If you might be having insomnia you may take into consideration whether increased stress in your life may be the culprit. If you usually do not have hardships with sleep and your stress level has accelerated recently this could be the reason. Stress left untreated can lead to both physical and emotional problems.

Here are the ten tips and hints to aid you conquer stress insomnia.

1. Identify whether your insomnia is in fact caused by stress. Insomnia can be due to medical reasons other than stress. Talk to your health care professional to eliminate a medical cause of insomnia.

2. Lessen the amount of stress in your everyday living. Frequent drama and problems can reap havoc in your every day life and in your capacity to acquire the rest your body needs. Recognize reasons for stress and eradicate those that you are capable to eliminate. Find out coping approaches to decrease the amount of stress you have.

3. Perform meditation or relaxation approaches before attempting to sleep.

4. Set a program for sleep. Head out to bed at the same time each night and wake at the same time every morning. Your body will adapt to the routine making it easier to fall asleep.

5. Keep away from stimuli ahead of going to sleep. You should not watch the media reports; put work and personal issues out of your head before you go to sleep. Allow yourself a few hours of non stimulating time prior to going to sleep. Switch off your pager, your cell phone and put your work away, out of sight and out of your thoughts.

6. Stay away from caffeinated refreshments at night, these not only meddle with sleep as a result of the caffeine, but caffeine can also accelerate stress.

7. Take a warm bath, get your mucles rested and your mind clear. Relax yourself to get ready for your night of peaceful sleep.

8. Have regular exercise. Physical exercise is excellent for minimizing stress. This can be as easy as a walk or playing your favorite sports.

9. Tend not to clock watch. Move your clock away from you. Watching the clock encourages anxiety concerning your sleep time.

Sleep is essential for good health. It truly is the time in which our bodies recover and repair themselves. In the event stress is triggering you to not get a nice night’s sleep you can do something about it. Take the important actions to minimize stress in your life, make the alterations necessary to get your body the rest it needs. You may try out natural sleep aids, consult with your physician for other recommendations or possibly enroll in a yoga, meditation or deep relaxation therapy class to acquire awareness into approaches to relax and aid reduce nervousness and stress that may be continuing to keep you awake at night.

I've been avoiding my friends for awhile because i get socially anxious around them. I told one of my closest friend that i think i suffer from this (social anxiety disorder) and she has been nothing more than understanding, but i can't stop but feel bad that i am driving her away from our friendship. every single time i see her i feel anxious and because of that i've been avoiding her. What should i do? I can't keep avoiding her.

I suggest you email/text her talking how you feel. Then you can talk to your school guidance counselor to help you. If you ask for support from your parents, then I sure they could give some good advice on how to not be nervous.

best of luck!

ps. if you need something else feel free to email me.

Nearly everyone has experienced or will experience some kind of anxiety in their lives. It is completely normal to worry over your family when someone is sick, or that next bill when you are short on money. Final exams, that big entrance test, dream job interview tomorrow: all these things are a normal source of anxiety. But millions of people around the world experience this anxiety every single day - even when there is nothing going on to really worry about.

The latest figures released by the Anxiety Disorders Association of America say that there are an estimated 40 million people in America that suffer from some form of anxiety. With an estimated annual cost of $42 billion, anxiety accounts for almost one-third of the total annual mental health expenditures in this country. There are many specific illnesses that fall under the broad "anxiety disorder" category, such as panic disorders, generalized anxiety disorder, post traumatic stress syndrome, and many others. The exact treatments for these disorders varies widely depending on the disorder itself and the circumstances surrounding it.

What Causes Anxiety Disorders?

Even with millions of cases a year to examine, we still don't understand what exactly causes anxiety disorders. While we have narrowed down the potential causes for generalized anxiety disorder (one of the most common anxiety disorders), scientists and physicians still don't know the exact reason it manifests in some people but not others. The most commonly held belief among researchers is that it is caused by a combination of genetics, brain chemistry, and environmental issues, such as chronic work-related stress, or sudden extreme stress such as the death of a family member. Withdrawal from drugs can also trigger anxiety disorders. If the cause in a specific case can be isolated, treatment can be more focused and effective.

