I have suffered from anxiety for as long as I can remember. I don’t know exactly what triggered it off or if it was passed down in my family genes.  My best bet is that I inherited it.

My mother’s side of the family suffers from different types of mental illness. Some struggle with anxiety while others from depression. I have relatives diagnosed with bipolar and a few with schizophrenia. As you can imagine, I have been around people suffering from poor mental health all my life. I saw how it affects people and I have first-hand experience of what anxiety is.

When I was a teenager, I started to notice that I wasn’t ‘normal’ (not that suffering from anxiety or any other mental health condition makes you not normal!). All my friends would be going out, enjoying themselves in parties, drinking and even smoking. They did what usual teenagers do while growing up.

Unfortunately, I failed to do any of those things. Instead, I locked myself away in my bedroom claiming I was studying . In reality, however, it was far from the truth. I would lock myself away from society and not tell a single soul how I was feeling- not even my family.

During my early years suffering from anxiety I was ashamed of myself and how I was feeling, I felt like an outcast and didn’t know where to turn to. I couldn’t even get onto a bus without having a panic attack that would make me get off of it after.

Over the years, I have slowly learned how deal with my anxiety. And this is exactly what I’ll be sharing with you in this article:

1) I found a hobby

I took up playing golf.

Whenever I play golf, I feel so relaxed and calm, especially since the golf course has a beautiful scenery and a nice calm atmosphere. There’s no noise apart from the birds singing happily away to themselves and a few occasional screaming in case someone hits a ball towards your direction.

Playing golf was my way of getting out the house and socializing. This alone helped me and my anxiety. I felt I could be normal and be a part of society again.

I strongly advise that you take up a sport or find a hobby that you’re passionate about. Not only will it take your mind away from anxiety, but it can help with your overall health as well.

2) I decided to quit smoking

When I was around 18, I started to smoke. At first, it helped me calm down when I was feeling really anxious. However, after a short while, it made me feel 100 times worse. Not only did I have bad breath and smell, but it made my anxiety stronger, too.

If it’s your habit to smoke, I suggest you quit it. I know it’s easier said than done, but, believe me, it will benefit you in the long run.

See Also: 33 Expressive Ways to Overcome Self-Doubt & Anxiety like Madonna

3) I started reaching out to people

I have already told you that I used to lock myself away and not tell anyone how I felt. It wasn’t helpful and I know it won’t help you, too.

My next piece of advice is to talk to people. Consider interacting with your family, friends or even partner and explain to them how you feel. Just talking to someone about how you’re feeling or what you’re thinking can make you feel much better. Keeping things locked up inside you will only make you feel alone.

See Also: 3 Healthy and Inexpensive Ways to Cope with Anxiety

Since implementing these 3 things into my life have helped changed myself for the better. I am no longer ashamed of who I am or how I’m feeling. I’m proud to be who I am and so should you. Start today and change your life for the better.

 

The post Suffering From Anxiety? This Is How I Deal With Mine appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

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Most people don’t like waking up in the morning feeling grouchy, anxious, and pessimistic. Aside from making your mornings unproductive, it can also negatively affect the rest of your day.

If you are looking for ways to boost your optimism, here are a few tricks on how to wake up happy.

• Resist the Phone

According to a study by IDC Research Report, 89 percent of millennials reach for their smartphones within just 15 minutes of waking up – and the majority within just a couple of minutes.

The problem isn’t that you’re picking up your phone, but what you’re doing with your phone. In most cases, you’re checking email, text messages, news headlines, and social media notifications. This influx of information can be overwhelming, leading to stress before you even start your day.

• Listen to Some Music

  

Is there anything worse than the sound of a squealing alarm in the wee hours of the morning?

If it’s waking you up feeling agitated, it’s probably time to get rid of your irritating alarm tone and instead opt for your favorite song. Dozens of studies have shown a positive connection between listening to music and being happy. On top of that, music can help reduce blood pressure, anxiety, and heart rate, too.

• Name Three Things You’re Thankful For

If you wake up thinking about all of the things you don’t want to do today, there’s a good chance you’ll see the day in a  pessimistic view.

