The stories you want. The opinions that matter.
No, thanks
Tag: anxiety
Relationships: Anxiety Reduction Techniques

Relationships: Anxiety Reduction Techniques

By Barton Goldsmith, McClatchy-Tribune News Service

When you are feeling anxious, there are a number of things you can do to decrease the tension and get back to life as you know it. Remember that you can feel panic even if the source of your anxiety is not immediately present, because sometimes stress just floats out there for a little while, trying to get your attention.

Fear can control us, but you have more power over it than you may think. Here are a few exercises you can do to feel better about yourself in anxious situations.

Get your anxiety out on the table: If you are in a relationship, you can do this exercise with your partner. You also can do it with anyone in your life who is a good listener.

Step 1: Look at and talk about the worst-case scenario. Get all your feelings and fears out on the table. Be sure to discuss what you’d do in the worst-case scenario and how serious the consequences would be.

Step 2: Talk about the best-case scenario and revel in all that it brings you. Take a moment to really soak in all of the positive changes that may happen.

Step 3: Look at what’s most likely to happen. While you can’t be certain, it’s reasonable to expect that most of these scenarios will fall somewhere in the middle of the worst- and best-case scenario. Remember that the results are also largely dependent on what you make of what happens.

Going through this process will decrease any anxiety you may be feeling and help you embrace the positives in your life. Taking this tried-and-true action will yield positive results.

Be proactive about your anxiety. Some people take supplements like fish oil, or they drink chamomile tea to help them relax. Daily exercise is also a great anxiety reducer. So is meditation, if you would rather be less physically active.

Avoid the news and watch a comedy instead. Events you see on TV or read in the papers may trigger your anxiety. I’m not suggesting you live in a cave, but if you are having a nervous day, it might be best to do something more pleasant than watching the news. Once you learn what brings on your anxiety, it will help you avoid the unexpected bouts.

Remember the places that make you feel peaceful inside. Being by water or in nature is very calming for many people. Sometimes reading a book by the pool can be as good as reading one in the mountains. The trick is to find and then remember the places that make you feel most peaceful, and the next time anxiety hits you, go to a quiet spot and just imagine yourself back in your peaceful place. I know it sounds too simple, but it works very well.

Get your day going right. When I wake up in the morning, the first thing I do is a brief meditation. Simply visualizing a peaceful day ahead and reminding myself that I am safe are helpful little tools that can make the difference between a nervous day and one of tranquility. I use this meditation technique throughout the day whenever necessary.

You don’t have to be a victim of anxiety. If these exercises don’t give you enough relief, please see a medical professional. Many medications can be helpful, and even if you don’t like the idea of pills, just talking with a doctor can be reassuring.

bottled_void via Flickr

Judge Orders Oscar Pistorius To Undergo Psychiatric Evaluation

Judge Orders Oscar Pistorius To Undergo Psychiatric Evaluation

By Robyn Dixon, Los Angeles Times

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — The judge in the murder trial of South African Olympian Oscar Pistorius on Wednesday ordered the athlete to undergo a comprehensive mental health assessment by a panel of psychiatrists, after an allegation he suffered from an anxiety disorder.

Pistorius stood as Judge Thokozile Masipa handed down her judgment. The judge said the court had no choice but to refer him for investigation after psychiatrist Merryll Vorster testified he had “generalized anxiety disorder” that may have affected his actions the night he shot and killed his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.

The aim, the judge said, was not to punish him twice, but to ensure that justice was done. She raised the possibility that Pistorius would not have to stay overnight in a state mental hospital for the entire 30-day assessment, but could be treated as an outpatient.

The judge’s decision was an apparent blow to defense advocate Barry Roux, who vigorously contested the move in court on Tuesday, calling it a ruse by the prosecution to get a second psychiatric opinion. Pistorius told the BBC Monday that the request he be referred for psychiatric evaluation was “a joke.”

But Judge Masipa defended the ruling and questioned the defense’s opposition to further psychiatric evaluation of Pistorius.

