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Panic Attacks - How to Deal With Them and Control Them!
By Bertil Hjert
Dealing with the aftermath of a panic attack is not easy. After this incredibly disturbing episode, it's difficult to concentrate on anything but avoiding a repeat episode. The fear of being stricken again is enough to cause avoidance of a range of different activities, even activities you once enjoyed. Regaining your confidence is an important first step in dealing with anxiety and its consequences.
The beginning stages of a panic attack are unmistakable. Your muscles start to tighten up with tension, your heart starts to race, your brow begins to sweat and you have trouble breathing.
At the very first sign of any of these symptoms you need to act quickly to counteract the effects that will soon lead you to find any means of escape, no matter how embarrassing. When these symptoms crop up you need to take the negative, fear based thoughts that are suddenly flooding your mind and direct them in a more positive direction.
Negative thoughts have power because they seem so frightening but most of us go through life without too many insurmountable obstacles being thrown in our path. Yes, bad things happen, they happen to everyone, but you can overcome them.
Besides, chances are, your panic attacks will come at seemingly the most innocent of times anyway, so you should be able to easily rationalize those thoughts. If a panic attack strikes in the nail salon, take a moment and think about what you are really afraid of.
Are you worried a customer is going to go berserk over the cost of polish? Are you worried that you won't like the color being applied? Are you upset that you don't get to gossip with the other ladies because they don't like you? None of these things deserve a moment of your anxiety and hopefully once you think through the dangers of the nail salon, you'll realize a panic attack is unwarranted.
Many people who deal with this problem find that an outlet for their worry and stress is extremely helpful in managing the rigors of life. Meditation, yoga or progressive muscle relaxation are all helpful in soothing the mind and the body. If you are able to counteract the effects of the body during times of great distress, the mind will usually follow suit, enabling you to achieve at least some equilibrium.
Yoga is the best pursuit for those people seeking to combine physical exertion with emotional relief. Yoga usually incorporates a period of relaxation and meditation into the practice that enables the mind to release the worries and cumulative stress from the day.
Yoga is a wonderful tool to manage anxiety. It can be done by anyone, regardless of age or sex. Many men and some women are reluctant to engage in this practice because they think it's for hippies and older women. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Yoga is increasingly practiced by a wide variety of people because of its amazing health benefits. You can join a yoga studio, take a class at your local gym or even get a video tape to learn the basics of this amazing relaxation technique.
If you are really suffering, isn't anything worth a try? There's no reason to let a panic attack ruin your life or allow fear and avoidance to take up permanent residence in your head. There are ways to release your anxiety. Start with yoga, meditation or even a regular exercise program and feel and experience the effects on and mind.
INTENSE PULSED LIGHT (IPL) TO HELP SUN DAMAGED SKIN & ROSACEA
Living in Southern Calif-ornia, there is no way of getting around the sun and skin damage. Local Plastic Surg-eon, Dr. Marc Kerner and his staff at Dermatique Medical Center for Advanced Skincare, Inc have been working with Intense Pulsed Light (IPL ) technology to help get rid of the imperfections of sun damage and photo-aging as well as broken veins and capillaries on the face, neck, chest area, hands and any other areas of the body that are sun damaged. IPL can also help treat Rosacea, a facial rash that occurs in middle-aged men and women. IPL may even be covered under some insurance plans when treating Rosacea.
IPL offers a safe, non-invasive solution that can be tailored to your individual condition and skin type providing outstanding result. A cold gel is usually applied to the area to be treated. And then the smooth glass surface of the IPL hand piece is gently applied to your skin and pulses of light are applied the area to be treated. Depending on the number of conditions you are treating, and the severity of the individual problem, a series of 4-6 treatment sessions may be recommended. There is no down time and you can return to work the same day and resume regular activities. Each treatment takes about 30 minutes. According to one patient, "I saw results on my chest area after only 1 treatment. I was amazed how my skin looked so soft and young and I had no more irritating brown spots."
For more information on Intense Pulsed Light or to make an appointment for a FREE skin care consultation, call (805) 230-1111. Dermatique Medical Center is located at 696 Hampshire Rd in Westlake Village.
Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center Presents Three Free Seminars on Relieving Back Pain
By Staff Writer
Whether it's the result of an injury, arthritis or another degenerative condition, back pain can be debilitating. The good news is that, in many cases, back pain can be relieved without complex surgery.
The latest medical treatments, including minimally-invasive surgery, will be highlighted next month in three free seminars at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank. Three physicians will discuss spinal stenosis and treatments that include the new X-STOP procedure.
Orthopedic surgeons Richard Feldman and Yuri Falkinstein and neurosurgeon Pablo Lawner, all on staff at Providence Saint Joseph, will lead discussions on treating back pain, emphasizing that there is relief - and new state-of-the-art treatment means quicker recovery. Each session will close with a question-and-answer period.
Spinal stenosis can cause cramping, pain or numbness in the legs, back, neck, shoulders or arms; a loss of sensation in the extremities; and sometimes problems with bladder or bowel function. The most common cause is osteoarthritis-related bone damage.
Mild symptoms of spinal stenosis are often helped by pain relievers, physical therapy or a supportive brace. In more serious cases of spinal stenosis, doctors may recommend surgery.
Physicians at Providence Saint Joseph are finding success with the X-STOP Spacer, a small implant that can take the pressure off of pinched nerves due to lumbar spinal stenosis.
The spacer fits between two bones in the back of the spine-at the level of the pinched nerve and stays in place without being attached to the bone or ligaments.
Typically pain relief comes quickly and recovery is short, usually within six weeks, compared to the six months recovery for traditional treatments.
Dr. Feldman will open the trio of seminars on March 10, focusing on X-STOP and other procedures to alleviate back pain.
"This is for patients who would otherwise need gigantic operations and here they can have an entire procedure that takes usually no more than 45 minutes and, many times, they're up and walking," Dr. Feldman said. "Many get tremendous relief immediately."
One of his patients was an 80-year-old man who had a dramatic recovery.
"He could barely walk and a few weeks later he was out playing golf," Dr. Feldman said. "I ended up seeing every one of his friends - they couldn't believe how great he was doing."
On March 16, Dr. Lawner speaks, emphasizing just how common such recoveries are for patients who undergo the new state-of-the-art procedures, including X-STOP.
"It's minimally invasive outpatient treatment and it can be done under local or general anesthetic," Dr. Lawner said.
The procedure is performed at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center and the entire process, from surgery to recovery, is finished in approximately 1-1/2 hours, he said. That compares to the three-day hospital stay resulting from traditional surgery.
X-Stop implantation is appropriate for about 80 percent of spinal stenosis patients - those who find relief from pain when they sit down or when they stretch their spin.
"Most of the patients with spinal stenosis become asymptomatic by sitting and hunching forward," Dr. Lawner said. "This procedure won't work if the pain is constant, but that is rare."
Dr. Falkinstein, who will speak on March 26, trained in St. Mary's Hospital in San Francisco, where the X-STOP technique was developed.
"I'm very excited about this," said Dr. Falkinstein, who has implanted the X-STOP in scores of patients. "It's a new procedure that has proven to be very effective for many patients. It's a new and exciting technology that gives a lot of patients good relief of symptoms and a much safer procedure compared to prior, more invasive types of surgery."