Instead of concentrating on the negative ideas, you should focus on all of the wonderful opportunities you have in front of you. You can start each morning by being thankful for three things and work on making the list longer as your day goes by.

• Drink a Tall Glass of Water

Water is one of your body’s key sources of energy. While you probably want to reach for a hot cup of coffee as soon as possible, make a habit out of starting your day with a tall glass of water. This helps replenish the fluids you lost overnight and provides a significant energy boost.

• Wake Up 30 Minutes Earlier

At first glance, this may seem like a ridiculous tip. After all, who wants to wake up any earlier than they have to?

The truth is that it actually comes with a lot of tremendous benefits. If you wake up earlier, you’ll have an extra 30 minutes.

This gives you enough time to do things you actually enjoy without feeling rushed. You could read a book, go for a walk, play with your pet, or cook a healthy breakfast.

See Also: Do These 5 Things To Wake Up Energized (And Productive) Every Day

• Let the Light In

  

While most people like to have a totally dark room to make it easier for them to fall and stay asleep, you should consider leaving your blinds open before you get to bed. Since the human body has an internal clock that responds to light, exposing yourself to it can help you wake up naturally. As a result, you’ll feel happier and less disturbed.

Focus on Happiness

Your entire day can be affected by the small decisions you make in your first few minutes after waking up. Make happiness a priority in your life by revamping your morning routine!

See Also: 9 Things to Let Go to Find Ultimate Happiness 

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They say depression is a silent killer because nobody knows when it creeps in and starts to affect you. Because of this, diagnosing the medical condition can be hard.

This, however, doesn’t mean that there’s no way for you to recognize it. Here are 15 of the most common symptoms of depression you should know.

1. You experience persistent, unexplainable physical pain

If you get constant physical pain even when your physician claims you’re healthy, then you should pay extra attention to your health. Unexplainable physical pain is likely a result of a psyche issue.

This type of pain is usually unresponsive to pain medications. Non-pharmacological interventions aren’t likely to ease the discomfort as well. If you’re struggling with these concerns, then there’s a good chance you could be suffering from mental depression.

2. You suffer from insomnia or oversleeping

Depression makes you feel sad, guilty, and worthless. These negative feelings are so intense that they can disturb your sleep, too.

In other people, this works backward. They have no strength to bear such negative emotions that they just choose to run from reality by oversleeping.

On average, an adult needs 7-8 hours of sleep every day. If you are taking less or more than the average sleeping time, it’s a good idea to ask yourself why. Not every case of insomnia or oversleeping is due to depression, but they are closely related.

3. Your appetite changes

Some people binge-eat to channel their depression because they think eating more can make them happier. On the other hand, there are also people who can’t find joy and contentment in eating when they’re depressed. This leads to appetite and weight loss.

See Also: 4 Ways To Overcome Depression Naturally 

4. You experience energy loss

When you are depressed, you tend to get tired easily. This can happen even if you didn’t do any hard work during the entire day. Sitting in front of the TV, lying in bed, and staying at home all day can still leave you feeling too exhausted.

5. You rush or slow down your pace

When you are depressed, you become either rushed or slowed down.

Some people agitate under depression because their depressive thoughts push them into a state of panic. There are people who slow down instead because they are less interested in their lives.

6. You don’t connect with other people

Even when you’re surrounded by family and friends, you can still feel depressed. That’s because you no longer feel any connection with them. You don’t trust them, so you’re reluctant to share your problems and ask for help.

7. You keep a facade

When you’re depressed, you often feel unconsciously guilty because you’re not healthy enough, not strong enough, and not happy enough. You don’t want to trouble people with your condition, so you try to compensate by faking a smile and telling them that you’re okay.

8. You no longer find anything interesting

Depression can affect how you view life. Those activities that you previously enjoyed are no longer irrelevant to you. Camping, partying and reading books now seem unenjoyable for you. And the more depress you become, the less pleasure you find in doing them.

9. You get irritated easily

When you’re depressed, it’s easy to feel meaningless. This view can upset you in the inside, even if you don’t feel so.

