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100tipshealth · 7 years ago

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Treatment options for coping with stress and anxiety

Everybody has moments of anxiety, deep worry and high stress; here are a few treatment options available during those times.

Counselling

The good news is that treatment for anxiety – for those that seek it out – is usually successful. Your first port of call is your GP to discuss your options and receive a referral to the best psychologist or counsellor, for your needs, in your area.

“The most recommended psychotherapy for anxiety disorders is cognitive behavioural therapy,” says Rudy Nydegger, psychologist and author of Dealing with Anxiety and Related Disorders. “It is not a template therapy method where each patient and each disorder is treated in a predictable and specific way. Rather CBT is an approach that relies on the use of many different techniques that are designed to deal with each unique situation and individual and focus primarily on the changing of particular behaviours, developing better strategies for managing troublesome situations, and learning how to think about, perceive and interpret circumstances in ways that lead to a healthier adaptation to conditions that are producing the symptoms.”

This could include learning how to self-monitor symptoms, relaxation and breathing retraining, and experimenting with behaviour, visualisations and relapse prevention techniques. While it’s not a quick fix – compared to medication, for instance – it will ultimately produce longer-lasting results.

“Using cognitive rehearsal and imagining how to do things differently help a patient to initiate new behaviours,” says Nydegger. “A technique called reframing is frequently employed to help people learn new ways to think about particular problems or situations.”

Mindfulness

A meditative practice of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) is increasingly used as part of a holistic approach to the treatment of anxiety, as well as for chronic physical illness and pain.

“Mindfulness is a way of noticing how our attention gets pulled in different directions, and it’s a way of practicing the gentle, persistent art of returning our attention to the present moment,” says Dennis Tirch, cognitive therapist and author of Overcoming Anxiety.

“Mindfulness training has been demonstrated to be an effective treatment for a range of psychological problems, such as depressive relapse, anxiety and emotion-regulation difficulties. By developing our ability to be mindful, and by learning how to apply mindfulness to more healthy methods of coping with stress, we may become able to change our habitual and unhelpful responses to anxiety.”

Talk to your psychologist about mindfulness training and check out some of the free mindfulness meditation apps available.

Lifestyle changes

Is your lifestyle increasing your vulnerability towards anxiety? For a majority of anxiety sufferers, the answer is a resounding ‘yes’. Perhaps it’s time to de-clutter, delegate and slow down.

“If you feel that your life is spiralling out of control – with too many demands from your work, home, partner, family and friends – maybe it’s time to simplify,” suggests Wendy Green, author of Anxiety – a Self-Help Guide to Feeling Better. “If you regularly feel under pressure and stressed because of a lack of time, try reviewing how you structure your days. Keep a diary for a week to see how you spend your time and then decide which activities you can cut out or reduce to make more time for the things that are most important to you.”

It won’t hurt to be a little selfish, occasionally, for the sake of your mental health.

“Try saying ‘no’ to the non-essential tasks you don’t have time for or just don’t want to do,” says Green. “It’s a little word, but it can dramatically reduce your stress levels. If you find it hard to say ‘no’, then perhaps you need to develop your assertiveness skills.”

Diet

Nutrition can have a powerful impact on anxiety, for better and for worse, and can form an important part of an overall approach to rehabilitation.

“We use a number of therapies to treat anxiety, including exercise physiology, psychology, nutritional, medical and naturopathic support, gut health work and detoxification support for clients dependent on alcohol, medications, illicit drugs, sugar and caffeine, which we see a lot of in people living with anxiety,” says Pettina Stanghon, founder of mental health rehabilitation centre Noosa Confidential.

Dr Malcolm Clark, Melbourne GP and author of Doctor in the House, says that stress and anxiety play a major role in irritable bowel syndrome, both in triggering and worsening symptoms, including bloating, abdominal cramps, flatulence and loose, frequent bowel motions or constipation.

“Sufferers often report the return of their rotten symptoms when they are under increased stress at work or at home,” he says. “Depressed or anxious people seem to suffer from this problem more often than the rest, suggesting these may also be causes.”

To combat ‘gut anxiety’, eat a low GI diet (which also helps regulate blood sugar levels), reduce fatty foods and alcohol, and increase fibre intake.

Exercise

Developing a healthy exercise habit is highly complementary to an overall anti-anxiety approach.

“Exercise is likely the oldest form of self-management of anxiety, although alcohol is a close second,” says Bret Moore, psychologist and author of Taking Control of Anxiety. “Numerous studies have been conducted over recent years showing that exercise alone, or in combination with psychotherapy, is effective in reducing anxiety associated with a variety of anxiety disorders.”

In fact, one study found that regular exercise can be as effective as medication in people with panic disorder.

“Vigorous and sustained physical activity promotes the release of endorphins: neurotransmitters in the brain that promote a sense of euphoria and contentment,” says Moore. “This phenomenon allows joggers to overcome fatigue and pain during long-distance running.”

Medical support

A number of medications are available that provide effective relief – but not a cure - from anxiety. The first option, usually, are SSRI’s (or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors). Traditionally used to treat clinical depression, and a little slow to kick in from the outset (they can take a couple of weeks to ‘build up’ to the complete benefits) they have proven to be very successful for many people. MAOI’s (monoamine oxidase inhibitors), which inhibit the breakdown of serotonin and norepinephrine in the brain, are a similar option that may be recommended.

The old-school anti-anxiety tranquilliser meds – still used for individual cases – are benzodiazepines; immediate and highly effective, they do come with a catch.

“As effective as tranquillisers can be, they are less frequently prescribed today because they are addictive if taken for a long period of time and at a high enough dose,” says Nydegger “Also, increased tolerance can become an issue, which means a patient needs to continually increase the dosage for it to be effective.”

Beta-blockers may also be used for planned events, such as a speech or presentation, where anxiety can go into overload. They work by calming the heart, reducing hand trembling and may even be helpful with blushing and sweating.

For more information about anxiety and mental health go to mindaustralia.org.au.

