way You Feel

It was while looking into the causes of anxiety that I started finding out about the more specific symptom of social anxiety disorder.

After reading through a number of books on the subject and blogs of other sufferers, I started to discover more about the condition – what causes it and what you can do to overcome it.

I then set about applying what I’d learned to my daily life and making changes to the way I thought about things, how I reacted to situations and making lifestyle changes so I became more active and raised my self esteem.

I wasnt cured overnight. But with practice and patience, the changes I made to how I thought about the people around me and how I reacted to social situations helped me to gradually reduce the fear, nervous thoughts and uncomfortable feelings of social anxiety disorder.

I can still feel anxious from time to time. But my social anxiety disorder is nowhere near the levels it was. It no longer stops me from going where I want to go or doing the things I want to do. And my life has vastly improved as a result.

Rather than being stuck at home, I’m now out living my life, taking part in activities like rock climbing and trekking, and I can even go out and meet friends without worrying what other people are thinking.

I created this website to help others struggling with social anxiety disorder by writing about the strategies and tactics that worked for me in the hope they can help other people as well.

Originally posted 2012-01-05 18:58:44. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Famous People That Suffer From Social Phobia

ANXIETY knows no color or race. It can affect anyone. It affects the poor and the wealthy, the young and the old, and more. It does not discriminate, and while some people may be more vulnerable to this malady than others, the truth is that anyone can be victimized by the disorder. Let’s take a quick look at some famous people that suffer from social anxiety disorder:

Barbra Streisand

Unknown to her millions of fans, Barbra Streisand is one of the most famous people with social anxiety disorder. Despite her talented voice and career brimming with unforgettable musical and acting milestones, she has long since struggled with social anxiety.
Born on April 24 1942, Streisand is regarded as one of the most successful performers in the entertainment industry, both critically and commercially. She has had close to 150 million albums sold all over the world. She is a proud winner of two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, a Special Tony Award and five Emmy Awards on top of honors given by various other award giving bodies.
Barbra Streisand is remarkably one of the few people in the world to have won a Oscar, an Emmy, a Grammy and a Tony.

Kim Basinger

Most people know Kim Basinger from her many movie roles including being a Bond girl in Never Say Never Again, or for her performance in films such as The Natural or 9½ Weeks. Basinger speaks openly about suffering from social anxiety and can recall feeling fear over reading out loud in class. Her fear was so extreme that teachers believed she was having a nervous breakdown. When she accepted her Oscar for her role in the movie, LA Confidential, she was struggling to find her words despite having rehearsed her speech for days. Basinger took part in discussing her social anxiety disorder, panic attacks, and agoraphobia in an HBO film called Panic: A film about coping.

Ricky Williams

Imagine a shy and reserved college student suddenly thrust into the limelight and unable to cope with unbearable social anxiety. This is the story of Ricky Williams, a professional football player who has publicly shared his diagnosis of Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD). At 22, Ricky had everything a young man could want -- fame, fortune and the ability to travel anywhere in the world -- but he was too afraid to even leave the house.
Ricky's story unfolded after being drafted out of college to the New Orleans' Saints and becoming an overnight sensation.

Donny Osmond

Another celebrity suffering from social phobia is Donny Osmond. A fear of the crowds clapping and cheering at the age of six would later develop itself into a full blown case of social anxiety disorder. Donny Osmond’s stage fright became particularly overwhelming while he performed in a production of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.” It was at this point that he sought help. Since then, Osmond has published an autobiography that speaks about his life and how he coped with social anxiety disorder.



Social fear can affect anyone -- no matter who they are. With support of many and help from some experts, many of them have been able to keep their social phobia under control.

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