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Quick and Easy Panic and Anxiety Relief Technique

Managing Stress - Brainsmart - BBC

5 Ways to Deal With Anxiety

Everyone has feelings of anxiety, nervousness, tension, and stress from time to time. Here are 5 ways to help manage them:

1. Become a relaxation expert. We all think we know how to relax. But chilling out in front of the TV or computer isn't true relaxation. (Depending on what you're watching or doing, it could even make you more tense.) The same is true for alcohol, drugs, or tobacco. They may seem to relieve anxiety or stress, but it's a false state of relaxation that's only temporary. What the body really needs is a relaxation technique — like deep breathing, tai chi, or yoga — that has a physical effect on the mind. For example, deep breathing helps to relax a major nerve that runs from the diaphragm to the brain, sending a message to the entire body to let go and loosen up.
2. Get enough sleep, nourishment, and exercise. Want your mind and body to feel peaceful and strong enough to handle life's ups and downs? Get the right amount of sleep for your needs — not too much or too little. Eat well: Choose fruit, vegetables, lean proteins, and whole grains for long-term energy (instead of the short bursts that come from too much sugar or caffeine). And exercise to send oxygen to every cell in the body so your brain and body can operate at their best.
3. Connect with others. Spend time with friends or family. Organized activities are great, but just hanging out works too. Doing things with those we feel close to deepens our bonds, allowing us to feel supported and secure. And the fun and sharing that go with it allow us to feel happier and less upset about things. If you feel worried or nervous about something, talking about it with someone who listens and cares can help you feel more understood and better able to cope. You'll be reminded that everyone has these feelings sometimes. You're not alone.
4. Connect with nature. Heading out for a walk in the park or a hike in the woods can help anyone feel peaceful and grounded. (Choose somewhere you feel safe so you can relax and enjoy your surroundings.) Walking, hiking, trail biking, or snowshoeing offer the additional benefit of exercise. Invite a friend or two — or a family member — along and enjoy feeling connected to people as well.
5. Think positive. A great way to keep our minds off the worry track is to focus our thoughts on things that are good, beautiful, and positive. Allow yourself to dream, wish, and imagine the best that could happen.

Note: When anxiety or worry feels extreme, it may be a sign of an anxiety disorder. For someone who has an anxiety disorder, getting proper care from a health professional is important. These tips can help too, of course. But professional treatment is the only way to shake an anxiety disorder.

Reviewed by: D'Arcy Lyness, PhD

Christmas Stress Busters

Many people find Christmas a stressful time.  Here are some ideas to lessen the load!
1) Limit your commitments on Christmas day.  Spend most of the day at home relaxing and enjoying the people closest to you.
2) Do exercise!  If you have snow and ice enjoy them; play hockey, go sledding, ski, skate and build snow forts.  These are great activities for adults and children.  If you don't have snow; go for a long walk, ride your bike, play soccer together or create a neighbourhood softball game!
3) Discover laughter.  Create opportunities to laugh together; rent a good comedy, play charades or take out an old family board game.
4) Reduce your spending.  When the bills pile up we naturally get stressed.  Remember that some of the nicest gifts we can give can be made ourselves or be acts of service.  My favorite is a foot rub! 

Finally, come up with your own list of ways to slow down, relax and enjoy the holidays and post it on your fridge.  Peace. TJS

Muddy Water

There is a famous saying: “If the mind is not contrived, it is spontaneously blissful, just as water, when not agitated, is by nature transparent and clear.”

I often compare the mind in meditation to a jar of muddy water: The more we leave the water without interfering or stirring it, the more the particles of dirt will sink to the bottom, letting the natural clarity of the water shine through. The very nature of the mind is such that if you only leave it in its unaltered and natural state, it will find its true nature, which is bliss and clarity.

---Rigpa Quote of the Day

The Prescription for Depression? "Oops, Never Mind!"

Being a laboratory researcher, Redei takes her shattering conclusion and heads off in much the same direction as before: She wants to find newer, better drugs that will manipulate genes and neurons rather than manipulating the chemicals they produce. Yet there is a more logical way to proceed, which is to stop making depressed neural pathways and healing those that already exist. How to do that?

Current research is very optimistic, because it turns out that the positive lifestyle changes advised for such a long time actually change both genetic expression and neural pathways. In other words, your brain cells listen to your behavior and beliefs, and if those behaviors and beliefs are powerful enough, the brain changes. What this means is that therapy, spiritual practices, healthy relationships, love and compassion, avoidance of toxins, meditation and stress management aren't secondary. They are central to dealing with depression and anxiety.

The deep lesson emerging from Redei's new findings is that drugs will never be the way. The way is far more human, and therefore complicated. It would be nice if popping a pill improved your life, but only you can do that. The ball is back in the court of the human potential movement and its promise of higher consciousness as the road to health and wholeness. I for one view that as a great improvement over drugs, which can be saved for critical and chronic conditions when more human strategies have not worked. -Deepak Chopra

Deepak Chopra is the author of more than 50 books on health, success, relationships and spirituality, including his current best-seller, Reinventing the Body, Resurrecting the Soul, and The Ultimate Happiness Prescription, are available now. You can listen to his show on Saturdays every week on SiriusXM, Channels 102 and 155.

Christmas Stress

The sad reality of Christmas is that it is often filled with emotional turmoil. We have created a holiday in which we spend too much, drink too much and eat too much. This combined with seeing people we seldom see can put families under a lot of stress. Police statistics show an alarming increase in the number of incidents of family violence reported to police during the Christmas and New Year period. So what can you do?

Well for starters spend less, drink less and eat less! Exercise more and most importantly find some alone time when you can walk, jog or swim by yourself! Take time to journal your feelings or write (yes with a pen and paper) your friends and thank them for the good times you have shared. Remember that no family is perfect and sometimes 'space apart' is a good thing. A long walk is often the best answer when your feelings are intense. TJS

Dealing with stress.....

"You build up resistance to stress by learning, acquiring and practicing skills needed to go forward and cope." Dr. Donald Meichenbaum

Donald Meichenbaum became one of the great Canadian psychologists. He believed that the self-messages we send create our behaviour. For us to deal effectively with our stress and anger we must pay attention to the self messages we send and change them. Through cognitive behavior therapy we learn new skills to cope with stressful situations and send healthier messages of worth and value. Remember much of our stress is self-induced through inner dialogue.

Call a psychologist and develop a stress-reduction plan!