• Anxiety Symptoms

    teenage-anxiety-symptomsEvery time we feel worried about certain things or fear about the possibilities of what might happen if, a lot of ifs- these are what we call anxiety. Anxiety is a brief, persistent, and extreme feeling of worry, uncertainties, and fear over a tense situation, and fortunately, it is controllable. As a matter of fact, anxiety is reversible, and can be successfully treated naturally if found out through the anxiety symptoms. An anxiety condition is not an accidental, unidentified, and uncontrollable illness, even if it feels like it is. Anxiety conditions come out for precise reasons and have specific reasons and underlying explanations why they continue.

    To be able to know if you have anxiety, you should know first the symptoms. Here is some of the anxiety symptoms associated with anxiety disorders. And since each individual has different chemical composition, anxiety symptoms and their intensity may vary from person to person.
    The anxiety symptoms we may experience physically are:

    Body:

    Burning skin sensation
    Persistent fatigue
    Electric shock feeling
    Excess of energy, you feel you can’t relax
    Feel like you are going to faint
    Feeling cold
    Hyperactivity
    Increased or decreased sex drive
    Muscle twitching
    Tightness or stiffness of shoulder, back, and neck
    Numbness or tingling in hands, feet, face, head, or any other parts of your body
    Persistent muscle tension
    Jumpy
    Too much sweating
    Trembling, shaking
    Urgency to urinate, frequent urination
    Weak legs, arms, muscles

    Chest:

    Chest pain or discomfort, tight chest, or tight chest muscles
    Concern about the heart
    Fell like you have difficulty breathing
    Shortness of breath
    Frequent yawning to try to catch your breath
    Palpitations
    Irregular heart rhythms, flutters or skipped beats, tickle in the chest that makes you cough

    Head:

    Dizziness or light-headedness
    Frequent headaches, migraine headaches
    Head, neck, or shoulder tightness or stiffness
    Overexcitement
    Shooting pains in the face, scalp, or head,
    Sore jaw that feels like a toothache
    Clenching of the jaw or grinding of the teeth

    Emotions:

    Dramatic mood swings
    Emotional blunting
    Wrong feeling of emotions
    Frequently feel like crying for no reason

    Mind:

    Fear of going crazy, losing control, fear of impending doom
    Frequent feeling of being overwhelmed, or that there is too much to handle or do
    Having difficulty concentrating
    Racing thoughts or rapid thinking
    Obsession about sensations or getting better
    You feel like you are carrying the world on your shoulders

    Hearing:

    Irregular or frequent reduced hearing or deafness in one or both ears
    Low rumbling sounds
    Ringing in the ears

    Mood:

    Irritable
    Depression
    Feeling like things is not real or dreamlike
    Have no feeling about the things you used to
    Feel like you are pressured all the time

    Sight:

    Distorted, foggy, or blurred vision
    Itchy, dry, or watery eyes
    Eye tricks, seeing things on the corners of your eyes that aren’t there, stars, flashes
    Eyes’ sensitivity to light
    Spots in the vision,
    Flashing lights when eyes closed
    Deep perception feels wrong

    Mouth/Stomach:

    Constant craving for sweets
    Chocking or difficulty swallowing
    Constipation or diarrhea
    Dry mouth
    Feeling like your tongue is swollen
    Frequent upset stomach, bloating, gaseous
    Lack of appetite or taste
    Nausea or the thought of eating makes you nauseous
    Tight throat, lump in throat

    Sleep:

    Difficulty falling or staying asleep
    Frequent bad, odd, or crazy dreams
    Hearing sounds in your head that can awaken you
    Insomnia or waking up ill in the middle of the night
    Waking up in a panic attack
    Feeling worse in the mornings

    These are some of the prevalent anxiety symptoms, but the symptoms on the list are incomplete and not limited as to what is listed above. It is common for normal people to experience or two of anxiety symptoms, and some may experience them all.

  • Innovation: The Life Blood Of Your Business

    innovIf you’re running or managing a business and want it to be around for a long time, you need to spend a good part of your time innovating. That’s because, in a fast-moving world, where people expect things to get better and better, and cheaper and cheaper, innovation is your route to getting ahead of your competition.

    Here are 7 ways to put new life blood into your organization through innovation.

    1. Create An Innovative Climate. Goran Ekvall of Lund University in Sweden has defined three conditions needed for a climate of innovation. They are: trust, dynamism, and humour. One of Ekvall’s case studies was a Swedish newspaper where the team working on the women’s section consistently outperformed all the other teams. The reason? Quite simply, this group trusted one another, had a high level of energy and shared a common sense of humour.

