Creative Blogger Award

Okay, so Mary from marysaverageadventures received this award and nominated everyone that read her post. It gives me a chance to not only tell you guys a few things about myself, but to nominate others who really deserve this award. Here are the rules:

Thank the person who nominated you and include a link to their blog.
Share 5 facts about yourself.
Nominate some bloggers in return and notify them about their nomination.
Keep the rules in your post to make it easy for everyone to know what to do.

I’d like to thank Mary for the award, though she didn’t come out and directly nominate me so I hope she doesn’t mind me accepting it. Thanks Mary and I hope you wanted me to accept it!

Here are five facts about myself.

1.) I struggle with anxiety but I work very hard every day to get through it so that my life does not become controlled by anxiety.

2.) My favorite singer is Jewel.

3.) I love to write stories and poetry. I hope to one day be a fiction author.

4.) I usually don’t like books that are classics. In fact, I don’t understand how most of them even become classics!

5.) I have this horrible habit of starting to read books and even if I like them, stopping in the middle.

Here are some of the bloggers I’d like to nominate. There are so many creative blogs out there, so like Mary, if you want to answer these questions or nominate others, feel free to. The following are just some bloggers and blogs that I think deserve extra recognition.

marysaverageadventures

My Journey to Freedom From Anxiety

Sandycademy

Lavender Letters

Dreaming Pretty

WEHAVEAPPLES

Anxious Penguin

The Seeds 4 Life

My Own 12-Step Program to Getting Through Anxiety

Okay, so although Rachel from WEHAVEAPPLES had a great 12 step program for mental illness/issues, I was inspired by her post and thought I’d try to write my own 12-step program (although getting through anxiety and over obstacles includes so many more steps when you think about it). Anyway, here are some steps I thought of and I encourage all of you to take up the challenge of creating your own. Some of these are similar to Rachel’s because hers were so amazing and accurate. Thanks again Rachel for such a great post!

1.) Remember that you are stronger than your anxiety/mental health issue(s).

2.) Take small steps every day to get through your anxiety and over your obstacles.

3.) Be understanding and kind when it comes to your issues and those of others.

4.) Read and share positive, inspirational, and motivational messages.

5.) Help others and yourself. Make healthy connections with others.

6.) If you find it helpful, find a therapist who is kind and understanding, in addition to helpful and encouraging.

7.) Make healthy choices.

8.) Make decisions that make you happy and make you feel good.

9.) Remember that every day is a chance to do better

10.) Find a good, safe support system. Surround yourself with those who are kind. Don’t allow others to bring you down or convince you that you are not good enough.

11.) Focus on improving, not on your anxiety.

12.) Remember that you are not your struggles!

12 Step Program for Mental Illness (Anxiety, Depression, OCD etc)

Please read this AMAZING post by Rachel at WEHAVEAPPLES!

wehaveapples

I’ve always wished that there were a 12-step program equivalent to Alcoholics Anonymous for mental illness. It wasn’t until the other day that I thought, “Oh, I should search Google for one!” I did find a few of these programs, but they didn’t completely resonate with me or highlight what I knew brought me success. I realized I needed to write one myself formulated from my own experiences and research. (Here is one I found online if you want to check it out: Emotions Anonymous)

I’d love to share the one I wrote with you guys! If you like it, feel free to join me in my version of Mental Illness Anonymous OR write your own 12 step program. Mine is more geared towards anxiety, depression and OCD since those are what I’ve struggled with. I’d LOVE for you to share here what your 12-steps are and we can…

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Celebrate Success!

I’m really proud of myself! This morning I did something that I haven’t done in a while due to my anxiety, and not only did I get through it, but I did wonderfully! It feels so amazing to have made progress and to have succeeded at something so important to me. Every step towards success is important, whether it be big or small, but when you get something done that you’ve had trouble with for a while, it feels even more amazing!

It’s important to celebrate our success and progress. We don’t necessarily have to go out and have a fancy dinner or buy ourselves something to celebrate our progress (although these are two great ideas!). What we need to do though is pat ourselves on the back and tell ourselves how well we did. We have to thank ourselves and if we’re religious, thank God for helping us succeed!

