In my previous post we talked about creating a self care plan, some of the benefits, and the importance of having one.  I hope you were able to come up with a couple things and doing them.  Your self care plan should help bring some joy into your life and give you some tools to deal with a panic attack.

In response to my call for help I received a great topic idea from one of my readers. The topic is exercise induced anxiety and whether or not lightheadedness and dizziness are caused by anxiety while exercising or is there something else going on?

If you have spent any time reading this blog or any other online resource about anxiety disorders then you know one of the most common bits of advice given to anxiety sufferers is that they exercise. Sometimes though even something as positive and good for you as exercise can cause problems.

To view the diagram used in this screencast in more detail click here .

After having chronic anxiety for sometime you’ll start to notice changes in your health. This is because anxiety creates stress and stress in big doses can effect the functioning of our bodies.

Stress can change our ability to digest food properly, it creates increased stomach acid which leads to GERD and heartburn, blood pressure may be temporarily elevated, your immune system becomes depressed so that you get sick more often and for longer periods of time, it can even increase cholesterol levels.

As you search for the magic anti-anxiety elixir you should always take careful note of what you are ingesting. In most cases a so called anxiety busting drug may be of interest to you for obvious reasons but you should always consider the side effects.

When it comes to anxiety disorders and their effect on our health there are more assumptions and myths than you can imagine. Some of these myths are based in fact but are not entirely accurate hence their myth status. The connection between anxiety and blood pressure is one of the most common of these semi-myths.

Does Anxiety make you fat? Or a better question might be does the stress related with having chronic anxiety make one gain weight? Well like most things there are at least two schools of thought on the issue and I agree with both.

When researching anything I always suggest looking for various viewpoints. If you go in looking for an answer chances are you’ll find something to reinforce what you thought was the right answer.

As an anxiety sufferer you may spend a lot of time concerned about your immediate health. You may spend a great deal of time wondering what exactly is going to kill you since your convinced your about to die.

But although you worry generally you still have that small rational thought pattern that somehow reassures you that you are in fact healthy. So there you are going back and forth about the connection between your nerves and your health. Well it turns out all that worry was not baseless brain babble.

When it comes to explaining the causes of anxiety disorder there are generally three reasons given and they are usually brain chemistry, genetics, and to some extent environment. But could it be that there are other factors that contribute to our constant state of anxiety? The short answer is of course and aside from the usual suspects listed above vitamin deficiency is one of the least known.

During our daily struggle with post traumatic stress disorder, social phobia, or any other anxiety disorder, we tend to think that just getting by is enough. We figure that as long as things don’t get too out of control that we can just get over it. But how do you know when enough is enough? How do you know when it’s time to see a therapist?

This is an important question to ask yourself. Because even with all the knowledge and good intention in the world the truth is sometimes you still need help. You may have relied on a good friend or family member to confide in and help you during those bad days, but when should you try something else? What are signs that you may need professional help?

The one thing that all forms of mental ailment have in common is that they cause great distress to those that endure them. As a result many people that have anxiety disorders, Bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, etc turn to substance abuse to cope and cigarettes is one of the most common drugs used for this purpose.