How to Calm your Fear Reactions

If you don't make it your business to overcome fear, you'd better believe it'll try to overcome you. Most people are subservient to this emotion though they may not know it and may even actively deny it's an issue. Fear in this article is defined as the emotional response to danger, no matter whether it's perceived or real, and the subsequent biological, or physical responses that harm your well-being and reinforce general emotional unhappiness. What underscores fear in all its permutations is the feeling that you won't be all right. You can lessen these feelings by harnessing your biological reactions and trying to minimize them, or even retraining them.

There are several techniques suggested in this article for harnessing your biology in order to quiet fear, as one fruitful means for achieving emotional freedom.

Steps

1. 
   1
   Practice calm biology. To short-circuit fear and turn off your fight-or-flight response, you'll need to train your brain to send chemicals to counteract them. Otherwise, fear and its hormones will keep you feeling crazed. In contrast, with a calm biology it's easier to find courage. Many of the following techniques are aimed at providing a method by which you can quieten your system by encouraging the endorphins to take over from the cortisol and other toxic fear-induced chemicals, so as to calm your usual reactions to fear.
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2. 
   2
   Do something physical and positive that has tangible results. Clean your room. Run down to the store on an errand. Letting your body do something that uses the "fight or flight" adrenaline energy will reduce the amount of toxins building up in your muscles and helps burn out the immediate emotional reaction. A sense of satisfaction from accomplishing something physical like chopping firewood or scrubbing the bathroom can raise endorphins and your confidence in general.
   • Social fears don't usually have an effective physical response the way natural disasters and physical threats do. That's what your body's prepared for, though. So literally running around, picking up things, moving them around and doing something tangible uses the adrenaline and gives your body the satisfaction that you've dealt with the threat - you're still breathing. A threat to your status or long term relationships is something best handled in a calm frame of mind. This is good for cooling off from emotional fights too.
   • If you have an habitual response to situations that involve fear for you, your body will remember this and repeat it each time a similar fearful (for you) situation arises. For example, your regular response to someone yelling at you or informing you unkindly that you're wrong and responsible for damage, might be to curl up under the blankets and want to hide yourself away on the emotional side, while on the physical side, maybe your mind goes blank, your heart rate starts to increase, you sweat, and feel your body turn tense, etc. All of these biological responses seize your mind and try to take control of the situation, making it much harder for you to think straight. They are instinct responses to physical threats, not effective ways to handle social and emotional threats. If this becomes a standard response for you whenever anything goes wrong, however mild or major, you will probably find yourself unable to break the fear response cycle without knowing some specific techniques to work around it.
3. 
   3
   Look to your diet. Dietary choices can provoke and increase a sense of anxiety and worry if you're lacking in healthy nutrients, have blood sugar swings, and you're fueling up on unhealthy foods most of the time. Caffeine and sugar are culprits in fueling your flight or fight responses. Decreasing anxiety through food can be achieved by increasing your intake of complex carbohydrates, eating smaller, more frequent meals, drinking plenty of water, and limiting the intake of caffeine and alcohol.^[1] Be careful to avoid food sensitivities as these can heighten your sense of anxiety and fear if you have a reaction to them.^[2]
   • Increase your intake of foods that are high in tryptophan. Tryptophan helps boost your brain's calm mood and relaxes you.^[3] Try such foods as bananas, soy, oats, milk, cheese, poultry, nuts, peanut butter and sesame seeds.^[4]
   • There are "anti-anxiety" diets that you might wish to consider; do an online search and talk to your doctor about the merits of such a diet.
   • Comfort eating, should not become (or remain) a habit and the long-term goal must be to eat a healthy diet, ensuring that your nutrients are balanced and moving your desire to comfort eat into yoga, meditation, breathing, and other more constructive outlets.
   • Blood sugar swings will feed fear because you lack strength and energy as a result of them, causing you to feel physically weaker. As your blood sugar soars, you feel exuberant but as it crashes, your sense of fear will return and leave you feeling irritable, unresolved, and worried.
4. 
   4
