Category: Health

What Causes Panic Attacks? (The Ultimate Cause)

  Hannah asks “What causes my panic attacks and how can I make them stop? I wouldn’t wish them on my worst enemy” Hi, I’m Michael Norman and welcome to another episode of “Panic Free TV” Q&A. This is where as a scientist and anxiety specialist, I answer your most pressing questions relating to panic attacks — so that we can help you finally get back to normal, panic-free life again. Now, Hannah’s question is a very important question, because while panic attacks are one of the most terrifying experiences anyone could EVER go through… what can make them even scarier is not knowing what’s causing them, why we’re getting them, or what we need to do to make them stop. That’s why in this episode, I’m going to share with you a simple, counterintuitive insight — one that I’ve never seen talked about before, outside scientific circles — that explains the ULTIMATE cause of panic attacks.   This insight is essential for you to know about, because it gives us an accurate foundation from which we can help you finally end your panic attacks for good. Now before we get to this insight, though, I want to be clear: there are several ways I could answer Hannah’s question: I could explain the various types of life experiences that often precede the first panic attack… I could explain the hidden universal triggers that “cause” every “out of the blue” panic attack…I could explain why certain situations or places might give you panic attacks, while others don’t…Or I could explain the biology behind panic attacks… and how anxiety alone can “cause” all of the physical sensations and experiences that a panic attack can create. Each of these are important topics where a little understanding can bring a lot of reassurance and comfort, all by itself.   Since I can’t cover everything in this short video though… and since I’ve comprehensively covered so much of this already inside my free “Panic Free TV” Foundation Series… if you want the full answers right now, please watch that series. All you need to do is click the link on the screen or in the description below, register your details, and you’ll get immediate access. Again, it’s all completely free, and I think you’ll agree after you’ve started watching it… that it makes a very real, very important difference in your life. So what’s the ULTIMATE cause of panic attacks? Well to explain it, I’m going to share a clip with you from my free “Panic Free TV” Foundation Series. It’s just a few minutes long, and after you’ve watched finished watching it… I’ll come back and add a few more essential insights, because I really want to make sure that you understand this fully.   The most scientifically backed explanation for why so many of us have had panic attacks… is what Professor Randolph Nesse from Arizona State University has called… The Smoke Detector Principle. And the best way to explain it, is for us to do a quick, simple thought-experiment… Which of these two smoke alarms would you prefer to have protecting you in your home? Would you prefer to have smoke alarm that sometimes FAILS to go off, and stays silent… even though there’s a deadly fire in your house? Or… would you prefer to have a smoke alarm that never misses a real fire… but occasionally goes off when you burn the toast, even though there is no danger, and everything is actually fine? Now of course, we’d all prefer to have a perfect smoke alarm system, that never makes any mistakes — but the reality is, we live in complex and often ambiguous world.   And so if you had to choose between one of these two options, what would you chose? An under-sensitive smoke alarm that could miss a real fire and kill you? Or an over-sensitive smoke alarm that occasionally has unpleasant, noisy false alarms… but never misses a real fire, and always keeps you safe? It’s a simple answer, isn’t it. When it comes to our survival… to our LIFE… it’s better to have an alarm system that errs on the side of safety… even if that means, we sometimes get false alarms.   So what does this have to do with panic? Well, panic attacks are nothing more than “false alarms” of our over-protective, life-saving fear systems. And while it probably hasn’t felt that way for you in the past… the truth is that a panic attack is “JUST” a terrifying, overwhelming, over-protective MISTAKE. It’s a mistake, that ironically… is motivated by your brain’s #1 priority in life — to keep you safe. Panic attacks are our brain and body, following the same “better safe than sorry” philosophy… that every good smoke detector system uses. And it’s far healthier… in fact it’s optimal in an often uncertain world … to have a fear system that is biased to be over-sensitive and to occasionally give us false alarms…..   Than it is to have an under-sensitive system, that could miss real danger, that could kill us. So a panic attack is JUST an over-protective mistake. The only real problem, and it’s a big one… is that it’s a terrifying mistake. It’s a mistake that can leave us feeling exposed, vulnerable… and unsafe. Even though no one dies from a panic attack… and even though panic could never ever make anyone truly go crazy… the false alarm of a panic attack often creates a very powerful ILLUSION, that these things could happen. And that’s why I really believe… that you are….. So the ultimate cause of panic attacks is that we all have brains that are biased to take a better safe than sorry approach. This is a very important, healthy bias to have — because if we didn’t all have this bias, we literally wouldn’t be alive as a species. The downside though, is that again, like every good smoke detector system… sometimes mistakes happen and we get false alarms. And while it might still be a little hard to believe right now… again, a panic attack is just an innocent, very well-intended, OVER-PROTECTIVE mistake.   It’s a mistaken effort to protect you… from a danger that’s not there. So why do some people get panic false alarms, while others don’t? And why have you experienced so many false alarms? Well this is where other factors come into play — and I cover these factors and a lot more… inside my free “Panic Free TV” foundation series. In this series I help take away the mystery and confusion surrounding what you’ve been going through. I explain how panic and anxiety really work… and I give you the foundations you need, to start you on your journey back to a normal, panic free life. Again… my foundation series is totally free, and you can watch the first episode in full, right now… just by clicking on the link on the screen or in the description below, and registering your details. I hope this video has been valuable to you. I’m Michael Norman, and thank you so much for watching.. As found on YouTube Discover the First-To-Market Revolutionary SPR “Static” Conversion Tech Which Dramatically Speeds Up & Secures Existing WordPress Sites & Cloud Affiliate Pages With Just A Few Clicks

