New developments soon!

Hello again! While being true that I haven't updated in a while, please know that it has been for valid reasons :)

Soon, there will be something new to show for: a complete website is being prepared, to serve as a home for new articles.

See you soon!

Panic and Heat

It is widely known that humour disorders, more specifically depressive states, are more common when the cold season arrives. Temperatures go down, there is less light, the days are shorter (equals less exposure to the light of the Sun or none at all), and the weather is usually uninviting, which means that for the most part we have to remain indoors. All of these factors can contribute to people feeling depressed.

It is less known, however, that panic attacks are more frequent in the hot seasons, or when there are abrupt changes in temperature. In the current absence of a definitive explanation to this statistical tendency, it is assumed that these are triggered in part by a similarity between the bodily response to heat and to anxiety or fear: as body temperature rises, the normal response is sweat, an increased heatbeat, and an increased difficulty in breathing (sounds a lot like anxiety as well, doesn't it?).

Panic attacks can manifest themselves as difficulty in breathing, a pain in the chest, dizziness, tingling in upper and/or lower limbs, increased heartbeat and sweating. The first reaction for many people, as the heart begins to race, is that there might be something wrong with them. In turn, this increases anxiety, which deepens both the symptoms and the fear the person feels, in a anxious loop... and thus conditions are set for panic.

A small reminder that the physical environment plays an important role in our mental health, as well, along with many other factors.

White Coat Syndrome

Today were going to talk about another common anxiety problem, that's also not included in the ranks of the anxiety disorders: it is called "white coat hypertension". Or more commonly, "white coat syndrome".

Described simply, it refers to increased anxiety and anxious symptomatology when one is in a medical setting, resulting in an higher blood pressure. Many people experience it, so if you do too, know that you're not alone.

Both patients and professionals should be aware of this anxious condition, since it actively influences the measure of blood pressure. If you have this syndrome, be sure to let your doctor know, so that he may correctly interpret the results he will collect.

What distinguishes this kind of hypertension from the more constant type is that this one occurs exclusively in medical settings, and not in other contexts such as at home or work, making it a bit trickier to diagnose and address properly. If you experience constant high blood pressure, inform your doctor. The important thing to remember is that high blood pressure, whatever the cause, should always be checked and treated.

White coat syndrome should also be distinguished from Social Anxiety Disorder, in that this anxiety is not caused by social interaction, but by the antecipation of being examined by a doctor. From there derives the name given to it: the anxiety is usually provoked by the presence of people in white coats (doctors, nurses, etc.), or more accurately, by the reactions your mind has when presented with medicine-related stimuli.

If you suffer from this problem, you may want to complement the treatment your doctor prescribes, by trying to find different coping strategies to help you manage your anxiety. Most important of all, don't avoid medical appointments on account of the anxiety you feel... your health comes first, always.

[Plus, on the positive side, exposure to the feared situation (when it is safe to do so) is often one of the best ways to sucessfully desensitize yourself against anxiety. Knowing that may not give a lot of comfort when one is in the midst of the feared situation, but after the anxiety is gone it may.]

Here are some simple coping strategies you may want to try:

- Make use of distraction techniques... these can help you to take your mind off the automatic thoughts that cause you to feel anxious;

- Avoid eating or drinking stimulant foods and drinks, as they have the potential of increasing your anxiety;

- Breath control (more on that soon): breathe slowly, to the count of 3, constantly focusing your mind on the breath, as it flows in... and as it flows out again to the count of 3.

Book Review: Overcoming Social Anxiety and Shyness

Author: Butler, G.
Publisher: Basic Books

[For your convenience, you can find links to the product at Amazon.com (US residents) and Amazon.co.uk (UK residents) at the end of this article.]

Gillian Butler's Overcoming Social Anxiety and Shyness: A Self-Help Guide Using Cognitive Behavioral Techniques is a compact and very useful book. It is very popular, being part of the series that is currently the international market leader of self-help titles. However, usually you're only given a generic description of that series, not knowing what a specific book is really worth... so, here's a full review of the book itself.

First things first. From the very first information you see, the index, you will expect to find chapters on:

- Understanding Social Anxiety (origins, causes, awareness and the experience of it)
- Overcoming Social Anxiety (where to begin, changing thinking patterns and behaviours, building confidence)
- Related Topics (assertiveness, the influence of bullying, relaxation)

In its 288 pages, this book starts by introducing Social Anxiety Disorder itself: the history of its diagnosis, possible causes, and how it is like for the people who experience it. This, in my opinion, is fundamental, not only in order to create awareness, but also to show people who have the disorder that they are not alone. To show them that others share the same concerns and anxieties. And for those who don't know for sure if their problem is at a level in which treatment could be beneficial, it also includes diagnostic questionnaires.

