Anxiety needs to Go

Anxiety is a normal and natural human emotion that everyone experiences from time to time. However, it can interfere with daily life and well-being when anxiety becomes intense, persistent, and challenging to manage. If you are struggling with anxiety, several strategies may help you overcome it:

  1. Seek professional help: A mental health professional, such as a therapist or psychologist, can help you identify the causes of your anxiety and develop a treatment plan.
  2. Practice relaxation techniques: Techniques such as deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, and mindfulness meditation can help you relax and manage your anxiety.
  3. Exercise regularly: Regular physical activity reduces anxiety and improves mood.
  4. Get enough sleep: Sleep deprivation can increase anxiety, so it is vital to get enough rest.
  5. Eat a healthy diet: Eating a well-balanced diet rich in nutrients can help improve your overall physical and mental health.
  6. Limit caffeine and alcohol: Caffeine and alcohol are stimulants that can increase anxiety. Limiting your intake of these substances can help reduce stress.
  7. Practice good self-care: Engage in activities that you find enjoyable, and that help you relax, such as reading, spending time in nature, or listening to music.
  8. Challenge negative thoughts: Negative thoughts and worry are common in anxiety. Challenging these thoughts and replacing them with more positive ones can be helpful.
  9. Try different treatments: There are many treatments for anxiety, including medication and therapy. Finding the treatment that works best for you may take some trial and error.
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Remember, it is essential to be patient and persistent when overcoming anxiety. Finding the right combination of strategies that work for you may take time, but with the right help and support, it is possible to manage and reduce your anxiety.

Smooth Under Fire

Staying calm under fire is a valuable skill in any situation where you are facing high levels of stress or pressure. Whether it’s a high-stakes meeting at work, a confrontation with a difficult person or a crisis, staying calm can help you think clearly and make better decisions. Here are a few tips to help you stay calm under fire:

  • Take deep breaths: When you’re under pressure, it’s common to take shallow breaths or even hold your breath. As a result, you will feel anxious or panicked. Instead, try taking deep breaths through your nose and out through your mouth. Help slow down your heart rate and relax your body.
  • Please focus on the present moment: When you’re under fire, it’s easy to get caught up in negative thoughts about the past or the future. Making you feel overwhelmed or anxious. So instead, focus on the present moment and what you can do to address the situation.
  • Take a break: If you’re feeling overwhelmed, it can be helpful to take a short break to clear your mind. Step away from the situation and take a few minutes to do something calming, like going for a walk or listening to music.
  • Practice relaxation techniques: You can use many relaxation techniques to help you stay calm under fire. These include mindfulness meditation, progressive muscle relaxation, or deep breathing exercises. Practice these techniques regularly to call upon them when you need them most.
  • Seek support: It’s okay to ask for help or support when you’re feeling overwhelmed. Talk to a friend or family member about what you’re going through, or consider seeking support from a mental health professional.
  • Create a mental plan: A plan can help you feel more in control of the situation and less overwhelmed. Take a few minutes to consider what steps you can take to address the problem. For example, involve brainstorming potential solutions, making a list of tasks that need to be completed, or setting goals for yourself.
  • Use positive self-talk: When you’re under fire, it’s easy to get caught up in negative thoughts and self-doubt. Instead, focus on the positive and remind yourself of your strengths and abilities. Use positive self-talk to boost your confidence and help you stay calm.
  • Practice gratitude: Focusing on what you are grateful for can help you stay calm and maintain perspective. Take a moment to think about the things in your life that bring you joy and gratitude, and remind yourself of these things when you’re feeling stressed.
  • Stay hydrated: Dehydration can contribute to feelings of stress and anxiety. Make sure you’re drinking enough water throughout the day to stay hydrated and help you stay calm.
  • Seek out sources of calm: Surrounding yourself with calming influences can help you stay calm under fire. Including listening to soothing music, spending time in nature, or engaging in activities that you find relaxing, such as yoga.

Following these tips teaches you to stay calm under fire and better handle stressful situations. Remember to take care of yourself and prioritize your well-being in times of stress.

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Handling Stress

Stress is a natural response to challenges or demands in life. It is the body’s way of preparing to respond to a situation and can help us to perform at our best. However, when stress becomes chronic or excessive, it can harm our physical and mental health.

Long-term stress can lead to various health problems, including high blood pressure, heart disease, and obesity. It can also affect the immune system, making us more susceptible to illness. Stress can also affect our mental health, leading to symptoms of anxiety and depression.

In addition to physical and mental health issues, chronic stress can negatively impact our relationships and overall quality of life. It can make concentrating difficult, leading to memory and decision-making problems. It can also cause irritability and moodiness, making it hard to connect with others.

