What do you do when you are nervous?

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What Do You Do When You Are Nervous?

(Julio 10, 2007) -- Many people spend more than half their lives feeling anxious. Anxiety, like tension or phobias, is the result of excessive stress. An anxious person, in other words, has an uneasy mind and when this uneasiness is recognised and understood, it can quite easily be controlled.

It is simple to say "why worry?" to an anxious person. Too often people are told, "just forget your worries". This attitude, however, is not the answer.

An anxious person should be treated with patience and understanding. Handled this way the sufferer is more willing to spill out worries and this is the first step towards recovery.

Sometimes, of course, anxiety is not a bad thing. It triggers off the flow of adrenaline, which alerts all our senses to danger and can help us face and tackle problems. For instance, it can help athletes and public speakers give first-class performances.

Feeling anxious and growing excited are very similar feelings, which have very different implications. We must learn to recognise the emotion we are experiencing.

How do we know we are anxious? Perhaps we are more active than usual and unable to settle for long, and maybe the extra energy we are expending is making us feel extremely tired. One thing is for sure, anxiety is often misunderstood.

Pay attention to the signals given out by your body. It is surprising how many ways it can indicate the presence of anxiety - light-headedness, headaches, backache, dry mouth, butterflies in the tummy, sweating hands, weak legs, feeling of faintness.

A patient who consulted me years ago said she had severe heart problems. On checking her medical records, I noticed that she had no history of such problems and was, in fact, very healthy. Nevertheless, her symptoms did suggest that her theory was right. When I saw her I could see for myself that she had broken out in a sweat, had terrible palpitations, and was complaining of a pain in her chest. Her doctor told her that she was just nervous but after talking to her for a while I discovered that she was suffering from a nervous anxiety. Fortunately, I was able to successfully treat her and every time I see her now she reminds me that the most important factor in her treatment was recognising her problem and knowing that her heart was strong.

Anxiety is also the cause of common problems like nail biting and lip chewing. Such habits are merely a symptom of underlying uneasiness, which must be brought to the surface. This done, it is much easier to control these habit. Acupuncture can also be of great help here.

Terrifying

Why do we get anxious? Nervous children are prone to negative reactions after watching or reading something that upsets them. I remember a family I treated in my Preston clinic and one of the children was very anxious. She had seen a terrifying scene on a TV programme and it had left a lasting impression on her. She feared that a similar danger was coming her way. I gave her a remedy for her nervous system which calmed her down.

Something which adults can do much easier than children, is question their anxiety. Why do I get tense? Why do I behave nervously? Why do I worry? These are questions that should be asked and once the answers are found, a method of treatment can be selected.

A treatment that I often advise for anxiety is relaxation. Sit down on an easy chair with your head resting and your feet flat on the floor. Breathe calmly and listen to your breath going in and out. Now take a very deep breath and, when exhaling, say to yourself "relax". Do this three times. Then say to yourself over and over again, "I can do it", thinking of whatever your problem may be, picturing yourself going to the shops, or boarding an aeroplane. You must convince yourself you can do it. When you have finished creating this mental picture, pat yourself on the back for having done so well. Breathe deeply three times and open your eyes.

Do this exercise three times a day - when you wake up, at lunchtime, and before sleeping at night. Practise it in a quiet room and try never to skip and exercise. What you are doing is 'putting a new programme into the computer'. Be patient, it may take up to six months before it starts working.

I suffered considerable anxiety, mainly because part of my childhood took place in wartime. During one of the air raids an old gentleman showed me an old-fashioned, three-dimensional viewer. I was so intrigued that I failed to hear the bombs and was completely oblivious to any danger.

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A good preparation to use is Enhanced Nerve Factors at a dose of one tablet, twice a day. This is an effective, safe relaxant for stress, tension and muscle cramps. It nourishes muscles and nerve endings to promote relaxation and allows a person to feel calm and relaxed without drowsiness. Its special formula makes it ideal for busy, stressed or nervous adults to replace nutrients lost during stressful conditions and it provides traditional herbs and nutrients such as calcium, B-6 and magnesium for proper nervous system function.

Jan de Vries is an herbalist in the UK

By: Jan De Vries
Source: Independent News & Media (NI)

Last updated 07/07

What Do You Do When You Are Nervous?

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