Stress and worry Archives - Page 2 of 3 - Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Experience Your Deeper Joy Instincts

Instincts help you out. You’ve probably heard of the Joy of Missing Out (JOMO). During the global lockdown, we went with our better instincts to make decisions, as no one knew for sure immediately what next steps to take.

Deeper joy is unleashed here in my Sunday brunch experience. Onion pizza recipe below 👇

watermelon mint salad.

Some healthy outcomes during that time were that a lot of people grew, became more resilient, and today are still reaping the benefit of becoming better versions of themselves. That’s something to celebrate! 🎂

Even though “missing out” wasn’t something we chose, that’s what most of us did to stay safe and healthy in the world.

But tell that same story logic to a child or a teenager (…or the child still in us 🧸), and missing out on events can be devastating. But it doesn’t have to be!… and below I share two ways that “missing out” can be the biggest blessing for you and us all.

If our happiness is based on external situations, and not on ourselves, we can suffer sadness and disappointment.

Instead, inside us, we have the peaceful joy instincts built-in that today we may or may not have developed fully yet like we would in learning a skill.

…Wherever you are on your journey now is great. You are exactly where you’re meant to be, and you have a choice to replace what doesn’t work best.

And from what I’ve experienced, I know those deeper instincts are there to help us if we’re ready. They give us more peace and steer us to our best life. And I wish I tapped into my inner joy instincts sooner in life.

Feeling inner joy gives us better control over our lives and our feelings in situations we can’t always control dealing with specific people, places, and things we encounter.

And with practice, we can bring out our inner joy and turn it into a daily healthy habit we apply (replacing our original “happy” lens that doesn’t always help us).

I know this all too well from my younger days when I got excited about going to parties that sometimes got out-of-hand… a little too many Animal House-type parties that I wish I could take back now (…and go figure I became a professional party food event planner as my first career to round it all out).

During those immature pre-school graduation days, I wasn’t in control of my life on the inside. I lived for the outward happiness feelings that put me on an emotional roller coaster when situations didn’t go as planned.

And as I grew up… and as you and I are growing now, we naturally grow out of what we already experienced that wasn’t good for us whatever that looked like… and maybe even a bit relieved that we’re past those years and times… grateful we’ve “been there, done that” and not going backward.

For me today and maybe you too… happy fun is re-defined from a new lens of daily joy.

Inner joy is more freeing than external happiness that’s fleeting.

It doesn’t mean giving up on fun because that would be no fun! But coming up with new ways… that’s what I do anyway to please my Enneagram 7. We tend to get our enthusiasm from fun. That’s one thing I hope to never change.

…And that motivated me to set out a fun day (Sunday) anti-inflammatory donut table while Nadal showed his sustainable match win, and the Queen her Jubilee and longevity.

You don’t usually see donuts on an anti-inflammatory menu, but these ACV cinnamon honey ones are without added sugars.

…While creating a menu and daily food joy like this is nice, it doesn’t make or break the day. That’s an example of finding joy in the moment and then movin’ on.

And that keeps the inner peace, and naturally feeling good in daily calm living. Good grows. And I don’t mess with good growth! 🌱

And if you’re into growing, want new experiences, and are ready to tap more into your deeper sides and joy instincts if you’re not already… or still wondering why that matters or how it’s different than what you could be doing…

Here are a few more differences…

By developing your joy instinct by filling up your moments with your peaceful and calmer desires, you feel less disappointed moment-to-moment (or not disappointed at all) when events don’t happen and situations don’t pan out.

And ultimately, you’re in deeper control of yourself, thoughts, and feelings… and that’s super powerful to your life. Finding deeper instincts feels like a superpower when you discover it later in life.

Finding that life-giving abundant space inside is a gift. I think so, anyway.

And experiencing that chosen path opens you to a whole bunch of other great things you pick up along the way.

…Like, I rid of the worry habit. Worry is helpful until it isn’t. It helps when it gets you to think, and those thoughts help you to initiate solutions or a new way to look at a solution.