5 PANIC ATTACK MYTHS | Kati Morton


Hey everybody! Today we're gonna be talking about the five myths of panic attacks. So let's get into them. *intro music* Now the first myth is that they're caused by stress and anxiety. If you yourself have ever suffered with a panic attack you know that they come out of nowhere we don't even know what necessarily triggers us, something may not even trigger us. It's not necessarily something that environmental or something that's occurring right now. Panic attacks honestly happen because our system gets overwhelmed and overloaded and sends us into a fight or flight response, AKA, a panic! I also don't like this myth because it implies that we have control over it like we can stop our panic attacks if we just change our environment and the truth is the panic attacks will happen in a wide variety of places for a wide variety of reasons those of which we aren't even privy too.


We don't even know why they happen. And the second myth is that they're going to make us go crazy. Panic attacks, if they happen for too long we're just gonna go insane. I've heard a lot of my clients say this, that it feels like they're losing their mind and they wonder if it can cause other mental illnesses to occur and the truth is the panic attacks usually happen because we have some underlying mental illness, whether it be another anxiety disorder or depressive disorder, any kind of mood disorder can be a lot of different components that can lead us to having panic attacks and being more predisposed for panic.


The truth is that panic attacks in no way affect the functioning of our brain as a whole in the hormones, like dopamine, norepinephrine or any kind of neurotransmitter that could cause another mental illness or psychosis or quote, unquote, make us go crazy. The third myth about panic attacks is that having a severe one is going to cause us to go into cardiac arrest. I've heard from a lot of my clients that because a racing heart is one of the symptoms that they experience most with panic attacks, or even the build-up to a panic attack, they'll start feeling their heart race and they worry that if they're in a really extreme or intense panic attack for a sustained period of time, let's say for an hour, that they're going to go into cardiac arrest and this is going to be how they're going to die and it sends them into panic even more quickly and keeps them there longer.


But the truth is and this is something important to kind of note and to tell yourself, maybe when you're, you feel those symptoms happening is that our heart is extremely strong it can beat at over 200 beats per minute for days, if not weeks especially if we're young, it can be four weeks at that rate without sustaining any damage. I just want to take a second to let that sink in. We can essentially be in panic for a really really long period of time without our heart ever being hurt or even potentially considering it going into cardiac arrest or having any kind of malfunction.


Therefore on average, panic attacks last from three to ten minutes so a three to ten minute panic attack is not in any way going to harm your heart or cause a heart attack. The fourth myth is that they're used as a way to get out of something we just don't want to do. Uh, if we hear that one more time. Am I right? For those of you who don't understand what a panic attack is or what can cause a panic attack, like I stated earlier, they come out of nowhere. They are not triggered by our environment, it's not due to an over reaction by up if usually a result of another underlying mental illness and these feel like they come out of nowhere, happen quickly and can stay and they're extremely uncomfortable, so if you found yourself having these attacks anytime you went into the grocery store, then you would start to not want to go to the grocery store or whenever you're in a crowded place, like I've had a lot of clients are like, "If I'm ever in a busy thing like a club or a concert or even like a really busy day at the mall," they've had panic attacks, we don't really know why but they're then attaching busyness and a lot of people with panic attacks therefore if someone's going to call you, if a friends going to ask you to go out to a party, and you think it's going to be a small group you're like sure, then later you find out there's going to be like 50 people there, you're like I'm gonna have to say no.



