It just seems that they cannot remember things as well as they used to. This lack of memory leads to high levels of anxiety as they wonder whether they may be coming down with altzheimers or some other type of dementia.

The problem is often stress. And of course the more they worry the more they stress. What a viscious cycle!

When you are stressed your body releases high levels of cortisol into your bloodstream. Cortisol destroys glucose and glucose is the brains only source of food. So if your brain isn't getting the nutrients it needs then it makes sense it will not function as well.

Add the following into your daily routine to reduce high stress levels and keep you stress resilient.

• Exercise- Essential for brain health.  Regular exercise will reduce the levels of cortisol and send those feel good endorphines into your body. You don't have to spend a lot of time. 20 to 30 minutes a day. A nice walk before bed will also help you get a good night sleep helping you to be more productive and focused the next day. That will help to reduce your stress levels as well.
• Practice breathing exercises. The breath is the quickest way to shift you from anxious to calm in a matter of seconds.
• Aromatherapy- Certain olis such as lavander and chamomile have been proven to help you move into a calm state. Oils can be infused into the air, added to a bath or added to a massage cream or oil and massaged into the skin.

As a Life Coach and Stress Specialist I can help you create a plan to keep the stress gremlins away so you can enjoy more of your life! ~ Kathryn

 The bills keep piling up, your car is on the fritz or maybe your

1. Pump up on vitamin C

2. Go for the Guacamole

3. Breathe

4. Take the day off

5. Take a walk and repeat positive affirmations

When caffeine consumption becomes a regular habit, it can trigger an anxiety-type physical reaction. Caffeine stimulates the brain wave activity and it can arouse a tired mind. This is the most desired response for people who are sleep deprived.

However this can also backfire and cause disturbed sleep and irritability, leading to a poor quality of mood during the day.Caffeine can also cause an increase in skeletal muscle tension, increase in heart rate, it can cause heart burn, loss of focus and fatigue.

Moderation is the key in this situation, anything more than two cups of coffee is associated with arousal of autonomic nervous system, hence limiting coffee consumption to less than 1-2 cups per day can decrease stress and anxiety throughout the day.

2) Eating junk foods: Junk foods are ready made, so there's no hassle of cooking. They are munchy and delicious to eat. Junk foods are loaded with sugar, carbs & fats, so they taste good and give you an instant spike of glucose levels, but there's also a flip side to it...

Sudden increases in blood sugar, triggers the body to release insulin into the blood. Fast foods hardly have any fiber content so the glucose in them is quickly absorbed and metabolized, but it doesn't end there, the insulin continues to persist in blood for a fixed period of time and because junk foods don't have any real fiber content, insulin has nothing left to work on, so insulin feeds on the stable level of glucose in the blood and further reduces the glucose levels , this leaves you feeling dull, exhausted and anxious within a short period of consuming the fast food. So you end up feeling dull and anxious even though you have a full stomach!

3) Starving: When anxiety and stress come into the picture, we humans often behave irrationally, it is a common habit to skip food in times of anxiety or stress, but there is a flipside to this habit. Skipping meals can cause a low blood glucose level. Blood glucose level below 50mg/dl is known to increase irritability and anxiety. This becomes a vicious cycle, so the next time you feel irritable or anxious, make sure you have something to eat!

4)  Overeating: Just as starving can reduce blood sugars, over eating can spike blood sugars to very high levels. A blood sugar level above 300mg/dl is known to cause anxiety and irritability! Avoid very heavy meals when you are feeling anxious.

5) Unclean environment: Even though cleanliness is a downplayed factor, studies in human productivity have revealed that employees who often maintain a clean desk and clean work environment have high levels of productivity and low levels of anxiety and stress. The same applies to home environment. Can you imagine a happy healthy person living in a cluttered and dingy environment? Maintaining a clean and clutter free environment can be a small tweak you can add to your anxiety reducing regimen.

6) Not thinking on paper: We have 60.000 thoughts per day and it's a common habit for us to worry, however many problems in life are complex and cannot be solved by thinking alone, they need analyzing from different perspectives. The great writer Earl Nightingale proposed a simple method to solve problems. He proposed that we take a clean sheet of paper, write the problem in the form of a question and write down 20 solutions to the problem. Some of the cues/questions that you can use during this process are :

What is my source of anxiety and worry?
What can you do ?
Can you affect the outcome of the situation?  If so, how?
Think of the worst-case scenario? How can you avoid it?

7)  Negative self talk: It is estimated that of the 60,000 thoughts we have everyday, about 70-90% of them are negative or self defeating. Even in an optimistic and healthy individual, the estimated percentage of negative thoughts is around 20 % i.e. a whopping 12000 negative thoughts every day! What kind of impact do you think such thoughts can have on your energy?

Learning to replace "negative self talk" with "encouraging self talk" can greatly reduce the daily levels of anxiety. Whenever you catch yourself thinking negatively, try to replace it with some "positive self-esteem" self-talk, be your own coach and supporter, because if you won't do it, nobody else will.

Make a list of the negative thoughts about yourself and write a list of positive thoughts you have about yourself, whenever you feel anxious, refer the list to identify the negative thought and replace it with a positive thought.

8) Ignoring family problems: Your family may need your help from time to time - to quote one of the famous psychologists. "There is no problem that is ignored by the subconscious", so even though you may be able to function at normal levels and ignore your family problems, these problems don't go away and they are not ignored by your subconscious.