The key to managing stress is to identify the sources of stress in your life and to find healthy ways to cope with them. For example, you exercise regularly, practice relaxation techniques, and seek support from friends, family, or a mental health professional. Taking steps to manage stress can improve your physical and mental health and enhance your overall well-being.

Ten activities to help:

  1. Exercise regularly. Physical activity can help to reduce stress and improve overall physical and mental health.
  • Get enough sleep. Sleep is essential for good physical and mental health, and a lack of sleep can increase stress levels.
  • Practice relaxation techniques. Techniques such as deep breathing, meditation, and yoga can help to calm the mind and reduce stress.
  • Take time for yourself. Engage in activities you enjoy, such as reading, listening to music, or spending time in nature.
  • Connect with others. Spend time with friends and family, or consider joining a support group to connect with others experiencing similar stress.
  • Practice good self-care. Take care of your physical health by eating well, staying hydrated, and avoiding drugs and alcohol.
  • Learn to manage your time effectively. Prioritize your tasks and responsibilities, and set aside time for relaxation and fun.
  • Consider seeking professional help. A mental health professional can provide support and guidance if you struggle to manage your stress.
  • Avoid or limit caffeine and sugar. Caffeine and sugar can increase anxiety and irritability and should be consumed in moderation.
  1. Try deep breathing exercises. Deep breathing exercises can help to calm the mind and body and are a simple and effective way to reduce stress.

My best advice, get outside!

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What Debt Promises

What I can promise you, debt will bring if you don’t manage debt and let debt manage you!

For so many people in this world, debt can be debilitating. Shopping with friends and you get asked: “would you like to apply for a credit card?” You qualify and here we go.

Most young people are never really taught the importance of good credit and managing money properly.

Debt – noun

something, typically money that is owed or due.

credit card, credit card bill, bankruptcy

Here are the promises debt makes and will keep:

  1. Constant stress over how you will pay your credit cards or other bills at the end of the month.
  2. Family stress. The number one killer of marriages is money. Buy homes we cannot afford, cars, furniture, clothes, on and on. Until the end of the month, and the dining table is covered in bills!
  3. Parents working one or two jobs to make it from one paycheck to the next. Waking up to find children grown and bitter. Why? You were never there! To busy trying to make a living, you forget to have an experience.
  4. The barrage of endless phone calls letting you know the obvious. You’re behind and we need a payment!
  5. Picking which bill gets paid and who does not get any money this month.
  6. Food vs. Credit
  7. Feeling as though one wrong move and financially, you are ruined. Stress beyond limits!
  8. Dark moments, suicidal thoughts all over bills.
  9. Keeping up with the Jones’s only to find ourselves in bankruptcy.
  10. Bad credit and loss of buying power. High rates of interest.

Imagine someone in your family deathly ill and you cannot come up with the money to travel. Another of debt’s promises!

Emotional purchases will sink your financial boat the quickest.

For example:

You go into a car dealership to buy a new car. You have a budget and payment in mind. Shopped online and narrowed down your search. All good stuff.

Upon arrival at the dealership, you begin to browse. “Wow look at this color, look at this car, check out these accessories.” All, of course, are on vehicles outside your budget. The internal battle begins. Metaphorically we’ve taken a raging alcoholic into a bar and said, don’t drink anything I will be back in an hour to pick you up! Only to come back and find your alcoholic passed out drunk.

If you do not control your spending, your debts will overtake your life. Guaranteed! Not too many things in this life come with a guarantee but debt does.

I have worked around consumer credit for thirty years now. Debt has also overtaken my life because I allowed it to get totally out of hand. The ten promises above are indicative of my own life. Poor choices have cost me plenty.

Parents or young people starting out. Educate yourself about credit and debt. Buying that beautiful $300 shirt that will make you look amazing. Won’t look so amazing at the end of the month if the money is not there to pay for it.

Sure, you can make the minimum payment and the $300 shirt becomes a $2000 shirt. Do the math on 26% interest and see what happens to the cost of just one item. Living paycheck-to-paycheck over several years. Chipping away at maxed-out credit cards will overtake your financial life.

Properly managed credit will make sure that your life will be filled with joy. Buying power and forethought to pay will allow you to own homes, cars, beautiful furniture, and other assets. With little to no stress.

TAKE EMOTION OUT OF ANY FINANCIAL EQUATION!

It does not sound fun, but the wake behind poor decisions can last years. Worse still ruin any chance you have of being a homeowner.

Imagine a mortgage broker coming back to you and saying, “unfortunately, YOUR credit will not allow us to give you a loan.” Devastating. Your credit prevents you and your spouse from homeownership. Sounds damned harsh because it is.

What can help:

  • Check out books by great financial folks like Dave Ramsey, Suze Orman, let experts guide you.
  • Check out the credit reporting agencies: Equifax, Trans Union, and Experian. Lots of excellent free resources.

