Wayne Cho is running across Canada to raise awareness about anxiety and depression

Wayne Cho, a fellow Canadian, is running across the country (8,200km) in order to raise awareness about Anxiety and Depression.

After suffering with Generalized Anxiety Disorder for most of his childhood and young adult life, it was only at the age of 30 that he finally realized what the uneasy feeling in his stomach had been all these years.

Wayne wants to eliminate the stigma that surrounds mental illness and he wants health care providers and people suffering from such illnesses to know that their illnesses are treatable and are more common than most people think.  Over 20% of the population in Canada suffers from some sort of mental illness, but many are afraid to talk about it, in fear of being looked at as crazy or odd.

By not openly talking about anxiety or depression only makes the problem worse.  It is for this reason Wayne Cho is running across Canada — to get people talking about this common health issue, so that people can get the help they need as soon as possible.

If your interested in supporting Wayne in his efforts to run across the country, you can visit his website at CrossCanadaRun.com for more information.  He is currently looking for road crews, athletic therapists, and a media whiz. You may also contact him directly at wayne.cho@crosscanadarun.com.

Here’s a list of the 5 most common types of anxiety disorder. Doctors tend to use these 5 categories to help them in developing guidelines for treatment. I like the list because it keeps things simple and easy to understand. I found this list from the Body & Health section of Canada.com. The Italicized paragraphs after each anxiety type are my comments.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) affects about 4% of the population every year. GAD is twice as common in women as in men. GAD usually appears in childhood or adolescence. Worries tend to be about normal things (work, money, chores, etc.), but to an exaggerated degree. In It’s called “generalized” because there’s no particular source of fear. The cause isn’t known, but children of people with GAD are more likely to develop anxiety problems.

Although the cause may be unknown, I do believe that if you look at your genetic chemical predisposition and couple that with your life events and circumstances (triggers) you will be able to identify what is causing this sort of anxiety disorder. I suffered from mismanaged GAD most of my childhood and early adult life, it’s not fun!

Panic attacks and panic disorder: Panic attacks are extremely common – 10% to 20% of the population experience a panic attack at some point in their life. People with phobias may have a panic attack if they encounter the object of their fear. Panic disorder is much less common. It’s recognized as recurring feelings of terror and fear, which often come on unpredictably, without any clear trigger. Most panic attacks last a couple of minutes, but can continue for up to 10 minutes. After a while, fear of panicking becomes a sort of phobia in itself, as the person tries to avoid situations that might provoke one. Panic attacks can begin at any age, but most often begin in young adults.

I experienced my first panic attack at the age of 8. I was at home sitting on my parents recliner when my heart started racing and I felt like I was going to lose control, I had difficulty breathing and felt “out of it”. I literally could see my heart pounding out of my chest, it was so scary. I also would experience panic attacks in social settings ( not large groups, but rather smaller more intimate groups of people of say less than 10 people).

Phobic disorders are irrational, intense fears about a particular object or situation. Phobias are common, affecting more than 1 in 10 people. Some phobias begin in childhood, such as fear of animals, the dark, or of strangers, while others usually appear in adulthood, as in phobias of weather, water, heights, flying, or enclosed places. The inconvenience of a specific phobia depends on how likely you are to encounter the object of your fear. The most debilitating types are agoraphobia and social phobia. Agoraphobia (literally, “fear of the marketplace”) is anxiety about being caught in public situations when panic develops. It can develop after an embarrassing public panic attack. Social phobia may be a general shyness or fear of particular situations like public speaking. It tends to be more common in women but more severe in men.

I just finished doing a search for a list of phobias. Wow, there are literally thousands of known phobias that we as humans suffer from. The list is enormous, everything from the fear of bald people, chins, ice, heat, paper and old people. Instead of listing them in one big index, I’ll try and seek out people who suffer from these phobias and interview them and upload them to the site in the form of podcasts and videos. I may even go over the list and see what phobias I may have and tackled them head on. I know one for sure would be to go scuba diving — I have a hard time breathing through a snorkel…instance panic attack of not being able to breath.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is equally common among men and women, and affects about 1.6% of the population every year. These people are bothered by recurring images or ideas that are unpleasant (obsessions), or they develop repetitive habits or rituals (compulsions). The images and ideas may be connected to the repetitive habits. For example, people who fear infection may wash their hands constantly, or those who fear burglars may repeatedly check that the door is locked. Sometimes there’s no connection at all between the thoughts and the rituals.

