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Mental Health

5 Tips for Reducing Stress During Social Distancing

31 days of reducing stress during social distancing and quarantine

When you’re spending lots of time at home alone either due to social isolation or because you live with chronic illness, it can become very easy to get stressed out or depressed. The pandemic alone is stressful enough, but if you have to be quarantined alone those feelings can get even worse. If you’re struggling with signs of stress like constant worry and panic, insomnia, emotional eating binges or increased use of alcohol or drugs, then the following tips for reducing stress during social isolation can be very useful for you right now.

Limit News Consumption

We all want to know what’s going on and it can be hard to walk away, but if you’re staying home because of the Co-Vid 19 pandemic, you really want to be careful about much time you’re devoting every day to updates.  While you don’t want to unplug completely, try to limit how often you watch the news. Think about checking just once a day. News stations often repeat information so that’s really all you need. Pick a few selected news sources and try to leave it at that.

Set Time Limits On Social Media

Social media is a great way to keep up with friends, family and community happenings right now. But if you’re aimlessly scrolling and absorbing other people’s political posts, it can start to hurt your mental health. If you find that you feel fine before logging on, but are in a bad, irritable, sad, or upset mood after checking Facebook or Twitter, it’s time to limit your time on social media.

Try to set time blocks for using social media and staying away from it. It will vary based on your own schedule and routine, but try for blocks of 1-2 hours at a time. And consider an occasional 24 hour social media detox. 

Prioritize Your Mental Health and Self Care

Learning to prioritize your mental health and self care and is one of the best ways to reduce stress.  Distracting your mind from the pandemic is a great way to alleviate stress and depression.

If you feel like you’ve been stuck in the house forever, go outside for a walk. Just getting outside in the fresh air and getting some exercise is amazing for your emotional health. Some other self care ideas include reading, doing meditation, and participating in baking or making crafts.

Don’t Neglect Your Physical Health

In addition to your mental health, you can reduce stress by taking care of your body as well. This includes getting more exercise, eating a healthy diet, and staying hydrated. But keep in mind that eating healthy doesn’t mean being on a restrictive diet or never having treats. Don’t stress yourself further right now with extreme dieting or weight loss. Just try to balance your meals and snacks with something healthy that also includes some indulgent treats.

Social Distancing Done Right

We can be grateful for modern technology that gives us the ability to connect with friends, family, church and recovery communities. Don’t neglect this. Check in with your people a couple of times a week on Zoom, Facetime, text or phone. It will make all the difference.

10 Natural Remedies for Anxiety Relief

 

10 Natural Remedies for Anxiety Relief

If you suffer from anxiety or panic attacks but are leery of pharmaceuticals, you might want to consider some natural remedies for anxiety relief. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with taking medication if you feel that’s your best option, but natural remedies and lifestyle changes can also be a big help in managing anxiety symptoms.

Distract Yourself

When anxiety becomes overwhelming, one of the best things you can do is to distract yourself. Find something to do – preferably hands 0n – and immerse yourself in it so that you can’t think about anything else. Some easy distractions could be:

  • Writing in a Journal
  • Exercise
  • Cooking
  • Gardening
  • Organizing some old photographs
  • Listening to a guided meditation
  • Taking a walk outside
  • Playing a board game

Helpful Essential Oils for Anxiety

One very popular way to treat anxiety naturally is with essential oils. Essential oils are extracted from flowers, herbs, and plants, and then you can use them to help calm you down and reduce your panic and anxiety symptoms. Certain essential oils are better for anxiety, creating a calm environment and reducing the amount of panic attacks you experience. Here are some essential iols to consider using for stress:

*Cedarwood
*Wild Orange
*Lavender
*Chamomile
*Frankincense
*Bergamot
*Vetiver
Create a calming atmosphere in your home by diffusing some essential oil, adding some drops to your bath or applying them to the bottoms of your feet.


Limit Caffeine

Many people rely on coffee throughout the day to keep themselves going, but drinking too much coffee can set off anxiety episodes and even trigger panic attacks. Remember that caffeine is a stimulant, increases stress hormones, increases heart rate and blood pressure. It will also stimulate your “fight or flight” response.

Consider drinking herbal tea instead. One good to start with for anxiety is lemon balm tea. It’s a great remedy to  calm your mind and body. Perhaps you have a lot of work or financial stress, are overwhelmed by all your responsibilities at home, or are dealing with the stress of making major decisions. You can drink some lemon balm tea and feel more at peace, which helps you to de-stress and sleep a little better.

Other herbal teas that help with anxiety and stress are:

  • Chamomile Tea
  • Passion flower tea
  • Green Tea
  • Peppermint
  • Lavender
  • Kava

Also consider elderberry tea to help boost your immune system!


Ditch the Alcohol

Alcohol is one of the mostly commonly used and abused drugs in the United States. And it’s seemingly everywhere. If some social media memes are to be believed, it’s impossible to parent without a glass or bottle in your hand. Many people like to use it because it has a sedative effect and helps them to unwind. But over time, this strategy will backfire. Too much drinking can rewire your brain, and contribute to the development of even more anxiety problems.