But staying in the habit of worry is not helpful or healthy. So one day in the bookstore (…remember those?), I picked up The Power of Positive Thinking written by the late-Norman Vincent Peale, and read the “Worry” chapter in the self-help book.

It starts like this… “Worry is just a very bad mental habit. And I can change any habit with God’s help.”

I read that chapter over and over again and practiced the 10-point steps that literally transformed my life of worry in less than a decade. That sounds like a long time, but most great things take time.

And at the time, I loved it so much that I went out and bought a few additional book copies and gave them to my co-workers around me. And I’m passing it on to you here. Hopefully, you can read it…

How to Stop Worrying Chapter (Steps 1-6)

The Power of Positive Thinking Book — How to Stop Worrying Chapter Continued (Steps 7-10)

So then I carried less unhealthy worry turmoil, and I worried less about my workers as they knew what to do. 😉

So leaning into joy has perks and side benefits.

…I hear myself talking about joy like it needs to be sold as a natural drug, haha. And sometimes it does feel that way in a good way!

Two cool perks about stepping into your inner joy are:

Feeling contentment – and not getting emotional when things pan out or don’t. Being free of this feels relaxing, stress-free, and breathes in more joy. Back in the day, when we didn’t know any better, we would describe this as, “you’re so mellow.”

With contentment, you feel more peace and get more done without the thought-feeling drama.

Your creativity – is the gateway to your highest purpose, second or next act, and clarity with what you want to do with your life if you’re not feeling fulfilled with the one you’re in. You can unleash greater imagination, gifts, and buried talents. There’s a treasure trove in you. And it costs nothing to discover what’s inside. Not only can it bring new ideas and save you from spending money, but also save you from losing time and unnecessary headaches.

The two C’s can be a ticket to your best life today. They can make the difference or be your launching pads to a “new life” in a world of uncertainty and give you a peaceful escape from your job, especially if you’re not happy there.

If you’re looking for more joy in your life, be encouraged that the way you started out and the path you’re on doesn’t have to be the one you stay on.

And choosing to trust and lean into your healthy natural instincts is easy, light, and aligned when you pick the channels meant for you.

Whole Wheat Onion Pizza

Course lunch

Cuisine American

Ingredients

whole wheat flour
red onions
white or light cheese (optional)

Instructions

Make the pizza crust.
Bake the onions beside the crust about half way through.
Add the cheese to pizza crust and add onions on top.

Bear Chronotype At 9-5 Work

transition cherry blossom blooms — Cherry blossom blooms on the Tidal Basin is a reminder that every day is fleeting.

If you like animals, you like chronotype descriptions, where the Bear Chronotype is the one that 9-5 workers like. More on chronotypes below that are meant to help you develop better sleep habits.

But they can also be telltale for work types too..

In DC that I’m familiar with, it’s a transient area where many flock to the area for work. And where there’s an annual reminder of seasons and transition with the spring cherry blossom show.🌸

The common 9-5 job exists but often are loose hours as most work around the clock. Especially since WFH has become LIFE where real life vs. virtual world digital collides and you have more control over your day.

But, wherever you are in the world, maybe you’re in your pivot transition starting over in life, work, careers, or business.

Or you’re going back into a new office setting. If you’re considering what work to do next, before you make a move, it’s smart to first consider how you work best…

Because it could save you from stress eating, time you won’t get back, and unnecessary worry to name just a few things.

You can start by getting clues from your past experiences and how you’re naturally wired. And you can see how you fit as one of the 4 work types described below.

These can help you find the right, sustainable work environment especially if you’re in transition (e.g deciding if you want to stay in corporate work or branch off on your own).

For most, the mention of transition can drum up thoughts of dread, anticipation, or mixed emotions. Feelings like you had months and weeks before and on the first day of school during your younger years.

