Depression Symptoms

Depression can be a difficult problem to treat in over 35% of cases that are not affected by antidepressant therapies. In this article I am reporting on a case of an elderly individual who had been in a period of Major Depression for over 1 year characterized by insomnia, panic attacks, morbid sense of worry, poor appetite, weight loss, poor concentration, and agoraphobia.

This individual had been receiving the best psychiatric care available from a psychiatrist from a teaching hospital specializing in Mood Disorders. The patient was on, in my view, on the optimal dose of antidepressant needed for more than the adequate amount of time i.e. more than 8 weeks yet was still not well (one usually knows whether or not one is going to respond after about 6 weeks, and after such time with no response the antidepressant is often withdrawn for another or is supplemented with some other agent).

In this case I inquired whether this individual might wish to try to supplement with an entirely new approach which is not well known in the conventional (or much in the naturopathic) medical community. The patient was willing.

This new approach was a new biofeedback device that is able to measure electromagnetic energy imbalances in a person’s electromagnetic field across many (almost 7000) dimensions be they those of vitamins, minerals, proteins, hormone levels etc. It is also then able to send “rebalancing” signals to that person in real time at the same levels.

This individual consented to this process and received two 45 minute sessions over a period of 1 week with this device. After this the patient’s condition changed dramatically.

The patient, following the exercise, recovered normal mood & sleep patterns, had no more anxiety or agoraphobia, had regained a significant amount of emotional and physical energy, was no longer worrying, was thinking more clearly and no longer having panic attacks.

This was over two years ago. The patient has been maintained on bi-weekly to monthly 30 minute sessions of this approach to help stabilize the condition.

The most interesting part about this new device is that the patient did not even have to travel to my office to get this experience. I was able to effect it directly from my office while the patient was at home.

Anyone who suffers from anxiety will understand when I say that getting, and more importantly, keeping a job is incredibly difficult. It’s especially challenging for those of us that have very social or customer oriented occupations. I’ve suffered from anxiety and depression for as long as I can remember and just the thought of dealing with customers makes me want to crawl under the covers and hide.

Just today, actually, I almost had to call in sick to work. The feeling was overwhelming. I woke up late, leaving me very little time to get ready for work. That right there instantly puts me in a bad mood. I hate being rushed and when I haven’t got enough sleep or I’m just tired for one reason or another…I pretty much hate everything in general.

Negative thoughts just kept circling and repeating in my head. I’d think things like, “God I really don’t want to deal with people today. I just want to be alone.” And “I’m so sick of feeling like I’m under so much pressure. I’m always in the spotlight and I just need a break.”

Somehow I managed to make it out the door. When I finally got to work (a half hour late), I almost kept driving and didn’t go in at all. The closer I got to the door, the more intense the anxiety became. Again, I somehow got myself inside and ready to work. Several times though, I was extremely close to telling my boss that I was sick and needed to go home.

I made it through the entire night of work. I didn’t think I’d even make it TO work, let alone stay the entire time. Do you want to know how I did it? Do you want to know how I’ve done it hundreds of times and managed to keep my job? It’s simple. I substitute one obsession for another. It’s really not that difficult once you get the hang of it.

Here’s how I do it. Think of one thing in your life, or just a simple thought that makes you very happy. It could be an upcoming date with your significant other, a fun party you’re going to this weekend, or something as simple as a sale they’re having on your favorite kind of donuts. Take that thought and hold on to it. Don’t let go of it no matter what you do. Focus on it…obsess over it even. Make this thought the new thing that your mind is revolving around for the time being.

In the mean time, your body has to be set on a sort of “autopilot”. Keep your mind focused on your “happy thought”, while simply letting your body go through your everyday motions. 99.9% of the struggle is getting in the door at your place of employment. Once you’re in and working, you’ll naturally start to realize it’s not as terrifying as you thought it would be. The same goes for any other place or setting that causes you great anxiety.

You might feel a little silly walking around with a permanent smile on your face for what seems like no reason to everyone else, but you only have to do it until the anxiety passes. Once you’re in the door, you can start focusing on your work and get back to being you.

To sum things up in their most basic form, you need to find a happy thought to focus on and block out the cause of your anxiety. Meanwhile, you physically go on “autopilot” and keep doing your everyday tasks. Once you’re “in the door”, the coast is clear. That’s how I get through those tough situations when anxiety is trying to rule my life. I really hope this method helps you too.

