Dear friend...

Dear friend, 

I know you are struggling. You think that if you didn’t have to leave your bed, you’d be okay. 

Let me tell you: You are okay. You’re more than okay. You have a gift no one else has. A GREAT light is within you. 

You think too much about a lot of things but you never think about that greatness inside you. You don’t believe me, but I’m telling you it’s true. 

Stay in bed today if that’s what you need, but, tomorrow... welcome the world, accept its good points and bad, smile at the craziness of it all and start turning that light within you ON! 

I’m here for you when things are a little scary and so is your bed, but remember...

 there you are only resting 

because when you've finished resting, there's a world waiting for something only you can give them. 

Lots of love, 

A friend you should listen to. 

Stop overthinking!!

Yes this is a message to me and anyone else who spends their free time overthinking about everything!! Stop!!

Easier said then done? Of course; isn't that always the truth?

So how do we stop overthinking?

I find pinterest a good place to start. So I type: 'stop overthinking' into the search bar and lovely illustrations, quotes and articles of interest pop up. I do love pinterest.

One picture grabs my attention and I follow the link to this blog post: how to stop overthinking everything = perfect!  I love how the internet can connect you with what you need so easily.

 

 

 

 

Source: http://www.thequietlife.me

This post gives tips on how to stop overthinking which includes:

1) Put it on paper
I like this idea. I think writing down what's on your mind in a way processes it. It makes you see your worries on paper and you can choose, to write down further notes about what you can do to ease these worries, or you could scrunch the paper up and put it in the bin. This visual activity of what your overthinking about could help you stop.

2) Breathe and re-focus
Now I know breathing exercises helps many people but I personally do not find it so helpful. I don't like concentrating on my breathing and I get bored easily and do not take it seriously. So for me, I would change this tip to 2) Close your eyes and listen to music as this makes me sit quietly and focus on the moment.

3) Talk to yourself about it
 I think this is a good tip to try. We can often be hard on ourselves. I know I always think awful things about myself like,  I'm not very good at this; everyone is doing a better job than me; I will always find easy tasks hard; what is wrong with me?  I would never believe those things about anyone else so why myself? If I were to talk to myself I would say, you are better than you think; you have qualities that other people do not have; there is a place for you!

4) Do something
The last tip is to do something. Instead of sitting there overthinking read a book, watch a film, write a blog post or do something to take your mind off things.

Thank you Katherine Tate for your tips! Read her post here: http://www.thequietlife.me/introvert-how-to-stop-overthinking-everything/

Do you have any tips on how to stop overthinking?

Shake it off!

Sooo I struggle with anxiety, worries and my messy mind. I am an overthinker and an overanalyser. I cannot flick that switch off. Anyone feel the same way?

Well I'm not claiming that one song will solve all your problems but I am saying that sometimes singing along loudly to an upbeat song with lyrics that you make relevant to you can make you feel good! Even if it is for about 4 minutes!

That is why my Song of the Week and Quote of the Week is: Shake it off!

A couple of months ago I bought this memory board and I was excited to fill it with lots of lovely, positive and happy things.

Well I haven't really done that...yet. So I thought I would attach the message: shake it off to remind me that I need to stop thinking lots of bad, worrisome thoughts and I need to just shake them off!

Firstly, I got my paints out and divided an A4 page into 4 and painted each part a different colour. I do not claim to be an artist; I was just painting for me. Once dried, I decided I would use the bold pink card and I wrote with a black fibre tipped pen the words shake it off.

Here it is:

What should I write on the other colours? Any words that motivate you or make you feel better?

Also, have a read of this if you need more convincing why 'shaking it off' can help you feel better:  http://moodnudges.com/shake-it-off/

This week...

This week, I haven't posted my usual Quote of the week or my usual Song of the week posts.
This week, my anxiety was more prominent as I worried about lots of challenges I had to face.
This week, some of those challenges were met with happy, successful results.
This week, some of those challenges didn't turn out so well and are now  repeating in my head making me sad and annoyed at myself.

This week, I read the below words from: Weallmadhere

That’s the wonderfully bothersome thing about the brain, it projects your worst nightmares into reality like an old movie. You can view the screening any time, any place and completely free of charge.

Weallmadhere

 
This is how it feels like a lot of the time with me and my brain. I do not only get to view potential mistakes and nightmares that I could possibly (but not very likely) make but I also view all my past mistakes, failures and embarrassments at any time and any place.

This week, I was grateful to read this. I was grateful to know that I am not alone.

P.s. notice how my happy, successful results of this week are overshadowed by the negatives
 = anxiety :(

What anxiety is for me

We all get anxious at some points in our lives but some of us are more anxious than others. While there are different types of anxiety disorders I have never named my anxiety. What I mean by this is I have never been to the doctors and spoke about my anxiety for someone to tell me what it is I suffer from; maybe I should but I haven't. I have always been a shy worrying child but it is only since I have grown up that I've considered that I suffer with anxiety. I am an overthinker who lets my anxious mind stop me from making the most of my life; this is how I suffer. I worry every day about little things that seem silly to a lot of people and I sometimes avoid situations because I'm just too anxious. I really suffered with it not so long ago where a situation of unemployment + anxiety + hopelessness = depression (I'll speak about this again in another post some time). It was a really tough time and I'm glad I'm getting better but anxiety still affects me.

Anxiety, for me, is an uncontrollable and overwhelming record of worries repeating over and over and over in my head like a bad song.

What is anxiety for you? Please share in the comments below or feel free to email me at em.thoseknots@hotmail.com                
Em x