   Focus on your breathing. Breathing properly calms the sympathetic nervous system, or your "fight-flight" response.^[5] Perceived threats don't come from rabidly hungry beasts for most people anymore; they come in the form of deadlines, angry bosses, unsettled coworkers, and belligerent online users. This can mean that we don't burn off the flight-fight response, instead allowing the toxic stress chemicals and hormones like cortisol to become elevated and swim around our body unabated. And the breathing becomes stressed too, short, sharp, stabs of breathing over which you have little focus. Signs that you need to turn your focus to better breathing include a tight neck, bunched-up shoulders, shallow breathing, a tight chest, and a tension headache.^[6]
   • By starting to breathe slowly, you will signal your brain to relax, as you slow down the release of adrenalin and cortisol, and increase the release of endorphins.^[7]
   • Read How to breathe deeply, How to meditate on breath, and How to breathe like a yoga master for more details.
5. 
   5
   Avoid the fear generators. People who push your buttons and put you into fight and flight mode regularly should be avoided until you learn stronger coping mechanisms. For some people, this may mean avoiding them long-term. All the same, it may be unrealistic to avoid all fear generators, especially if they're your boss or a family member, so practice very non-committal responses when these people begin to create fear situations and quickly and politely remove yourself from their sphere of influence. Don't explain yourself, just simply make excuses to get going.
   • Balance the fear generators with emotional nurturers. For every fear generator, find an emotionally regenerative and calming person you know that you can turn to and unwind around. People who are good listeners, healers, carers, and good humored are generally excellent antidotes to the nastier, darker personalities out there. This isn't a time for trying to find the good side to the person who has generated your fear; deal first with calming down and building yourself up again.
   • Use your eyes and not your heart. Look at people to judge their real intentions and behavior. By learning to better translate body language, you will learn that much of what people say is counteracted by their body, giving you far greater insight into their real motives and even their own fears.
6. 
   6
   Ration the sources of fear. When terrible things happen, there isn't a reason to force yourself to participate. Watching endless repeats of violent newscasts or disasters will increase your fear greatly and for nothing in return than awful images and worries. Realize that doing this doesn't help the victims of such crises and it makes you feel more helpless.
   • If a disaster does set you off, get proactive and plan how you'd be prepared for a disaster if it happened, instead of worrying your socks off.
   • Find a way to drive or travel to and from work that decreases your chances of being involved in traffic jams. This can increase your fear levels if you're worried about time, accidents, and noise. Read How to cope with rush hour for more details.
   • Learn to reduce conflict by managing it. Instead of avoiding it, find constructive ways to cope and to assert yourself around others. Always remember that you don't have to provide explanations for excusing yourself or for standing up for yourself. You do not have to tolerate abusive people or situations.
7. 
   7
   Take calming mini-breaks. If you're highly sensitive and tend to get overwhelmed by the sights, sounds, and activity around you, until it builds up into a fearful crescendo, make an effort to take regular breaks to restore a sense of inner calm.^[8] Sit outside for a bit, go for a walk, do a short meditation, etc. In this way, hopefully you will alleviate the build-up of fear that can be triggered through any event during the day that upsets you.
8. 
   8
   Use a progressive relaxation technique. The technique suggested next can be used in a quiet spot in the office, at home, in the lunchroom, in a park, or anywhere that you can escape to when you feel the fear mounting:
   • In a comfortable position, sitting or lying down, take a few deep breaths while letting your body go as limp as possible.
   • When you're ready, begin by tightening the muscles in your toes... hold to a count of ten... then relax.
   • Enjoy the relief of tension melting.
   • Do the same with flexing your foot muscles, and move slowly through your entire body: calves, legs, stomach, back, neck, jaw, face, contracting and releasing each area.
9. 
   9
   Have a relaxing bath or shower. Immerse yourself in hot water to relax muscular tension as soon as possible, even if this means doing it the moment you step back through the door into your home. 

Source: http://www.wikihow.com/Calm-Your-Fear-Reactions

How to Stop Worrying and Start Living

Method 1 of 2: Reducing Sources of Worry

1. 
   1
   Reduce your collection. Despite the fact that today's technology is smaller and more useful than ever, we all seem to end up surrounded by stuff we no longer use or care about. It can seem like a pain to take the time and trouble to get rid of it, but you'll be glad you did once the task is finished.
   • Get rid of everything you haven't used in a year or more, unless it was either terribly expensive or a family heirloom. Have a garage sale, use eBay, or simply donate your extra dishes, clothes, toys, books, movies, games, and other items to a charity.
     • Expensive and/or heirloom items you haven't used in a long time should be gently boxed up and stored in an attic, a basement, a garage, or even a rarely-used bedroom closet.
    
