RELAXATION

It is argued that relaxation is one of the most effective self-help strategies for a healthy body and healthy mind.  It can help to prevent the development of stress and anxiety and depression, and can help you sleep.

Relaxation exercises and techniques are used to combat the signs and symptoms of stress and anxiety, to relax the body and clear the mind - that sounds ACE.  I thought that I would give it a go.

Of course any exercises or guided relaxation won't magically make the cause of your anxiety disappear; but what they can and will do is provide you with the necessary skills so that you will probably feel more able to deal with whatever is/was that was/is once the source of your anxiety; and it will do this by releasing you of any fear or tension that you may feel, and by clearing your thoughts. Right, OK. I'm ready to give that a go.

Most relaxation techniques combine breathing more deeply, and combine this with relaxing the muscles.  As with most things, this is learnt behavior. Relaxation is a skill that needs to be learned, and it will come with practice and become easier.  Both Yoga and Tai Chi (see previous TAI CHI BLOG) have been found to be good forms of exercise that help to improve posture and breathing and relaxation.

Awareness of ourselves and the world around us – is now often called, or is referred to as 'mindfulness' – and it is felt participating in 'mindfulness' and practicing 'mindfulness' that this can improve our mental wellbeing.  Mindfulness is advocated by the Mental Health Foundation.  Mindfulness therefore is a "mind-body based approach that helps people change the way they think and feel about their experiences, especially stressful experiences." 

This is sometimes referred to as Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT).  "Mindfulness training helps us become more aware of our thoughts and feelings so that instead of being overwhelmed by them, we're better able to manage them."  Mindfulness is felt to be a valuable tool in restoring people's quality of life: "Mindfulness therefore is a mind-body approach to well-being that can help you change the way you think about experiences and reduce stress and anxiety."

Research has found; and there is growing evidence that 'Mindfulness' can help with: 

• Depression
• Anxiety
• Stress 
• Chronic Pain 
• Chronic Fatigue Symptom
• Insomnia 

All of these are symptoms that can be experienced with MS.

It is important to remember that relaxation or meditation or mindfulness won't make the cause of the anxiety disappear, it won't alleviate the source of your anxiety; what it will do is it will equip you so that you will probably feel more able to deal with whatever it was that was causing your stress.  Surely that has got to be a good thing?

While Mindfulness can be practiced quite well without Buddhism, Buddhism cannot be practiced without Mindfulness.  In its Buddhist context, mindfulness meditation has three overarching purposes: 'knowing the mind'; 'training the mind'; and 'freeing the mind'.

Relaxation and Meditation and Mindfulness are each concerned with developing techniques that enable us to live in the 'here' and 'now'.  They are about living in the present, about learning to live in the present.  About enjoying the moment.  About enjoying this moment.  I have slowing been trying to re-educate myself, to ensure that I live in the present.  This isn't easy.  This is not an easy thing to learn.  But, I am learning.

I love Audrey Hepburn, I adore Audrey Hepburn, everything about Audrey.  Her grace and her beauty, obviously; but she radiated other qualities of kindness and goodness.  She was kind and thoughtful in her actions, she took time and was appreciative of the good things that she had in her life.  She knew hardship and sorrow and heart-break, but she appeared to deal with everything effortlessly with style and grace.  She appeared to know the importance of living in the moment and taking pleasure from the simple things in life.  This is something that I have always admired tremendously.  Therefore an approach that I have taken to life is: 'What would Audrey do?'  That is my mantra in trying to be a better person.  What would Audrey do?

WORRY

I worry.  I worry way too much.  And I know I'm not the only one.  I'm naturally good at it.  I can't stop it.  I need to stop it.

Most people do worry, and in some instances this can be positive or even productive i.e. if it prompts people to take precautions, such as buying insurance, wearing sun screen, wearing a condom, stopping smoking, eating healthier, drinking less or avoiding risky or dangerous behaviour altogether.  This sort of worry is useful, has a purpose, it's sensible, valid, and reasonable.  This isn't the type of worry that I am talking about.

No.  I'm talking about that anxiety-laden-stress-related worry.  I'm talking about that all-consuming, panic-inducing, terrifying kind of worry.  When you let the irrational thoughts take over. I am talking about when levels of worrying can reach toxic levels.  I am talking about when worry becomes extreme; when worrying reaches and becomes excessive.  And not only excessive, but irrational.  This is certainly not positive and not productive.  Excessive worry is the main component of what is known as Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). GAD is an anxiety disorder that is characterized by excessive, uncontrollable and often irrational worry; sometimes to the point where the perceived doom and gloom seem to be apparent indicators of impending disaster.