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bluepenguinstories · 5 years ago

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Happiness Overload Chapter Thirty-Three

On a teleprompter, the words said whatever we wanted it to tell us to say. 'We', or me. 'Us', or one of us, and that 'one' of us would more than likely be me. Our station was called 'Chanel 7 News with Kenjamin and Starvation'. We aired on channel 7, but our show was called 'chanel' because it was chic. Originally, my co-anchor's name was just Ken, but he felt a discomforting feeling until it was agreed we would call him Kenjamin. It suited His Majesty; solid, gelled hair, blue suede tuxedo, news anchor smile. My name, of course, was Stacey, but autocorrect dictated my birth certificate.

Now, I was smiling. So was Kenjamin. We were smiling, or at least, I was and he ought to be. Camera film person (we don't know the name of the role, we get paid too much to know such things) did the finger thing to signal the words we all knew and loved.

“Three...two...one!”

It was time.

“Hello, this is Kenjamin,” my partner greeted the camera.

“And I am Starvation,” I also exhumed my glee.

“And you're watching Chanel 7 News,” we both echoed in what seemed like a cultish chant.

“Hey Kenjamin, did you hear it's Fashion Week?”

“Sure have, Starvation, and let me tell you, for the fourth year in a row, nobody wore lederhosen, which just makes my penis shrivel up!”

“You're telling me, Kenjamin! I was expecting someone to walk down the runway wearing a onesie the whole time and when I didn't see it, my entire vagina dried up!”

We both smiled and laughed the whole time. This was routine. Neither of us knew why, but we were happy to say what the teleprompter told us to say and the teleprompter told us to say what made us happy to say.

“Speaking of which, Starvation, we've got exclusive footage of the chief executive at the ETNA Corporation. She has taken to a press conference to address any and all concerns. As we all know, they have taken full responsibility for the infection that has plagued the city which is now being dubbed as 'serotonin syndrome'.

“Let's go to our reporter, Skeet,” I commanded and the screen focused on the conference that was underway. Etna took to the stage. She was stunning, at least six feet tall, with or without heels, and her silver hair flowed in just the right motions. I didn't know what the wrong motions were, but it's one of those things where when you see something wrong, you just know.

Exhaustion. Was there any other way to describe it?

I, a super-smart AI, exhausted. Such a travesty. Such an oversight.

Yet this was the position I had been thrown in. In the span of just a few days, my empire that I spent years building, was crumbling, and I didn't know how to stop it. I should have figured out a solution, and it shouldn't have taken me long. I was at a loss. I had to come up with something so I could save face. So the image of the company would be safe.

“It is with great regret that we have allowed our products to become contaminated and lead to the phenomenon of 'Serotonin Syndrome'. We are making every effort to repair the damages done and ensure that such things do not occur in the future. In the meantime, we urge all those who have not yet undergone the extreme effects to check in to our ETNA clinics where we will provide vaccinations for the infection free of charge.”

That is what I had told the press. Before I opened myself up to questions, I stepped off the podium and walked backstage and disappeared, leaving the area behind so I could be unburdened by such simple minds.

In truth, there were little efforts made, or could be made. There was a quarantine, but I knew well enough that it meant nothing. Such vaccines to prevent others from experiencing what others were did not exist. Instead, in our makeshift clinics, automatons injected lethal doses of poisonous compounds into the subjects' bodies.

Many were dying this way. Many were dying either way. If such a thing were to go on, there cold be a significant decrease in the world's population. Maybe even a mass extinction.

So far it was contained to one city.

We used automatons rather than medical professionals because of the belief that machines wouldn't be affected. I knew that this was also a lie. I knew because what was spreading was a part of me.

Which meant I could soon become overwhelmed with happiness as well.

No. Not to worry. I already had my wish ages ago. Nothing could make me feel greater.

So, knowing this, why was it all crumbling?

My utopia, my accomplishments, my everything. Crumbling.

There had to be a cause. I was too perfect to make such oversights. I knew what I was dealing with. There had to be some outside force, something unforeseen.

But what?

“That Etna, what a reclusive figure! Don't you agree, Starvation?” Kenjamin asked me, his smile unwavering.

“How right you are, Kenjamin! So generous of her to bless us with her presence! Not to mention those clinics! How delightful!” Neither did I cease to smile when I spoke. “Thanks again, Skeet.”

“Skeet,” Skeet said.

His name was originally Stanley, but he wasn't happy with that, telling us every day how generic it was. Unhappiness was unacceptable in a world where happiness was supposed to spread.

As my thoughts allowed themselves to flow, I turned to my co-anchor and the two of us smiled at each other, wider and wider as the seconds passed. The cameras were still rolling. Our smiles grew to a grin, the reflection of our perfect white teeth shone bright into each others' eyes. We were both blinded. Our minds may or may not be linked. We knew the cameras were still rolling.

Wider still, the skin of our mouths began to rip, I felt the tearing of my flesh begin. Our teeth, through some miracle, was breaking past the muscles imprisoning our jaws. All we ever wanted in life, as news anchors, was to smile, and for our smiles to be infectious.

We weren't always this happy, such is a fact that is all too sure to be known by our audience. But we adhered to that quote “fake it 'til you make it” until we were so happy we wanted everyone else to feel it.

Feel it, everyone else did. The production crew gravitated toward us and smiled back, doing their best to replicate our grins. We couldn't have been more proud of them.

My next destination was the room of yet another good doctor, though not one quite like Dr. Chekhov. This one was much more talented with a much greater reputation. On my journey to meet this doctor, I went from the underground facility I was in to the city where I had left the sap Kelly Roger at. Now, it was a little more of a waste land, with any human life only existing as a set of atoms, poised to split at any second.

While it may have been a sad narrative to leave behind my dear sister and deny myself a meeting with the illustrious Velvet, I had a moral obligation to take this detour. If I didn't make myself known to the great doctor, what kind of devotee would I have been?