2.  
3. 
   2
   Assign space. One of the most common prescriptions psychologists give for curing insomnia is to set aside the bedroom for sex and sleeping only. By creating a dedicated, assigned space for specific activities, you convince your brain to engage in those activities whenever you enter that space. Take this method to heart as much as your space allows:
   • Remove TVs, desks, computers, and other such distractions from the bedroom. Store clothes and books there instead. Only spend time in the bedroom when you're changing clothes, grabbing a book, going to sleep, or getting it on. Don't read in bed.
   • Clean the clutter off of your dining room/breakfast nook table. If you don't have a dining room or a breakfast nook, but you do have a table, clean it up. Only use the table for eating and paperwork (bills, studying, writing, and so on). Make a commitment to clearing your dishes after every meal.
   • Maintain your kitchen. It's rare that you'll ever make so many dishes in a single day that you can't get them all washed within 30 minutes in the evening. Clean up every day so you can continue to use the kitchen for cooking and not have to worry about the mess.
   • Put time-consuming activities in an office or the living room. Keep computers, TVs, video game consoles, and other such activity items in general areas. Train your brain to associate these areas with leisure activities and hobbies. You'll be able to get things done in the other, utilitarian areas of the house with much greater efficiency.
4. 
   3
   Set a budget. One of the simplest and most effective steps you can take to reduce worry caused by your complex life is to budget your expenses. There's nothing mysterious or difficult about it:
   • Track your expenditures for a week or two. Don't worry about controlling it yet; just spend as you normally do. You can keep track on your phone or with a pad of paper.
   • Divide up your expenditures according to general type of purchase. For example, many typical budgets have categories for gas, food, entertainment, and impulse buys. Take each category and multiply it so you have a monthly spending estimate.
   • Add another category for bill payments, and yet another for savings (if you're saving money). That's your budget. Try your best to stick to it in order to avoid having to worry about how much money you can afford to spend in one place or another.
     • Your budget will also be useful in helping you make changes to save more money or purchase less in a given category. Just lower the amount in one category, and raise it in whichever other one you like. Stick to that budget to effect the change.
5. 
   4
   Organize your time. You can set a budget for your time just as you can set a budget for your money. Since you're trying to reduce worry rather than increase it, go into this process with a focus on maximizing your personal time, rather than cramming as much as you can into each day.
   • Set a sleep schedule. Stick to it, even on weekends. Give yourself a one-hour target window for bedtime in the evening, and set a strict time to get up in the morning. Be sure that the space between your bedtime and the start of your day gives you roughly an hour more than the amount of sleep you actually need, so you won't lay down and start worrying about whether or not you'll fall asleep on time.
   • Take care of tasks at the same time every day. Plan time for daily hygiene, commuting, work, shopping, eating, and chores. Add in time for anything else you do most days, such as homework, exercise, or an active hobby. Put them in a specific order that works for you. All the time left over is your free time, to use for relaxation or whatever else you want.
     • To maximize your free time, try to combine trips outside the home. For example, you might plan to go shopping on your way home from work, to save the extra trip.
     • For many people, an irregular work schedule makes this kind of budgeting difficult, but you can still plan to work around your schedule in the same order every day, and just shuffle the times.
   • Consider canceling TV service. It's a drastic step for some people, but TV's scheduled programming can disrupt an otherwise-adequate daily schedule. Most people find that they don't miss TV service as much as they thought they would after a few days without it. Invest in a paid video streaming service instead, so that you can watch TV shows when it's convenient for you.
     • DVR sets that record shows for you to watch later are also a viable option if you can't stand the thought of waiting 8 months to see the new season of your favorite show, but be sure to resist the temptation to turn on the TV just because it's there. Once you start watching, you typically spend more time than you'd intended to, which cramps the rest of your day and makes you feel rushed.
     • Reduced Internet usage is also a good idea if you can manage it, but since most people also use the Internet for practical daily business, this can be much more difficult. Start with TV and see how that works out first.
   • Budget flexibly. Different days call for different approaches. Maybe you eat take-out every Monday night, or have a standing date with friends on Saturday afternoon. Be cognizant of that fact and mentally double-check your basic plan every morning. Add time to take care of whatever you need to take care of that day, with a little flex room on either side.