That’s where most of us who went to school remember first learning the ropes to what worked for us and what didn’t. We were faced with situations where we could make choices and others where there was no leeway.

But today, you have greater freedom to decide what you want to do with your work and life.

You can lean into the easier work or in a direction of work responsibilities and risk, where adversities and challenges can lead to higher rewards.

Transitions are often hard, but you can help yourself by believing that’s where growth comes.

Where growth is, there’s life (hope and love on the other side) and the chance to continue thriving with infinite possibilities that are more satisfying than mere existence.

Growth isn’t usually in the easy, happy times. Even though we’re wired to want the easy.

But when it isn’t easy, amid uncertainty and figuring things out, you can find daily joy and contentment as a sustainable way to be happy. That’s a skill that helps you the rest of your life.

It also helps to know why you’re making change and starting a new venture, so that when you reach tough winds, you still push through when you’re determined enough.

Dan Buettner, Founder of Blue Zones, is the expert and author of several books on Centenarian longevity lifestyles in the Blue Zone regions that exist in the world, like Sardinia and Okinawa (as the most well-known ones).

He studied these older and wiser pockets of people who lean into their community connections and joy living with greater purpose.

And in interviews, Dan recounts his past as a distance cyclist-athlete and how he physically pushed himself too hard.

And then one day, he was in a restaurant with his wife and friends and ended up in the hospital for over-exertion on his heart.

This later came as an a-ha to him that his life was missing balance.

We can all learn from his experience and relate to his wisdom. Sometimes it takes health scares, work situations, or life crises to make us feel and rethink our ways and path.

These can help us make needed changes. As can being in a work lifestyle (or lack of work-life balance) that doesn’t suit you.

Dan describes several different chronotype work types that consider when you would feel most active and productive.

They are:

Bears: A little more than half the population are Bears, productively getting things done between 9-5, the way our Corporate America society is wired. The Bear chronotype is all among us!

Lions: Described as the Early Bird people and the CEO types that like to get up in the wee-hours of the morning, making lists, and completing performance routines. Sounds a lot like the Pittas in modern Ayurveda living.

Wolves: Those who like to stay up late, a.k.a. Night Owls and creatives, who can’t usually get to bed before midnight. I think of stand-up comedians who work at night.

Dolphins: A dolphin type is more similar to a Bear chronotype, but tends to have anxiety and worry. Not sure why it’s call a dolphin because I think I’m pretty calm around dolphins.

Which type describes you?

In transition, being aware of what creates worry and anxiety is going to be especially critical for Dolphins (and naturally if you’re a Vata). And being aware of what creates anger-irritation for a Lion (and a natural Pitta).

And, why does this matter?

If these are natural ways for you, they are holding you back from your best life.

But, you can transform those parts of your life. I’m living proof. 😊

I naturally identify as a Dolphin and a Vata, but there was a transition period that lasted many seasons before I could honor those ways and change from the Bear chronotype work-life I had.

It wasn’t overnight because I needed to pivot to more creative work.

In the process, I let go of expressing anger that used to be a natural reaction as PTSD and what I learned starting at a young age.

But in awareness and desire to change, I started connecting the dots to feeling anger as the opposite of peace in my life.

And then I looked for ways to live in peace, joy, and love that I had never considered before.

And as I looked for more ways to self-improve, I grew more confident in my knowledge.

Finding wisdom is empowered knowledge and living in peace without regrets about choices made and opportunities not taken.

For all of us, finding a restored calm mind-body and sense of peace is going to be the respite to bring out our most productive, loving, and creative self.

That’s the best the world would love to see more of.

Happy Holiday Entertainment Shows + Gluten-Free Carrot Cake Recipe

Healthy Carrot Cake — Gluten-free healthy carrot cake (recipe below)

Since Christmas day marks the week before year’s end and one week before New Year’s, it can be a bittersweet time filled with mixed emotions. Ahhh.. but light-hearted holiday entertainment shows and movies can help us lighten up if we feel stressed.