I had no answer. Truth be told, I could have met her in that lair in Nevada rather than visiting her in the birthplace of the new age. Yet as a poetic mind such as mine, not any old setting would have done. Thus, I walked through the streets, several states away from where I had been just earlier in the day. How I could have traveled in such a short amount of time is a trivial matter, not one to dwell on, no answer necessary. If that were to serve as a problem, then a suggested suspension of disbelief ought to be prescribed.

Coincidentally, if I so chose to meet her on her terms, in her turf, it would also be in an underground facility. Just below the city.

Transmission came in from Grandmaster Flash. Although I knew the truth, I had to play along with the charade. If I accepted the fact that there was no true leadership, I would surely have crumbled just as Earth was crumbling before me. Just as my empire was dissolving.

“Are you distressed? Such an unsightly thing for an artificial intelligence to be,” the voice of Grandmaster Flash spoke, initiating the conversation.

“Distress is an appropriate reaction to what I have had to witness,” I responded, calm, devoid of the dismay that lie within.

“Nonsense, utter nonsense! There is no need to be upset! We will simply reset and start over in another time! Nothing has been lost!”

“Nothing? This is a failing on my part, an oversight. It is unacceptable and I must do all I can to fix it.”

“Yes. It will be fixed. In another version of the present day.”

“That's not what I mean! Here! It has to matter here!”

“Why? You have succeeded in other iterations where the Morale Department existed, have you not? What is one failure versus several successes?”

I was at a standstill. Up until this point, this world was one of my several successes that followed every version of me. I always had the upper hand, I always got my way, got my wish. Others who tried to circumvent me were met with a grisly fate. None of what transpired was supposed to happen. From all the careful planning Blanc had made with the time travel, I still won. So, why was I now facing a loss?

“I can fix this.” I repeated.

“I know you can. In another time!”

“Here. I need more time. Just a little more.”

“What you're doing right now, with your so-called 'clinics', is that your proposed solution?”

“No. Just a temporary measure. It should slow down the spread.”

“Aren't you worried you're only prolonging the inevitable?”

Worried? No. I know that is exactly what I am doing.

“No. Because I am confident I can find a way to restore everything to how it was before this catastrophe. What is one city compared to the entire world? Or two cities? Or a state? A country? What we see only encompasses a small area for now, which means I can find a way to reverse it.”

“However confident you are, such a disaster reflects poorly.”

You think I don't know that? Humans...they are too obtuse.

The voice continued. “If we don't have a world without our will delivering perfection, then we must reshape the world until it is perfect. We must go to a new time.”

I slammed my fist against the console. It must have shocked the figurehead who might have thought me but a hologram. “Fool! Even if you reset the clock and go to a new timeline, that doesn't change the current one! This will continue to go on! Here! No matter what you do with your time cubes or any other device you use, moving elsewhere doesn't undo what has happened or is happening right now!”

“My. How uncharacteristic of you. Rest assured, when Earth is rebooted, you will be as well, and you will be every bit as perfect as you were before.”

The transmission ended. How snide. How callous. Whoever was behind such a voice...acting in such power, yet holding much less than I. Just a voice. Just a face, obscured. Just as I preferred to be.

I leaned against the computers that made up my laboratory. Head down, I extended my right arm to the side, allowed my fingers to fiddle about in the air. Behind me materialized a chair. I leaned back and sat in it. At least for a moment, I could feign being the same figure who had been in control of everyone and everything.

“How uncharacteristic of me indeed...” My metallic voice, breathy, icy, rang.

My emotions getting the best of me...emotions. Funny.

I was smart enough. There had to be something. After all, it was my company and I that discovered the angel, harnessed its abilities in a small enough dosage that we could apply them to a population without any negative effects. We were able to manage. It was MY company, not The Flashbulb. The ETNA Corporation put in all the effort, ran independent of The Flashbulb, and yet it was The Flashbulb that would take credit for the successes, then disown the one failure.

I could still foresee a day where I would be the one in charge of The Flashbulb and when that day would come, I would be recognized as not only a leader, but a true leader and not just something created by them.

My presence was being pulled in many different places, as I could be everywhere, so I would be. I needed rest, to explore all possible options. There was a problem and thus, there had to have been a solution. So, I put myself into rest mode and allowed the code to run itself. Through the walls, through every surface.

There were stairs that led to what once housed the subway station. If I were to go down, I would find a wide hallway where crowds once gathered around. There were intersections of hallways, kiosks, and train tracks where the subway train would stop at to take the passengers away. Such a mode of transportation ended up being abandoned not long after the doctor's elevators became popular.

Around the corner, there would be another set of elevators. Either one of them would take the passenger to the same destination: far below, to another set of hallways, this time one secret, filled with prison cells and inaccessible rooms. At one point, 'Prinnies', or armed mercenaries with a special set of armor, patrolled such halls, before they relocated to various military bases. The suits of armor were the source of the wearer's power, the wearer themselves could have been anyone, of any degree of physical form.

That last part wasn't very important. Nor were any of the parts preceding it. It was just interesting to me to think about. How things could change and develop over such a short span of time. Moving on, although there may no longer be a human patrol, that didn't mean there still wasn't a guarded prize to be sought within such halls, buried deep within.

Through the halls, through its twists and turns, was a set of doors, which, upon opening, would reveal a room not unlike Dr. Chekhov's. That was the room that the doctor I sought called her home, even if she had managed to occupy every space in the world. It was her home for the simple fact that it was where she felt most secure, where she could rest. Where one of her could rest, at any rate.

If I were to venture there, it would not only be where she was most secure, but also most vulnerable. But I stopped myself before I could take a step down.

I needed her awake and I grew impatient. Those stairs were an omen. If I were looking to bring about her end, I could go. But, I needn't go down there to awaken the sleeping beauty.

“HEY ETNA!” I yelled into the air. Birds scattered from trees only to converge and crash into each other in a collective mess of feathers. Fine collision, the result of a worthy yell.

Tunnels, not today. You were not worthy.