Method 2 of 2: Taking Charge of Your Mind

1. 
   1
   Cultivate empty moments. It's easy to fill every waking moment of your free time with smartphone apps, social media browsing, TV, books, hobbies, and more, but it isn't always a good idea. Sometimes what you need isn't a distraction, it's a moment to yourself. There isn't a lot of free time in the day, for most people, but it isn't hard to find a couple of five-minute windows where you can drop everything and be alone with your thoughts.
   • Use your empty time to think about whatever you want, or just lay back and look at the patterns on your ceiling or the leaves on a tree near your window. Don't fill it with anything that requires your attention to be enjoyed, such as a book or a smartphone.
2. 
   2
   Take time to clear your head. Even the most overworked adult can find half an hour once a week to set aside for quiet meditation and reflection. Meditation is a powerful technique for organizing your thoughts and feelings, and all it requires is a quiet spot without many distractions. Sit comfortably and focus on your breathing until the rest of your thoughts become quiet. That way, you can go over them without feeling overwhelmed by them.
   • This is also a great time to set weekly goals or remind yourself of tasks that need to be completed soon, such as shopping trips and yard work. Feel free to keep a pad of paper and a pen or pencil close at hand when you meditate, so you can list and organize everything that comes up. You can use your notes to help guide the week ahead, reducing chaos.
3. 
   3
   Be rational. Often, people worry about things they have limited control over, such as whether or not they got a new job (after an interview) or what a new acquaintance really thought of them. These worries are hard to help completely, even though it's obvious that worrying won't change their outcomes. However, that doesn't mean you can't do your best to remind yourself not to worry. Make a conscious effort to focus your attention elsewhere, and let events take their course as best you can.
   • Try to respect yourself. If something doesn't work out the way you'd hoped, review the course of events in your head and try to focus on what you did right or how hard you tried, rather than “where you messed up.” Chances are, the results had little to do with your actions, and more to do with those of others. If you endlessly self-criticize, you'll only worry more the next time a similar situation comes up (and be more likely to make a nervous mistake). Believe that you did your best, and that you'll do your best next time as well. There's no good reason to fret over things that have already come and gone.
4. 
   4
   Take a plunge. A lot of the time, your worries will revolve around whether or not you can successfully do something. Despite some things being largely up to the winds of chance (as mentioned above), you can compensate nicely by undertaking other endeavors on your own. Pick anything you've always wanted to do, want to do better, or want to start doing again, and give it a shot.
   • Remember, there's nothing to lose from trying something for your own enjoyment. Therefore, there's no good reason to worry about how well you'll do. Just compete against yourself and do your best not to worry what others might think.
   • Keep trying and working at things that interest you. You'll succeed more often than you might think, and begin to worry a lot less as you realize that 75% of success is just getting out there and trying. People who seem successful and happy are people just like you, except that they never let their worries stop them from giving things another shot.
   • The things you try don't have to be flashy, or significant to anyone except you. You could take up a new hobby, such as knitting or martial arts, or you could just make a commitment to smile more often at work. The goals you set are yours to attempt and achieve. Pursue anything you've ever wanted to pursue. You'll be delighted with the results more often than not.
5. 
   5
   Live in the moment. Don't obsess about the future; instead, focus on living in the present. It's fine to plan ahead sensibly and set goals, but the important thing is living your life as it is now, and not worry about what is already past or what the distant future might hold.
   • Practice self-acceptance. As mentioned previously, excessive self-criticism is a major source of worry. A part of us listens to what we say about ourselves, whether we want it to or not. If you're always down on yourself, you won't be able to enjoy anything. Telling yourself you'll do better in the future is one thing; refusing to feel proud of yourself and happy with the steps you've taken to make your life enjoyable right now is a different beast.
