Panic and anxiety are always unwanted visitors as far as anyone is concerned. Anxiety in a way, robs people of their everyday life because when anxiety occurs, the feelings it brings about are all the anxiety sufferer can think about.

Having feelings of being unreal or in another world are how many people describe anxiety attacks. Some even believe they are going out of their minds. However, anxiety sufferers are not going out of their minds. Anxiety is a condition where adrenaline is secreted through the bloodstream uncontrollably. It has nothing to do with insanity. Anxiety sufferers may have unreal feelings while they are having anxiety attacks, but actually, these people are usually normal and well adjusted.

This article is a discussion about just what is happening to a person who is having an anxiety or panic attack. It also gives advice about handling anxiety is such a way one can begin to overcome this condition.

It is All About the Struggle

Adrenaline shoots through our veins in response to fight or flight. What this means is, when we are struggling to overcome some situation or when we are trying to get away from something, such as a wild animal, adrenaline will enter into our bloodstreams. This adrenaline is there to help us fight better and run away faster. In certain situations it is good that we are able to fight better or run faster, but when adrenaline secretion is already giving us feelings of unreality, fighting this adrenaline secretion or trying to run away from it only secrets more adrenaline and makes us feel more unreal.

When we experience panic/anxiety, our body functions differently because of adrenaline. Because of the different way our body is functioning at this time we will feel things we normally don’t and usually, these feelings can be disconcerting. However, when we fight or run away from these feelings we bring on more unusual feelings and so we compound our misery.

Sooner or later, panic attacks always end. When they do they often leave us totally spent. It is at this time we start to put our guards up against any signs of another one coming. This “putting our guard up” is a form a fighting or running away, and so it increases the chance another panic attack will come on soon.

As you can see, trying to fight off panic is not only futile it creates nervousness, which if handled incorrectly will result in more panic attacks. So, it stands to reason that not fighting or even giving up is a better way to defeat anxiety and panic.

Giving Up or, Passivity

Though it seems like a strange approach for those of us who have fought for everything we have, the way to victory over anxiety and panic is to give up fighting. Surrendering to anxiety starts the recovery process because when we give up we no longer add adrenaline flow to our already adrenaline rich bloodstreams.

Developing the attitude of letting panic do to you whatever it will is the way to lessening the severity of each panic attack as they occur. In time, and maybe you will be surprised how short a time, no panic at all will occur because by ignoring the symptoms of panic, such as feelings of unreality, you will have taken the teeth out of panic. When there is nothing to fear, there is nothing left to fight, no adrenaline and so, no panic.

Depression is a common malady that strikes many people at some point in their lives. It can rob the affected individual of enjoyment, hope, and fulfillment in relationships. Sometimes, it is an intimate relationship that is the root of the problem, other times it can be brain chemistry or a life transition that is causing the feelings of hopelessness, sadness, despair, or anxiety about the future. It may be necessary in severe cases to intervene medically with pharmaceutical medications, however in many instances, natural methods may successfully treat depression symptoms. Here are 5 natural approaches for treating depression:

1.  Address your diet. Focus on a healthy, whole food diet as much as possible. This means reducing your intake of highly processed foods that contain empty calories and sugars. Lots of fresh vegetables, fruit, whole grains, and lean protein are a good general guideline for your diet. If you struggle with appetite, carry around and make available snack foods that you can eat a mouthful at a time, here and there. Good choices are high protein snacks such as jerky and mixed nuts (almonds and cashews are preferable to peanuts). If you tend to overeat, be sure you are not eating while distracted, i.e. in front of the tv, and plan to set a time in the evening where you stop eating.

2.  Try supplements. A good, food based multivitamin is an excellent start. You may also add calcium, and a fish oil supplement. Fish oil has a myriad of benefits, including anti-inflammatory, cardiovascular, skin health, and brain health. You may take 5 HTP (hydroxytryptophan), which is a percursor to serotonin. This is a good natural antidepressant and mood regulator. It may be taken in conjunction with L-Theanine, which is an excellent supplement if your depression tends to manifest with anxiety.

3.  Implement an exercise program. Add in some exercise according to your doctor’s recommendations. Depending on your fitness level, you want to add in some sustained cardiovascular exercise for maximum benefit. What you are looking to do with exercise is elevate your heart rate for a period of time so that the “feel good” endorphins are released into your body. Ideally, you want to work up to 45 minutes of cardio activity 5 times per week, but any exercise is better than none at all.

4.  Talk out your challenges. Find a good counselor to speak to. Having an objective, trained counselor with no vested interest in your decisions is an invaluable resource. Close friends and family can also be a wonderful support and help you gain a more accurate perspective on  your struggles.

5.  Try other forms of self care. Try creating a list of small but enjoyable activities you can do every day. Choose one thing you can do every day to show yourself some kindness and nurture, and do it. Cross these items off your list as they are completed, and make a new list once you have exhausted that one.

Depression is a vicious cycle. Those who are trapped in it may not realize themselves that they are depressed. Often times, it slips underneath the person’s emotional radar, rendering the person unaware of its causes and presence.

It takes a conscious effort for a person to keep a consistent state of happiness. Accepting reality as it is, in both hard times and soft, is one way to deal with depression. The person must directly embrace the faults of reality, its potentially harsh circumstances - by doing so, the person has re-paved the path of happiness.

Depression in its bare form is simply a lack of direction. The elements of hope and trust are missing, thus causing the person to feel down and dimmed. The person has to first realize that depression, like all other things, is preventable. It is a choice to feel a certain emotion; essentially the person who is experiencing depression is choosing to experience it.

“The flowers are bright, but the person’s mind is dark”. Reality is purely subjective. One can choose a pessimistic viewpoint on an absolutely bright and sunny day, while another person can see beauty in spite of the darkest clouds. This applies in every aspect. The first thing the person must do is embrace the experience of depression. Depression does not occur because of some outside circumstance. It occurs internally, when the body and mind have developed a negative disposition.

Depression is closely linked to the conditions of anguish and anxiety. The person is not consciously aware of anguish. Often times, the condition of anguish was caused by the repression of a past event - perhaps a lost loved one, an emotional breakdown, etc. In regard to anxiety, the cause is usually discovered within conscious levels of thought. It takes a little self-questioning on the person’s part in order to locate anxiety’s root cause.

What lifts depression is the capability to understand it. By understanding the nature of it, the person will be able to identify what it is that’s hiding beneath. Like happiness, depression is influenced by the person’s habits and activities. The things that surround the person strongly influence that person. If the person is surrounded by negativity and fear, then it is likely that they will experience the same. On the opposite end, if the person essentially chooses to be around positive events, then depression would be less of a problem or no problem at all.

The mind works in the way that it looks for proof of its beliefs. If the mind is experiencing depression, then it will seek depressing events. The person will likely listen to saddening music, watch saddening shows, etc. However, this circumstance can be easily altered - by listening to uplifting songs, perhaps ceasing to watch a depressing news story, etc. It’s all choice at the bottom of it. Regardless of the “circumstances”, emotions are a choice. Just like life, it’s entirely subjective. People create their own realities. Everything that has occurred internally was earned to an extent. It takes courage and hope to realize that something like depression isn’t going to last forever. That is, unless it is chosen.