Learning to live without anxiety is like anything where we have to submit to the insecurity for greater gain. Do you remember the thoughts that crossed your mind as you were challenging yourself to do something you had never done before? When you are getting on that bike day after day thinking I don't want to do this because I am already bandaged and bruised from the day before, yet you push through because you have a drive that is greater than the fear. Hopefully that example works for you if not try to think of something that you have done where you had doubt and fear that could have immobilized you but it didn't stop you. Part of overcoming anxiety and the debilitating effects of it are to not giving nurturance to the specific negativistic thoughts that cross your mind, but looking to the greater purpose of things. Do you nurture your doubtful thoughts or do you face them and move through them just as you got on that bike or the back of that horse. Anxiety can be the desire for control that really gives a feeling of being out of control- so work on giving up control for the moment for the greater purpose of getting a sense of control over your life and gaining a sense of satisfaction in your life.

In what ways does anxiety effect your life?

As you begin to address the effect that anxiety/stress have over your life, I encourage you to start by listing different arenas of your life and how they are effected.

For instance

Family

Friendships

Health

Work

Spirituality

Then clarify the ways that stress and anxiety effect those different arenas of your life. For instance

Family- I no longer go to many of son's soccer games because the stress is too great.
Health- I have acid reflux that is contributed by my stress.
Friendships- I am embarrassed by somethings and I can't face it therefore. I don't call my friend anymore.
Work- I am always waiting for the other shoe to drop as if everything I do is wrong.
Spirituality- I am unable to feel a sense of connection and peace in my life.

This is not a way of putting salt in the wound but as a way of taking an honest inventory of yourself. Then lets begin to work on recapturing some of the aspects of life that you feel are compromised or lost as a result of stress and anxiety. When anxiety and stress are at there worst there are very few pockets of refuge but as we get better those pockets multiply. So it is important to see where we are and take a snapshot so we can see progress as it happens. Anxiety Resolver the smartphone app is designed to help point you towards assessing and identifying improvements along the way. Feelings are often difficult to assess they are not logical by nature so if that is your measuring stick we are setting ourselves up to miss some of the improvements that maybe happening, but it is fundamental to look at everything. Paying attention to ourselves assessing where we are at and then doing more work to continue to break the patterns. So make a list which you could do and then monitor in the journal section of the Anxiety Resolver app or just in a journal of your own. Stop yourself in the midst of these patterns of behavior or interaction and try to identify something that you can do different. For Instance

Family- I could get some exercise because that helps me to feel less anxious and then call my friend who i know goes to all the games and sit with them.
Health- I can learn to journal about all of my anxieties develop new ways of working through anxiety instead of accumulating it and then allowing it to take a toll on my health.
Friendships- Am I making a mountain out of a mole hill? Often anxiety causes us to make things worse than they are and we view ourselves and situations in a critical way. It would be important to start a conversation with the friend that you have been avoiding, possibly wading into the waters with a message on facebook or a text.
Work- I must list all of the things that I have accomplished in each given day or week, work is constantly moving so I have to make sure to give myself credit where credit is do.
Spirituality- Stepping back from everything in life is an important step so I have to find a pocket or set time aside to not thing about everything that I have to do- possibly starting with listening to relaxing music on Anxiety Resolver, or looking at pictures of my family.

None of these are the solution but momentum is important even if it comes in small successes. Anxiety makes everything seem the same, but its not so seeing stressors in different ways and beginning to problem solve will break Anxiety down and help you to resolve your anxiety.

Second Tutorial on "how to use Anxiety Resolver" coming this week

visit  anxietyresolverapp.com

Anxiety Resolver by Recovering Hope Project, LLC.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/anxiety-resolver/id777678167?mt=8

Local social worker creates 'Anxiety Resolver' app - Local News - Herald-Standard

Local social worker creates 'Anxiety Resolver' app - Local News - Herald-Standard

How Flappy Birds can help with anxiety!