If you feel like abstaining is a struggle, there are a number of online communities that you can reach out to. Here’s just a few of them:

Omega 3 for Anxiety

You probably already know that proper nutrition is an essential part of treating your anxiety naturally. One of the more important supplements you’ll want to take are omega-3 fatty acids. Try to aim for 2-3 grams of omega-3s every day, as they will help you to lower stress chemicals, which help to decrease anxiety and panic symptoms. While you can take a supplement, it’s better to get nutrients from natural food sources. For omega-3 fatty acids, this means fish like salmon and tuna, as well as whole grains, flax seeds, and walnuts.

Get More Vitamin D

Another nutrient you need to treat your anxiety naturally is vitamin D, but you don’t have to take a supplement or even eat a lot of foods with this vitamin. The best way to get more vitamin D is actually through sunlight. Try heading outside for 15-20 minutes a day to soak up some vitamin D, and you’ll soon start feeling much better. Vitamin D will not only help with your anxiety, but will also improve your mood and energy. Try going outside for quick walks or taking your lunch break outdoors when you can.

Exercise Can Calm Anxiety

A great way to combine sunlight and exercising is to go for a walk outside, go hiking, or find another outdoor activity. Even if you’re not able to get outside, getting more physical activity is great for anxiety. You get your blood pumping, distract your mind, and can de-stress as well.

For indoor workouts, I highly recommend Walk at Home. In 15 minutes I can walk one good fitness mile, burn some calories and reduce stress. It’s also accessible to all body types. Yoga is another time tested way to reduce anxiety. My current favorites are Sleepy Santosha and Yoga With Kassandra.

Homeopathy for Anxiety

Homeopathy is a gentle way to help reduce symptoms of stress and anxiety. Coffea cruda 200C and Ignatia 200 are two helpful remedies that will work with your body to relieve difficult anxiety symptoms.


Mindfulness Meditation

A regular mindfulness meditation practice can go a long way to reduce stress and anxiety and boost emotional regulation. It’s one of the very best things you can do to practice self care during the pandemic. I highly recommend the Calm app, which is paid but well worth it. I use it every day, and sometimes multiple times a day! If you can’t swing it right now, look for guided meditations on YouTube.

I also love to read (endlessly!) books about mindfulness meditation. Here’s some of my top picks.


10 Easy Ways to Stop Panic Attacks

What you should know about putting a stop to a panic attack is you have to find the right method for you, and that might take a bit of trial and error. The following include some different things you can try to stop panic attacks in their tracks:

*Pray
*Listen to a guided meditation
*Find an object to focus on
*Use a body scan or muscle relaxation technique
*Visualize your happy place
* Count backwards from 100
* Say No! out loud as many times as needed
* Listen to music
* Watch a movie or television show
* Call someone on the phone who can calm you down

These are some of my time-tested ways to manage my own anxiety and panic attacks. Do you have any resources to share? I’d love to hear them!

 

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5 Easy Breathing Techniques for Stress

5 easy breathing techniques to reduce stress and anxiety during social isolation and quarantine.

 

If life seems kind of overwhelming lately, stop and take a deep breath in. Now slowly exhale. Notice any difference? Your breath is one of the most powerful tools that you have to help reduce stress and overwhelm. When you take a deep breath, it sends a signal to your brain that it’s okay to calm down and relax. Then your brain transmits this message to your body. There’s lots of different ways to practice easy breathing techniques for stress that will help you to feel so much better.

Breathing techniques are very simple to do. First find a quiet place if you can, like a chair. Try to relax. Then you’ll inhale deeply through your nose, hold for a few seconds, then exhale out your mouth. Another easy breathing technique is  belly breathing, where you hold one hand on your stomach and focus on the sensations as you inhale and exhale.

As you get more experienced with practicing these simple breathing techniques, they will become more and more natural to you. You’ll remember to do them any time and place that you’re feeling stressed out.

4-7-8 Breathing Technique

One of the many problems with stress is that it gives us a really short fuse. And that makes it harder to be kind and patient with those closes to us! Letting that anger out is rarely helpful. Instead, walk away and practice the 4-7-8 breathing technique. It’s really pretty simple!

  1. Breathe in for 4 seconds.
  2. Hold your breathe for 7 seconds.
  3. Exhale for 8 seconds.
  4. Repeat once or twice.

It may not seem like much, but you’ll be amazed at how much better you feel! While it may not do much to treat chronic stress in the long run, it is a quick distraction for your mind and an effective strategy to calm down quickly.

Try a Breathing Meditation

Breathing meditation techniques are very beneficial to know. They’re a very effective treatment to reduce anxiety and stress. Not only that, but they’re easy to do and you can do them anywhere…while waiting in your car, at the office, or standing in line anywhere.  The basic idea is to take a few minutes to sit (or stand) quietly, with your eyes closed (if practical) focusing your mind only on your breath. Feel the air flowing in and out of your nose and try not to think of about anything else.

It’s very effective breathing technique once you get the hang of it. It does take practice, but do give it a try.

Deep Abdominal Breathing

Get in a quiet place, place your hands on your abdomen. Inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth. Try to completely expel the air.

Alternate nostril breathing

While sitting on the floor is optimal, you can also do this in the car.

