Can anyone understand this

Kitty, These symptoms you are describing sound very much like those of a panic attack. Take the time to check out the discussion in Mod's Corner today. Have you ever been successful in controlling your panic attacks? If so, remember what you did and keep doing it! Take some time before you go to bed to make a list of everything that you have to do the next day so it is off your mind. Then do some relaxation exercises before you get into bed. Try deep breathing exercises, meditate or some gentle stretching. These will help to relax your mind and make you more ready for sleep. Challenge these negative thoughts, you can do it! Brenna, Bilingual Health Educator

Weekend Prep!

Make journaling a part of your day! Have you taken the time to start your journaling? Journaling can be as easy as a personal recount of your daily activities, your emotional thoughts or what made you smile today. Make today the day you actively involve a journal into your routine. Take the time to choose the right journal and make it fun. Pick something that gives you positive energy and a happy feeling. It can be your favorite superhero or your favorite print. You are using it everyday and it should be a happy moment when you take it out. How you prepare you journal is up to you. Diary style, listing style, inspirational style, happy thought style, or reward style. Whatever you choose, know that is can help you pinpoint areas that you may want to re-asses and further work on, or just reflect a year in review. It is important to try and write down all your feelings and emotions. - Use this as a place to gain momentum and happiness. - Use it as a place to pour out all your bad feelings or good ones. - Use it for all your rewards. - Use it to look back and remember. - Use it to challenge yourself and set goals. - Use it for yourself and see the difference it can make. Brenna, Bilingual Health Educator

Did You Know?

Did you know€¦ Panic disorder typically strikes in young adulthood. About half of all people who have panic disorder develop the condition before age 24.

Why does this site give me more anxiety?

Statichorse, Use this program to challenge those anxious thoughts. If you haven't already start working through the program. The second session is about challenging your anxious thoughts and will help you with this way of thinking. Take what you need from the boards. If they do in fact contribute to your anxious thinking, just use the program until you are ready to come back. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. Brenna, Bilingual Health Educator

BAD START TO NEW YEAR

Jo, You've got the right idea to start out on the right foot after so many negatives events. Take some time to sit down and come up with a few goals that you would like to accomplish this year. This will give you some direction and set you on a path to success. As for you injuries, don't push your body too hard. Talk to your doctor, chiropractor or physiotherapist to create an exercise plan that will help you get back into good physical condition without hurting yourself again. Brenna, Bilingual Health Educator

Please Help !

Hi Kristy, As you can see, people can emphasize with how your feeling. Congratulate yourself on taking the initiative to go and speak withyour doctor about how you are feeling and seeking out additional support here and through the CBT program. Continue to work your way through it and do your homework. Challenge you anxious thoughts and work on setting and completing small goals and tasks. Keep us posted. Brenna, Bilingual Health Educator

hi

Catwrd, Welcome to our support community and congratulations on seeking out additional support. We are always here to answer any questions that you have. We strongly encourage you to start working through the program and tracking your thoughts. Keep us posted. Brenna, Bilingual Health Educator

Information Day - Fear

We all know what it's like to feel afraid. Everyone's been afraid of something at least once in their life. Fear is a basic human emotion and is just as important as other emotions like happiness, sadness, and anger. Our ability to experience fear is very important. In fact, without the ability to experience fear we'd be in big trouble! Fear is an emotional and physical response common in all animals. Our ability to experience fear has developed over millions of years and helps animals (like us) survive real threats in the real world. The intense physical response you'd experience while standing in front of the bear is called fear. One type of fear response is called the fight or flight response. The fight or flight response is designed to get you to fight the grizzly bear as hard as possibly can, or to run away from it as fast as your legs can travel. The only purpose of this fear response is to protect your body from danger. The physical sensations of increased heart rate, depth of breathing, sweating, flushing, shaking, restlessness, and agitation, edginess or jumpiness, are all part of a response mechanism designed to help you survive situations that are dangerous or life-threatening. Increased heart rate, breathing, and sweating prepare your muscles for action. Flushing, shaking, restlessness, and agitation are the result of changes in blood flow, and the release of chemicals like adrenaline prepare your body for making a maximum effort in a short period of time. As you can well imagine, there are many situations in which our ability to experience fear protects us. In fact, a moderate level of fear and anxiety are very good. People do better at things like working, studying, and sports when they are experiencing a moderate level of excitement. For example, if you have a test at school or a big meeting at work, you€™ll be more likely to prepare yourself and perform better if you€™re a little bit anxious (or aroused). If the thought of the test or meeting didn€™t get you aroused, you might not care enough to prepare and do well. Similarly, if you€™ve ever tried to play a sport or a board game with somebody who couldn€™t give you a good game, you may have found that you had trouble getting into it. In this situation, even if you didn€™t have a worthy opponent, you may make silly mistakes and actually lose the game. Fear, anxiety, and arousal by themselves are not bad. In fact, a moderate level of fear, anxiety, and arousal leads to better performance. The Panic Program is designed to help you recognize your fear response, and to help you realize that your fear is a normal body function. What we€™d like you to work on is recognizing how your fear response works in relation to your panic attacks. Brenna, Bilingual Health Educator