    2. Develop Washing-Up Creativity. According to the Roffey Park Management Institute, most flashes of inspiration come to people when they are away from work and not forcing their conscious brains to find solutions to their problems. For some, ideas come while mowing the lawn or taking the dog for a walk or playing golf or waiting on a railway station. For Isaac Newton, it was an apple on the head while sitting in the garden. For Archimedes, it was in the bath. For others it’s while doing the dishes; that’s why Roffey Park calls these flashes of insight: “washing-up creativity”.

    3. Make New Connections. Making new connections between existing features of your product or service is a popular way to innovate. Akio Morita, chairman of Sony, said that he invented the Walkman because he wanted to listen to music while walking between shots on his golf course. His team simply put together two seemingly incompatible products: a tape recorder and a transistor radio.

    4. Find Out What People Need. Necessity is a great spur to innovation. Take, for example, writing paper. The Chinese had already made paper from rags around the year 100 BC but because there was no need for it, nothing came of it. When it did reach Europe in the Middle Ages when writing was all the rage, the supply of rags and worn-out fabric soon dried up. That’s when a French naturalist made the discovery that wasps made their nests by chewing wood into a mash that dried in thin layers. Within 100 years, all paper was made using the idea of wood pulp.

    5. Test, Test, Test. Product testing is the way most inventors and organizations go about innovation. It may not be the quickest route to success, but it is often the surest. Jonas Salk, for example, discovered the polio vaccine by spending most of his time testing and testing and continually finding out what didn’t work. Thomas Edison, the inventor of the filament light bulb, recorded 1300 experiments that were complete failures. But he was able to keep going because, as he said, he knew 1300 ways that it wasn’t going to work.

    6. Adopt and Adapt. One relatively easy approach to innovation is to notice how others deal with problems and then adapt their solutions to your own. It’s known as “adapt and adopt”. It’s what watchmakers Swatch did when they realized that the more reliable their watches became, the less people needed to replace them. Their solution? Borrow an idea from the world of fashion and collections by turning their watches into desirable fashion accessories. Now people buy Swatch watches not just to tell the time but because it’s cool to do so.

    7. Take Lessons From Nature. If you really want to be inventive, you can’t beat nature. The world of nature gives us an endless supply of prototypes to use in our own world. Take Velcro, for example. Velcro was patented by Georges de Mestral in 1950 after he returned from a hunting trip covered in tiny burrs that had attached themselves to his clothing by tiny overlapping hooks. De Mestral quickly realized that here was an ideal technique to fasten material together. A whole new way of doing things was suddenly invented.

    The history of the world is the history of innovation. Thomas Kuhn called each acceptance of a new innovation a “paradigm shift”. For once a new innovation becomes accepted, the world has changed for ever and can never go back to the way it was.

  • Anxiety Medications

    anxiety-drugs_thumbMany people have experienced anxiety at some points in their lives. I have and I’m sure most of you have. It keeps us alert and helps us deal with any stressful events that we may encounter. Anxiety can sometimes interfere with our daily life activities, don’t you agree? If we worry, we often can’t concentrate on the things we do, but if we look on the bright side of anxiety, where it can help us handle a situation, I must say that it can be used to our advantage, as well. For example, in an exam, because of fear of not getting the score you aimed, you tend to give your best shot and the result could be higher than you expect. That happens to me, too. And I can tell you, anxiety sometimes can be of big help.

    How we all wish anxiety gives us all the best it can do to us rather than the worst. Unfortunately, it’s not the way anxiety works. If anxiety attacks we wish there could be ways to stop it for anxiety really does affect your mood, work, and practically your daily life routine. Otherwise, people suffering from anxiety are usually left immobilized; unable to perform effectively on you regular daily routine.

    Anxiety can be treated by medication or by psychotherapy. It is said that psychotherapy can be the most effective treatment for anxiety. But, anxiety medications, such as anti-depressants may be added if needed be. Anxiety medications help relax and calm the anxious person and can remove the troubling symptoms that come with anxiety.

    There are several anti-anxiety medications that are available today. The preferred are Benzodiazepines such as Valium, Xanax/Zanex, and Ativan. Aside from the Benzodiazepines, other medications, like Buspirone, Beta-blockers, and Gabapentin are sometimes also taken to treat anxiety. Antidepressants are also effective for anxiety attacks and some other phobias are frequently prescribed for these conditions. They are also seldom used for generalized forms of anxiety, especially if anxiety is accompanied by depression.