But we need to understand that panic attacks and panic disorder is a real diagnosable mental illness and because we don't know what triggers them and they come out of nowhere we fear the next one may be just around the corner. So of course we're going to limit the amount of things that we do until we can get them more under control. And the fifth and final myth about panic attacks is that there is nothing that we can do to treat them. Meeh. That's wrong, there are a lot of things we can do to treat them. Yay! Number one, and something that I've been reading because if any of you follow me or have been on the live streams or follow me on snapchat or Instagram, I have been working very hard at your anxiety workbook and I'm super excited for it to come out, but the thing that I learned through all the research I've been doing, is that progressive relaxation, you know like clench your feet, relax your feet, clench your calves, relax your calves, that type of exercise, doing that 20 to 30 minutes a day can calm our system down to such an amount that those who struggle with panic disorder may rarely, if never again, if they continue to do the progressive relaxation each day, they may never have the symptoms again.


They're still doing more studies on it but progressive relaxation is, surprising to me, but it's so amazing and been so helpful and beneficial. And the other is that CBT, so cognitive behavioral therapy, is also helpful with panic disorder and those of us who struggle with panic attacks because a lot of times we build up the panic and our system's fight-or-flight response by worrying about all of those things like it's going to cause a heart attack, I'm going to be super embarrassed, I'm going to go crazy, I may fall over or faint, all those worries and kind of falsely held beliefs that we have, CBT can really help us challenge those.


Also medications have been shown to be extremely beneficial SSRIs, SNRIs, and benzodiazepine have been shown to be extremely helpful for those of us who struggle with panic disorder and I know that not all of you are interested in taking medication this is another option that's available and if you're out there and you're struggling with panic attacks and you feel like they're happening with more frequency, it's controlling the way you live your life please reach out, please talk to someone. There are different professionals and a ton of help available, we just have to ask for it and we just have to reach out and I know it's scary to do the first reach out, but know that we're used to managing it we can handle it. We are kind, calm, wonderful people and maybe bring an extra supportive person with you to that first appointment or maybe they make the call and set up the appointment for you.


Find ways, use your resources to get the support and help that you need. Please share this video, I think a lot of people talk poorly about panic attacks or don't understand and I also put some in here, if you didn't notice for those of us who struggle and the myths that we tell ourselves about panic attack because I think both are really important to note, and leave in the comments what are some myths that you've heard. What is the way that you talk back to that, so that we have as a community are raising the stigma associated with mental health. I love you all and I will see you next time. Bye!.



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Knock out panic attacks, triggers, and flashbacks quickly with Breath Regulation


Hi guys. This video is all about Breath Regulation. Now this goes in combination with a video called Touch Regulation where we use the palm and the forearm and we just lightly stroke. So check out that video if you want more tips and tools on how to regulate your anxiety so that you get control of your anxiety and your ability to calm yourself. So in Breath Regulation, it's really about tuning into ourselves. So you can see I'm starting to yawn. That's part of this. So all we're gonna do here is you're going to go through each series of yawns and stretches that help us regulate our nervous system, help us calm the body and calm the mind. Okay. So here we go. Just follow along with me and then make note, right now actually, on a scale of 0 to 10, rate your anxiety. Ten being, Oh my god, I'm on fire. Zero being, I have no anxiety at all.


Take a moment. Note that number. Okay, now let's do it. So all I have to do is stretch and yawn. As you come down from the yawn just allow your awareness to settle into the moment right where you're at, just as you are. As you do that allow your head to roll slowly from one side to another as you focus your attention on your breath. Tilt your head forward as you focus on your breath and back as you focus on your breath. Allow yourself to have another deep yawn into your body. Allow yourself to center into your body as you come down from that yawn. Let's allow your attention to soften. Allow yourself to relax a little deeper into the presence of your body. Whatever thoughts, feelings, or sensations that are here just allow them to be without judgment or resistance. As you do that allow yourself to yawn again. Allow your attention to continue to soften, to just relax to where you're at right now.