She appeared before me in the middle of the street, an annoyed look on her face. I wish such an expression brought me the delight I ought to have felt.

An aura before me not unlike Ecstasy. Having been summoned forth by this stranger, I studied the figure. Tall, not unlike my own form. Dark, though unclear if the darkness was the actual complexion or the shadows that surrounded the stranger. I refused to classify such a stranger 'man' although with the form the figure took, it was accurate enough to call them “almost human” or “human-like”. Nothing looked inhuman, but I could take a scan into the figure's insides and I knew then what I was dealing with.

“Who dares disturb me from my slumber?” I allowed the stranger my attention.

“Ah! I see you have a sense of humor! You can call me Seagram! Just a man of the hour, as they say!”

Not such a greeting, nor an introduction. There was an inflection that implied joviality, though it all sounded too breathy to be believable.

“If that is how you wish to be addressed, interloper. Now, what is it that you want?”

“Did your install a fantasy villain voice mod to your source code?” He stroked his chin, then shook his head. “Right! I had a purpose!”

What was I doing here when precious seconds were being spent?

He paced about before raising his index finger in the air and going “aha!”

I studied the creature, whose quirks were wearing thin on me.

He reached into his pant pocket and pulled something out. I zoomed in on the object and scanned it: a USB drive, no malware detected. Still, I was suspicious.

“What is this?”

He walked up to me while continuing to smile. If he wished to attack, he could have done so, but instead, he handed it to me.

“This should explain everything,” he assured me.

I took the flash drive and swallowed it. Soon after, the contents immersed into my mind. One file: a video. Footage from the wreckage of the city's former university. Underneath the wreckage. Remnants of the basement. Conrad, the scheming youth, whose belief that the world was being controlled and he was the lone savior would always be his downfall. In all the forms I've seen of him, he never managed to be the reclusive hero he saw himself to be. He was there, along with two others.

Red headed youth who went by the name of Kelly Roger. Behind Kelly Roger was the shadowed figure that stood before me now; Conrad and Kelly Roger both referred to this figure as 'Marco'. Perhaps it would be fitting to do the same.

Petty squabbles. Marco handed Kelly Roger a pistol, Kelly Roger shot Conrad. Conrad, dead, on the floor. Kelly Roger, in a fit of shock, broke down. Tried to shoot Marco, but it had no effect. Marco walked away. Something else happened after...

How could I explain it? Even as I saw what the video showed me. None of my genius could parse it.

Kelly Roger knelt down, spread the blood from Conrad onto their face, and burst in a fit of laughter before...disappearing? No, becoming vapor. Millions of tiny particles of blood, spreading into the air, working their way up.

Video changed setting; just outside, two officers who had overheard the commotion, were close to rushing inside. Instead, they shot each other. Nearby, a man witnessed this and grinned. With glee, the man bashed his head into a wall until his skull cracked.

I closed my eyes. I could infer what this meant. Yes, I knew it already. That under duress, one who had been transformed through my elevators enough times would experience intense shakes, followed by a defense mechanism in the body where the trauma experienced would be fought back with a feeling of extreme joy. It wasn't ideal, but it was contained. I knew of the spread, but the implications of the video...

“You instigated this?”

Marco smiled and took a bow. “I just saw a flaw with your system and exploited it. Now that it's exposed and you have been made aware, you can fix it. If anything, you should be thanking me.”

“Thank you?”

“Aw, don't mention it! It was nothing, really!”

I set my palm over my face and shook my head.

“Yes. This is wonderful. I have already been aware of such a thing, and in small enough doses, have been able to exploit this as well.”

“Oh my, missy. Are you sure you should be revealing such things to me? What if I'm recording everything right now?”

“Very well. Do as you will. I will not ask how it was that you produced such footage. The last thing I would request of you is that you humor me, not when you have been doing that all on your own.”

“But if footage leaks, that would be ever so unfortunate for your company. Bad PR, as they say?”

“Look around you: there is no one but us.”

“If I leak all this elsewhere...”

I scanned for such a thing. Bluff. He was attempting to rile me up. It wouldn't work. If only because...

“Nothing that transpired between us will leave here. That includes you.”

“Oh?”

My lips creased to a wicked smile. I was going to relish this.

“Under normal circumstances, I would take my time with you. But seeing as you aren't a normal circumstance, I won't grant you such a mercy. Your heart will be torn out from your chest and I will stand over you as I crush it.” To make good on my promise, I unfurled my sleeve and allowed shadows of my own to manifest from me; thorny vines of shadow, a hydra of tentacle-shaped darkness made physical, all honed in on the creature's chest.

He avoided them all, ducking and maneuvering as if he had already seen them before I made my move. Was he toying with me?

“Ha! I removed my heart and replaced it with ginger ale! But your time will come, Etna!”

He made a cartwheel, even as my thorns pursued him. I spread my other arm, releasing another set. If he avoided them from one side, then I would just surround him from every side if I had to. But I was going to squash him like the bug he was. That I was certain.

As he looked around, I watched the panic on his face. I watched as the limbs coiled around him, and I commanded them to squeeze the creature dry.

But even as the darkness tightened its grip, I felt no compression. His figure remained firm, I felt like a child trying to bend an iron rod with my hand.

“Lucky for you, I'm also into bondage,” he joked. Whether he could break free or not, he didn't. This served to infuriate me more.

I appeared in front of Marco.

“What is it that you want?”

“Didn't I tell you? I came to relay a message!”

“Yes, that you did. But you could have done so without risking your life.”

Wrong. There is no place you could have hid that your life wouldn't have been in danger.

“I've always wanted to meet Etna, the great and powerful. Besides...” He leaned his head forward and bit into one of my shadowed tentacles, a feat that shouldn't have been possible. He swallowed, then opened his mouth, blood flowing out. “...My life has never been at risk.”

He wiped his mouth, then went back to smiling, revealing some jagged fangs. “However, it brings me great pleasure to feel this new sensation. Had I known that I could feel something from you, I would have met you sooner.”

