Have you ever just wanted to press the F*CK IT button?

So here I am with my very first Wellness Blog  – eek!

And, I thought I would just dive straight in and open up about something that is very personal to me.

ANXIETY…Blurrgghhh

Have you experienced anxiety and felt too conscious, embarrassed, awkward, or afraid to admit it?

Yeah? Me too. I understand how you’re feeling.

• It punches us in the stomach when we least want it, like first thing in the morning.
• It creeps up on us gradually, when we’re thinking about the mountain of things we have to do today. 
• It depletes our energy and fogs up our brain.
• It makes us look and feel much older than our years.
• And sometimes, it just lurks in the background.,.all day, waiting to strike at any given moment.

Sound familiar?

I know. And, I understand because I’ve been there. I’ve been at the bottom end of stress and anxiety.

So I’m going to tell you a little story

..Of how I TRANSFORMED MY LIFE from one of debilitating anxiety to quitting my job, retraining for a completely different career, moving to IBIZA and setting up a new business….and, making it successful in 3 years.

Then I’m going to share some insights. Things that helped me transform my life. And, I know will help you too.

IT’S BEEN A LONG JOURNEY FOR ME, which started in my previous life at executive, level in top end hospitality. All was going well until I got a huge promotion, and landed thick in the middle of the corporate world. My freedom… had gone.

And that’s when it all started..  

My corporate existence ran me ragged.

I started to wake up every morning thinking “I hate my job / I can’t do this”

Anxiety began to: Grip me. Torture me. Depress me.

I dreaded going to work. But I just ignored it and forced myself to get out of bed. Sometimes, it was with me all day and stopped me from functioning properly. I was running on pure adrenaline.

Now, let me tell you. The mind is a very powerful thing. And if we keep telling ourselves that we can’t do something, we can’t do something, we can’t do something, guess what?

We won’t be able to do it! 

I crash landed – big time. 

My body just would not let me get out of bed. And it was telling me:

There has to be more to life than this; how long can I continue to wake up feeling this way?

SO I PRESSED THE F*CK IT BUTTON AND QUIT MY JOB… 

..in search of feeling better. I didn’t care about anything anymore. My new full time job was to feel emotionally balanced again.

And so began a liberating journey of discovery – incorporating extensive world travel, meditation, yoga, spiritual exploration and personal development.

I was fully focussed and I completely changed my lifestyle. I was determined to get myself back on track. 

I gradually got better and began to wonder what to do next.

I got back into work, this time in the wellness sector. But, after a couple of years I still had a feeling that something was missing. I was unfulfilled. There was no passion.

This time, I listened to my inner voice…

It was when I was in yoga one evening, that I had one of those ‘Aha!’ moments. I thought to myself:

I want to help people. I want to share my experience and learning with those who are on their own journey, towards getting a handle on their emotions and experiencing much more balance in their lives.

I decided to jump right into the abyss. Right into the unknown.

And start up my own business HERE IN IBIZA 🙂

I’VE RETRAINED. I’VE QUALIFIED. I’VE CHANGED MY LIFE!!

I’m still growing. I’m still developing. And, I’m not saying it’s been easy – it absolutely has not.

After all, if changing your life was that easy, everyone would be doing it – right?

It’s easy to feel good when everything in your life is going well. Right?

But when the chips are down. When you hate your job. When you have a mountain of bills to pay. When you feel alone. That’s when it takes real COURAGE to motivate yourself. That’s when you have to DIG DEEP and muster every bit of DETERMINATION you can to change your circumstances.

So, let me share with you some insights. Things that supported me towards my goal of overcoming severe and debilitating anxiety and GET MY MOJO BACK!!

WATCH YOUR THOUGHTS – Our thoughts can literally determine the way we feel.

If you are feeling stressed or anxious I can almost guarantee you it is because you are thinking in a stressful or anxious way.

This unhealthy way of thinking can affect us on all sorts of levels: mentally, emotionally, physically and energetically.

Here’s a tip: Set an alarm on your mobile every 30/60 minutes and check in with your thoughts.

“What am I thinking right now?”

And if you find that you are thinking something negative / destructive / unkind, consciously STOP that thought and reframe into a healthy / kind / constructive thought.

You’ll be surprised how your mood changes if you continue to do this daily.

Treat it as a game. Do it with a smile. And if you find that you can’t seem to reframe your negative thought into a healthy positive one, stop what you are doing and bring your attention to your breath. BREATHE. RELAX.

MEDITATE – learning to meditate saved my life!

And I have since learned many styles of meditation that support me today.

We worry so much about the future and we hold on to unpleasant experiences that happened in the past. We are hardly ever in the present moment – and let me tell you; the present moment is where it’s at! 

It just takes practice but once you start to feel better you will want to continue – believe me.

If you are new to meditation or you just can’t seem to do, get yourself into a beginners’ course or do some guided meditation.  Click here for more information on how I can help you with this

RECEIVE ENERGY HEALING – Spiritual, Reiki, Crystal… whatever works for you.

We are made up of energy, which wants to be free flowing through our body. But it can get blocked and stuck from our thinking and behaviour.  And it can sometimes feel like we’re on ‘empty’.

So having regular healing sessions will rebalance and restore your energy levels, giving you that feeling of ‘filling up your tank’

I valued it so much I am now fully qualified in Spiritual healing.

EXERCISE – Get that blood pumping!

Because getting the blood pumping releases endorphins and makes us feel happy! Yay!

Ideally, try to do some daily – even if it is 30 minutes of brisk walking.

When I was on the treadmill I used to imagine loads of little, naked, endorphin men running around, singing and dancing, and doing cartwheels in my head. Still do 🙂

LIMIT YOUR ALCOHOL, COFFEE AND SMOKING INTAKE  – Too much will make you feel worse!

I used to drink a bottle of wine and get stoned every evening. Just to numb the pain. Then I’d live on coffee all day to get through work.  Wine is a depressant and smoking and coffee are stimulants. My body was all over the place. No wonder I felt so bad!!

So I decided to STOP.

And, it was a challenge to stop BUT I DID IT.

I treated it as a scientific experiment to see just what it would feel like if I stopped. I wrote in my journal, I put money in a jar when I got a craving. And gradually, day-by-day I felt better.

And the more I felt better the easier it was to stop. I gradually started to work my way back up the spiral.

GET OUT INTO NATURE –  It nourishes our soul.

Even if you live in an urban area like I did, you can get out into nature.

I used to sit under the same tree in Queen Park, London. I read inspiring books or sat and watched the wildlife. I saw that gorgeous tree through all the seasons and watched the squirrels and the birds.

And it made me feel good.

I later planted a tree in that park to say thank you for comforting me 🙂

GET YOUR HEAD INTO INSPIRING BOOKS – They will give you a great big motivational Oomph!

I read so many books during that time that were motivating, and inspiring, and insightful.  I still do.

Instead of watching TV – read a book.

Here are a few that helped me at the time:

• Paulo Coelho – The Alchemist (all of his books actually)
• Richard Carlson – Stop thinking Start Living
• Susan Jeffers – Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway
• Louise Hay – 101 Power Thoughts for Life – audio
• Joseph Murphy – The Power of the Subconscious Mind
• Eckhart Tolle – The Power of Now

A final thought:

No matter how bad you feel:

Never, EVER! EVER! give up the thought that you will feel better.