“The effect of the evidence is that a doubt has been created that the accused may have another defense, relating to his criminal responsibility,” Masipa said. Vorster’s testimony raised the possibility that Pistorius’ criminal responsibility might be lessened by his anxiety disorder, she added.

Under South Africa’s Criminal Procedures Act (Section 78), a court must refer an accused person for psychiatric evaluation if there is an allegation or reasonable possibility that a person did not know right from wrong because of a mental defect, or if a defect meant he or she couldn’t act in accordance with right or wrong.

Roux argued that Pistorius did not meet either test.

But Judge Masipa found, “The accused may not have raised the issue that he was criminally responsible at the time of the incident in so many words, but the evidence led on his behalf dearly raises the issue and, therefore, cannot be ignored.”

Pistorius’ lawyers appeared to initially call on the expert witness to show that, due to his anxiety disorder amid feelings of fear and vulnerability over what he thought was an intruder, it was reasonable for him to fire four shots through the toilet door in his bathroom.

The prosecution argues Pistorius was in a rage and intended to kill Steenkamp after a quarrel.

Arnold Pistorius, the athlete’s uncle and family spokesman, welcomed the ruling in a statement to journalists.

“As a family we are comforted by the thoroughness and commitment of this judgment. It’s about a fair trial,” Arnold Pistorius said. “It reaffirms our confidence in the South African justice system.” He took no questions.

The psychiatric panel could help Pistorius’ case or reduce his sentence if he is convicted if it finds the Olympic sprinter suffers from generalized anxiety disorder. But if the panel finds that he was fully functional, able to control himself and had full criminal liability, the findings could complicate his defense.

The judge noted that there was no definition of mental illness in the Criminal Procedures Act and that the court didn’t have the expertise to make a diagnosis, so a proper psychiatric investigation into Pistorius’ mental condition was required.

“This court, as a lay court, is ill-equipped to deal with the allegations (of generalized anxiety disorder) at this stage. They have substance and are in line with the accused’s evidence,” the judge said.

She added that expert psychiatric witness Vorster had seen Pistorius only twice and may not have had much time to write her report.

Roux’s call for Pistorius to be treated as an out-patient was supported by the judge, who said the aim was not to punish Pistorius. The prosecutor said this possibility would be investigated.

Pistorius’ advocate also called for psychologists to be included on the expert panel, not just psychiatrists.

Judge Masipa adjourned the trial until Tuesday, when she said she will issue her final order to refer Pistorius for a psychiatric evaluation after considering input from both sides.

AFP Photo/Bongiwe Mchunu

Meditation Offers Slight Relief From Anxiety

Meditation Offers Slight Relief From Anxiety

Washington (AFP) – Meditation may help ease anxiety and depression in certain patients, and in some cases the practice may be as effective as taking anti-depressant medications, said a study Monday.

However, a review of scientific literature on mindfulness meditation published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that the effects of meditation are limited.

For instance, little or no evidence could be found of meditation’s impact on positive mood, attention, substance use, eating habits, sleep and weight.

Mindfulness meditation is a form of Buddhist self-awareness designed to focus attention — not judgement– to the moment at hand, the JAMA study said.

“The evidence suggests that mindfulness meditation programs could help reduce anxiety, depression, and pain in some clinical populations,” it said.

“Thus, clinicians should be prepared to talk with their patients about the role that a meditation program could have in addressing psychological stress.”

The systematic review and meta-analysis was led by experts at Johns Hopkins University and included 47 randomized clinical trials with 3,515 participants.

Of the thousands of studies the authors found on the topic, just three percent were scientifically rigorous enough to meet the criteria for inclusion in the JAMA review.

Those that were reviewed found some small to moderate benefits, but lacked evidence of leading to better health.

“Contrary to popular belief, the studies overall failed to show much benefit from meditation with regard to relief of suffering or improvement in overall health,” said an accompanying commentary by Allan Goroll, a doctor at Harvard University.

“With the important exception that mindfulness meditation provided a small but possibly meaningful degree of relief from psychological distress.”

The patients who received these benefits did not typically have full-blown anxiety or depression.

