You know that feeling or possible know someone who will experience a situation with sweating, rapid heartbeat and even shortness of breath.  You may think as well as others who have experienced these symptoms that a heart attack is coming on, but instead what you are experiencing is an anxiety attack.  If you suffer with anxiety attacks, the best way to manage them is by first overcoming them.

Anxiety is defined as  a worry or uneasy feeling of something occurring, as well as extreme reactions to fearful situations.  When someone follows in a dark parking garage, those anxious feelings of a racing heartbeat and sweaty palms gives way to heightened senses and a rush of adrenalin that can save your life.  This is the fight or flight syndrome.

In the case of frequent anxiety, the fearful feelings are dread of a particular situation and not the situation itself.  Getting caught in traffic can cause an anxiety attack over what might happen when you get to work late.  Being in crowds can bring on anxiety attacks, because of lack of control.

Everyone experiences panic or anxiety in small ways.  Like the fight or flight example, it can save your life.  In new situations, we get panicky but when the outcome we fear fails to materialize, the anxiety stops.  For someone with chronic anxiety, this is not the case.

Every situation that brings anxiety is not life-threatening.  More than likely it is an extremely stressful situation that has brought on the anxiety as a way of dealing with it.  Unchecked anxiety of this type can lead to depression.

If you suffer from anxiety attacks on occasion or a more frequent anxiety disorder, there are steps you can take to keep your anxiety under control.

• See a professional – This is always a good first step.  Self-diagnosis of any type of physical or mental condition is unwise and can be dangerous.  A professional psychologist can help you understand your anxiety and prescribe medication or other effective techniques.

• Get a good night’s sleep – During the sleep cycle, your body repairs itself.  You feel more rested after several hours of restorative sleep, reaching the REM stage.  Most people need eight hours a night which varies within an hour or two each way.

• Exercise – Exercise helps you to use oxygen more efficiently.  It helps to get more oxygen to the brain.  It also increases focus which may help you see solutions to problems rather than simply worrying about them.

• Meditate – Meditation is more than chanting mantras.  Yoga is an exercise that involves quieting the mind and controlling your breathing.  Simple mediation such as taking 5 minutes to clear your mind everyday can work wonders in the fight against anxiety.

• Manage the worry- When you feel your pulse start to quicken, count backwards from ten.  As you count, focus on the situation.  What has actually happened? Resist the urge to read anything more into the situation.

• Avoid alcohol – You might think that the glass of wine is relaxing your tension but alcohol is a depressant.  In anxious situations you could rely too heavily on it and gain another problem in the process.

• Relaxing activities – Stress can rob you of your energy.  On a regular basis, do something you like such as gardening, painting, reading or listening to music.

Anxiety can come into your life at any time, it’s normal.  When the anxiety becomes frequent you could be at risk for more serious conditions.  If you feel your anxiety is starting to take over your life or increasingly causing you problems, seek professional help immediately.  There is no need to suffer this terrible condition in silence.

Everyone knows what needs to be done to stay healthy.  It is something that we hear on a daily basis – exercise, diet, eat healthy foods, don’t drink or smoke and the list goes on…

Today I will simply share 3 tips you can apply to your life today that will help you make a change.

• Water – substitute water for regular soda or juice..if you do this at least once a day for an entire year, you will cut out 127 cups of sugar and over 90,000 calories from your diet!

• Take deep breathes – By simply taking a deep breathe for 5 minutes, it may actually lower your blood pressure.  The deep breathing will relax the body, which will reduce the blood pressure.

• Reorganize your pantry – Sounds silly but it works! Let’s face it we all have some sort of processed food items in our pantry.  Placing the processed food in the back and moving the canned vegetables and whole grains to the front, where they are more visible, your eye will see the healthy choices first.

Try implementing these 3 simple tips and you will see healthy changes occurring right before your eyes.

It is not easy staying focused, especially with the stimuli that comes to us from all different directions.  There is a way to stay focused even when the kids are screaming, the phone ringing, the dogs barking, and the television in the background – sounds like the Calgon commercial.  Remember that one? Calgon! Take me away!

Well, we all don’t have the time required for a Calgon bath, but we can apply 5 Simple Tips that can go a long way towards improving your focus.

1. Sleep – sounds simple enough, however the lack of sleep, has numerous consequences, one of them reducing the ability to focus.  Anyone who is sleep deprived can attest to this realization.  Fatigue influences the production of brain chemicals, which can lead to lack of concentration and forgetfulness.
2. Manage Your Stress – when you are stressed, the brain will release stress hormones which can affect the brain’s ability to focus.  Stress can lead to anxiety and depression which of course will interfere with your memory and concentration levels.
3. Healthy Eating is Essential – inducing foods rich in antioxidants such as fruits and vegetables will provide the needed nourishment to the brain cells.   It is important to eat at least 6 small healthy meals a day, which include healthy snacks.  Hunger will affect your blood sugar levels which will inhibit your ability to focus.
4. Train Your Mind - a healthy mind is one that is busy, which is better able to concentrate and focus.  To keep your mind sharp, consider learning a new skill, playing board games, crossword puzzles or even Sudoku will help in stimulating the mind.  These activities will help in building your mental endurance, allowing you to focus even when faced with multiple tasks.
5. Stay Active - Researchers have found that individuals that exercise can focus and have better concentration that those who do not exercise.  Take a brisk walk, run up and down the stairs, by staying active you’ll avoid being behind your desk all day.  Staring at the computer all day will not help you focus, exercising your body and mind will help you focus, so get up and get moving.

