RECOVERING IN RECOVERY

We have been waiting for this moment for over a year. The mask mandates have been lifted and we are EXCITED!

Don’t come at me please, however you feel about it is valid and I accept and appreciate that. I love you all!

So naturally I went shopping...maskless.

For me it was glorious, and at the same time felt a little naughty.

At the register I was standing to the side by my cart as she filled it.

The lovely young 15 year old ringing me up politely asked if I could move behind the plexiglass because I wasn’t wearing a mask.

Immediately I shuffled over behind the protection as I was asked.

I didn’t think anything of it. Of course I can.

She broke the moments of silence by saying “Thank you for not yelling at me because I asked you to move over, my mom has cancer”.

I was shocked first of all that she assumed I would yell at her, second that she felt the need to apologize for that (why do women also feel the need to apologize for themselves) and third that her mom had cancer.

I s...

Being able to reframe a situation with new perspective allows you experience the mind shift necessary to move you out of negativity and into the light.

It also looks procrastination right in the face and smiles while you walk towards your goals.

We know that action is created by the thoughts, either conscious or unconscious that directly proceed it. This means that negative thoughts most likely lead to negative actions and positive thoughts to positive actions. 

Therefore your mindset is by far you most powerful tool and indicator for success or failure.

Here are the top 5 ways to shift your mind to build self-confidence in recovery:

1. Adapt to the unexpected.

We know that life is unpredictable. We can’t possibly know how things will go every single day even with the best laid plans. As they say life happens. You must be able to accept that sometimes things will not go as plans.

Learning to go with the flow and be flexible will keep you on course toward your goals and pr...

I would say at least a couple times a week I get messages from clients or DM’s on Instagram from people struggling with overwhelming feelings of anxiety and don’t know what to do. Usually it is happening right then and they are fighting off a panic attack and grasping for any straw that will take the discomfort away and give them control.  

Here is just one example, often it goes on a bit longer and I continue to coach them through the breathing and positive affirmations until their bodies settle down.

I try to tailor my resources to the person as best as I can, even though often they are strangers.  This person started the post out asking for prayer so I knew that he was believer and could use some material with that messaging.  

Today, I want to share with you my go to content that I like to watch, listen to or read over and over again when I a feeling a bit overwhelmed, over stressed, out of control or just sad. It helps to keep an arsenault of these resources that you can pull...

Last week, we talked about how negative thoughts pop up when the stress rises and affect your life and increase anxiety.  We talked about how negative thoughts have energy in your life.  Without addressing our negative thoughts, they continue to swirl and grow thus making your anxiety worse and worse.  But how do you identify and challenge those negative thoughts?

The first thing you must do is simply notice those negative thoughts whenever they come up and jot them down.  Notice when they occur.  Are they happening at night?  Are they waking you from sleep?  Or are they happening during the day?

As a part of noticing when these negative thoughts are happening, it’s also important to identify the trigger and emotions associated with these negative feelings.  What triggered your negative thoughts?  And what emotions did that bring up for you?  Was it fear? Anger? Did something bad happen? Or are you in your head living in negativity without even realizing it?

Identifying and knowing ...

Have you ever been going about your day, but the only thing that consumes your thoughts is negativity? You know the old saying, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, then don’t say anything at all.”  Well, this doesn’t just apply to what you say to other people. It also applies to the things that you say to yourself.

Whether you realize it or not, your thoughts have energy.  If you are only having negative thoughts, chances are everything in your life is going to seem...well...negative.  And that’s no way to live. I want you to be happy, healthy, and balanced.  

October 21 I am starting a 5 Day Challenge on Changing Negative Thoughts exclusively in my Facebook Group.  Click Here to register!  But...before you are able to change those negative thoughts, you first have to be able to recognize them.  But how do you do that?

When you are going about you day and something happens, you almost always have the same response.  You say, “Why does this always happen?” You know the types of ...