Worry therefore refers to a negative set of emotions or fears, very much in the same way that people experience anxiety (see previous ANXIOUS BLOG). And, as with anxiety, worry can also be accompanied by physiological symptoms such as sweating, dizziness, insomnia, fatigue, restlessness, increased heartbeat or raised blood pressure.  These are unpleasant side effects to say the least.  And, it is difficult, almost impossible to function when the worrying reaches such excessive levels.  It is difficult, almost impossible to turn off these negative feelings and the physiological symptoms that accompany them.

People worry about all sorts of issues.  I worry about all sorts of issues.  Work. Health.  Relationships.  Money.  Family. Friends.  Some of these fears and worries are justified.  But, sometimes, quite a lot of the time, these fears and worries are largely unfounded.  And even when worries are justified, worry does nothing to control these fears. Worry does not find a solution. Worrying does not help.

It is now thought that worry may be genetic, with examples of worry being hereditary and running in families; therefore some people perhaps have a genetic predisposition to worry.  I know that I especially worry about things that are out of my control, and that I can do nothing about.  This really is a silly thing to do.  I know it is a silly thing to do. And yet, I still do it.  I worry excessively about things that are not within my control.

It has been found that caffeine may cause or worsen anxiety.  That GAD sufferers may be abnormally sensitive to caffeine, and that eliminating caffeine can largely eliminate GAD in some cases.  However, it should be noted that anxiety can temporarily increase during caffeine withdrawal!

So, worrying doesn't achieve anything, worrying doesn't take away tomorrow's troubles, it simply robs today of its joy. So the message would seem to be 'Don't Worry.  Be Happy', and 'Love More.  Worry Less'.

ANXIOUS

Anxiety is something we all experience from time to time.  Perhaps anxiety as a result of uncertainty.

Anxiety disorders are recorded as some of the most common mental health problems, and their very categorization as a 'mental health problem' ensures that there is a stigma and discrimination associated with anxiety.  As with many mental health issues, for the sufferer there is the fear of being alone, and this can be the worst source of anxiety of all, the anxiety of feeling detached from your environment and the people in it.

 

Anxiety can be seen as a 'modern plague'.  Anxiety due perhaps to uncertainty and due to the unrealistic expectations that we place upon ourselves.  Expectations to BE more, to DO more.  And the fear that we won't live up to these unrealistic expectations.  Anxiety is those intense feelings of fear, panic, doom, foreboding, gloom.  These can be accompanied by physical symptoms such as dizziness, nausea, trembling. When your heart beats, pounds, races and in that moment you let the irrational thoughts take over and gain control.

 

Anxiety is not the same as fear.  Fear is regarded as an appropriate response to a perceived threat; something intimidating or dangerous or frightening. Anxiety is a feeling of fear, worry, and uneasiness, but it is largely unfocused and often irrational; it is seen as an overreaction to a situation that is only subjectively seen as menacing; a dread of something unlikely to happen.

 

However real or imagined the fear is; no matter how irrational, it is often uncontrollable and it certainly is very unpleasant.

Anxiety is often accompanied by restlessness, fatigue, problems in concentration, and muscular tension. Anxiety is not considered to be a normal reaction to a perceived situation.  But these symptoms of inner turmoil that are experienced are themselves very unpleasant and very real.  It has been suggested that 'anxiety' could be defined as agony, dread, terror, or even apprehension. People often experience physical, psychological and behavioural symptoms when they feel anxious or stressed.  In addition stress and anxiety are known to affect the body's ability to fight disease.

 

So symptoms of Anxiety can include symptoms of restlessness, fatigue, irritability, muscle tension, difficulty sleeping, and difficulty concentrating.  It is therefore not terribly surprising that anxiety is associated with living with multiple sclerosis (MS) (it is thought that about a third of people with MS are affected) which not only shares some symptoms (fatigue), but which is itself a source of uncertainty.

 

It is not surprising that living with a chronic condition that is so unpredictable that anxiety is therefore another symptom of the MS that I am trying to understand and come to terms with.  MS is the fear that causes my anxiety.  I live with a constant state of uncertainty and therefore of anxiety. 

 

For me, my source of anxiety is the overwhelming, overpowering, devastating fear that I am not good enough.  My uncertainty leads me to feel that I am not good enough.  That negative feeling.  That nagging doubt. That constant sense of not making the grade.  That isn't good for anyone.  It certainly isn't good for me.  I may not be the best, but I am doing my best.  I am trying to be the best that I can be, and surely that is good enough?