Until next time,

Before you know it, summer will be right upon on us and with that comes the risk of sunburns.  It is wise to not get too much sun for risk of skin damage and sunburns but moderate sunshine is beneficial to our health.  Sunshine is the main source of Vitamin D, which actually reduces the risk of certain cancers and many other diseases.  For this reason it is important to get some moderate sunlight daily.

To avoid sunburns, we must take certain precautions.  Many of us, including children can only be out in direct sunlight for about 10 to 15 minutes before feeling some effects of burning, while others can safely be out 20 to 30 minutes. A moderate exposure to sunlight on a daily basis is beneficial to your health and that of your child.  You can minimize exposure to the sun during the hours of 10am and 3pm, when the sun is the hottest.

If you need to go out during the hottest part of the day, protection is essential. The best protection is  a wide-brimmed hat and natural fiber clothing that will protect the skin, but quite honestly we do not usually use this type of protection.  What we tend to use use the most is sunscreen, but are sunscreens necessarily safe for us?  Parents are known for lathering large amounts of sunscreen on their children on a daily basis during the summer months.  But sunscreen can be very toxic and it is definitely not something you want to liberally apply to your child’s skin on a daily basis.

Some common ingredients found in sunscreens are suspected carcinogens. The ingredients include but not limited to triethanolamine, diethanolamine (TEA, DEA), padimate-o, octyl dimethyl PABA, benzophenone, oxybenzone, homosalate, salicylates and parabens.  Many studies have been done and have shown that some of the more popular sunscreens can contribute to cancer due to their mutagenic and free radical generating properties.  But one of the most disturbing findings is that many commonly used sunscreens contain chemicals that have strong estrogenic actions. What does that mean?  It means that it can interfere with normal sexual development and can cause reproductive problems.  Some studies have also shown that chemicals found in sunscreens can be absorbed into the bloodstream.  The longer the chemicals are left on the skin the more absorption into the bloodstream.

However,  there is no need to fear; there is a healthy alternative to the popular and dangerous sunscreens on the market.  Zinc oxide is a mineral that provides complete UVB and UVA protection.  It also has anti-inflammatory properties and is considered a safe sunscreen.  The only drawback is the strong white residue left on the skin when applied.  There are safe zinc oxide sunscreens available that also do not turn your skin white. Be sure to check the label, for nano-sized particles of zinc oxide, which some products are using to avoid the skin from turning white, although still in the testing stages, it is not clear on the safety of the nano-sized particles.

Whatever method you decide to use, be careful when out in the sun.  Although it is something that our bodies need daily for natural Vitamin D, we must still be careful and taking the precautions mentioned above will help you enjoy your summer months.

Until next time,

Okay…I felt the need to share this with my readers.  This entire Swine Flu Pandemic scare is really getting out of hand.

Take a look at the video below that relates to the Swine Flu Vaccine scare back in 1976.

Please note:  this is an OLD video which demonstrates the bad advice that was being handed out back in the 1976 flu epidemic…

Now if you do your research you will note that many of the deaths that have occurred have been from those who actually get the flu vaccination.  And many more people have died resulting from the flu alone.

Also note that those more susceptible to extreme cases that may lead to death are the elderly or the very young.  The reason behind this is because their immune systems are weak or not fully developed. As well as many deaths are noted in more rural or under developed areas where sanitation is an issue, (and yes, we have such areas in the US, sad to say).

It is important to remain healthy to avoid such illnesses.  Read and be informed before falling prey to the media hype.

Basic things to remember, and notice I wrote basic:

• Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and warm water more than simply once a day
• When coughing, please cover your mouth (Can you hear your mom’s voice?)
• Your diet should consist of healthy food, not simply fast-food or ‘junk food’
• Exercise, yes exercise will keep your immune system strong
• Avoid the needless anti-biotics and immunizations if possible, remember the anti-biotics will not only attack the ‘bad’ germs but also the needed ‘good’ germs that actually help our bodies fight disease
• Concentrate on being disease-free and don’t cover up the symptoms
• Umm…silly to note, but NO you will not get this strain of flu from eating pork

Please be informed, don’t rely on the media.  Remember this is being enforced by the government as well…and I really don’t want to get political here, I’m just saying do your homework.

More people die from auto accidents, smoking and iatrogenic reasons (drug induced/dr induced) then they do from the swine flu.

Please stay healthy, do your homework, wash your hands and your body will be able to handle this illness if indeed it becomes a pandemic.