   • Remember that people are essentially self-centered. When you make an embarrassing mistake or scene, it can cause all your worries to spring back to life with a vengeance, making you half-catatonic with fear and self-doubt. The fact is, everybody has such gaffes now and again, and most people aside from the person who slipped up either forget about it completely or disregard it soon thereafter. Nobody is obsessively watching your every move; in fact, most people won't even remember what you said to them a month ago unless you say it to them again. There's no reason to carry shame and embarrassment with you after the fact.
6. 
   6
   Count your blessings. Like most old adages and proverbs, this one gets repeated ad infinitum because it's actually very wise advice. Set aside your resistance to cliché for a moment and think about all the advantages you have. You're reading this article on the Internet, which means you either have or can borrow Internet access. It also means you can read, which is something not everybody can do. All but the most hopeless and pitiable lives have an abundance of good in them. Find yours, and remind yourself to be grateful for it every day.
   • Put your life in context. If you live in a building with a roof and walls, be grateful for that instead of worrying that it's too humble or too run-down. If you don't have a home, be grateful for the clothes on your back. If you live somewhere with harsh weather, be grateful that it sometimes passes and becomes pleasant. Be grateful that you can think for yourself, comprehend beauty, and dream of better things.
     • No matter your situation, if you're reading this article, you can find things to appreciate about your life. Think of them whenever you find yourself sitting and worrying instead of acting and enjoying life.
7. 
   7
   Limit your responsibilities. There are some people who worry because they are trying to take care of everyone and everything around them, or because they read about problems elsewhere in the world and feel as though they are never doing enough to help. It's good to be supportive and charitable, but taking it too far will turn you into a used-up mess of nerves and frustration. Make a conscious effort to remind yourself that other people, like you, are more capable than they realize, and that you don't always need to be there for everyone at every turn.
   • People who have everything taken care of for them, such as coddled children, end up ill-equipped to function in the adult world, which means that sometimes not helping is actually the best help you can give.
   • It's also important to remind yourself that others care just as much as you do about social issues and charitable causes. It's okay to let them share the burden of responsibility; often it's the only way to make it bearable. This doesn't mean you should stop caring; rather, it means you should take pride in what you do and stop worrying that it isn't good enough. It is.
   • Set a limit for yourself. This could be a limit to the amount of time you spend helping others, a limit to the money you spend to support them, or just a limit to how much time you spend worrying about the world's problems. Design a limit based around the type of caring you engage in that causes your worry.
     • Remember, worrying never fixed anything, and there are some things you can't fix no matter how badly you might want to. Force yourself to set your worries aside past a certain point, and do whatever you have to do to enforce that limit.
8. 
   8
   Trust yourself. At the end of the day, there are some things that nobody can really control: weather, death, natural disasters, and other such unstoppable forces are a part of life on Earth. Learn to place faith in your own ability to handle them. You can't change the way such things behave, so all you can really do is prepare for them, and trust in yourself to do what you can when faced with them.
   • For example, thousands of people get into car accidents every year, but people continue to use cars because they trust themselves to do everything they can to avoid such an eventuality: driving safely, wearing seatbelts, learning from past mistakes, and responding quickly to changes on the road ahead of them. Take the same attitude with every uncontrollable force in your life.
   • It's sensible to prepare for misfortune. Things like emergency food and water, first-aid kits, and fire extinguishers are wise investments in your continued safety. However, be sure when you prepare that your preparations are easing your worries rather than fueling them. Don't give in to urges to buy and prepare more and more. The goal is to find a reasonable balance, say "this is enough," and get on with your daily life.
   Source: http://www.wikihow.com/Stop-Worrying-and-Start-Living

