Tag: Depression Anxiety

Alternatives to Assist With Anxiety and Depression

Many who suffer from anxiety and depression take medication to relieve their pain. Doctors may prescribe antidepressants, tranquillizers and sleeping tablets for your condition. But there are healthier alternatives that can be used in attacking anxiety and depression.

Exercise is extremely important for many reasons but even more so if you suffer from emotional stress. Many of you will say that you just don’t have the time to exercise. But exercising doesn’t have to be done in a gym or health club. It can be a 20 minute walk around your neighborhood or running up and down your stairs. Among other things, regular exercise increases your endorphins, those happy hormones that get the good feelings going in your body. They boost self-esteem, and reduce the symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress. The catch is that you need to exercise regularly to benefit from it. Set up a schedule and stick to it. If you can’t do 20 minutes every day, try it three or four times per week. And make sure you do something that gets your heart rate up a little bit. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll start to feel better and will look forward to your little exercise break.

Social support is crucial during tough times and especially if you’re attacking anxiety and depression. It’s probable that you want to just be alone when you feel depressed. But try to keep in mind that loneliness is actually one of the causes of depression, and if you already have it, sitting alone could worsen the situation. So think about getting involved in some groups, even if it’s the last thing you want to do. You can start by volunteering. Doing something for others is a great way to feel better about yourself and humanity, and it takes your mind off of how bad you may believe things are.

Similarly, talking to someone about how you feel is a great way to alleviate some of your pain. You don’t need to go out and join a group to do this. Share how you feel with a close family member, friend or even a professional who will lend an objective ear.

Relaxation and meditation are also very effective when it comes to treating depression. One of the best methods of relaxation is to practice savasana (referred to as the “dead body pose”) In this position, you lie flat on your back with your arms relaxed at your sides. This is a position that is often done between yoga exercises. It returns blood circulation to normal and teaches complete relaxation.

Take certain supplements. There is a strong correlation between anxiety/panic disorder and low levels of certain vitamins and minerals. Here are some things that you want to make sure you are getting enough of: Omega 3 fish oil, calcium, magnesium, vitamin c and b-complex vitamin supplements.

The above information about attacking anxiety and depression does not substitute medical advice given by a health professional.

Thyroid Self Test And Hypothyroidism

Hypothyroidism is a very common condition that effects millions of people across the globe without them even realizing it. Hypothyroidism is when your thyroid slows down in function which can have severe side effects on your body. Your thyroid primarily controls your metabolism but it also plays parts in other bodily functions as well, which is why it is important to make sure it is working as it should.

There is no real form of Thyroid self test that you can do, and considering the symptoms of hypothyroidism it can be hard to know if you even have it. Some of the symptoms can include constipation, fatigue, feeling cold, gaining weight and the inability to lose weight and depression or anxiety. As you can imagine, all of these symptoms can be caused by a host of other things which is why determining whether or not you even have hypothyroidism is such a problem.

Given these kinds of symptoms are so common you do not want to jump the gun and immediately assume you have hypothyroidism just because you are feeling a little blue or gained a few pounds. However if some of those symptoms have been going on for a while, you may want to consult your doctor about the possibility that you have hypothyroidism.

As I mentioned, you can not Thyroid self test, so you will have to go to your doctor to check to see if you have hypothyroidism. It is a fairly simple and quick procedure to see if you have it. They will take a small blood sample to see if you have elevated counts of TSH.

TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone) is produced by your body when it detects your thyroid behaving abnormally. It is intended to correct the problem and get your thyroid back in working order. Sometimes this fails and that is why you suffer from hypothyroidism. Your doctor will test your blood and if there is a high enough amount of TSH it will tell them that you do indeed have hypothyroidism.

This is not a very serious condition, though, so do not panic if you do have it. Your doctor will likely tell you that you will have to take some medication for the rest of your life and maybe make some small adjustments to your life style, but nothing significant.

One of the most common reasons for your thyroid to act up is a lack of iodine. Iodine is a chemical produced by your body that essentially fuels your thyroid. Hypothyroidism is usually caused when your body does not produce enough iodine, forcing your thyroid to slow down since it does not have enough fuel. If this is the case your treatment will likely include iodine supplements to counter the problem.

In the end, while the symptoms are exceptionally common and there is no Thyroid self test, hypothyroidism is not that big of a problem. If you suspect you have it just go see your doctor, and if you do have it than just do as instructed. You will find it to be a very minor inconvenience on your life.

