Anxiety & Depression Archives - Page 11 of 13

5 Ways to Fight Anxiety & Depression

On January 29, 2019

In Anxiety & Depression, Emotional Health, Lifestyle Blog, Physical Health, Spiritual Health, Stress Management

Anxiety and Depression are both widespread problems in our society and something I have experience with. My work as a Massage Therapist and Wellness Coach has been therapeutic for me and allows me to share my journey to help others. To be honest, it is still sometimes a struggle to get the motivation to do things especially when it comes to working. However, once I do get going, it fuels my passion for helping others, which is what I thrive on.

My Mental Health Story

If you have read some of my earlier posts, I shared that I have Anxiety. To be exact, I have what is called Generalized Anxiety Disorder which goes hand in hand with Depression also. I have had it at least half of my life and I didn’t do anything about it for a long time for a few reasons. One is that I didn’t even know I had mental health issues.

All along, I thought I was just a more sensitive, introverted person who couldn’t handle too much stress at once, had obsessive thoughts, and felt sad at times. Once I realized what was going on, I felt ashamed and embarrassed to admit it. For a few years, I tried anti-depressants and anxiety meds and they did help but I never really felt my best on them.

Discovering alternative methods for treating anxiety and depression has been extremely helpful for me. With a lot of trial and error, I found that a mix of traditional medicine and holistic supplementation works best for me along with living a healthier lifestyle.

I would like to share some of the things that continue to help me battle both anxiety and depression. These work for me but I understand that some people do need to be on some kind of prescription medication. I would never recommend someone going off medication but would only suggest other adjunctive methods to assist in the fight.

My 5 Top Ways to Fight Anxiety & Depression

1. Reach Out for Help

Battling the fight alone is never an option. You simply can’t do it on your own so my first tip is to ASK FOR HELP from a trusted loved one, friend, or mental health professional. Having seen my share of therapists, I learned a lot about myself what triggers me, and also how to cope with my emotions. I admit way back that I used alcohol and smoking to relieve my stress and although it seemed to help at the time it didn’t and just caused more health issues.

Sometimes just talking to someone and sharing your struggles will help lift you out of a funk. One phone call can do the trick for a friend who gets it and lovingly supports you.

2. Feed Your Spirit

Another extremely helpful practice in this battle for me is to consistently feed my SPIRITUAL life so I pray and read positive devotionals daily like Jesus Calling. Filling up on positive messages helps tremendously when I am feeling low. My favorite uplifting preacher to watch is Joyce Meyer. She is funny and real and her messages always hit home.

Having a spiritual practice may be the most important to me. I believe in the power of prayer and that God is an anchor and loves me no matter what is going on in my life. It is truly comforting and I honestly don’t know how I would survive in this world without my faith and knowing that I am never alone!

3. Get Enough Sleep

Hands down getting enough REST is another important way to battle anxiety. When you don’t get enough sleep, your body will secrete more stress hormones and this is not good for anyone especially those with mental health issues.

What works for me is getting 8 to 9 hours of sleep each night. I usually need a little extra especially when I am under a lot of stress. For those of us battling with mental health, sleep is high on the list of self-care remedies. Read about some research about sleep and anxiety here.

4. Make Time for Physical Activity

As I have shared before, making time for physical activity is crucial in battle and will boost those happy hormones when feeling blah. It can be as simple as a walk in the park or cleaning your house that can help tame those anxious feelings.

I can’t say enough about how important movement is so find what works for you and try to do something each day. Although I don’t need more evidence that exercise helps me feel better, here’s a good article about how good it is for mental health.

5. Lend a Hand to Others in Need

Lastly and probably my favorite way to battle anxiety is to help others. Hey, I get it… sometimes you just don’t feel like even talking to other people. It is easy to be a hermit and not interact with the world. Getting out of your comfort zone is part of the healing process. I can think of hundreds of times I did not want to go out with friends, and family or even go to work.