If you have credit issues, you can recover. Start back small and work your way again. There is always hope and with diligence, you will be back on track.

Questions or comments:

Anxiety & Stress Are They Stealing Your Joy

Anxiety and stress can have debilitating results. For years I suffered through stress, work-related, home, you name it, I could find a way to stress myself out!

Over the past couple of years now, some fantastic results have passed through my life. Yes, I still stress, but boy can control it been enhanced. I will share with you my daily routine and habits that help.

prayer, faith, hope

First, let me say that if you’re struggling to get help from a licensed health care professional. What I am sharing with you is just daily habits that you can try to see if they help. By no means should you feel this is a cure-al?

Simple daily routine changes can help with stress & anxiety:

  1. Learn to quiet the mind. This is just a simple relaxation method that can help you with a clear mind. When the rhetoric in your head can slow down and quiet. Amazing results begin to appear.
  2. This can be a simple walk around your neighborhood. Or you can join a gym. Working out the tension in your body, getting stronger can help you not get so fatigued that your anxiety just increases.
  3. Take a moment often during the day to just breathe. Sixty seconds to breathe in through the nose and out through your mouth. Nice cleansing breaths.
  4. Regulate your soda, coffee, and high caffeine drinks. For most of us, we don’t need more help to get anxious.
  5. Take the time that’s just for you. Watch a sunrise by yourself. Sit by a creek. Do something that is just for you (retail therapy is a no-no. Credit card debt is a stressor). Go shoot baskets at the park, kick a ball, ride a bike.
  6. Stay connected with people that uplift you. Debbie-downer is not your friend. Choose wisely. Don’t hibernate.
  7. Set boundaries for people that bring stress into your experience. If someone can only talk about negative things. Cut them short (YES YOU CAN) politely excuse yourself from that situation “oh I totally forgot ______” hopefully that person gets a clue. You are not anyone’s sounding board for garbage.
  8. Home or office is a mess. Guess what? That is the state of your noodle. Clean up, organize, and enjoy the environment around you. People often tell me the disorganized desk in the office, “that’s just the way I am.” So, you’re a chaotic malfunctioning human, and we should all get over it? I regularly must organize myself, it’s a habit I highly recommend.
  9. Sit down and prioritize your life. I mean down to the last detail. If you tell me you’re a free spirit, you fly by the seat of your pants. Then I say super if you’re a well-adjusted, NORMAL functioning human being I will shut up. Otherwise, organize based on the importance of what you need to do every day. The reason being, if you have a real sense of accomplishment, wow, is that life-changing! Activity vs. Productivity learns the difference now!
  10. Patience and faith. If you can learn to allow life to unfold (yes you must do the work) knowing full well, you’ll be fine. Even when you can’t see a way, you believe with everything that is you, all will be well. Spiritual connectedness will indeed bring about peace in your life.
  11. Learn to be grateful right where you are. If you want more out of life, you must be thankful where you stand. If you want more from the Universe, why would that occur if you’re miserable where you are (NO, I am not suggesting you be grateful in a situation that is emotionally or physically harmful to you). However, if this is not the case and you’re simply aggravated at your lot in life. Be grateful you have a car that gets you to work, you have a job it may suck, but you have one, a roof over your head, food to eat, your health and clothes to wear.

You can find a million reasons to stay in the crap. I just gave you eleven reasons not too. What’s more, you can do each of these with just a little effort.

The real question now; “What are you prepared to do?” Until you make the decision to change your life, expect the same outcome.

No guarantee this will be easy. Nothing worth having is ever easy. I am going to let you in on a secret. For most of our lives, we’ve been taught to run away from pain. Sounds reasonable.

Ponder this:

When you first go to the gym and workout hard, what happens? Soreness from hell hits you. Can’t brush your teeth, can’t raise your arms high enough. You can quit or go back to the gym and work out a bit more until the soreness subsides.

Coaches will push you beyond your mental and physical breaking points. Why? Your head will quit far sooner than your body or mind can handle. Marathon runners are prime examples. “The wall” as marathon runners will tell you hits about the twenty-mile mark, and your brain says your body it’s time to stop. The physical pain that is causing damage to the point if you don’t stop, you could injure yourself or worse die.

Medical studies have proven this is all in your head. Runners are not hurt, injured, or dying. What is happening is our limiting beliefs take over, and it’s; fight-or-flight.

Before you give up, take one more step. If you took the step, then maybe we can go more. It’s all up to you. The ONLY PERSON ON THIS PLANET THAT CAN SAY YOU CAN OR CANNOT. IS YOU!

Don’t let anxiety and stress take your joy. If you need professional help go, get it. I am putting a resource to help you get started. This is not a paid endorsement, nor an endorsement by me. It’s just a great place to get started.

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National Institute for Mental Health