The more you drown yourself with this idea, the more negative feelings you develop. These emotions can affect your relationship with other people. Although they can try their best to understand and help you, you see their efforts as worthless so you just push them aside.

10. You no longer feel emotion

When you’re depressed, you don’t feel sad or angry. Even if someone gets mad and yells at you, you don’t get upset. You feel no happiness either. When someone tries to crack a funny joke, you only laugh because it’s what’s expected of you.

You lose your emotions because you feel worthless and that you don’t matter to anyone.

11. You’re unable to concentrate

When you’re depressed, your mind is full of depressive and negative ideas. This makes you unable to concentrate on certain matters, like your work, studies and other interests.

If you find difficulties concentrating at work or school, it’s a good idea to reassess your thoughts and recognize any possible causes.

12. You feel persistent guilt

Mistakes typically come with the emotion of guilt. If an error is too petty to cause harm, guilt usually dissipates easily. But, when you’re depressed, it doesn’t really matter if the mistake you’ve committed is big or small. You can carry the same intense guilt for a long time.

See Also: How To Fight Depression: The Ultimate Guide

13. You constantly feel empty

It’s normal for people to feel empty from time to time. This happens most frequently to people who lack the time to take a break and enjoy life. However, with the right interventions, this feeling can fade away quickly.

When you’re depressed, you’ll find it hard to shake the feeling even after you’ve taken the necessary actions. You can take time off of work, go to a vacation or talk to a counselor, yet you’ll still feel the same emptiness.

14. You loathe yourself

People with depression often look down on themselves. They see their depression as something abnormal and disgusting. They consider their depression as a sign of weakness and they loathe themselves for that.

The level of loathing varies from person to person. Some people self-criticize every little thing they do. Some people can’t even look at themselves in the mirror. In severe cases, depressed people think that the world will be better off without them in it.

15. You think about death- constantly

Mentally healthy people don’t normally think about death. They’re more preoccupied with living their lives and attaining their personal goals, like getting a stable job, starting a family and gaining professional success.

But, if you’re depressed, you’ll find yourself constantly thinking about dying. This is actually one of the most dangerous symptoms of depression. You’ll be obsessed with the things that can happen after your death and how you can end your life. No matter how hard you try to shake that thought, they just keep coming back to you.

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“Self-compassion is simply giving the same kindness to ourselves that we would give to others.” – Christopher Germer

We all try to take care of our loved ones to some extent. Unfortunately, however, we tend to forget one important thing along the way: ourselves.

When you lose yourself in the process of taking care of other people, you experience a lot of negativity. Your sincerity to help decreases and your actions become forced. The more you continue to care for other people without practicing self-care , the less satisfaction you’ll feel when helping them.

So, how do you avoid all these things?

Simple. Start with practicing self-gratitude.

Research suggest that individuals that practice gratitude have fewer negative health issues. They sleep more soundly at night and feel more refreshed in the morning. People who show gratitude feel more satisfied with their life to the point that they’re able to maintain a positive outlook even for the future.

How To Start Practicing Self-Gratitude

Practicing self-care through gratitude can be challenging, particularly if it is not something you do every day.

If you’re unsure about where to start, you can try using a gratitude journal.Before you go to sleep, try to write down at least three things that have happened for that day which you are grateful for. The list can be as simple as the meal you ate for breakfast or a good deed a friend did for you unexpectedly.

As you continue to write about positive things, you’ll slowly begin to feel happier about your life. You’ll find it easier to see the good in everything to the extent that you begin to affect other people.

Doing something as simple as offering a sincere ‘thank you’ to someone, for example, can increase that person’s warm feelings toward you. And once that happens, you’ll be able to sustain a long term relationship.

See Also: How to Adopt an Attitude of Gratitude

How To Control Your Emotions

According to social and psychological counselors, learning how to understand and manage our own emotions is another powerful tool we can use in helping others. Because of this, many counselors focus on teaching self-regulation skills to their clients.

Individuals who are in better control of their own emotions are frequently good at seeing the good in other people. They can also identify opportunities for themselves and others easily. They don’t find difficulty maintaining a healthy outlook during times of extreme stress, too.