I was introduced a couple of weeks ago by my son to Flappy Birds, typically I can set games aside. But with Flappy Birds I was instantly hooked and I knew it. I get frustrated as to how this seemingly easy game was proving me wrong over and over again. So I have to seen through my time playing parallels to life and the management of anxiety.

1. That perception is very important, sometimes we perceive things as being easier than they are and other times more difficult. In the case of flappy birds I underestimated the complexity of the game therefore thinking that it must be something wrong with me. Fortunately this is just a game that I can turn off- ha ha, but in other aspects of life it's not that easy. But sometimes we psych ourselves out by believing that things are more difficult than they are.

2. You have to focus on you first, not what's ahead. I failed miserably focusing on how to get over the next obstacle, over and over again trying to fit myself through that seemingly large space.

3. That sometimes wanting to break my record even though I am only on the second tube, brings me to messing it up and dying. My anxiety is "gotta break my record" "gotta get to my record and beyond", "gotta catchup with the kid's records". These thoughts get me no where because they prevent we from focusing on the right now and what I am capable of doing in the present. So I have learned to modify by seeing progress in groups of 10. Manageable and measurable steps.

4. That  if you allow the ups and downs to control you that you are more likely to fail. But if you just focus  maintaining a comfortable pace within yourself that you will succeed in managing anxiety.

Here are a couple of thoughts about how we successfully manage anxiety, if you would like more idea check out

anxietyresolverapp.com
Or
Purchase the app at

Anxiety Resolver by Recovering Hope Project, LLC

HTTPS://itunes.apple.com/us/app/anxiety-resolver/id777678167?mt=8

Observer-Reporter | Waynesburg social worker develops anxiety app

Observer-Reporter | Waynesburg social worker develops anxiety app

Cabin Fever

The phenomenon where people begin to feel constricted by there environment- people the Walls. No new information being brought in, no new experiences, no time lost, feeling that it is all the same. Thoughts and emotions begin to circle with no outlet and as they circulate they begin to become trapping, sometimes to extreme degrees unable to disrupt the patterns of thoughts. We all have a system for getting things done- but we typically are not prepared for making changes in the way we do things when winter hits- it's somewhat unexpected but we cannot assume the same routine, that is typically effective when we are out of the house more often will work. Our typical routine involves greater activity and interaction. So cabin fever or having a sense that the walls are closing in on you can be a wakeup call that you need to make adjustments and try and plug into some different areas of creativity and connection. Different being the optimal word, take time to write friends that you haven't spoken too. Listen to music, skype a friend, make sure that you break your typical routine and try and connect with people. This is a psychological phenomenon that is brought on by limiting environments so we must find healthy ways to expand our minds in the face of constricting environments. There is a rationale as to why they place people in solitary confinement it's because left to our devices without real connection to others we can become self destructive so take new information in try new things and connect with others. It may feel that thoughts start to bang of the inside of your head too much clutter and not enough action or movement. So take steps towards shaking it up, turn on some music and dance around the house! Just a thought!

To do list - breaking down expectations

Breaking Down Unrealistic Expectations

1. Making to do lists- this is a commonsensical approach to your day,week, and year. Make sure that you keep track of things accomplished in order to give yourself credit. If there are lofty goals that you have in mind figure out how to break them down into manageable portions. If i want to become less frustrated, what are somethings that cause me the greatest frustration? How do i begin to deal with them differently on a daily, weekly basis?

2. Whose expectations am I trying to live up to? Are they mine or some assumed or preconceived notion of who and what I need to be. Is it my spouse, my parent, my boss,my children, who? This question may not be able to be answered right away but begin to recognize that you are internalizing messages from around you that are contributing to the pressure that you feel. Are you able to truly satisfy that person and have the expectations been clearly given to you or are they your perception of what is expected. The problem with all of us is that unclear expectations from others is fertile ground for anxiety often confused and left feeling that I am never good enough.

3. Try and learn to like yourself, give yourself the same consideration that you may give to someone else as a friend or family member. Learn to laugh at yourself, life is constantly changing so we must give ourselves room to laugh at how sometimes we may struggle,as much as we may not like it -to struggle is to be human.


Hopefully these are helpful to you today!