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Agoraphobia: An Old Familiar Fear & Link Up On the Edge #200
Three months spent in lockdown has triggered an old familiar fear. If you have never experienced agoraphobia, I am going to try my best to explain it from my own personal experience. But first, I want to share a bit of background. I speak often about my life with Bipolar Disorder. I sometimes hint at incidents of anxiety and have even briefly mentioned some obsessive-compulsive behaviors that once tormented me. But I have never talked about agoraphobia because I really had forgotten about it. And now those old uncomfortable fears are sneaking back into my life. “Agoraphobia is an anxiety disorder characterized by symptoms of anxiety in situations where the person perceives their environment to…
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You Are Not Alone & Link Up On the Edge #197
Many of you already know that one of the fundamental goals of my blog is to raise awareness about mental health and to do my part in eliminating the stigma that accompanies life with a mental illness. I have written extensively about my own personal journey with Bipolar Disorder and how difficult it can be navigate through life and maintain a sense of normalcy. I have also shared a variety of different coping mechanisms that have helped me throughout the past few decades. If you are interested in reading more about my personal mental health journey, you can find all of those articles under my Mental Health category. I haven’t…
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How to Gain More Insight into Your Life
We spend a lot of our time coping with the world around us. Indeed, much of what we do is reactionary as we are simply responding to the external forces that impact us. However, while this is sometimes unavoidable, if you approach the world in reactionary mode for too long, you may quickly find yourself swept up in a whirlwind of a life that does not make you altogether happy. It is difficult to find our truest happiness when we allow the outside world to dictate our lives rather than creating the story we actually want. One of the best ways to shape the life that you want is to…
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Got Goals? These 4 Strategies Can Help You Achieve Them
We all want the best in life whether it is material possessions, better health, improved relationships, or financial gain. However, the gap between what we want and what we currently have can be rather vast. But there are things we can do to transverse that space between wanting and having. This article will discuss 4 different strategies that can help us get to where we want to be in life. SMART Targets The first approach is one strategy that has been tried and tested with much success. It’s SMART targets, which is an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely goals. SMART targets are a really great way to…
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4 Ways to Practice Mindfulness Every Day & #SpreadTheKindness Link Up #166
Mindfulness is something that is missing from a lot of people’s lives. We all spend so much time worrying about the future and stressing about a million different things that we miss out on what is going on around us. When you are constantly surrounded by outside stimulus, it is hard to just stop and exist for a few moments without looking outside of yourself and worrying about things. If you want to improve your life and your mental well-being, it is important that you find ways to be more mindful every day. This means taking notice of what you are experiencing right this second, without looking beyond the present…
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4 Ways Meditation Can Improve Your Life
People are always looking for small changes that they can make in their lives in order to make a positive change to their health. Dedicating a bit of time to meditation every day or even just once a week can be a very beneficial method for affecting the desired changes. If you have never practiced meditation before, it is a technique that you need to try and then slowly turn it into a lifestyle habit. It can help you to be more in the present and become more aware of your surroundings and yourself. There are many different ways that you can meditate, you just have to find the one…
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Surviving Grief & #SpreadTheKindness Link Up #159
With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, the blogging world is inundated with so much cuteness in love themed everything from heart motifs on sweaters and tee shirts, jewelry inscribed with words of love, and gift guides for all of your favorite Valentines. But for me, at least this year, Valentine’s Day weighs me down heavy with grief. But not my own grief. The grief of my child. If you recall last year on Valentine’s Day, my community suffered a great tragedy when an entire family was lost in a house fire. (I mentioned it briefly here and here). One of the children was a friend and classmate of Archie’s. And while…
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Nothing but a Whole Lot of Something & Link Up On the Edge #181
Lately, I have been really wracking my brain to find my writing angle. I know there is something big inside of me that needs to get. Something powerful that will help others in their own struggles. I know that I have the nerve to address the uncomfortable topics in life. I know that I have the capacity to articulate the things that people may need to hear. I know that some of the darkest places inside of me are the places that resonate with even the most distant strangers. And I know in my heart that it is important for me to share. My problem is finding exactly what it…
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Why Getting Dressed Up is Important to Me & Link Up On the Edge #175
There are so many times, like multiple times a day, that I wonder if this blogging thing is really just frivolous and vain, pointless and silly. That old arch-nemesis of mine, Imposter Syndrome, sneaks in when I least suspect her and brings mental turmoil and overwhelming amounts of self-doubt with her and drops them proudly at my feet like a cat with a fresh kill so very excited for the hideous gifts she presents to me. What am I to do with such presents? First and foremost, I stand there in shock that she would bring me these things yet again. Especially since I have made it abundantly clear that…
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3 Simple Ways to Boost Your Self Confidence
Self confidence is defined as a feeling of trust in your own abilities, your strength, and your judgment. It is important to your quality of life as your level of confidence can impact all aspects including physical and mental health and well-being. When you lack self confidence or feel down about yourself, it can affect your motivation and inspiration in all the things that you want to be doing in your life. There are a few simple ways that you can boost your self confidence that will help to improve your personal and professional life and set you back on track for success. Comparison is the thief of joy. Comparison…