Energy drinks 'increase the risk of mental health problems and drug and alcohol abuse'

Energy drinks can lead to mental health problems and drug and alcohol abuse in teenagers, researchers have warned.
Their findings have been published just a day after it emerged a teenager's heart stopped three times after downing 10 Jagerbombs mixed with Red Bull.
Jayde Dinsdale, 18, was drinking the Jagermeister spirit and energy drink shooter, which cost £2.20 for two, on a night out with friends, in Yeovil, Somerset.
But as the alcohol wore off, the high levels of caffeine in her system took control of her heart rate - causing it to accelerate dangerously out of control, medics have since said.
She suffered three heart attacks and temporarily 'died' on her bathroom floor after she downed ten high-caffeine Jagerbombs on a 'two-for-one' promotion night.
The new research, published in the journal Preventive Medicine, found that students prone to depression - and those who smoke marijuana or drink alcohol - are more likely to consume energy drinks.
Among the 8,210 high school students surveyed, nearly two thirds reported using energy drinks at least once in the past year, with more than one in five consuming them once or more per month.
And worryingly, it was the younger high school students who were more likely to consume energy drinks than older ones.

Last month researchers at the University of Michigan reported that teenagers who drink energy drinks are much more likely to also drink alcohol and use drugs. They are also more likely to start smoking.
They suggested this could be because  teenagers who are ‘sensation-seekers’ or ‘risk orientated’ are more likely to drink energy drinks.
In turn, having these character traits means they are also more likely to experiment with other substances.

Rising suicide rates in the Army are analyzed in a new initiative

Three new studies published simultaneously in JAMA Psychiatry investigate mental health issues within the Army. The studies look at mental disorders among non-deployed soldiers, suicidal behavior among soldiers and predictors of suicide among soldiers.
The new studies were conducted by members of the Army Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Servicemembers (Army STARRS) initiative.
Army STARRS was launched in 2009 to address the Army's concern over the rising suicide rate among soldiers.
Previously, the suicide rate for Army personnel has been lower than the suicide rate in the general population. But since 2002, the suicide rate among soldiers has risen, reaching record heights in 2007, 2008 - when it exceeded the civilian rate for the first time - and 2009, before receding slightly in 2010.
To form Army STARRS, the Army partnered with the National Institute of Mental Health and investigators from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Maryland, Harvard Medical School in Massachusetts, University of Michigan and University of California.
The Army STARRS team created a secure database with more than 1 billion Army records and 3,000 types of information. In addition to historical data, Army STARRS collects new data from American soldiers posted all over the world.

Mental disorders among non-deployed soldiers

The youngest soldiers have an increased risk of suicide during and after deployment, while married soldiers or soldiers with children have a lower risk of suicide risk during deployment.

For this study, the Army STARRS team analyzed data from 5,428 surveyed soldiers.
The researchers found that a quarter of active duty, non-deployed soldiers met the criteria for at least one psychiatric disorder, with 11% meeting the criteria for multiple psychiatric disorders.
Out of the soldiers who met the criteria for psychiatric disorders, 49.6% had "internalizing disorders," such as major depressive, bipolar, generalized anxiety, panic, and post-traumatic stress disorders, and 81.7% had "externalizing disorders," which include attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), intermittent explosive anger disorder, or drug and alcohol problems.
Symptoms of these disorders were present in 76.6% of these soldiers prior to enlisting. The Army already screens for emotional problems in pre-enlistment health examinations, so it is likely that Army recruits deny psychiatric disorders in recruitment interviews.
Nearly 13% of the soldiers reported that their disorder severely impairs their ability to carry out their duty.
The study concludes:

"Knowledge that new recruits have high externalizing disorder rates (even if denied in recruitment interviews) might be useful to the Army in developing targeted outreach intervention programs for new soldiers, such as interventions for ADHD and for problems with anger management."

Suicidal behavior among soldiers

This study found that about one third of suicide attempts by soldiers (after enlisting) are associated with mental disorders that predate the soldiers' enlistment. Female soldiers, soldiers of a lower rank and soldiers that have previously been deployed are the most likely to attempt suicide after enlisting.
About 13.9% of the 5,428 non-deployed soldiers who were surveyed reported having suicidal thoughts, with 5.3% having made plans to end their life and 2.4% having attempted suicide.
The study concludes:

"The possibility of higher fatality rates among Army suicide attempts than among civilian suicide attempts highlights the potential importance of means control (i.e., restricting access to lethal means [such as firearms]) as a suicide prevention strategy."

Predictors of suicide and accidental death among Army soldiers

This study found that white soldiers, male soldiers, junior soldiers, soldiers that have been recently demoted and soldiers that are currently or have previously been deployed are the most likely to commit suicide.
The researchers analyzed the data of 975,057 Army soldiers on active duty between 2004 and 2009. Within this group, 569 soldiers committed suicide and there were 1,331 deaths classified as accidents.
Although the Army STARRS investigation into suicidal behavior among non-deployed soldiers found that women were more likely to attempt suicide, this study reported that women are consistently less at risk of committing suicide than men.
The youngest soldiers have an increased risk of suicide during and after deployment, while married soldiers or soldiers with children have a lower risk of suicide risk during deployment.
The study concludes:

"These results set the stage for more in-depth analyses aimed at helping the Army target both high-risk soldiers and high-risk situations, as well as at developing, implementing and evaluating preventive interventions to reverse the rising Army suicide rate."

