I tell you its been a busy week, to the point I’ve had to reshuffle my deck of cards and just when I got them stacked just right, the deck fell to the floor (sort of speak).  Or – I’ve been on a roller coaster ride expect, when the damn thing climbed over the hump, someone unbuckled my seat belt – or so it feels like – while the coaster descended.

You get my point.

Anyway, it’s almost the end to September and my overwhelmingly busy calendar for the next three months is contributing to my anxiety levels reaching an all-time high – on  a scale of 10 about an 11. But, I suppose that’s what life is about and while I try to calm my nerves by talking myself out of too much worry, I have trouble convincing my subconscious.

Do you ever feel this way? Or a better question – do you experience severe anxiety of sorts?

So, last night, I sat very still on the sofa, and closed my eyes, and began to take in deep breaths and exhaling slow – aiming to calm myself down. This is after a conversation during lunch with a dear friend of mine about my moodiness lately. You know, where I felt it was necessary to explain all that’s been troubling me. And while listening to myself speak, I realized just how pathetic I sounded.  But I also know me, and although by the end of the conversation, I commit to stop worrying and handle each obstacle calmly as it comes my way, sooner or later, I will relapse, and worry way more than I should or need to.

A neighbor of ours from a long time ago, used to irritate me – because he smiled all the time, and appeared too cheerful with an underlying devil-may-care look plastered across his face, no matter what. One day when I was speaking to him outside, as he was sweeping his sidewalk, and I was pruning the bushes that divided our properties; he told me his secret: That no matter how much a person worries, everything will happen as it is intended to happen – so why bother worrying or getting all worked up, he said. Just let things happen.  

To this day, I don’t know if that is a good approach to everyday life, or a bad one. I ask myself whether this way of thinking is almost giving up or letting your environment control your life? And then I wonder if people suffering from severe anxiety are also ones who are too controlling?

Which then leads me to wonder, if I don’t steer how my life will pan out, how can I be happy? So, too much control = anxiety, too little control = a life of wandering.

Am I wrong to think this way? And if I am, are the folks dishing out suggestions or solutions correct in the way they preach their advise?

Let’s start here – The list below is eight warning signs you’re emotionally exhausted – which is where all the trouble manifests in my opinion – anxiety.

• You are easily irritated
• Your motivation levels are lower than ever
• You are experiencing anxiety attacks more than usual
• You have trouble sleeping
• Meaningless things upset you too much
• You feel dizzy or nauseous
• You feel like crying for no reason
• You start to feel detached.

From the list, how many apply to your frame of being at any given time?

In reality, being anxious has become a way of life. All we can do is understand and try our best to manage it:

• Meditate even if its being alone in a room, with the lights out, where you close your eyes and breathe deep to calming music, to a point where your mind wanders off to the happiest place for you.
• Avoid watching news before bedtime or first thing in the morning.
• Don’t believe everything you read – good or bad
• Stop comparing yourself to others. Live your best life possible within your means.
• Delegate chores and responsibilities at home
• Follow a list of thing-to-do so you can check off all the things that are adding to your stress.
• Take time for yourself – go for a walk through a park, visit a petting zoo, or sit by a lake and watch the beauty unfold – with all the birds and animals and fish drawn to the waters.
• Schedule a spa day or a secret weekend escape and unplug from the world around you.
• Remember to love yourself

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