Allow your shoulders to drop, the tension in your back to ease up, and allow yourself to pay attention just to the natural rhythm of your breath just as it is right now. This is all that is. This is all that's necessary. And if you yawn again, just allow that to happen. Now, make note of where your anxiety level is on that scale of zero to ten. That's Breath Regulation. Anytime that you're feeling tension, you're feeling panic or anxiety, allow yourself to have a series of yawns while focusing your attention on your breath.


That'll help you regulate very, very fast. If you want more assistance with this, or if you want to break free of your trauma or codependency, just go to www.freetheself.com. And Like, Share, and Subscribe if this video has helped you. Comment below what your experience has been with Breath Regulation. Thank you again, guys, for being a part of my community. I appreciate you and remember that you're worth knowing, loving, and keeping. Bye-bye..



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Infinity Guided Meditation From Sadhguru – 13 mins

  What is finite and what is infinite? When we say finite, we are talking about an entire number system. Mathematics means, from one to nobody knows what’s the last number because we don’t know the last number, we said infinite. Finite means we can count, what we cannot count we will create calculators. What a calculator cannot count, we will create a computer. What a computer cannot count, we will create a super-computer. But the number system does not end there, just goes on.   Even if you make a supreme computer, still you cannot really count, it just goes on. So we came up saying there is something called as infinite. Essentially we are saying something that is out of our grasp. We are not talking about infinite as some kind of an ultimate number, we are talking about that which is out of our grasp, we are calling that infinite. Infinite is not some kind of a huge number, it’s not a number really. It is out of the number system. Even zero is out of the number system but we’ve adapted, we adapted zero because we couldn’t go beyond our number of fingers. So we adopted. You know how the Romans counted, what a miserable mathematics they had! You don’t know? You know the Roman number system? By the time you get to two-hundred, you would have gone crazy.   (Laughs/Laughter) So, the Indians came up with a system, you adapt because if you go with numbers you will get lost. You adapt something which does not belong to the number system, to compliment the number system that is a zero. (Applause) No, these are not mathematics fans, these are Indians. (Laughter/Applause) Nationalism is on the growth. (Few Laughs) So, the infinite -we were wondering what to do with the infinite. Then the Indian yogis found a way -they just kept their own hand like this when their experience of life became boundless, they checked and they found their own energies going like this. So whenever they became boundless, their energy system took this pattern. So they gave this as the symbol for that which is numberless or beyond number system.   So today you’re using that as the sign of infinity or infinite nature. This was also referred to as the oroborous that is a snake twisting itself where it is eating its own tail. So, it becomes the symbol of infinite. Why this is significant is because this is manifest, this is manifest in our own experience, in our own energy that when we become boundless in our experience our energy start moving like this.   Otherwise they are moving like this, a spiral. A spiral in the yogic system or in this culture is referred to as samsara. A spiral means it’s a never ending process just goes on and on and on and on. And it is circular in nature that means in some way it is controlled. Within that controlled sphere it goes on endlessly and that’s how people expect you to be. They want you… they don’t mind you running around a bit, as long as you’re somewhere close by and running around. You want to go like this in search of truth. You’re samsara will not allow you. This is why in the world, if you smoke, if you drink and even if you philander a little bit, they won’t mind but if you say I’m going to a guru.     (Laughter/Applause) The worst kind of resistance will come because they know now you’re trying to go like this. Now you’re done with this, this chakkar, if you go here, there also you will come but once you start going like this you’re lost to them. (Laughs) But spiritual process means not that you must run away somewhere because the geography where you choose to live, it doesn’t decide the quality of your life. Whether you live at home or in the ashram, you can either be free or entangled both ways. So the geography doesn’t decide, it is the movement of life within you, which way is it moving? Is it in spiral or has it gotten into the right kind of loop that it is moving towards it’s infinite nature. If you keep the doorways of this life process open, then it will naturally move because infinite possibility is wide-open, all the life that the cosmos holds is available to you. Once you swing your energies into a infinite gear life happens differently, totally differently. We will put a symbol of the infinite.   This symbol of infinite, this is not a symbol just made up by human beings. This actually happens. You should not go putting your hand on other peoples head because who know you may be reincarnation of Bhasmasura. (Laughs/Laughter) So, you should not try this but actually… so I won’t tell you where to try but upon one’s head if they’re in a certain state, if you hold your hand, you will see the energies moving this way. I won’t tell you where, so that you don’t go and do these things to everybody. So this is not something that we have made up. This is the natural sequence of energy it gets into when a limited dimension of touches the boundless nature of existence.   The energy system which still needs to be limited to make this body function gets into this loop. If this becomes boundless, this cannot be an individual life, it will go. But it is within the boundaries of this body but it is touching a dimension which is boundless. Now, this limited energy gets into this pattern. So that is how we have arrived at the symbol for the infinite. The zero and the infinite, made in India. (Applause) because it takes a deeply meditative being to arrive at a number which is nothing. A zero is nothing, infinite is nothing in a way. To arrive at a number system which actually doesn’t add up, this can only be done by a profoundly meditative being otherwise it cannot be done. So, we will put up a symbol of the infinite and a small dot will be there and this will slowly move along the line and it will traverse the image of the infinite. It will take four-and-a-half minutes to complete one cycle. I want you both visually and mentally, if possible you put emotion into this dot because most of you cannot keep your mind on anything unless you’re emotionally connected to it.   Please keep your eyes closed and just sit still. Just sit still, unmoving. Absolutely still. All movement has beginning and an end. Stillness is beginningless and endless. Just sit still, absolutely. Hold your body still. Totally still. Sadhguru chants Take your own time. Slowly, very slowly, open your eyes.. As found on YouTube Discover the First-To-Market Revolutionary SPR “Static” Conversion Tech Which Dramatically Speeds Up & Secures Existing WordPress Sites & Cloud Affiliate Pages With Just A Few Clicks