After forcing myself to get out, I usually end up having a great time and doing so breaks me out of a dark place. We do need that alone time as long as it doesn’t take over our days and nights. Believe me, it is no coincidence that I have ended up in a helping profession. When I help others in pain or suffering, I get a boost of positivity and it always lifts my spirits tremendously. In addition, focusing on someone else makes me forget about anything I was worried about.

Self-Care Products we all need!

Help is Available!

We can all help people who suffer from mental illness. Please have patience with your loved ones who deal with mental health issues. Our brains are wired differently and it is not our fault when we don’t deal with stress like others. My experience is that the most authentic and loving people are the ones who suffer most and may not even realize it. There’s nothing wrong with you!

If you or someone you know ever feels hopeless and needs help immediately, don’t hesitate to get in touch with the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. The Lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention, and crisis resources for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals.1-800-273-8255.

You are always stronger than you think. Keep fighting and be a WARRIOR!

xoxo

Jill Ciampi is a Lifestyle Blogger, Licensed Massage Therapist, and Certified Wellness Coach with a passion for helping others manage stress, chronic pain, and anxiety. Learn more about her journey and wellness practice that offers natural solutions to stress at www.AtTheHeartofWellness.com.

Guide to Achieving Peace of Mind

By Jill Ciampi

On January 15, 2019

In Anxiety & Depression, Emotional Health, Lifestyle Blog, Stress Management

Achieving peace of mind is not an easy task and some say it is not possible to do it. However, there are ways that you can get close. This is a popular time of year to think about your personal and business goals. Are you working to improve anything in this new year?

We all like to think we will finally make positive changes and work towards reaching our goals. Furthermore, we all probably consider changes to our diets, making more time for physical activity and maybe even getting our house more organized. How about working on feeling more at peace?

All of these are really important to maintain your health. In the next month or so, I want to talk about 7 ways to detox your life, which comes from my Stress Solution 6-week coaching program. The first of these is Detoxing your MIND.

Daily Time Out

Taking care of your mindset is crucial in a world full of distractions and negativity. Do you feel like your mind never slows down? I know mine does not!

How about giving yourself at least a 15-minute mind-break daily.

It’s kind of like a reset. Pray, meditate or whatever floats your boat. You will value these 15 minutes and look forward to it — I promise! I find that sometimes I need more resets throughout my day but the most essential time for me is in the morning before my day starts. It helps to ground me and starts my day on a positive note. This gives me a little peace!

Check Your Thoughts

Reevaluating your thought process is a fabulous way to jumpstart this mind detox.

Creating positive mind-talk practices can start a healthy habit that will last you a lifetime.

Learning your triggers will help assist you in rewiring your mental conversation. Pay close attention to what runs through your mind daily and the manner in which you perceive these thoughts. That quiet time will help calm the outer noise and help you listen to and evaluate your thoughts more deeply. There are many ways to treat yourself to a break daily, and you will discover what works best for you during your practices.

Ask yourself these questions: What is one aspect of your life that’s leaving a lingering negative feeling? How can you adjust this to bring more positivity into your life?

It is impossible to entirely evade negativity in the real world (that would be nice though, right?) – but it is an unfortunate reality that we sometimes pile on more than necessary.

One way to reduce negative damage is to alleviate those things that we can control.

What are some negative influences in your life that you can cut out? This could include people, TV shows, negative habits, etc.

Surround Yourself with Positivity

Be aware of what you allow into your sacred body (emotionally, physically, and mentally). Think hard about some sources of negativity in your life that you can begin to eliminate. Again, if you surround yourself with like-minded and positive people you will be even more successful. Find some quiet time each day and you will see how it restores your energy!

xoxo

Jill DeMasi is a Lifestyle Blogger, Licensed Massage Therapist, and a Certified Wellness Coach with a passion for helping others manage Stress, Chronic Pain, and Anxiety. Learn more about her journey and wellness practice that offers natural solutions to stress at www.AtTheHeartofWellness.com.