  1. Place the thumb of your right hand on your right nostril and press firmly. Take in a breathe through your left nostril.
  2. Place the ring finger of your right hand on your left nostril and press firmly. Remove your right thumb from your right nostril and slowly breathe out.

Equal breathing

Sit in a comfortable position, either at your desk or on the floor with your spine straight. Breathe in and out for equal counts, ranging from 1-4. Once you’re comfortable, you might try it for a bit longer.

Daily Breath Awareness

Schedule a 5 minute breath awareness during a quiet time of the day. Turn everything off, tune out and just focus on your natural breathing pattern. You can even do this in 1 minute breaks if that’s all you’ve got. Being conscious of your breathing will reduce anxiety, soothe emotions and even boost your energy.

Breathing exercises of any time will help to sooth frazzled nervous symptoms. I hope you’ll give these techniques a try!

Do you have any favorite breathing exercises for stress that you’d like to share? I’d love to hear them!

 

 

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10 Easy Screen Free Activities for Adults

10 easy screen free activities for adults and children during quarantine and lockdown.
During these difficult days it’s natural to want to feel connected to our friends or check in on the latest #coronavirus #covid19 updates. But one of the best things you can do for your mental health is to find some new screen free activities for adults so that you aren’t thinking about the news all the time.

Learn to use social media mindfully. Set time limits when you go online or it’s going to suck you in. I learned this the hard way yesterday when I saw some unfortunate opinions being spouted..I said something and the conversation took up room in my head for the rest of the day.

So last night I went ahead and deleted the Facebook app from my tablet for now. It’s too easy to spend too much time scrolling, seeing distressing news and opinions being shared and then getting sucked into negative conversations. Of course I still want to be informed so I bookmarked some credible news sites and am going to try to limit myself to checking in once or twice a day.

Unplugging is one of the best things you can do for your mental health, especially now. Here’s some fun screen free activities to do at home that don’t require internet access, a TV, tablet, computer or phone.

Adult Coloring Books and Other Projects

One of the best ways to be entertained and fill up the seemingly endless hours at home without using electronics is to find some hands on, creative activities to engage your hands and mind. Adult coloring books have grown in popularity recently. They’re distracting, fun, and get you out of your head.

Don’t stop there. Take out a drawing pad, your paints, puzzles or crochet supplies. If you know how to sew, create masks for your friends, family and service workers.

Read a Real Book

There’s nothing like the feel of holding an actual book. It’s timeless. And if you’re like me, chances are you might have a few unread books sitting on your bookshelf right now. Also, if you’re reading a “real” book it’s less tempting to switch to a social media app to check in. And good news, Amazon considers books “essential” and has not delayed shipping books to customers.

Journaling

All you need is a pen and paper. Journaling is a time tested way to find clarity, share your thoughts, get the noise out of your head and set intentions for yourself. Or maybe you’d like to try some creative writing, which could be a challenging process if you’re writing it down on paper than using a computer. It takes longer to write than to type for most people, so moving with the flow of your thoughts can be more challenging, but could provide some very interesting end results.

Be Present With Your Family

I know..you’ve probably been present with your family 24/7 for weeks now. But are you spending any intentional time with them? Try turning off the Netflix and video games, sit at your dining room table or living room and just talk. Discuss about what your family is going through, how you can help each other and what you plan to do when quarantine is over.

Read with your kids, cook, play games, and do crafts. When all of this is over, you’ll cherish the memories you made with them.

Start a Garden

Many people are thinking about self sufficiency now. Order some seeds and supplies and start a small garden. It could just be a small container garden to start, but it could be the beginning of a fun and relaxing life long hobby.

Take a Walk Outside

Of course this depends on where you live, but if your situation allows it, take a walk on your street. Notice the plants, trees and environment. Be mindful as you walk. Play some uplifting music on your headset if you use one. And sunshine is great for your immune system!

Call a Friend

Many of us have become accustomed to communicating digitally. But it will never compare to actually hearing the voice of a friend or loved one. A person’s voice will tell you much more about what’s going on inside of them than a carefully crafted social media update ever well. So go ahead and call someone (but you might want to send a quick text to see if they’re available first!)

Start a Vision Board

Many news outlets are reporting that life may not be returning to what we once knew any time soon. What a scary thought to contemplate! But this could also be a great time to create a vision board. Think about the lessons that you’ve learned from this crisis and how you might want to live your life differently going forward. Find some images to reflect that and create a simple vision board to inspire you.

Clean the House

Now is a great time to start going through closets and drawers. If you haven’t used an item of clothing or household appliance in awhile, put it in a donation bag. Getting rid of unwanted clutter is incredibly freeing.

Turn on Some Music and Dance

Granted, you probably need your device for this but find a fun playlist (or create your own!) If you start feeling depressed or anxious, turn up the music and dance!

Make Some Time for Self Care

Many of us are going without our customary eyebrow waxing/threading appointments, manicures, pedicures, hair cuts and coloring. But you can still make an intentional effort every day to look and feel your best. Get up and take a shower, put one some neat and comfortable clothes and some simple makeup, just as if you were still planning to go out. It will make all the difference in your mental health.

