How to Stick With Your Goals This Year (Psychology Today) We often find it difficult to stick with resolutions made at the new year. Here are some evidence-based tips for achieving resolutions made: 1. Create habits The real key to achieving long-term goals is creating positive habits rather than having willpower or determination. In goals such as healthy eating, exercise, meditation, homework, etc., self-control and routines yielded positive results. Researchers found that individuals who create routines surrounding behaviors they want to encourage are more likely to follow through. 2. Come up with measurable targets A strategy that is often helpful, is setting measurable goals. This can make it easier to monitor progress and improve motivation. Measurable goals include the number of steps walked during the day or the number of hours studied. This method allows you to see that you are staying on track and are achieving or approaching your goals. 3. Set mini-goals along the way Setting small goals and achieving those can keep individuals on track while working to achieve the larger goals. An example: if someone wants to read 8 books in a month, start by setting a goal to read 2 books in a week. This helps with discouragement within the individual. Psychology Today (2023). How to stick with your goals this year. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/evidence-based-living/202312/how-to-stick-with-your-goals-this-year Better Mental Health in '24? Try Mindfulness + Exercise (HealthDay) People who exercise and practice mindfulness meditation together tend to have less worry, stress, anxiety and depression than those who only engage in either activity, according to results from 35 studies involving more than 2,200 people. Mindfulness meditation -- in which people focus on being in the moment -- can help people better embrace exercise by providing them motivation and helping them look past the temporary discomfort that comes with working out, said lead researcher Masha Remskar, a doctoral student in psychology at the University of Bath in England. “Mindfulness is an approach that can help us ‘train up’ the psychological strengths we need to exercise and be more in tune with our bodies, as well as make exercising more interesting and help us recognize its benefits,” Remskar said in a university news release. Thompson, D. (2024). Better mental health in '24? try mindfulness + exercise. HealthDay. https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2024-01-05/better-mental-health-in-24-try-mindfulness-exercise#:~:text=People%20who%20exercise%20and%20practice,involving%20more%20than%202%2C200%20people. |
Anxiety Attacks: Symptoms and Calming Techniques
(HealthDay) According to the Detroit Medical Center, an anxiety attack is a stretch of time during which you experience “intense” anxiety symptoms, especially fear. It can last anywhere from minutes to weeks (Ganobsik, 2023). An anxiety attack often feels like a racing heart, dizziness and being out of breath. A "high-or-flight" response is triggered by worry or fear can cause more fear to develop, creating a negative loop of panic. According to Harvard Health, anxiety attacks occur when your symptoms become so intense that they interfere with everyday activities. These anxiety symptoms may include: -Steadily increasing feelings of fear or worry -Panting or gasping for breath -Extreme nervous and restless sensations -A racing, pounding heart -Sweating hands -Sensations of dizziness and nausea -Feeling panicked because you think something awful is about to occur -Feeling like you’re having a heart attack or stroke *It’s always recommended to seek medical care if you’re experiencing symptoms that could indicate a life-threatening medical condition. However, if your doctor finds no signs of an underlying health issue, these symptoms may be markers of an anxiety attack. Panic attack versus anxiety attack: what’s the difference? “It is possible to feel really anxious without having a panic attack,” said James Maddux, an emeritus professor of clinical psychology at George Mason University, in Fairfax, Va. “You probably have sat in situations where you felt really nervous, but you weren't experiencing what the DSM [psychiatric conditions manual] calls a panic attack… which is the sudden onset for no apparent reason of extreme debilitating, terrifying anxiety,” added Maddux, who is also Senior Scholar at George Mason's Center for the Advancement of Well-Being. According to the National Library of Medicine, the DSM lists a panic attack as a period of “intense fear” that comes on suddenly, reaches its maximum strength within 10 minutes and includes at least four of the following symptoms: -Heart palpitations, pounding heart or accelerated heart rate -Sweating -Shaking or trembling -Shortness of breath or sensations of smothering -Nausea or abdominal distress -Choking sensations -Chest discomfort or pain -Dizziness, lightheadedness, or faintness -Feelings of unreality or feelings of being detached from oneself -Fear of losing control -Fear of dying -A numbness or tingling sensation -Heat sensations or chills Nationwide Children’s Hospital acknowledges that the terms anxiety attack and panic attack are sometimes used “interchangeably,” and notes that a person’s fight-or-flight response is activated in both. But a key difference is that the symptoms of a panic attack are unexpected and take the person by surprise, while anxiety attacks are more expected because the feelings of worry or fear grow steadily more intense. How to calm an anxiety attack While experts may not always agree on the exact definition of anxiety versus panic attacks, what they do find common ground on are some scientifically backed tools that work best to help calm yourself when panic hits. “Whatever you are doing in that situation, one good strategy is to slow down, including slowing down your breathing and breathing more deeply. And slow down your rate of speech. That's one way of breaking up … this interaction between the danger you expect to occur and the need to avoid or escape,” Maddux explained. He added that “meditation over time teaches you to control your physiological reactions.” Ganobsik, K. (2023). Anxiety attacks: symptoms and calming techniques. HealthDay.https://www.healthday.com/a-to-z-health/mental-health/anxiety-2659612850.html |