Taking time to talk to your family members with an intention to help them can go a long way in maintaining healthy relationships and decreasing your overall levels of stress and anxiety.

9) Staying indoors in fluorescent lights: If you have a habit of staying you indoors for most of the day or if you work from home, you might end each day feeling anxious and burnt out.

Being under the glow of fluorescent light all day can worsen your anxiety.
In one particular survey, 53% of those who suffered from anxiety felt that their  anxiety attacks got worse when they saw fluorescent lights. Several studies have confirmed that fluorescent lighting is related to anxiety, poor attention, hyperactivity, stress and aggression. Researchers have also found that fluorescent lights are linked to worsened cases of agoraphobia.

If you suffer from increased anxiety when in a room with fluorescent lights, you might consider switching to full-spectrum lights, which has been shown to improve the mental function and moods of people who were suffering from anxiety.

Natural light is essential for optimal body and mind function, make sure you get outside for at least 15 minutes to half an hour every day, so that you get a break from fluorescent and a good breath of fresh air.

Author: Ryan Rivera from  Calm Clinic

more opportunities and simply put, more of what they want. It seems effortless for them and while there may be some people who are naturally confident a good majority work at building their self esteem and confidence levels daily.

Here's what they do:

• Spend more time with people who lift you up and less time with those who drag you down.        You know the people I am talking about. Chances are there are both types in your life. Those who always see the positive side of things and encourage you to keep trying and those naysayers who always see the glass as half empty and make sure to tell you all of the reasons why whatever it is you want in life cannot possibly happen. They are the ones who are always talking about what is wrong, with the country, the weather, their spouse or family or just life in general. You may not be able to avoid these people all together ( maybe you live or work with one) but you can limit your time with them and you can  change the subject when they go off on a tangent about what's wrong. If you are one of these people and you recognize it you are taking your first step towards a new you! Seek out people who are always positive and upbeat, join groups of people who are upbeat. Their confident and happy energy will naturally begin to rub off on you!
• Repeat positive affirmations every day.  If you aren't used to doing this you might think it sounds silly but I am telling you it really does work to bring your energy up. I usually repeat mine when I go for a walk in nature with the dogs. Sometimes I say them in the shower and sometimes when I am alone in the car. Before I give a talk or present a workshop I always repeat positive affirmations.
• Smile at everyone! The clerk at the grocery store, the lady standing next to you in line and anyone you come in contact with can be lifted up by your smile. When you lift up someone else you will naturally feel better about yourself.
• Exercise  It doesn't matter what kind of exercise you choose just move! As you take better care of your body you will feel better about the way you look and feel. I recently started pilates and love the fact that it works on my core muscles. This is your power center so any kind of exercise that is focused on your core will strengthen the energy there and again you will walk away feeling more powerful and strong.
• You may even choose to work with a life coach to help you become confident and happy!

As an entrepreneur for the last twenty years I have found that my business goes in waves. It is either feast or famine. 

In talking to other entrepreneurs I find that this is common. When business is good it is really really good and I barely have time to breathe. I am grateful for the work but a part of me longs for a little time off also. :-)

And then it comes. The time off arrives and the first couple of days I relax, enjoying the time. after a couple of days I begin to get restless wondering when and if more work will come my way. When I first started in business this is when my panic set in. I rushed around doing everything I could to bring in more business. I was so busy doing and doing. I set up new marketing campaigns, met with  people, made phone calls and literally worked harder that during my "busy" season. I didn't enjoy the time off.

What I have learned is that when I can truely enjoy and be grateful for the gift of time I have received I move into what I call the flow. I am able to ride the waves, keeping my balance when I am on top and enjoying the ride when I am on the bottom. I have gratitude for 'what is' right now. This moment in time. After all isn't that all there really is?

Have you been given a gift of time lately?  Are you enjoying it?

How Do You Deal With Stress?

According to the American Psychological Association a recent survey found that the most common ways people deal with stress is:

• One-third of us either eat (22%) or drink alcohol (14%) to cope with stress;
• Others rely on exercise (45%) and religious and spiritual activities (44%);
• 14% turn to massage and yoga to relieve stress.

Quick fixes like eating and drinking alcohol don't work. While they may relieve your stress for a short period the solution is not long term. You could also end up with an eating or drinking disorder and/ or pack on extra weight which will only add to your stress levels.

The key to deal with stress is  not to try and eliminate stress from your life but to become stress resilient. Sometimes stress is beneficial and can help us to move forward in life, to achieve, to make changes, ect.

Stress resilient is when you are aware of the stress that you are experiencing and you are also aware of when it is pushing you forward and when it is pulling you back. With this level of awareness you are able to make changes in your routine such as exercising more, meditating and making time to take care of yourself.

A stress resilient person is able to handle the challenges that life brings, they are more productive, healthier and have better relationships.

 I was excited to see that so many people in this survey rely on exercise and spiritual community as a way to deal with stress.  These are both great ways. Massage and yoga and other practices such as meditation, deep breathing and EFT are all fabulous ways to deal with stress in your everyday life.

Author: Kathryn Watson- Kathryn has created a wonderful program called "Take Five" She teaches you how to become stress resilient in five minutes or less.

 

1. Know what you want