CBT Day - Communication Patters, Part V

Members, Last week we asked you to keep track of how many times you are falling into problematic communication patterns. Today, we will explore a strategy referred to as reframing. This technique is also helpful during disputes and to gain better control over anger. Reframing is about changing perception by understanding something in another way. What reframing does is to say, « Look, this external thing occurs and it elicits this response in you, so you assume that you know what the meaning is. But if you thought about it this other way, then you would have a different response. » Being able to think about things in a variety of ways builds a spectrum of understanding. None of these ways are 'really' true, though. They are simply statements about a person's understanding.(1) There are two basic kinds of reframes: context reframing and content reframing. Both can alter our internal representations of events or situations, which permits us to experience the events in other, hopefully, more resourceful ways.(1) Context reframing offers an understanding of how we make meaning through the environment - physical, intellectual, cultural, historical, and emotional - in which a situation occurs. It can also provide a pattern of thinking that helps us see the value in every situation regardless of any perceived downside.(1) Context reframing is taking an experience that seems to be negative, not useful, and distressing and showing how the same behavior or experience can be useful in another context. Children's stories are full of reframes designed to show children how what might seem a liability can be useful in another context. For example, the other reindeer made fun of Rudolph's bright, red nose; but that funny nose made Rudolph the hero on a dark night.(1) Context reframing can be used as a "perceptual filter," taught and practiced until it becomes an integral and habitual way of organizational thinking. It is a very useful tool in business as it is the way of thinking that gives one the ability to make lemonade from those unexpected (and unwanted) lemons. Creativity, new visions, innovations are commonplace for those who know to reframe and recontextualize problems and obstacles into opportunities and resources.(1) A context reframe is useful for statements such as: €˜I am too pushy.€™ or €˜I wish I did not focus on what could go wrong.€™ In this type of situation, the individual has assumed that this type of behavior has no value. You can discover when it is of value by asking yourself the question €˜When or where would this behavior be useful or viewed as a resource?€™ A possible reframe might be: €˜Isn€™t that a great skill to have when I€™ll need to get things done or to avoid potential problems?€™ Once you have reframed your problem you can begin to explore behaviors that may be more appropriate in other situations.(2) Almost all behaviors are useful or appropriate in some context. Interrupting a speaker by standing up and offering your view in the middle of her lecture may be judged as inappropriate. To do this same behavior at the end of the presentation in order to provide a different perspective may be welcomed by all present.(2) Tune in on Thursday when we will be exploring content reframing! 1. Sandidge, R.L. & Ward, A.C. (1999) Quality Performance in Human Services. Retrieved February 18, 2008. http://www.successmeasures.com/reframing.htm#top 2. Ellerton, R. (2004). Live Your Dreams Let Reality Catch Up : NLP and Common Sense for Coaches, Managers and You. Retrieved February 18, 2008, http://www.renewal.ca/nlp20.htm Brenna, Bilingual Health Educator

Info Day - Sedentary Jobs

Research has indicated that sedentary office jobs have contributed to the dramatic rise in obestity and weight gain seen in the past 20 years. Unless your working on a construction scene, in a day care, hosptial or similar environment, you€™re most likely pretty sedentary during the day. Here are a few tips to help keep you moving and avoid additional weight gain : · Eat at regular intervals €“ in the busy rush or emails, phone calls, projects and other tasks, don€™t forget to eat your lunch and snack throughout the day. · Choose your foods wisely €“ the vending machine may be calling your name everyday at 3 :30 but you€™re not going to find the nutrients you need there to keep you going. Try to replace this with a fruit , vegetable snack or yogurt. · Move! €“ Whether you want to get to work a few minutes early to take a walk before sitting down all day, extend your lunch hour and get to the gym or join a recreation group after work, make sure your compensating for all of your down time and getting active. Brenna, Bilingual Health Educator