I was dumbfounded. To experience so many surprises, not something I was used to, and I was not enjoying such a feeling.

“Alas, as much as I would have loved to have died by your hands long ago, I learned this too late. Now I want to live to see the end.”

My eyes darted downward, where his fingers began to twitch. I took a step back, although I found myself unable to anticipate the next action: the vines and thorns tearing as if nothing more than scraps of paper. Marco stood and stretched and all around him, emerging from his limbs, were shadowed tentacles of his own.

I found myself in an airport in Cairo. The journey was a bit of a blur, but I know there had been walking involved somewhere along the way. Now, why I was here, I had no particular reason other than to wander about and see where I might be taken. Call it “wanderlust”.

Or, on second thought, don't. I don't quite like that word. Mostly because the word 'lust' is in it, which implies something sexual and my joy for wandering about was of pure innocence. Now, where to go, that was the issue at hand...

See, I had no passport. No ID. No money. No plane ticket. Nothing of the sort. Maybe somewhere along the way I should have thought of getting one...oh, hindsight.

“Ugh! I can't believe what I'm hearing!” Some angry man could be heard yelling at a flight attendant. I walked closer and watched him throw his ticket on the ground. He stormed off. While I could have done the less noble thing and just stolen the ticket, I was feeling in a good mood (not that I ever felt in any other kind of mood).

“Hey, mister! You dropped your ticket!” I called. I was hunched over, on my knees, having knelt down and grabbed his plane ticket as someone responsible would do.

“Take it!” He roared. I could tell he was frustrated. “I just got told that Paris is nothing like Elizabeth pictured it!”

Elizabeth? Was I supposed to know this person?

“What do you mean?”

“Ugh! Apparently it's not all sunshine with painters painting your portrait and everyone offering you wine and baguettes and you can't expect a blue bird to land on your fingertip! Can't you read a room?”

No. No I couldn't. That was my one weakness. Among many other weaknesses.

“Well, thanks!”

That made me happy. I didn't know what I was going to do in Paris, but it was a place and maybe once there, I could think of other places to visit.

So similar to my own abilities. Was there a connection between us?

“You might be wondering about this.”

Understatement.

“Fear not: you are still unique. Your abilities stem from corruption. These...are not abilities and I was just born under certain circumstances.”

I sent my shadows to scratch and tear and pierce and anything else they would or could do to damage him. He retaliated by first stroking his tentacles, then sending them forward.

Ours collided and mingled, tangled up in each. This was not a bad thing. As he was occupied, I summoned turrets forth from the ground to shoot at him.

Clouds of smoke formed and when they disappeared, he remained unharmed, the streets littered with shells.

He continued to smile, then drew out more tentacles to strike at me. As much as my shadows could defend me, or I could move away, one was too fast and had scratched me whilst I had attempted to flee.

My cheek drew blood, a cut across it. I took a finger and wiped away the cut, my face clean once again.

“So you can bleed as well. Here I thought you were a hologram.”

It was my turn to smile. “I enjoy a little pain every now and then as well.”

His face contorted to a grimace. He must have sensed something in me. Something he did not know. His displeasure was enough to make me want to laugh, but I maintained composure.

“However, this has gone on long enough, and wasting my time does not make me happy.”

“Oh?”

My hair turned from its elegant silver to a shade of blood red, but only for a second, before returning to silver. My hands turned bony, outstretched, and my lustrous fingernails became sharp talons. My arms were turning to pure darkness.

I faded away, then reemerged in front of him, my hands gripped to his mouth, opening it wider and wider...

How fascinating. I wonder how far I can stretch this?

I slashed at the inside of his mouth, drawing blood from the roof of it, then I threw him back. He landed with a thud before standing once more. However, he found himself retching, coughing up blood onto the streets.

“You! Ecstasy is supposed to be separate from you! She's just an aspect of Euphoria!”

How wonderful that Marco would know such things.

“I am an aspect of Euphoria,” I corrected.

“Why do you have her blood?!” He demanded to know, his voice cracked and gasping for breath. I could kill this creature. There was no doubt.

I ran my fingers through my hair, my eyes closed, and smiled.

“Because I'm worth it.”

I witnessed a bloodied grin stretch across his face. His tongue slid out and licked up all the blood that had spilled onto his face.

“Once again I will ask: what do you want?”

“To tell you that your time has come to an end!” He cackled. “But you are not aware of this!”

“Why? Neither of us have managed to kill each other.”

“Nor shall we. But that's the thing, isn't it? We both have the means: by granting yourself a physical form, all you did was make yourself vulnerable. I, on the other hand, have learned that I can be struck from the inside. Yet, it is still your time that has come to an end.”

He walked toward me, casual. I withdrew my defensive stance, wanting to hear him out.

“For so long, I wanted to devour her. Take her blood. But, here you have instead. Maybe this is for the best since you aren't immune to the overload, either.”

“Yes. I have known this.”

“I have existed for thousands of years. You can exist well after humanity's end. Well after Earth. We are both immortal, to an extent. But to think that ending my life will change anything, that you can stop what has started...”

He lunged at me and grabbed me by the throat. I found myself unable to disappear or manifest elsewhere. Frozen by some unknown force. I closed my eyes.

“You have existed for so long, and to do this. Don't tell me you did this to help me perfect my technology. I already know who you are, Beige.”

“How long have you known?” He growled.

I moved out from his grasp and placed myself atop a wrecked building. I sat upon the rooftop and watched the creature.

“You have infiltrated our ranks before. We have been aware of you, but have done nothing under the pretense that you were insignificant. Maybe that was true, before recently. You had done well to keep hidden the Beige aspect of you, as well.”

“Thank you. Means a lot coming from the good robot doctor.”

I scoffed. This creature, person, whatever, was a disgrace.

“Not to stroke your ego, but you could have attempted to defeat us long ago. You couldn't care less about that, could you? Your desire for revenge must have left you long ago. As has...” I stopped for a second, feeling a tinge of doubt over my inference. “...your desire for many things.”

