anxiety

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6 Tips To Make Fear Your Friend

January 16, 2023 John Uncategorized No comments

In life it seems that fear takes time outs yet never really leaves the game. But you can put fear on your team.

This GenuLines game plan aims to do just that.

6 Tips To Make Fear Your Friend

What makes you afraid? Is it losing someone close to you? A trip to the dentist?

Thunder and lightning?

Whatever it is, keep in mind that fear is normal. It’s how our body warns us of dangerous situations and that we should be careful.

Yet, sometimes, our fears can become so great that they hold us back from living up to our full potential. We’re stressed and anxious over the smallest things.

Then again fear, in its positive form, can actually be good for us. It can inspire innovative ideas and motivate us to reach new heights.

Today GenuLines helps you make fear your friend. Follow the six tips below, and you’ll know how to turn what was once your foe into an ally.

Let’s get started.

1. Identify the Source

This could be the hardest step, though it’s very much worth it. But first, you need to come to terms with the source of your fear.

Being aware of the root cause will be difficult in the beginning, but it’ll make you stronger. You’ll no longer live in the shadow of that big, insurmountable fear.

2. Own It

You’ve come face-to-face with your fear. Now, it’s time to own it.

But before you do that, you have to actually admit that such-and-such scares you. There are several ways to do this.

First, you can either say it out loud. Do this with someone else in a comfortable setting.

You can also write it down in a journal or diary. The point is to get it out of your head and into a way to deal with it.

That’s when your fear loses its control over you.

It also feels better to get it off your chest and share it with the world. It might surprise you to know that many other people are as afraid as you are.

3. Think Rationally

Fear makes us panic, and panic makes us do stupid things. In fact, studies show that when we panic, our prefrontal cortex shuts down.

This is the region of our brain responsible for rational thinking.

Learn how to think rationally despite your worries and panic. Make fear your friend, and you’ll be able to go a lot farther in life.

4. Take Stock

People deal with fear, stress, and anxiety in different ways. Some people like challenges and the pressure they bring.

Others find it better to work at their own pace without any tight deadlines looming overhead.

Whichever way you prefer, the important thing is not to let fear get the better of you. For example, say you’re afraid to speak in public.

A colleague gets sick and asks you to take over their presentation. In this scenario, you have to pick whether you’ll let your fear overpower you or whether you’ll rise to the challenge.

The latter won’t be easy, but it’ll definitely be worth it in the long run. Tell yourself that others have held presentations before and have lived to tell about it.

So, what’s the big deal?

Remember, your mind tends to blow things out of proportion. So, find a way to deal with the stress and take stock.

It’s the only way you’ll be able to harness your fear and get the job done.

5. Find Support

No one ever failed by having a strong support system. Surround yourself with people who encourage you to do better.

These are the people who listen to you when you’re venting about your fears and anxiety.

There’s research to back the benefits of having a support system. This helps your coping skills. your self-esteem. and your well-being.

Moreover, a sound support system can lower stress, anxiety, and depression rates.

6. Be Positive

Whenever you’re afraid, you’ll tend to focus on negative thoughts and emotions. But then, they fester in your mind and transform into this big, ugly thing that you can no longer control.

Why not try some positivity for a change? Remember, the mind is quite powerful; it only needs a small push in the right direction.

Stay in this mindset and expect things to fall into place.

JohnK 1-16-2023

chiforyourself.com

Overheard: “Fears are educated into us, and can, if we wish, be educated out”

~Karl Augustus Menninger

You Might Not Be Who You Think You Are

December 6, 2021 John Uncategorized No comments

You think of yourself in a certain way. Yet that way may not be who you really are.

Puzzling as it can be, GenuLines points the way to more understanding.

You Might Not Be Who You Think You Are

The famous psychologist, William James, once said, “You’re not what you think you are,

but what you think, you are!” This quote is a bit of a riddle.

But at its core, there’s a profound message: you’re in control of your destiny.

We know that it’s not always as easy as it sounds. This is why this post is all about self-exploration.