Subscribe to my Lifestyle Blog!

The Gratitude Challenge

By Jill Ciampi

On January 10, 2019

In Anxiety & Depression, Emotional Health, Lifestyle Blog, Spiritual Health, Stress Management

Gratitude Goals

Gratitude is all about being thankful for what you already have in your life. What are you grateful for? Think it’s hard to come up with a few things to be grateful for every day? In that case.. listen up! There are endless things, people, experiences, nature, etc to be grateful for. It just may take a while to realize what they are.

When life is not going your way, my first suggestion is to write a Gratitude List. This is an extremely simple and positive practice to add to your day. There are even apps for it! I like the Gratitude Journal app. You simply just add one or two things daily that you are thankful for. It is so SIMPLE! It keeps a record of every entry and gives you the opportunity to look back and see how your list builds up over time.

Very therapeutic and a good reminder when you are not feeling so great about life. I also like to write in a journal because I am old school like that!

Positive Vibes

Acknowledging your gratitude on a daily basis will change your attitude and overall health. Expressing gratitude generates a more optimistic mindset and we know for sure that being positive leads us down the healthier road. Being positive is definitely a perk because it will help you heal from physical and emotional trauma and attract good things in life.

Practicing gratitude is a habit that you will grow over time, and soon will become a way of life!

Knowing all of this, I admit that I still have times of feeling low and forgetting to be grateful for what I have in life. That’s ok because you just can’t be “happy” all the time! But this practice will help you get out of those lows in life and keep you going. Life is too short to be miserable. It helps to have a partner or other like-minded people to remind you of the good stuff!

Try This Simple Gratitude Exercise

List 1 skill or personality trait you are proud of.
Think about 1 experience you are grateful for having had in your life.
Name 1 person you are thankful for.

Gratitude Challenge

Consciously practice daily gratitude for 30 days and notice what kind of difference it makes in your life and relationships.

Give THANKS with a grateful Heart 🙂

Remember Bing Crosby’s song… “I’ve got eyes to see with, Ears to hear with, Arms to hug with, Lips to kiss with, Someone to adore —How could anybody ask for more?”

xoxo

Jill DeMasi is a Lifestyle Blogger, Licensed Massage Therapist, and a Certified Wellness Coach with a passion for helping others manage Stress, Chronic Pain, and Anxiety. Learn more about her journey and wellness practice that offers natural solutions to stress at www.AtTheHeartofWellness.com.

Subscribe to my Lifestyle Blog!

Giving is Good For Your Soul

By Jill Ciampi

On January 4, 2019

In Anxiety & Depression, Chronic Pain, Emotional Health, Lifestyle Blog, Spiritual Health, Stress Management

Do you have any giving goals for the upcoming year?

Happy New Year to you! I hope you found a way to experience some joy and peace during the Holiday season. I am gearing up for a great year and will be sharing some cool stuff with you in this blog over the next few months. In the next 2 months, I will be sharing some info from my 6-week premium Stress Solution program. You don’t want to miss this! Get a private peek into some of the stress management topics I explore with my clients during private coaching sessions.

The easiest way to make sure you don’t miss a blog post is to sign up and have it sent right to your e-mail inbox. Scroll down to Subscribe!

Don’t miss out and please share with friends!

Spread the Love by Giving to Others

What’s on your agenda this year? Do you make resolutions and set goals for yourself or your business? To be honest, I do not like making New Years’ resolutions. I never found them to work for me. Instead, I make small realistic goals for myself and my business so that I don’t feel too overwhelmed. I started back in September focusing on eating healthier and working out.

This time of year a lot of people focus on themselves and their health goals. There’s nothing wrong with that and it is good to take an honest look at what you need to do in order to be healthier. As you know, I am all for consistent SELF CARE! But for today’s post, I want to talk about focusing on what others need and how giving is good for your soul.