Mindfulness meditation is usually practiced for about 30 minutes per day, and emphasizes acceptance of feelings and thoughts without judgment. It also requires body and mind relaxation.

“A lot of people have this idea that meditation means sitting down and doing nothing,” said the JAMA study’s lead author Madhav Goyal, an assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

“But that’s not true. Meditation is an active training of the mind to increase awareness, and different meditation programs approach this in different ways.”

Photo: ~T.Man via Flickr

Can Obama Calm Democratic Panic?

WASHINGTON — With apologies to Winston Churchill: The talk in the political class is that this is the beginning of the end of the Obama administration, while the talk in the Obama administration is that this is the end of the beginning. Which will it be?

Last week was not exactly what President Obama hoped for when he rolled out his big jobs initiative. He expected pushback from Republicans. He did not anticipate the resistance he is getting from Democrats — or, perhaps more to the point, he did not expect the questions about the bill that might inevitably arise on his side to get quite so much attention.

The administration’s own strategy was clear enough, and for the first few days it was working as planned. By putting together a rather large but relatively uncontroversial package of measures to boost the economy, Obama sought to put the Republicans on the defensive and to rally Democrats, including his progressive critics, behind a push for action.

In a series of campaign-style rallies, Obama exuded new energy. The friendly crowds he gathered radiated with a spirit that has been largely absent since the 2008 campaign. Cries of “Pass this bill!” seemed comfortingly similar to the old shouts of “Yes, we can!” And the initial response from congressional Republicans — they pointedly did not reject all of his ideas — suggested that things just might be turning the president’s way. The poll ratings of congressional Republicans, after all, are awful. Their leaders sensed that rejectionism might not be good politics.

But then the Democrats lost two special congressional elections and the administration proposed to pay for its $447 billion jobs plan with a combination of tax increases that it had proposed before and that Congress had rejected.

The elections brought to the surface all of the anxiety Democrats feel about 2012. And while Obama’s broadly progressive set of tax increases on special interests and higher-income Americans made perfect sense on its own, it risked being picked apart by particular constituencies. Oil state Democrats will always defend Big Energy and, in any event, the package couldn’t feel like a new departure because it wasn’t.

Senate Democrats, moreover, have been a problem for Obama from Day One. Because Republicans can block almost anything with their routine abuse of the filibuster, and because key Democrats who represent very conservative states are by nature balky, assembling even a majority of Senate Democrats is always an excruciating challenge.

The administration is also suffering because of its failure from the beginning to pay enough attention to courting its own side. At a moment when Obama desperately needs Democratic solidarity, there is no reservoir of good will from which he can draw.

There are many ironies in Obama’s situation. The president’s fiery rhetoric and his challenge to Republicans directly respond to long-simmering Democratic frustration over his reluctance to confront the GOP. Yet this strategy only works if Obama can concentrate on a single political front without the distraction of dissent from his own ranks. When Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell can take to the Senate floor and cite Democratic criticism of the president’s jobs bill, as he did last week, it undercuts the entire campaign.

And while the president’s proposals this week for a long-term balanced budget will be more to the liking of Democrats than were the concessions he made to House Speaker John Boehner during the debt-ceiling battle (concessions Boehner turned down), some of the cuts Obama suggests will present a new target for his critics inside the party. Here again, the president’s broad idea — short-term stimulus coupled with long-term deficit reduction — is sensible. In principle, at least, it unites the center and the left. Yet if Democrats focus more on their areas of disagreement, more time will be lost and Obama’s jobs campaign will be stalled again.

Obama and his party are grappling with the “tragedy of the commons” in a classic form. Obama, who has been so happy to stay distant and above the concerns of his Democratic allies, cannot afford to lose them now. Democrats in Congress have a long list of reasons for being resentful. The special elections will aggravate their fears of embracing the president too closely.

Yet if Obama’s presidency is weakened further, the resulting damage will afflict Democrats as a whole. However justified their past grievances might be, they have a powerful collective interest in seeing the fighting Obama get his new act off the ground.

E.J. Dionne’s email address is ejdionne(at)washpost.com.

(c) 2011, Washington Post Writers Group