I’m a perfectionist, but not to the point where it has taken over my life. I’m very methodical and I hate when things are confusing and complicated. I like simple. I guess that is why I admire companies like Apple Inc. They make simple look easy.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and acute stress disorder are the only types of anxiety with a clear cause. Extreme anxiety often appears after a frightening or horrible experience, particularly if injuries or deaths were witnessed. Acute stress disorder comes on quickly after a traumatic event and lasts less than a month. Feelings are often complicated by feelings of guilt, unworthiness, and betrayal in those who have survived a stressful experience but lost loved ones to it. PTSD, a longer-lasting, more severe form of acute stress disorder, is particularly common among war veterans.

I remember going through this type of disorder after my car accident. I was returning home on the highway from a conference in Kingston, Ontario ( about two hours away from my hometown) when I was struck by a tractor-trailer while trying to merge into the lane off the on-ramp. The tractor-trailer tore the whole driver side of the car to shreds and send the car flying, stopping short of hitting a cement wall. Luckily I wasn’t hurt, but I did experience heightened levels of anxiety afterwards. It took me a while before I felt comfortable traveling on the highway beside tractor-trailer, but the fear eventually went away.

Jason Herrington
Hates Being Categorized

Does the thought of going to a social gathering throw you into an anxiety roller coaster leaping you into a full-blown panic attack? It can be a scary experience, always thinking what others are going to think of you.

Am I wearing the right outfit? Will they find me funny or interesting? What if I say the wrong thing? What if they hate me? Will I be able to make them happy? Will they accept me as one of their friends or will I be left alone on the sidelines like a wallflower as everyone else seems to have a great time? All these questions and thoughts can cause havoc not only on elevating your anxiety, but your self-confidence as well.

Here’s a few quick tips for conquering social gatherings:

1. Be Yourself, even if being yourself is goofy, geeky, or outspoken. If they don’t like the real you, why try to be someone else?
2. They are just as scare as you are. You may be scared to start a conversation with someone, but remember that they are probably as scared to start one as you are. Think about it for a moment… how do you feel when someone else starts the conversation? Good right? Than be the first mover and reach out and talk someones ear off!
3. If you don’t know what to talk about, ask questions! People love to talk about themselves. Start with questions that are easy for your new friend to answer. Like have they always lived in the city, how do they know the guest of honor, what do they do for a living, do they come here often…talk about the weather. When they respond — relate to them “oh you lived in Ottawa, I have an aunt who lives there”…than follow it with a question to tilt the conversation back towards them. People also love compliments — “hey those are cool shoes, did you get them downtown?”….”I love your hair, did you get it done at Mario’s”?. Your compliments should be genuine. If you really don’t like the persons shoes don;t say you do, or else they will sense your dishonesty.
4. Wear your best clothes. Anytime I went out where I was meeting people I did not know or barely knew, I always bought some new clothes or wore my favorite outfit. Good clothes has a magic effect on your self-confidence. If you feel sexy and confident, you’ll come off as sexy and confident. So, do yourself a favor and leave the teenage mutant ninja turtle jogging pants at home!

Do you ever find yourself trying to please the world? What usually happens when you try to please everyone? You please no one, right?

When I use to perform magic shows at festivals or libraries there was always a percentage of the audience that was either happy with the show or were ready to throw tomatoes at me. No matter how great the performance was there was always a percentage of people that could not be entertained, even if godmother-entertainment could have slapped them across the head.

When I first started out in the magic-biz I thought it was my fault, after all I was there to entertain the audience — so, why than wasn’t 100% of the audience entertained? I figured if I changed a trick and developed a better storyline for a routine that it would make things better. I tried that and the results turned out to be the same. Still some people were happy and some disgruntled.

What was I to do? Should I just keep changing my act and performance until 100% of the people were completely satisfied? That would be ridiculous! My goal instead wasto please the largest amount of people without having to please everyone. I told myself beforehand that no matter how great the tricks or performance there will be some hecklers. How was I expected to control variables that were beyond my control. I couldn’t help it if your boyfriend forced you to watch my show or you hated the color of my hat and thought I was dorky or you were given free tickets and couldn’t care two flying hoots about the being there. It was my act and it wasn’t for everyone. Just like how Marilyn Manson’s music isn’t for everyone.

I’m reminded of a great story that explained how trying to please everyone is an exercise in futility.