Today’s email will have some fun coloring pages for you to print out and enjoy with your family! What are some of your favorite screen free activities for adults?

How to Cope with a Chronic Pain Flare Up

 

how to cope with a chronic pain flare up

If you live with chronic pain, you’re probably all too familiar with chronic pain flare up days – when the pain that you already live with on a daily basis intensifies and completely levels you. In order to help minimize bad chronic pain flares, it’s helpful to know what triggers your physical symptoms and that can help you to cope with a chronic pain flare up.

How Does Weather Affect Pain?

When the weather changes to an extreme, whether from atmospheric changes or temperature fluctuations, it can affect certain types of chronic pain. This is especially true when your pain is related to your joints, such as with arthritis or fibromyalgia. If you start to keep a pain journal and record everything that occurred on the days when you had a flare-up, you might notice that your neck or knees hurt a lot worse when it rains or gets extremely cold. For others, extreme heat can trigger symptoms. Journaling can help you see what weather changes might be triggering you and help you to prepare for them in the future.

The Relationship Between Chronic Pain and Stress

Everyone experiences stress. Some women are living with chronic illness, multiple caregiving responsibilities, work demands and more. It’s overwhelming for sure  but we’ve got to learn how to manage it. No matter what chronic illness you’re living with, stress will probably impact your pain levels and cause flare-ups. But be assured that while we can’t eliminate stress completely, effective stress relief methods can help to reduce chronic pain.

Hormones and Chronic Pain

For women, a big flare trigger for chronic pain might be as a result of fluctuating hormonal levels throughout the month. This might be related to PMS, where your pain is worse when you are about to start your period, or you might be experiencing more pain as you head toward menopause. This is yet another reason to keep a pain journal, since it helps you to notice these patterns. The more you know, the more prepared you’ll be for these potential triggers.

Nutrition and Chronic Pain

Eating inflammatory foods such as refined carbs, and sugar can increase symptoms for many people. Others might need to eliminate dairy and gluten. They key is to know yourself and track your symptoms. Again, a journal is going to be helpful here to track your symptoms.

How to Cope With a Chronic Pain Flare Up

Despite your best intentions, chronic pain flare ups can happen at any time. If you’re having a bad day, week or month…just step back and regroup. Think about what absolutely has to get done and let the rest go for now. If you need to spend a few days in bed, that’s perfectly fine. There are things you can do every day that help you cope with your chronic pain. Some things you might already be doing, while others are good to start getting into the normal practice of. It is important that you keep trying to make changes in your life for proper chronic pain management and mental health.

Take Intentional Action to Reduce Stress

Stress has such a large impact on nearly every facet of your life, including your chronic pain. No matter where your pain comes from, stress is likely to trigger chronic pain flare ups and make everything worse. The best thing you can do is figure out what is causing your stress and work to reduce it. Limiting time with toxic people, not taking on extra tasks at work, reducing unnecessary spending and just living a more organized life are a few ways to begin to reduce stress.

Get Those Endorphins Going to Ease Chronic Pain

You may not love exercise, but exercise definitely loves you! We all know it’s great for weight management, but it can also help to promote blood flow that helps to reduce your risk for heart disease and high blood pressure. Working out also helps to release endorphins, the happy chemicals in your brain. When this happens, you not only reduce stress, but your mood will improve and you’ll probably find that you can handle your chronic pain much better. And some types of chronic pain are reduced when you are moving your body more often, like mild forms of arthritis. (This has definitely been true for me in managing the pain from cervical dystonia.)

The Danger of Using Alcohol for Pain Relief

Drinking alcohol may temporarily reduce your pain, but it is only hurting you in the long run. Not only is there a risk of addiction, but alcohol can get in the way of your sleep. Sleeping is extremely important when you are trying to cope with chronic pain, so you don’t want to get into the habit of putting a Band-aid on the pain with alcohol every day. Plus, alcohol is a depressant, so it can make your mood highs and lows a lot worse. And don’t forget how miserable a hangover can be! Finally, mixing alcohol with other meds is extremely dangerous and can lead to catastrophic consequences.

I’ve been sober for over 30 years! Read more about How Sobriety Helps Me to Cope With IBD and Mental Health 

how to cope with a chronic pain flare up

Join a Support Group for Chronic Pain

Chronic pain is serious business. It’s easy to become overwhelmed by it and let it ruin your life. Unfortunately, even those who love you might not understand what it’s like. Finding a chronic pain support group might be one of the best things that you can do for yourself, whether online or local. You’ll feel less alone and much more empowered.

The Effects of Chronic Pain on Family

Chronic pain can cause a lot of family stress including social isolation, marital conflict, and feelings of anger and resentment. Be patient with each other. Let your family know where you’re struggling and ask for help with what you need. Let them know that you appreciate their support. Keep meals and expectations simple. Don’t take on any additional responsibilities. Finally, when you’re feeling awful…just do whatever nourishes your soul. Binge on Netflix, journal, listen to music that you love, take a long bath or spend some time outside.

How do you like to regroup during a chronic pain flare up?   SaveSave

Why Self Care Is Not Selfish

Is Self Care Selfish?

