Think Happy!

I’m not sure I’ve ever met a shy monkey! Nevertheless, research recently carried out on young rhesus monkeys may hold the clue to a deeper understanding of anxiety, stress and shyness is human children.

The research, carried out by the HealthEmotions Research Institute and Department of Psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, showed that those with the most anxious temperaments showed higher activity in the part of the brain that regulates emotion and triggers reactions to anxiety, e.g. the fight or flight response.

The brains of people suffering from anxiety and severe shyness in social situations consistently respond more strongly to stress, and show signs of being anxious even in situations that others find safe. In other words,

“The brain machinery underlying the stress response seems to be always on in these individuals, even in situations that others perceive as safe and secure.” (Dr. Ned Kalin, chairman of the SMPH Research Institute)

The current research suggests that the reason is it is hard for some one with an anxious temperament to “calm down” is because they are wired in a way that tends to keep them tense and anxious. Their ‘calm’ is already more wound-up that most people’s stress!

But does it have to be that way? Read the rest of this entry »

Well, after a fairly prolonged absence - for which my wife should be held responsible due to the birth of our third child! - we’re now officially back.

In the coming days you can expect further posts on quitting Cola and reducing tooth grinding. However, our newest author, Claire, will also be starting a new series on giving up smoking and I’ll be adding some practical memory tips.

So, stay tuned!

I’ve been meaning to post more on how to stop grinding your teeth, along with pointers to tactics that I’ve found helpful. However, the truth is that not much has worked so far! Hence, not much posting!

So, in the spirit of full disclosure, over the next few of posts I will discuss ‘how not to stop grinding your teeth’. First failed attempt: alcohol.

I’ve got a couple of posts in the pipe-line on teeth-grinding (or “bruxism”, to use the medical term), but in the meantime…

Who couldn’t use a little bit more good luck?

Richard Wiseman, professor at University of Hertfordshire has made a study of lucky people. Why are some people lucky and others not? Can you learn to be lucky? These are questions that drive his research and they are the focus of his first book The Luck Factor.

In his research, Wiseman interviewed thousands of people and even ran a project called Luck School, where students could learn to be luckier. The results of this work reveal that people are not born lucky. Instead, lucky people use basic principles to create good fortune.

Mary Jaksch goes on to discuss 7 Strategies for Good Luck, taking five from Wiseman’s research and adding two of her own: Read the rest of this entry »

I don’t like Dentists!

Due to the excess of Cola that I used to drink, I’ve made more than my fair share of visits to the Dentist’s surgery. My experiences haven’t always been great, so it’s not an experience that I exactly look forward to.

There was a time a couple of years ago when I was so anxious about the state of my teeth - and the dental work required - that I would lose sleep worrying about it, or spend the night grinding my teeth in trepidation. The irony wasn’t lost on me!

I was out with the children today and I noticed a couple of people that seemed to be grinding their teeth whilst in an apparently relaxed state. I’m told that an estimated one in 20 adults and three in 20 children unconsciously grind their teeth at night. Is this something that you’ve found yourself doing? Read the rest of this entry »

There’s an excellent post over at the Urban Monk that gets straight to the point of what I’ve been waffling around for ages: Change your thoughts and change your life – The Art of Cognitive Reframing.

We never, ever, see the world as it is. Our awareness – our beliefs, past conditionings, upbringing, the list goes on – these distort everything we see. They creep into every interpretation and misinterpretation…

Read the rest for yourselves. You won’t regret it.

Try it for yourself, and see if it doesn’t make a change in your life.

I recently came across an interesting guest post over at Zen Habits.

Murder! Ringing phones, broken equipment, lost data, rude customers, unreasonable deadlines, demanding bosses. A sure-fire recipe for a 187.

The author, Albert Foong, goes on to note that the days we are living in require emotional intelligence and psychologically tested methods ‘to handle anything that happens in a mature and powerful manner.’ The vital first step, predictably - but helpful nonetheless, is taking radical responsibility for our own behaviour. He then goes on to describe the ABC Model:

Albert Ellis, one of the pioneers of Cognitive Psychology, came up with a simple system to describe how we really operate. He called it the ABC model: Antecedent, Belief, and Consequence.