Borderline Thyroid Issues-One Of The Most Important Glands

One of the most important glands in your body is the Thyroid gland. Your thyroid not only regulates your metabolism, but the hormones it creates can help a wide array of bodily functions. So you want to make sure you take care of it and support it properly so that it can continue to work at peak efficiency.

Hypothyroidism is a common condition that effects millions of people. It is when your thyroid is slower than it should be which can result in a variety of problems. However there are many more people who do not actually have hypothyroidism, but instead have Borderline Thyroid Issues. Even though you do not technically have hypothyroidism, being borderline can still present you with problems.

The most common symptoms associated with hypothyroidism and those who are borderline are the following; feeling fatigued, inability to lose weight, gaining weight, irritability, poor skin complexion, depression and anxiety. These symptoms can still be problematic to you even though you do not have hypothyroidism, so you will still want to shore up your thyroid and get it working even better so that you can get rid of these symptoms.

The most common reason for hypothyroidism, and even borderline hypothyroidism is a lack of iodine in your system. Iodine is a substance required by your thyroid to function, it acts as a sort of fuel. So when you do not get enough of it your thyroid suffers and slows down. Having Borderline Thyroid Issues means you are taking in enough iodine not to have hypothyroidism, but not enough iodine to keep your thyroid running properly, thus you still suffer symptoms.

If you suspect your symptoms are caused by your thyroid then the first thing you will want to do is go and see your doctor. It may sound like a good idea to just start taking iodine supplements, but too much iodine is equally as harmful as too little. So make sure to consult your doctor and find out if iodine deficiency is the cause, and if so find out how much you need to get to correct the issue.

Iodine can be found in a wide array of places, however the best place to get natural iodine is from seafood. Fish and kelp especially contain large amounts of iodine and if you only have Borderline Thyroid Issues simply adjusting your diet may be all that you need to do.

However if that is not enough your doctor can prescribe you medication to help get your thyroid back in balance and working correctly. While a little cumbersome to have to deal with, these sorts of thyroid issues are nothing major and easily treated. You may have to take some medication for the rest of your life but beyond that you will not have to worry about much.

But while minor it is still important to talk to your doctor about it. Even minor issues may turn major if left untreated and only your doctor can determine the proper course of action to get you in tip top shape.

Depression Anxiety Stress Scale

People experience anxiety in different ways. Some tend to eat to much, while others let this off through smoking and drinking. Unfortunately, not everybody takes this the same way. When a person feels unhappy or loses the appetite to eat, there is a chance that the individual is suffering from depression.

Doctors have not yet been able to measure the degree into how bad depression can get. This is the reason that some scientists have made a self report scale called a depression anxiety stress scale. The objective of the study is to provide scientists and researchers better information to treat this problem.

The scale is divided into three sets. The first is the depression scale which will assess the person’s perception in life and interest in certain things.

The second is the anxiety scale which looks into situational anxiety, autonomic arousal, skeletal muscle effects and subjective experience of anxious effect.

The third is the stress scale which will look into how long before the person feels stressed. This will look into things that will arouse or upset the individual. This also includes what things makes one nervous or causes difficulty in relaxing.

Each of these are composed of 14 items that is subdivided again into 2 to 5 items which just goes to show how long and extensive the test can be. The person answers each question by answering on a scale of 1 to 4 which will assess how stressed the individual is for the week.

If the person has a hard time answering these questions, there is a shorter version that can be used. Doctors don’t only administer this with people who have anxiety disorders. The test is also given to regular people as part of the comparative report.

The questionnaires to be given out can be done individually or in groups. This is sometimes used in children as early as 12 years of age to determine if stress is caused by work or when this occurs as the individual is growing up.

Large companies who are concerned about the employees sometimes employ the help of social workers to administer the depression anxiety stress scale or DASS on people. These firms should remember that the results of these tests can only be translated by those in the medical field so that recommendations and treatment can take place.

There are two main differences between this test and those used in the past.

The first is that the DASS is that it is based on a dimensional rather than a categorical conception of what the patient may be experiencing.

The second is that it separates the categories into three namely depression, anxiety and stress and treating this separately to give a bigger picture of what is happening to the patient.

This means that classifying a person on the degree of help is far different and that this is often regarded as normal, moderate or severe as written in the DASS manual.

The DASS questionnaire can be downloaded for free from the internet. The person will have to pay $55 or more for the manual to be able to understand the findings of anyone who has taken the test.

The individual can learn more about this by surfing the web or reading up on this in some medical journals to get a better understanding of how this can help treat a patient.