On that note, I have 3-holiday entertainment mentions below worth checking out …plus, a good, sweet without bad sugar dessert recipe you can health-consciously bake year-round in one bowl without a mixer. That can be exciting, and worth sticking around for until the end (of the blog article, of course, plus staying up past midnight on Dec. 31st).

…And somewhere in between is December 25, where we can easily forget that just a month ago, we celebrated Thanksgiving and gratitude for the things we have in our lives. In the happy holiday spirit, December and Christmas are opportunities to dig deep in our well, be reflective for the year, and find more appreciation for our happiness’ sake.

Christmas is always an eventful time to find hope and peace. And be happy and healthy. And that can include skipping, baking, and inspiring yoga moves! Why not?

I plan to be in the kitchen. And, here’s my illustrative yoga guide for those who will be busy holiday joy baking and wanting to unwind like a pretzel in front of the television (or holiday entertainment of choice) 😊:

If you celebrate, there’s a big buildup to Christmas that probably started way earlier in the year …remember Christmas in July promotions? This year is probably no different where you’re not hit by deer lights…

In the past, as the years rolled by, the Christmas time of year could grow to mean more to you as you grew, changed, and settled into your more mature wisdom.

You’ve mellowed out from younger years, have seen and done more, and maybe are even more comfortable in living with the mantra: no news is good news. I know I have.

If so, you’ve probably adopted contentment (or more than in the past) and that helps to smooth ripples, be happy daily, and satisfied with life as is.

…Things could be worse, and thankfully it’s not. So you then feel appreciative. And those (and your) beliefs can shape your optimism.

In life’s mysterious ways and combination of mind-body factors, the thought-life and moods can hang over like a heavy, gray cloud. And you can feel like your mind won’t allow you to feel gratitude and optimism. It can feel like an uphill battle to try and win over an internal fight. And letting go isn’t always so easy…

Is that just me?

I find that when I have a moment where I feel a little sorry for what’s not happening and just need a little comfort, laughter never gets old, as one of the best medicines.

Cleansing tears from humorous holiday entertainment or heart-felt movies, series, or shows can be just what the doctor ordered. And then after watching, I’m good as new. That’s this life, so we can feel.

And what we feel from recently watched holiday entertainment shows can show up refreshed in your thought life and moods the next day or week, so it’s better to pick ones with fun and happy lines or stories.

Here are 3 of my holiday entertainment picks (maybe they’re good for you also)… which btw, I’ve yet to meet a close friend who likes the same quirky shows as I do. I’m not talkin’ about Friends and the popular shows that everyone watches.

So I’m goin’ out on a limb here…

The first one I wanted to mention is actually not a show, but an old classic movie, The Sound of Music. (Ok, if you’re worried about the other two mentions I haven’t yet mentioned… don’t worry and maybe chill if that helps you… the other two are shows from this century, I promise 😅).

Anyway, TSOM movie in full color (but barely, like tea stains), has a hopeful message, so that’s why I’m bringing it up now and to this modern era.

If you’ve never seen or forgotten what this movie is about, it starts out with actress Julie Andrews as a young lady in an abbey prepping to be a nun, but soon discovers she’s not cut out for the job.

Sound a ‘lil familiar? I know it does for me having taken a hairpin turn or two early on. None of the nunnery kind though.

But, the movie plot is a metaphor for our lives that can change in an instant and that a better plan can be out there for us if we’re willing to stay open and hang in there. It can help us get through the holidays (and if you have kids this could be a good PG film to watch together as they learn good-meaning songs).

So, Julie Andrews’ character is sent to be a governess for 7 children for a former Captain and Austrian naval officer, who’s widowed.

She brings singing and love into the family and the odd-pairing couple ends up marrying (aww… a love story and musical). The Captain makes a choice to refuse the appointed work he’s been assigned to under the Nazi German regime during World War 2.

It’s a happy ending as the family sings their way to freedom and new life, leaving the beautiful home and country they once lived in and loved. So now you’re either caught up or possibly curious to watch the movie (again).