Do you wonder if you are suffering from panic or anxiety? Do you feel stressed and worried on a constant basis? If so, you might be suffering from panic or anxiety attacks. What are panic attacks and what can you do to lessen the stress of them?

These attacks are caused by stress, addiction, worrying, anxiety, and nervousness. These are extreme cases of all of these different things. We all experience some level of stress and nervousness, but when you are having attacks it causes you to alter your life. You might start drinking more, start doing drugs, feel lonely, or not want to do much of anything. These are all symptoms of panic or anxiety attacks.

If you are a constant worrier, then you might suffer from anxiety or panic attacks. If you cannot just be relaxed and you have to worry about something, then you should seek counseling to get to the root of your anxiety. This is usually caused by something deeper than what you think is the cause.

If you suffer from these types of attacks you can help prevent them by exercising, becoming more social, and talking about what is bothering you. When you exercise you are able to relax your mind and body. You get a chance to relieve some stress and get away from the busy world that we live in. You can walk your dog, go for a jog, take a swim, or just hit the gym. Anything active will help even if it is only 15 minutes a day. Plus exercise will help you build confidence and self-esteem. When you feel better about yourself you are less likely to have a panic attack.

Becoming more social can be hard, but it can also relieve stress and anxiety. Part of panic attacks is the feeling of wanting to be alone. This is not good and you can combat it by joining a group of some sort that will force you to be social. This can be a sports clubs, sports league, church, a class, or anything else social. You should also talk to your family and friends about what is bothering you. Sometimes just talking about it can prevent a panic or anxiety attack. Plus it is always nice to get it all out in the open and stop having to stress about it.

Now you know the answer to “What are panic attacks?” You can begin to prevent your panic attacks by exercising, becoming more social, and talking about your problems. If the attacks persist you should see your doctor for help.

Panic and anxiety attacks are related to the brain’s hyper-reaction to stressful situations or thoughts. They include such symptoms as: racing heart, shaking, perspiring, feeling dizzy, feeling short of breath, hot flashes, and tightness in the chest.

These are also symptoms for a multitude of other serious ailments unrelated to panic and anxiety disorders, therefore it is very important to see your doctor if you think you have a panic and anxiety disorder. Panic and anxiety attacks are related, but do not necessarily happen concurrently.

The three main types of panic attacks include: spontaneous, specific, and situational predisposed panic attacks. The first can happen anytime, anywhere, from eating to sleeping to walking the dog. The second type happens in familiar stressful situations or when related to a previous anxiety attack. The third refers to having an attack only in certain specific places or situations, such as at the car wash, or in the grocery store.

There are many treatments and tips for panic attacks that range from simple distraction to prescribed medication. When considering medication, be sure to weigh the benefits against the possible side effects.

Reducing panic as soon as it starts can stop a panic attack all together, because you’re interrupting your physical reaction to the emotion, which reduces the level of adrenalin produced, which in turn decreases your anxiety. Here are some simple tips for panic attacks:

1.Being light-hearted with yourself and your view of the world will present fewer stressful situations.

2.As soon as you feel stressed out, think of a silly word, image, or story (the funnier the better). The distraction will help diffuse the anxiety.

3.Immediately get up do something different like going for walk. A quick change of scenery can help to distract you.

4.Concentrate on your breathing - slow and deep breaths.

5.Afterwards, jot down what you were thinking about so you can learn how your mind works and what happens during your panic attacks. This will help you be able to anticipate things give you a much better chance of overcoming panic attacks.

6.Get out and exercise more often and eat well. Stay away from stimulants such as coffee and alcohol as much as possible, which negatively affect your emotions.

Good luck and good health!

am·bi·gu·i·ty (_m’b_-gy__’_-t_), n. pl. am·bi·gu·i·ties

1. Doubtfulness or uncertainty as regards interpretation. 2. Something of doubtful meaning. (The American Heritage®, Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. ©2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.)

The cultural tide toward simplification to relieve our power-strip lifestyles has missed its mark, and we’ve become stranded on the shores of oversimplification. Complex concepts are regularly reduced to sound bites. Quotations are easier to digest than essays. The candidate is either perfect or fatally flawed. Book titles have to say it all. And any big new idea needs to be completely explainable in a 12-minute Oprah segment, being sure to leave enough time for our girl to express her thoughts!

And check me out - I’m writing an article.

Unfortunately, this tidal wave of simplification has left us somewhat intolerant of ambiguity, the everyday, real-life state of being unclear, open to interpretation, or lacking a right answer. As in, it doesn’t exist. At all. There is no right answer. More and more, this is unacceptable to people, and it’s taking a toll on our individual psyches.

