Beat Your Anxiety - Breaking the Chain of Low Self Esteem with These Tips
by Sylvia Dickens
 

Low self esteem is not often associated with anxiety attacks, yet researchers have discovered a distinct connection between the two.

There is a distinct link that causes a chain reaction - low self esteem leads to self doubt; self doubt leads to anxiety.

Anxiety attacks trigger doubts. Sometimes, it’s unclear to you that this is happening because it’s usually on a sub-conscious level.  If you already have low self-esteem any concerns about taking on a task can trigger an anxiety attack. This is why it’s important that you focus on breaking the chain of low self esteem to stop your anxiety attacks.

People who experience anxiety attacks might be worried about their next school assignment, of going shopping, or of attending a social gathering. In severe cases, they are afraid to leave the house. Just getting to a medical appointment is a major trial for some people.

This is the stage where the chain of low self esteem and anxiety is in full swing.

Regardless of the cause for the anxiety attacks, people who suffer from them also experience low self-esteem and lack of confidence.

But exactly what is self-esteem?

Self esteem develops and evolves throughout our entire lives, beginning in childhood. How we learn to view ourselves as children, based on how we are treated by our parents, siblings, teachers, coaches and religious leaders will contribute to our level of self-esteem.

Our self-esteem is also defined by our successes and failures, and how we learn to handle them. We develop a view of ourselves, our self image, based on how we feel about our abilities to live effectively in the society around us. In childhood, this is a crucial aspect of our growth.

Whether we develop high or low self-esteem, we can be sure of one thing. Our level of confidence will change from one day to the next as a normal part of life. Almost everyone’s feelings and thoughts about themselves fluctuate occasionally in direct relation to the variety of experiences in their daily lives. A recent school or medical exam, how their peers treat them, job pressures and personal relationships all can have a temporary impact on how they feel on a given day.

Low self esteem involves more than just the normal ebb and flow of a person’s sense of well-being in response to everyday situations.

People who have a good, healthy sense of self will sail through those fluctuations with ease and quickly bounce back. Those with an existing low self esteem, on the other hand, can be dramatically affected by those ups and downs. They can experience depression, loneliness, anxiety attacks and panic that can be short lived or long lasting.

In fact, low self esteem can create anxiety, stress, relationship problems, impaired job performance,  underachievement and can lead to increased vulnerability to drug and alcohol abuse.

As you can see, this chain of low self esteem and anxiety can grow and expand. The resulting negative consequences reinforce the existing negative self-image, leading the person into even lower self-esteem and possibly to self-destructive behavior.

Take Baby Steps

One of the first goals for an anxiety sufferer then, must be to aim at breaking the chain of low self esteem in order to experience full, permanent recovery from their anxiety attacks.

While in a state of low self esteem and depression, and dreading yet more anxiety attacks, it can be difficult to “stretch yourself”, as some people have suggested. Much of the lack of productivity and fear related to tackling otherwise simple tasks is directly linked to the fear of failure.

Failure would present a devastating blow to an already low self esteem. The natural instinct at that point is to do nothing or experience anxiety attacks at the prospect of taking such action.

The key to overcoming this dilemma is to start small in breaking the chain of low self esteem and anxiety, and building your confidence.

One great way to begin this process is to take a close look at your abilities, skills and interests. If you can’t think of any, go back through your school reports if you still have them. Don’t worry if you had poor marks. You’ll undoubtedly find a few subjects in which you excelled. Everyone can do something extra well..

Go down the list and pick out the areas in which you did well. How do you feel about those subjects? Are they things you would like to do again?

It’s important to find something that you’ve already proven you can do well.  Most likely, when you recall your success, you will feel at the very least a slight surge of confidence. It can be anything – art class, economics, metal shop, computer work, leadership, sports, drama or music.

Would you want to get involved in that subject again? How would you proceed? Are there instructional manuals you can study? Is there a local workshop you can attend? What about night courses? Does your area have a club specifically for that interest that you can join?