I truly believe one of the keys to happiness and good health is making a positive impact on others.

Giving is Good For Your Health

One of my favorite ways to remain positive is by helping others. Whether it’s volunteering for a good cause, making a meal for someone in need of spending a day giving your time to those less fortunate.

Spending your time serving others is a beautiful way to live a more positive life.

You can give to those around you without spending a dime. Offer a smile to someone on the street, stay back a few extra seconds to hold the door for the person behind you, and so on. There are so many ways to give daily!

Here are some good questions to ask yourself…

What talents do you have that you could share with others?
What are some ways you can make a more positive impact on those around you, near and far?
How often will you commit to serving others with your time, and who will you do this with (family, friends, or solo)?

What’s Your Commitment?

I promise that if you commit to giving to others, even if it is only for a brief period of time, you will feel uplifted and forget about your own stuff. Why not make that a goal for yourself in this new year!

“You can create value from anything that happens to you with a positive attitude.” – A.D.Mohla

xoxo

Jill DeMasi is a Lifestyle Blogger, Licensed Massage Therapist, and a Certified Wellness Coach with a passion for helping others manage Stress, Chronic Pain, and Anxiety. Learn more about her journey and wellness practice that offers natural solutions to stress at www.AtTheHeartofWellness.com.

Subscribe to my Lifestyle Blog!

How to Forgive & Forget

By Jill Ciampi

On December 21, 2018

In Anxiety & Depression, Chronic Pain, Emotional Health, Lifestyle Blog, Spiritual Health, Stress Management

Let’s face it, we all have anger towards one another at different times in life. Forgive and forget. Not so easy especially when you have been wronged. The Holiday season can bring up all sorts of past hurts and also be a source of pain for many who don’t have loving families and friends to share them with. Honestly, every family has issues at one time or another. Let’s talk about forgiveness. This is a tough one but we need to talk about it because it could have a significant impact on your health.

Forgiveness

Do you find it hard to forgive someone who has hurt you? And what about forgiving yourself? I believe this is one of the most difficult actions to take. But guess what- forgiving is more for you than it is for the other person. As you can imagine, holding onto anger and resentment is detrimental to your health.

Remember that for every negative thought or emotion we have, our body experiences a physiological reaction as well. This constant stress will eventually lead to a disruption in health and show up in all sorts of ways.

It is so easy to say forgive and forget about it. Confession– I may be able to forgive after a while of stewing about something that upset me but I have not been so successful with forgetting. Who knows, maybe it has something to do with being Sicilian!

Forgiveness doesn’t equate to forgetting what has pained you, and it doesn’t even promise a change in the person who caused you that pain.

Choosing to forgive is crucial and becomes a place where healing begins.

Practice Compassion

True forgiveness takes time and commitment. Make a commitment to let go. It will take time and constant effort. Compassion must exist to practice forgiveness. What is a practical way you can find compassion for those who have wronged you?

Practicing forgiveness lessens anxiety and stress levels. We are responsible for our own happiness when we release the hold that others have on us through anger.

Let It Go

Learning to let go is not easy but it will free you from the pain residing inside of you that is weighing you down. Focus on the present and move on from what has hurt you because it is not helping your cause or your health.

Are there a few things you could let go of and move forward from?
Are there some things you are holding onto that you need to free yourself from?

Write a letter to yourself expressing all of your feelings that surround whatever you’re holding onto. I found journaling to be an extremely helpful tool in forgiveness and overcoming anger.

“Don’t hang with negative people. They will pull you down with them. Instead, invite them into your light and together you will both shine strong.”
– L.F. Young

xoxo

Jill DeMasi is a Lifestyle Blogger, Licensed Massage Therapist, and a Certified Wellness Coach with a passion for helping others manage Stress, Chronic Pain, and Anxiety. Learn more about her journey and wellness practice that offers natural solutions to stress at www.AtTheHeartofWellness.com.