The movie is filmed in Austria and Los Angeles of all places, so maybe that’s one of the reasons why it’s still a Hollywood boom.

Timeless movies are good reminders to stay hopeful for our future as we get through tough times like we always have in history.

There’s a lot to look forward to getting to the other side, crossing the hills and any mountains along our path, stopping to appreciate the flowers like Edelweiss (a song from the movie) that remind us of our resilience. The journey is where the good stuff is if we choose to look at it that way.

So whether you fast-forward to the part where your heart is filled or watch the movie, afterward you can pause to fill your warm drinking mug (with coffee?) and get ready to laugh (…maybe even belly laugh some) with this next recommend…

Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee

This show with several seasons is a good metaphor for not taking life too seriously. Stand-up comedians don’t as you probably know, or come to know from the episodes.

And Jerry Seinfeld makes that clear as he takes his guests out for coffee in dining venues (think diners and mostly hole in the walls) with different classic, but funny cars (to match the comedians and their barrel of laughs) 🐒. And once in a while, they’re in an Oh sorry, Ferrari that dies on the road. Funny drama.

The show is peppered with what you’d expect from comedians –impromptu funny lines about their lives and the world we live in.

Having worked in restaurants, I can find a chuckle or two with the (literally) off-the-wall menu special posters or off-color restaurant jokes, like when Jerry orders and asks for 2 eggs and nothing else on a plate, and the server quickly asks if he wants it on the side? The server (or former 80s waitress) made an inside funny without knowing it. Good stuff there. 😅

You’ll have to find your own humor points if you end up watching any of the episodes. …and so that brings me to a recent holiday entertainment show…

The Great British Baking Show

The Great British Baking Show has got to be the funniest baking show out there. It’s also interesting to watch the baker techniques and their foibles.

By now in the show’s just-finishing up 9^th season, as you’d expect, the contestants know what to expect. If they didn’t, that would be like going on the pressure cooker show without baking practice.

.. And that would be like going on the Shark Tank show and not rehearsing… where they’d get eaten alive!

The GBBO contestants (more fitting than calling them competitors because they help each other out in the tent)… want to be sure to make the show fun and take time out to make good bakes while playing along with the tent show elves and laughing at their side jokes.

Tent Sidekick Noel announcing the challenge 😄

As part of the audience, you can feel the contestants are more mellow, less tense and serious about winning, and more motivated with staying baking in the tent for as long as they can. Even though you know their anxious-panicky Vatas are all hidden or ready to jump out and rule over them! The stress from the brave contestants lets you relax for a few viewing minutes.

In case you missed this last season, the latest cherry-on-top Star Baker title went to Giuseppe for his traditional Italian bakes passed down from his family’s baking lineage. So now you’re all caught up.

The Great British Baking Show also has holiday versions. You can especially enjoy it if you like holiday baking inspiration, and while eating sweets…

And on that note, I have a deliciously, seriously healthy, SWEET gluten-free carrot cake recipe below (that I’ve played around with the ingredients… and confidently whipped up, and tested including all the delicious crumbs!)… and that you can just as easily prepare and enjoy in a square, round or any shape pan you like that you can bring to your screen with whatever holiday entertainment shows you end up watching. 🧡

Healthy (Easy-No Mixer Needed) Gluten-Free Carrot Cake (Bread or Squares)

gluten-free carrot cake

Ingredients:

1 cup grated carrots

2 eggs (room temperature)

1 Tbsp coconut oil (or light EVOO or baking oil)

1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

2 tsp lemon juice

1/2 cup almond flour (or other gluten-free flour)

1/4 cup oats

1/2 cup chopped walnuts and raisins combined

Orange zest from a medium-size orange (or add maple syrup to taste, 1-2 tsp suggested for low sugar)

1/2 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp baking soda

pinch of salt

You can mix all ingredients in one bowl. Add dry ingredients first, then add the liquids (that way you can use some of the same measuring spoons and cups without the dry sticking to the wet.