Some abilities include: drawing, designing, playing an instrument, accounting/bookkeeping, drafting, sense of humor, good memory, good with your hands, mechanically inclined, electrical knowledge, working with wood, interior painting, wallpapering, working with textiles… the list is endless.

If you can find an activity that boosts your low self-esteem, makes you feel productive and talented, and gives you something positive to think about instead of focusing on your anxiety, you are sure to start seeing a tremendous improvement in your condition. You will be on the path to breaking the chain of low self esteem and curing your anxiety attacks for good.

Lengthy Depression Can Damage Brain Cells, scientists warn

by Sylvia Dickens

With the expected increase in the death rate among people with depression, researchers are looking for new ways to treat the illness that affects so many people worldwide.

By the year 2020, researchers expect depression to become second to heart disease as the leading cause of death worldwide. This is just one of the reasons they are working diligently to find a cure.

For those who suffer from depression, their world is a dark one. For many, that colorless life is unbearable as it persists year after year despite the variety of treatments that are used.

According to researchers, the secret to defeating depression starts with early intervention because the illness can, in fact, cause damage to the brain cells. The longer the depression continues, the longer the recovery time, and the longer it will take the brain cells to heal.

Traditional treatments involving a combination of psychotherapy and medications are still proving to be the most successful, although anti-depressant medications work only in 60% of the cases. For some people, they must remain on medications for the rest of their lives, but the luckier ones enjoy a life free from depression once their treatments have succeeded.

Researchers have begun testing other ways to cure depression that could put an end to the need for ongoing traditional treatments.

They have learned that in depressed people, the electrical activity – or alpha rhythms - in the frontal lobe of their brains is non-existent or very low, while other areas of the brain are over-active.

One new technique to treat this problem involves Magnetic Pulse Stimulation – a method that involves stimulating the under-active areas of the brain and deactivating the over-active ones. So far there is evidence it works. Patients have experienced a lightness, a sharpness they didn’t have before. Magnetic Pulse Stimulation gives relief, but so far it does not offer a permanent solution because subjects have relapsed and the treatments have to be repeated.

Another method being examined involves implanting an electrical stimulator into the upper chest. It sends electrical impulses to the brain. It is very expensive and involves major surgery, making it one of the least desirable and available treatments.

Also shown to be effective is SAM-e (S-adenosylmethionine), a synthetic form of a chemical produced naturally in the body that aids a number of chemical processes, including maintaining cells and influencing emotions and moods. It’s said to be more effective than anti-depressants, but this is still being challenged. More research is needed to determine its effectiveness and the dosage requirements.

While researchers look for more effective ways of treating depression, the stigma surrounding mental illness persists. This significantly impacts those suffering from depression because they do not want people to know they have a mental illness.

They delay seeking treatment because of how it will be seen by their co-workers, friends and family. It’s common today for people to suggest those who are depressed, “snap out of it”, which is impossible since the condition is a chemical one that cannot be fixed that simply.

The place where the stigma is most prominent is in the workplace, where employers are concerned about losses through time off which can affect the company’s economy. Out of fear of losing respect and their jobs, people suffer in silence.

Unfortunately, this delay in getting treatment allows the condition to worsen. In turn, it takes longer to recover.

Parents might think that all teens go through depression, and that it is a normal part of adolescence. This is untrue, as it’s been proven that 80% of people go through their teens without any psychiatric disorder.

There is evidence to prove that it is inherited. If a parent had depression, there’s a 90% chance the child will develop it, too.

Some work is being done to identify the genes that trigger depression to find out why certain families have the illness. Some people actually enjoy stress in their lives, while other people break down.

One sign that a person is suffering from depression is if that person who was once very active, perhaps even athletic suddenly loses energy and interest in things that they once enjoyed.

While we might suggest that conditions in the world today are enough to make us depressed, it’s not enough for such self-loathing.

For some people the war continues, and those who can claim victory wonder if their future is safe. Time and early diagnosis and treatment can make a big difference.