Tag: Low Self Esteem

Reasons To Improve Your Poor Posture

How often do we think of our posture as an overall body workout? Probably not at all, but it is essential to supporting structures of the body from being injured. Progressive deformities are also prevented by paying attention to your posture. Correct posture is less stress and tension on the joints and some muscles in the hips, back, and neck. If you sit slouching or leaning when standing you are slowly but surely rounding your chances of increased stress relief and osteoporosis. When you talk about posture you are talking about sitting and standing in way that supports your upper and lower back, spine, and hip and ankle joints. If you already suffer from poor posture it is not too late to make corrections. If you stop carrying the laptop bag one shoulder and that heaver pocketbook on the other shoulder and carrying that grocery bag all at the same time. Things may be a little better for your posture if you take your time and put some of those things down or call someone to assist you. Extra added weight adds extra pressure on important parts of the back and neck areas. If you must carry a bag the ones that cross your back and distributed the weight evenly is best.

Problems with posture can begin at very young ages causing problems later in like. Of Course you remember your mother telling you to sit up straight. It was with good reason; they were trying desperately to keep you from damaging your spine, hips, and neck. They might not have known it but they were also saving you from musculoskeletal respiratory, circulatory systems, and digestive systems as well. Poor postural habits can be caused by low self esteem, degenerative processes, muscle guarding, and avoidance, or postures that stick over time. For example, if you have been hunching over for as long as youve been sitting upright, you find it to be a completely natural position. Excessive weight gain and even excessive weight loss can cause your posture to change.

The best way to begin to the process of correcting poor posture is to have an examination by a doctor to determine the best treatment. Some observations can be done at home. Watch the patient as they sit stand and walk or estimate any deviation from an ideal posture. The doctor however, will actually perform a spinal segment alignment, possibly a flexibility tests, and muscle length and strength test to determine the exact cause of the trouble. Because most of the posture correcting process is related to muscle tightness or weaknesses found during the examination. Once a diagnosis is done then you can concentrate on the solution. The treatments will be very relaxing and maybe even invigorating. Well, first you want to treat the area with heat; stretching, massage and strengthening exercises. Anything extra will spend time on treatment of ligaments, for bones, or nerves for the over all posture treatment. Exercise of antagonist muscles to increase the strength of those muscles providing more power to lift and stretch in a way that is comfortable for the body as opposed to tension causing. So make sure to take good care of your back and other areas of the body that are affected by good posture and enjoy strong muscles, better concentration, and blood circulation.

It may take a period of discomfort and unpleasantness to be able to correct your posture. But once you are able to get the problem taken care of, you will experience benefits for the rest of your life. So as soon as you can, get recommendations from a doctor so that you can find out what course of action you should take for repairing your poor posture. It might involve simply buying a special type of chair, or it might involve expensive chiropractic treatment. No matter what, you should follow through with treatment.

Midwest Center for Stress and Anxiety

The Midwest Center for Stress and Anxiety is a trademark of one of the most effective stress management companies today. It can help individuals improve their lives and manage their assortment of fears. With a staff of excellent psychologists and other medical professionals and a website that allows you to purchase anything you need to help you get better and interact with other people having similar problems, the Midwest Center for Stress and Anxiety is no doubt a one-stop-place for all your stress and anxiety-related problems.

Get Better Now Assessment
You can begin your treatment by answering the online form for the Get Better Now Assessment. It will allow you to determine how you are faring at present and how youre managing stress and anxiety.

Do You Really Need Help
The Midwest Center for Stress and Anxiety provides a list of traits most associated with stress burdened people and symptoms of anxiety and irrational fears to further help the individual become aware if he or she is truly in need of professional help.

Symptoms of Anxiety Nervousness, dizziness, diarrhea and other stomach problems
Irrational Fears Losing control, death, causing embarrassment to ones self, leaving the house (agoraphobia)

Personality Traits Emotionally sensitivity or tendency to overreact, obsessive thinking, having high expectations, low self-esteem and a tendency to over analyze things

The Lucinda Barrett Program
One of the stress management programs offered by the Midwest Center for Stress and Anxiety is the Lucinda Barrett Program. It was initially utilized to treat a woman who spent one whole decade finding an answer to her problems. She also spent a small fortune in order to find the best way to handle her burgeoning problems with stress and anxiety, not knowing that all it would take to solve her dilemma was talking with Dr. Fisher of the Midwest Center for Stress and Anxiety.

Now a full-fledged program thats open to anyone, it requires the patient to undergo 16 sessions that range from a complete discussion of the patients background, personal characteristics and fears to utilizing diet and exercise to get rid of negative emotions and the proper way to relax ones self.

Other Services Offered by the Midwest Center for Stress and Anxiety
Besides treating various types of anxiety disorders, the Midwest Center for Stress and Anxiety also offers its services to individuals suffering from obsessive-compulsive (OC) disorders, post-traumatic-stress disorders and provides cognitive behavior therapy.

Free Tips from the Midwest Center for Stress and Anxiety
Because the Midwest Center for Stress and Anxiety first and foremost is intent on helping people manage their stress and anxiety, they dedicated a portion of their website in providing free tips to manage negative emotions like anxiety and depression. Some of the tips are as follows:

Recognition and Acknowledgement of Negative Feelings The Midwest Center for Stress and Anxiety emphasizes how essential it is for individuals to acknowledge to themselves that they are indeed suffering from stress, anxiety and depression. Then and only then can they be cured.

Identifying Causes Knowing what caused you to feel stressed or anxious will also help you solve your problems better. Knowing the cause will always lead to the solution.

Give Yourself a Pat on the Back Its also important to give yourself positive reinforcement even for the smallest of accomplishments. This will encourage you to continue on your attempts to manage your problems without resorting to depression or panic.