Let’s find out if you know exactly who you are. It may take you by surprise to realize that you might not be who you think you are.

Interested in finding out more? Then, let’s dive in!

The All-Powerful Mind

The mind is one of the most powerful tools you have in your arsenal. It can impact our moods, health, and pretty much our view of life.

Your mind is so powerful that it can make you ill, even when there’s actually nothing wrong with you.

Let’s say you’re stressed out about a job interview or an upcoming exam. Within a matter of days, all that anxiety will manifest itself in disease.

You may start experiencing digestive problems. Your blood pressure will start to rise.

Some people even start suffering from nausea, heart palpitations, and sweaty palms.

According to William James, if you create a mental picture of yourself—good or bad—you’ll begin to embody it. That’s how powerful your thoughts can be!

Your Self-Schema

Your schema is the collection of cognitive beliefs and generalizations of ourselves. We gather these from the experiences we go through and the messages we receive from other people.

These messages quite often dictate who we are and how we behave in certain situations.

In almost all cases, these perceptions develop without our even knowing about them. But they still have a big influence on how we see ourselves.

Whatever you believe is true, it will at some point become true for you.

Not all self-schemas are negative

Many of them can be good for your self-esteem and inspire you to achieve more, like:

I’m:

*talented

*outgoing

*athletic

Then, some self-schemas are incomplete, distorted, or inaccurate. As a result, they force us to view ourselves, our choices, and our entire world in a negative light.

They may make you feel hopeless, even worthless at times.

Some of these include:

I’m:

*lazy

*not successful

*overweight

See the Big Picture

If you’ve experienced any type of trauma or anxiety, you know that a negative sense of self can follow. Low self-esteem and negative self-talk also develop soon after.

Leaving yourself vulnerable to these feelings of defeat and despair can be dangerous.

The scary part is that this distorted self-image of can affect anyone. It doesn’t target the weak or lonely.

It also happens to those who are resilient, courageous, or perseverant.

Always remember that you’re more than your self-schemas allow you to believe. Still, it can be hard to see the bigger picture, especially when times are tough.

Below are a few things you can do to provide support to yourself or someone you care about. They’re a good reminder of your self-worth and help you see yourself as your true, complete self.

Question the Accuracy of Self-Schemas

It’s easy to let others determine our perception of who we are, aka our schemas. Yet, the problem starts when we convince ourselves that that’s who we are as individuals.

The only way to avoid this is by taking some time to reflect. Ask yourself, “How accurate is this belief?

Does it reflect who I am?”

Remember that if others have drawn up a certain picture of you, it may be incomplete. It may even be 100% inaccurate.

No one knows who you are and what you’re capable of except you.

Take Control of Your Thoughts

Were you able to question the truth of certain aspects of yourself? You know now that other people’s perception of you isn’t always correct.

Once you recognize that, you can be aware of how unkind you can be to yourself. Don’t worry, we’re all victims of one form of self-sabotage or another.

At times, we can be our own worst enemies. Luckily, there are ways to avoid falling into that pit.

The simplest thing you can do is to emphasize the positive, no matter how small you may think they are.

Start with some strength-based affirmations, such as:

*I welcome change.

*I don’t waste time feeling sorry for myself.

*I’m grateful for all that I have.

Making mistakes doesn’t make me a failure.

Giving up isn’t an option.

Allow Yourself to Be Whole

You are the sum of all your parts. You’re not defined by a mistake you made at work- or by your successes.

You are a combination of your strengths and weaknesses, failures, and accomplishments. Allowing them to coexist is the first step to appreciating yourself and all you stand for.

JohnK 12-6-2021

chiforyourself.com home

Overheard: “If you feel lost, disappointed, hesitant, or weak, return to yourself, to who you are, here and now and when you get there, you will discover yourself, like a lotus flower in full bloom, even in a muddy pond, beautiful and strong.”

~Masaru Emoto, Secret Life of Water

Stop Letting Fear Control Your Life

November 1, 2021 John Uncategorized No comments

Fear is something that, at times, can help you in life. But when it takes control of your life it’s a whole different story.

