Tags
Allow a 6 year old to teach you about risk and personal growth. Enjoy
20 Thursday Aug 2015
Posted Fear, Imagination, Inspiration, Life Mastery Skills, Resilience, The Optimism Corner
inTags
Allow a 6 year old to teach you about risk and personal growth. Enjoy
30 Tuesday Jun 2015
Posted Emotion School, Inspiration, Life Mastery Skills, Motivation, Quotes, Resilience, The Power to Do, Wellness
in17 Wednesday Jun 2015
Posted Life Mastery Skills, Mindfulness, Resilience
inA friend of mine had two hummingbirds fly into her house the other day. She said they had to wear themselves out before she could scoop them up and set them free. There’s a message in that isn’t there. Imagine how much more energy we could have, how much more creative we could be, how much more love we could offer…
Sending love from the beautiful Southwest 🙂
Barbara
25 Monday May 2015
Posted Emotion School, Life Mastery Skills, Mindfulness, Resilience, Wellness
inStep Off the Merry-Go-Round
How many times have you heard the idiom, “ Get me off of this merry-go-round!”?
It’s an expression that conjures up a familiar, commonly shared image of someone “mindlessly” attempting to run faster than their legs can carry them; often but not always, directed by someone other than the person who is doing the real running. Around and around we go, doing, doing, doing; believing we don’t have a choice and resenting the demands placed on our time that keep us from doing what we think we would “rather” be doing.
One mother complains, “I don’t even have time to go to the bathroom.” A college student says, “It’s like being in prison; my time is not my own; if I’m not studying, I’m working, and if I’m not working, I’m studying.” A grandfather says, “I want to write my family history, but my kids count on me to babysit…
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25 Saturday Apr 2015
Posted Emotion School, Life Mastery Skills, Mindfulness, Resilience
inA couple of days ago I had the opportunity to walk this beautiful labyrinth and I learned an important lesson. If my eye was on the goal…that is reaching the middle, I got dizzy and frustrated; but when I was fully present and kept my eye on the path, I saw the beautiful rose petals laid beneath my feet along the way. I smelled the honeysuckle and heard the song of the birds.
Sending love,
Barbara
23 Saturday Aug 2014
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09 Saturday Aug 2014
Posted Emotion School, Life Mastery Skills, Mindfulness, Pioneers of Peace, Quotes, Resilience
inThe Criteria of Emotional Maturity
by
William C. Menninger
The ability to deal constructively with reality
The capacity to adapt to change
A relative freedom from symptoms that are produced by tensions and anxieties
The capacity to find more satisfaction in giving than receiving
The capacity to relate to other people in a consistent manner with mutual satisfaction and helpfulness
The capacity to sublimate, to direct one’s instinctive hostile energy into creative and constructive outlets
The capacity to love
15 Tuesday Apr 2014
“The first thing to remember is to start where we are. How could we start where we are not? And yet, how often we try to start way ahead of ourselves. That leads nowhere. But wherever we are, help is there. Life provides all the help we need. If we trust and look for it, we shall find it.” ~Brother David Steindl-Rast
07 Friday Mar 2014
I came across this talk today and am compelled to share it.
To all of my clients who follow this blog… this is homework 🙂 Please take the time to watch it.
02 Sunday Mar 2014
Posted Emotion School, Life Mastery Skills, Mindfulness, Resilience, Wellness
inTags
Anxiety, Emotions, excessive anxiety and worry, Generalized Anxiety, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Stress, Stress management, Worry
Philosopher’s Path
Kyoto, Japan
Don’t let your mind bully your body into believing it must carry the burden of its worries. Astrid Alauda
Dear Friends, do you suffer from anxiety?
Did you know that 3.1% (6.8 million people) of Americans suffer from Generalized Anxiety Disorder?
According to the DSMlV you have Generalized Anxiety (GAD) if:
A. At least 6 months of “excessive anxiety and worry” about a variety of events and situations. Generally, “excessive” can be interpreted as more than would be expected for a particular situation or event. Most people become anxious over certain things, but the intensity of the anxiety typically corresponds to the situation.
B. There is significant difficulty in controlling the anxiety and worry. If someone has a very difficult struggle to regain control, relax, or cope with the anxiety and worry, then this requirement is met.
C. The presence for most days over the previous six months of 3 or more (only 1 for children) of the following symptoms:
1. Feeling wound-up, tense, or restless
2. Easily becoming fatigued or worn-out
3. Concentration problems
4. Irritability
5. Significant tension in muscles
6. Difficulty with sleep
D. The symptoms are not part of another mental disorder.
E. The symptoms cause “clinically significant distress” or problems functioning in daily life. “Clinically significant” is the part that relies on the perspective of the treatment provider. Some people can have many of the aforementioned symptoms and cope with them well enough to maintain a high level of functioning.
F. The condition is not due to a substance or medical issue
-DSMlV
Does any of that sound familiar to you?
Anxiety is a physical condition. We experience it in association with the emotion fear.
When we find ourselves in situations we don’t believe we can handle, our brain interprets that as a danger to our survival and immediately releases hormones such as adrenalin and cortisol to prepare us to fight, flight, or freeze.
Those hormones cause chemical changes in our body that translate into the symptoms of anxiety. Think for a moment what it feels like when adrenalin is rushing through your veins.
In our busy lives, the demands on our attention and time are extreme. It is natural to feel like what we are asked to do is more than we can handle. Feeling like we “can’t handle it” is the most common cause of GAD.
“It’s not enough to be busy; so are the ants. The question is: what are we busy about?” Henry David Thoreau
We each have a different capacity for how much we can handle.
Do you ever feel like your plate is too full? There are times in our lives such as when we are parenting small children, or going to school while working that can make us feel like we can’t do it all.
Other times we have chosen to do too many things or accepted assignments we really don’t have time to do, or may not even know how to do.
It really gets complicated when ALL of the above apply.
Often our perception of what we have to do is the culprit.
If we believe:
... we must be perfect and always have the approval of others
or,
… demand that others always do “the right thing”
or
…believe life must be easy or something is wrong
… then we will have anxiety because those along with many other beliefs are not based in truth. We can’t “handle” a fantasy.
Fact #1 Nobody is perfect. It is impossible to have everyone’s approval.
Fact #2 The only person we can control is ourselves.
Fact #3 The nature of life is change.
What Can You Do if You Have Anxiety?
If you have struggled with anxiety, you are in good company. Here is a list of well known people who have or had anxiety.
I would love to hear how anxiety has impacted you in your life. Your comments help me, help you. I along with fellow readers would welcome any tips you have discovered along the way that have helped in managing your anxiety.
Until next, time may you find your cup half full 🙂
Love, Barbara