If you want to control your emotions, you must first know why they exist in the first place. Understanding why there were triggered can give you a clearer idea on how you should address them.

Although this sounds like an easy task, it can be incredibly challenging to get to the root of your emotion. You need to have a higher level of self-honesty, so you can be comfortable in admitting the reasons to yourself.

Self-Gratitude and Taking Care Of Others

See Also: A Little Bit of Gratitude, Everyday! 

Emotionally intelligent individuals are often more empathetic towards the situations of other people. Because they can understand things better,  they’re able to help others go through their certain issues more efficiently.

Addressing your needs while taking care of other people isn’t bad. You just have to find the right balance to make sure you build a positive energy that you can use to influence other people to do the same.

 

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Direct marketing can either make or break your business. When done right, it can cause an immense increase in your sales. Unfortunately, however, direct marketing isn’t as easy as it seems. You have to figure out the right approach and the right target market before you can get it to work for you.

Here are the five strategies of direct marketing you can use to increase your sales.

Direct Mail

Direct mail has been a strong part of direct marketing for several years. It includes envelope mailers, catalogs, self-mailers, brochures and post cards.

When using direct mail, keep in mind your target audience’s needs and wants. Planning a good strategy on how you can make them open your mail can increase your chances of landing a good sale.

The problem with this approach, however, is how you can collect direct mail addresses. In case you’re just starting out or you’re having issues with it, you can try getting the service of a list broker.

Email

One of the most common media today for direct marketers is email. For one, it’s low cost. Another good reason is it’s ability to be generated with ease.

However, despite these benefits, using email for your marketing campaign isn’t easy. For it to be effective, you have to come up with a good headline that can push your prospects to open it and bite your offer.

You also need to be very direct and simple with your readers. Make sure you’re clear about what they can get from opening your email messages.

See Also: 5 Marketing Questions All Business Owners Should Ask Themselves

Pop – ups

Remember how exciting those pop-up books were when you were still young? It turns out that the concept can still be as exciting for adults, particularly if they’re unexpected.

A pop mailer usually has the same size as a direct mailer. However, since it sparks curiosity, people feel compelled to open it. In case you are planning on using one, make sure to keep track of our codes, techniques and approach. You want to be able to find out which type of pop mailer can increase your ROI.

Making a list and checking it twice

While dealing with direct marketing, make sure you’re not sending the same materials. A good marketing strategy should make you come up with quality materials you can send to your target markets.

Keep a list of those leads to avoid duplication. Your target market won’t be happy if they have to read the same material more than once.

See Also: 4 Good Reasons For Marketing With Facebook 

Including a call to action

Your call to action should be clear and direct. Because it needs to elicit an immediate response, you need to make sure your prospects know what they need to do to get your offer. If they find your instructions vague and confusing, they’ll just likely hit the back button.

It can be as simple as telling them to call your office, send you an email or download your eBooks. On top of these instructions, keep in mind to be clear about the essential details of your offer, such as where they can reach you or where they can get the product. Literally, you need to tell them what to do.

Don’t just wait and send

Following up with your leads is a great help in triggering your target market to take an action in response to your offer. However, when doing follow-ups, it’s critical that you don’t overdo it. Timing is essential if you want your prospects to establish a trusting relationship with you.

What other direct marketing strategies do you implement? How do you use it to boost your sales?

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Bad habits aren’t totally hard to break. Although they require extra work, shifting your bad habits to positive ones is still  highly doable. And there’s a lot of ways to get the job done.

Aside from approaching it scientifically and medically, here’s how you can start quitting your bad habits in a spiritual point of view.

Make time to meditate

Meditation is about clearing your mind and zoning out completely. It can help you think deeply about your life and where you’re headed to.

Taking the time to engage yourself in deep self-reflection regularly can allow you to pinpoint actions and behaviors that you need to change before they get out of control.

See Also: How to Become a Spiritual Badass – The 20 Laws of Spiritual Power

Hone in on your motivation

You’re likely to have a hard time breaking a habit if you don’t really want to do it in the first place. So, before you can be successful in your goal, you must first be committed to that decision.