Never fear, GenuLines is here to get you back in the driver’s seat.

Stop Letting Fear Control Your Life

The number one thing that holds many of us from going after our dreams is fear. If left unchecked, it can keep you locked up inside your own mental prison.

The trouble is, confronting your fears isn’t easy. And changing it is going to be uncomfortable.

While they may keep you comfortable, they can also cause frustration and depression. If you’re honest about wanting to live your best life, you need to stop letting fear rule it.

Here, we’ll look at how you can stop letting it control your life.

Explore the cause of your fear

If you want to stand any chance of getting over your fear, you’re going to need to know its cause. Write down all your fears.

Then, circle the fears that are most palpable. Once you’ve identified your main fears, start to think of ways you can prevent them from happening.

This can help you to feel like you have more control over them.

You won’t always be able to prevent your fears from coming true. But most of them are nothing more than a defense mechanism.

By facing our fears, we often find that they weren’t as bad as we thought they’d be. Once you have an idea of what’s causing them, you can then look at ways to combat them.

Practice mindfulness

Fear tends to generate a lot of anxiety. By practicing mindfulness, it can help to bring a sense of calm into the mind.

Lowering your anxiety levels will in turn give your fear less control over you. When you’re in a calmer state, you’re going to feel a lot stronger and better able to face your fear.

Meditation and deep breathing exercises are great for calming anxiety. They also deliver a lot of other great benefits for the mind and body.

Start with short, guided meditations if you’re a beginner. They’re free on sites such as YouTube.

Focus on the consequences if you don’t change

If you’re struggling to face your fears, focus on what will happen if you don’t make the needed changes. That is, how will your life be a year from now if you don’t change anything now?

Most likely, you’ll still be stuck feeling dissatisfied with your life. You’ll be unable to move forward.

The reason you’re reading this is that you’re already feeling fed up and wanting to make a change. So, if you don’t start facing your fear, you’ll only start to feel more frustrated, resentful, and lost.

Summary

Focusing on what will happen if you don’t face your fear can provide you with the motivation you need to do it.

These are the best ways you can stop letting fear control your life. Only by recognizing and facing up to this can you get past it.

Fear is also linked to how you feel about yourself. So work on your self-improvement and boost your confidence.

You’ll be in a much better position to face your fears.

JohnK 11-1-2021

chiforyourself.com home

Overheard: “Courage is knowing what not to fear.”

~Plato

5 Consequences of Chronic Boredom

May 27, 2020 John Uncategorized No comments

Medical experts call boredom the ‘disease of our time”. This is especially true during times of pandemic and quarantine.

It can manifest into serious problems so GenuLines looks at some ways that can happen.

5 Consequences of Chronic Boredom

It’s not just for children anymore. Everyone suffers from it.

It used to be temporary for the most part. You couldn’t wait for the lecture to be over.

Or for your turn to see the doctor. It’s boredom, and it can turn serious.

Boredom is a chronic disease, and why not? You’re bombarded with an endless array of stimuli every waking moment.

We’re used to constant information flow when we awake. We’re expected to take it all in,

and we do.

We’ve stopped interacting and engaging. So, we get bored.

German psychologist, Theodor Lipps, described boredom as ” a feeling of unpleasant arising out of a conflict between a need for intense mental activity and lack of incitement to it, or inability to be incited.”

This can mean different things to different people. An introvert, might find pleasure between the pages of a book or any other type of solitary activity.

But an extrovert may want more excitement as well as more social encounters.

You Do You

No matter the personality type, there’s a correlation between boredom and self-awareness. Let’s say you have a clear idea of your strengths, weaknesses, motivations and beliefs.

And you’re comfortable in your own skin. You’re now better prepared with the tools required to make yourself less bored.

You can gauge your moods and feelings, and understand what it is you want out of life. It also better prepares you to deal with others, and respond accordingly.

But having a clear understanding of your personality can be a real problem. The world is at our fingertips 24/7.

