Anxiety Tips

So if you've been following my posts for about the last month you already know I suffer from anxiety disorder with panic attacks. I currently still have many of the side effects such as hot/cold flashes, severe chest pain and nausea (the best one obviously, note my sarcasm). I decided to do some research and I know I am not alone with this problem, though it may feel like it, so I wanted to share my findings and hopefully help someone else even if none of these work for me. Also you don't have to have an anxiety disorder to try these, these are generally good ways to release stress.

1) Yoga
So I am currently in a yoga class in school and love it. For almost 45 minutes a day I get to relax and just breath. While it is relaxing you can also feel good that many of the poses can also get you a workout as well! It's also easy to do at home even if you don't have a yoga mat. There are many youtube videos that will walk you through a series of moves that work well.

2) 4, 7, 8
This is one is really simple and you can do it anywhere, anytime, as many times as you need. I learned this one recently and it helps a lot. All you do is breathe in for 4 seconds, hold it for 7 seconds, and breathe out for 8 seconds. Try it right now and you'll immediately start to feel more relaxed. This is also a good way to relax to go to sleep.

3) Tensing of the muscles
This one I usually do before bed but can be done at any time, generally. You start by tensing your toes, then your calf, and so on including your back, your face and finally all of them at once. Generally I try and hold them for about 5-10 seconds, but normally by the end I'm at 2-4 seconds per muscle.

4) Positive Affirmations
I use this one a lot too. Basically what you do is you talk to yourself, in your head or out loud, with positive expressions. My most frequent one is "This too shall pass". This one is great and can be used anywhere!

5) Mindfulness
This one is a bit hard to explain so I'm just going to link to this article and you can read it for yourself. This one can be hard but it gets easier over time.

6) Laughter
Seriously, just smiling in the mirror or watching a funny YouTube video can change your mood. Here are a few to get you started.

Hope this helps! Hope you all have a wonderful day and remember


~MG

Love? 36 Questions to Romance

I don't know how many of you watch Good Mythical Morning but recently they had this video up about these 36 questions that can make you fall in love. I thought I'd take a look and maybe answer some of them. The video is above and the questions can be found here (warning, clicking on the link takes you off the post).

Question 1: Given the choice of anyone in the world, whom would you want as a dinner guest?
I would choose Jimmy Fallon. His sense of humor is wonderful and he is so talented that we would never get bored. Seriously though, have you seen his impressions?

Question 14: Is there something that you’ve dreamed of doing for a long time? Why haven’t you done it?
I've always dreamed of becoming a published author or writing for a tv show. Honestly, I also think that it'd be fun to be on YouTube doing gaming videos. However, both aren't easily attainable but I'd rather do that then be stuck at a boring desk job. 

Question 34: Your house, containing everything you own, catches fire. After saving your loved ones and pets, you have time to safely make a final dash to save any one item. What would it be? Why?
It would probably be my laptop. I have so many stories on here that I would hate to lose. And as long as my family is safe though, I might be able to manage without it. Another item I might save is one of my books, possibly my journal or an old Arthurian Legend book. Maybe my grandmother's CD walkman (yes it's a thing) or some of her jewelry. I might just get my backpack and stuff things in it. There are some family photos I would want to save, and most are in some boxes or on my mom's computer. Man, this is hard! I'd hate to lose those pictures almost more than my laptop! Yeah, I'd fill some bags then run. 

So these were only 3 of the 36 questions, look at the other ones using the link above or clicking on the video. They have a link in the description. 

Hope you enjoyed! Little late for Valentine's Day but I'm still in the same month so I'm close. 

~MG

Quick Update and 2 Videos You Need To See

So it's break this week and so I've been reflecting a bit on the last month and while I was on youtube I found two videos from the youtubers I love and wanted to share both the videos and why I want to share them with you.

Markiplier Pursuit of Happiness Vlog

I'm afraid I have to link it, just putting in the video provided some technical difficulties. Anyways, this video was one of the first I saw today and I'm really glad it was. Let me tell you why. As you may know I suffer from panic attacks. Well two days ago I was diagnosed with anxiety disorder. In truth I still don't really know that much about it but from my understanding basically I'm anxious all the time over anything. So I was on a medication for a month to see if it would help my attacks. In a way, it did. However it made me feel so sick that I eventually had to cut down my dose and thus the attacks started to come back. I was still going to school every day while feeling like I was either going to throw up, thanks to the meds, or have a heart attack, thanks to the panic attacks. So let's just say it was a pretty bad month. But in a way, I learned that no matter how bad things got, no matter how many times I wanted to give up and become agoraphobic (when you don't leave the house), someone was always there for me. I started telling more and more people and once I did I got a great support system both at school and in my friends.

That got a little rambly so let me tie this back to the video. I have been a fan of Markiplier for a year or two now, and while sometimes he swears-ok more than sometimes- he provided me with not only the humor I needed but also the inspiration. This video is a prime example of the reason I still watch his videos. He really believes that we can do anything, and that was the thing I needed to hear, and I think we all need to hear. Sometimes we feel as if we don't matter, but we do. We can all make a change and like Mark said, "no matter how hard it may seem, the only thing you have to do is start."

Next video!!
CallMeKevin Let's talk about... Positivity and Trust Vlog

Ok so I've been following Kevin for longer than I have Mark. My brother and I started watching him when we were younger and I've been a dedicated fan ever since. I really like the message of this video, even if you think the whole world is against you, it really isn't. And while it isn't always best to have so much trust, the truth is there are more good people than bad, and that is good news. Kevin's positive outlook helps me to stay happy and realize that if I'm not ok, I don't have to pretend I am. Even if that means letting people in.



Thank you very much for reading,

~MG