Help! I Am Worried All The Time!

 

A few weeks ago I got an email from Kristina Mastrocola, Senior Editor at Woman’s World magazine, asking to interview me for their America’s Ultimate Expert page about things people can do to stop worrying. To say I was honored was an understatement! Woman’s World is a national magazine with a weekly readership of over 6 million! In the interview I discussed many things that I teach my clients that can help to reduce anxiety and worry and in the end only one small paragraph of what I said was published, but oh well, I am still excited to be included in their panel.

Here is a photo of the article but it is hard to read so if you would like to read it just click the link.

Woman’s World America’s Ultimate Experts “Help! I’m Worried All The Time!”

 

 

To find out more about coping with anxiety and worrying  download my free booklet Simple Steps To Overcome Anxiety & Worrying  use the sign up form below the book.

When clients first come in to see me, the main concerns that come up again and again are:

1. How can I feel less stressed, angry and overwhelmed?
2. What should I do if I feel panicky?
3. How can I stop worrying about everything: my children, partner, friends, work, my “to do” list….

So I put together a booklet with some strategies I am always giving to my clients to help them begin to feel less anxiety and to worry less.

I hope that you will find it helpful too.

Add your first name and email address in the box below and you will be sent the steps to download your FREE book.

If after reading my blog posts or booklet you feel ready to start working on reducing your anxiety but need support, I can help you overcome worrying in one-on-one individual counseling sessions.

In a supportive environment with a therapist who has over 20 years experience you can learn how to reduce worrying by:

• Learning a variety of relaxation and breathing strategies which can help you reduce your overall levels of stress and help you face anxiety-provoking situations.
• Learning how to distinguish between worries that require your attention and worries that are unnecessary.
• Learning skills to manage anxious thoughts and to tackle fears that may have been holding you back.While all your worries won’t disappear, you will be given strategies to manage them better and tools to reduce the impact they have on your life.

If you feel anxiety is standing in the way of you leading the life you want to, call me on 847 791-7722 or via the email form below.

Do you ever look in the mirror and focus on a particular body part you are unhappy about and then start to be hypercritical and notice and worry about other parts of your body too? You wish your bum wasn’t quite as big in those jeans and then you notice your thighs and the wrinkles on your knees and soon your negative, super critical thoughts are out of control. Here are three ways you can nix those negative thoughts and give a positive boost to your body image.

 

1. Get Grounded

Thoughts race from one thing to another because they are fueled by adrenaline. We think something negative about one part of the body and those thoughts spiral, increasing our anxiety about how we look until we can start to feel utterly hopeless about our whole body.

This simple grounding trick helps you get out of your brain and into your body so you can feel how strong and capable your body is. Start by standing up. Feel that negative energy fueled by those criticisms you are saying to yourself. Let the energy travel down from your brain, through your body and down through your legs and feet. Like roots of a tree the energy is connecting you to the floor. Feel how strong your legs are. Feel the energy coming down your arms and out of your fingertips, shake it out.  Be present in your body and breathe in slowly for the count of 4, hold for 4 and breathe out for 4.

For more grounding techniques read 7 Simple Grounding Techniques For Calming Down Quickly

 

Now that your brain isn’t racing, let’s take a calm look at those critical things you are saying to yourself and challenge their validity.

 

2. Stop That Critical Voice & Be Kind To Yourself

Try to notice what exactly you are saying to yourself when you are being critical about your body. You are probably being very harsh on yourself. You wouldn’t dream of saying those things to anyone else so why is it okay to talk to yourself that way?

Write down a list of your top-ten strengths: What do you like about yourself? What do you do well? Many people I work with find it hard to come up with a list of positive things about themselves, so I suggest they ask a couple of supportive friends to chime in too. Not just about how you look but who you are as a person. When you stop judging yourself so harshly, you begin to see your strengths, as well as your perceived flaws. Build up yourself-confidence by talking nicely to yourself and by reminding yourself of everything you have to offer the world is a powerful tool you can use to head of self-criticism.

 

3. Use Your Body To Trick Your Mind

Another way to get your body to influence your mind is to do the “Wonder Woman” stance, feet apart, hands on your hips , chin up and shoulders back. Smile! Tell yourself you are great. Louder, I didn’t hear you! That’s right, loud and clear, smile and tell yourself how great you are!

Ann Cuddy’s research on body language found that adopting a positive and strong body pose can actually subconsciously change the brain to give us a message that we are a confident person. It also reduces cortisol levels (the stress hormone)and so reduces stress levels. Cuddy’s research showed again and again that when people adopt an expansive confident stance they actually feel more confident and better about themselves.

To read more about the Wonder Woman stance click Presence – A Simple Way To Increase Confidence