New Treatments For Anxiety and Depression - The Alternative Way

Most clinicians and therapists will prescribe you with medicine to treat mood disorders. Others will recommend scientific methods of treatment for anxiety and depression, such as transcranial magnetic stimulation, vagus nerve stimulation or electroconvulsive therapy. However, these new treatments for anxiety and depression may have serious side effects and their effects on your body in the long term aren't recognized yet.
If you are looking for ways to treat your mood disorder less the side effects, you may consider the alternative treatments for anxiety and depression. They may work for you if you have the strength, courage and patience to try these treatment approaches.
Acupuncture
It is amazing what needles can do for you. In recent studies, it has been shown that acupuncture can help reduce depression. The study conducted by the National Institute of Health revealed that forty three percent of patients who were treated with acupuncture have showed favorable response.
A well-trained acupuncture specialist will insert thin needles in key points to normalize the body's equilibrium and allow a surge of positive energy into the body.
Cardiovascular Exercises
As many athletes say, run and you shall be happy. This is true. Many people have attested to the theory that cardiovascular exercises such as running, jogging, brisk walking and swimming are one of the best new treatments for anxiety and depression.
These testimonials are backed up by researches done by psychiatrists and scientists. It has been found that people who regularly exercise become less anxious and depressed. The reason is that exercise neutralizes fight-or-flight hormones in people with anxiety.
During an intensive body activity, all organs in the body are working well and efficiently. Thus, deficiency or excess of hormones in the body is controlled and normalized.
For depressed people exercise stimulates the brain to release "happy" hormones. The amount of serotonin is likewise increased, thus removing depressing thoughts out of a patient's mind.
Meditation and Breathing Exercises
Buddhists and Hindus have practiced meditation for centuries. Those who practice meditation and breathing exercises are calmer, happier and live longer.
The reason is that meditation promotes body and mind relaxation. When the mind is calm so are the organs in it. And when this happens, the organs will release just the right amounts of hormones.
Breathing exercises helps the heart to function well. If you know how to breathe well, you can prevent anxiety from ever attacking you. If you notice that a stressor makes you anxious, all you have to do is breathe correctly and quiet your mind. And when you do this, you will have prevented anxiety from disrupting your normal life.
Light Therapy
There is a disorder known as seasonal effective disorder, meaning anxiety and depression only occur during rainy or winter days.
During rainy and winter days, when the sun is hiding behind the thick clouds, some people feel melancholic, sad and depressed. They attributed the dark environment to gloominess and sadness.
With bright light therapy (sunlight and artificial light) people with anxiety and depression are "conditioned" to be sunny and happy. This alternative treatment for anxiety and depression has worked for many.
Dietary Supplements
People with anxiety and depression are found to be lacking in these vitamins, minerals and hormones: vitamin B12, magnesium, zinc, and serotonin.
To increase the levels of these substances, you need to increase your intake of foods rich in these vitamins and minerals that promote the production of serotonin.
However, diet is not enough for an effective new treatment for depression and anxiety. You need supplements of these vitamins and minerals in tablet or capsule forms. You can ask your doctor to prescribe you with these supplements although you can buy them directly over the counter. This way, he can regulate your intake of these supplements and avoid overdose.

Flor Serquina is a successful Webmaster and publisher of Facts-About-Depression.com. She provides more information on topics such as new treatments for depression [http://www.facts-about-depression.com/new-treatments-for-depression.html], depression chat rooms [http://www.facts-about-depression.com/depression-chat-rooms.html] and alternative treatments for depression [http://www.facts-about-depression.com/alternative-treatments-for-depression.html] that you can research on her website even while lounging in your living room.

Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?New-Treatments-For-Anxiety-and-Depression---The-Alternative-Way&id=849286

Lesism by Les Floyd

The Voices In Your Head

It’s a common truth that most of us believe we’re great at giving advice to others - whether they want to listen, or not - yet we’re not so good at advising ourselves.

While we may get irritated with the recipients of our wise counsel when they don’t do what we think is best for them, it’s generally the case that nor do we listen to our own reasoning, when, if we did, we’d make life much easier.

So, how can we learn to listen to our own advice?

The thing that I’ve become aware of, recently, is that we have two distinct ‘voices’ in our heads, when we think: one is the unconscious, unruly noise of the overactive mind (which is more of a mad gibbering than coherent speech), whereas the other is conscious, precise and much more sensible.

At least in my experience, it feels that this conscious voice is at the front of my head, in the area of the forehead, and the unconscious thoughts come from the back of the skull.

When engaged, this conscious voice drowns out the flitting, critical over-thinking of the unconscious, egoic mind – the illusionary, phantom ‘self’ that first causes, then exacerbates all our emotional pain. In the extremes, the ego can literally destroy you… more commonly, it causes anxiety, depression and other related, miserable mood disorders, so it’s in our interest to silence it as best we can.

You may think I’m talking out of my bum-hole by now, but here’s how to recognise these two voices and two very different ways of thinking…

Firstly, cast your mind to an event in the past that still troubles you, today. It doesn’t have to be anything particularly traumatic – it could be just a lost wallet or purse, or perhaps an exam that you didn’t study hard enough for and failed.

This is unconscious thinking. Your ego is telling you a story about how stupid or useless you are, because it feeds off negative energy. The more down and depressed it can make you, the stronger it becomes.

Now, after listening to your mind telling itself this sad story for the umpteenth time, try engaging your conscious voice.

I think the best example of finding this is ‘speaking’ to yourself, though without actually making an outward sound. Without uttering words, it becomes a voice in your head, but unlike the ramblings of the ego, you can actually make this conscious voice make sense – even if you’re a man.

You can use this sensible voice to offer yourself advice, as you would advise a friend who was experiencing trouble in their life.

If you’re stuck in traffic, late for work and your mind is racing, stressing you out more and more, engage the conscious voice and say: “Hey, don’t worry. You’ll get there when you get there. There’s no point beating yourself up about it.”

If you look in the mirror and your egoic thinking becomes critical, not liking what it sees, engage the conscious voice and say: “You’re just who you are. Don’t listen to your brain. We both know it’s an idiot most of the time.”

You can also use this conscious voice as a narrative over your life, overriding the clawing thoughts of the ego. Say you’re out for a walk and you feel yourself being drawn into dark memories, lift yourself out of it by describing the world around you. Focus on every detail and tell yourself what you’re seeing – sounds, colours and shapes.

It’s a very simple practice that all of us can engage in, and it gives us the ability to actually be a good friend to ourselves, as we should be.

 

Source: http://lesism.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/voices-in-your-head.html