Most of us experience some anxiety from time to time. But for others, anxiety and panic overshadows every moment of their lives. Here's a simple self-diagnostic checklist to help you determine if you have the signs and symptoms of anxiety attacks or any of the other following social anxiety disorders.

1. Panic Attacks
Panic attacks usually follow extended periods of tension and stress such as a move, divorce, the birth of a child, or a job change. Rather than feeling capable of facing the challenge, you become overwhelmed by persistent thoughts of failure. If you experience two or more of these symptoms of anxiety attacks, you may be having panic attacks.

* Episodes of sudden and intense fear that seem to come out of the blue
* During these episodes you experience heart attack like symptoms (racing heart, chest pain, difficulty breathing, choking sensation, lightheadedness, tingling or numbness, etc.)
* During these episodes you worry about something bad happening to yourself (embarrassing yourself, having a heart attack, dying, etc.)
* You worry about having more panic attacks

2. Generalized Anxiety

For someone with generalized anxiety, small day-to-day concerns like getting somewhere on time or getting enough done during the day, and broader issues such as health and illness, work performance, money or family cause persistent, unrelenting anxiety. If you worry about these issues and experience two or more of these symptoms of anxiety attacks nearly every day, you may have generalized anxiety.

* Worry about a variety of experiences (work, school, health, family, etc.)
* Difficulty controlling these worries
* Feeling restless or on edge
* Easily fatigued
* Difficulty concentrating
* Irritability
* Muscle tension
* Difficulty falling or staying asleep, or restless sleep

3. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Obsessive compulsive disorder involves almost ritualistic repetitive, unproductive behaviors the individual feels compelled to perform. If you are hindered from these behaviors in any way, you can become very agitated and anxious. If you experience two or more of these symptoms of anxiety attacks, you may have obsessive compulsive disorder.

* Recurring thoughts or images besides everyday worries that are intrusive and make you anxious
* Are occasionally aware that these thoughts or images are unreasonable or excessive
* Desire to stop these thoughts or images, but can't seem to control them
* Engage in repetitive behaviors (hand washing, ordering, checking) or mental acts (praying, counting, repeating words silently) to find relief

4. Social Phobia

While most of us experience some nervousness in social situations, for others, the fear and anxiety are so great that they go to extremes to avoid any social situations. If you are excessively fearful that others will criticize your public behavior and exhibit two or more of these symptoms of anxiety attacks, you may have social phobia.

* Afraid of one or more social or performance situations (speaking up; taking a test; eating, writing or working in public; being the center of attention; asking someone for a date)
* Get excessively anxious or worried if you try to participate in any of these situations
* Try to avoid these situations whenever possible

While these are just simple breakdowns of complex social anxiety disorders, being able recognize the symptoms of anxiety attacks can help you seek out the cure for worry and anxiety that's right for you.

Are you familiar with this misconception: "EXERCISE IS THE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECT OF LOSING WEIGHT. PEOPLE WHO ARE LEAN SPEND HOURS UPON HOURS IN THE GYM." I'm not sure if you believe that, but I assure you that plenty of people are brainwashed with this myth. For millions of people, when they see someone who is in great shape their immediate response is: "they must work out A LOT" or "they must spend HOURS in the gym." Don't get me wrong here, exercise is important and is something that is critical.
I will tell you that it is an absolute necessity to living life lean BUT, in comparison to a proper mindset and nutrition, it is… The least important aspect of living life lean! However, if you visit your local gym or fitness center you'll certainly see tons of people who haven't gotten the memo. I always see people who are well into their workout when I arrive at the gym and then when I leave they still have a ways to go. However despite this, year after year they remain overweight and look pretty much the EXACT same! I reveal the correct way to exercise in the book Living Life Lean, but I'll give you a big hint right now to what the magic formula is… Quality over quantity! In fact, spending too much time exercising can actually hinder your progress... But let me be also clear about something: exercise IS, without a doubt, one of the best investments of time you can ever make in your life. Period. The point you need to understand however, is that without having a firm grasp on proper mindset/beliefs and proper nutrition, you will never reap anywhere near the full value of your investment. This is exactly why it's important to be aware of this misconception...