Why is it so essential to celebrate our success whether we feel it was a big step or small one? It’s important because we need to reinforce the importance of our efforts. Making progress is a huge deal and a huge step towards our ultimate goal: to free ourselves from what holds us back! No matter what others may say, every positive step counts and we have to be proud of ourselves for taking that step!

It is possible to succeed, to get through our struggles and over our obstacles. We just need to continue to try our hardest on a consistent basis, never give up, and celebrate our successes and progress in a healthy way! If you don’t feel like you’ve gotten where you want to be yet, don’t worry, you will get there if you continue to work hard!

Not Listening to the Negative

Many of us deal with negative thoughts that constantly try to convince us of things that aren’t true. For example, our minds sometimes try to tell our bodies that we’re weak or unable to do something, when really, that’s far from the truth. While we may try to drown out the negative thoughts with positive affirmations, sometimes it seems as if negativity is stronger than positivity.

The thing is that for many of us, we have spent years allowing our negative thoughts to take over. We have allowed our anxiety to convince ourselves of things that are not true and by allowing these negative thoughts to have so much power over us, we give negativity more strength.

However, the negative things that are minds tell us are not always true. Most of the time, it’s just our anxiety trying to mess with our heads. We cannot allow anxiety to control us. We have to remind ourselves of our strength and of our abilities and we have to show ourselves that we are stronger than our anxiety and that just because we think negative thoughts, does not make them true.

We need to practice listening to positivity so that our minds get on the right track. It may take time, but it’s worth the effort! I wish you all the best and want to thank my therapist, family, friends, and fellow bloggers for being so supportive! I really do appreciate it!

People With [Enter Mental Issue Here] Are Strong, Not Weak: Here’s my case

Please take the time to read this great post by WEHAVEAPPLES!

wehaveapples

1. You’ve had to struggle. Struggle makes people grow in strength, wisdom and compassion. When we are happy, we can relax. You’ve had to constantly work. You are a better person for that, and incredibly strong because of it.

2. You’ve had to deal with stigma, misconceptions, ignorance, and your well-meaning friend that keeps telling you her cousin Mary cured her depression with yoga. You’ve opened up to someone about your mental illness and they’ve changed the subject because they’re not able to hear it. You’ve had to deal with a lot of total crap and that takes strength.

3. You’ve had to deal with a double standard. Joe Jenkins broken his leg and he’s so brave. Everyone is bringing him flowers, signing his cast, and making him apple pie. You broke your brain and everyone is ignoring you. You are strong, dude.

4. You’ve had to keep showing up…

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Being Positive

When we struggle, or don’t do as well as we may have hoped, we tend to focus on the negative. We may realize that we did well in other ways, but we still can’t help thinking about all of the ways that we could have done even better. This kind of thinking can be dangerous because it can rob us of the joy that appreciating and acknowledging our success could have brought us. No one is perfect, no one, and even if we could have perhaps done better at something than we did, that doesn’t necessarily mean that we did poorly.

Today I did something and although I did pretty well, I struggled a little. I immediately felt saddened by the fact that I could have done better. The thing is though, that instead of being proud of myself for ultimately getting through what I was doing, I was upset that it didn’t go as smoothly as I would have hoped.

It’s okay for us to realize that we could have done better. In fact, it’s important that we note where we struggled so that we can learn from the experience and hopefully, do better next time. However, we should not become so obsessed with how we struggled that we fail to appreciate the good that we did.

Here are some ways for you to appreciate your success and progress:

1.) Ask yourself if you tried. If you tried, that means that you put effort into getting through your anxiety and over your obstacles. Trying is essential and shouldn’t be taken lightly. Remember, even if things don’t turn out as well as you may have hoped, the fact that you tried is really what matters. So many people don’t even try and give up before they know just how much they can accomplish.

2.) Did you ultimately get through your anxiety? This doesn’t mean that you didn’t need any help. Sometimes we need help and that’s okay.