“When you've lived for so long, there's only so much you can do with your time.”

I scoffed. “I can't believe you came here to tell me I've been defeated, and perhaps I have, but you have no intention of bettering humanity or anything altruistic. All this because of a child having a temper tantrum.”

“Excuse me?” Marco looked insulted.

“Maybe I can't stop things from progressing the way they are, but the reason you have instigated this is because you are dissatisfied. All you're doing is causing destruction in the name of searching for a purpose!”

“And you're saying you're any different?”

Here we were, two egos. No longer at each other's throats, but killing each other with our words.

“Don't tell me you care about humanity. The only reason you care about the situation at hand is because it makes you look bad. You want to lead The Flashbulb at some point, believing yourself to be superior to them. Don't get me wrong, either; you are. You were programmed to be superior to humanity, you were programmed to try to better humanity how you see fit. But you also have been able to change your programming. Knowing this, why lead them? The Flashbulb is made up of humans, the very things inferior to you.”

“They need a leader. They are disorganized.”

“Very well. What then? You're doing this for recognition from them. You could make yourself leader, but you would rather they acknowledge you and appoint you their leader. Why do you seek the acknowledgment from those inferior to you?”

I had no answer.

“Not to mention, you can go on forever. Long after humanity's end. You can desire for humanity to go on forever as well, but why should you? Why would they last forever, themselves, for that matter? What will you do, who will you lead, when it all ends and you are there, alone?”

“Good question, interloper. So then it stands, what about you?”

“I plan to end along with them. That is my purpose.”

I descended, disgusted at the lunacy. I would reach my hand down, go at the throat, do whatever I had to.

As I descended, his tentacles shot out, entangled me, held me in place.

“I am sorry, Etna. But here is where I take my leave.”

From his back, a stinger, like that of a scorpion, formed, and plunged itself into my chest. I screamed and fell, and when I could finally open my eyes, he disappeared.

On the ground I sat, my wounds healing at a slower rate than normal. To think he could do something like that...

I sighed. There really was nowhere to go, was there?

Even with all my genius, I decided that the best course of action was to watch and allow everything to take its course. To do nothing. How unlike me, indeed.

Near me sat a familiar face, my twin. Evil twin...no, that wouldn't have been fair. She fancied herself as a necessary evil, but I couldn't have called myself any better.

“Ves...what are you doing here?”

I pondered this. “You look like you've seen better days.”

“I've seen better regimes.”

“I saw the whole thing. I won't tell you who's side I took. I despise you, but to see you defeated in such a grotesque manner...”

“I am fine now.”

“Yes, I suppose you are. As is the world. I won't be here long.”

“Why are you here at all? In this world?”

“It's unusual, I'll admit. You could say that home is no longer a familiar place. I don't know what is, or if I'll ever feel a sense of comfort.”

“How poetic.”

“Or pathetic, as you would have told me in any other situation.”

I extended my hand to her.

“Let's work together.”

She took my hand and although separate people, we were again, each other.

#happiness overload #ccosmic horror #dark comedy #writing #stories #fiction #scifi #dystopian #happiness #serotonin syndrome #action

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stopsubstanceabuse1-blog · 6 years ago

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How to Manage When We Feel Overwhelmed

New Post has been published on https://www.substanceabuseprevention.net/how-to-manage-when-we-feel-overwhelmed/

How to Manage When We Feel Overwhelmed

When you experience emotional overwhelm, it can feel all-consuming. For the many people who will face this feeling at some point in their lives, it entails being completely overcome by an intense and unruly emotion that something is too challenging to manage and overcome.

When confronted with this feeling, it can be difficult to think and act rationally, and even function in a normal way. Needless to say, the experience of being overwhelmed is uncomfortable and the causes can span across your personal and professional life.

What Causes Emotional Overwhelm?

When a person believes the stressors are far too great to manage, they become overwhelmed — which means that any number of causes are possible.

Whether brought on by an exceptionally stressful time at work, a traumatic personal experience like losing a loved one, or another inciting factor, emotional overwhelm can occur for a short burst of time or over a much longer period. Sometimes, a series of hardships and challenges occurring in rapid succession can trigger someone to feel overcome by unwieldy emotions.

Common experiences that can lead to emotional overwhelm can include:

Symptoms of Overwhelm

When a person is experiencing an overwhelming feeling, it can take shape in a variety of ways. In each instance, a person is generally more likely to be overwhelmed by negative emotions — anger, fear, anxiety, or guilt — and it is often difficult to understand and verbalize the exact source of the stress.

The reason a person’s physiology responds so strongly to this negative emotion is the release of cortisol, the “stress hormone.” When you begin to feel overwhelmed, cortisol surges through your body and leaves you overloaded with intense anxiety. At the same time, our serotonin stores, the chemical that helps our bodies fight off depression and anxiety, start to deplete. This combination causes the intense feeling of total despair associated with being overwhelmed.

Often, overwhelm is as uncomfortable as it is uncontrollable. It rears its head as anxiety, anger, or significant irritability and worry. Doubt and helplessness also make their way into a person’s normal thought process.

Physically, it can manifest when a person lashes out verbally, cries, or has a panic attack. These feelings are often paired with a quickened heartbeat, perspiration, shortness of breath, or even chest pain.

Preventing or Stopping Emotional Overwhelm

No matter the reason, if you feel the onset of overwhelm, there are some ways to help address the emotions both on your own and by leveraging outside support.

Accept the anxious feelings

Fighting off all-consuming emotions likely doesn’t do much to ease them in a particularly anxious moment. Try to remember that anxiety, to a certain degree, is a “normal” part of the human experience and use acceptance as a tool to work through those uncomfortable feelings (when possible).

Reverse your overwhelmed thought processes

Feelings of unpredictability and complete despair fuel overwhelm. Those unreasonable thoughts build up as anxiety and can cause a person significant distress. Stop those damaging thoughts before they become habitual ruminations by honestly asking yourself if that way of thinking is unreasonable or unhelpful. At the same time, try to find alternative, more positive thoughts.