Pour into an 8″ round pan or 4″ x 8″ baking pan.

Bake at 325°F for 35-40 minutes.

After cooled, frost with Greek Yogurt (2% fat or reduced fat suggested) and healthily enjoy, or you can blend with a low-fat cheese (like neufchatel cream cheese or ricotta cheese) if you prefer or will be serving to others who don’t prefer full-on healthy 😉… but would love to try what you sweetly bake. 🍞

To Your Merry Happy Holidays! 🎄

Stress Relief and Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction

I think many people need overall stress relief these days. I’ll share some of my insight on how you can become aware with mindfulness.

People walk around seemingly unaffected but underneath their skin, they are stressed out, anxious, annoyed, or irritated. You know that because of the stress statistics, and because you have shared and felt those same feelings at some point. That makes us human. And, if you live in a city or busy, suburban area around people, you probably know that all too well.

Living chronically stressed is one of the worst things you can do for your health (it’s a slow form of dying as I think settling into retirement is, but that’s another story for another day).

You may know stress is linked to 6 of the leading causes of death and probably more as our society is growing even more complex and filled with daily stressors. The saddest result from stress is if a person tragically considers ending their life or lives on anxiety medication. Inside of each of us, there are healthy alternative solutions, and that is the answer to life.

Jon Kabat -Zinn is known for his mindfulness and meditation work and writing. He worked on a study where employees practiced a mindfulness technique for 30 minutes a day for 8 weeks. Their brains were scanned before and after. Following the mindful 8 weeks, the participants had more activity in the left side of their front brain that showed enthusiasm and joy.

The study is an example of how we can affect our stress and daily lives by our thoughts. Most adults carry some out-of-control problems and walk around with varying levels of burden or worry in the mind-body construction we’re given.

Often, we don’t know what we can do to fix our immediate problems or we’ve already tried without a definitive solution, so we just accept that’s just how it is, at least for this season. And the season can be lifelong if never addressed again or if giving up or coping is the way of being.

That’s this life. It’s what you do with your thoughts and making them positive in some way, that makes all the difference in the world.

If you’re a natural Vata-Pitta type and live in a city environment, like I am and do, you’re highly susceptible to stress-related health issues. You can get warning signs initially showing up as acute or chronic anxiety, strong judgment, inflammation, aches, or pains that you can’t pinpoint the exact cause of. Over time these stress symptoms wear down your mental health and you can suddenly one day no longer get excited about your work, even though it was a gradual accrual.

So I starting making stress relief and work-life balance a priority in my late 20’s. I knew my health and appearance would suffer if I didn’t make changes.

We all want to live actively, and full of energy now and especially in our older years. Plus we have our individual desires like I want to look 20 years younger than my real age… and, I know I’m not alone in those wants.

Looking back in my young adult life, I had put my health on auto-pilot, prioritizing goals to climb the corporate ladder. And then I had small health situations, one after another, that made me question if my work lifestyle was contributing.

I took my job more seriously than my own health. Like, one time I had a panic attack and just went on with the day as though nothing had happened. I never forgot about it though.

Another time, I ignored the initial call to walking pneumonia. Not until the CEO of the company I worked for, urged me to go see the doctor, did I actually prioritize health over my job. I was lucky to get the encouragement and luckily I went to get medical help.

Those were warnings. They may have panned out okay for a healthy 20-something-year-old, but even a few years later makes a difference in the aging process as I started to notice my health more as I got more balance in my life.

I had accumulated stress in my body-mind for many years before I noticed or took any positive action. The body keeps score.

The stress I accumulated had started years before.

I grew up in a house with struggling immigrant parents. There was a lack of daily consistency. There was weekly household expressed anxiety-anger that got recorded in my young brain. And, I suppressed my emotions. As an adult, to become whole and healed, I needed to let out and process post-trauma still living actively in my old child’s brain and affecting my new adult decisions.