I’ve seen a couple of blog posts recently trying to make a case that self care is selfish. (Not linking to them because as part of my own self care practice, I try to avoid online drama!) This got me to thinking because as a chronic illness blogger, I write about self care practices frequently. And I strongly believe that self care is not selfish…especially for moms living with chronic illness. Have a self care practice can greatly help with chronic pain management and potentially minimizing the need for unnecessary medications.

Take Care of Yourself First

If you’ve ever flown on an airplane, you’re probably familiar with the safety presentation before take off. Back in olden times this would consist of the flight attendants demonstrating the proper use of seat belts and reviewing important emergency information.

These days however, it’s usually presented as a video on your personal screen. At some point in the presentation, the use of air masks is demonstrated and it’s notable that mothers need to be reminded to put on their own masks before assisting their children.

The reason I mention this is that it’s a powerful reminder to us that we have to take care of ourselves before we can take care of everyone else and as moms, we’re very guilty of doing this far too often.

It’s all too easy to take care of everyone else around you and never get around to your own self care. Most of us were taught from an early age to put ourselves last when it comes to self care, and this is especially true for women.

Now, there’s always going to times others have to come first. For example, your newborn doesn’t have a choice and you’ll be sacrificing a lot of time, sleep, and energy in those first few weeks and months. But usually, that’s only for a temporary period.

Self care is not selfish

Self Care for Caregivers

I know that some of you are caregivers to children or have other family members who are in need of assistance. Some of you may even have a chronic condition while being caregivers to others (like me…) and help is hard to come by.

Special needs moms, sober moms and moms with chronic illness often are living with PTSD while navigating their circumstances. It’s been said that women like us have psychological profiles similar to combat war veterans.

Self care in our situation is tough, but not impossible. You have to be intentional about it and at times, you’ll just have to grab that five minutes or more for self care on the fly when the opportunity presents itself.

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Self Care Is Not Selfish

For many of us, taking care of everyone else before ourselves is something we do on autopilot. Learn to become more aware of it and stop putting yourself last all the time.

And when you’re dealing with a high intensity situations it’s certainly a tight rope walk at times. You really have to be intentional in your situation to be able to make a conscious choice about how you’re going to spend your time.

And you know what…it’s perfectly okay and necessary to put yourself first at times. The consequences of putting yourself on the back burner for months or years are very costly. After awhile, there’s really nothing left to give and your health will suffer.

It may feel good to put ourselves last, but when we routinely do it, we’re doing more harm than good to those around us. It causes us to be stressed and exhausted and that’s not pleasant for those who have to live with us! So, self care isn’t selfish!

Self Care is Having New Experiences

When you go outside what’s familiar and look for new experiences, you open yourself up to new adventures. You’ll discover new ways to do things. You’ll also find solutions that you wouldn’t have come up with any other way. As a result, you learn more about yourself and the world around you.

To begin, it’s easy to bring new experiences into your life just by looking for opportunities outside of your usual comfort zone. Try a new restaurant. Drive a different route to work. Volunteer for an organization that you wouldn’t typically support. Take a weekend road trip to someplace new and see where you end up.

Remember that your environment shapes your self-confidence, so don’t be afraid to look around at your life and make some changes. Surround yourself with people and experiences that build up your self worth and make you happy. Distance yourself from toxic friends and family members if you can.
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Self Care Is Living Mindfully

Mindful living is one of the best ways to practice self care. Often, anxious thoughts are the result of worrying about the future while sad thoughts are related to regretting the past. Mindful living helps with this mindset because it forces you to stay in the present.

Unless there’s something you can do to change your past, you’ll have to accept what’s happened in your life. Allow yourself to feel your feelings and grieve, and then move on in your own time. But if you  find that you’re frequently haunted by your past or always worrying about tomorrow, it might be a good idea to speak to a trained counselor who can help you move on.

self care is not selfish

How to Practice Self Care

Starting today, make an effort to carve out some time for yourself.  Do one thing for yourself, even if it’s just enjoying a quiet cup of coffee alone, or catching an extra 20 minutes of precious sleep. Investing time for self care matters. Do this more often and see for yourself how powerful the impact can be!

Practical Self Care Ideas

  • Go outside for a walk.
  • Do some YouTube Yoga.
  • Take a hot shower and indulge in some at home spa goodies.
  • Visit your favorite coffee shop.
  • Curl up in bed and take a solid nap.
  • Meditate for 10 minutes. (Yoga nidra is especially soothing!)
  • Find a coloring book that you love and can grab in a minute.
  • Stay off social media.
  • Listen to calming music.
  • Journal your thoughts.
  • Put on yoga pants and fuzzy socks.
  • Healthy food choices…do try to avoid alcohol.
  • Read some scripture.
  • Listen to an uplifting podcast.

Gentle reminder – if you’re a woman with chronic illness, please check with your doctor before beginning a new exercise program!

What’s your favorite way to practice self care? Leave a message in the comments below?

 

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How to Create a Gratitude Mindset

how to create a gratitude mindset

Having an attitude of gratitude means that you make it a daily intention to express thankfulness in every part of your life. Gratitude is essential to staying in the now. And it’s good for you. Gratitude can help to relieve stress, reduce anxiety and depression, and decrease overall chronic pain levels. Read on to learn how to create a gratitude mindset no matter where you are in life right now.