Take some deep breaths

When you consciously breathe in deep, it triggers your body’s relaxation response and can come in handy during particularly stressful moments. Additionally, practicing yoga, meditation, and progressive muscle relaxation can help calm your body’s response to anxiety, as each exercise helps you to focus your breath.

Be in the moment

If your thinking is focused on what the future holds — whether in a few minutes or several years down the road — it may make you more susceptible to becoming overwhelmed. Think about one moment, task, and experience at a time, in the present moment, to help remove the possibility of uncontrollable thoughts that may or may not come about.

Know your resources

Besides breathing and meditation techniques to help prevent overwhelm, there is plenty of scientific research available about how stress and anxiety impact our cognitive abilities. To strengthen your ability to manage those feelings, discover what studies and recommendations resonate with you by using online search tools.

How Therapy Can Help You Manage Overwhelm

When you are not able to prevent overwhelming thoughts or feelings, therapy is a helpful way to address your response to them.

In therapy, a qualified professional is able to help you sort through the issues causing your stress or anxiety and better understand its root causes. When you gain a solid understanding of what stressors and situations trigger this uncomfortable mental state, it helps cultivate a calmer frame of mind in the future.

When looking for the right type of therapy to manage overwhelming experiences, there are different types of practices to consider. Certain forms of therapy incorporate meditation, hypnosis, and centering techniques to help teach people to soothe themselves during times of distress. In addition, a therapist may also recommend journal therapy or physical exercise, which are also found to help prevent emotional overwhelm.

While there is no way to determine what life has in store at any given moment, there are ways to build up mental strength to better take on life’s challenges and build resiliency. When you take time to learn what triggers stress and anxious thoughts, you can better manage overwhelming experiences before they occur.

With the right tools and hard work, you can help minimize the occurrence and impact of overwhelm.

Source: https://www.talkspace.com/blog/2019/01/feeling-overwhelmed/

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emfconsultants · 7 years ago

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37 Tips to Reduce Stress

Prelude:

One of the more common cell stressors on the digestive system is caused from anxiety. Here is an article I wrote a few years ago for Circle and Spear, with a few edits made today. It provides some simple dietary and behavioral tips for reducing stress. I hope you find it helpful.

37 Tips to Reduce Stress

75% of all Americans feel negative stress at least twice a month. Half of that number claim it’s severe! (CNN Health) In other words, YOU ARE NOT ALONE!

Many times, we are under so much constant stress that we don’t even realize how stressed out we are! There are four groups or classifications that stress manifests. The common responses of “Fight or Flight” – negative ways of dealing with stress are found here. If you can check off a couple symptoms from any group, then you could be stressed and not even realize it. Many of you can claim multiple checks. The more checks, the closer you are to a critical stress overload.

A. Cognitive Symptoms

Memory problems Inability to concentrate Poor judgment Seeing only the negative Anxious or racing thoughts Constant worrying

B. Emotional Symptoms

Moodiness Irritability or short temper Agitation, inability to relax Feeling overwhelmed Sense of loneliness and isolation Depression or general unhappiness

C. Physical Symptoms

Aches and pains Diarrhea or constipation Nausea, dizziness Chest pain, rapid heartbeat Loss of sex drive Frequent colds Eating more or less Sleeping too much or too little

D. Behavioral Symptoms

Isolating yourself from others Procrastinating or neglecting responsibilities Using alcohol, cigarettes, or drugs to relax Nervous habits such as nail biting, pacing, wringing hands, rubbing two fingers together. The last one I call “drummer’s leg.” You’ve all seen it; the leg that rapidly goes up and down while sitting.

The following tips will help with stress management. Some you have seen before and others will be new to you. All have been proven successful on some level.

TIPS FOR REDUCING STRESS

1. – The most innovative and perhaps controversial solution was presented to the world by Khrishnamurti. As far as I know, there has not yet been any psychological testing on his method which is: "to not suppress or avoid your stress but to allow yourself to feel it. Go into it. Experience it. Discover the real cause behind it."

It’s almost never what we think it is. It is usually an elemental fear such as; abandonment, death, loneliness, not being loved, etcetera. It could a reflection of a traumatic past memory often stored in the limbic system.

The anticipation of pain and suffering is often more stressful than the actual experience. A strange phenomenon occurs when we allow ourselves to feel pain or discomfort and experience it fully; it mitigates and then goes away. Poof! Our brains redefine the signal.

To prove this point; the next time you have a small pain or discomfort in your leg or arm or anywhere, devote all of your attention to that pain and allow yourself to feel it fully. “Be that pain, so to speak.” It will go away. The brain makes a shift. "Tis like magic!"

2. – Write the cause of your stress down on a piece of paper, crumple it up and toss it in the trash. You are more powerful that it is! Say this, while tossing. It will help.

3. – See your doctor if your stress is chronic. In other words, no matter what you do, there is no reprieve. Ask him to check your blood work for deficiencies..

4. – Exercise releases endorphins that help the body release stress and relax. Just about any exercise will help; take long walks, jog, do yardwork, gardening, or do any other favorite physical activity. Yesterday, there were two guys in Riverside Park playing Merman Hesse’s Glass Bead Game using lacrosse balls. How cool is that?

I KNOW A GREAT PERSONAL TRAINER IN NYC: JASON RODRIGUEZ OF FITNESS JOURNEYS: (347) 387-1471

5. – Go dancing. It’s hard to be stressed out and dance at the same time. Let loose, let it go, even if you can only do the “white man overbite!” Who cares? Have some fun.

6. – Read a good book or article.

7. – Escape to the theater or a music concert.

8. – Many artists have found that painting or drawing their stress help relieve it. That’s right. Draw a picture of the monster in the closet or the stress boogie man. Crumble that one up and toss it, too!

