Anxiety
In today’s world, the term “anxiety” is heard quite often. This is because everyone experiences anxiety and feeling some anxiety is normal. In fact, anxiety can even be beneficial to us because it can keep us motivated as well as alert our minds to certain risks. Even though anxiety or worrying can be problematic, there are ways to manage it. If you feel that you may need help managing your anxiety, you might want to consider receiving coaching! Usually, anxiety becomes unmanageable when we are under stress and our body is overwhelmed. This is why self-care is extremely important for the general public and essential for Highly Sensitive People and Empaths. HSPs and Empaths make up 20 percent of the population. IF you think you may be one, check out this page. Below is a tips sheet for reducing anxiety. Read on below.
What is self-care?
Life can get very busy and you might find yourself putting so much on your plate, that you forget about doing the little things to take care of your own self. When you start to neglect your own personal care, you might not be able to put your best foot forward in all of the other tasks that you are involved in. That is why self-care is so important. Self-care is all the things that we do to intentionally take care of ourselves. A big part of self-care is paying attention to our emotional, spiritual, mental, and energetic levels. If we are in tune with these different parts of ourselves, we will be better able to make sure that we are not stretching ourselves too thin or going into debt with our energy levels. It is important to remember that self-care is in no way selfish! You should not feel guilty for engaging in self-care or doing anything that allows you to feel less stressed and have a more positive outlook on life.
What are ACEs?
Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are traumatic events that occur in childhood. Some examples of these could be experiencing abuse or neglect, having a family member attempt suicide, witnessing/experiencing violence in their home life, witnessing a family member suffer from mental health, experiencing substance abuse from a parent, or anything that can challenge a child’s sense of safety. Traumatic experiences do not have to be big events, they can also be small experiences such as getting into a car accident, or stung by a bee. It is all how the person experienced the event. ACEs can result in toxic stress, which then could negatively impact brain development and affect how children learn, make decisions, and respond to stress. ACEs also tend to lead the children going on to experience their own mental health or substance abuse problems later in life. It is very common for children who experience ACEs to develop depression in adulthood. Additionally, ACEs result in children having a difficult time being able to develop their own healthy relationships with others. Due to all of the negative effects of ACEs, it is important to remember that ACEs can be prevented by ensuring that children and families are living in stable and safe environments. If you witness a child or family who may be suffering, do your best to try to get them the help that they need! We are all in this together to help others who are struggling and ensure that children are growing up with the best chance to be happy, healthy, and safe!
Anxiety and Stress effects on the body.
Even though you may not realize it, stress and anxiety can negatively affect your body, behavior, and mood. When you feel stressed, you might find yourself experiencing headaches, stomach and sleeping problems, fatigue, chest pain, and even a change in sex drive. Additionally, stress can also impact the different systems of the body. For example, when our bodies are stressed our muscles start to tense up. When our muscles are too tense for periods of time, other reactions in the body might be triggered and our muscles might be in a constant state of guardedness, which may lead to other problems. Additionally, stress can negatively impact our respiratory systems. When we are stressed out, we might engage in shortness of breath or rapid breathing. This is generally not problematic but could pose a potential problem for people with underlying respiratory conditions. The cardiovascular system can also be impacted by stress. When we experience stress, our heart rates and blood pressure tend to elevate. These elevated levels can take a toll on the body and create an increased risk for strokes, heart attacks, and hypertension. Stress can also have an impact on our bowel movements. When we are stressed, food may move through the body differently than it usually does, which can lead to diarrhea or constipation. Those are all ways that stress can affect your body, but it can also affect your mood by allowing you to feel more irritable, depressed, overwhelmed, restless, and less motivated and focused. Stress can also impact your daily behaviors. For example, when you are feeling stressed, you might start to over or undereat, exercise less, engage in angry outbursts, withdraw socially, or even misuse drugs or alcohol. All of the ways that stress can negatively affect our minds, bodies, and behaviors can seem a little scary, but do not worry because there are so many different ways to manage your stress and anxiety!
Tips to deal with anxiety
The tips you will find here are for every level of yourself. We need to experience self-care holistically because if one area is off it will affect the other areas. For example, if we do not eat or sleep well our anxiety will increase. Everything starts with energy so doing energy hygiene practices is super important. I listed some ideas for you in the tips. If you find implementing these strategies are difficult, reach out for some 1:1 coaching. If you are more interested in groups we have Self Expression Art classes (a collage art process to awaken your soul, no experience necessary) online, one self-pace course, and ongoing live groups, once a month so we can witness and support one another. There is also a Parenting Course and a Therapist Self-Care and Spiritual Awakening class. Whatever you choose, I am confident I can help you get your anxiety under control. For 20 plus years, I have helped individuals and families manage their anxiety and stress through mental health counseling and coaching. Click here for the tips for managing anxiety.