 Can you have high-functioning anxiety?
Yes, you can. Let's take a look at what that can look like in your brain. And if you want to know what that can feel like in the body, you can go read this post. (The link will open in a new tab.) It can look like racing thoughts, that you can not quiet in your brain. One thing, to the next thing, and over there to a different thing, there is not a sense of balance or flow; instead, it's just one thought to the next, and is creating stress, and not allowing any time for action or solution, or completion. Do you have a harsh inner critic with a lot of opinions, tear-downs, and insults? All of that negative self-talk.
Constant state of urgency, and feeling behind, and I gotta hurry up, also comes from that inner critic and low vibration self-talk. High functioning anxiety can also look like difficulty being present with your task, your meal, or with others. So what might help? First, remember that wellness is brain and body; it's all connected. That means the things we do for our body, also help our brain. When we do deeper breathing, we are flooding our body with more oxygen. When we eat healthy foods, including fats, we are providing all of our systems, gut, brain, and body, with the nutrition it needs to work at its peak. That means we also know that when we are eating a lot of processed foods, we are not giving our brain what it needs to make better choices. Staying hydrated is very important for your brain, and so is a good night's sleep, at least 7 hours. When we don't have that reset, we aren't allowing our brain to clean out the fluids and reset for the next day. All the basics. In fact, very often doctors will prescribe a sleep aide, relaxant for a person who is in high anxiety, just to get them to have a good night of sleep and a reset. But we also need to change that inner critic, and there are a couple of things that might help. Put positive notes around, where you will see them. Yes, you can read them, but the cool trick is that your subconscious will read them; you don't have to stop and do it. And you can change up the notes, or where you have them posted, allowing your brain to take in new data. Another thing that can work is to have a ring, bracelet, or even a hair tie (think Jason Momoa with his pink hair tie on his wrist all of the time) and when you catch that mean voice speaking badly to you, say nope, that's not for me, I am awesome. You don't have to say it out loud, but you can! And then move the item to the other hand. So if the bracelet is on your left hand, move it to your right hand. Something physical with the replacement words. This one is going to sound odd, but in the morning, make sure and see the sunlight. Yes, you can even do that through a window, even lying in bed. And again in the evening see the sunsetting light. Both are best if you are seeing it from outside, even if that is just standing in your open door. And nature, spending time in nature. You don't have to hug a tree, but you can. You don't have to go on a hike; you can just stop at the local park. And you can just be outside of your house, on your patio, your balcony, or in your yard, and just see what the clouds look like, do you hear birds, can you see birds? How warm or cool do you think it is? Have the leaves changed colors? Has the grass been mowed recently? Are there bees, mosquitoes, or hummingbirds? Can you hear water in a fountain? Just getting back in touch with nature each day can do a lot to give your brain a break. And yes, these are all habits that take time. But you are worth it! Instead of trying to add all the tips at once, choose one that you resonate with and try it for a week. See if it helps, see if you notice any changes. If it does great, keep at it! Or if you need to, spend the next week trying a different one out. Find what works best for you, as your body learns the resonance of calmer and of the triggers.
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 People often want to know, how can I be enough or do enough, to help themselves or a loved one through a diagnosis, event, or emergency? Or how can I help/fix someone else, especially a child? And the truth is similar to an airplane emergency, you need to put your mask on first.
Take the time to get clear on what you need to heal, and what you want to do; and lay down all of the lower vibrations of guilt, shame, should, and could have. A good step is to become a PLJ Champion (link opens in a new window) and learn why it works faster than gratitude to raise your vibration. Another good step is to embrace learning. Maybe it's about a disease or manipulation tactics, how to write a safety plan, how to be an advocate, about trauma responses, how the 988 system works, (link opens in a new window) how to talk to someone who may be considering suicide, etc. The more you know about a topic, and not just the surface-level stuff, but really know, meaning you could explain it to a 4th grader, then you are in a better position to help. You are also in a better position to not lose yourself and to maintain your boundaries for your own wellness. Make your present and your future about a fully healed you, and become that ripple that heals the generations in your family.  Can you have high-functioning anxiety?