Guided Meditation for Stress Relief | My Peace of Mindfulness


Guided Meditation for Stress Relief | My Peace of Mindfulness welcome to this relaxing session that guides you out of anxiety and into the Sea of Tranquility sometimes our anxious thoughts can carry us away to feeling emotions that are not desirable these feelings can end up keeping us awake for hours on end when we are laying down to rest this is because we tend to fight them wanting nothing more than to not feel anxious rather than honoring them so let's begin by getting into a comfortable position on your back ensuring you will not be distracted for the duration of this session this time is for you you have nowhere else to be right now and no one needs you gaze in front of you and allow your eyes to find a spot to fixate on and do not look away in a moment as I count down from ten you will slowly blink your eyes with each number I say when I reach zero allow your eyes to close and remain that way for the rest of the recording ten blink your eyes nine blink eight seven six five four three two one and zero lay your eyes closed feel a gentle wave of relaxation sweep over your entire body good now allow your focus to become centered on your breath when you think about your breathing you usually take a big deep breath in filling your body with oxygen as you take another full breath in notice how your body expands when you exhale pay close attention to how your body contracts on the next breath in imagine that the oxygen is filled with a calming effect and as you exhale feel tension in the body relax and melt away inhale serenity exhale any stress now bring your hands up to the very center of your chest and lay them on top of one another breathe in slowly and deeply and strain your spine making your head aligned with your body when you exhale imagine there is a special point of contact the size of a golf ball in the very middle of your chest slowly apply some pressure to the center point of your chest if you notice any worrisome thoughts pop into your mind be aware of them and acknowledge them then take a nice full breath in focusing on how breathing deeply feels notice how the stress is intertwined with the tension and connected to restricted breathing breathing in now feeling your body expanding breathe out applying this comforting pressure feel the worries rise and then drift away breathe in and say I acknowledge that I feel anxious it's just a passing moment the more I try to hide my stress the more it causes tension lay your breath flow naturally now and just watch it what does your breath want to do and how is it behaving if you notice your breath becomes stagnant or restricted inhale very slowly and fully and say to yourself I let this go as you exhale nice now one more big deep breath in let go of the pressure but keep your hands here on your chest imagine that you are breathing in the power of relaxation and exhale feeling this heart point which naturally releases anxiety from deep within you repeat this one more time keeping your spine aligned inhale lifeforce exhale and release wonderful let your hands fall back down by your sides and become aware of your hands can you feel a gentle tingling sensation or a slight warmth beginning to grow in your hands noticing these sensations relaxes you making you feel cozy and safe can you allow this relaxing warmth to increase feel the tingling sensation grow and expand Oh now notice how those same sensations are in your feet let the warmth grow and expand do you have any anxieties right now I bet not you are so focused on this beautiful sensation that your mind cannot worry or stress you I'm going to count down once more but this time I want you to imagine that you are walking down a beautiful flight of stairs these are the stairs of relaxation with each number I say you become more and more relaxed with each step you take ten stepping off the first step feeling that lovely wave of relaxation 9 allowing your level of relaxation to double 8 feeling safe and secure 7 comfortable and cozy 6 you have nowhere to be right now except your bed five more and more deeply relaxed for each step feels like a long relaxing bath three each step takes you further in to tranquility two one and zero you are more relaxed than you have ever been how you feel right now is your natural resting state that you should always return to automatically if you find yourself being carried away by the worries of life remember to acknowledge your true feelings and then breathe deeply into the anxieties melting them away the pressure point on your chest is referred to as CV 17 in acupuncture but also called The Sea of Tranquility it got this name simply because of how much bliss a person can experience after having this release in their body and mind so the next time you find yourself anxious or stressed remember point CV 17 the Sea of Tranquility is always there for you to place your hands upon good you have probably heard the phrase life is a journey not a competition not only should we stop competing with each other but also competing with ourselves the more we deny how we feel deep within the more we hinder our journey towards authentic success you have the power to feel completely relaxed and at ease upon command simply honor yourself and breathe deeply as you enjoy this relaxation you have achieved today let your mind drift and float to thoughts of beautiful places such as beaches with turquoise water Oh Mountains with crisp skies and deep forests with majestic trees the sound of my voice gently fades away and you find yourself fully ready for a long night's sleep allow yourself the rest you deserve good night




