Saturday 23 June 2007

For Sandi, my friend, and anyone else who may have stress to deal with this weekend!

ANYONE WHO HAS CHILDREN must go through such varied stress over the years, sometimes it is almost mind warping. It happens to all parents, so take a bit of comfort in the fact we are not alone in learning to manage these stresses.

Keep in mind, sweet lady, that there could be MANY reasons you are feeling unusually stressed out about this problem. The week could have been more stressful than you realized, your hormones and body chemicals may be altered some by your concern. It does happen. The body responds to stress and will make it worse by changing!

When we are fearful about anything, we take smaller breaths - making our situation much worse. When we are shallow breathers, we get less oxygen to the brain, which affects our thoughts and decisions, and not in a positive manner. Our muscles and ligaments and even the organs within suffer from this lack of oxygen - which adds to the problem.

These things will help if you DO THEM MINDFULLY this weekend. That means whenever the worry starts taking over, flip from "emotion" based control to "intellect". What I mean is remember, you are in charge of your thoughts, so when that fear enters, think: "This is not productive. It is not good for me or my family. I will
not succumb to fear. I will use my intellect and make immediate changes for the better!"

May sound silly at first, but it works. Divert your attention by taking a couple of minutes alone (or if that is impossible, include the children in this "game"). Sit, straighten up a bit and breathe! Inhale slowly through the nose (which will give you needed oxygen and help you relax-REALLY, it's the physiology of the body); exhale
through the mouth slowly. As you exhale visualize all the negative thoughts and fear flying right out your fingertips. You are in charge. Do this for a couple of minutes minimum.

Whenever you start to fret again, DO IT AGAIN! It's your life. You have a family to care for, so CARE FOR YOU and be in the best frame possible. It takes a bit of practice to get in the habit but YOU and your family deserve the best! (If the kiddos are around and you play the "breathing game" - it will also teach them and help them in every way.) I promise.

Lastly, here are a few thoughts to ponder. Mama always said, "What's the worst that can happen? We have to handle it no matter what, so when you figure that out, then every incident above the worst can be handled too." Made sense to me.

FEAR doesn't change ANYTHING. It only does damage. Besides (and this is factual too), 95% of what we spend our lives fearing NEVER HAPPENS!

If you like, check out my website: http://www.stressmanagementmagic.com/
as there is a bit more there on fear.

Draw positive, healing thoughts to yourself. Think in terms that will pull good energy and healing power towards you and YOUR FAMILY! Some may think this silly, but we have magical powers yet untapped. They work!

My first line of defense is my faith. It's tough, but I try to always leave the results of a scenario in God's domain...that's faith. I pray, pray, pray. I will pray for you and your son, and family. Remember, we can only change some circumstances in our lives. Some are out of our control.

What we can change is our RESPONSE to those circumstances. We can empower ourselves and our families by our positive, loving, and confident response! I have confidence enough in you to know YOU CAN HANDLE IT! Keep the faith my friend. I KNOW you will create a GOOD weekend for yourself and family.

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