Yes, you can have high-functioning anxiety. Let's take a look at what that can look like. Because we do wellness, brain, and body here, let's start with what it can feel and look like in your body, and then we will talk about it in the mind/brain in the next post. You might be breathing shallowly. You can especially notice that it is just in your chest and not the deeper breaths that move your belly in and out. You might have a racing heartbeat, and you might feel achy all over or in a certain place, like the neck and shoulders, that you are holding too tight. So, what might help are some deeper breaths, lowering those shoulders, and moving your neck side to side. You might feel tired, but wired, that I can't rest, jittery feeling. Make sure you are using good sleep hygiene, and you can read more about what that looks like here. Also, stress can kick up the hormones in your body, making you feel not just jittery but like your body needs to move around. Moving your body can help, so can getting your feet on the ground, breathing some fresh air outside, and even a shower. You may not feel like eating, or you may just not feel like eating healthy foods. This is one of those push through, have some food, something that nourishes your body. And make sure you are hydrated, odds are you aren't, so have a glass of water. Nobody likes to talk about poop, but we are going to. Signs of stress and anxiety in the body can look like gas, bloating, diarrhea, and IBS. Again, good foods, healthy food, and drinking water can help, and so can some of the other anxiety-relieving action items mentioned above. What might help is to choose one item and just work on getting that one to be a habit, then build on that habit with another one. Or write them down, put them in a little bowl, and make the habit be to pulling one out every day, and do that one. Once you learn the tools that work best for you, you will learn that you can untrain the habits your body is holding, and you can live a more comfortable life. But start slow, you aren't going to change everything in a couple of hours!  This time we are talking words, not fabrics. Have you heard of Dr Masaru Emoto? He showed that water has memory; he would put a word on the water, freeze it, and photograph the crystal it formed. He learned that thoughts, feelings, words, and music could all have an effect on the water molecules. Words like love, peace, and wisdom made beautiful crystals, and words like hate and anger created fractured ones. You can learn more about his work here and see some of the crystals. (link will open in a new window) We also know that the human body is about 60% water.* So, what are we doing to our bodies when we wear a t-shirt that has low-vibration words on it? I hate mornings. Calling in to work dead today. I would rather die than face another day at the office. Too great to hate! I am not crazy and mean, it's called boundaries. Or the word play like Impossible to I am possible. You get the idea, is that the word energy you want to be soaking in? Certainly not if you want to raise your vibration, or keep your vibration higher. But what about a shirt that has a brand name tag on it, that includes a lower vibe word, can you just cut out the tag? And what do solutions look like? Especially affordable ones! Yes, you can cut out the tags. That's a great start and costs you nothing more. If you are handy with sewing by hand or with a machine, you can also cut out the words on a shirt and sew a patch in its place. But no, covering it up doesn't remove it. And obviously choose to purchase things with no words, or positive words, when you are shopping for replacement clothing. But maybe you want to add a positive vibe to something you already have, that's blank or neutral. For example, a t-shirt from the beach that just has a wave on it, that works too. Iron-ons are affordable, and so are sew-on patches. You can even print your own iron-ons with a normal printer onto iron-on "paper" and create your own wisdom words. That is particularly great when you are looking to personalize your wellness. And embroidery is another option that anyone can learn. And fabric paint is simple and fun too.  Another fun way to do it is to head to the local thrift store and look for items that have words you are looking for, like peace, love, joy, gratitude, grateful, wise, healthy, etc. Or salvage those words from something you own before you recycle it. Many times a negative word t-shirt will also have the positive on it - I hate mornings, but I love coffee, is an example. Now you have a patch you can apply to a different item of clothing. Plus, all of these tips provide you with an activity that is quiet and keeps your hands and mind busy. Maybe even a new hobby, and a time to add more intention to your life. And pro alert, what's on your pillowcase, sheets, or blankets that you are sleeping on and under? Is there a blank canvas that you can add a positive and healing vibration to? Or do you have a stuffed bear that stays on your bed? How about adding a positive word on that? And your pets, do you put t-shirts on your dog? Add a dose of wellness and higher vibrations to them, too. Are you looking at your wardrobe a little differently now? Are there changes you need to make? What is the average percentage of water in the human body? https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/what-percentage-of-the-human-body-is-water
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