Why Gratitude is Important

Gratitude Relieves Stress. It’s hard to be both stressed out and grateful at the same time. While you can’t always choose your circumstances, you can choose a positive in the midst of it by practicing gratitude every day.

Gratitude Focuses You. In our technology and social media driven society, it’s very easy to to look at what others have and feel like we don’t measure up. Maybe you’re on disability and struggling to make ends meet. Or maybe your friends get to take fabulous vacations every year. Or you look at the carefully curated social updates on your feed and think that everybody has a great life except for you.

But when you embrace gratitude, it helps you to stay in the present and focus on the most important things in life, such as your family, friends, pets and community. Remember, your relationships matter far more than any material thing you might want.


Gratitude Energizes You. Without gratitude, it’s easy to slip into the victim mindset. You tell yourself things like, “I’m just destined to be a loser. I can’t have an amazing life. I’ve never had it easy, so why should I expect anything to change?”

Gratitude empowers you. Instead of being the victim in the story, you become the hero. You write the ending. You’re one who overcomes the odds to build a fulfilling life.

How to Create a gratitude mindset

More Positive Benefits of Gratitude

Gratitude is so much more than a mood booster. It can transform every aspect of your life if you’ll allow it to. Here’s some ways that gratitude can help to improve all of your relationships.

Gratitude Heals. In long term relationships, it’s easy to focus on what your spouse is doing wrong or how you feel your friend is never there for you. But harboring these types of attitudes can create a negative loop of thoughts. Maybe you think your husband is lazy. And you keep letting him know. But the more you tell him this, the less he tries. This can set a negative pattern that goes on for months.

Instead of focusing on what others should or shouldn’t doing, think about how they care for you and what you love about them. And then let them know. For example, you might say to yourself, “Yes, my husband just plops on the couch when he gets home from work. But he works so hard to provide for our family and I’m so thankful for that.”

Gratitude Strengthens. You may not realize it but when you’re grateful, it shows up in your relationships. For example, if you’re grateful for your husband, you’re likely to demonstrate this without even realizing it. You take the time to listen to listen to him and make the time to do enjoyable activities together.

When you express gratitude in your relationships, the other person feels valued and heard. As a result, they want to bless you, too. Often, this creates a continuous cycle of generosity that contributes to positive feelings on both sides.

So let your loved ones know how much you appreciate them. You can do this by thanking them for something they’ve done or who they are. For example, you might thank a friend for bringing you cookies after surgery. But you could also thank her for being so thoughtful when you were in the middle of a difficult time.

Relationships are precious and irreplaceable. Spend some intentional time letting a loved one know you care.

Create a Gratitude Mindset

How to Create a Gratitude Mindset

A gratitude journal will not change whatever’s going on in your life, but what it can do is to alter your life perspective.  A gratitude journal is a worthy investment of intentional time and effort. A gratitude journal is simply a space to record what you are thankful for.

By simply writing down the things that you’re grateful for, positive energy is fostered and increased.  While the mundane and unpleasant aspects of life will still exist, they may become dim in the light of a heightened awareness of goodness and wonder. Keeping a gratitude journal can make life burdens feel lighter, or at least more balanced.

If you’re on a mission to start journaling this year, a gratitude journal is a great place to start. With this type of journal, you can write as much or as little as you want every day, use any type of notebook, and just write down what you are grateful for.

Gratitude journals are simple by their very design and are often quicker to write in than full out personal journals. If you don’t have time to write out a full journal entry, just scribbling down some quick thanks is perfect. When you are feeling depressed or are having trouble seeing the light, go back and read your previous entries and gain a new perspective on all that is right with your life, both past and present.

5 Positive Mindset Tips to Radically Improve Your Life

Your mindset determines your course in life. Do you find yourself struggling with your personal life or at work? Does it seem like you keep trying but nothing ever pans out for you? Have you been struggling in work or in your personal life? Do you keep trying but it seems like everything you do is a waste?  If you’re starting to feel like success is completely out of reach for you, you’re wrong…read on for positive mindset tips that you can implement right away!

As a matter of fact, there’s a good chance that you’re already doing everything right! The problem isn’t what you’re doing, it’s how you’re thinking. If you want to achieve success in any sphere of life – whether it’s at home, with your family, at work or at school, the key to success is through a positive mindset.

Whether it’s through a toxic past or overwhelming life challenges, many of us are programmed to think negatively about our life situation. Perhaps we finish a project and instead of being excited about it, we worry that it isn’t good enough or are already thinking about the next thing. Or maybe we look at ourselves in the mirror and focus on our flaws, instead of our good parts.

This negative thinking permeates our lives. And while we think a little bit of self criticism might be helpful, it also holds us back. Because if all we see is negative, we easily become discouraged and are rarely successful.

Any successful entrepreneur will tell you that the key to success is believing that you can. This isn’t psychobabble, just an honest truth. When you have a positive attitude, you’re far more likely to do better in your endeavors. This is why teachers are encouraged to always put positive comments on their students’ papers, even if the child has done poorly. Likewise, schools and businesses give recognition to those who have done well, because positive thinking works.

