"From Overwhelmed to Empowered"-- Part II--Choices

How are you doing with your stress, anxiety, and worry?

What are you doing to help yourself be empowered instead of overwhelmed?

Everyone has challenges of some sort or another. We are unique individuals, so our challenges manifest differently for each one of us. But our call or task is to acknowledge the challenges, and then confront them or work through them, to create and live a life of health and well-being.

It's basically a choice we make: to stay stuck in feeling and being overwhelmed (a victim of our own reaction to stress anxiety, and worry in which we are merely surviving), or to choose to Move Beyond Survival and thrive--to trully live. You get to choose. What do you choose?

You do need to know that if you choose to Move Beyond Survival you are making a commitment to yourself to do the work. It's hard work, because you will be re-wiring or re-programming your brain.

You can do it! How do I know that? Because I've re-wired my brain, and I know that you can, too. (Just so you know, at times, my brain tries to get back on it's old freeway. But then I use "tools" to get me back on track, and living a life of health and well-being.)

So, here are couple of tools that I have found to be really helpful.

1) When you are feeling stressed, overwhelmed, anxious, or worried, put both feet on the floor, and push down really hard with both feet. Like you are making footprints in the mud or concrete. Hold that for about 7-10 seconds--then release/relax.--Then push down again with your feet--really hard. Hold about 7-10 seconds then release/relax.--Then just move your feet around.

2) When you are overwhelmed, your breathing gets more and more shallow. This means you are breathing almost entirely with your chest.--Watch a baby breathe, and you will notice their chest and their tummy are going in and out when they breathe.

This tool is called Straw Breathing.

So, slowly take a deep breath in through your nose, then slowly breathe out through your mouth with a big sigh.

Now slowly breathe in through your nose to the count or five. (Count slowly: 1.......2.......

3.......4.......5)

Then slowly exhale through your mouth, as if you are breathing out through a straw/as if you're going to kisssomeone to the count of 7 or eight (Count slowly)

Then repeat two more times.

Then take another deep breath and then a big sigh. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

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Just like last week's tool/exercise, you can use these two tools on your own, any time and any place, and other people won't know.

Remember: My belief is you see a doctor, medical professional, or counselor if you believe you need to, AND you do what you can do in a healthy way to help yourself reduce stress, anxiety, worry, and a feeling of overwhelm.

To Your Courageous Self!

Edie Savage-Weeks

Transformational Life Coach