A Sampling of the Cost of Ambiguity Intolerance

1. Decreased Psychological and Emotional Resilience. No matter how clever you are at making up stories to explain why things happen, sooner or later something will happen to you that you can’t explain away. A death, a disaster, a young person’s disappointing choice, a lover’s sudden exit… life does baffle us. It’s part of our human inheritance. Not being able to accept the unexplainable cripples our ability to heal and recover.

2. Decreased Interpersonal Tolerance. The easiest escape from ambiguity is to make someone or something wrong, and when there’s a someone available to take the heat, he or she will usually have a different set of values than we do. That quickly boils down to someone with a different birth culture, religion, personal style, skin color, gender, sexual orientation… you know the list. Our inner prejudices (another human inheritance) come to life.

3. Increased Anxiety. For those of us who are fond of order and knowing what’s right and what’s wrong, ambiguous situations provoke stress. Maybe we thought the press was impartial, then learn they aren’t. Maybe we thought the army had a clear mission, then learn they don’t. Maybe our hero is revealed to have weaknesses. We trusted something and our trust is violated. We feel thrown off balance, out of our element, suddenly unsure of… everything. With the propensity of ambiguousness in real life, we can find ourselves living with a constant level of nail-biting, overeating, nicotine-craving anxiety.

4. Risk Aversion and Abdicated Responsibility. Avoiding situations that lack simplicity, understandability and a sure outcome means that golden opportunities in real estate or other investments are surely missed. Even more dangerous is turning one’s financial responsibilities over to an “expert” to manage; it takes rigorous self-honesty to discern whether it’s a genuine and affordable self-supportive action versus an irresponsible avoidance. Stewarding our own resources and choosing our own risks are privileges and part of our emotional maturing process.

5. Decreased Creativity. A primary fuel for the creative spark is chaos - a dance of unanswered questions, unsolved mysteries, convoluted problems requiring out-of-the-box thinking, innovative approaches and fresh, unprecedented perspectives. Creativity is born of the ambiguous, and (most personally tragic of all these costs) those who can’t tolerate the ambiguous lose a great deal of their creativity.

Five Keys to Making Friends with Ambiguity

1. Give Up Right & Wrong. Hamlet said it best: “There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so.” Which is a fancy way of saying we make this stuff up. Our ideas about right & wrong are just that - ideas. Ideas that spring from inside us, not out in the world. There is no monolithic yardstick in a field near Stonehenge where things can be measured objectively. The good news is that we don’t need one. Whether or not something is right or wrong for the world is an irrelevant and unanswerable question (ironic, no?); whether it’s right for each of us as individuals - that’s relevant. And you are the authority on what is right for you. Cancel your subscription to the outer yardstick digest, and start letting others decide what’s right for them.

2. Be Compassionate All Around. Ambiguity is stressful, this is a fact. How we relate to it makes the difference between tolerance and intolerance. Having compassion for ourselves is a key step. Breathe in and out, acknowledging inwardly that it’s hard to just be with the uncertainty and not take a position. Pat yourself on the back when you manage to resist that urge to contract into intolerance. And when you see others losing that struggle, remember that it’s not easy, that it’s actually painful sometimes, and give them a break. Maybe they’ll get it next time.

3. Practice Not Knowing. The absence of ambiguity - the clarity, absoluteness, certainty that we enjoy so often - is almost always an illusion. We don’t actually know most of what we think we know, and thinking it is very limiting. It limits our creativity and our ability to see the untold possibilities of any given situation. Let go of the illusion of knowing. Spend a day coming up with as many unconsidered alternatives as possible, and make sure some of them are outlandish. Creativity is a very satisfying replacement for false knowledge, and it keeps our integrity intact.

4. Trust Yourself. When you feel the stress of ambiguity, it’s often accompanied by a fear that something frightening will happen. A boogeyman will attack in the fog. Here’s some news: the boogeyman is not what you’re afraid of. What you are truly afraid of is the lashing you’ll take from your inner critics for not anticipating the boogeyman. Fire them. You don’t have to be prepared for every eventuality. You have resourcefulness, intelligence, creativity, courage, compassion and resilience, and they will have your back when the unanticipated appears. Trust yourself. You can handle the boogeyman.