So in the past few weeks, we have been talking about meditation.  We have covered active meditation for those of you who can’t sit still and quiet your mind enough for traditional seated meditation.  We covered different types of active meditation such as walking meditation and morning pages.  If you haven’t had a chance to read these past few blogs click here  and here  to get caught up.

Today, I’m going to step out into this meditation realm a little bit more.  There are some people out there who just need a little guidance in meditation so to speak.  A little push or instruction to get you to the point you want to be at, right? 

Enter meditation apps. 

There are several meditation apps out there to choose from.  They all have great options to choose from.  But one of my favorites, and one that I use personally, is Simple Habit.  It’s literally a meditation app for people who hate meditation. 

Unlike other meditation apps out there, Simple Habit offers short, 5-minute meditations...

Last week we talked about active meditation.  We talked and what it was and my favorite form of it...walking meditation.  However, that isn’t the only form of active meditation there is.

For those of you who missed last week’s blog, active meditation, also known as dynamic meditation, was popularized in the 1970’s by an Indian mystic named Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, later known as Osho. Why did he come up with the concept of active meditation?  Because he realized that in our fast paced world, we needed a form of meditation that could fit into this active life most of us live.

Other than my favorite form of active meditation (walking meditation) there are several others you could choose from to try. Let’s talk about a few of these.

Morning Pages

The basic concept of morning pages is to write 3 notebook pages of streaming conscious thought every morning when you wake up.  Julia Cameron, author of The Artist’s Way, popularized this written form of meditation that many of my fellow creat...

How many times have you been scrolling through social media and seen someone who is meditating and looks completely peaceful?  Maybe you see a wellness expert or an influencer who is sitting there perfectly posed in a perfect state of peace.  And when you see this person you think… “I wish I could do that but 20 seconds into meditation my mind is all over the place because I’m bored already!”  Are you that person???

I’m willing to bet you are also the person who knows that there are many benefits to practicing meditation and mindfulness.  If you have read this blog in the past I KNOW that you have read about that! But there are some people out there who just can’t sit still!  Are you one of them?  I know I am!

The fact of that matter is that even if you are the type of person who can’t sit still, your mind still needs a break!  You may never be one of those people who can sit on the floor, legs folded, mind quiet, and achieve that state of meditation.  But there are other ways that y...

The new day is dawning, it's a fresh start with light and love ahead, yet you woke up feeling nervous, irritable, panicky, on edge and still very tired. WTH? 

You slept well so why are you waking up like this? It’s called morning anxiety. Several clients in my private practice and in my online community struggle with anxiety in the morning so this week, that's our focus!

Most of us at least occasionally wake up feeling tired, in a bad mood, or like you don't want to go to work. But those who suffer with actual morning anxiety are reacting to excess stress and worry.  What’s even worse is they are actually having a biological response to their stress and worry that makes their anxiety seem worse in the mornings! 

In fact, the “stress hormone” cortisol is released by the adrenal glands in response to fear or stress. 

Researchers have studied the cortisol awakening response (CAR) and found that cortisol is highest in the first hour of waking for people with an increased le...

Throughout my experience with working with clients, a common correlation can be found between those who struggle with anxiety and also have poor sleep patterns. And you guys, we all know that when your body can't rest properly at night, it makes the days soooo much more difficult.

That's why I created this special guide to help you learn about creating a sleep sanctuary to get higher quality sleep!  Download it HERE!

I'm sure we can all relate to laying down at night to go to bed, pulling the covers up close and then BOOM, your mind starts racing. It's like when the noise around you gets quiet, the to-do list seems to be at the forefront of the mind.

It’s important for everyone to get a good night’s sleep.  ESPECIALLY your kids during the school year. Sometimes when our kids aren’t sleeping the way they should they could be experiencing anxiety inducing situations at school that we don’t realize.  In today’s world of lockdown drills and emphasis on test scores, it's easy to see how ...