The idea that we can turn off the noise for a few seconds is now a foreign concept.

No one wants to sit there and do nothing! Adults fixate on playing games or browsing through their social media.

Downtime can be scary!

But it’s in those moments where we really feel our presence, tune in to our thoughts, and get in touch with our feelings. It’s also when we are at our most imaginative and creative.

It’s how we evolve, discover and invent.

Chronic boredom can make it easy to leave you in a rut of negative habits. You feel powerless to finish tasks.

This puts a damper on the quality of your life, and exacerbates physical pain. It comes with a slew of negative ramifications, the 5 most common are:

• Obesity

Constant snacking minus real hunger could be a case of boredom. This often involves foods high in processed fats and sugars.

These make you feel calmer and happier. Dieticians refer to this as emotional eating, which is often brought on by boredom.

• Depression

Boredom can be a symptom of depression, and it can also trigger it.

Working long hours. Stressful work or home environments. Less than challenging jobs.

These can ramp up stress and lead to deep bouts of depression.

• Stress and anxiety

Living day to day in an environment that doesn’t give you what you need can lead to emotional exhaustion. Top that with a helping of work responsibilities and financial strain.

This is the perfect recipe for chronic stress triggered by boredom and redundancy.

• Alcohol and drug abuse

In an attempt to break through the boredom spells, it’s common to find people reaching for alcohol and drugs. Of course these can have an addictive effect.

But in the moment, all people see is how they allow them to forget. They’re forgetting the aggravating effects boredom has on their lives.

• Heart disease

When boredom is the rule, your brain releases toxic hormones into your bloodstream. These hormones create problems for your heart.

Moreover, chronic boredom sufferers tend to skip exercise and eating right. In fact, they’re more likely to turn to bad habits, like smoking and drinking.

These can take their toll on the cardiovascular system, resulting in premature death.

A great way to break the boredom cycle is to step back and look at the big picture. Make lists of all the good in your life. as well as all the things you’ve wanted to try but never found the time and start from there.

Take control of your life and try to work your way around the things you cannot change. Form new, healthier habits.

Try something different each day. Volunteer your time to helping others who are in need.

And, above all, find something that piques your interest.

JohnK 5-27-2020

chiforyourself.com home

Overheard: “The two enemies of human happiness are pain and boredom”

~Arthur Schopenhauer

Don’t Let Anxiety Weigh You Down

February 5, 2020 John Uncategorized No comments

Anxiety is kind of like money. It’s a good servant but a terrible master.

GenuLines is here to help you take charge when anxious moments crop up.

(you can listen to the article by clicking on the “radio” or scroll down to read)

____________________

Don’t Let Anxiety Weigh You Down

Your quality of life takes a bit of a hit when anxiety is the order of your day. It puts your body on high alert.

You feel like you’re in danger, and that spikes your heart rate and gives you more stress and sweaty palms. Now, anxiety isn’t all bad.

It can motivate you, say, for a test or an interview. But in the workaday world, it’s pretty much useless.

If you think about them you could get anxious about things that are out of your control. The result is a terrible feeling that can cause you to lose sleep.

That loss of sleep often turns into a bad day. Too many of those and you start to see the effects on your body.

Upping the stakes

During times of unusual stress, our body releases a hormone called Cortisol. This, in turn, has been linked to weight gain.

When you’re stressed out you might reach for comfort foods. Things like chocolate or salty snacks.

Those will cause you to pack on the pounds.

Now, combine that with the added stress and lack of sleep and you risk heart disease. It takes some time for the physical debilitation to manifest itself.

But the mental effects of anxiety are immediate. A severe case can make each day a grind.

You constantly seem stressed out and fearful.

As anxiety starts to spiral out of control, you may come up with coping mechanisms. For instance, you might start avoiding people and stressful situations.

You find yourself only able to grocery shop during off-hours. Or you won’t feel like leaving the house at all.

Your high anxiety can morph into depression.

It gets hard to find the energy to get out of bed in the morning and face life. Operating on high alert and pumped full of adrenalin is exhausting.