Take, for example, your after-work happy hour habit. If you know that it’s starting to interfere with family time, you can use it as your motivation. Focus on the reward of getting home in time for dinner and tucking your kids into bed.

This way, you’ll have a starting point for saying “no” the next time you’re invited to post-work cocktails.

Replace the bad with the good

Rather than focusing all your energy on eliminating your bad habits, you can take a different approach and focus on replacing them with good ones instead. This goes back to the concepts of meditation and motivation. Just think about the habits you have that make you feel good, healthy and proud of your actions.

Perhaps they’re not habits yet, but rather things you would like to become habits. When you make the effort to go for a run around the neighborhood, for instance, you’ll feel a rush of ‘endorphins’ that can leave you smiling for hours afterward. This positive effect can make you feel 100 percent comfortable in committing to it.

Visualize your success

After you’ve made the decision about what you need to do, why you want to do it, and how you’re going to accomplish it, you need to start visualizing your success. This can help you be more focused on your end goals.

Imagine a life where you’re no longer regularly binge-drinking. Instead, you find yourself surrounded by a group of friends who have no problem finding healthy and positive ways to have fun. Imagine waking up early for yoga or cooking healthy meals for your significant other.

Constantly visualizing what you want in life can help you get through times of temptation.

Surround yourself with positive influences

We all have weak moments, which is why having a support system is so crucial. Having people who can keep you focused can make breaking away from your negative habits a lot easier.

Friends who have no intentions of changing their ways or family members who have a tendency to enable bad behaviors will only make the road more difficult for you. While you don’t need to cut ties with these people, it helps to spend more time with those who can encourage you to stay committed to your goal.

And remember, it’s a two-way street. If someone encourages you to work past your bad habits, think about how you can help them kick their own to the curb. Creating a circle of positive reinforcement can only result in greater good.

See Also: 7 Ways to Get More Comfortable With Feeling Uncomfortable

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Let’s face it:

Camping, especially with young children, can be a lot of work. And because it’s tedious, not all parents willingly take their kids whenever they go camping.

If you are one of these parents, here are five tips for family camping you can use to make camping less stressful and more enjoyable for you and your little ones.

Tip #1: Make a List and Use It

Sit down and make a list of all the necessary things you need to bring to your camping trip. It can be helpful to break the list down into categories to make sure you don’t miss out on anything. Start with the essentials first, like the tent, food and camping tools. Once you’ve covered the essentials, you can go to the extras, such as batteries and rain gears.

If you camp often, you can save your list on the computer so you can just print it out each time you are packing for a trip. Following a list can help eliminate the worrying and stress that come with forgotten tools and meals.

See Also: 8 camping hacks that’ll turn you into a super-camper (and impress the girls)

Tip #2: Plan your Menu

If food is important at home, it is even more important when camping. Since you and your family will be burning more calories than usual, you need to make sure no one gets hungry along the way. You also need to pack plenty of water avoid dehydration.

When planning your menu, keep in mind to double check everything. You won’t have easy access to stores when you go camping, so make sure you have everything you need. It’s also a good idea to include snacks in your menu since kids can really get cranky when they’re hungry.

Tip #3: Bring “Tools” That Can Make Tasks Easier

Perhaps, one of the most stressful things about camping is keeping an eye on your little ones. Since there are a lot of things you need to do while you’re still setting up, it can be difficult to keep a tab on them.

One of your best solutions is to keep your children busy as you set up. Bring along a few toys that your small children can play with while you set up your tent or cook dinner. You can also keep them preoccupied by giving them their own mini-camping tools.

For example, you can bring along your child’s toy hammer so that they can “help” you set up your tent. You can also give them cooking toys so that they can “cook” right next to you. This way, you can finish your tasks without having to worry about your children leaving our sight.

Tip #4: Have a Plan for the Day but be Flexible

Before heading straight to camping, it’s a good idea if you can create a plan. Planning can give you a clearer idea of what you need to do for a specific day.

