CSU Health Network Care for Body and Mind

1. Firmly believe that everyone is relying on you and that you are letting them down miserably.
2. Recognize that you have way too much to do and that there is no way you could possibly get a fraction of it done.
3. Accept that everyone is watching your every move and waiting to pounce on you for even the littlest mistakes.
4. Reject all negative emotions and try to push them away as fast as you can when they arise.
5. Regularly recall all of you past mistakes.
6. Think of all the mistakes you will most likely make in the future.
7. Blow even your slightest short comings out of proportion and believe that no one wants to be around you because of your unacceptable flaws.
8. Think of all the ways you are ruining your future.
9. Before you leave the house, imagine several humiliating social scenarios.
10. Keep a long list of the things that freak you out and review it hourly.

Think you might have some anxious symptoms? Take this preliminary test to see.

There are several major types of anxiety, each with its own characteristics.

• People with generalized anxiety have recurring fears or worries, such as about health or finances, and they often have a persistent sense that something bad is just about to happen. The reason for the intense feelings of anxiety may be difficult to identify. But the fears and worries are very real and often keep individuals from concentrating on daily tasks.
• Panic involves sudden, intense and unprovoked feelings of terror and dread. People who suffer from this disorder generally develop strong fears about when and where their next panic attack will occur, and they often restrict their activities as a result.
• A related difficulty involves phobias, or intense fears, about certain objects or situations. Specific phobias may involve things such as encountering certain animals or flying in airplanes, whereas social phobias involve fear of social settings or public places.
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder is characterized by persistent, uncontrollable and unwanted feelings or thoughts (obsessions) and routines or rituals in which individuals engage to try to prevent or rid themselves of these thoughts (compulsions). Examples of common compulsions include washing hands or cleaning house excessively for fear of germs, or checking over something repeatedly for errors.
• Someone who suffers severe physical or emotional trauma such as from a natural disaster or serious accident or crime may experience post-traumatic stress disorder. Thoughts, feelings and behavior patterns become seriously affected by reminders of the event, sometimes months or even years after the traumatic experience.

Symptoms such as shortness of breath, racing heartbeat, trembling and dizziness often accompany certain types of anxiety such as panic and generalized anxiety. Although they may begin at any time, anxiety often surfaces in adolescence or early adulthood. There is some evidence of a genetic or family predisposition to certain forms of anxiety.

What Are the Symptoms?

1. Nervousness and tension
2. Difficulty sleeping
3. Loss of appetite
4. Knotted stomach
5. Difficulty breathing
6. Dizziness
7. Pounding heart
8. Compulsive eating
9. Trembling
10. Can't concentrate

What Are the Possible Causes?

1. Pressures from friends, family, school, or work.
2. Relationship problems.
3. Financial problems.
4. Worries about the future.
5. Feelings that one does not understand, does not know how to cope with, or does not find acceptable.

What Are Some Things You Can Do?

• Talk about it with those involved.
• Learn and practice relaxing (try the CAPS On-line Anxiety and Stress Management training session).
• Plan some change of pace.
• Exercise.
• Avoid the urge to be "superperson" who tries to cope with too much.

Mind-Body Relaxation Strategies

Since anxiety rises with stress, ways that you can develop to lower and better manage your stress will also have a beneficial affect on your anxiety. Some well established stress-reducing activities include physical exercise, going on a walk, talking to a friend, listening to or playing music, yoga, and other forms of creative expression. It’s very helpful to end the day with at least 30 minutes of relaxing activity, which allows us to unwind and more easily fall asleep. If the world situation is getting you down, you might consider going on a “media fast.” The world will stumble along just fine without you reading or watching the news for awhile.

Like any skill, Mind-Body techniques for lowering stress and anxiety are more powerful the more often you practice them. This is especially true when you are first learning the technique. If you only make use of a strategy when you are feeling extremely distressed, its effectiveness may be reduced.

Read more...

What is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder?

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a possible reaction by those who have experienced a traumatic event. These events involve threatened death or serious physical injury to the self or others in which the person responds with fear, helplessness, or horror. Some examples include natural disasters, sexual assault, physical abuse, or military combat situations.