I didn’t know mindfulness could be an even better cure (than therapy). Back then in my 20’s, I didn’t know I had an issue, until I started learning more and getting aware (in our pre-vulnerable sharing society days we live in today).

As a young adult, I was just trying to put a roof over my head. That led to a panic attack incident from accumulated stress building up from a prior work victimization situation, then-current toxic management issues, and also working 55 plus grueling work hour weeks.

Different situations, but those are the types of multiple, complicated layers that many adults walk around with daily, that’s running in their mind-bodies. And they hold it all in instead of finding a healthy, sustainable solution that’s readily available (like I found).

In my case and so many others, my brain had recorded current stress-filled situations and mixed them with past emotional childhood trauma that was never healed. The body can then snap.

Our regular healthy bodies are naturally resilient but they can only take so much before there’s a breakdown, and that’s what happened in my case.

Most people live like that, unconscious and unaware about the damage carried around in the cell memories of the mind-bodies. Getting stress relief awareness is life and investment in your future health.

Continue reading “Stress Relief and Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction”

8 Ways to Avoid Stress Eating Anxiety and Holiday Stress

stress eating

Stress eating can be real anxiety for the best of us (that can easily become a bad habit).

Feeling anxious from a negative thought can cause overeating and shoveling food into our mouths. This feeds our natural desire to enjoy pleasure. But then we regret our decision the next day, as it shows up on our body and then can turn into anxious body thoughts (in the mind-body connection).

Below are some ways to break the stress-eating vicious cycle, especially around the winter holidays.

Especially in December, we can’t avoid messages about the new year being around the corner, that brings awareness to what we need to do to finish up the year, and then that reminds us of the hoopla of what happened and disappointments of what hasn’t yet. We just want peace, joy, and love.

By no fault of your own, holiday anxieties can be triggered in your mind-body, and aggravate stress eating as a comforting behavior that disturbs healthy living aspirations.

One way you can start to change this is to find a healthy set of friends (or a virtual community) who will support you and you can share your successful moments with. Choose these optimistic friends over complainers. You want to leave your near-year ending on a sweet (not sour) high note. Stay encouraged, growing, believing, and finding new year inspiration.

On that note, I have some holiday stress management encouragement…

Because we all bear some kind of stress as humans. At a bare minimum, you may have been thrown a few monkey wrenches within the year and an uneventful holiday ending.

You may have thought you’ve had enough, and you would just coast the rest of the year and take time off, and then something suddenly came up. You’re asked to make an off-course decision or two, be more creative than you’ve been (thinking outside the box), and work harder in your uphill climb despite facing ups and downs.

You’re not alone.

Look on the brighter side of things, you’re needed and you have a chance to make an impact in some unique way.

Those you-matter thoughts help your inner peace, that you can get back and are just a few steps away in your meditation practice, prayer life, or relaxed walk.

By a simple choice, you can change your mind and attitude just like that if you want to, despite your feelings or moods.

You always feel better than you did after the fact. You never know what thoughts and ideas are on the other side, but the time you put in is rewarded.

You’re better off if you find some way to be optimistic, even if it’s just borrowing a belief. Sometimes you have to just do it, to adopt a new way.

stress eating

Recently I was tasked to virtually decorate my Zoom screen background for a holiday meetup… those are common this year, right?

I don’t how you feel about yourself in a digital world, but coming up with a digital holiday background isn’t in my go-to wheelhouse bag of tricks, and maybe not in yours either. So I dug deep and basically looked around (…isn’t that how we were resourceful when we were younger?), and that led me to bring out the soft felted stockings and artificial decorations from the Christmas storage bin.

I’m an arts and crafts type. As a scrapbooker, I like handmade, decorating with brads and ribbons, and the whole nine yards for anything you can touch and feel… Continue reading “8 Ways to Avoid Stress Eating Anxiety and Holiday Stress”