Lowering Your Anxiety Without Medication

 
(mind) + (body) = mody


We are all a product of our ancestors and since that is true, we inherited a variety of wonderful, and some less than wonderful traits that do not play so well in the 21^st century.  On of those is our response to stress. In ancient times, and in some cases today, our instinctual desire to fight or run away comes in handy (ever cross paths with a grizzly bear?). But most times these responses won’t work at the office or in an airplane on the tarmac. So understanding how you can naturally change the amount of oxygen in your bloodstream is an important tool in managing your anxiety. 

We breathe, on average, twelve to fourteen times per minute; a slight change in respiration, say two additional breaths per minute, can drastically change the oxygen content of your blood. And that increased oxygen send signals to your body that something is wrong. As a result a variety of symptoms may occur—faster heart beat, a feeling of being cool or hot, tingling feelings, Goosebumps or a feeling of dread.

To counteract these symptoms, we have to take control of something we normally do not—the rhythm of our breath. One method is placing a paper sack over one’s mouth. In doing so, we breathe in our own carbon dioxide and lessen the oxygen we take in.

However, the bag may not be handy or may be a tad obvious during a job interview or having dinner at the in-laws. And that is where square breathing comes in handy.

It is called square breathing because it is four sided and each side is the length of the other three.

1.   Breathe in to a count of four;

2.   Hold that breath for a four count;

3.   Exhale for the same count;

4.   Then hold off from breathing for one more count of four.

Do this over and over. It may be difficult at first but in a few moments you will begin to feel the benefit. The oxygen will level off and the symptoms, as well as the feelings will subside as a result. Over time, as you get more proficient, extend the count to six or seven, just as long as it feels comfortable for you.

Who would have thought being square would be so cool?

"We All Pay for Sex"

Woody Allen pithily made that remark years ago and the minute I heard it I knew it was true. We all pay for access to the mate we want, regardless of if that pay comes in roses (or "roses"), hours at the gym, an expensive haircut or a job that pays big bucks.

Based on a discovery earlier this week, it seems science has confirmed the fact that this has always been the case. Anthropologists have discovered a possible human ancestor that, if their hypothesis holds, is our oldest identified relative.

One of the things that sets this female, nick-named Ardi, from other homonids is the size of her canine teeth. They are small, like ours, which is quite different from our ape cousins who used big teeth for fighting. The theory is that smaller teeth indicates there was not a need to fight to get what they wanted. Through evolution they lost the large canines in favor of the ability to barter.

"So females are picking males that are using some other technique to obtain reproductive success, and that technique is probably exchanging food for copulation," Frank Lovejoy, one the leaders of the team who found her, said.

So the Woodman was right...and like any truth, it holds up 6 million years ago, as it does today.

(Woody Allen) + (Charles Darwin) x (Behavioral Psychology) + (Ardi) = we all pay for sex

Men Happier Than Women? No Ship Sherlock

After watching this weekend's television I have decided that the world is a fairly safe place, at least for the moment. The reason being that CNN apparently has little to report, outside of a study saying the men are happier than women.

What makes this a surprise?

Women have less power in our society than men. Any time a group has less power they are less likely to be happy. Regardless of if the group is denied their rights by sex, gender, sexuality, economics or skin tone, the dominant segment is going to display a decided tendency to be more satisfied with their lives.

Yes, I recognize women have made strides in the social arena since the dark days pre-Betty Friedan. However, there is hardly equity between women and their far happier male counterparts. Anyone who doubts that fact needs to check out the makeup of the senate. Women are half the population--how many female senators are there? Or how about C.E.O.s--how many of them have duplicate chromosomes? Men still run the world...and smiles will fall on those in charge.

Also, consider the fact that women are far more in touch with their feelings than their male counterparts--which actually is another side effect of being second class. Those on the outside tend to show a much stronger ability to read the room and understand how the dominant group behaves and feels. Women think about feelings and attitudes as a function of survival. What would be the motivation for (most) men to be self-aware? When you run the show, you can stumble through life with little regard for others--making those in second place a lot less happy group. But if you have to respond to another group's demand, in this case those of men, the less powerful group is going to focus on what mood the men, as well as themselves, are in.

Smile and have a great Monday.

David Ezell is offering free introductory classes for people who want to transition their bodies or their ability to manage depression and anxiety holistically. Just click the link and register, as space is VERY LIMITED.

Happy Birthday Mr. Darwin

I was scanning my calendar and realized this date, 12 February 2009, has got to be a thinking liberals Kwanzaa and Christmas all rolled into one. First, it is the 200th birthday of a man who was debateably our greatest president, Abraham Lincoln.

Second, it is the centennial of America’s premiere civil rights organization, the NAACP. Although they have a spotty record with regard to being effective for their people’s cause, they stand as the model for any minority that wants to create a presence in the main stream.

But more important than either is the birthday of a man not born on this soil, the man responsible for more fights, stupid legislation and a few good movies. Charles Darwin’s birthday, his bicentennial, is today. What an intellect and what a theory. How fortunate he is to still, 150 years after his book came out, be making people question their narrow perceptions about our true place in the universe.

I had the privilege a few years back to teach history and sociology at a few of the South’s major universities as well as a few small colleges. Normally, as all novice instructors do, I had to teach the intro courses—Western Civ I and II. I had big classes filled with first-year undergrads who, for the most part, did not want to be there

Every now and then a topic would grab them—invention in the Dark Ages, Martin Luther, women in the French Revolution—and one topic would usually cause some real debate. Charles Darwin. From the moment I brought him up, some would frown or challenge me or talk about their religious views. And I tried to be patient because in the southern U.S., save for a very few exceptions, Darwin is synonymous with the Devil. Darwinism is a religious discussion that never happens except in the most enlightened of circles below the dreaded (and nebulous) Mason-Dixon line.

But I would try to get them to look at the logic of the man’s most central idea. Evolution occurs when a group that has a shared trait does not reproduce because that trait puts them at a disadvantage. Forget monkeys, forget humanoids and think about the primary concept—a being can’t pass their genetic traits if they no longer exist.

Think about roaches. I know, you don’t want to, but this is the example I would use in teaching. Imagine you had roaches in your kitchen (you just might according to recent statistics…). Now you turn on the light and YoW! there are two roaches! One runs and one stands still. You squish her. That action, killing a bug, is actually shaping the gene pool of roaches in your house. The one who ran is going home to the old lady and going to create a clan of girls and boys who have a tendency to run when the lights go on. And the one on the bottom of your Keds is going to wind up in the A&P bag you are using to line your garbage pail. That, lads and lassies, is Darwin at his most basic. Over time traits that hinder survival are bred out. And conversely traits that contribute to survival are more likely to be preserved and passed along.

So on this day let’s thank the man who proposed a logical route to evolution and still effects us so many years after his words came into print. Happy birthday Mr. Darwin.

© David Ezell 2009
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