5. Laugh. Humor is the great spell breaker, and our distress over ambiguity is a big, fat spell. With the illusion of knowing gone, with the defeat of tyrants right & wrong (hey, that rhymes), the truth is revealed. Ambiguity is our constant companion, and it’s not a monster to be destroyed with sound bites. Put the torches away. Life wants to be complex sometimes, and isn’t that OK? Can’t we let the lawyers play too? Turn Oprah off and buy the boogeyman a coffee. In fact, vote for the boogeyman. Someone has to do that job, and it may as well be someone with some complexity.

Examples of Ambiguity

Below are three ever-present examples of ambiguity in everyday life. Many people experience extreme discomfort in any situation where these issues are discussed or even mentioned. Most of us feel this to varying degrees. For some, the discomfort is so high that they cannot tolerate it and will develop coping mechanisms, reacting to the ambiguity in somewhat predictable ways.

I want to emphasize that their intolerance is for the discomfort, not for the people involved, although in some reactions it may seem that way.

Two common types of intolerant reactions are:

• Rigidity, a “clamping down” in which the person believes their preferred solution to be absolutely right and all other possibilities to be wrong. These reactions are often marked by righteousness.

• Abdication, a refusal to form a personal opinion in an effort to avoid involvement in the ambiguity altogether. Some who are overly involved in New Age spiritual paradigms also abdicate to avoid ambiguity, explaining things away as God’s will. These reactions are often marked by apathy.

Example 1: Politics

Most political issues lack a clear solution that works for everyone every time. One’s personal and moral values, as well as one’s position in society (including age, gender, socioeconomic status, occupation, marital and parental status), will heavily influence how they view the issues. Here are a few specific examples:

• Immigration. Should the nation’s borders be sealed, or should we try to maintain this country as a land of asylum and opportunity? What information, such as wars, genocides or human rights violations in other countries should factor in at any given time?

• Abortion. Should people have the choice of whether or not to continue a pregnancy? What factors should be considered? Why should such factors make a difference?

• Suicide and Euthanasia. Should people have the choice of whether or not to continue their own lives? What factors should be considered? Why should such factors make a difference?

Rigid Reaction: The right answer is A, here’s the evidence and that’s the way it is. Anyone who disagrees is just wrong. If you aren’t with us, you’re against us.

Abdicating Reaction: I can see how some think A is best and how others think B is best. Maybe they’re all right, I don’t know. I don’t really have an opinion.

Tolerant Response: I think A is the best solution, though I admit it isn’t ideal. It won’t be resolved anytime soon. In the meantime, it’s interesting to hear other points-of-view and to share mine (if people are open to hearing it).

Example 2: Religion

Among religions (and among sects or even individual churches of the same religions), beliefs, sacred texts, practices, and prayer vary widely. Groups have widely different takes on marriage, money, sex, drugs/alcohol, even dancing. People with low ambiguity tolerance can feel threatened by a lack of external validation for their religious orientation. Authentic faith, born of a strong and complex personal relationship with the divine (whatever that is conceived to be), is a powerful foundation for building one’s ambiguity tolerance.

Rigid Reaction: Ours is the only true religion/spiritual practice. Many others think their religion is the one, and that’s sad because it’s not the case. We do what we can to help them, but some people just aren’t open to new and better ideas.

Abdicating Reaction: Religion is just a way to fulfill a need for belonging. I’ve tried lots of them and they’re really all the same. It doesn’t matter which one you’re in. I mean, who cares?

Tolerant Response: I’m a proud member of my religion/spiritual practice. It feels nourishing and uplifting to me, but I know it doesn’t feel that way to everyone.

Example 3. Personal Choice

Making choices is one of our most fundamental rights as empowered, individual, learning beings. We can all remember as teens hearing adults advise us against some potentially poor choice, but we knew instinctively that we needed to choose it and live out the consequences ourselves. This still applies. The people around us make choices all the time that seem poor to us, and vice versa. Here are just a few examples:

• A high school senior is offered a prestigious but unpaid internship for the summer in New York, but he chooses to work for minimum wage with his friends at an auto body shop.

• A woman decides to stay with the boyfriend who crashed her car and refuses to admit he was buzzed or to pay for the damage.

• A 56-year-old man marries a 25-year-old woman.

Rigid Reaction: What is he thinking? I told him not to do it. It will give me no pleasure to say “I told you so,” but I will because I did! What an idiot.

Abdicating Reaction: People have their own reasons for doing things. It isn’t my place to judge or to say anything. If something bad happens, I’ll do my best to be supportive but y’know, I’m so busy.

Tolerant Response: I wish he wouldn’t do this. I told him my opinion, but it is his choice and I let him know I’ll support him whatever he decides. We’ll see what happens and then go from there. If he needs help, I’ll probably help him.