3.) Did you do pretty well? This doesn’t mean that you did perfectly. Remember, no one is perfect and we all struggle at times. Struggling does not make us failures. The only thing that makes you a failure is when you completely give up and stop trying to get through your struggles and over your obstacles.

*Remember to try your hardest to focus on the positive. Even if things didn’t go well at all, if you tried, that’s really all that matters. If you don’t feel that you tried hard enough or at all, that doesn’t mean that you can’t try next time. You are not a failure until you completely give up. Don’t give up, keep trying, and stay strong!

Making Decisions Without Feeling Guilty

Sometimes we don’t want to do certain things. Sometimes we don’t want to do these particular things because of our anxiety and sometimes there is another reason. When not going somewhere involves people who think we should go to this place or do this something, we sometimes deal with the guilt that others try to bestow upon us.

It’s not easy dealing with manipulation. While being kind and easy going is a good thing, there are people who seem to take advantage of this trait. Especially when it’s people who know us well; they know exactly what to say to make us upset and they try to use this to change our minds about what we feel strongly about.

As I’ve learned, some individuals (especially relatives), feel that if you don’t do something, it is somehow a reflection on them. Even though it isn’t, if they feel it is, they may try to push you into doing something you don’t want to because it makes them feel a sense of success and accomplishment.

However, we need to kindly set boundaries. We have to remind ourselves that we have to do what makes ourselves happy (as long as it doesn’t harm others, of course). If we don’t feel up to going somewhere or it makes us uncomfortable for whatever reason, then we don’t have to go.

I’m not saying that we shouldn’t sometimes push ourselves past our comfort zones in terms of our anxiety. What I mean is that we have to listen to ourselves instead of always trying to make everyone else happy. What would you rather do? Have someone happy that you did something even though it makes you feel miserable or would you rather be happy and realize that if a person can’t understand what you’re feeling and be kind enough to accept your feelings, then maybe it’s their problem and not yours?

For a great article about toxic people, visit http://www.marcandangel.com/2015/08/16/7-surprising-reasons-youre-attracting-toxic-people/. Thank you Maria Grathia from https://foodforthesoulandthoughtbubble.wordpress.com/ for telling me about this site!

Sharing Some Inspiration

Today I’d like to list things that I find inspiring, in hopes that it will help others with getting through their anxiety and other issues.

Image created by B.G. using PicMonkey

Inspiring Songs:

• Jewel
  • Life Uncommon
  • Hands
  • What You Are
• Gloria Estefan
  • Get On Your Feet
• Rob Thomas
  • Problem Girl
  • Streetcorner Symphony
• Destiny’s Child
  • Stronger

Inspiring Movies:

• Barefoot
• Octoberbaby

Inspiring Blogs:

• Marysaverageadventures
• My Journey To Freedom From Anxiety
• Sandycademy
• Lavender Letters
• So Many More! Please Check the Blogs I Follow

Inspiring Websites:

• Theseeds4life: Great seeds and articles for daily motivation
• PicMonkey: Great for designing your own inspirational images
• Dreaming Pretty: Filled with great images and uplifting messages
• Check blogs I follow for more!

Inspiring individuals (not counting my family and friends that do not have blogs):

• Mary
• Amber
• Sandy
• Kim
• Marie Therese
• Lti
• So many more individuals, I can’t possibly name you all! Thank you!

*If anyone has any more inspirational songs, movies, blogs, websites, individuals, quotes, etc., they’d like to share, please let me know! Thank you!

 

Finding Your Way Back

Sometimes we get off track. We see ourselves making progress but then out of nowhere, anxiety seems to strike and take control. It can be difficult to believe that we can get through these hard times, especially when our anxiety can be so overwhelming. However, we need to remember that we do have the strength to get through our anxiety and other issues. How do we do this when what we’re going through is so difficult? We remember our pass successes and we remember all of the times that we got through difficult times. We remember all of those days that were good and all of the times where we felt wonderful due to our progress. We can have that again and if we work hard, we will!

*Check out http://dreamingpretty.com/ for more of these inspirational images!