The Old Man, the Boy, and the Donkey
An old man, a boy, and a donkey were going to town. The boy rode on the donkey and the old man walked beside him. As they went along they passed some people who remarked it was a shame the old man was walking and the boy was riding. The man and boy thought maybe the critics were right, so they changed positions.

Later, they passed some people who remarked, ” What a shame! He makes that little boy walk.” They decided they both would walk.

Soon they passed some more people who thought they were stupid to walk when they had a decent donkey to ride. So they both rode the donkey.

Now they passed some people who shamed them by saying how awful to put such a load on a poor donkey. The boy and the man said they were probably right, so they decided to carry the donkey. As they crossed the bridge, they lost their grip on the animal, and he fell into the river and drowned.

The moral of the story? If you try to please everyone, you might as well kiss your ass goodbye!

As I plan to  launch my own stage hypnosis show here in Canada, I am reminded just how simple the human mind can be focused and suggested upon.  The more interesting aspect is how everyday we are conditioned (hypnotized) to think a certain way....and through this conditioning we develop automatic responses to certain suggestions.

Enjoy this video. And remember… don’t believe anything until you have done your own research and have come to your own conclusion.

Tommy Knox, a fellow anxiety sufferer, composed an amazing song about anxiety. I’m sure many of you will be able to relate with his lyrics. It’s awesome. I encourage you to support him by buying some sweet swag — you can visit his store at: http://www.cafepress.ca/tommyknox

Sometimes all you want to do is tell your anxiety to go fuck itself. Enjoy this great song and video. A big thanks to BEP and Papa Roach.

I got some fan mail the other day from one of my readers.  It is always a pleasure to hear that people are reading my blog and using what I have learned to help themselves through their own challenges.

Here is a great comment that was left on my blog about how one of my readers was able to overcome her haircut anxiety. Read it and be inspired!

I did it! I got a haircut!! And one day earlier than planned! Not only did I get a fabulous haircut, I had highlights done, my hair was blow dried, styled, the whole works! Two hours of sitting in THAT chair!
I was VERY anxious/panicky before we started and didn’t expect to make it through. But, I repeated in my head that I WAS IN CONTROL of this situation and honestly, it helped me a great deal. It’s very difficult to explain to someone who has never experienced anxiety/panic associated with getting a hair cut how you REALLY are feeling. So, I shared with my friend that I was extremely nervous of having my hair cut and it’s possible I would need her to stop whatever she was doing AND abruptly.
Thankfully, I never had to ask her once. My next BIG step will be to have someone who is NOT a friend/relative do my hair for me. Where I will be in an unfamiliar place, with unfamiliar people. Oy! That will be a while from now, but really, I think I can get through it. I’m just so relieved to know that there are people who totally know where I am coming from and understand. Before I found this Blog, I really, truly felt I was the ONLY ONE who suffered this way. It’s very comforting to know that I am not alone. More comforting is the fact that I took the plunge a few days ago and I now know that I was truly afraid…..of nothing. Slowly but surely I will rid myself of my anxiety. It’s not going to be an easy task, but with patience and perseverance I know I can do it. Thank you Jason for your Blog.
It’s so nice to read (from your personal experience) as so many articles I have found on the internet are just general articles regarding anxiety. I can relate to more than one of your posts and will check back often for updates.

Did you know that if we stopped buying stuff we think we need, but really want our current world would cease to exist as we know it.

What would you do if you didn’t need to earn money and everything was accesible to all?

This seems like a simple question, but try not doing what you normally would do today….like going to work, going to the mall, watching tv, playing video games, reading trash magazine or the newspaper. Unplug from the Internet and wasting time aimlessly surfing the web.

Instead of passivly living start to live actively. Make your own decisions today, be creative, solve a problem, develop a new way to enable everyone to have access to everything.

Are you a victim of the genes your parents gave to you?  Or is your understand of DNA and genes wrong?  What if I told you that heredity has nothing to do with your current mental condition? Would that surprise you? What if I told you that your anxieties are not caused by some sort of inherited DNA structure from your parents.

I’ve came across this video explaining how your perception and your beliefs affect your biology, thus your anxiety.  It is an interesting new way of looking at things, one that give you the power to change yourself…where believing the idea of DNA and Genes from your parents leaves you powerless and in many ways irresponsible.

Enjoy this video…there is 7 in the series. Watching them will change your life.  Part one is below…you can view the rest here: two, three, four, five, six, and seven