Comments on all three studies

The three Army STARRS studies are accompanied by an editorial from Dr. Matthew J. Friedman of the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth in Hanover, NH.
"These findings have major implications for screening, assessment, recruitment and retention of volunteers seeking military enlistment," Dr. Friedman says.
"These are only the first articles to come from the groundbreaking Army STARRS initiative," he continues.
"Future articles will hopefully provide finer-grained measurements and more in-depth analyses of the variables already mentioned, as well as new information on psychological, neurocognitive, social, biological and genetic factors. They will also investigate the impact of intervention."
Source: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/273509.php

Fish Oil , Depression – Please take A Moment To Read The Article To Find Out If It Could Help You.

It is now no secret that people all over the western world are turning to high grade ethyl EPA omega 3 fish oil to treat a number of conditions, but can it really work against a problem that knows no boundaries of age, race or gender. It is a condition that affects millions of people at some time in there lives, it’s called depression.
Depression
So can high grade ethyl EPA fish oil help with depression and low moods, lets take a look at the evidence. In one study involving 20 people with recurrent depression, researchers studied the effects of the specific omega 3 fatty acid known as pure EPA.
Patients involved in this study randomly received either the ethyl EPA fish oil capsule or a sugar pill in addition to the anti depressant medication they were taking. After only four weeks, six out of ten patients receiving EPA had significantly reduced symptoms of depression.
Fact 1. 90% of our current customer base take the oil alongside their anti-depressant medication to start with.
The leading researcher in this study Boris Nements said “ the effect of the fatty acid EPA was significant from week two of treatment” he also noted that “ the symptoms of depressed mood, guilt feelings, worthlessness and insomnia had all improved by week three.”
The leading researcher in this study Boris Nements said “ the effect of the fatty acid EPA was significant from week two of treatment” he also noted that “ the symptoms of depressed mood, guilt feelings, worthlessness and insomnia had all improved by week three.”
fact 2. We send out thousands of bottles per month to people all over the world who have been customers for the 10 years we have been supplying Pure EPA.
This particular study was carried out at the University of the Negev in Israel and was published in the American journal of psychiatry 2002.
Another very high profile study using the essential fatty acid pure EPA was carried out in Scotland by doctors Peet and horribin. This study involved seventy patients who were suffering from depression that was persisting despite ongoing treatment with standard antidepressant drugs.
The study lasted twelve weeks, and the background anti depressant drugs the patients were receiving was not altered during the trial. The results showed that the patients taking EPA showed significant improvement after only four weeks in all symptoms of depression, when compared to the group who were administered a dummy pill.
This study was published in the Archives of general Psychiatry.
Omega 3 fish oil is high in two key compounds DHA and EPA. In both studies mentioned above they used ultra pure ethyl EPA that contained zero DHA. The reason for this was that they found that the purer the compound of EPA then the more effective it seemed to be.
The brain has much more DHA than EPA but the studies found that EPA is much more important when it comes to responses to nerve stimulation. It appeared that the DHA maybe more important for structure and the EPA for function.
Blood samples taken from people in the USA, Europe, Australia and Japan showed that depressed people have especially low levels of EPA, when compared to blood samples of people who were not suffering from low moods or depression.
The lead researches from the study in Scotland both concluded that EPA is the most important essential fatty acid in the treatment of depression.
These findings are backed up with two randomised controlled trials from Sheffield and Baylor universities involving DHA only, which showed no improvements in the symptoms of depression. In fact the results were significant and showed the DHA controlled groups to be slightly worse than the placebo controlled groups.
Source: http://www.mind1st.co.uk/fish-oil-depression/?gclid=CKaXh6SA97wCFQkUwwodX0UAyA

Mental health a concern in drought

By PHILIP LY

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  The workers from the Rural Adversity Mental Health Program (RAMHP) spoke to communities in Walgett, Brewarrina and Bourke about the services available to them.

MENTAL health workers have visited three drought-stricken towns in the Orana region to help farmers and families deal with depression and anxiety.

The workers from the Rural Adversity Mental Health Program (RAMHP) spoke to communities in Walgett, Brewarrina and Bourke about the services available to them.

