Archive for July, 2009

Meditation on Holiday

How do you manage to relax on holiday?

Holidays are those special treats we all look forward to. A week, or two if we are lucky, escaping from the daily grind and the rat race. It is something we spend ages looking forward to, day dreaming at work about those precious moments, whilst working hard. But when the time comes, when you find yourself on holiday, suddenly away from you everyday activities with time on your hands and a mind still full of work how do you actually relax?

One of our members found her own solution – she took her guided meditations with her on holiday. She loaded them onto her MP3 player and packed it carefully into her bag, ready to take on holiday too.

At her rented villa in Tuscany she unpacked, found a quiet and comfortable spot, plugged in her headphones and switched on. She was over the moon by how quickly she began to relax into her holiday and calm her mind.

Normally it takes her 3 days to gradually unwind and relax before she can start enjoying her well earned rest. But by listening to the guided meditations she found she relaxed almost instantly -

“Making it a daily habit, I looked forward to my own bit of me time away from everyone else. I could’nt believe how quickly it worked. I usually spend the first few days agitated and thinking about work, filling my time by doing things to try and occupy my mind”.

By: Toby Clarke

Explaining Symptoms of Severe Anxiety

The first thing to do before you study severe anxiety symptoms is to find out what severe anxiety is and why or how it occurs. In understanding these severe anxiety symptoms you will also be able to learn the treatments that can be used if you are experiencing these symptoms. Severe anxiety symptoms and panic attacks is almost the same that you cannot identify or distinguish and there is no diagnosis that will tell the difference between the two disorders. For some informations about anxiety symptoms check this out Anxiety Attack and Panic Disorder Treatment.

Severe Anxiety Symptoms

Anxiety attacks don’t last long. It just mainly occurs within fifteen minutes or maybe less. It is very vital or important that you should be able to identify the difference between the physical from emotional symptoms of the disorder. Some physical symptoms that occur when you are experiencing severe anxiety symptom are you will feel like you are sweating, you will feel stomach disturbances and feeling like your adrenaline is rushing throughout your body. Other common physical symptoms of the disorder are your heart will be palpitating, you’re feeling dizzy, having headaches, and you feel like your sick and maybe you can feel you are choking.

While the emotional symptoms of severe anxiety it includes being irritable and lack of concentration. Other symptoms of this disorder are also feeling extreme nervousness and restless and being very frightened of the situations resulting to your disorder.

If your have this kind of disorder then it will really affect your mentality. One of the results when you are experiencing severe anxiety syndrome are you will slowly feel that your logical behavior and other related to cognitive aspects will became slower and you will feel different thought racing in you mind caused by the fear that you are experiencing and will really lose your focus and thinking.

In overcoming the anxiety symptoms you should seek the help of the experts or your family doctors. They will understand and diagnose your situation and later will give you a suitable treatment for you disorder. They will give you prescriptions of drugs that will be suited for you and also they will give you advices in dealing with it. Always put in mind that for safer results you should choose a natural way of treating your disorder. For permanent treatment of anxiety disorders check this site How Thousands of People Worldwide Cure Their Panic Attacks Permanently.

If you are exhibiting this kind of disorder you should always try to find ways to cure or treat it because if not it will give you different metal problems later on if it is ignored. And later on you will be paranoid when coming to these situations.

By : nylarej

Anxiety and the Insular Cortex: A Budding Relationship

I wrote an article just yesterday summarizing a bit of research by Dr. Jack Nitschke at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dr. Nitschke’s work focused upon the role of the element of uncertainty in intensifying reactions to disturbing events, as well as increasing overall levels of anxiety. Along with the amygdala’s involvement in these presentations, Dr. Nitschke noted a brain structure known as the insular cortex. Until reviewing his research I didn’t know much about the insular cortex, so my curiosity was piqued and I did some digging. This powerful and mysterious body of cerebral cortex (grey matter), a significant player in anxiety, has traditionally flown under the radar. And the very good news is that’s changing. Well, perhaps this article will attract your curiosity and provide a tad of education along the way.

The insular cortex (a.k.a. insula, insulary cortex) is a mass of neurons that lie in the midst of the temporal, parietal, and frontal lobes. Even though there are actually two insula, as they’re contained in both brain hemispheres, I’ll be using the term “insula,” in the singular. Incidentally, the word “insula” comes from the Latin for island. Now, some authorities view the insula as a lobe of its own, and others see it as part of the temporal lobe. Yet others, who assign it to the limbic system, consider the insula and the other components of the limbic system, a separate limbic lobe. The insula is divided into two parts, an anterior and smaller posterior section. As you read this article, always remember the insula is all about subjective human experience. Indeed, it’s been said the insula is responsible for what it feels like to be human, as opposed to just another mammal.

To say the very least, the insula is very well connected. It receives input from the brain’s great sensory hub, the thalamus; as well as from the very headquarters of our fear and emotion circuitry, the amygdala. And the communication with the amygdala is actually two-way. There’s also a bilateral line of communication with the primary sensory cortex. Given these landmarks it’s obvious the insula is deeply involved with a wide variety of functioning linked to emotion and the maintenance of homeostasis, our body’s ability to maintain a relatively stable state of internal regulation and equilibrium. And, yes, it’s a frequent contributor to assorted psychopathology, particularly anxiety. Hey, I find it terribly interesting that scans have shown the right anterior insula is significantly thicker in people who meditate.

Well, since the insula is involved in such a wide variety of sensation and functioning, we’re going to take a look at things categorically. And though the information is certainly available, I’m going to consider the insula’s functioning as a whole, rather than specifying the anterior and posterior sections. One last note. The insula is very much in the mix with regard to motor control and, as I cited, homeostatis. However, I won’t be going into detail on either.

Interoception Interoception is the sensing of stimuli arising from within our bodies, especially from the major organs of the trunk. A great example is the ability to time your own heartbeat. The insula is also activated upon physical exertion and becomes involved with blood pressure control, especially after exercise. Other interoceptive dynamics involving the insula are: perceived intensity of pain, how we imagine pain would feel in our own bodies when we observe images of painful events involving others, the degree of the skin’s non-painful warmth or coldness, sensations of a distended stomach and full bladder, loss of balance, vertigo, and the sensations involved with passive listening to music, laughter, crying, and language.

Emotion The insula is receiving more and more attention as it applies to its role in body representation and subjective emotional experience (e.g.: feelings). The insula is thought to process a convergence of stimuli, formulating an emotionally relevant context for all the hub-bub. It’s also very much involved in sensing feelings of anger, fear, disgust, happiness, and sadness. And let’s not forget about conscious desires such as food and drug craving. Absolutely, the insula is a player in addiction and addictive behavior. Just one example is the insula’s ability to read body states like hunger and craving; ultimately pushing people to reach for that second sandwich, cigarette, or line of cocaine.

Believe me, giving the insula its due would require a book. And that’s why I had to make this particular presentation short and to the point. But, go ahead, do some research. No doubt, the insula is a fascinating and still mysterious accumulation of neurons. However, as I said earlier, it’s receiving more and more attention. I liken it to the development of interest in the amygdala. It actually began in earnest in the 1930’s, and with the invention and development of imaging instruments and techniques, the research continued. Of course, now we know the amygdala as the epicenter of our emotions and fears. And having this knowledge at hand opens all sorts of doors for creative and effective relief and curative measures for, as it applies to us, panic and anxiety.

by Bill Chandler