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Inner Silence Guided Meditation By Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar


From sound to silence is meditation..




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Endocrinology – E-Book

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The second edition of the Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, originally published in September 2004, covers the significant events, inventions, and social movements that have shaped the way Americans view, prepare, and consume food and drink. Entries range across historical periods and the trends that characterize them. The thoroughly updated new edition captures the shifting American perspective on food and is the most authoritative and the most current reference work on American cuisine.

The Sleep Doctor's Diet Plan

Losing weight while you sleep may sound too good to be true, but in fact the connection between inadequate sleep and weight gain (among a host of other negative medical results) has long been recognized by medical researchers. Turning this equation on its head, clinical psychologist and board-certified sleep expert Dr. Michael Breus shows that a good night’s sleep will actually enable you to lose weight, especially if you have been chronically sleep deprived. The Sleep Doctor’s Diet Plan is designed to help any person who has been frustrated by her inability to shed weight by giving her the tools to overcome the stress, poor habits, and environmental challenges that stand between her and adequate rest. Sleep deprivation is a frustrating reality for many women faced with chronic stress or hormonal changes–and the fatigue, moodiness, and weight gain that come with it might just be the tip of the iceberg. While helping thousands of women implement simple health and lifestyle changes to improve the quality and the quantity of their slumber, Dr. Breus has witnessed not only an upsurge in their energy levels and a diminishing of myriad health concerns, but also significant weight loss achieved without restrictive dieting or increased amounts of exercise. In The Sleep Doctor’s Diet Plan, Dr. Breus delves into the science behind this sleep–weight-loss connection, explaining exactly how sleep boosts your metabolism, ignites fat burn, and decreases cravings and overall appetite, and he presents a realistic action plan to help you get your best sleep–and your best body–possible. He shows how you can overcome your personal sleep obstacles with a slumber-friendly evening routine, stress management techniques–even recipes for healthy meals and snacks–to help you fall asleep more easily. If you are ready to stop tossing and turning night after night, if you are done downing coffee to conquer nagging fatigue, and if you have bounced from one diet to another in an effort to find one that really, finally helps you lose the pounds you want, The Sleep Doctor’s Diet Plan has the information, advice, and practical strategies you need to get deep, revitalizing sleep–and achieve a slimmer, healthier body in the process.