Drop a Line
If youre uncertain about needing professional help, visit the website of the Midwest Center for Stress and Anxiety and join the online forum or send the staff an email about your concerns.

Learn if You are Predisposed to Anxiety-Related Diseases

Anxiety has been the subject of many studies and researches, scientists are agreed that anxiety is still not fully understood even today. However, as a result of their researches, they have been able to help people effectively manage and avoid anxiety.

The first step to managing or treating anxiety is the recognition that one suffers from such attacks early on. However, it does not suffice to just say that you suffer from such a condition for it to qualify as such. While there are symptoms and signs the point to this ailment, you can also take this quick stress test to see whether you are at risk of suffering from chronic bouts of anxiety.

The Anxiety Stress Test
This stress test will help you find out whether you exhibit the symptoms of an anxiety-prone person. The more questions to you answer yes to, the greater the chance you will suffer from anxiety-related illnesses.

1. Do you feel irritable all of a sudden, even without reason or provocation? Most life experiences evoke differing amounts of anxiety. However, does anxiety becomes for you a chronic and even uncontrollable experience? Also, do you suddenly experience feeling terribly anxious for no reason at all?

2. If you were to describe how often you feel irritated, would you say it was often? Do you wake up grumpy or irritated? Are you always tired even after just waking?

3. Do you feel paranoid all the time? Are you always suspicious that people are talking about you? Do you have a low sense of trust for anyone?

4. Do you exhibit any repetitive, obsessive behavior? Ask yourself if you catch yourself counting tiles, wringing your hands often, biting your lips, washing your hands or uncontrollable mannerism.

5. Do you always feel guilty? Are you weighed down by guilt? Do you fell troubled often either because you had done something you regret or for no reason at all?

6. Do you have low self-esteem? Are you unsatisfied with who you are and find yourself wanting to be like other people instead? Do you feel helpless, unwanted, and useless to other people? Do you often wonder if people like you or if they even know that you exist?

7. Do you have suicidal thoughts? Are you lonely, thinking that life does not matter anymore and that the best way to go is to let go and end it all?

8. Are you sometimes breathless? Do you experience such physical manifestations of anxiety such as palpitations, wet or clammy hands, butterflies in the stomach, and others? Does a particularly stressing situation cause you to be paralyzed with fear and hard of breath?

9. Do you drink or take drugs? Do you smoke, drink alcohol or coffee, take drugs or any other mood altering substance?

10. Have you noticed a change in you diet? Are you able to eat regularly? Have you noticed an increase in the amount of food you eat, a change in the schedule of your eating?

11. Do you overwork yourself? Do you catch yourself working overtime, or working more, and accomplishing less? Do you pull all-nighter after all-nighter?

If you answered yes to most of the questions above, you will want to seek professional help regarding depression and anxiety. You do not have to be ashamed of your situation; it is an illness like most illnesses, with specific causes and cures. A qualified professional will help you find emotional and physical support to combat your anxiety.

Child Anxiety Attacks

Just like adults, children experience fear, anxiety and apprehension. These are but normal emotional experiences that a person feels regardless of age. However, if anxiety becomes irrational, recurring and severe, and anxiety attacks happen without any apparent reason, and the reaction is disproportionate to the problem at hand, it can be a cause of concern. This is why on the first signs of problem, have your child get proper diagnosis by a health professional to be able to rule out any possible causes and determine the right treatment to be applied.

Since anxiety attack is a type of anxiety disorder, it is important to know what happens to a child who is suffering from such disorder. To be able to identify it, here are the following symptoms:

Frequent feeling of fear and panic
Bed wetting
Tantrums and excessive crying
Fear of making mistakes
Fear of getting embarrassed
Avoidance of certain activities such as school event and summer camps
Nightmares and night terrors
Compulsive behaviors
Resistance to any change
Low self-esteem, lack of confidence
Overly shy and difficulty making friends
Chronic physical symptoms such as stomach aches or headaches without any apparent reason

A child is under an anxiety attack if he shows the following symptoms:

Gush of overwhelming panic
Hot flashes or chills
Trouble breathing or choking sensation
Feeling of loosing control or going crazy
Feeling and fear of dying
Feeling unreal or detach
Nausea or stomach cramps
Hyperventilation
Shaking or trembling
Feeling like passing out
Chest pain or heart palpitation

Different children of different ages or even of the same age may manifest different symptoms. Moreover, some of the symptoms given may be considered as a normal behavior of a child. Thus it is a bit tricky to determine if he or she is really having an attack or not. What should be done is to recognize these symptoms and consider them as a reason of concern, then help your child deal with these symptoms through the following:

Seek help from health professional Effectively stopping anxiety attacks begins with recognition and followed by a compete diagnosis from your medical doctor. A full medical examination should be administered in order to rule out any other physical causes unrelated to anxiety.

Doctors usually give prescription medications to help relieve anxiety. If applicable, SSRI antidepressants may be needed for a long term solution. For a more severe case, doctors may refer the child to a psychologist.

Self-help techniques Parents may seek the help of books available for treating child anxiety. This is also very effective in teaching parents strategies for responsible parenting, which improve parent-child relationship and help build child self-confidence and self-esteem.

Play therapy is the child version of exposure therapy. As an effective child anxiety treatment, play therapy uses the power of play to simulate each fearful situation in a controlled environment, which then helps the child face the problem and come up with a solution.

Herbal medicines is proven and effective means of treating anxiety attacks and other types of anxiety disorder. Some of the commonly recommended remedies include passionflower, valerian, scuttelaria laterifolia (scullcap), California poppy, Melissa officinalis, hypericum perforatum (St. John’s Wort), hops and lavender.