But if you’ve spend your entire lifetime thinking negatively, retraining your brain to think more positively can be a challenge.

5 Positive Mindset Tips to Radically Improve Your life

1. Hang out with positive people.  If your tribe often brings you down, branch out a little bit. Begin to associate with positive people. Attitudes, both positive and negative, are contagious. While you can’t always spend the majority of your time with positive thinkers, or completely avoid the negative ones, you can try to budget your time and resources to be in more uplifting company. Remember, you become like the people you spend the most time with.

2. Surround yourself with positive words and images. Think about starting a vision board, or hanging some encouraging prints or even post it notes around the house. Do you remember the poster from years ago about the kitten hanging in a precarious position that said “Hang in there!” It might seem kind of silly but this kind of visual tool can be really effective. You can also look up  quotes, people, or images that you find inspiring and post them around your home or workspace. Doing this will provide you with a constant stream of positivity throughout your day.

3. Teachable spirit. Always strive to learn something new. Keep learning and growing. Read from a variety of sources, including those who have a different perspective from you. Iron sharpens iron.

4. Write your accomplishments down. At the end of each day, write down the things you’ve accomplished that day. The little things count here. Did you have a good idea or make someone smile? Just write down anything positive that happened during the day. This will help reinforce your positive thinking and set you up for a positive mindset  for tomorrow.

5. Learn lessons from your mistakes. We all screw up at times. It’s part of living. But if you’re constantly replaying the situation in your head and beating yourself up about it, take a step back. Review what happened. What can you do differently in the future?

If you take even small steps to improve your mindset, you’ll soon find success much easier to attain. And even if things don’t go the way you planned, don’t be discouraged about it. Just keep going!

How to Get Moving to Manage Stress and Anxiety

Does exercise help manage stress and anxiety? Read on to find out out simple ways to incorporate daily movement into your life. You'll experience improved physical and mental health benefits! #fitness #health #mentalhealth #selfcare

 

We all know that physical exercise is an essential part of maintaining good health. However, exercise is also a great way to improve mental health. In fact, exercise is one of the best natural stress busters around. Getting in an intense workout to release tension and get those feel-good endorphins pumping through your body is a great way to manage stress and anxiety. But if you’re new to the idea of exercise and the idea of working out makes you cringe, I encourage you to give it a good try. Once you see how much a good workout can help to relieve stress, you’ll be far more motivated to make it an ongoing habit.

Is Exercise Good for Stress and Anxiety?

A good workout releases endorphins, which are chemicals in the brain that function as natural painkillers. Endorphins are an immediate mood booster and not only that, they also help you sleep better! A good night’s sleep will also reduce stress and improve anxiety. Exercise will energize and refresh your body, leaving you feeling great during your workout and afterwards. Feeling better all around will help to reduce the physiological and psychological symptoms of anxiety.

Anxiety can quickly consume your thoughts and without intervention, can lead to panic attacks.. Engaging in physical activity that you find both challenging and enjoyable is a great way to get distracted from obsessive, harmful thinking. You’re literally burning the anxiety away.  While your body is working, your mind gets a rest as you focus on something else besides what you’re worrying about.

How to Choose the Right Workout For You

Now, you’ll want to be sure to pick an exercise that you enjoy and isn’t a chore, or it might make your anxiety even worse. We all look at the perfectly toned bodies on social media and think that we need to do CrossFit to achieve that level of fitness. If CrossFit is your thing, then go for it. But if you hate the very idea of it, you don’t have to do it. Find what you love and makes you feel good! It might be as simple as a walk, gardening, a swim in the pool, or some gentle yoga. Do you you can and don’t compare yourself others. Good exercise is simply about getting your heart pumping and your mind off worries.

You don’t need a gym membership or expensive equipment to get started. Give a boost to your everyday activities and you’ll feel much healthier. Anything that you do during the day can be an opportunity to strengthen your mind and body. Set a simple goal of more physical activity will help you to feel more accomplished and boost your confidence. These are both really beneficial at kicking anxiety to the curb, since most anxiety is rooted in inner conflict.

Walking Outside

A walk outside is one of the best things you can do for your physical and mental health. It helps promotes more neural activity in the brain. It is believed that blue skies help to relax the brain. The fresh air that the brain receives from outside promotes circulation, which can increase your cognitive abilities.

If you’re just starting out, put on a pair of sneakers and just go for a walk. Walking is a simple workout that’s accessible to most people. It’s low impact and you don’t need a lot of fancy equipment or special training to do it. Just get out there and do it. Start out with a simple stroll around the block after dinner. It can be as easy or as challenging as you want it to be. After a few weeks you’ll be up to longer walks, picking up the pace, or even tackling a small hill.

Health Benefits of Hiking

We could all stand to get outside more. Hiking is a fantastic cardio workout that can be adapted to any fitness level. It lowers your risk of heart disease, and can help to improve your blood sugar and blood pressure levels. Not only that, but as a weight bearing exercise it will boost bone density and increase strength in your core, glutes, quads, hamstrings and hips which are essential to optimum mobility as we age.

