I have a cat. Got her as a cute kitten but now she is a cat. This is the first one that I have ever owned. I am a big animal lover, but this cat has been testing my patience. She has issues with a quiet house. Anytime someone is sleeping, she can't stand it and starts meowing. She meows right outside my daughter's door when she is napping. The worse thing is she meows every night, when the family tries to sleep and again, in the wee hours of the morning. Constantly meowing. Loudly! She has food and water, access to the outside, access to any room she wants, lots of cat toys, two dogs to play with, but nothing keeps her quiet. On top of all that, she's mean and bites or scratches you if you try to touch her. I am at my wits end, willing to try anything so I don't have to give her away.

Anxious self-talk influences me every morning. Although I know morning sickness is a good sign pregnancy-wise, ingrained into my subconscious I feel throwing up is a setback. I know the anxiety is because of something I am telling myself (aka negative, anxious self-talk). To figure this all out, I know I have to do a writing exercise.  So far, it is the best skill I have learned to help me overcome and manage my anxiety.

Yesterday was a really beautiful warm spring day where I live. Two days ago, it was snowing! So I really took advantage of the sun and warmth and spent some time outdoors. I went to my local Lowe's and drooled over the plants and flowers that are finally out for sale.  The vegetables and early perennials and annuals were calling to me. Over the past several years, I have found a real love of gardening because the warmth of the sun and the smell of the grass and flowers brings me peace. There is also such a sense of satisfaction to watch something grow from a tiny seed to a full plant that you can admire or even harvest and eat.

Everyone reading this is probably looking for a way to be cured from anxiety. I have found that when I focus on words such as "cure" and "recovery," it tends to lead to disappointments. If I am doing really well, I may feel that I am close to recovery. Then if I get hit with a setback, I am really upset because I thought I was doing better. Instead, I focus on finding the hidden lessons within the setback and use it to move forward. My philosophy is to treat anxiety as if you may have it the rest of your life. If you do this, you can learn ways to reduce and manage the anxiety symptoms so that you can still live a happy fulfilling life.

I find that many people are looking for safe alternative treatments to help with their anxiety besides medication. I have mentioned several before such as relaxation techniques, yoga, deep breathing techniques, positive affirmations, changes to your diet, building your self-esteem, etc. However another option worth considering is taking vitamins. Specifically, vitamins B and C are geared towards reducing stress and anxiety.

I love all of the comments that I receive. On my last post about the benefits of yoga, I received a couple of comments I thought were worth discussing. The first is from Sue Best, and she addresses implementing a yoga workout at her office, "One of my work colleagues organised yoga after work and it is a great success. Some people even fall asleep at the relaxation at the end, which is a wonder, because our workplace is fraught and can be frantic.

I thought I would discuss what I use as my favorite tools and resources for learning about and dealing with my anxiety and phobias. Reading Material- The biggest help that I have gotten has been from the book The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook Fourth Edition by Edmund J. Bourne. The guidance in this book touches on everything that I can think of on how to manage your anxiety and phobias. I highly recommend trying to find this book at your local library. I was hopeless and this book gave me the motivation to take control of my life again. Main things that helped me were learning about Self Talk, Positive Affirmations and Mistaken Beliefs.

As a follow up to the importance of implementing relaxation techniques into our lives, I want to share with you why yoga is my favorite relaxation technique and a great anxiety tool. It always amazes me just how refreshed and rejuvenated I feel after completing a yoga session. Even 20-30 minutes can greatly improve my mood. I feel like I have washed my slate clean, opened up the windows and let some fresh air in, and I get a burst of energy. Meditation is so important to reduce the stress in our lives.

Chronic anxiety sufferers can greatly benefit from learning relaxation techniques. Relaxation is a practical coping strategy used to help manage stress in our lives. While taking a hot bath or watching TV can be relaxing, in order to have a noticeable effect on our anxiety we need a regular daily practice of some form of relaxation or meditation. This is important because we need to balance out all of the heightened intense feelings (heart rate, blood pressure, respiration, muscle tension, etc.) our bodies experience when in the fight or flight mode.