Films that Are Rich with Ambiguity

For this list, I’m using the word ambiguity to specifically refer to the absence of a clear, “right” answer or resolution. The following films contain characters and/or situations in which there is irresolvable conflict. Watching such films is an opportunity to practice tolerance by witnessing the conflict, resisting the urge to simplify the issue, and forming a personal opinion without deciding it’s therefore resolved.

25th Hour (2002)

3:10 to Yuma (2007)

Blade Runner (1982)

Capote (2005)

Crash (2005)

Gone Baby Gone (2007)

I Am Sam (2001)

Lone Star (1996)

Magnolia (1999)

Sideways (2004)

Solaris (2002)

The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)

The Village (2004)

Traffic (2000)

Unforgiven (1992)

For some people, panic and anxiety attacks seems to take over their lives, and they may suffer from a variety of these attacks at any time of the day or night. It is possible to stop panic attack symptoms from occurring but there are some things that need to be done and identified before this is the case.

For example, what is really at the root of your panic attacks? Do you have any family history of individuals who also suffered in the way that you are suffering? This is often the case but medical science is unaware of why exactly this is.

If you are dealing with panic and anxiety attacks, you don’t need to feel as if you’re alone. This seems to be an increasing condition in today’s society for reasons that are really not known. As a matter of fact, there are several different things which may be causing these panic and anxiety attacks that you are dealing with. Knowing what is at the root of the problem may actually help you to overcome it, at least to the point where you’re able to deal with it effectively and live your life again.

Of course, identifying panic and anxiety attack symptoms as they are occurring is one of the important parts of overcoming the problem as well. Typically, the panic attack symptoms only tend to compound the anxiety that we are actually feeling. Especially when we wake up in the middle of a panic attack can this be a difficult thing. By the time we are fully awake and realize what is happening, it can be too late for us to calm ourselves in any way.

I find that the best way to deal with panic and anxiety attacks is to actually ride them out instead of trying to struggle my way through them. If you can stay on top of them and ride on that curve, you will notice that they tend to end faster and you are less worn as a result.

Although not a permanent panic and anxiety attack treatment, it can help you whenever you are dealing with one and need immediate assistance.

Are you suffering from panic and anxiety attacks? Is there a cure for panic attacks?

They can be one of the most life altering emotional roller coasters that we can possibly go on. They seem to attack out of nowhere and can come on at any time of the day or night. In fact, most sufferers live in fear of the possibility of a panic attack occurring out of the blue.

How many times have you stayed at home because of this fear? If you are ready for some relief, a cure for panic attacks may be only a few days away.

The most important part about coming up with a cure for panic attacks is understanding what is actually at the root of the panic. Most of the time, these attacks tend to come on because of a life altering situation that happens to us. Perhaps someone that we loved dearly has passed away or we may have been forced into a move for some reason or another. There certainly is not a lack of things in today’s world which can turn our lives upside down.

Two other causes that may be at the root of your panic attacks can be genetic issues and vitamin deficiencies.

The best thing that you can do if you are suffering is to take some supplemental vitamins, especially vitamin B and, importantly, to seek professional help.

There are plenty of natural cures out there which have helped many individuals to overcome these situations. When all else fails, one of these may work for you too.

Of course, it may be necessary to go a bit further in order to cure panic attack symptoms for good. Learning to control your emotions and to deal with the curve balls that life tends to throw at us is a good start. All of us have difficulties but if you are dealing with panic attacks, then those difficulties are compounded. Get to the root of the problem and cure it from there.

The ultimate cure for panic attacks is to find the cause and then work on coping methods to see you through the attacks, gradually desensitizing yourself from the fear and the symptoms.

Do you feel stressed on a regular basis? Are you constantly worrying about something and you just cannot figure out how to stop? You might be suffering from panic attacks, but there is help. You Can Overcome panic attacks with these simple steps.

The first step to overcoming your problem is to read as much as you can about anxiety and panic attacks. This will help you understand the causes of anxiety. When you begin to understand what is causing your problem you will be able to break the habits that make you feel stressed and worried.

The second step is to seek professional help. See a counselor or a doctor to figure out what it is that you can do to stop your panic attacks. You should pay attention to the greater disease from within and begin to understand what is causing you so much trouble.