    Aside from Benzodiazepines, among the other anxiety medications are Buspirone, Tricylic, Antidepressants, or SSRIs, are also the preferred medications for most anxiety disorders, rarely for specific reasons. One of the following medications maybe prescribed: Antipsychotic medications, Antihistamines, like Atarax, Vistaril, and others; Barbiturates, such as Phenobarbital, and Beta-blockers, like Propranolol. All of these anxiety medications help relieve anxiety and depression and must be prescribed by health professionals for there are medications that might not good for you. For example, Benzodiazepines are usually not prescribed to people having social anxiety condition with substance problems.

    But, if your anxiety only occur on certain occasion, Seredyn is good for you. Seredyn has natural ingredients and provide long lasting relief. It promotes relaxation, reduces worry, and relieves irritability and tension. Seredyn can also be taken everyday for chronic anxiety or as needed for occasional anxiety or panic attacks.

    When it comes to anxiety medications, make it a point to ask your doctor what is necessary and safe for you to take. Not all anxiety medications works on your specific anxiety condition.

  • Getting rid of anxiety: Living in the Present

    blog-forget-the-past-forego-the-future-how-to-start-living-in-the-presentI used to be a person who worried about imaginary events in the future, and I let my imagination play havoc with me. My worries and my anxiety would not let me focus on whatever I was doing.

    Furthermore, I was aware that I was being controlled by my worries and that upset me even more – I would put myself down and say to myself, “What sort of person am I that I’m letting myself be controlled by my imagination?”

    Fortunately, I came across some readings that allowed me to see the light. I learnt a few techniques that put me in control of myself straight away. I observed that getting rid of anxiety and worries was not such a difficult task after all.

    I am sharing today this powerful technique with you. It is the “This Is Me Doing This” positive technique: getting back to the present (and only the present).

    A distracted mind is a field where concerns and worries grow easily. Paying attention to what you are doing is key to live a happy and fulfilling life. Having a positive attitude naturally follows.

    Decide to get back to the present. For example, if you are washing dishes, start by saying to yourself “this is me washing dishes”. Repeat it calmly, focusing on the very act of washing dishes. Name that which you are doing.

    As you repeat to yourself “this is me doing (whatever)”, you start feeling relaxed. Other matters loose importance; you’re giving orders to your mind to actively focus on what you are doing, and only that.

    When you move on to the next task, keep on telling yourself what you are doing. “This is me walking upstairs”, “this is me feeding the cat”, etc. Feel how more and more calm comes to you as you keep on repeating “this is me doing (whatever)”.

    After a few minutes of keeping focused and repeating to yourself what you are doing, you will probably experience a feeling of well-being. All stresses and worries may seem past or worthless. Keep focused.

    Talk to yourself positively in between telling yourself what you are doing. Say “this is me brushing my teeth” (for instance), followed by “I am calm and I am enjoying the present”, “this is me brushing my teeth”, “I feel good and relaxed”.

    The benefits of this technique are powerful and almost immediate. It allows you to focus on this present rather than letting your mind play with hypothetical events. It shuts all unnecessary worries and anxieties.

    When practised regularly, this technique gives you the chance of being more aware of who you are, where you are, and what you are doing. The very first step to choose the life you want!

  • 8 Great Interview questions to help you find the right Candidate

    tough-hr-interview-questions1) Do you have written goals you want to accomplish and if so, tell me about them? You are looking for indications of maturity, focus, planning ability and desire for achievement.

    2) How did you earn your first paycheck, how old were you, and what did you do with the money? With this question you are probing to check their work ethic.

    3) What are the top three leadership traits that you look for in a manager? With this question you are attempting to gauge their expectation and ascertain their preferred management style.

    4) Have you ever failed at something and if so, why did you fail and what did you learn from the experience? This question lends itself to a discussion on resiliency, personal responsibility and tendencies under pressure.

    5) Everyone has strengths and weaknesses as employees. What are your strong points for this position? This question gives them the opportunity to tell you what assets they bring to the table and how they see themselves fitting into your organization.

    6) What is the one thing you would improve about yourself? This question gives you an indication of his or her self- assessment capability.

    7) Other than family members, who has been the greatest influence in your life and why?

    8) If you were to fail in this business, what do you think the reason would be?

    Use these questions as a guide and add to them as you wish. by having a set list of questions it helps you move the interview process through efficiently and effectively. Based on the candidates’ answers to these and other questions you may provide, you’ll have a good idea if you’re ready to take the next step with this person.

  • How To Identify Stress And Anxiety?

    stressEvery human being is an emotional being. The levels of emotions may be high or low. But when that level is disturbed, you have stress and anxiety. The dividing line between these two negative tendencies is very thin. Your anxiety may be due to stress or your stress may be due to anxiety. Every stress and anxiety has a root cause to it. And the symptoms are the by products of such causes.