To ensure that your kids will enjoy the activities, it’s a good idea if you can ask them what they want, like the activities they prefer, snacks they want to eat and places they want to go. Making sure that they have a say in the plans and get to do what they are interested in is essential if you want to them to maintain a positive attitude throughout the trip.

While having a plan is important, so is being flexible. If some of the activities you include in your plan aren’t feasible, be open to suggestions instead of pursuing them further. It will only make your camping a lot stressful for everyone.

See Also: Make Memories, Not Conflicts: How to Survive a Road Trip With Small Children

Tip #5: Have Activities for “Down Time”

Travelling can be exhausting, especially for kids. Because of this, it’s important that you also have a good plan on how you’ll spend your periods of downtime with them.

You can bring some books that you know your children can enjoy. You can also take a few of their toys with you for the trip. Ensuring that your kids have something to do while resting can help keep the stress level of everyone down.

Introducing your kids to camping while they’re still young can seem like an overwhelming task. However, over time, you’ll be glad you made the effort. Camping comes with a lot of benefits, including encouraging a better appreciation of nature and even life.

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Once, alchemists sought the secret formula for turning lead into gold. Nowadays, we seek things that seem to be far more complicated than transforming things to gold. One of them is success.

With so many people trying to influence us, it can be difficult for most of us to really know and realize what we want. And since we’re misguided by what these people have to say, we struggle and we go around in circles trying to be successful.

If you’re struggling with the same issues, then this article is exactly for you.

Our Approach To Finding Success

Let’s talk about Sam.

Sam wants to get the perfect body. He follows almost every type of diet shown on TV. He exercises however his Facebook feed says is “the best way it’s done”.

However, since it’s hard to keep good habits, Sam mostly just tries until he fails- which is often.

When Sam was a student, he studied the same way everybody does. He picked his major, profession, and job based on what his parents said. He didn’t have enough time to reflect on what he wanted and what he personally thought was best for his career. The same thing happens when it comes to medical treatments. Sam just take whatever he hears is best from hearsay and friends.

Although there are things that go well, there are also some things that don’t work out well for Sam. And because he’s living his life on autopilot and based on what other people want, he sometimes wonders if the things he does and did are really his best.

And this is what’s admirable about Sam. He’s self-aware. He questions himself.

Unfortunately, however, Sam doesn’t put the necessary effort to improve his life. He just bounces from one strategy to another, based on what other people tell him.

And then there’s Sally.

Unlike Sam, Sally seeks the truth. She likes to go through a thousand lies just to get the one truth out of them.

She sifts through diet recommendations to find out what will really work for her. Changing habits isn’t easy for anybody, but Sally figured out how to make that work for her, too.

Her exercise plan works and she has control over her life. She knows exactly why she chose her major and what type of work she wants to do in the future. She knows what she wants and she doesn’t listen to anyone else. Sally feels successful with all her life choices.

See Also: Why You Should Forget Success And Strive to Fail 

The Right Approach To Attaining Success

To be successful, you need to be aware of two things-  knowing the question and how you’ll find the right answers to that question.

Nate Silver, who was good at predicting the future, once wrote a book called “The Signal and the Noise”¸ The book talks about how you can find the true “signal” when it’s cut up into a thousand pieces and hidden in scattered “noises”.

For someone to be truly successful, he must first know what he really wants. Once he knows what his heart desires, he needs to have a good idea on how he can fulfill them- without the influence of other people or factors.

Now, let’s go back to Sam.

Sam knows that something’s not right. Despite achieving a lot of things, he still questions himself about his achievements. And because he’s not fully satisfied, he doesn’t feel as successful as he really is.

But, once he is able to find the answers to his questions and know what he really wants, much like Sally, Sam will succeed. He’ll move from one milestone to another, without the need to question himself again. And as he gains more accomplishments, he’ll never feel the same doubt he used to feel for himself before.

That’s where Sam becomes successful.

See Also: 2 Ways to Create Success Even When You’re Not “Good Enough”

Conclusion

Looking for the truth within yourself is not that difficult. In fact, you can easily find it if you just stop looking at other people and listening to what they have to say.

Your success comes from within you. It’s not about your parents, your friends or what social media has to say. Your success is and should be about you.

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