Yoga for Stress Relief

Yoga and meditation are enormously popular and with good reason. They help to heal and relax mind, body and spirit. A regular yoga practice will also help you to incorporate breathing exercises (pranayama) that you can use any time of the day. Breathing exercises are a fantastic way to reduce stress and anxiety and you can use them no matter where you are! When the body releases stress hormones, the parasympathetic nervous systems activatesm which results in rapid breathing. When you get your breathing under control, it will go a long way to alleviating stress and anxiety.

Yoga will also help you to feel more grounded and confident, which you can then take with you into every area of your life. Any yoga practice will help you to develop those important core muscles. Improving the core muscles will naturally give you better posture, which will help you to project confidence.

There’s lots of great free yoga on YouTube. These are a few of my favorites:

Sleepy Santosha (for chronic illness)

Caroline Williams (worried about Christian yoga? Read why I practice without guilt!)

Yoga With Adriene (fun!)

Yin Yoga with Kassandra (yin is one of the most relaxing forms of yoga you can do…check it out!)

Weight lifting

Weight lifting can increase the production of testosterone. This hormone is known to inhibit the production of cortisol and regulate hormonal levels. The body also releases a surge of endorphins during a vigorous exercise. Weight lifting tones and improves physique. This can also help to improve self confidence for many women. It’s particularly important for women as we age to keep our bones and connective tissue strong, so that we can continue with daily tasks of living.

You don’t have to go to the gym to incorporate weights into your life. I like to use light weights during walk aerobics and a resistance band. That helps me to stay relatively toned. Do I look like a CrossFitter? No…but that’s okay!

How to Stay Motivated to Exercise

As I mentioned earlier, the most important thing is to find something that you love and that is realistic to your lifestyle. Then, start to visualize the results that you want, like improved overall physical and mental health. Doing this will help to carry you through on the days that you struggle with the idea of getting yourself moving.

If you’re having a rough or busy day, remember that a little bit of movement is better than none. A simple stretches, a walk around the yard with your dogs or even parking a little further away from the store still count as healthy movement.

 

5 Tips to Overcome Negative Thinking

 

5 TIPS TO OVERCOME NEGATIVE THINKING

Low self-esteem is the major cause of negative thinking. Negative thinking can lower your self esteem even further creating a vicious cycle where you’re constantly feeling bad about yourself.

But the good news is that you don’t have to stay in this rut. You can overcome the vicious cycle of negative thinking and low self esteem. When you’re able to overcome negative thinking, your self esteem will naturally improve. You’ll boost your self confidence and feel far more optimistic about your life, no matter what you might be going through.

If you’re ready to break the cycle of negativity, you need to understand these essential truths.

Recognize Negative Thinking Patterns

Your actions always begin with your thoughts. If you think you’re hopelessly overweight and destined to stay that way, then it doesn’t matter how many diet books you buy or blogs you read, you’re still going to struggle. The fact is that you’ll stay overweight because you haven’t changed your mindset.

If you want to change something in your life, you’ll have to change your thoughts first. Instead of thinking that you’re destined to be overweight, work on changing your thinking. Try saying to yourself that you’re in control of what you eat and how much. Doing this changes the story you’re telling yourself. You just went from the victim in this story to the victor.

Change Your Mental Outlook

You are the only one with the power to change your mental soundtrack. Just because you have some negative thoughts doesn’t mean you have to listen to them. You alone have the power to change your focus.

Instead of concentrating on the terrible day you had, start thinking about a simple pleasure – a serendipity – that you’ve been anticipating like getting to change into your yoga pants or flannel pants tonight or hearing your son’s laughter during a silly bedtime game. By focusing on what’s positive, you’re teaching yourself to let go of negative thoughts.

Remember Garbage In, Garbage Out

It’s hard to stay positive if you’re constantly consuming negative information. Watch your social media consumption. If you really want to change your negative self-talk, then you have to focus on consuming good stuff. You want to read and watch content that lifts you up. Not only will you feel better, you’ll notice that your self-talk is more optimistic when you focus on the good.

Practice Mindfulness

Stay aware of your present environment and what’s going on around you, whether you’re at home, at work or out running errands. It can be very easy to get sidetracked by negative thoughts if you don’t stay present. If you’ve found your mind going off on auto pilot, take a minute to focus on your breath and refocus. No judgment, just regroup.

Practice Positive Affirmations

What you say about yourself will become your truth. That’s why it’s really helpful to practice positive affirmations every day. Begin by looking in the mirror and telling yourself something like “I’m in charge of how I feel today and I choose happiness.” When you speak these positive affirmations out loud, they’ll begin to affect how you talk to yourself and how you live out your life.

Everyone struggles with negative thinking at some point in their life. The important thing to remember is not to beat yourself up when you’re in a mental rut. Accept that you had a negative thought, then just push it away and replace it with a positive one.

No matter how ingrained your negative thinking patterns might be, you can overcome it. Think of it as building new mental muscles. It will be hard at first but just like any other good habit or intention, it will become ingrained if you stay with it.

How to overcome negative thinking #mentalhealth #selflove

 

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