    The first symptom of stress is that you are not a normal person, when you are seized with it. Your face will indicate what you are! They say the face is the mirror of the man. Your emotions will be disturbed and it will show up on your face.

    You have a feeling that is difficult to explain. You have only questions, with no definite answers. If there are answers, they are multiple answers. You see several options before you, you see several paths before you, but unable to decide which one is yours. The worry and uncertainty of the failure haunts you. You are totally confused. All these are stress symptoms.

    Further, with the feeling of anxiety your self-esteem is hurt and motivation is punctured. You feel that you have come to a dead end. It is a state of uneasiness that you are unable to explain with convincing reasons. You are a split personality. Your emotions are not responding to your reason. You begin to come to haphazard conclusions. Most importantly, you don’t understand why you feel what you feel. The way you feel. You are facing some grim experiences and your attitude turns cynical. You feel that the human beings are ignoble. You feel that the whole world is ignoble!

    To walk to your freedom from the levels of stress of anxiety, you need to walk from darkness to light, from the secret den to the open sun. The fire-brand personality within you has to bloom. There is nothing wrong in the situations around you. Everything is happening the way it should! At the moment you may feel that it is working to your disadvantage. Your present confusion is due to your wrong perception of matters, not due to the reality of the issue involved. You are unnecessarily seeing the serpent in the rope, due the surrounding darkness. When the light is thrown in that area, you see that it a piece of lifeless rope!

    What could be the root causes of symptoms of your stress and anxiety? Whenever you make compromises with your deep core values and your present disposition, your harmony is disturbed. Similarly, when you are worried about your future, future of your children due to economic or social circumstances it makes you anxious.

    The right attitude is to live life in its trials, tribulations duty and beauty. God has created you for a purpose, try your best to fulfill it, without any motivated fear! Destroy the negative feelings, before they sprout!

  • How to Identify Social Anxiety in Teens

    teen_anxiety

    Often regarded as the most unrecognized mental disorder in teens, social anxiety disorder can take many forms and manifest itself differently per person. Most parents and adults dismiss symptoms as merely shyness or teen angst that their children will eventually outgrow. However, social phobia, as the disorder is sometimes called, can grow worse if left untreated and be debilitating over time. Recognizing social phobia in teens is crucial for their transition to adulthood and you, as adults and parents, have the responsibility of ensuring that they get help. Here are several ways of recognizing symptoms of social phobia in teens:

    1. Look out for extreme shyness or discomfort in your child when put in the center of attention.

    First-time performers normally get stage fright but excessive discomfort, passivity, or inactivity when put on the spotlight should merit further investigation. Although most people will attribute this situation to most teenagers’ fear of embarrassing themselves in front of their peers, do not be complacent. Talk to your child about why he or she was unable to perform. Just remember to avoid using an accusatory tone to prevent putting your child on the defensive.

    2. Observe your child’s academic performance.

    When your straight-A child starts bringing home B or C-graded homework and exams, you immediately worry that something is wrong. But social phobia is not that obvious. In fact, social phobia leaves little clues like hesitance to recite in class, fear of being asked to report, or even downright refusing to be part of class activities. If possible, talk to your child’s teacher about these matters and ask him or her to inform you if your child exhibits these behaviors.

    3. Keep track of your child’s friends or lack thereof.

    You know it; teens will spend hours on the phone, go to parties, or hang out after school. Most teens will be part of a large group or at least have a couple of friends. But teens with social phobia often isolate themselves from other people or minimize contact. They would rather attend class without homework than ask a classmate about it. They often have trouble making eye contact, initiating or joining conversations, and being part of school organizations.

    4. Check your child’s confidence level.

    Most teens suffering from social phobia often doubt if they are good enough for other people or worry excessively about how others see them. Their fear of being ridiculed, boring, or rejected are basic in their minds and they often look for signs of negative perception in others. This negative attitude towards meeting other people are so pervasive in their minds that it can lead to low self-esteem and inferiority complex.

    5. Take note of your child’s reaction to social situations.

    People suffering from social phobia exhibit physical symptoms as well, especially if they are in a social situation like family gatherings or school functions. Signs to look out for include diarrhea, nausea, excessive sweating, heart palpitations, and shortness of breath. If your teen experiences any of these symptoms during or prior to a social event, he or she may be reacting to social phobia.

    If your teen exhibit all or any of these symptoms, take him or her to a psychologist for a consultation and thorough examination. Chances are high that your child knows that his or her reactions to social activities are irrational but does not know where to ask for help.