“Weight lifting makes you big and bulky.” Are you familiar with this misconception? This is a belief that unfortunately so many of us still have. Millions of people automatically associate weight lifting to big, bulky and muscular bodies. Millions of people believe that you should only lift weights if you want to "get bigger." Not only is this completely false, but if you ignore weight training (or strength training) then you're missing out on one of the single most effective fat loss methods in existence. In fact, you should immediately begin associating weight lifting (or any type of strength training) to living life lean.
Yes, weight lifting can certainly be a part of a weight gaining program as well, but lifting weights alone is not what makes you bulky. Do you want to hear the real reason why people get bigger? They eat lots of food! In fact, it's virtually impossible for someone to gain a significant amount of weight if they don't increase the amount of calories they take in. Take heavy-weight body builders for example. I'm talking about the ones that most people associate with body building. Now let's be clear: they ARE huge. But this is mainly because they take in a very large amount of calories on most (or all) days of the week. The simple fact is that muscles are essential to a lean and toned body that burns fat on autopilot 24/7, yet muscles continue to be one of the most overlooked components to losing fat effectively and permanently. Trust me, if you're serious about losing fat quickly and permanently, then this is not something you want to ignore...

If you've ever tried to lose weight by starving yourself then you already know that not only does this not work, but it actually backfires, and usually makes you GAIN weight. When you try to go for extended periods of time without eating (more than four or five hours) you're basically working against your body. Not Smart. See, eating is natural. It's instinctive. We are hard wired as human beings to eat. So what normally happens when someone tries to starve themselves is they eventually end up succumbing to their natural instincts, and instead of eating… They binge eat! Now here's where it gets even worse: When this happens someone might believe that they "failed" and they need to develop more "discipline" or "will power." They start believing that the problem is a lot worse than it actually is. Now, as I discuss in the book Living Life Lean, there is tremendous power in discipline, yet it definitely doesn't serve you when you try to use it to starve yourself!
Another reason why this misconception is so destructive is because it damages your metabolism, which is critical to burning fat and living lean. I would think that by now this debunked "strategy" would be extinct. But it's not. I see so many people who believe they will be different. In their mind they think it will actually work for them, and THEN once they reach their desired outcome they'll stop. Is this, or will this ever be a solution to living life lean? Not a chance. So what is the solution? You take the exact OPPOSITE approach and begin to eat more often. Ironically, once you begin to eat more frequently you'll think about food less and it's actually a much easier way to become lean. All the while, you're keeping your body in a constant state of thermogenisis (your internal body temperature is raised) and your metabolism is running on all cylinders and burning fat at an optimum rate...

"Eat all your favorite foods! Eat as much as you want, of whatever you want, and still lose weight!" Have you heard claims like this before? This sounds too good to be true doesn't it? That's because it is. Here's what I say if you want to maximize your results: Know and understand what you're putting into your mouth. Am I starting to scare you? Well I hope not - you don't have to be extreme here, but you also do not want to rely on luck to become lean, do you? Do you know why so many people are selling this concept to people?
Because people WANT to believe it. I will say this though: If you are very overweight then "maybe" you will see some results if you go from eating two or three times a day to five or six...even if you are eating food with little nutritional value. (junk food) But if someone is telling you this is actually going to lead you to the body of your dreams then, well... I hate to spoil the party but it's just not going to happen. Does the truth sting a little? Well, then I have some very empowering news for you. Eating high-quality, nutritious food can be enjoyable and even incredibly delicious. Yes, it's true! In the book Living Life Lean I address exactly what kind of fuel is going to optimize your results, but for now let's use a little common sense and agree to the obvious: What you eat DOES matter.