Numerous people think that their stress situation is depending on their job combined with a modern way of life. Parents have homes,kids and jobs to take care of and that can make the time schedule very tight. The time we all need to rest is practically not to be found. Stress levels have also increased for many others, like children and senior citizens. Many retired persons refer to the threats to personal safety and social isolation and loneliness.

Science has shown that stress contributes to conditions like back and neck pain,diabetes, ulcers, strokes and heart attacks etcetera. Stress can also be responsible for depression and anxiety and it has many impacts on one’s organs. You can be sure that our mind is the first reason for our experience of anxiety, stress and depression.

So what we think about and our attitudes dictate what we feel. This gives a possibility for us to make a change to the situation as we know it. If we can manage to alter our thoughts and attitudes, then we can be relieved of our feelings of stress and anxiety. We can be relieved of depression and we can make a change of the situations we are not comfortable with.

The pharmaceutical industry produces pills as a way to solve a lot of medical related problems. Today it seems to be a pill for almost everything. The down-side of drugs are the side effects so if you utilize drugs for relief, make sure that you read the fine print and learn about the side effects. They are usually addiction and dependency. With drugs we usually treat the symptoms and not the causes.

To eliminate anxiety, tension, stress and depression in a natural way we can work on the actual causes and those are generally in the way we think. How do we make changes in the way we think? The answer to that is hypnosis which actually is all about relaxing. Fifty years ago it was recognised that hypnosis is efficient to treat stress and an excellent anxiety therapy. Compared to drugs, there are no undesirable side effects and hypnosis can be used to treat a whole range of problem areas.

Hypnosis is about consciousness and there are a lot of different ways that we can guide ourselves into a relaxed mood. From progressive relaxation to visual imagery to listening to hypnosis tapes or cd’s. It means that we don’t need to meet a hypnotherapist live to get access to these methods.

Thanks to hypnosis we can interact with our unconscious mind and in that way get hold of our emotions. We can then more easily accept new points of view and ideas and thereby find help to get rid of stress and anxiety, even avoid it in the first place.

It is a fact that anxiety, stress and depression can be and usually are triggered by our thoughts. Thanks to hypnosis we can change our attitudes and points of view towards our situation so we can get rid of these feelings at the root. Even if hypnosis and the methods involved by laymenare regarded as mystic and just for special persons it is really a natural tool that make it possible for us to change and get rid of the source of any negative feelings.

More information about anxiety therapy can be found here: Anxiety Therapy Further information can be found at Anxiety

Read more about build your immune system.

New research published in the journal Nature Neuroscience this month doesn’t go so far as to say that ice cream is an antidepressant but it does say that a brain chemical called ghrelin that encourages the eating of ice cream could be.

There has long been a relationship between depression and comfort food, although a lot of the relationship is caused by the drugs the doctors prescribe. The tricyclic antidepressants especially have along history of patient weight gain and even some of the newer ones like Remeron have the same problem.

A lot of the research on this brain chemical called ghrelin, which has been shown to cause experimental rats to eat more and consequentially gain more weight. So they came up with an experimental drug to give the rats that combats the ghrelin and eliminates the hunger pangs and the weight gain.

I guess that all this research will lead somewhere but like usual they are trying to cure a symptom instead of trying to cure the depression.

Anyway the jury is still out on this cure but lets weight and see if ice cream is the great antidepressant.

Sources:
ABC News October 20, 2008

This is the first non-invasive treatment brain simulator to be used to treat depression. The treatment beams magnetic impulses through the brain and skull, this triggers small magnetic charges which cause the brain cells to fire.

 There seams to be a lot confusion as to wether the treatment works or not. The National Institute of Health is doing there own research to confirm or deny the results. There study should be done some time after the first of the year.

If this proves true it would sure be a blessing to those who’s only recourse, as they see it, is invasive surgery on the brain which has always left a lot to be desired.

Sources:
ABC News October 20, 2008

Learning to deal with depression during the holiday season is very important for everyone. We all become over-stressed and the feeling of being overwhelmed can easily creep in and may ruin the entire holiday season with sadness. Use some meditation methods to learn to control stress.

If depression has become severe or you feel like you cannot gain control you may need to see your medical professional for treatment. There are some things that you can do at home to prevent depression during the holiday seasons in order to prevent yourself from becoming depressed. Holidays are special and for that reason you want to be able to enjoy every minute of it.

There are several reasons you might feel depressed and sad during the holidays; loss of a loved one, little or no money, the coldness, snow or rain, and more. Because the holiday’s makes you think back to a childhood moment around that time of year you may feel happy or sad if it is a sad memory. Depression is more common today than what it was years ago. That is because today doctors are more aware of the symptoms of depression and they also have more treatments available for those who suffer from depression. When someone experiences depression they may feel tired all the time, unable to participate in anything, overwhelmed with guilt for some reason, can cry at anything, and more. Because symptoms of depression are so common, it may also be mistaken for another disorder with similar symptoms.

To avoid becoming depressed during the holiday seasons you may want to try these tips that will encourage and inspire you.

* Bake cakes and cookies to give to a nursing home or a neighbor next door. Giving warms the heart and puts a smile on your face.

* Sing Christmas carols to get into the holiday mood.

* Visit friends or family. Make this something that you do every holiday season. You can visit one person a day or over a weekend, which ever fits into your schedule. Before you leave, give your friends or family a hug. Our bodies respond to a hug in a positive way and sometimes that is all we need to feel happy.

What ever you do during the holiday seasons, remember to stay positive. It’s okay to think about the past as long as you don’t let it get you down. Making sure that you have a positive attitude will rub off and have a positive affect on everyone’s holiday season. Because the holidays are filled with mixed emotion it will be nice to end the holiday season with a smile on your face.

After watching the video at the bottom of this article I began thinking about an experience I had two weeks ago. Out pool liner had deteriorated to the point of no more procrastination. It needed to be replaced Now! Got a couple of estimates, chose the company I would use and then he gives me this whole catalog of liner choices.

My wife in her infinite wisdom said the choice was all mine. I thought and stressed for two days trying to make the best choice. I had got so caught up in making the perfect choice that I had completely forgot that the salesman had told me that the best choices were on page one and I could get the heaver liner for the price of the lighter. There were two choices on page one I liked one the other thumbs down.

The point I’m trying to make is this, If I had been given just the two choices in the beginning I could of made the decession in an instant. So in this case more choices led to a couple of days of mild stress trying to pick to “Perfect” liner.

I think if you watch the video you’ll find the Psychologist Barry Schwartz has made some surprising observation in his study on “freedom of choice”. He concludes that a multitude of choices leads not to more happiness but rather just the opposite increasing dissatisfaction.

Watch the video and tell us what you think.

[Recorded in Oxford, UK July 2005 Duration:19:48]