What are examples of PTSD symptoms?

Symptoms of PTSD can fall into one of three categories. They include:

1. Re-experiencing

Re-experiencing the traumatic event through persistent nightmares or flash-backs

2. Avoidance

Avoidance of things associated with the event, such as certain locations, activities, situations, or people, feeling detached from others, restricted range of affect

3. Arousal

Difficulty sleeping
Easily startled
Racing thoughts

Other issues that can be associated with PTSD are depression, anxiety and substance abuse
 

Treatments for those with PTSD
There are a number of psychotherapy treatments for PTSD.

One-on-one cognitive therapy with a trained psychotherapist has proven to be very effective. Such therapies include what are known as Exposure therapy, Cognitive Processing Therapy, and Stress Inoculation Training (SIT). Different therapists may be specialized in one form of treatment more than others, so it is important for those with PTSD to seek out the one that will be most effective for them.

Group therapy sessions are also effective for those with PTSD. They can help one identify and relate to others with PTSD, thus helping to reduce feelings of isolation and stigmatization. Group therapy can also involve family members of those with PTSD who may have difficulty coping with those in the family with the disorder.

The most effective recovery for PTSD often occurs with a combination of psychiatric medication and psychological counseling. Medications used for the treatment of PTSD include mood stabilizers, anti-depressants, and anti-anxiety medications.

Resources

The PTSD page on Facts for Health.org, a Web site available from the Madison Institute of Medicine
http://www.ptsd.factsforhealth.org

The National Institute of Mental Health Web site on PTSD
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and war veterans at CSU

Hundreds of war veterans make the transition from military service to pursuing a college education each year. For those of them who have developed PTSD due to traumatic experiences during combat, that transition can be very difficult. In many cases, the symptoms of PTSD can be exacerbated by the stress associated with school.

Difficulty with the ability to focus and concentrate in and out of class, and remembering information for tests can be problems for veterans attending college. Flash-backs of combat situations can interfere with classroom situations. Some student veterans can feel isolated and uncomfortable in large crowds. For them, it can feel like fellow students and professors don't understand or cannot relate to what they are going through.

The counseling center at CSU offers a wide range of effective treatments for PTSD in both individual and groups settings. Group therapy sessions offer a safe and confidential setting where those with PTSD can relate to others with similar issues.

Resources

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
http://www.samhsa.gov/vets

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
http://www.va.gov

The VA's National Center for PTSD
http://www.ncptsd.va.gov/ncmain/veterans

Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) is a form of energy therapy used to treat the stress and anxiety associated with traumatic experiences. It can also be used for treatment for symptoms of depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and addictive behaviors. It is particularly successful treating test and social anxiety.

EFT therapy involves helping individuals come to an understanding of the association between emotions and how they affect the physical body. They are asked to describe the type of emotions they are experiencing and then rate how problematic they are on a scale of 0-10. They are also asked to identify the thoughts that occur during the episode. Awareness of what one is feeling in their body at the time is the third piece of the puzzle. Integrating cognitive, physical and the emotional parts of the self is the first part of treatment.

EFT can be described as a version of acupuncture without the traditional use of needles. There are specific points on the body that relate to specific organs. Each point is also related to certain emotions. We already have some awareness of this which is evidenced by comments like "That makes me sick" or "I get a headache just thinking of that." EFT is based on the theory that negative emotional experiences cause disturbances in the energy meridians in the human body. These disturbances can result in physical and psychological changes in the body including feelings of nausea or anxiety. By tapping or touching specific areas of the body while thinking of the problem, the body's energy system can be realigned, and one can begin to experience relief from their symptoms. This is the second part of the treatment.

The technique is something that can be practiced by an individual once they have been trained in using it. The more it is used the more successful the treatment although at times only one treatment is necessary. Repetition is the third part of the treatment.

At the CSU's CSU Health Network, EFT therapy is mostly used to treat students who experience test anxiety. According to research this form of therapy carries up to a 90 percent success rate among those who have issues that warrant some kind of psychological intervention. It is also successfully used for performance enhancement.

Resources

The World Center for Emotional Freedom Techniques Website

The Association for Comprehensive Energy Psychology