Gratitude

Do you know how to be truly grateful? I didn’t I looked at everything with a negative lens. It wasn’t until I started to keep a gratitude journal that I started to change the way I looked at everything. You can type it on your computer, get a notebook, legal pad, it doesn’t matter. I kept mine under my pillow. Every night I would list the small things that happened today that I was thankful for. It works very fast! Instead of thinking of all you have to do everyday, change it to what you get to do.

I am grateful for:
• Money for groceries
• The skills to cook a wonderful meal
• A healthy family
• Nice clothes to wash
• Happy children to bathe and tuck in
• Parents we can call and ask their advice
• A family to take care of

Makes you look at everything differently.

Feeling Overwhelmed

Having anxious tendencies to begin with is hard enough. Add in feeling scattered and drained and it is a recipe for disaster.

For me yesterday was definitely a Monday. I started off with not having my morning prepared, the alarm didn’t go off, needed to get the kids stuff together, hit traffic and a rough day at work. By last night I was drained and feeling stressed out.

Becoming organized and routine oriented has become a priority for me. I have morning and evening routines in place as well as packing everything the night before. I carry a notepad and pen to keep track of all that I have to do the next day. I don’t know about you, but there are not enough hours in my day. I have thought I could get a lot more done if I just stopped sleeping. I don’t think that is the best option though.

What can you do today to take some of the pressure off tomorrow? Lay out your clothes tonight, pack your lunch, load the car? Make just one adjustment and see how it works for you. We can't change everything overnight. Tiny steps! The less stress you have over the little things, you can work on the big ones.

How is your Breathing????

One big contributor to my panic attacks was my breathing. Sounds kind of silly that that can cause a panic attack, but it is true.

Let's look at how we breathe. Do you take nice long deep breaths, or are they very shallow to get the job done. I find that the majority of the time mine are very shallow short breaths. Sometimes when I am nervous I tend to hold my breath. Sit for just one minute and breathe normally, close your eyes so you can focus on your breathing style.

Many days I would find that my breathing pattern would cause something to go awry in my body, an whoosh the panic would begin. It took me a few years to realize that this was one of my triggers. Along with the anxiety I developed chronic congestion, this caused me to breathe through my mouth and also caused me to alter my breathing.

So how did you do? Let's try a simple breathing exercise, doesn't take long. I use this during the day when I am feeling anxious. Close your eyes, deep breath in for 10 seconds, breathe out for 10 seconds. Repeat 10 times. This breath should fill your whole diaphragm.

This week try this when you are feeling stressed, anxious or panicked. Don't think about anything else for 1 minute. The road to recovery is all about changing your patterns.

Thinking Back

As I go though my daily routines I often think back to when the Anxiety was at its worst. Just simple things like driving was the most stressful situation.

There is a road near my house that is a 2 lane road that curves around. I can still see myself driving, judging every car that was coming close. If they swerved what would I do? I think that road is about 2 miles. I would white knuckle that drive and hold my breath the whole way. I was so scared.

One night my husband and I were driving to dinner and he decided to go that route. There we are driving along he has the stereo blasting, singing along and driving all relaxed. How could he do that? Those were the people that I was consumed with. What made them different? Why did they not feel the way I did. Why couldn't I be like them?

The other day I took that road home, I have avoided it for a long time. I suddenly found myself with the windows down, the stereo on, and I was singing along, as relaxed as I could be. Now, this didn't all happen overnight. It was a long fight.

Have you had experiences like this? I have been through it all. Keep an eye on my daily blog & feel free to check out my website & join our community at www.thehatchedegg.com - You are not alone!

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