Different types and degrees of social anxiety are talked about in Overcoming Social Anxiety and Shyness: A Self-Help Guide Using Cognitive Behavioral Techniques. As for actual treatment, it presents a number of techniques derived from Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT), to help in identifying and changing automatic thoughts, be aware of emotional states that influence behaviour. As far as self-help goes, it has quite a number of very helpful material... if you find that something doesn't suit you, try it another way. But as could be expected in a responsible work, the book also discusses formal treatment, beyond self-help. So, in short, it is useful not only for self-help, but also as a worthy complement to something more thorough.

One of the things I like best about this book is its organization, meant for clarity. At each chapter, there are often bulleted lists that sum up the most important aspects to know or follow. Its clear orientation for the public makes it a possibly good choice of book for professionals to recommend to their patients, as a complement to actual cognitive-behavioural therapy.

Conclusion: A must for socially anxious or simply shy people, or just about anyone who'd like to know more about social anxieties or the disorder that characterizes higher levels of that same anxieties. More oriented for the public than for health professionals, and thus more accessible.

Order it today from Amazon.com:
Overcoming Social Anxiety and Shyness: A Self-Help Guide Using Cognitive Behavioral Techniques

Or, if you live in the UK, you can order from Amazon.co.uk:
Overcoming Social Anxiety and Shyness: A Self-help Guide Using Cognitive Behavioral Techniques

Recommended.

World Mental Health Day

For those who don't know, October 10 marks the World Mental Health Day.

It is a date celebrated globally, aiming to raise public awareness about mental health issues. So, today is a good day to speak, to share... or simply to listen.

Attention and Anxiety

When people have a anxiety disorder, there are usually a number of triggers in the environment that cause in them the anxious symptoms. But the main factor in that equation isn't necessarily the presence of the triggers... it's the attention that the anxious person pays to them.

As a person with a specific anxiety disorder goes along her daily life, the mind finds itself scanning the surroundings for that feared something. This can often lead to panic by antecipation (worrying about the possibility of finding a threat). So, in view of this, anything that can distract the mind is an effective coping strategy, in the sense that it eliminates not only the worry, but also the probability of being triggered. Here are a few examples:

- Listening to music (be careful when using headphones on the street)
- Talking to another person
- Calling a friend
- Reading a book or magazine
- Doing favorite activities
- Focus on a specific harmless element of the surroundings

As for professionals, one of their tasks can be to help the anxious person find these coping strategies or activities, taking advantage of the distraction strategy, helping to take attention away from the stimuli that trigger the disorders.

Disorders don't need to take over your mind (and life)... your mind can be a great help in taking over the disorders.

Anxiety Awareness - Part II

(continued from the previous post)

Oddly enough, not even medical professions seem to be immune to this problem. Many people can, even nowadays, attest to their experience of consulting a doctor with clear-cut symptoms of a specific disorder and coming out with a generic anxiety diagnosis and an often inadequate anxyolitic prescription (plus, without any indication to consult a mental health specialist for counseling / psychotherapy).

Let's take an example (fictitious, yet no doubt common): a person with Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) finally decides to go see a doctor, employing an enormous effort to fight the anxiety derived from having to schedule an appointment, actually facing the doctor, and trying to explain to him what the problem is. And yet, that person still comes out uninformed and without a real, effective, treatment plan (SAD most often requires psychotherapy, which may or may not be supported by anti-anxiety medication). Sounds strange? It is actually something that mental health professionals sometimes still come across, after their patients stopped postponing specialized treatment for months or even years.

Awareness is fundamental; in medical professions, it is vital; in patient's relatives and friends, essential. Understanding is a huge part of the process of recovery. Anxiety disorders are NOT an exageration, and should be addressed: with help, they can be minimized or even overcome.

Anxiety Awareness - Part I

There's a topic that has subtly been coming up in some of the last posts which deserves to be deepened, being often overlooked: the incomprehension that people with anxiety disorders are faced with, due to lack of information regarding anxiety-related problems.

A few years back (and not too long ago, too), when anxiety was still regarded as a secondary symptom of other illnesses, specific treatment was for the most part unavailable or outright inadequate... thus, the effects of living with anxiety were downplayed.

Today, despite the global growth of the anxiety industry and the large amounts of investigation available, the situation is different but not far from that: treatment is now widely available, and with great rates of success; but still, most people who never experienced an anxiety disorder cannot understand what it is like. Thus, the effects of anxiety are still downplayed, as this is often translated into accusations of "exageration" or "lack of trying to overcome the problem".

(continued on next post)