Dealing With Anxiety Disorders

Living with an anxiety disorder is not easy. The symptoms can get so bad that people completely isolate themselves in their home, only leaving when absolutely forced to do so. This is a defense response, an attempt to avoid anything that triggers an anxiety or panic attack.

Treatment usually consists of medication and therapy to work through the issues causing the anxiety order. Persistence is also required, as it can take years to be completely cured. Many people suffering from anxiety find that self-relaxation techniques, such as meditation or yoga, can be very helpful in dealing with the stress, and can be used to stop an impending panic or anxiety attack.

With 40 million people and rising suffering from anxiety every day, knowing the causes and what can be done to treat it is extremely important. But with patience and treatment, it is possible to cure this illness.

Abhishek Agarwal
http://www.articlesbase.com/mental-health-articles/suffering-from-anxiety-disorders-it-is-not-just-you-709316.html

Anxiety disorders and panic disorders can cause some truly awful feelings and symptoms. The symptoms of a panic attack can be extremely uncomfortable, such as dizziness, heavy sweating, hard breathing, and uncontrollable shaking. A panic attack is an exaggerated version of the human fight-or-flight response to danger. When you have a panic disorder, you may experience all these symptoms even though there is no actual danger to trigger it. An anxiety attack, on the other hand, has symptoms that often mirror those of a heart attack, including chest discomfort, tingling or numbness in the extremities, and an impending sense of doom. It is unfortunately all too easy for a panic attack to trigger an anxiety attack, or vice versa.

What Are Anxiety Disorders?

An anxiety disorder is present any time some form of anxiety interferes with your daily life. For example, you may be too nervous to go to the store one day, but be fine the next. People with anxiety disorders may develop various phobias, like claustrophobia. But in almost all cases, anxiety disorders are linked to specific fears of activities, situations, or events.

What About Panic Disorders?

In addition to the often differing symptoms when compared to anxiety disorders, panic disorders are usually diagnosed when these symptoms suddenly start and stop with no discernible trigger. This is extremely disheartening to the sufferer, since they cannot seem to control the onset of these symptoms, or avoid any noticeable triggers.

Anxiety and Panic Disorders Together

It is not uncommon for panic disorders to lead to the development of anxiety disorders, due to the constant stress and fear of having a panic attack. Often the panic attack will start being a trigger for an anxiety attack, and soon progresses to the point that the worry over having another panic attack is in itself triggering another anxiety attack.

Living With Anxiety and Panic Disorders

It can be extremely difficult to live a normal life if you suffer from either or both of these conditions. Even things like commuting to work become hazardous, as a sudden panic attack can make it difficult or impossible to drive safely. A sudden panic attack in the office can be both embarrassing and interfere with your work.

The biggest thing to keep in mind is that even though the symptoms of anxiety and panic disorders can be frightening, they don't actually cause physical harm. Think calming thoughts, and avoid dwelling on the symptoms. If you suspect you have an panic or anxiety disorder, you should visit your doctor. There may be medication that, in conjunction with therapy, can greatly ease or eliminate your anxiety disorder or panic disorder. Take up meditation, and try to eliminate as much stress from your life as you can. If you are working too hard, take time off regularly to relax and reflect. These are just a few of the things you can do to help reduce the effects of an anxiety or panic disorder.

Abhishek Agarwal
http://www.articlesbase.com/mental-health-articles/anxiety-and-panic-disorders-how-to-deal-with-the-double-disaster-709319.html

I was diagnosed with General Anxiety Disorder about a month ago. I have been getting hand trembles on my left side only. All of the physical symptoms I have had seems to occur on the left side (mild abdominal cramps, occasional ear aches). Is this possible and can it be something else that I suffer from?

Anxiety causes muscle tension. So it could be the cause. I would assume that since you have been diagnosed with GAD that is what you have. There are six different anxiety disorders. For more info look in the resource box