Information Center

Imagine the scene. You need to prepare a report that has to be with your boss the following day. It’s the big one - if you impress him you’re on your way up. The success you’ve craved is only a matter of a few hours away.

But then…

It starts…

Your mind begins to drift and you find other things to occupy your time. The following is a helpful list that will ensure that your report will be delayed and that you’ll blow everything you’ve worked for. Remember, if you do all the things on this list, you’ll NEVER suffer from executive stress (you’ll never be an executive).

1. Start running Norton Anti Virus (or similar). Sit there and watch it work through all your files. At the same time, you could use your Maintenance Wizard and defragment your disk. It’s probably been a long time since you’ve done it so it’ll waste a good chunk of time.

2. Check all your old emails. Reply to a few that you’ve neglected. Check your message rules and create a few new ones. Check out some of the items on the menus that you’ve not read before.

3. Make coffee. Make lots of it. Invite friends over. Run out of coffee. Have to go to the supermarket. Meet some more friends. Be invited out for lunch. Drink too much and come back home in the small hours of the morning.

4. Look out of the window. Notice things that you’ve never seen before. Count the number of leaves there are on the tree opposite.

5. Get online and surf. Find a good chat room. Talk to as many people about today’s game as you can. Post a few messages on a message board. Find out what’s going on in Boulder. Check the CNN page. Develop an interest in World Politics.

6. Find that CD Tutorial you bought a few years back. ‘How to Speak Spanish’. See if you can get further than ordering a beer in a bar.

7. Go and look at yourself in a mirror. Worry about getting old/going grey/losing your hair/putting on weight/developing spots/whether you need a tuck here and there. The best thing to do is to go and stand in front of a full-length mirror naked. Jump up and down and see which bits wobble. If that doesn’t make you break out in a cold sweat, I don’t know what will.

8. Dial someone you haven’t spoken to in years. Find out what’s going on in their lives. Then you can tell them all about the important report you’ve got to write. They may be sympathetic. They may invite you over for a beer!

9. Create a digital database of your CDs/DVDs/books etc. Even better, go down into the basement and drag out all of your old vinyl albums. You haven’t seen them for years so you’ll need to read all the album sleeves again. What ever happened to ‘Jefferson Airplane’?

10. Play ‘Danger Mail’. If you don’t know what this is then I’ll explain. You write an email to someone important, such as your boss, and write down all the things you hate about them - all their nasty habits, their foibles - everything. Then, hold your finger just over the ‘Send’ key. In fact, just rest it on top. You are only a second away from ruining your whole life. Cough now and it could all be over!!!! You can spend hours waiting like that.

I guarantee that if you do the above, you’ll remain in the same job for a long while (unless they sack you).

However, if you want to get on in life, ignore the above list.

Become focussed. Plan out your report. Make it the best you can. And get it to your boss on time. Don’t delay, do it today.

Andy Walsh

While feeling anxious is a normal reaction to certain stimulus, people with anxiety disorders are constantly subjected to this annoying feeling. There are many treatments available for anxiety attacks that can help patients lead a normal and healthy life.

Anxiety is the feeling that is generated when we are placed in situations of stress or when we experience physical or emotional trauma. The sweating of palms before an exam or the heart palpitations before a big interview, or even while making a marriage proposal, that butterflies-in-the-stomach are all physical manifestations of anxiety. Anxiety is a very common feeling and has many common reasons. It is a purely natural reaction and as such is not harmful except when it develops into a chronic condition when the individual feels anxiety without any cause for it. One way of looking at an anxiety attack is an early warning of danger. When danger is expected, the body automatically goes into a defensive mode. In case the danger is real this mode sees us through.

As per the National Institute of Mental Health, anxiety problems are the most common form of mental illness that exists in the United States. More than 40 million individuals over 18 are affected every year. There are many types of anxiety disorders.

* The phantom anxiety is one that exists when you cannot figure out why you are so anxious. * Panic attacks are sudden, unpredictable, and usually have no recognizable cause. * Obsessions and compulsions will often develop because of anxiety disorders. * Social aversion and inability to function in public is also a form of anxiety disorder. * Sometimes this can turn into a phobia for specific situations or objects.

Whatever the form of an anxiety attack, the thing that is always consistent in all victims who suffer from one, is the uncontrollable fear. This sense of dread can be so intense that the victim will be in danger of immobilization. People with an anxiety disorder will go through the one or all of the following stages.

* Feeling of anxiety that is constant and inescapable. * Anxiety that will often cause the victim to become isolated and suffer from emotional withdrawal. * Anxiety that will now permit the victim to function normally (like leaving their home or meeting new people).

Since the victim of anxiety attacks will develop symptoms causing them to slowly withdraw into decreasing familiarity, this often causes secondary problems like depression, lack of self-esteem, alcoholism, and drug usage. Eventually the anxiety attacks will start interfering with the individual’s performance at work and in personal relationships. Fortunately, all such disorders can be treated easily. Most people who suffer from anxiety attacks go on to lead normal lives free from fear and worry.

Panic attacks are anxiety attacks of unusual severity usually accompanied by overwhelming fear. Anxiety attacks can occur at anytime and at any place. This gives them a very random nature and people who have them are always overstressed because they never know when the next one might occur. The common feeling associated with panic attacks is the feeling of imminent death.

Eddie Yap