The third step is to figure out how to relax. Get a massage, exercise, walk your dog, play golf, or whatever it is that gets you away from the world for a while and allows you to relax. We all need to relax and recharge. Without relaxation you will just make your situation worse. Exercise actually helps us relax our body and our mind. It is one of the best things you can possibly do to help you overcome anxiety and panic attacks.

These steps can be followed to help in overcoming panic attacks. There are also many other natural ways to avoid having anxiety that you can look into. This is just a short look into what you can do to avoid the unwanted worries and stress in your life. Read up and learn as much as you can about anxiety and panic attacks, then ask a professional counselor to help you get to the root of your problem, and finally figure out what you can do on a regular basis to relax. Follow these steps and you can drastically improve your life.

When a panic attack happens, you may feel like you are losing it, you may think that your mind is just being overtaken; you can not concentrate or focus. You feel physically shaken; your legs are jelly, your stomach hurts, your muscles do not move as you are telling them to. Your heart is beating like crazy and you may feel like you are having a heart attack.

One in every seventy five people worldwide will experience a panic attack at least once in their lives. One third of Americans will experience panic attacks every year. If you are one of them please read further to find out what you can do to prevent a panic attack and if you are having one, how to find quick relief during a panic attack.

First of all cut down on artificial stimulants like caffeine, cigarettes and alcohol. Caffeine can be found in colas, tea, coffee, chocolate and energy drinks. Reducing or eliminating caffeine and other stimulants is a great way to help the body deal with anxiety and stress as well. Although they may seem to help you calm down, they’re actually having the opposite effect. This will help cutting the fuel of the panic attacks.

When you experience a panic attack try to imagine yourself in a peaceful, stress-free place of your choice. For many, the beach or a mountain stream may be a choice location. Breathe in until your lungs are full, then hold the air for a second or so before you slowly exhale. Repeat this exercise 5 times. Breathing from the diaphragm rather than chest breathing is an effective way to control and slow down breathing. When exhaling try to relieve all the worries and anxiety. Stay in this place until you are feeling calm and secure.

Waiting for feelings of anxiety to leave by checking every second, is like waiting for a pot to boil (it never seems to happen). The key reason why this distraction works, as a useful tip for panic attacks is that it moves your attention away from that repetitive internal checking and puts your attention somewhere else - in this case in a stress free place of your choice.

Exercise as much as possible. A 30 minute walk in the park daily will sometimes work wonders. This is often an over looked field of good mental health. Mild or moderate activities will help you overcome your panic attacks.

Symptoms are your bodies way of telling you that something has to change.

A few months back, one of my clients was having a really hard time. He was having an anxiety attack and depression. He was desperate for help.

We worked together for quite a while. I adjusted him and I did some emotional work in an attempt to give him some relief. My patients were starting to back up, so I had him go for a walk and come back. I knew we had more to do.

When he came back, we sat down to have a chat. I told him about when I had anxiety attacks.

Here is my story in a nutshell.

Many years ago, I was having anxiety attacks and they were getting progressively worse. I remember driving in the car with my family and having crazy thoughts of dying, my car rolling, my wife being killed and my dogs getting lost on the freeways. After dinner every night I would need to go for a walk to calm my feelings of impending death. It was bad. I had pain and pressure in my chest that I just knew was my heart failing.

I had been checked out by a medical doctor. I was getting regular adjustments. I was taking all kinds of supplements. Nothing was working to alleviate my symptoms.

One night after dinner and my walk, it kept getting worse. I walked some more. I tried to focus on something else. Nothing calmed it. I woke up my wife, Barbara, and had her call 911.

The fire department came with the paramedics. I remember sitting on the edge of the fire truck with the sticky pads stuck to my chest as they ran the EKG. I remember the fear I was under. Mostly, however, I remember Barbara standing with a neighbor’s arm around her as she watched me and cried.

That was my bottom.

I made a decision. Something had to change.

I started by assessing my bad habits, the toxins that I kept putting into my body, and right then elected to quit them. I started an exercise program, began daily affirmations and addressed other areas of my lifestyle. My anxiety went away and never came back.

I asked my patient, “Are there any toxins in your life that you know you should let go of?” He said, “Yes” and committed to quit.

He then asked me, “Can you please do something about this anxiety I am feeling now?”

I asked him, “If I waved a magic wand and took this pain you are feeling away right now, would you quit?”

He said, “No.”

He quit drinking that night and now, he looks great. His anxiety is gone. He has a new outlook on life.

Our symptoms are our body’s way of getting our attention. Numbing these messages out or ignoring them can lead to more serious consequences.

Listen to your body. It will save your life.