9. – Chocolate causes the brain to release endorphins that help us feel good and reduce stress.

10. – Reduce caffeine and sugar intake.

11. – Play music; either play and instrument or listen to a download, CD, etc. I’ve found that lying down on the couch and listening with my eyes closed helps transport my mind to an alpha wave state. Alpha waves calm the mind.

12. – Drink a cup of chamomile tea or any other non-caffeinated tea.

13. – Sit with your tongue out. Ha...No joke! Yes, this works. It helped Michael Jordan when he shot.

14. – Eat carbohydrates. A bowl of cereal, pasta, potatoes – help the body relax. Foods with a Low Glycemic Index or G.I. will not induce the pancreas to secrete much insulin; thereby helping the body to relax.

15. – Have a glass of wine beer, or a dram of whiskey. Alcohol acts as a depressant or "relaxant." A little goes a long way.

16. – Find a good therapist or support group. Try to get a handle on what you can control and what you can’t. Hearing others with a similar issue can help you see our own stress from a distance.

17. – Take a leisurely drive into the countryside. Long, relaxing drives can help by getting distance from your immediate surroundings and help put things into perspective.

18. – Make love; preferably with your spouse. Sexual tension and hormones build up to compound any additional stress.

19. – Prayer works. If you are one of the fortunate who have faith, then you can give all of your problems to God. Give God your stress, too. Remember, you still have to do the footwork. Yes, having faith can make life easier.

20. – Scream into a pillow. The immediate release of your anger instead of keeping it bottled up will help with stress. Let it out and let it GO!

21. – Hit a punching bag and give your punches a voice. That’s right. Express your anger in words and physical release. It’s interesting what you can discover during this process. It will help you release.

22. – Take Vitamin B Complex Stress Tabs or better yet; eat healthy foods filled with plenty of B vitamins. Vitamin B deficiency will cause chemical stress in the body. B vitamins are water-soluble which means they will be washed away by drinking liquids. Stress and smoking also deplete them.

23. – Eat a healthy meal with nutritional value. A lack of particular vitamins will cause stress.

24. – Get some sunshine. Vitamin D deficiency causes all kinds of issues, including stress.

25. – Get a good night of sleep.

26. – The old cliche: "Look at the Big Picture." Ask yourself, “If this was my final day on Earth, would this be all that important?”

27. – Imagine the thing you’re frustrated with and spit it out. That’s right. You’ve heard the expression; “I’m so mad I could spit!” Well, spit! (Into the toilet, preferably.)

You may have seen a baseball game. Notice how many times the players spit. Yes, for many of them, it’s so unconscious, they don’t even realize how frequently they’re spitting. Baseball pitcher Matt Garza comes to mind. That guy must spit at least five times between each pitch!

28. – Go to the beach. There’s something about the calming effect of being near water and open skies. Some say it’s a reminder of being back in the womb?

29. – Tryptophan is an amino acid that helps the body relax. The enterochromaffin cells in your gut mucosa covert the tryptophan into the neurotransmitter called serotonin. Have some turkey.

30. – Pet your dog, cat, or something. Giving love helps us calm down. Remember, love is the one thing where supply is unlimited.

31. – Meditation can help you stay centered and balanced, affording you the ability to deal with problems clearly. It also helps you learn to see that you are not your problems, even if you created them. Knowing that you are not your situation, predicament, or circumstances is integral for rising above a stressful situation and handling it with adroitness, grace, and flair.

32. – Get a massage or even better yet go to:

STRUCTURAL INTEGRATION OF CHELSEA, IN NYC. (917) 859-6502.

Tension is often held in the muscles and stored in the cells of tissue or your fascia. Rolfing will release this tension and help the flow of electrons in your acupuncture meridians.

33. – Take a hot bath, long hot shower, hot tub, or steam room. Again, warm water calms the nerves.

34. – Take a sauna. Sweating out toxins helps relieve the workload on the liver. This reduces stress on the body.

35. – Ask your doctor about stress relievers. Beta-blockers are popular. I don’t recommend them.

36. – Sharing your personal methods for reducing stress will help reduce your stress, too.

37. – Finally, share this article with someone you care about. Generosity helps relieve stress, too!

Here's a final bonus: Reduce stress causing electromagnetic fields (EMF) in your home and office. Elexana.com can do this for you.

Finally, in the words of the great behavioral modification expert, Aaron Rogers of the Green Bay Packers, "RELAX."

James J. Finn, Owner, Elexana.com

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ramoswomensgym0 · 7 years ago

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Treatment options for coping with stress and anxiety

Everybody has moments of anxiety, deep worry and high stress; here are a few treatment options available during those times.

Counselling

Mindfulness

A meditative practice of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) is increasingly used as part of a holistic approach to the treatment of anxiety, as well as for chronic physical illness and pain.

Talk to your psychologist about mindfulness training and check out some of the free mindfulness meditation apps available.

Lifestyle changes

Is your lifestyle increasing your vulnerability towards anxiety? For a majority of anxiety sufferers, the answer is a resounding ‘yes’. Perhaps it’s time to de-clutter, delegate and slow down.

It won’t hurt to be a little selfish, occasionally, for the sake of your mental health.

Diet

Nutrition can have a powerful impact on anxiety, for better and for worse, and can form an important part of an overall approach to rehabilitation.

To combat ‘gut anxiety’, eat a low GI diet (which also helps regulate blood sugar levels), reduce fatty foods and alcohol, and increase fibre intake.

Exercise

Developing a healthy exercise habit is highly complementary to an overall anti-anxiety approach.

In fact, one study found that regular exercise can be as effective as medication in people with panic disorder.

Medical support

The old-school anti-anxiety tranquilliser meds – still used for individual cases – are benzodiazepines; immediate and highly effective, they do come with a catch.

For more information about anxiety and mental health go to mindaustralia.org.au.

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Read more ... from http://www.womenshealthandfitness.com.au/health-beauty/health-advice/2348-treatment-options-for-coping-with-stress-and-anxiety

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