  • Doing What You Love

    loving-your-jobWhat do you want to be when you grow up? I’m sure you were asked this question at least once when you were a youngster. When asked the question, did you have an answer at the ready, or did you need a few minutes to think about it? We all had dreams of becoming something great, like a fireman, a teacher, or a rock star, just to name a few. Well, how did you do? Maybe you never aspired to be what you set out to be or said that you would become. But then again, things change. The older we get, our tastes change, our view of the world changes, even our goals change.

    One of the most important lessons I’ve learned during my career path is to do something you love to do. Why is this important? I feel that if you enjoy what you make a living at, you end up being happy in more ways than one. Life itself becomes much more interesting and fun. You find yourself speaking passionately to others about your work. The experiences you have along the way become much more rewarding, and enrich your life in many ways. You meet fascinating people. I know people who have turned favorite hobbies into small businesses, and have succeeded. Sure, they may have had to sacrifice a steady paycheck for their happiness, but not one of them either turned back or gave up. Their passion carried them through to success.

    While no job or business is perfect, the important thing is to enjoy it, even learn from it. If you are unhappy in your current situation, why not take steps now to change it? Somewhere out there is a job or business that is perfect for you. If you are already there, I applaud you. If not, realize that it may take some time to figure out what you really want to do, and even more time to actually get there. That’s all right! I can tell you from experience that finding and doing what you love is absolutely worth it, every step of the way. All of the research, training, and hands-on experience has made me a stronger, happier person. Feeling in charge of my own destiny…well, there just is no greater feeling.

    Do what you love, and love what you do, whatever that may be. You’ll be happier for it, trust me. I promise you will never look back.

  • Getting Help For Your Fear, Bipolar, And Anxiety Problems

    bipolar-disorder-1-1024x512It is not easy to deal with your fears, bipolar, or anxiety problems. The first step is that you should talk to a professional who can get you started in the right path of getting better. Getting help from a counselor or other professional is very important and can provide you much help and insights in dealing with your current problem. In addition, here are some techniques a person can use to help manage their fears, bipolar, and anxieties.

    Learn to take it one day at a time. Instead of worrying about how you will get through the rest of the week or coming month, try to focus on today. Each day can provide us with different opportunities to learn new things and that includes learning how to deal with your problems. Focus on the present and stop trying to predict what may happen next week. Next week will take care of itself.

    A good way to manage your fear is to challenge your negative thinking with positive statements and realistic thinking. When encountering thoughts that make your fearful or anxious, challenge those thoughts by asking yourself questions that will maintain objectivity and common sense.

    Sometimes, we may be nervous doing a certain task that may be scary. When this happens, visualize yourself doing the task in your mind. For instance, you and your team have to play in the championship hockey game in front of a large group of people in the next few days. Before the big day comes, imagine yourself playing the game in your mind. Imagine that your playing in front of a large audience. By playing the game in your mind, you will be better prepared to perform for real when the time comes. Self Visualization is a great way to reduce the fear and stress of a coming situation.

    Remember that there is one power that is stronger than your fears and that is the power of God. A person does not have to be religious to use the power of God. When the going gets tough, talk to God about your problems as if you were talking to a friend. Review the Bible and pray hard. Be persistent and be open in the avenues that God may provide to you in solving your problem. It is not always easy, however God is in control and he will help you if you ask him.

    As a Layman, I realize it is not easy to deal with all of our fears, however there are all kinds of help available. The key is to be patient and not to give up. In time, you will be able to find those resources that will help you with your problems.

  • Giving and Taking

    how-to-invite-prospects

    Is there anything that gives us more joy than giving of ourselves? I’m not talking about giving gifts; I’m talking about giving time and effort to make a difference in another person’s life. Putting some effort into giving is so much more rewarding than taking.

    Time is the most wonderful gift you can give anyone. Anyone who has or had a great parent will tell you that the greatest gift their parent gave them was time. Time to read, time to play, time to talk and time to listen is fantastic gifts to children and is never forgotten.

    Do you give enough time to your loved ones now that you’re an adult? Knowing that it is a precious gift that costs nothing at all makes it so easy to give!

    Now, make an actual effort to give someone your time. For example, call a friend, or a Church member you know, or your sister-in-law and invite them to coffee; not someone you’ve invited before, but someone new.

    Or go visit someone who is cooped up at home or in the nursing home. Bake someone cookies, or take a plant or a bouquet of flowers from your garden. Make a connection and make an effort to keep that connection.Giving, in lieu of taking, is so much more rewarding and will be a huge source of inner happiness for you, not to mention those lives you will touch. Giving is a true win-win gift!