Staying in bed seems like a much better alternative.

If you find your anxiety is weighing your life down get professional help. Anxiety can be debilitating.

But there’s help to be had and plenty of tools that can help you get back to where you want to be.

JohnK 2-5-2020

ChiForYourself.com home page

Overheard: “My anxiety doesn’t come from thinking about the future but from wanting to control it.”

~Hugh Prather, Notes to Myself

Article Photo by Aarón Blanco Tejedor on Unsplash

Ira Israel on CHI FOR YOURSELF And A New “Freebie”

February 13, 2018 John Uncategorized No comments

Last week’s CHI FOR YOURSELF interview with Ira Israel ran into some “technical difficulty” as they say. So it was not available to you live. But my conversation with Ira was recorded.

Ira Israel is the author of How to Survive Your Childhood Now That You’re an Adult: A Path to Authenticity and Awakening.

First, a look at some of the show’s talking points:

The central theme of the book
The meaning of “negativity bias”
A definition of authenticity
The part resentment plays in our lives
Is there such a thing as the “mid-life crisis?”
The myth of romance
Beginning the process of forgiveness

…and, the show itself. Listen by clicking on below–

A new CHI FOR YOURSELF “freebie” is up and available. Get this free report on dealing with stress when you click here–

FREE Stuff

JohnK 2-13-2018

chiforyourself.com home page

Ira Israel on CHI FOR YOURSELF And A New “Freebie”

February 13, 2018 John Uncategorized No comments

Last week’s CHI FOR YOURSELF interview with Ira Israel ran into some “technical difficulty” as they say. So it was not available to you live. But my conversation with Ira was recorded.

Ira Israel is the author of How to Survive Your Childhood Now That You’re an Adult: A Path to Authenticity and Awakening.

First, a look at some of the show’s talking points:

The central theme of the book
The meaning of “negativity bias”
A definition of authenticity
The part resentment plays in our lives
Is there such a thing as the “mid-life crisis?”
The myth of romance
Beginning the process of forgiveness

…and, the show itself. Listen by clicking on below–

A new CHI FOR YOURSELF “freebie” is up and available. Get this free report on dealing with stress when you click here–

FREE Stuff

JohnK 2-13-2018

chiforyourself.com home page

A Grown-up Look At Childhood: Ira Israel on CHI FOR YOURSELF

February 8, 2018 John Uncategorized No comments

It’s our first (first run) CHI FOR YOURSELF episode of 2018!

Our guest will be psychotherapist and counselor Ira Israel, author of How to Survive Your Childhood Now That You’re an Adult: A Path to Authenticity and Awakening.

Ira offers a step-by-step path to recognizing the ways of being that we created as children and transcending them with compassion and acceptance.

Hear the CHI FOR YOURSELF interview with Ira Israel on Friday, February 9th at 4 pm Eastern, 1 pm Pacific time at chiforyourself.com

JohnK 2-8-2018

chiforyourself.com home page

Today on CHI FOR YOURSELF: Talkin’ to The Animals!

July 2, 2015 John Uncategorized No comments

Make sure you’re with us for today’s CHI FOR YOURSELF interview. We’ll hear from Tim Link on how to have better communication with our animals. Tim is the author of Talking with Dogs and Cats: Joining the Conversation to Improve Behavior and Bond with Your Animals.

Hear the interview at 4pm Eastern, 1pm Pacific time at chiforyourself.com

Johnk 7-2-2014

chiforyourself.com

Pet Project: Talking to Dogs and Cats on CHI FOR YOURSELF

June 29, 2015 John Uncategorized No comments

Our next edition of CHI FOR YOURSELF is one you’re going to love if you have a pet or two (or more!) in your house. We’ll hear from Tim Link, author of Talking with Dogs and Cats: Joining the Conversation to Improve Behavior and Bond with Your Animals.
Tim is an author, Reiki master, radio host, and animal communicator. He can help you know your animal on an energetic level- and that can mean a better experience for both of you!