The visits were made at the request of the state minister for mental health and western NSW, Kevin Humphries.

RAMHP co-ordinator Jenn Caine said community members were often unaware of the services available to assist people experiencing mental health problems because of stress.

She said information was key to ensure rural communities knew what services were available and how they could access them.

"There are simple ways to stay mentally healthy but this can easily be overlooked when experiencing ongoing stress and isolation when being so busy working on the farm," Ms Caine said.

beyondblue Chief Executive Officer Kate Carnell said depression and anxiety levels in cities and rural areas were similar but became problematic in droughts.

She said one in three Australians would experience depression or anxiety at some point in their lives but when people were subjected to prolonged and elevated stress levels, the statistics worsened.

"The increased level of stress does lift the levels of depression and anxiety and unfortunately services may not be accessible in those [drought] areas," Ms Carnell said.

"These are clinical conditions just like a medical condition... the earlier you get help, the quicker you'll recover," she said.

She said suicide rates were an issue where there was a disparity between cities and rural areas.

"Suicide is higher in rural and regional areas than in the cities due to a range of reasons, one of them being the limited access to services," Ms Carnell said.

Ms Caine said the RAMHP aimed to provide information about what help was available to overcome depression or anxiety.

"Distance can easily be eliminated as an obstacle but it's the awareness that is potentially the problem," she said.

Mr Humphries said there was no question that the pressures some people faced during times of adversity, such as a drought, could an have an impact on their lives.

"That's why I have asked the RAMHP to send additional staff out to some of the most drought-affected areas to provide additional support to communities like what help is available and what they do to access it if needed," Mr Humphries said.

RAMHP is a key initiative of the University of Newcastle's Centre for Rural and Remote Mental Health.

Source: http://www.dailyliberal.com.au/story/2102378/mental-health-a-concern-in-drought/?cs=12

Need Office Naptime?

For decades, American business culture has operated on the idea the sleep is for the lazy or weak and workers both at the top and bottom of the ladder have worn exhaustion like badges of honor. However, growing awareness of the importance of rest may be turning the tides as researchers highlight how sleep deprivation can affect worker productivity.
The latest article from blog Sleep Junkie, titled “Connections Between Sleep & Work Performance”, examines recent research on the subject and looks at potential ways to combat performance-reducing fatigue including napping and healthy rest habits.
One of the studies highlighted in the article comes from researchers in the Netherlands, who sought connections between depression and anxiety, sleep, and work performance in their 2013 survey of data from the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety. Key findings include that people with anxiety or depressive disorders were considerably more likely to have impaired performance and miss work when they slept under 6 hours, and that insomnia also increased chances of performance impairment.
Other supporting research includes a 2012 study from Brigham and Women’s Hospital that demonstrated increasingly reduced work productivity over a period of one month amongst participants that were limited to less than six hours of sleep. Major historical accidents attributed to a lack of rest, drowsy driving dangers, and a detailed article from the Harvard Business Review are also covered.
Sleep Junkie explains that, although rest gets a bad rap in business, the effects of sleep deprivation can range from reduced productivity to major liabilities, which the Better Sleep Council estimates costs businesses $150 billion per year. As companies become savvy to the issues, many have worked to create more rest-friendly environments. The article lists several companies that offer nap pods or relaxation rooms where employees can rest, including tech giants like Google and Zappos, major news outlets like Huffington Post and New York Times, mattress company Amerisleep, and even ice cream connoisseur Ben and Jerry’s.
The article goes on to explain why companies should consider allowing naps, with several supporting statistics showing improved alertness and performance as well as other benefits. For those who cannot enjoy a midday snooze, Sleep Junkie concludes the article with an overview of healthy sleep hygiene practices to help readers mentally prepare for rest and enjoy sleep better through the night. Readers can also find several other articles on subjects of rest and mattress selection on the website.
SleepJunkie.org is a blog dedicated to all things sleep, from mattresses, bedding, to research and more. With a focus on making mattress research easier, the website offers independent assessments and reviews of the latest brands and technologies. Readers also enjoy timely updates on mattress-related news and expert help in selecting the best mattress to fit their needs and lifestyle.
Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/connections-between-sleep/and-work-performance/prweb11596842.htm

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/1750431#ixzz2uH43mLMf