We believe that A leads directly to C. In the example above, Madison antagonised me, leading to my Anger. But that was not true - there was some reaction in between, my beliefs had filtered the experience and therefore created the anger.

The thoughts I had, revealed the beliefs that lay underneath them: We shouldn’t be shouted at; everyone should be polite; she should respect my skills.

Read the rest of this entry »

JollyBlogger recently posted some Amazingly Simple Home Remedies: 

1. If you’re choking on an ice cube simply pour a cup of boiling water down your throat. Presto! The blockage will instantly remove itself.
2. Avoid cutting yourself when slicing vegetables by getting someone else to hold while you chop.
3. Avoid arguments with the Mrs. about lifting the toilet seat by using the sink.
4. For high blood pressure sufferers: simply cut yourself and bleed for a few minutes, thus reducing the pressure in your veins. Remember to use a timer.
5. A mouse trap, placed on top of your alarm clock, will prevent you from rolling over and going back to sleep after you hit the snooze button.
6. If you have a bad cough, take a large dose of laxatives, then you’ll be afraid to cough.
7. You only need two tools in life - WD-40 and Duct Tape. If it doesn’t move and should, use the WD-40. If it shouldn’t move and does, use the duct tape.
8. Remember: Everyone seems normal until you get to know them.
9. If you can’t fix it with a hammer, you’ve got an electrical problem 

 HT: g220 

and Tony Buzan is, apparently, a Guru!

Did anyone see Channel 5’s documentary, The Mentalists? The show followed Ben and other Memorists (including Ed Cooke and Gunther Karsten) as they travelled to Bahrain to compete in the World Memory Championships.

You can read Ben’s reaction to the programme here. However, if you don’t know who won, be warned that Ben gives it away!

From my perspective, watching the programme was really interesting. My wife even watched it with me, partly because she has this theory that I could have been there competing and getting on telly! (I competed in the WMC in 2000.) The interesting - and slightly depressing - thing, with the standard of the competition nowadays, is that some of the results that these guys get when they fluff it are scores that I would have been over the moon with!

Oh well, we can’t all be “Mentalists!”

I’ve know it’s been an absolute age since I last posted, but Christmas and family sickness had other plans. Nevertheless, let’s get back into it with a look at a topic that seems to be on the increase everywhere you look: Anxiety.

Anxiety Attacks

Having experienced my own fair number of ‘anxiety attacks’, I’m hoping to post a fair ideas and tips for dealing with them. For now, to ease myself back into the blogging habit, I’ll simply repeat the good advice found here.

Dealing with anxiety disorders should be done with the aid of a medical professional. But panic attacks call for an immediate personal response and therefore some preparation on your part.

* Make a list of the things that you’re afraid could happen. Then write out calming statements that tell you the opposite of your fears, reassurances you can repeat to yourself when panic starts coming on. Also have a list of calming things you can do, such as breathing deeply and slowly, focusing on forcing the air out of your lungs, making deep breaths come naturally.

* Lie down with your butt against a wall. Breathing in, press one foot into the wall and breathe out as you release it. For 10 - 15 minutes alternate feet. If there is no place to lie down, press your feet, one at a time, into the ground to feel connected and “rooted.”

* Bach’s Rescue Remedy (Flower Remedy) can take the edge off a crisis or panic attack. Take a few drops under your tongue or drink a glass of water with a few drops in it.

* Breathe into a brown paper bag. If you have lavender essence oil, put a drop in it for added calming. Lavender oil has a calming, soothing effect, as do helichrysum, frankincense, and majoram oils. Keep a prepared mixture in a dark glass bottle for when you need it.

* Remain focused in “the now” by using all of your senses to take full notice of what you see, hear, feel, and smell. Panic is generally associated with remembering upsetting events from the past or anticipating something upsetting in the future. Holding a pet can also help.

(Source: How to Get Rid of Anxiety)

Read the rest of this entry »